Elders Artinya

[WARNING STRONG MATURED CONTENTS] Beside me, I sensed his movement as he turned towards me, his eyes searching for mine. I purposely avoided meeting his gaze, instead focusing on calming my racing breath. But try as I might, my breath still trembled, betraying my inner turmoil. Despite my rapid blinking, a single tear escaped, making its way down my cheek. I heard the covers rustle as he shifted closer to me. His finger gently brushed against my face, capturing the tear. "I'm sorry, Hailey," his voice resonated in the dimly lit room, both deep and gentle. His touch was followed by a soft stroke through my brunette hair and a tender kiss on the crook of my neck. "I know this isn't what you wanted," he murmured, regret evident in his voice. "It doesn't matter," I replied quietly, my gaze still fixed on the ceiling. His apology felt like a stab to the heart, but I couldn't hold him responsible. Our circumstances were far beyond our control.Swallowing hard, I tried to push down the ache in my chest. "It was unavoidable, it isn't your fault," I muttered, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his dark, tousled hair. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I allowed my cheek to rest against his strong chest, finding some solace in his comforting presence. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat brought a sliver of comfort to my shattered emotions. "I wish I could have given you more time to get to know me before all of this," he confessed, a touch of bitterness seeping into his words. "But those old Elders insisted on sealing our union immediately."

In the fifth year of my mating to Alpha Tom, his childhood sweetheart, Becky Bell, was splashed across every tabloid in the territory. Pregnant. Unmated. And accused of shattering another couple’s bond. The rumors hit like a rogue’s ambush. But it was his reaction that truly gutted me. “Becky’s father once saved me, she has no pack, no family left. Everything she’s accomplished… she clawed her way to it. Alone.” My fingers clenched tighter around the pregnancy test tucked away in my purse. “And the only way to protect her now,” he continued, not even looking me in the eye, “is for me to marry her. To claim the pup as mine.” “And what about me?” I asked, barely more than a whisper. My voice cracked. The Sunfire Pack and the Golden Fang Pack—my pack—had been allies for over a century. “How do I explain this sudScott rejection to my parents? To my pack? To the elders? They know we're mate bond.” Alpha Tom inhaled sharply. “Just tell them it was always a business arrangement. That there was no real love between us.” My wolf bared her teeth at that. He had the audacity to look away. “Once the media frenzy dies down, I’ll come for you. I’ll bring you back to Sunfire Pack and give you the grand wedding you deserve.” I stared at him. This Alpha—was seriously telling me he was going to marry another she-wolf, claim her pup, let me get torn apart by pack gossip and speculation, and then what? he's offering me his marriage like it’s some kind of charity? My fingers twitched, aching to throw the pregnancy test at him. But I didn’t. I laughed. For three years, I had been the one he discarded—over and over. And now, even my marriage was to be sacrificed for her sake. It hit me then, sharp and cold: It's time for me to leave him

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.

You think you've had a bad day? My name is Braddock Westfield, Billionaire Alpha (head werewolf) of the Crescent Moon pack I've searched for my fated mate for 22 years and finally conceded to the elders to choose a Luna to produce an heir. The night before our union my pack was attacked by rogues (werewolves with no pack, no morals, mostly criminals), we suffered no losses except my Gamma (Lead Warrior), who now we need to pick up 100 miles away in a small human town at a Diner. I receive a call as I pull into the parking lot, that my chosen mate has been kidnapped by rogues on her way to my pack. Pissed off, I enter the Diner, an intoxicating scent hits me and my wolf howls in my head "MATE" (22years of searching and on my Union Day, you find her). Two men crash threw the door inside the diner, yelling "Charlie get your ass out here now, we're not done with it yet." The old woman behind the counter grabs a shotgun and makes them leave. A waitress comes out bringing food and that intoxicating scent, my heart clenches when our eyes lock and our mate bond snaps tethering our hearts together, as I look at her broken nose, bruised face, split lip, swollen green glistening eyes. I need to get her to leave with us, promising to keep her safe, revealing I'm a psychiatrist with facilities, to help her rebuild her self-esteem and build her confidence to help her, move past her obvious trauma. Explaining she's a werewolf and I'm her fated mate and at least 20+ years older than her, that may be more challenging. Let's not forget, I now need to find my kidnapped chosen that I need to reject. All this before 9am.

