Independence Werewolf 단편 소설 & Face Slapping 소설

I dropped off lunch for my husband at the Conglomerate HQ, only to bump into my ex from two years ago. The man who'd ditched me at our marking ceremony to go "take care of his sister." I'd changed my hair, my makeup, everything. But he spotted me in the crowd as if it were nothing. "Elena, I'm back to finish what we started. Happy now?" I felt that familiar knot of doubt in my gut. "Sorry, who are you again...?" He let out a shaky laugh. "Babe, come on. Don't be mad. I didn't mean to leave you hanging. The ceremony back then? Ivy's wolf spirit was too weak. I had to find the Wolf God ruins to pray for her. She's my only sister; I couldn't just watch her fade." "Yeah, the healing took a while. So, I got myself an assignment overseas." "Anyway, I just got her wolf spirit stabilized, and I rushed back to bring you home to the packhouse!" That's when it hit me. This scruffy guy, with the stubble and all… this was my ex-fiancé. No. Did nobody tell him? The night he walked out on me? I married his uncle. Alpha Damian. The Wolf King.

Alpha Kieran personally invited me to serve as Beta of Silvercrest Pack. But on my second day in the territory, my neighbor Gloria dragged her disheveled daughter Daisy to the center of the training grounds and dropped to her knees, accusing my son Koda of sexually assaulting her barely-eighteen-year-old daughter. Daisy stripped off her clothes in front of everyone, revealing horrifying bruises and claw marks. Gloria had even paid top dollar for a witch to perform a memory trace spell. Daisy sobbed until she nearly passed out. "Koda said if I didn't do as I was told, he'd bite me to death..." The entire pack was in an uproar. Everyone was screaming for blood. "Alpha, why should someone like her be our Beta?" "Vera can't even control her own son — how is she supposed to lead this pack?" They even demanded that Alpha have Koda seized and executed on the spot. I wasn't the least bit worried. Because when they finally brought Koda to the training grounds and everyone got a good look at him — Every single person there, including Gloria's family, froze. I nearly burst out laughing. …

I fell in love with my brother's combat training instructor, the Alpha of the Stormfang Pack. He was very kind to me. I pursued him for eight years, thinking that he wanted me to be his mate. But he betrayed my sincerity, ignored my efforts, and even used my love to pursue his childhood sweetheart. Realizing the truth, I chose to leave. But he regretted it and did everything possible to win me back, but everything was too late by then.

The day the Royal Academy's screening results came out, the twin Alpha heirs — Julian and Damien — stood in front of me. Each of them was holding an application form. "Ivy. Have you decided whose name you're putting on that form?" In my previous life, I chose Julian for love. I gave up my direct admission to the Royal Academy and stayed behind in the pack with him and Celeste — his childhood-friend Omega who'd failed the screening — to help them train for another year. I thought that was what it meant to go through hardship together. That was love. But the pack laughed at Celeste — an Omega who thought she could get into the combat track at the Royal Academy. She couldn't stand the gossip, ran off alone, and was killed by rogue wolves. Julian threw me into the silver pit — the pit our pack used to execute traitors. Silver burns a wolf's flesh like acid. "If you hadn't been so desperate to cling to me, I could've focused on protecting Celeste. She wouldn't be dead!" "Ivy Hale — all of this is your fault. You ruined us." He poured silver down my throat. I died thrashing in agony. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the screening results were announced. This time, I slipped my arm through Damien's and gave the brightest smile I had. "Let's apply to the Royal Academy together." Julian let out a quiet, relieved breath and turned to go find his Omega. He didn't see the way Damien's hand tightened around mine — or the obsession and ambition he couldn't quite hide behind his eyes.

