1945 Pulitzer Winning

My wolf went insane after I watched my parents take their own lives right before my eyes. My childhood protector, Alexander, had to hold me every night. The only thing that can soothe my wolf is Alexander's Alpha scent. Later, Sophie, the Beta he cherished, took her own life, leaping from a bridge into the sea. Everyone thought I had pushed Sophie into the sea, so that I could have Alexander all to myself. The warmth Alexander once had for me was gone, replaced by an endless, desolate disappointment. He kept whispering, "Why... did it have to be this way?" But when a vampire’s lethal curse came for me, he still drained his Alpha strength to take the fatal blow. As he lay dying, he used his last ounce of strength to wipe a tear from my cheek. "It was my fault… I spoiled you, Elena. I never should have… brought you into my pack." Alexander's parents, the former Alpha and Luna, called me a cursed Omega. They said I was a calamity, that I was the one who destroyed their proud, noble Alpha son. Consumed by regret, I went to the altar of the Moon Goddess and offered my soul. I begged for a second chance, even if it cost me my soul's eternal peace. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Alexander discovered my sick obsession with him—my desperate need to claim him as my mate. This time, I would crush every delusional fantasy. My only wish was for him to find his true mate and live a long, powerful, peaceful life. As for me… my life was a price I was willing to pay.

My Alpha, Sebastian Blackwood, has been cursed in battle. The Healers say he only has two weeks to live. Following the instructions of the witch, Annabelle Pearson, I sacrificed my wolf for an antidote to his curse. My wolf is ripped from me while I'm fully conscious. It feels as though my soul is being torn apart. The agony nearly makes me black out. Weak and bleeding, I stagger toward Sebastian's house, clutching the vial containing the antidote tightly in my hand. He needs it now. Then, I hear laughter and music drifting through the air. Sebastian's having a party. I crept toward the window. One of his pack mates claps him on the back and praises, "Great work, Alpha—you've truly played Zoreen like a fiddle! That dumbass still believes that you were cursed. Can you believe that?" Sebastian chuckles coldly, "This is just the beginning. If it weren't for Zoreen, Nina wouldn't have lost her voice. Zoreen deserves this!"

My Alpha mate, Dominic, rules the entire Stormfang Pack, but in our ten years together, he has never once given me a gift. Even our bonding tokens—a pair of rare healing crystals that cost me an entire year's savings—were taken by him without hesitation. He claimed that as Alpha he needed to appear frugal and understated, which is why he marked me in secret without hosting a proper mating ceremony. Because of this, most pack members don't even know I'm his mate. Yet when Sylvia, his childhood sweetheart, returned to Stormfang territory, he publicly announced their mating plans. He even dipped into the pack's long-term savings to throw her an extravagant celebration. When my mother was attacked by rogue wolves and left critically wounded, I begged Dominic to return my healing crystals—the only things that could save her life. Instead of helping, he denied knowing me in front of the entire pack and ordered his guards to drive me away with burning torches. Later, my mother died during the Blood Moon Festival. I lost my only family during what should have been our most sacred celebration. I renounced my Stormfang membership that same night and accepted the Northern Shadow Pack's Chief Healer position. While packing my belongings, Dominic returned from his honeymoon with Sylvia. He found me and assumed I was merely sulking. For the first time ever, he made a generous offer: "Come on, what could possibly happen to your mother? At worst, I'll give you that fancy mating ceremony you've always wanted. That should satisfy her desire to be an Alpha's mother-in-law." What he didn't realize was that from the moment my mother died, I had already sworn to the Moon Goddess that our mate bond would be broken forever.

"A hundred million. Take it, leave my son Eric, and never come back." Luna Anya stood at the entrance of Dark Moon Manor, looking down at me, her eyes cold and full of disgust. Before, I would've burst into tears, shaking, begging, "I'm not with him for the money!" But now, I just lowered my head and said quietly, "Okay." She froze for a second, then sneered, "You pathetic Omega. At least you know your place." Back in Eric's private villa, I asked Eric, "If I left, would you search for my scent? Would you look for me?" But he just laughed, pushed me away, and said, "Who do you think you are? Go if you want. I wouldn't waste my breath on you." So, I really did leave. But a rumor started spreading through the werewolf world. Eric, the future Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack, had gone mad. He was searching the world, desperate to find the scent of a lowly Omega. "I was wrong, Sera! Please, come back!"

In my previous life, my Alpha mate hated me for ten years because his childhood sweetheart committed suicide by taking silver poison after he marked me. I worked tirelessly to fulfill my duties as his Luna, enduring his indifference with patience. But all he ever did was sneer coldly at me. "How I wish it had been you who died instead." The words pierced my heart like silver claws. But when the rogue wolves invaded our territory, he still threw himself in front of me to take the killing blow. As he lay dying in my arms, he used what little strength remained to push away my hand that was trying to comfort him. "Sage," he whispered, "if only I had never met you in this lifetime..." At his funeral, the pack elders wept uncontrollably. "Alpha Kieran, this is all our fault. We never should have forced you to bond with your fated mate. If we had honored your wishes and let you bind with Elena instead, would today's outcome have been different?" Even the Alpha King, who had once supported our union, no longer stood by me. Nearly every pack member blamed me. "The Alpha saved you three times. He was such a good man. Why did you always bring him nothing but disaster? Why wasn't it you who died instead?" Everyone regretted that Kieran had bonded with me. Even I regretted it. Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, I ended my own life before the Moon Goddess's statue with the silver dagger Kieran had given me. But the Moon Goddess granted me another chance, sending me back to before Kieran and I were bonded. This time, I decided to fulfill Kieran's wishes, give up my status as his fated mate, and leave completely to make everyone happy.