I have been bound to Ryan Hardin for nine years. He is pureblood, the Alpha of Silverfang Pack. And I… I was chosen as nothing more than a “temporary Luna,” a political pawn to steady the pack’s power. In those nine years, he betrayed me countless times. The first time, on my birthday, he announced that the celebration belonged to another she-wolf he had just met. The second time, I brewed medicine for his injuries, only to be accused by the Elders of bewitching the Alpha. He didn’t defend me—instead, he ordered me to be whipped in front of the entire pack. The third time, I was three months pregnant. He stood there, watching as his childhood sweetheart pushed me down the stone steps. I lost our pup that day. Nine years. Three thousand two hundred nights. I endured his indifference, his humiliation, his contempt. Last night, at the Silverfang Pack’s full-moon feast, he openly entwined his hand with a young Omega’s while I sat abandoned at the far end of the Alpha’s table. Every gaze cut into me—wolves whispering, mocking, savoring the spectacle. It was his 200th betrayal. When the feast ended, Ryan didn’t even look at me. His words were sharper than fangs: “Don’t forget, your Luna title is only temporary.” At dawn, he descended the Alpha’s staircase, his voice cold and commanding as if I were a servant: “Prepare the council’s tea. Now.” I met his gaze without flinching, my voice steady, stripped of all submission. “I’m sorry, Alpha. That is no longer my duty.” He seems to forget—we were never bound by a mark. Ours was an agreement, nothing more. And today marks the third-to-last day before that agreement ends. I gathered the Luna emblem, the wedding ring, and our only wedding photo—and burned them all. In three days, I’ll leave this pack. I will return to the secluded Herbal Academy, reclaim my research. And this time, when I walk away, I will never return.

Around the seventh month of my pregnancy, I overheard a conversation between my mate, Zane Andrews, and Ciara Phillips, the she-wolf I had taken in out of compassion after her family was brutally slaughtered by rogues. In a sultry, flirtatious tone, Ciara purred, “Zane, my love, if your wife discovers that the fertilized egg I planted in her womb isn’t truly hers by blood, she’ll be devastated—perhaps to the point of despairing suicide, don’t you think?” Zane snorted, his voice dripping with disdain at the mention of me. “It’ll work for us if she simply dies from heartbreak. Damn it. I can’t shake the worry that she might sever our bond and leave me with nothing. Let’s keep this under wraps until our child inherits all her assets. Only then will we reveal the bombshell, plunging her into darkness.” Ciara giggled, praising Zane for his cunning. My claws itched to lash out, but I held back, knowing the time for confrontation wasn’t yet. My heart sank as their betrayal cut deep. Years ago, I had defied my pack elders’ warnings about Ciara being a potential threat, taking her in and grooming her into our pack's doctor, funding her education out of sheer empathy. Now, I regretted every moment of my kindness. To think that my mate, who had once begged for my protection for his fragile pack, had the audacity to betray me. If not for my support, his pathetic pack would have crumbled long ago, leaving him nursing his wounds in a dark corner, fretting over survival. After a long moment of contemplation, I made my decision. I would feign ignorance to their schemes and play along by giving birth to Ciara’s baby. Two decades passed. Ciara’s child grew up, bearing the name Simon Andrews. Aware of their treachery, I still transferred all my assets to him. Once the paperwork was completed, Ciara boldly approached me in front of the entire pack, a maternity DNA test in hand. With a smug smile, she declared, “Leia Holland, look at this! I am Simon’s biological mother. Leave h