For four years by Kallum's side, everyone saw me as just the former Alpha's daughter. The pack's chief geneticist. No one knew the truth. I was his fated mate, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. When my father died in battle, I gave Kallum the Alpha ring. I handed him absolute power and stepped back into the shadows of the lab. At night, against the floor-to-ceiling glass, his hands bruised my waist. He sank his fangs into the crook of my neck, claiming my mark over and over again. Come morning, he straightened his tie. All I got was cold, emotionless orders. Because his heart belonged to an outsider wolf. Scarlett. He knew her favorite champagne by heart. The night she separated from her husband, he drank until dawn at his private club. He even assigned the pack's elite guard to guard her apartment day and night. Four years as his secret mate, and I never saw a single shred of that devotion. Heartbroken, I slipped our bond severance agreement into a stack of research reports. He didn't even glance down. He just signed it. Ripping the bond apart felt like tearing my heart in half. I choked down the blood in my throat, erased every trace of my existence, and vanished. I thought he would finally be happy with his true love. Instead, the day the bond snapped, the ruthless Alpha completely lost his mind. He stripped Scarlett of every single privilege. He turned the entire continent upside down to hunt me down. And in front of tens of millions on live TV, he dropped to his knees. Eyes bloodshot and voice breaking, he confessed to the entire world: I was his only Luna. His true fated mate. And he would burn the whole world down before he ever let me go.

I'm New York's top fashion designer. Everyone says the industry is a swamp, but nobody ever dared lay a hand on me. Nobody knew my secret bed partner was the most dangerous, ruthless Alpha in the city. He used his power to pave my path, and asked for nothing. As his fragile human mate, he hid me away in his downtown penthouse. Every night after we were intimate, he would kiss my palm over and over. He'd bury his face in my shoulder, whispering that hiding me was the only way to keep me safe. He claimed his pack was torn by civil war and he needed time. He told me to wait until he could make me his true Luna in broad daylight. For seven years, it never missed a beat. Every single night, he only left after I fell asleep. I honestly thought he was obsessed with me. Until I overheard his right-hand man trembling as he asked: "The Council approved the vote. When are you bringing our real Luna home?" The Alpha sneered, his voice dripping with disgust: "Those old bastards trying to run my life again? Ava is just a toy. Make a human food my mate? I'm not out of my mind." And now? When my heart turned to ash and I finally walked away to let him have her... why is he losing his mind?

Right after Ethan and I announced our mating ceremony, his childhood sweetheart from the pack, Sophia, came rushing back. And she flat-out demanded I go through a "bloodline trial." "Someone like you, a wolf outcast, you're definitely up to no good. You have to pass this month-long bloodline trial before our pack will accept your mating!" With Ethan basically giving them the nod, Sophia and her pack betas put me through hell. They deliberately messed with my moonlight alchemy circle, almost tore my mind apart. The backlash from the moon energy tortured me until I almost broke. My body felt like it was being ripped to shreds. They contaminated my sacred water potions. The choking fumes nearly suffocated me. The betas were cruel and vicious. "She's just a lone wolf anyway. If she dies, no pack will back her up." Then, Sophia stole the Moon Goddess sacred artifact my grandma left me—the Moon Alchemy Cauldron. She taunted me, all cocky. "If you've got the guts, try summoning the Moon Goddess's power on the blood moon night to take it back! Otherwise, I'll use your family's crappy old cauldron as a chamber pot!" I’ve had enough. I’m so sick of these ‘trials,’ and there’s no way in hell I’m mating with Ethan.

My fated mate, Alpha Ethan, chose another woman over me. Not once. Not twice. But ninety-nine times. He always claimed it was for the pack. He always swore he loved me. He always promised that next time, I would be his priority. Then she showed up at his Alpha ceremony. The outsider, Oliva. In my Luna gown. My Beta saw red and told Oliva to get her ass out of our pack. Ethan abandoned me on the stage—on the night we were to be crowned together—and stormed down to shield Oliva in his arms. For the hundredth time, he ordered me to apologize for the sake of an alliance. As if she was the victim. And just like that... I was done. I drew my silver dagger and sliced it across my palm. "I, Ivana, before the Moon Goddess and the Elders, reject my mate bond with Alpha Ethan." He thought I was throwing a tantrum. He was wrong. I didn't just shatter our bond. I erased him. And that’s when he lost his mind, tossing Oliva aside and begging me to come back.

