Shirley Jackson

On the night of our mating ceremony, my Alpha, Damian, and I were ambushed by a rival pack. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the past, before we had marked each other. In my previous life, we were true mates, chosen by the moon goddess, and had been together for seven years. I sacrificed everything to help him become the most powerful Alpha, yet he refused to even give me a pup. Only later did I learn that Damian's heart had always belonged to another—Aria, a she-wolf from a powerful bloodline. Reborn, I decided to let him chase his ambition. I severed our mate bond with my own hands and chose a completely different path. Seven years later, he became the most powerful Alpha in the alliance. At the annual summit, he and his beloved Aria announced their mating. When he saw me standing alone, he sneered. "Selene, I know you're still in love with me. You've loved me across two lifetimes. I'm the most exceptional Alpha you'll ever know." "But you need to stop destroying yourself over me." I ignored him, pulling my son into my arms. Damian's eyes flared crimson, his wolf's control slipping. "You told me you would only ever bear my pups!"

After my sister's death, I signed a five-year contract marriage with her mafia husband, Horton Falcone. I became the stepmother to my five-year-old nephew, Luca. On my birthday, I wore my late sister's diamond cross necklace, not realizing what it was. At the family dinner, Luca walked up to me with a glass of red wine and threw the wine in my face. The red wine dripped down my cheeks, its sharp scent stinging my eyes and staining my white dress. He tilted his head back to look up at me, his eyes as cold and cruel as his father's. "Don't think you can replace my mom just because you married into the Falcone family," he said with a malicious grin. "You're the reason she's dead." "I wish you were the one who died. Then I could smash your gravestone instead of celebrating this stupid birthday." "I swear, when I grow up, the first thing I'll do is dump you in the Hudson River myself!" The memory stung as sharply as the wine, and all I could taste was despair. I stared at the child I had spent five years raising as my own, a sharp pain pulsing in my chest. I had thought I could devote myself to the Falcone family, that I could win him over with my love. But now, I was just so tired of it all. It was a family with no love, a child who saw me as his mortal enemy. I stopped deluding myself. It was time to let go. But after I left, that arrogant father and son came crawling back to me like whipped dogs, begging for my forgiveness.

I was once the cherished princess of the Silver Moon Pack, adored by all. Back then, I fell for Kael, one of the pack's rogues. But when I grew bored of our little fling, I cast him aside without a second thought. Years later, my pack was destroyed and my parents were killed. Kael, however, had risen to become the Alpha of a powerful new pack. He claimed me, forcing me to become his Luna. Everyone said I was lucky, but they didn't know the truth. They didn't know that he brought different she-wolves back to our territory every night. And through our mate bond, every moment of their intimacy seared my soul like a blazing fire. I never cried, never protested, simply enduring it all in silence. But my silence only made Kael more volatile. This time, he went a step further. He got his Beta, Chole, pregnant. Still, I remained calm. Enraged, Kael slammed me against a rough stone wall. "Elara, do you love me or not?" I had thought his outbursts were a twisted sign of his love, that he was waiting for me to break. But then, Chole and I went into labor at the same time. I begged him to take me to the pack hospital first, and wanted to tell him that I had no choice when I rejected him back then. He pulled me into a tight embrace, only to shove me away moments later. "See? I knew you would break." "Drop the act. Do you really think you're still that high and mighty princess?" He ignored my pleas, ignored the life of his own pup inside me. He swept Chole into his arms and left without a backward glance. His cold voice echoed through our mind-link. "Don't worry, I'm not abandoning you." "You deserve to feel a fraction of the pain I felt when you cast me aside. Savor it."

When I was three months pregnant, Stella Falcone, the principessa of an allied family, was also carrying another man's child. To preserve the alliance, my Mafia lover, Matteo Gallo, had to marry her. "Stella is Don Falcone's only daughter. In our world, alliances are worth more than sentiment." "Ava will understand." What Matteo forgot was that I had no one but him, and that the child I carried was the true Gallo heir. Later, as everyone mocked my unborn child, calling him a bastard who would taint the bloodline, Matteo stood by with his new bride and did nothing. That was when I learned that in this world of blood and secrets, love was the most worthless currency of all.

Fui la compañera secreta de Kade, el Alfa de la manada durante cuatro años. La noche que me llamó, en un arrebato de pasión, me miró fijamente a los ojos durante mucho, mucho tiempo. Su voz sonaba ronca. —¿Sabes, Anya? Lo que más me fascina de ti son tus ojos preciosos. Para proteger su derecho al título de Alfa, acepté quedarme a su lado, haciéndome pasar por una guerrera Beta. Hasta que, radiante de orgullo, lo vi abrazar a mi media hermana por la cintura frente a todos. Solo cuando los rumores crecieron y todos empezaron a decir que la hermosa loba que el Alfa había llevado a casa tenía mis mismos ojos, comprendí la devastadora verdad. Nunca me amó a mí en realidad. Encaré a Kade y le exigí una explicación. Su expresión era de desprecio. —¿Que te dé una explicación? ¿Pues qué te imaginabas? Solo fue una marca temporal, nada más. Para mí, nunca has sido más que una amiga. No lloré. No hice una escena. Abrí un enlace mental con mi amigo de la infancia. —Acepto la invitación para convertirme en la jefa guerrera de la manada Silver Crest. Más tarde, cuando Kade descubrió que yo había captado la atención de su mayor rival, enloqueció.

