A River In Darkness

"In the presence of the Moon Goddess and all members of the Pack, I, Damian, Alpha of Silvermoon Pack, officially reject Seraphina as my mate!” On the day of my Mating Ceremony when I was twenty, my childhood Alpha and Fated Mate, Damian, brought back an unfamiliar female werewolf, Vivian. He claimed that on the Night of Souls, the silhouette of the Fated Soul he had seen was hers, not mine. “Vivian has told me everything. You gave me a Hallucination Potion to make me believe my Fated Mate was you. Now, it’s time to correct that mistake!” The moment the words left his mouth, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. Pain ripped through my whole body. Our Mate Bond splintered, inch by inch. I dropped to my knees, blood trickling from the corner of my lips as I clutched my chest. My other childhood friend and also the pack’s Beta, Ethan, just watched coldly. “There was never a Mate Bond between you and Damian. Enough with your pitiful act! The more you do this, the more we’ll despise you.” The mate I loved most, and the friend I trusted the most, teamed up to rub my nose in the dirt in front of everyone. Their words were like knives, gutting me open bit by bit. Staggering, I turned and fled from the pack. Once, it was a place that held all my happiness. Now, there was only coldness and betrayal. None of them cared, convinced I was just throwing a tantrum and would come crawling back sooner or later. It wasn’t until weeks later that they learned I had begun the Healer’s closed-door training. All ties must be severed, and complete solitude was required. I wasn't allowed to return for ten years. That was the moment they finally fell apart.

Jace Thorne—my childhood crush—crashed a car with me. I walked away fine. He "lost his memory." Plot twist: my dead grandma's soul moved in. "Jace is faking amnesia again to mess with my sweet granddaughter. If I were alive, I'd break his legs myself!" I blinked. Hard. Grandma's voice wouldn't shut up. "In her past life, Demi was miserable. Jace left her to rot while he partied with that Stafford girl. Had a heart attack, and he was lighting birthday candles. Trash!" Then came the kicker: "Your grandpa's letting you pick your fiancé. Don't even think about Jace. Pick Leroy. That boy's actually decent." Right on cue, Grandpa strolled into the hospital with the elder squad, slapped down pics of four legacy heirs, and told me to choose. I didn't even blink. Picked Leroy Leighton—my childhood nemesis turned fiancé. Because yeah, I'm a grandma's girl to the core. If she said Jace Thorne didn't love me, then I was so done.

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.

After the doctor confirmed her pregnancy, the first thing Eliza Lockett did was ask her lawyer to draft a divorce agreement. "Ms. Lockett, once both parties sign, the marriage will automatically dissolve after the 30-day cooling-off period." Eliza's expression did not change. "Can I sign his name for him?" The lawyer hesitated, then quickly shook his head. "No. He must appear in person." "He agrees to the divorce," she said evenly. "He's just busy with work and can't come. If you don't believe me, I'll call him now and let you hear it yourself." She took out her phone and dialed Alban Sidham. "Alban, there's something I need to talk to you about—" He cut her off before she could finish. His voice was cold and edged with impatience. "Didn't I tell you to handle your own affairs? I don't have time for your trivial matters."

My adopted sister, Rebecca Lawson, steals the gift I painstakingly prepared for the Don and presents it at a family gathering. Everyone in the room is stunned. So, my parents turned what was supposed to be my engagement party into a celebration banquet for Rebecca. They sit together and raise their champagne glasses to toast her, while I collapse alone in the bathroom, hitting my head and bleeding out. After regaining some consciousness, I use all my strength to call them for help, but only the mafia's consigliere and my fiance—Yves Gilbert—answers my calls. "Tessa, why didn't you come to Rebecca's celebration? She felt hurt by your absence! I know you've always been jealous that she could easily gain everyone's affection, but it's what she deserves. "Quickly come over and apologize to Rebecca. Don't disappoint us any further." Yves hangs up the phone after saying that. I stare at the darkened phone screen with an unsightly smile. They don't know that the gift I have prepared for the Don is still a half-finished product and needs to be repaired. However, I don't have the time to tell them. Because I am about to die of illness.