I gave him three years of my life, only to be treated as nothing more than a substitute—worse than a dog. When his so-called white moonlight returned, he kicked me aside without hesitation. Fine. I agreed to the family alliance and married the most powerful Alpha of the North. Now he regrets it, begging me to return? Too late. They plotted against me with wolfsbane, wanting me to die in a filthy wine cellar. But my Mate—the true King of the North—tore the entire estate apart just to save me. They tried to steal my Alpha bloodline with dark sorcery. I made them taste exile, cast out as Rogues, despised by all. And him? He knelt before me, begging for forgiveness. I leaned safely in my Mate’s arms and watched him be banished forever. “Ansel,” I told him coldly, “open your eyes. I am the one and only Luna of the North.”

As the most powerful witch in the pack, I gritted my teeth and swallowed the poison before the new Luna's ascension, destroying my own gift of foresight. In my last life, I had divined that the new Luna was a spy sent by the vampires, and that she would bring about the pack's destruction. When I begged Alpha Hall to banish her, someone reported me for coveting the Luna position, accusing me of selfish motives. Alpha Hall led a search of my quarters, and somehow, a letter conspiring with vampires was found under my bed. The moment Luna saw it, she flung herself into Hall's arms and sobbed with wounded innocence: "Bella, I know you've been in love with our Alpha, but you can't just frame me because you're jealous!" Hall flew into a rage, declared me a liar and a threat, and ordered me nailed to the stake and burned alive. As the flames swallowed me, I saw Luna grinning at me, twisted and cruel, her lips parting to reveal the glint of vampire fangs. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day before Luna's binding ceremony. The very moment Hall commanded me to beseech the Moon Goddess's blessing for his beloved.

My ex-boyfriend was banished from his pack. He begged me to let him hide out at my neutral clinic for five days. We had been together for four years. For old times' sake, I gave him a temporary access code. The day I wrapped up an emergency house call for another pack and rushed back to the clinic overnight, I couldn't get the door open no matter what I tried. I rang the doorbell. Slippers shuffled inside, followed by a woman's impatient voice. "Who is it? Don't you know pregnant women need their rest at night?" The door cracked open, the chain lock still in place. A heavily pregnant stranger stood there wearing my white coat, glaring at me with undisguised contempt. "You must be Evelyn. "Ronan told me all about you. He already rejected you in front of everyone. How shameless can you be, chasing him all the way here to harass him?"

My mate fell in love with the mute Omega who saved his life and wanted to call off our engagement. I kindly advised him, "The position of Alpha Queen is not an easy one. She may not be able to bear the responsibility." The mute Omega felt insulted and committed suicide by taking Wolfsbane. Eight years later, when Ryan became the Alpha King, the first thing he did was destroy the Snowfang Pack and come for my life. "This is what all of you owe Saya." When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my 18th birthday banquet. Ryan's father, the former Alpha King, had once asked me what my wish was. "Since Ryan and Saya are each other's fated ones, let them be together. Let them complete their bond under the moonlight and receive the blessing of the Moon Goddess."

After a campaign for the pack, I was gravely wounded, and rogues ambushed me on the way home. Dozens of rogues surrounded me, slashing wound after wound across my body. Meanwhile, my mate, the captain of the pack guard, had dropped everything to go to her first love, who was about to drink wolfsbane. In my past life, I sent her a mind-link, begging her to bring the guards and save me. She abandoned her first love, and I survived because of it. But by the time Vivian reached Gavin Cross's home, her first love had already drunk the wolfsbane and stopped breathing. Yet Vivian never blamed me, and we went on living happily together. Three years later, on my way back from my second campaign, rogues cornered me again. The one leading them was my own mate. "You lied to me that day, didn't you? You're an Alpha. There's no way you couldn't beat a band of rogues. But you were so jealous of Gavin that you forced me to your side, and I let him swallow wolfsbane and die in agony." "Today I want to see for myself whether one Alpha can really beat this many rogues." I fought for my life, but their claws were coated with wolfsbane, and in the end I died under them. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the rogues first attacked me. This time, I decided to step aside and let her go save her first love.

