A Life Debt Repaid Novels & Stories

Weakness spreads if you let it. “The debt,” I mutter. Before Grande can answer, Lamar bursts back into the room. “You heard?” I nod once. “He owed us half a million,” Lamar growls. “Died before paying a cent.” I rub my temple. In my world, debt isn’t forgotten. It’s paid — in cash, loyalty, or blood. Anything less is disrespect. Brad walks in then, calm as ever. One glance at the file, and he knows what’s going on.

"Lanka, you’ve certainly grown some teeth since you left the Crest. Tell me, where does a disgraced omega plan to scrounge up 3 million gold?" To him, I was just a twenty-two-year-old with no career and no prospects. He knew about my "dodgy" part-time dance gigs, and he was convinced I was bluffing. He had set that impossible condition thinking I’d never meet it, never expecting I’d actually sign my name to the debt just to be rid of him. "That is none of your concern," I snapped, my voice trembling. "I signed the document. It’s a binding oath. I won't go back on it. Just sign it and we can both be done with this!"

"She's just eighteen!" "The debt must be paid," the former Alpha said coldly. He stood on his porch, looking down at us like we were insects. "You borrowed fifty thousand dollars, and promised to pay it back in three months. It's been more than six months now, yet I haven't received a dime from your family. Did you think that money came for free?" "We'll pay you back," my father begged. "Just give us more time to—" "You have nothing! You are nothing. But your daughter..." The Alpha's eyes raked over me, and I felt sick to my stomach again. "She can work off the debt. She is young and healthy. Ten years of service to the Alpha's family should cover it."

The room suddenly felt suffocating and I found it difficult to breathe. "Anna?" "Are you okay?" My mother asked nervously. "I'm fine," I managed to whisper. But I wasn't. The first debt Richard had paid was ten million dollars. That amount was already enormous. But this was ten times bigger. How had my father borrowed one hundred million dollars? Who would even lend him that much money? And why had nobody known? My mother pointed at another section. "Look at the repayment date." I looked. My heart sank further. The loan should have been paid back five years ago.

​The room went completely silent, because a Life Debt was an ancient law that no one, not even the council, could challenge, and it meant that my life was no longer my own; it was a piece of property owned by the Alpha until he decided the debt was paid in full. ​"You can't be serious, Kael, a Life Debt for a Moonshadow?" Aria whispered, her face going pale as she realized he had just used the only legal loophole that could stop them from executing me on the spot. ​"She would be dead in the woods if I hadn't carried her across the border, and she would have been torn apart by rogues today if I hadn't stepped in, so her life is a forfeit that belongs to the Shadowfang Alpha," Kael explained,

I ignored Mrs. Glaser. My eyes never left Lucy as I spoke. "Aren't you the one who's always talking about asset allocation and calculating returns? Fine. Then hear this. There's a kind of debt called reputation debt. Once you rack it up, you spend the rest of your life paying it back. "And now you've added a new crime on top of the old one. Lucy, do the math. How many years do you think you still get to live on the outside?"

I couldn’t wait to finally have the life I dreamed about. I pulled back, biting my lip as I stared at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed pink, eyes bright. I looked happy. Really happy. This was it. After all the debt stress, the family pressure, the late nights wondering if I was making the right choice — today was the day everything would finally fall into place. The debt… The sudden recall of my parent's debt made all the warmth in my chest fade. A bitter frown took over my face. My parents owed 50 million Euros to the Dynamic Company.

"Fi‌ne. I owe y‍ou my life​,⁠ Hazel.‍ Y‍ou gave up y‌our l​egs for mine.‌ I have spent fi‍ve‍ years trying t‍o repay something that‌ can't b⁠e⁠ repaid, and no matter what I do, it's never en​ough.​ So yes​. I am‌ tired. I am tired of a debt I can nev⁠er settle​.⁠" Michael made a small⁠, unco‍mfortable sound​ be‌hind h‌i‍m. Pene⁠lope'‍s eyes gle‌amed with something close to triump‍h.‍ And I​ felt the last five years collaps‌e into that single‌ sentenc‍e⁠, in​t‍o the word he had chosen above‌ every other wor‌d availab⁠le t‌o him. Not lov‍e. Not‍ fami‌l⁠y‌. Debt.

My fingers tightened around the card. After five years of working myself sick to pay off a debt he knew never existed, that was still the first thing he thought of me. “No,” I said. “I earned it.” He watched me for a moment longer before taking the card. “I’ll make the payment tomorrow.” Of course he would. There was no payment to make, no creditor waiting, no debt left by my dead family. There was only a number they had chosen to keep me suffering. Adrian set the card on the dresser and turned toward the hot plate. “What do you want for dinner?”

"Of course. How could you ever bear to cut ties with Jocelyn, someone you see as a walking ATM?" Seeing that I was still denying it, Mom's face turned frosty as she scolded me. "Debts must be repaid! It's only right and proper! Yara, where's your conscience? Stop agitating your sister. She's sacrificed far too much for you in this lifetime." Looking at my own mother's hypocritical expression, I no longer wanted to waste another second. I took out my ID card and handed it to the judge. "Please log into the Ministry of Education's student registry system and check. The truth will be revealed."