Plot Twists Werewolf Short Stories & Luna Countdown Novels

Everyone in Silvercrest Pack knew Kael Thorne loved me. He loved me so much that even after betraying me, he always came back on his knees and begged me not to leave. The first betrayal was a mistake, he said. He had been drugged by a rival Alpha and spent one night with a rogue female. The second betrayal was responsibility, he said. That same rogue female was pregnant, and the Council forced him to keep the child. He held me in his arms and promised, “Once the baby is born, she’s gone. You’re still the only woman I love.” Then came the third betrayal. By then, I knew Kael would never let me leave. To him, I was not just his Luna. I was his life. I disguised the mating dissolution agreement as a simple household checklist and placed it among the daily papers he signed without reading. Kael signed it with one hand while holding Lila’s prenatal report in the other. He did not even look at the page. Seven days later, the agreement took effect. The mating bond tore apart inside his chest. And the Luna Kael Thorne had sworn he would never release had disappeared from his world forever.

Whenever Jacob called my name, his first instinct was always to utter his ex's name, "Anna". On our first anniversary, the gift he gave me was written: [Anna, let’s be together forever.] When we were intimate, he couldn't stop himself from whispering in my ear, "Anna, tell me you love me." Every time he called me by the wrong name, I could only helplessly reiterate, "My name is Anya, not Anna." Over time, Jacob probably felt some shame. Before addressing me, he would pause to think for a moment, and then successfully say my name, "Anya." Just when I thought he had finally stopped confusing the two of us, Anna suddenly returned. From then on, whenever Jacob introduced me to the rest of the pack, he called me "Anna" more frequently than ever. Even during our mating ceremony, as he held out the ring to me, he called out, "Anna, will you be my mate?" Looking at Jacob standing before me, I didn't bother to correct him this time. Since the name he called wasn't mine, I shouldn't be the one to accept.

Three years ago, my Alpha mate, Grayson Blackthorn, has a dream in which he falls for an Omega who works at a flower shop and does countless things to hurt me for her sake. When I hear about it, I don't take it seriously. Instead, I laugh and tease him, "And then what?" Grayson pins me beneath him and kisses me fiercely. "Then, you got me drunk and tricked me into breaking our mate bond. By the time I woke up, you were gone, and I couldn't find you anywhere." He claims it's just a ridiculous dream, yet he starts avoiding alcohol, steering clear of every flower shop, and keeping his distance from every Omega. He even develops severe separation anxiety. It got so bad that our pack's healer, Ravenna Nocturne, has to intervene regularly. To put Grayson's mind at ease, I do everything I can to show him that I love him and depend on him more. Gradually, we forget all about that dream. On our fourth wedding anniversary, a seemingly pure and fragile Omega named Avery Darkcrest appears before me with a bouquet of white lilies in her hands. The flowers nearly send me into anaphylactic shock because of my severe lily allergy. The council demands that Avery be expelled from the pack, but Grayson steps in front of me to protect her. "Avery didn't do it on purpose. Don't make things difficult for her." As I watch him shield her with his body, I know that nightmare is beginning to come true. In the dream, Grayson leaves me utterly broken, and it takes me a long time to finally walk away. But this time, I need only five days.

Liam Hurley's favorite thing to say to me is, "Don't worry." Don't worry. Once he consolidates his power and ends the internal strife of the pack, we'll reveal our relationship. Because of that, I waited for two years. Don't worry. We'll hold the bonding ceremony as soon as his mother accepts me. I waited for another three. In the fifth year, at the banquet celebrating Liam's rise to Alpha of the Ashmoon pack, his mother, Elana Gibson, unclasps the moonstone necklace from around her neck in front of everyone. Liam told me long ago that passing down the moonstone necklace is the Ashmoon pack's official ritual for acknowledging a Luna. I figure Liam won't be telling me not to worry this time. "Here, let me put this on you." Elana walks right past me and gently fastens the necklace around the neck of Lilith Powell, Liam's assistant. The whole banquet hall falls dead silent. Elana pats the back of her hand with a warm smile. "Lilith is so sweet and kind, and she's been a massive help to Liam. She has a special place in my heart." I hear someone whisper, "What about Freya?" Liam lowers his voice. "My mother cherishes bonds. Lilith really has done a lot for me, so don't take it personally. Don't worry, okay? Next month, I'll take you to pick out a better moonstone necklace that's way more valuable than that one." As the crowd scatters, Lilith strokes the necklace and gives me a smug smile. "Freya, are you jealous? Elana says this moonstone has been passed down for seven generations in the Ashmoon pack." I tell her I am. Just then, my phone buzzes in my pocket. "Have you made up your mind? When are you coming to Nordravia?"

