Alyssa Naeher Partner

After ten years of being mated, I discovered my aloof Alpha mate had been keeping a sunshine-like Omega lover. That Omega could bring warmth and light to everyone she meets. My Alpha mate, Dominic, who had spent his childhood in the doldrums, was easily attracted by that kind of pure warmth. That very night, I presented him with a mate bond severance agreement. Dominic sneered coldly as he tore up the agreement, throwing a psychiatric evaluation at me instead. "Sign this. Admit you have delusional disorder, and I'll send you to the best mental hospital to live out your days. I know all about your dirty little tricks. I won't give you any chance to hurt her." So, all these years… every little thing I’d done to protect him? To him, it was just despicable scheming. I refused to sign. Dominic had me bound and tortured with silver powder, watching coldly as I convulsed in agony. He even had our two five-year-old pups hung from the bow of massive ships about to collide. "Either sign, or watch them get crushed to pulp. Your call." I dropped to my knees on the deck, banging my head against the wood like a madwoman, begging him to let me sign. But it was too late—I watched helplessly as my pups' small bodies got torn apart by metal shrapnel. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I discovered he was keeping that girl. I decided never to love him again. But after I left him, Dominic suddenly went mad searching for me everywhere.

To help my "destitute" husband pay off his debts, I scavenged for scraps for five years. My son and I survived on expired canned food. That changed on my son's birthday. I saw him in a bespoke suit, spending millions to celebrate the birthday of the woman he truly loved. That was the moment I realized he was actually the most powerful billionaire on Wall Street. To please the love of his life, he let our child be injected with unknown drugs, leaving him on the brink of death. He even forced me to drain my own blood to save her son. Later, I became someone he could no longer reach. I linked arms with a man far more powerful than him and walked away. That once arrogant man ended up kneeling in the Arctic snow, clutching a photo I had burned, weeping like a stray dog.

My best friend Seraphine had not one drop of blood left in her body when they found her. Her skin was translucent. There were two dried trails of blood from the corners of her mouth, like she had wept herself empty long before the end. She left one note. One sentence: "Vera saw his face." From that day forward, I became the Covenant's greatest sinner. Because I knew who did it. But I said nothing. For ten years, I said nothing. Then Lucian came back. He was the one who had turned us, raised us, given us the only home we had ever known. He set the Soul Prism in front of me. "Tonight," he said, "you give me the killer." His eyes hadn't changed. That was the worst part. After ten years of exile, of stones and fire and nights that never got warmer, I looked at him and he was still exactly who he had always been to me. "Or you disappear from this world along with him." He didn't know. The reason I had chosen exile and starvation and a Blood Oath that had been eating my soul core alive for a decade — was him. All of it, always, had been for him.

"Luna, are you really going to renounce your Shadow Pack membership? Once your status is revoked, your mate bond with the Alpha will automatically be severed. Are you absolutely certain?" My eyes gradually grew firm with resolve. "Yes. I'm certain." The Alpha Council staff member across from me couldn't hide their shock. Everyone in the pack knew how deeply the Alpha loved his Luna. "Alright, the renunciation has been registered. It will take effect in ten days." I nodded and turned away, dialing a number I hadn't called in five years. "Tell Thunder pack Alpha, I'm coming home in ten days to inherit Winters Pack."

I was preparing a gift for our six-year anniversary when my best friend sent me a photo of my Alpha boyfriend kissing another she-wolf. "Wait, when did you get to Chicago?" The she-wolf in the picture looked a lot like me, but it wasn't me. That's when I found out that my boyfriend of six years had been searching for replacements for his dead childhood sweetheart the whole time. I was number 5. The she-wolf in the photo was number 18. I rushed to Chicago and tracked down Lucas using his phone's location. "Dude, this number 18 really looks like Ally, even more than Sophia does!" "Nah man, Sophia still looks more like her. She's number 5 after all - if she didn't look so much like Ally, why would Lucas have stuck with her for six years?" Lucas flicked his cigarette ash, looking completely relaxed: "They both look pretty similar, but number 18's way better in bed. Sophia's too uptight." "I heard you had someone pick out a diamond ring. You planning to propose? To Sophia or this new chick?" Lucas leaned back into the couch with a cocky grin: "Haven't decided yet. Why don't you guys choose for me?" I turned around, my whole body shaking as a chill ran from my head to my toes. After calming down, I texted my best friend: "Your Alpha cousin, the one who had a crush on me and waited four years - is he still single?"

My Alpha brother's Omega assistant had always wanted to be Luna. She didn’t know my identity and she mistook me as a rival trying to steal her place. She framed me for theft and tortured me without mercy. As I lay dying, it was my old companion—Rex, the Siberian war dog who had fought beside my brother and earned the highest military honors—who sacrificed his life to protect me. She dragged me by my hair, smugly satisfied, and threw me before the crowd like refuse. In her hands, she flaunted her "gift" made from Rex's fur. She had no idea she was about to face the fury of the entire werewolf world.

