Belly Conklin Novels & Stories

On the day of the mating ceremony, a crazed witch bursts in and points straight at me, shrieking, "Six years later, your Alpha will betray you!" Troy Hudson, my soon-to-be mate, turns livid. He swats the purple-glowing crystal ball from her hand, shattering it on the floor. "Nonsense! Estelle is my fated mate! I'll only ever love her in this lifetime!" After that, he becomes even more devoted to me. At the Moon Goddess' altar, he drapes the Luna shawl over my shoulders. He marks me with his scent so the entire pack knows I belong to him. Every full moon, he deepens the mark on my neck, whispering that I am his forever. I believe his love is unbreakable until our sixth anniversary. A box waits at our front door. Inside lies a pair of lace panties and a photograph. In the photo, Troy is pressed over his foster sister, Rue Youngblood, the wolf tattoo on his body glowing faintly. His hand grips her waist, his eyes burning with the same heat I've dreamed of a million times. And Rue? She's wearing that same pair of panties. On the back of the photo, written in ink as red as blood, is a line of pure provocation. "The Alpha's heart may belong to you, but his body belongs to me." Agony ripped through my chest, yet not a single tear fell. Instead, I rest my hand on my belly and quietly send word to the Witch Association. "I accept your invitation. Please help me vanish."

Dying from wolfsbane, I came back six months into carrying his pup. I went straight to a witch, begged for a potion to slow down the pup's growth. Choked it down. Then every day, I padded my belly with rabbit fur and kept up the act. In my first life, Emily and I went into labor on the same day. She popped out a perfect silver-white pup. Me? A white wolf giving birth to some scrappy mutt. James—Alpha of Ebonfang Pack—looked me dead in the eye and swore I betrayed him. I begged him to test the pup's blood. He did. Results came back: father was from an enemy pack. He called me a traitor, said I slept with the enemy, cut the bond, and threw me out. Five years rogue gutted my wolf. Then he showed up again. Guilt all over his face. "Emily got played by a Darkclaw wolf. She's just an omega—she wouldn't have survived going rogue. I had to swap the pups. Didn't you get the supplies I sent? Whatever, it's over. I'll take care of you now." Emily shot me a look full of venom and passed me a teapot. Didn't even get a word out before the wolfsbane kicked in. I died choking, eyes wide, body frozen. But now? I'm back. I know everything. Let's see how they plan to win this time.

On our third wedding anniversary, I brought a gift to my husband’s office. Walking past the secretary's suite, I stopped dead. A king-size bed had been set up inside. A young woman in a designer dress was sprawled across it, a handheld game console in her hands, surrounded by imported snacks of every variety. "Kevin, the lunch you ordered yesterday was pre-packaged meals. Marcus and I both felt sick after eating it. Today, make sure it's from The Palace Hotel." Kevin -- my husband's personal assistant -- bowed and scraped before her, his face a mask of obsequious flattery. "Mrs. Thorne, please don't worry. Mr. Thorne made it very clear -- everything should be tailored to your preferences and the baby's. He knows you love the chef at The Palace Hotel, so he set up a standing VIP account for you. Anything you want, anytime." She was Mrs. Thorne? Then what exactly was I? My brow furrowed. I glanced down at the wedding ring I'd worn for years. The girl beamed, radiant. "For the baby's arrival, my husband is throwing a lavish yacht party. Every important person in New York is getting an invitation. I want the whole world to know that I'm the love of his life, and that our son will be blessed by the most powerful people before he's even born. The champagne and flowers must be the finest available -- no budget limit. Our child is going to have the best of everything from day one." I stared at the gentle swell of her belly and called my father. "Dad, that divorce agreement you drew up three years ago -- you can have the lawyers send it over now."

