Margot A Novel

The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the air as the full moon created long shadows across the Ancient Clearing. Tonight, was supposed to be our marking ceremony, a sacred ritual binding Alpha Anderson and his chosen Luna before the eyes of the Frostmoon Pack. “My heart,” his gaze locked on Leah, who stood under the moonlight “has always belonged to another. My first love, the one whose spirit has been weakened by the venom of wolfsbane, is my Luna.” He drew Leah closer, his hand possessively circling her waist. Under the watchful gaze of the moon, he smiled. “Our traditions are clear,” he continued, “Only the woman who stands with me at this altar, witnessed by all, shall be my Luna. Though I had always thought that Irene was my mate which I mistakenly marked a time ago. But thanks to the goddess for making me see clearly before it was too late.” They exchanged vows beneath the trees, witnessed by the werewolves and the Moon Goddess. The silver crowns were placed, the ceremonial kiss sealed their bond. I stood hidden in the shadows of the surrounding forest. For twelve years, from the moment my wolf recognized his at eighteen until my thirtieth moon cycle, my love for Anderson had never changed. But his heart, it was clear, belonged to Leah. If that was the truth, then I would release him. He had never truly seen me, never truly cared. Yet, the act of my departure seemed to unravel him in ways I couldn’t understand.

My mate, Ethan Rickman, is an Omega without a wolf. No official position is willing to hire him. That means we live in poverty, but I've always believed that our love can overcome anything. Seven years after our mating, hunger drives me and our son, Theo Rickman, to dig through trash bins late at night, looking for food. Theo moves quickly and quietly. He's become skilled at it. With a cheerful grin, he whispers to me, "Mom, this bin belongs to an award-winning restaurant! The food's fresh and tastes great. Let's bring some back for Dad!" The next day, I put on the cleanest clothes I own and head to that same restaurant, hoping to get hired as a janitor. If I get the job, maybe I can bring home leftovers before they're tossed out. But when I look up, I see Ethan stepping out of a luxury car worth millions. Behind him stands a woman and child, both dressed in designer clothes. I recognize her instantly. She's Mira Alstone, his childhood sweetheart. The restaurant owner gives me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ms. Everdeen. Alpha Ethan reserved the whole place for Mira today. I have to focus on serving them, so I don't have time for interviews. Maybe come back another day?" In that moment, Theo and I both freeze where we stand.

I'm eight months pregnant when my Alpha mate abandons me at a hunting ground. He leaves to welcome his ex-girlfriend, who's returned from her travels. From that day on, I disappear without a trace. Initially, my mate doesn't take this to heart. He's even in the mood to make a bet with his subordinates. "She'll be back in three days at most!" Ten days later, he freezes my credit cards and sends me a threatening text. "You can starve to death out there if you still refuse to come back!" A hundred days later, he barges into my best friend's home and forces her to hand me over. "Where have you hidden her? I admit defeat, okay? I've had enough of this hide-and-seek game!" My best friend sneers as she throws photos of my body, which has been pierced through by countless blades, at him. "Wake up, you fool! Your Luna is dead, and you're the one who led a team to dig her body up from the trap! Have you forgotten?"

I am the Lycan King's only daughter and the rightful heir to the werewolf crown. When I was seven, my father chose four of the strongest and most striking alpha heirs from the four great packs to be my potential mates. He poured endless resources into raising them, grooming them to one day help me manage the council. It was not long before they became the center of attention of the entire kingdom. Everyone called them ‘The Apex Four’. However, I always knew they were not really interested in me, but in what they could gain from me. Even the one I secretly loved, Thorne, started to drift away from me when he became interested in another woman. After my father was gravely injured, he asked me which of the four I wanted to mate with. I could only give him a bitter smile. Rather than choose, I opted to draw lots and let the Moon Goddess decide my fate. Fate chose the most infamous of them all: Lucian. On the day I announced my mate, the last thing I expected was Thorne to break down and beg me not to leave.

I'm lying here, my body burning from within as the wolfsbane spreads through my veins. Meanwhile, my Alpha mate, Ryan, is giving the antidote I discovered to his childhood sweetheart, Vivian. With what little strength remains, I beg him to spare just a portion of the cure—enough to keep me alive for a few more days while I search for another remedy. Ryan doesn't even glance my way. He snarls, "I can't believe you're faking illness when Vivian is fighting for her life! Control your jealousy before I lose all respect for you!" Under his command, I'm confined to my quarters to "contemplate my sins." In the end, the wolfsbane consumes me completely. When Ryan discovers what he's done, he digs my grave with his own hands, howling with regret that comes too late.