I am the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. On the day I gave birth, I drank the birthing tonic that Elena, our pack healer, had brought me. My wolf convulsed violently, and the moment I delivered my pup, I fell into a coma. When I woke again, I was bound by thick silver chains, trapped for five years in a lightless forest prison. It wasn't until Caleb, the Alpha of the Silver River Pack, was hunting down a rogue that he caught my scent by chance and freed me. I dragged my weakened body all the way back to the Silver Moon Pack. Only to hear my Alpha mate Killian announcing before the whole pack that Elena, the very woman who had poisoned me, was about to become the new Luna. And the son I had nearly died to bring into the world was nestled in her arms, sweetly calling her mommy. Eyes burning, I rushed forward and exposed the truth in front of everyone: she had poisoned me. Killian cut me off, impatient. "Lila, as Luna you vanished for five years without a word. Elena carried your burden for you, and instead of being grateful, you make up some pathetic lie to smear her?" Eric's face twisted with disgust. "Daddy, throw this liar out. She's scaring mommy!" And Elena, hiding behind them, gave me a taunting little smile. Something in me let go. That very night, I drank the potion that would sever the mate bond from my side alone. Fine, then. This mate, this son, I no longer wanted either of them.

I have the same due date as Roxanne Coleman, the childhood sweetheart of my Alpha Mate, Sebastian Graham. However, her pup has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. That means it will never be as strong as a normal pup and may not even survive its first shift. Even the healers advise her not to give birth. Just as I begin to pity Roxanne, Sebastian makes a request that shatters me. He asks me to give our pup to her. "Roxanne's pack is harsh on her. They demand she bear a powerful heir," he explains patiently. "If they find out her pup is born with a heart defect, they'll kill her. "Please, I beg you. Save her. Let her take our pup." I stare at Sebastian in disbelief. "Are you saying we should trade our healthy pup for her defective one?" Seeing how resistant I am, he doesn't answer. In fact, he doesn't need to. … A month later, during a prenatal checkup, Sebastian secretly switches my medical report with Roxanne's. I can't believe he truly plans to steal my pup for her. At that moment, I broke down completely. So, I sever our mate bond and leave with our unborn pup. While Sebastian frantically searches for me, I accept the Temple of the Moon's invitation and become the only one who can speak to the Moon Goddess and deliver her oracles. And my pup will be the next Chosen One. From that day on, Sebastian is nothing to me.

On the night of my twenty-first birthday, Silvercrest Pack held my coming-of-age mate selection ceremony. When the full moon rose above the forest, none of the four candidates had appeared. They were the four men who had grown up beside me—and the heirs to the four highest-ranking positions in the pack. I waited alone on the ceremonial dais until the ritual ended. Following a livestream, I found them at a private estate across the forest. The camera was pointed at the birthday cake in front of Mira. She was a she-wolf Silvercrest had recovered only three months ago. Missing since childhood, she had grown up among humans. When the patrol found her, wolfsbane still lingered in her blood. She was so weak she could barely shift. I had brought in the pack’s best healer and arranged for her to live on pack grounds. Yet now Everett, the future Alpha, was taking a glass of wine from her hand so she would not have to drink it. Nolan, the Beta heir, draped his coat around her shoulders. Julian, the Gamma heir, crouched to straighten the hem of her dress. And Rhys, the Delta heir, placed the Moon Crown I had personally chosen on her head. My phone rang a moment later. Everett’s low, controlled voice came through the speaker. “Elara, don’t come in here and make a scene in front of Mira. She almost cried a minute ago. We’re only trying to give her a proper birthday.” Nolan took the phone. “The mate selection can be rescheduled. Mira has only just returned to the pack. Emotional distress could interfere with her recovery.” Julian laughed softly in the background. “She never even had a real birthday before. You grew up with the entire Silvercrest Pack doting on you. Is it really so terrible to let her have this one night?” Outside the estate, two servers lowered their voices. “Not one of the future Luna’s candidates showed up for her coming-of-age ceremony.” “They’re all here celebrating with that newly recovered she-wolf. After tonight, Miss Elara will be a joke in every pack in the region.” Once, I would have pushed open the door. I would have demanded to know why it was always Mira—what, exactly, I lacked that made all four of them choose her over me. This time, I simply unpinned the silver moon crest that marked me as the Luna-in-waiting and dropped it into the sink. Then I sent a message to my grandmother, Silvercrest’s High Elder. [Grandmother, I won’t choose any of them.] [Contact Blackridge Pack.] [I accept Callum Thorne’s alliance proposal.]