The moment the acid hit my skin, I heard my own flesh sizzle. In the last moments before my consciousness faded, my trembling fingers managed to dial my brother, the new Don of the Steele family. To my relief, Farrow finally answered. The sounds of expensive jazz and clinking glasses bled through the receiver. His voice was cold as ice. "What is it this time, Grace?" "Farrow... help me..." He cut me off before I could finish. "Listen, Betty's book launch is tomorrow night. If you dare cause a scene or embarrass the Family, I'll disown you. I'll ship you off to a convent in Sicily." The line went dead. A moment later, a second splash of acid hit my face, and the searing agony consumed me. My eyes were gone, leaving nothing but hollow, bloody sockets. You don't need to exile me, Farrow. I'm already gone. Forever.

I have been dead for seven years. For seven years, a rare plague had ravaged the Silver Moon Kingdom. The new Luna, Lilith, wasn't immune either. She coughed up blood daily, her old wounds weeping anew with every full moon. Even in death, to the wolf packs, I was still the jinx. The false Luna who had beguiled the Alpha King. The cursed one destined to bring ruin to the kingdom. The entire kingdom begged Alpha King Kaelan to banish my vengeful spirit. My former mate was in the royal palace, softly consoling his current Luna, my sister. "Lilith, don't be afraid. If she insists on tormenting you with her curse even after death, then I will tear her inner wolf to shreds. You'll never be threatened by her again." But when they set foot in the Rogue Lands where I had been exiled, they found no wandering spirit of mine. Before them knelt the corpses of dozens of she-wolves, arranged neatly before my crude grave. They had all been exiled as "sinners", yet now, in death, they offered their final act of devotion. There was no trace of any spirit. There was only a small girl, about six years old, sitting beside the tombstone and clutching a photograph of me from when I was alive. Her ice-blue eyes were a perfect reflection of Kaelan's. "You're too late," she said. "Her inner wolf returned to the Moon Goddess long ago." "I've only been waiting here to get justice for my mother."

My Mafia husband, Alessio, was sleeping with his stepsister, Sophia. In the car, the study, the bathroom, even on the dining table, they left evidence of their affair everywhere. "Sophia, don't worry. Once I solidify my position in the family, I'll give you everything." "Blair… she's just a tool to secure my position." In our eight years of marriage, he had whispered the sweetest words in the world to me. Now, his devotion was worthless. I didn't cry or cause a scene. Instead, I made a deal on the black market. In two weeks, Blair Greco would disappear from this world for good.

On the night of the Benedetto family's Harvest Festival, my Mafia husband, Salvatore, told me to bring our son, Giuseppe, to the family gathering. He said his madre had finally accepted us into the Benedetto bloodline. I was trembling with excitement in our little cottage as I dressed Giuseppe in his finest little suit. He had carved a single wooden rose by hand, a project he'd saved for over five years. He said he would present it to his grandmother at the celebration, a plea for her to accept our place in the family. But the moment we stepped into the stone manor, I saw Carmela. Salvatore had her pinned against an oak barrel in a deep, searing kiss. In the moonlight, her hand was undoing his tie. In front of everyone, Salvatore smiled and gently pushed her away. He walked toward the family members gathered in a semicircle and raised a crystal glass. "Tonight, in addition to celebrating the harvest, I have an important announcement." "I would like to introduce you all to the woman I have married in the eyes of God and the Church." "Miss Carmela Torrino." Before I could even process his words, Giuseppe tore his hand from mine and rushed forward. "Papa, what are you saying?" "Isn't my mother your wife?"

C'est la quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième fois que mon compagnon Alpha a bloqué notre lien mental, j'étais en phase terminale de Dépérissement Spirituel de la Louve. J'ai traîné mon corps brisé jusqu'au Hall du Conseil. Les marches de marbre froid m'ont râpé la plante des pieds, et à chaque pas une douleur déchirante a labouré ma poitrine. « Je viens déposer une demande de quitter la meute. » Le conseiller a examiné ma silhouette pâle et maigre avec un regard compatissant et a demandé doucement : « En êtes-vous certaine, Mademoiselle ? Vous renonceriez à la protection de la meute. » Depuis l'enfance, ma louve a toujours été instable, me rendant fragile. Depuis que mon père a ramené ma sœur adoptive, Lydia, quand j'avais dix ans, mes parents m'ont traitée comme une honte pour la famille. Bien que j'aie été sa compagne marquée pendant des années, Collin ne m'a jamais promise une cérémonie de Luna. Il m'a rarement conduite aux rassemblements de la meute. Par conséquent, presque personne dans la meute n'a su qui j'étais. « Peu importe, » ai-je dit, ma voix calme malgré l'effort. « Je serai morte dans trois jours. »