"Selene, your bloodline is too lowly. You don't deserve to be a Luna! You must let your Alpha mark his sister-in-law!" My mother-in-law despises me because I'm a lowly Omega. When my mate's brother dies in an accident, my mother-in-law wants me to allow my mate, Eugene Latham, to have pups with his sister-in-law, Kristy Unwin, because of her superior bloodline. Otherwise, Eugene will lose his right to become Alpha! Eugene wraps his arms around me tenderly and says, "You're the only one in my heart, but you need to understand that the pack can't go without an Alpha. I'll announce to everyone that you're my Luna once Kristy's pregnant and I become Alpha, okay?" I love him deeply, so I believe him. However, when Eugene goes from sleeping with Kristy once a month to sleeping with me once a month, I realize he's no longer a mate who belonged to me alone. When Kristy announces that she's pregnant and that she and Eugene are going to get married, I'm the only one who's kept in the dark. My heart shatters into pieces when I see the glimmering Luna's ring on her finger. If this is what Eugene wants, I'll fake my death and leave him. I won't ever return.

The end of the world was upon us, but there weren't enough spots for evacuation. The roars of the zombies echoed in my ears as my fiancé, Oliver, gritted his teeth and pulled me onto the rescue vehicle—securing the last available seat. I arrived safely at the survivor base. Lina, his first love, did not. The zombies tore her apart. Oliver still went through with our marriage, but I never expected that he had only done so to make me suffer. In his eyes, I was the one who had killed Lina. If she had to endure such agony, then I should, too. For five years, he hated me. My life was worse than that of a stray dog scavenging for food on the street. On the day my divorce was finalized, he kidnapped me, dragged me into the wilderness, and wrapped his fingers around my throat. Then, he threw us both into the swarm of the undead. When I opened my eyes again, I was somehow reborn on the day the apocalypse began. The rescue team was shouting impatiently, "One more! We have room for one more—hurry!" I turned to Oliver, watching his hesitation. Then, with a quiet smile, I took a step back and let someone else have the last seat.

Today is the day when my boyfriend Caleb agreed to mark me. I even took off my skirt, but he received a phone call before he could complete it. He instantly left me alone on the bed, making me feel extremely embarrassed. I tried everything to contact him, but I couldn't reach him. Then, when I finally called his childhood sweetheart, Susan, to my surprise, Caleb answered the phone. "Susan was scared by a nightmare. I have to stay with her to take care of her. Let's mark another day. And please can we talk later. Susan finally fell asleep again. I don't wanna disturb her rest.” "But this is the seventh time you have postponed marking," I said softly. "Marking can be done at any time, but Susan needs me! Don't you have any humanity, Maria?" He hung up, and I burst into tears. My inner wolf asked me, Caleb is gone, do you still need to mark today? I wiped away my tears and said, "Of course, I will do it.” And I immediately contacted the alpha of the neighboring tribe.

Alpha Jakob gave me the grandest bonding ceremony five years ago. I became the world's most envied woman. Five years later, I received a provocative voice message from Jakob's first love, Molly. "I just got back to the pack, and all I needed to do was to play coy with Jakob, and he came right over. Tonight, he originally prepared blue fireworks for me. I don't like blue, but I decided to give it to you since I never liked to waste. You can use it during your anniversary." The day during our fifth mate bond anniversary, I looked at the blue fireworks blooming in the night sky, quietly waiting in my seat as I faced the empty seat opposite me. Molly's provocation came again. A photo of her having a candlelight dinner with Jakob. I didn't cry, and simply submit the application to terminate my mate bond with Jakob to the pack's Elder Council. At this time, my personal assistant told me she saw someone had applied for a grand bonding ceremony. "Luna Cynthia, the bonding ceremony is prepared by Molly for herself and Alpha Jakob. It will take place seven days later. Do you wish to stop it?" "There's no need to. If this is what Jakob wants, I'll make their wish come true." Jakob was still promoting how deep his love for me was, saying that I was the woman he loved the most in his life. But he didn't know that seven days later, I would leave the pack and never return again. That night, he collapsed.

Quand j'étais paralysée au lit, empoisonnée par une dose massive d'aconit tue-loup, mon alpha a donné l'antidote que j'avais trouvé à son premier amour. Je l'ai supplié de me donner un peu, au moins de me laisser vivre trois jours de plus, je serais capable de trouver l'autre antidote. Mais mon alpha ne voulait rien entendre et il m'a grogné : « Julia est en train de mourir, et toi, tu fais encore semblant d'être malade ? Cesse d'être jalouse, ne me déçois plus ! » Sur ordre de l'alpha, j'ai été enfermée dans la chambre, mise à l'isolement. J'ai fini par mourir d'une attaque d'aconit tue-loup, mais l'alpha, qui a appris cette nouvelle, est devenu fou et a déterré ma tombe.