After Seraphina Vale stole three men fate had once chosen for me, I swore I would never let another wolf claim me. Until Dorian Blackthorn, the Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, claimed me in front of everyone. He swore his loyalty under the moon oath, turning away every approach from Seraphina. He even called out her behavior publicly in the council hall. For the first time, I thought I had found a wolf worth entrusting my soul to. Three years into marriage, I saw Seraphina again. Someone asked her, “What’s the most reckless thing you’ve ever done?” She licked her lips, eyes unfocused. “Of course, having Dorian Blackthorn mark me. His mate still foolishly thinks he truly hates me.” “In truth, I’ve borne his pup, lived in his territory, driven his car, spent his money.” Everyone’s eyes turned to me. After all, I was Dorian’s Lunna. I did not react. I simply sent the letter I had drafted for three days to the Black Moon Medical Team. The reply came swiftly to my mind: [Your appointment has been confirmed.] [The Black Moon Medical Team welcomes you as its new chief healer. Your office and residence have been prepared.] My wolf growled low in my chest. In two days, I would leave this pack and take up my new post.

Every year on the first spring full moon, Callum Thorne and Sienna Blake turn the anniversary of our relationship into a game for the entire pack to enjoy. Every year brings another humiliation, from a false Luna ceremony and a moonstone ring designed as a joke to a room filled with laughter at my expense. Every year, Callum assumes I love him too much to leave, no matter how deeply he humiliates me. This year, laurel wine runs down my face as I remove the ring I have worn for six years and drop it at his feet. He still does not follow me because he believes I will forgive him by morning. He has forgotten one thing. I am not Tessa Reed, the ordinary woman with no family, no pack, and nowhere else to go. My real name is Tessa Valeborn. I am the Alpha King’s daughter and the rightful heir to the royal bloodline. Six years ago, I concealed my identity and left the royal court because I wanted someone to choose me without knowing my title. I believed Callum was that man. Then I discover that even his first confession began with a full-moon bet. This time, I refuse to remain their favorite joke. Tessa Reed is about to disappear from Callum’s life. The Alpha King’s daughter is finally going home.

My six-year-old son fed me the cake that triggered my allergy and killed his unborn sister. He was smiling when he confessed, as if he had done something wonderful. “Aunt Vivienne said the baby would go back to the Moon Goddess. Then you and Daddy could break your mate bond, and she could stay with us instead. That way, Aunt Vivienne would have more time to play with me!” My heart clenched. I couldn't hold back anymore. “But Mommy and your sister can play with you, too. Can't we?” “Yeah, but…” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “But it's boring when I'm with you, Mommy. Daddy and I have more fun with Aunt Vivienne.” The words hit me like a blow. For a long moment, I couldn't say a word. My mate, Adrian, stripped Finn of his heir badge, suspended his Alpha training, and sent him to a pack therapist. But when I asked him to investigate the adult who had given our son the cake and taught him how to deceive me, Adrian stepped between us. “Vivienne chose her words poorly. She couldn't have known Finn would actually do it.” Our six-year-old son was old enough to be punished. My sister was too innocent to be questioned. That was when I finally saw the favoritism Adrian himself didn't even realize he was showing. So I stopped asking him to choose me. I removed my Luna signet, left behind divorce and mate-rejection papers, surrendered custody of Finn, and accepted an assignment outside Blackwood Territory. By the time Adrian and Finn understood what it truly meant to lose me, they were already begging me to come back. Only this time, I was the one who no longer wanted to return.

There was a legend in Mist Pack that whoever possessed the Moonstone Pendant, which was passed down through generations of the pack, would spend a lifetime with their fated mate. When my mate, Lucas, fastened the Moonstone Pendant around my neck, he promised he would never betray me. Later, on the day he publicly ordered me to take it off so he could place it around Layla's neck himself, every werewolf in the pack waited to see how I would react. After all, everyone knew how deeply I loved Lucas. Every time he led a hunting party, I would wait for him atop the pack's highest watchtower. It didn't matter how fiercely the snowstorm raged or if I had to stand there until dawn. Every werewolf wondered how I would tear Layla apart. But when Layla appeared before me while elegantly linking her arm through Lucas's, I simply removed the pendant and fastened it around her neck myself. While holding Layla in his arms, Lucas looked at me with contempt. "Diana, if you can stay as obedient as you are today, I might just let you remain by my side." I touched my bare neck with a blank expression on my face. What Lucas didn't know was that just before the ceremony, all of my memories had returned. I was the daughter of the Alpha King. I was also his only heiress. In three days, my dad would arrive at Mist Pack with his elite guards to bring me home.