My Alpha fiancé, Andre Ackhurst, and his brother, Easton Ackhurst, are identical twins. They have the same looks and scent—no one would be able to tell them apart if not for their starkly different personalities. After a savage pack war, Andre dies, and Easton lives. But when Easton takes over as Alpha, he insists on inheriting both lines of the family—he claims to want to care for me, his sister-in-law. When his girlfriend, Callie Wentworth, learns of this, she berates me for shamelessly seducing her boyfriend. That night, I head to my in-laws' room, wanting to ask them to talk Easton out of his ridiculous idea. However, I hear my mother-in-law say, "Andre, Easton is the one who died on the battlefield. Why did you impersonate him and say you're the one who died?" "Easton" sighs. "Callie is an Omega, and she's weak. Her body won't be able to take it when she learns Easton is the one who died. I have to love her for life on Easton's behalf. "Yes, it's unfair to Jane. However, I'm sure she'll stick it out because she's already carrying my pup. Besides, I'll secretly care for her. She's so kind and considerate—I'm sure she'll understand why I've done this." I'm in disbelief after hearing this. Finally, I understand that my fiancé didn't die. He merely pretended to be his brother so he could comfort another woman. During breakfast the following morning, I tell my in-laws my plan. "Thank you for helping me move past Andre's death. I've thought things through, and I've decided to abort the pup. I'm going to start afresh." As soon as the words are out of my mouth, "Easton" suddenly shatters the bowl he holds as he feeds Callie.

Chuck Bassett, heir to an Urbington East fortune in Nuvark City, has dated 42 girlfriends—all foreign, all in white dresses, every single one with a mole at the corner of her eyebrow. People joke about his obsession, saying he'll never get over his first love, Lylith Fowler. Then, Lorrie Scarrow shows up. She's sharp, short-haired, hates dresses, and her eyes are clear and bright. She's nothing like the women he's dated before. Chuck buys her a private island. When she mentions how much she loves the stars, he fills the sky above their estate with millions of drones, crafting a shimmering galaxy just for her. He even gets her initial tattooed beneath his collarbone. Everyone is amazed. Chuck has finally moved on from the past. Even Lorrie starts to believe it. Until she spots him in the red-light district, shelling out a fortune to book a hostess for a whole month. The woman has short hair and a button-down shirt. She looks just like Lorrie. Chuck's friends are floored. "Have you lost your mind? Lylith changed her look, and now you're after someone who looks even more like her? Remember how she dumped you for that wealthy foreign businessman when she thought you were broke? "She only came crawling back after she found out you're the heir to one of the Four Great Families. You've always said there's nothing you hate more than women like that!" Chuck knocks back the shot. "I hate her, and I love her. She pulled me out of a fire ten years ago. No one else can ever replace her in my heart." "And what about Lorrie? You proposed to her! She gave up a career at one of the world's top design firms for you. Aren't you worried she'll walk away when she finds out?" Chuck leans back on the couch, his expression cold. "I won't marry a traitor. Lorrie's pure, innocent—the closest thing to how Lylith used to be. So I'll still marry her. She loves me too much to walk away." Unseen in the shadows, Lorrie stands frozen, her heart plummeting. Turns out, she's just another her.

After twenty years of knowing and loving my destined mate, Alpha Martin, we were finally about to get married. On the eve of the wedding, He skillfully picked out the lipstick shade I wanted from my makeup bag. That's when I knew: Alpha Martin had someone else. That girl was wearing the custom evening gown I'd prepared for the wedding banquet, clinking glasses with Alpha Martin in a mate's toast. Our friends surrounded her, respectfully calling her "Luna." I didn't cause a scene. Instead, I called the hospital. "Dr. Fabian, please dispose of the eggs I had frozen." Then I sent a message to that girl. "Yvonne Jimenez, would you like to marry Martin Daniels in my place?"

My five-year marriage with Alexander was like a couture gown, ripped to shreds. "I want Victoria to show your collection for the New York Fashion Week spring preview." My husband Alexander's voice cut through the sketch I was working on. I stopped drawing. I must have heard him wrong. "What did you say?" "Victoria is new. She needs a platform. Your new spring collection is the perfect springboard for her." "You're a showstopper every year. What's the harm in giving her one shot?" he asked, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "Besides, the brand needs new blood." I stared at the man I'd spent five years with. Suddenly, his face looked sharp, unfamiliar. "Do you have any idea how many nights I've stayed up working on this collection? And you want to give it to some new assistant?" "Evelyn, don't be so petty. It's just a preview." His expression turned cold. "I've already decided." I clenched my fists, a thousand emotions churning inside me. Fine. If you're going to treat me like this, don't blame me for leaving you.

I was married to my husband for ten years, but our relationship had long been a façade. In front of his family, he acted like the perfect husband, keeping up appearances. Behind my back, he would have an affair with Mindy Benson, seeking excitement. One day, while I was working at the hospital, my husband brought Mindy here for a prenatal checkup. “The baby is already eight months along. Where is the father?” “Tyler, the doctor is asking for you.” Mindy clung to him, and the two looked like quite a pair. Our eyes met, and I managed a bitter smile. This time, I would no longer go along with the charade.