On our fifth anniversary, Alpha Liam gave me nothing more than a simple pack mark of protection. That same night, he held a bonding ceremony with his first love, the she-wolf Seraphina. I refused to accept it. He accused me of being irrational. “My bonding with Seraphina is for the future of the pack, not because I still have feelings for her.” “You’re only human. Shouldn’t my pack’s mark be enough? This was your final test, Elena, and you’ve failed.” I walked away. And he turned around and proposed to Seraphina. Five years later, we met again at an exclusive hotel designated by the Alpha Council. His pack was on the verge of becoming a major power, and he had Seraphina, draped in a moonlight silk gown, on his arm. When he saw me, covered in sand and standing ankle-deep in the hotel’s ornamental fountain, he frowned. “Elena,” he scoffed. “You looked down on my protection back then. Look at you now. I bet you can’t find a single pack in this city willing to take in a human.” “And don’t think this pathetic display will make me take you back.” I ignored him. My cub’s treasured moonstone, a gift he’d found while combing the beach, had slipped into the fountain. The little guy was beside himself, and I had to find his precious amulet.

When I returned from a mission, I found my Alpha mate, Wyatt, had tattooed his Beta's sigil next to our sacred mating mark. I cut my mission short, stormed back to the pack, and publicly declared my intent to Reject him. The mating mark is sacred, a symbol of two souls eternally bound. Desecrating it is the gravest insult to the Moon Goddess. Wyatt tore the rejection papers to shreds, casting them to the ground. Fury blazed in his wolfish eyes. "Over a sigil? You're tearing us apart over a meaningless symbol. Are you insane?" "Do I look like I'm kidding?" I sneered. "Fine. Let the Moon Goddess be your judge." The color drained from his face. "Faye, if you dare go through with this, I'll strip Rory of his birthright. He'll never be Alpha." "How could I be cursed with a mother like you? You're ruining my future as Alpha! I hate you!"My son, Rory, snarled from the side, his eyes burning with hatred. I looked at this father and son, who was now both strangers to me, and my heart turned to ash. My fingers tightened on my herb pouch. "The moment your father desecrated our mark," I said, my voice eerily calm, "I was already done with you."

The Blackwood Pack had a rule: no outsider was ever allowed to touch a newborn pureblood pup. So when my fated mate Damon Cross's childhood friend Yvonne Morgan reached for one of their sacred cubs, I stopped her. Yvonne decided I was being petty, that I was trying to humiliate her in front of everyone. So she ran off crying, tripped, and fell into a bog. By the time anyone found her, she was gone. Damon was convinced I'd done it on purpose—that I'd planned to get rid of Yvonne Morgan. He had me bound and locked in that basement dungeon for three days and three nights. Every hour felt like a year. "This is all your fault, you jealous witch. If it weren't for you, Yvonne would still be here!" "You're going to pay for what you did. Rot in there and think about it." I clawed my way out—dug a tunnel with my bare hands. I was so close. The night I finally broke free, Damon gave the order to have me thrown into the No-Man's-Land wolf pit. Then I opened my eyes. I was back. The night of the Full Moon Gala.

In seven years together, the words Theo said to me most weren't "I love you." They were "Be reasonable." In our first year of dating, his neighbor Sophia took a liking to my wolf fang necklace and wanted to borrow it for a few days. Theo said, "Joey, be reasonable. She's young, let her wear it." In the third year, Sophia borrowed my brand-new car. Theo said, "She'll get over the novelty in a few days. Cut her some slack." In the seventh year, the day he finally became Alpha, Theo gave me a moonstone ring blessed by the Moon Goddess. Sophia clung to his arm, her voice sweet and wheedling. "Theo, that's a moonstone ring. I've never gotten to wear one before." Then she glared at me, her smile dripping with malice. "Joey, I want the ring." Theo leaned in and murmured, "Joey, be reasonable. It's just a ring." I took it off without hesitation and handed it to Sophia. Just then, a text came through on my phone. "The position is yours whenever you're ready. Just tell me when you're coming to London, and I'll pick you up."