"Hand over Valerie, or you can watch this little bastard melt in the silver poison." My husband, Alpha Gideon, locked our daughter in a deadly silver cage, his hands choking my neck as he viciously threatened me. All of this was for his lover, the Omega wolf, Valerie. No matter how I explained that I hadn't even touched Valerie, he wouldn't listen. I fell to my knees and begged him, but he still pressed the button to release the poison. Watching our daughter's little face turn purple, he said coldly, "Don't play me for a fool. I saw the DNA report. She's not my daughter. I don't care if she dies." By the time I finally rushed Mia to the hospital, it was too late. I wanted to leave with Mia's belongings, but Valerie threw them into the dumpster. She touched her pregnant belly and raised an eyebrow with a smirk: "Gideon said this house and this pack will belong to my pup. The things of that brat who should've died long ago naturally belong in the trash." At that moment, I finally made my decision. I called my real father, the Alpha King, and asked him to take me away. On the other end of the line, he made a solemn vow: "I will come for you in seven days." "When the time comes, I will make everyone who hurt my precious girl pay in blood."

I threw myself into the sea out of despair. Unexpectedly, I returned to the fifth year after I became mates with Alpha Ethan Grant. Ethan is my mate. He is the strongest Alpha among all the packs. Our son, Chester Grant, inherited his bloodline. Like Ethan, he is a powerful, unyielding, born leader. To the world, I am the noble Luna. I am the one every she-wolf envies and strives to be. Yet, the first thing I did was venture deep into the forest where a witch lived. I asked the witch for a bone ring that would sever the blood bond with Ethan and Chester. "Wear this, and the bond between you and your mate and child will gradually sever within five days. The process is painful and irreversible. You mustn't regret it," the witch says. I immediately place the pale bone ring on my finger. While enduring the pain that pierces directly into my soul, I reply while trembling, "I will never regret it." Ethan's first love is Angelina Lark. In my previous life, Ethan permitted her to dethrone me from my Luna position. I was also injured in the process. Additionally, Chester complained that my scent was repulsive and called Angelina "Mommy". So, in this life, I don't want my mate or my son. I just want the freedom to live my own life. But after leaving, I hear that the strongest Alpha and his heir are searching the world with soldiers in tow. They swear to find the Luna who had taken their hearts.

My wolf was cursed. I had three days left. But my parents and my mate, Alpha Edwin, forced me to surrender my Luna title to Meggie. All because she claimed a curse was killing her, too. In my despair, I agreed. The moment our mate bond shattered, the backlash nearly broke me. With tears in my eyes, I asked them, "If I died, would you even miss me?" They told me to stop faking it, their expressions ice-cold. But they didn't know. Meggie's curse was a lie. And mine was all her doing. It wasn't until my wolf faded to nothing that Meggie's true colors were revealed. Only then did they scream at her, blaming her for my death. But Meggie just snarled back, "I wasn't the only one who killed Hazel. You all did, too, didn't you?"

"Your mate bond is false, Elena. It broke a year ago when Sophia returned—Elias's real mate now," Selene said, her voice heavy with pity. I'd saved the Moon Goddess by accident. Her reward was the Lunar Heartstone—and the truth that shattered me. "The Lunar Heartstone is meant for true mates to share. Since you're mateless—it's yours alone," she added softly. Something inside me broke. Then hardened. Eight years I gave him as his Luna. I destroyed my body trying to give him an heir. Now I'm finally pregnant with twins—while Elias is out there building a family with her. I touch my belly. "My pups don't need a cheater as their father." Three days. Then we disappear. Turns out the Alpha who threw me away is now searching everywhere. Desperate. Broken. Begging. Sorry, Elias. You're too late.

In order to save Alpha Varkon Stormclaw, who was poisoned with wolfsbane, I've used my life force to trade for the antidote with the witch. After the transaction, I become unusually weak. My wolf sinks into a deep slumber as well. Because of that, the elders have cast me out of the Moon Goddess Church. Nyla Ironcrest, the newly-appointed Luna, locks me up in a silver cage that's filled with wolfsbane. "How could a lowly and filthy defective she-wolf like you be a good match for the prestigious Alpha?" Varkon, who has once loved me with all his heart, gets tricked by Nyla into thinking that she's his savior. Not only does he sever our mate bond from me, but he also turns a deaf ear on my pleas for help. Defeated and devastated, I breathe my last breath in the silver cage. However, Varkon kneels before my corpse later on. He's struck with so much pain in the chest that he goes crazy. At the same time, he keeps spitting out blood. But I can never hear his confession of atonement ever again.