Closing the door shut, I exhaled lowly and turned around to make a dash into the room when my eyes met with a pair of raging fireballs glaring into my soul. How come he is here? I made sure to lock the door. “And you think that a wooden door is strong enough to prevent me from meeting my mate?” He answered my unsaid question, his tone strident and laced with pure rage making me cower back. But still, I mustered up courage and shot him a defiant look. “And I made it clear to you that I don’t accept you as my mate,” I spoke confidently while looking straight into his eyes. My breath hitched when I noticed his eyes darkening. He was clearly pissed by my protest but I stood my ground. Taking a deep breath I continued, “Listen, I can’t be with you nor with anyone. What happened that night was just a mistake and I never accepted you so stop harassing me and just leave-“ Before I could complete it, my neck was grabbed in a vice grip as I was pinned against the door. I quickly shielded my belly with my arms dreading he would hurt my children. But irrespective of my fear-stricken face, he leaned dangerously closer to my face and flashed me a diabolical smirk that dripped with menace. “I think I made it clear to you last night Ms. Evans. I had never asked for your consent in the first place so you… don't really have a choice. ‘Cause once you enter Xavier’s maze, there is no going back, Grace.”

I was born with a cursed tongue. The words I said came true. So as soon as I understood what that meant, I stopped speaking. For more than twenty years, I never said another word. Then my six-year-old son knocked his pregnant aunt over by accident, and my husband sent him to a kennel. My son had been bitten by a dog before. He was terrified of them. I begged. I went down on my knees and slammed my forehead against the floor until it was bleeding. Connor Grant lifted his sister-in-law Camille Lane up off the ground, ran a tender hand over her swollen belly, and his voice came out cold. "Don't think I can't see what's behind this. He did it because you put him up to it. You're a calculating little mute. He has your filthy blood in his veins. If we don't break him now, he grows up worthless." "Send him somewhere that knows how to teach a child his place. Teach him how things rank in this house. And teach you, while we're at it. Don't touch what isn't yours." By the time I found my son, he was in a cage with five vicious dogs. There was almost nothing left to hold. I pieced the small body back together. I opened my mouth for the first time in over twenty years, and the first words I had spoken in my life were: "Connor Grant. Blood for blood. I will see this house buried."

I was a broken human, surviving in Northern Wolf Kingdom. Once, I was attacked by the mortal enemy of the Northern Wolf Kingdom for generations—a pack composed of werewolves who believed in dark forces—and I almost died. It was Rhett, the half‑wolf scorned by all, who shifted and ripped through werewolves to save me. Blood-soaked, he cradled me as my breath faded and said, "Fiona, anyone who touches you dies." To keep a human at his side, he challenged the elders one by one, until he ruled the entire Northern Wolf Kingdom. He named me his fated mate, the only Luna Queen he would ever recognize. Then the former Alpha King's daughter appeared, her belly heavy with pup. Her gaze brimmed with provocation as she sneered, "Rhett said your human body is too weak to bear pups. For the survival of the Kingdom, he must claim me. I am the one true Luna Queen of the Wolf Kingdom." "A defective creature like you is fit only to be his pet, not to carry the Alpha King's heir." I laughed softly and drew a blade forged of pure silver, made to kill wolves. The edge pressed to her swollen belly. The silver scorched her skin, and she screamed. Through the mind-link, I spoke to Rhett: "Do you hear that? Your precious treasure is screaming. So tell me, are you going to protect the future of your Kingdom, or make sure the knife in your 'pet's' hand doesn't go any deeper?"

"All she wanted was a spark, a fire that would burn her skin. She craved passion, wildness, and insanity." Among all the reckless things she'd done, sleeping with a complete stranger might have been the craziest. Things would have been different if she wasn’t still haunted by thoughts of the man who, for one night, brought three-fourths of her fantasies to life. Coral had given up hope, knowing that in a city of over two million people, finding a man whose face and name she didn’t know was impossible. But then she met him again—on a blind date. Lucian Andersen, the son of one of her father’s closest friends. He was devastatingly handsome, a cold heartthrob, dangerous, and whenever he smirked, shivers danced down her spine. Her mind went blank, reeling from the shock that out of all the people in the world, it was him she had shared that wild night with in an unknown room. The date might have been ordinary, but then the man, with an ego larger than a football stadium, said something that left her breathless. “I want to marry you, Coral Shen.” The butterflies in her belly might have danced at his proposal, but they died instantly upon hearing his true intentions. He didn’t love her. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if he liked her. But she knew one thing: the marriage proposal was purely for business. Coral refused, but the twists of fate had other plans. Against all odds, she found herself asking him to be her fiancé.