When the pack set out on its southward migration, Rebecca Hale, one of our newly appointed young leaders, proposed changing the route at the last minute. She wanted to break away from the main column, take the shortcut past Blackwind Gorge, rest in wild-wolf territory along the way, and live on berries gathered by the roadside. Each wolf would need only half a bag of rations, and we would reach the southern grounds ten days ahead of the main column. Freedom and speed were the whole point. My family had guarded the border of Blackwind Gorge for generations. I knew exactly how deadly that route was. Every year, young wolves who strayed from the pack died in that gorge. Some were flayed by rogues; others became prey for venomous snakes. Newly adult she-wolves were the easiest targets of all. In my past life, I fought with everything I had to stop them. I went from pack to pack, warning each Alpha until they withdrew. In the end everyone gave up the shortcut. Rebecca alone refused to listen. She vanished on her second day in the gorge. A week later, her body was found among the loose rocks. Because I had stopped the others in time, I earned the right to become the pack's priestess. But on the day of my investiture, my mate, Stefan Cross, tore out my throat. "If you hadn't stopped everyone from going with her, Rebecca would never have died alone! "You'll pay for her death with your life!" The packmates I had risked everything to save stood there cheering my death. Then they hurled my body onto the altar. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Rebecca proposed the detour through Blackwind Gorge.

As a healer, I keep taking in emergency patients around the clock just so I can save up enough money for a luxurious family trip. But after transferring the money into the family account, my mate, Leonard Cross, announces that he will be taking the entire family on the trip, whereas I'm required to stay at home. Everyone supports his decision. "Don't you always take overtime shifts on your day off? That's why I never considered the fact that you can go on this trip with us." I'm pissed, to say the least. "So, the four of you will be going, eh?" My sister-in-law, Rita Cross, pipes up, "Cassandra and Hannah will be joining us too." Cassandra Davis is Leonard's childhood sweetheart, whereas Hannah is the family's pet dog. It seems that everyone has received an invitation but me. After staying quiet for another beat, I nod. "Fine." Soon, I accept the three-year dispatch request to another place that's offered to me by my workplace. I also take the liberty to put the house—which I own the deed to—on sale. Since my family supports my career this much, I'm sure they will do the same when I decide to buy myself a new place to live for the sake of my business trip, right?

After reincarnating, I wrote down the name Roland cherished most on the mate registration form. [Freya Federer.] In my previous life, I got my wish and became his mate, but I spent every day living in Freya's shadow. She had once saved Roland during a battle. From that moment on, he indulged her in every way and always took her side. In fact, he even repeatedly sacrificed the time he spent with me, the shewolf who had been by his side for twenty years. But Freya had been born without a wolf spirit and suffered from poor health, so the pack preferred me as their Luna. Under pressure from my family, Roland eventually chose me as his mate. But in his heart, I would never measure up to Freya. Then came the bloody battle against a rival pack. Roland rushed to Freya's side first when she was injured. Meanwhile, the silver blade that pierced through my heart left me dying on the battlefield. Now that I had another chance at life, I no longer wanted to be with him. Freya wanted the crescent moon pendant that symbolized the Alpha's love for his Luna. I gave it to her. I also gave her the silver-white wedding dress Roland had prepared for me. He thought I would be jealous and fight to keep what was mine, but he had no idea that I had already accepted a position at the Fenrir Medical Research Institute. In seven days, I would leave the pack and join their most prestigious medical research program. He could spend the rest of his life taking care of his frail Freya. I, on the other hand, could finally pursue the dream I had once abandoned for him.