Trois jours avant ma cérémonie de marquage, quelqu’un a incendié la boutique nuptiale alors que j'étais en train d’essayer ma robe. Alpha Marcus a jeté l'incendiaire en prison, le condamnant à la peine la plus sévère autorisée par nos lois. Allongée sur mon lit d’hôpital, le corps couvert de brûlures au troisième degré, je refusais d’ouvrir complètement les yeux, incapable d’accepter l’horreur de ma défiguration. Dans un état semi-conscient, j’ai entendu Marcus parler avec la guérisseuse de la meute. « Alpha, nous pouvons encore la guérir complètement avec la magie ancienne. Si nous attendons plus longtemps, Sarah gardera ces cicatrices à vie ! Vous voulez juste que Mademoiselle Rachel devienne votre Luna lors de la cérémonie. C'est d’une cruauté inqualifiable ! » « Laisse-lui ces cicatrices. Je prendrai soin d’elle jusqu’à la fin de ses jours, mais si elle guérit, elle viendra semer le trouble à la cérémonie. » « J’ai promis à Rachel que son enfant serait accueilli dans la meute avec tous les honneurs. Tant que Sarah sera complètement défigurée, elle sera assez reconnaissante pour élever l’enfant de Rachel comme le sien. Ces cicatrices sont nécessaires — au moins ainsi, elle n’osera jamais maltraiter le petit. » Dans un coin de la chambre, hors de leur regard, une larme a coulé sur ma joue brûlée. Alors, c’était ça, la vérité. La cérémonie dont j’avais tant rêvé n’était qu’un mensonge. Le lien d’âme que j’espérais tant était en réalité ma condamnation à mort. Si c’était ainsi, alors je lui donnerais exactement ce qu’il voulait.

My Alpha mate Cain's childhood sweetheart Vivienne had returned from her overseas training in healing. She'd made a bet with the other healers that she could use the deadly wolfsbane to cure patients. Every senior healer told her it was absolutely impossible. But she ignored the warnings and injected a massive dose of wolfsbane extract straight into my mother Iris's body. My mother fell into a deep coma after her wolf was killed. My brother Ethan, enraged at the Moonlight Gathering, demanded a Trial by Blood from Vivienne, demanding her life. But Cain had Ethan imprisoned in the Silver Prison before the gathering. I was trembling with rage, wanting to tell everyone the truth at the gathering. But Cain stopped me. “When you go up on stage, tell everyone that what happened to your mother was an accident.” I froze, tears streaming down my face. I was his mate, after all. A flicker of guilt crossed Cain's eyes as he gently wiped away my tears. “Don't cry, baby,” his voice was low and gentle. “Vivian and I grew up together. She saved my life when we were little. She's a good person. She would never intentionally use Wolfsbane to harm your mother. It was an accident.” “You just need to admit it wasn't Vivian's fault,” Cain said, “and I'll get the best healers to treat your mother.” He paused. “Ethan will be released immediately too.” I closed my eyes. “Okay…” Since Vivienne was so important to you, then I would grant your wish. I turned and staged my death, leaving with my mother and brother. But the powerful Alpha broke down, searching the world for me and begging me to come back.

The night of my first shift at eighteen, my two older brothers brought home a twelve-year-old orphaned Omega. My alpha brother seized the rare healing herb I'd spent all my savings on—herbs meant to ease my first transformation—and gave them to her instead. "You're strong enough," he growled. "You don't need such precious herbs." My beta brother snarled with fury, pointing toward the door. "Get out! Don't come back!" I said nothing more, just grabbed my packed bag and left. They assumed I was merely throwing a tantrum, that I'd return in a few days. My brothers, finally free of my presence, took the orphan girl on an international vacation to the Caribbean islands I'd always dreamed of visiting. Many days later, when they returned to the pack, they were shocked to discover I'd accepted an offer from the neighboring pack's Head Healer. The position required fifteen years of isolated herbal research. I could never return home. That night, they fell apart.

À la veille de notre cinquième anniversaire d'union, je m'apprêtais à lui annoncer mon héritage : la meute de mon père Alpha. C'était alors que je les ai surpris, lui et la louve qui jadis m'avait tant humiliée, échangeant un baiser passionné. « Cinq ans à jouer cette comédie, il est temps d'y mettre fin. » « La voir accourir comme un chien obéissant était si ennuyeux. Quelle idiote... Se laisser berner par un faux certificat d'union ! Croire qu'une orpheline pourrait devenir la Luna de la Meute de l'Ombre Lunaire ? Si elle n'avait pas eu un minois acceptable, je n'aurais même pas daigné jouer ce rôle. » Chaque mot m'a transpercée comme une lame de glace. Un tremblement incontrôlable m'a parcouru l'échine. Cette lumière dont je croyais avoir été sauvée des ténèbres du harcèlement... n'était qu'un leurre perfide, un mirage d'infidélité... Dans ce cas, je rejetterais sans regret cette comédie mensongère !