I've been in a relationship with my older brother's best friend, Alpha Alexander Parker, for seven years. But there's a twist—this relationship is a secretive one. After having too much moonshine to drink one day, Alexander tells me drunkenly, "Willow, Stella is with pup now. If she doesn't have a mate, she'll get exiled out of the pack by the elders. Is it okay if I give her the Luna position for now?" In a calm and docile tone, I reply, "Okay." In my previous life, I didn't agree to Alexander's suggestion. I also insisted on holding the mating ceremony with him. Meanwhile, Stella Lockhart's belly continued to grow as weeks passed. In the end, she couldn't conceal it anymore. The enraged elders eventually cast her out of the pack. After Stella was gone, Alexander no longer came home, nor did he speak a word to me. I knew that he blamed me for everything. Some time later, I died from overwhelming guilt and depression. When I was about to close my eyes, I saw Alexander rushing into my room in alarm. Stella, who was supposed to be cast out of the pack, trailed behind him with a pup in her arms. That was when I finally realized that while Alexander was Stella's savior, he was never the most suitable mate for me. Now that I'm reborn, I don't turn his suggestion down. Instead, I decide to cut off all ties with him so that he and Stella can live happily ever after.

On the day of my marking ceremony, I don't receive flowers or a mate's embrace. Instead, I receive news that my boyfriend, Liam Hagerty, was caught in a snowstorm and his body was never found. I lose the man I love, and the pup in my belly loses its father. The grief nearly destroys me, but everyone keeps saying, "Aurora, stay strong—at least for the pup." On the day of the funeral, Liam's twin brother, Jasper Hagerty, returns from the border patrol with his mate. Every time I see Jasper's face—the exact same face as Liam's—my heart aches all over again. Then one night, I accidentally overhear a conversation between my mother-in-law—the old Luna—and Jasper. "Liam, you have to go through with this. Your brother died saving you, and your sister-in-law's been through so much. Let her give birth and have something to rely on. Then, you can host your marking ceremony with Aurora." Silence follows. Then "Jasper" speaks. "But what about Aurora? She's carrying my pup..." His mother sighs. "Aurora is strong and considerate. She'll understand." Jasper says in resignation, "Alright, Mom. I'll do as you say." That's when I realize Liam never died. The man I thought was my brother-in-law, Jasper, is just Liam putting on an act. Heartbroken beyond words, I call my older brother, Axel Maddox. "Axel, I want to come home. Liam is already dead, so there's no reason for me to stay here anymore."

"If you offend Alpha Carlen, Luna Irene might plead for you. But if you cross Luna Irene, there won't even be a scrap of you left." That's a widely circulated saying in the werewolf upper circles. I'm Irene Chandler. Because of one game, I've decided to dissolve the mate bond with Carlen Alvarado. During the game, he says drunkenly, "I love resting my head on the belly of an expecting she-wolf and listening to the pup's heartbeat." The room falls silent. Every werewolf turns to look at me. There's no surprise in their eyes. What I see is their pity for me, the rightful Luna, and a flicker of panic that their secret has been exposed. At that moment, I understood everything. They all know Carlen has a pup with another woman. They've been helping him hide it from me. That's because they know I'm Carlen's everything. I'll leave him if I ever find out. And if I leave, he'll lose his mind. I have to admit that they know me well. After learning the truth, I plan to do three things. First, I toss the wedding ring Carlen designed for me into the furnace. Second, I save the video of Lily Chalvez flaunting her pregnancy to provoke me onto a flash drive. Third, I submit documents to the Pack Affairs Department, applying to become a researcher on the isolated Icebound Island. The day I leave the pack happens to be our seventh wedding anniversary. I'll vanish from his life like a wisp of smoke.