Kael had one rule he never broke. Every piece of pack business, big or small, personal or official, he handled in strict order of priority. Never missed a beat. I'm Ella, his promised mate. I'd teased him about it more times than I could count. One evening, I tossed out the same question I'd asked a hundred times before: "Our Moon Vow ceremony has to be at the top of your list by now, right?" Every time I asked, he'd change the subject. There was always something more important. I could never figure out what could possibly matter more than bonding with me. Until the night I accidentally drank wine laced with wolfsbane at a banquet. The pain was unbearable. Kael scooped me up and drove straight for the healing cottage. I was starting to feel safe. Then a message came in and he turned the car around. "Lysandra's wolf spirit lost control. She cut her own palm. I have to go." Lysandra was my close friend. She'd just awakened her wolf, and Kael had been personally training her to manage her power. I could feel my wolf spirit going dormant. I begged him to take me to the healer first. But he ran into Lysandra's quarters without looking back. That's when his phone, which had slipped off his lap and landed beside me, lit up. His priority list. Over two hundred entries about Lysandra. All matters concerning Lysandra: highest priority. Apply to the Elder Council for a new residence for her. Pay off Lysandra's debts. Commission a custom moonstone pendant for Lysandra. I scrolled to the very bottom. That's where I finally found my name. Tucked beneath everything else, in smaller text than the rest: Moon Vow ceremony. The thing I'd been waiting for my whole life was dead last on his list. With what little strength I had left, I lifted my finger and deleted that line from the screen. Like it had never been there. If the Moon Vow meant that little to him, then it didn't need to happen at all.

Before our fifth mating anniversary, I was just about to tell my mate that I was about to inherit the pack my Alpha father left behind, when I saw him embracing and kissing the she-wolf who once bullied me. "This game has been going on for five years. It's time to end it." "Watching her come and go like a dog whenever called is really boring. What a fool. A fake mating certificate was enough to fool her completely. Did she really think an orphan like her could marry into the Shadowmoon Pack and become Luna? If she hadn't looked decent back then, I wouldn't have bothered with this charade." I felt like I'd fallen into an ice cave, sobbing uncontrollably. So the salvation that pulled me out of the bullying abyss was nothing but his amusing joke from beginning to end. If that's the case, I don't want this false love anymore.

For four years, I was mated to Kieran Blackwood, Alpha of the Blackpine Pack. For nearly half of those nights, he slept at the lakeside villa instead of coming home to me. His older brother, Damon, had died in an accident, leaving behind Vivienne, Blackpine's former Luna. Kieran said looking after his brother's widow was part of the duty he had inherited along with the Alpha title. I believed him. So I put up with the empty chair beside mine at full-moon celebrations. I let him walk out in the middle of dinner whenever Vivienne called. I ignored the pack members who snickered behind my back and called me the substitute Luna. Then came the crash. Three vehicles collided on a rain-slick highway. I was trapped in the passenger seat with the twisted door crushing my side and the seat belt cutting across my thirty-week belly. Blood ran down the seat while I pounded on the cracked window and begged Kieran to save our baby. He reached my door first. Then Vivienne screamed from the back seat, and he let go. He carried her out even though she had only a shallow cut on her forehead. He pulled her against his chest and kept telling her, "Don't look, Viv. I've got you." Through a spiderweb of broken glass, I watched him leave in her ambulance. If my child and I would always come second in his life, then I was done waiting to be chosen. I was taking back my name, my future, and every part of myself I'd handed over to an Alpha who never deserved any of it.

The night I accidentally ended up in bed with my adoptive brother, Adrian, he had just broken his engagement to his childhood sweetheart, Ivy. Adrian was the Alpha of Blackwood Pack. Ivy was the late Beta's daughter, and the woman he had always intended to make his Luna. To protect my reputation and preserve his authority as Alpha, he was forced to complete a mate bond with me. Everyone said he treated me well. But every year on Ivy's birthday, he sat alone in his study until dawn. In the third year of our marriage, Ivy died of wolf-spirit failure. Only then did Adrian learn from the letter she left behind that she had seen us together that morning. The sight had haunted her for the rest of her life. He decided I had destroyed her. He severed our mate bond, drove me from the pack, and used his influence to close every road that might have kept me alive. Before I died, he sent me only four words. "You deserve to die." When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the night his wolf lost control. This time, I tore myself out of his arms, knocked on Ivy's door, and placed him in her hands myself. I smiled at the shock on his face. “Adrian, I won’t love you anymore.”