The year my boyfriend lost his sight in a car accident, I silently disappeared. Later, when he regained his sight, he used every means to find me and forced me to stay by his side. Everyone said I was his true love, unwilling to let go even though I abandoned him. Until one day, he appeared in front of me with his fiancée, and he asked, "Mia Frank, does the taste of betrayal feel good?" I shook my head with a faint smile, it didn't matter, even if it hurt, it wouldn't hurt for long, because I was about to forget him.

To save Hugh, I took the hit—literally. The kidnappers beat me so bad I ended up with a brain hemorrhage. My mind? Stuck at thirteen. Hugh, all guilt and promises, said, "Wenna, I'll protect you forever." And he did. He watched over me. When the house caught fire, he threw himself over me, took the burns, didn't flinch. Then came his oh-so-perfect foster sister. "Mia's not into... slow people. Maybe you should live next door," he said. And my son? The one I nearly died bringing into the world? "Stupid woman! You embarrass me and Dad. You're nothing like Aunt Mia—she's smart and pretty. If it weren't for you, she could've been my mom. You should just die!" To play hero for Mia, my son shoved me into the street. A truck did the rest. When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day Hugh proposed. This time? I wasn't here for his pity. And I sure as hell wasn't marrying him.

I somehow became the "dream girl" of a cold, dangerous villain straight outta a novel. Well—technically, it was my mini burritos that did the damage. Hot, cheap, and hit like a hug. The year his whole world crashed, Rory Roth showed up scrawny and wrecked, clutching three crumpled bucks. "Can I get one mini burrito?" I stood there with a spatula in hand, staring at the kid who'd one day become some criminal mastermind genius. But right now? No threat, no swagger—just a shivering kid with wary eyes. "I'm not tryna scam you. If it's not enough, I'll wash dishes, mop floors, help with customers—whatever. Once I make up the rest, c-could you make me a mini burrito then?" That's when it hit me. This so-called villain... was just a starving, beat-down kid.

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.

When Jayden Stolt, the Alpha King, is done inspecting the Greyridge pack, he leaves right away. After that, he commands his guards to deliver the Luna Crown and a wedding dress over to the pack. The guard claims that the Alpha King has smelled the scent belonging to his fated mate, and asks us to offer the she-wolf who's meant to become his mate. In the first time loop, Father has delivered Jenna Thornton, my exquisite and gorgeous older sister, to the Alpha King. When Jayden sniffs her scent, he crushes her skull instantly. "You're completely covered in shitty perfume, yet you think you get to become the Luna?" In the second time loop, Father chooses to deliver Malia Thornton, my younger stepsister, who's been foretold to be able to give birth to the strongest pups. Jayden wastes no time in slashing her guts out. "The scent isn't right!" In the third time loop, Father, who has no choice left, can only convince my stepmother, Vanessa Plink, to doll up and meet the Alpha King. Jayden instantly rips Vanessa to shreds. In the time loops after that, the female warriors, the female Omegas, and even the mute she-wolf who's in charge of caring for the horses are delivered to the Alpha King one by one. All of them end up getting slain by Jayden. In the 100th time loop, there aren't any adult she-wolves left in the pack. Only then does Father remember me, a she-wolf without a wolf spirit. "You're the only one left… This must be the correct she-wolf!" Relieved, Father delivers me to the Alpha King. But when Jayden sees me, rage instantly fills his gaze. He crushes all of my bones in my body before throwing my corpse into the woods for the beasts to feed on. "You'd rather die than give my fated mate to me?" In the final timeloop, when the Alpha King's guard shows up with the Luna Crown and the wedding dress once again, Father finally breaks down. He swears to the guard that there aren't any suitable she-wolves remaining in the pack anymore. But the guard just stares Father in the eye. "The Alpha King has already made it clear that his fated mate definitely resides within the Greyridge pack."