Swap Family

The silver blade sliced across my throat, and I collapsed in a spreading pool of blood. I called Ethan ninety-nine times. My brother ignored every single call, but on the ninety-ninth try, he finally picked up. “What now?” Irritation dripped from every word. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble already? I’m in the middle of planning Lyra’s coming-of-age ceremony, and if you don’t show up, I’ll make you regret it.” “Ethan, please—help me—” My voice came out broken and ragged. He hung up. I tried reaching through our blood bond, desperate for him to feel something—anything at all—but he’d severed that connection two years ago. My phone battery was dying, and I watched the last bar flicker before the screen went black. I stopped struggling. The silver blade pierced my heart, and my wolf let out one final whimper before she died with me. Days later, the patrol found a body. The face was destroyed beyond recognition, torn apart and mangled. But Ethan still recognized the scar on the wrist—the one he’d sworn he would never forget.By then, it was too late.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

For as long as I can remember, my parents have been crying about how poor we are. In order to put food on the table, I dare not apply for a prestigious university even though I'm more than capable of doing so. Instead, I work several jobs per day just to pay the bills, hoping to lighten the financial burden on my parents' shoulders. What I didn't expect is that my parents actually bought my younger brother, Randall Carter, a 500,000-dollar Ferrari behind my back! It turns out that my so-called impoverished parents are actually millionaires! The reason why they keep in the dark about their wealth is so that I don't fight with Randall over the family wealth! But they've completely forgotten that if it wasn't for me, Randall would've drained their accounts dry a long time ago!

Eyang Reksa Jagad adalah pertapa yang memiliki kesaktian paripurna, seluruh kesaktian yang ia miliki digunakan untuk menumpas kejahatan yang ada di muka bumi, hingga pada titik akhirnya dia harus pergi meninggalkan dunia ini dengan cara muksa (Pelepasan Roh) di dalam Goa yang terletak disebuah lereng gunung. Perjuangannya menumpas kejahatan tidak lah berhenti meskipun dia telah mati. Karena sebelum pergi dia telah berpesan pada Biswara untuk menjaga jasadnya dari tangan-tangan jahat yang hendak memanfaatkannya sebagai sumber kesaktian. Dan tak ayal lagi perburuan mayat Eyang Reksa pun dimulai, dari kalangan pendekar aliran putih hingga aliran hitam dengan niat dan tujuan mereka masing-masing, lalu akan kah mayat sakti Eyang Reksa jatuh ke salah satunya? Dan bencana apa bila mayat sakti itu sampai jatuh ke tangan pendekar jahat? Ikutilah kisah selanjutnya hanya di Pendekar Mayat Bertuah.

My name is Lyra. For eighteen years, the Silvermane Pack was my home, but it was never my family. The night my only friend, Selene, chose to end her life—to Eclipse—was the night I decided to leave. She showed me that escape was possible, even if it meant walking away from everything I knew. The Alpha and Luna who raised me, and my so-called brothers, made it clear I didn't belong. Their love was always conditional, reserved for my "true-born" sister, Lillian, found just a year ago. On my forgotten birthday, I declared my own Eclipse. I am returning to my real family, the Blood-Claws. But leaving has a price. A primordial terror stirs in the darkness, threatening to devour everyone I leave behind. They think I'm running away. They have no idea what I'm really walking into, or what I must become to save them all.

The day of my wedding photoshoot, my family's adoptive daughter tugs my veil off and asks loudly, "Aren't you our family's adoptive daughter? What are you doing here? Today's the day Ian and I are supposed to have our wedding photoshoot. Aren't you going to disgrace Ford Group by being here?" In the past, I would've run away in tears. Unfortunately for her, I'd been reborn. I slapped Aspen Miller and retorted, "What right do you have to speak to me? Who do you think you are, having a wedding photoshoot with Adrian? Are you worthy of being associated with Ford Group?"

The day my mom was beaten up for being a mistress, I slammed the family crest into my dad’s face. I had been studying abroad, and on my return flight, I came across a video. The title read, [Richest Family’s Heirs Defend Their Mom and Beat Up Mistress.] In the video, my mother was wearing coarse linen clothes while my brothers surrounded her. They were punching and kicking her. They even tore her clothes and cussed her out as a shameless mistress. Her eyes were teary as she desperately tried to explain. However, she was only met with mocking laughter. A stranger in haute couture stood shielded behind them, and she sweetly said, “Alright, I know you’re doing this for me, but we don’t need to waste our time on ungrateful people.” The surrounding guests showered her with birthday wishes and praised her for her graciousness. “This is the grace befitting Mrs. Roth! Do some people really not own a mirror at home?” “A mistress dares to call herself Mrs. Roth? Doesn’t she know the entire Roth family was built on her assets? Which part of her looks like a lady?” Hearing them call her “Mrs. Roth,” I clenched my phone, and the screen reflected my icy expression. I had only been away from home for three years. How did I not know that I had acquired such a despicable “mother”?

I've sustained grievous wounds thanks to me stepping into a trap by accident. While I'm dying in the forest, my parents, older brother, as well as my fiance are busy preparing the afterparty for my older sister, Selene Sutton, who has put on an outstanding performance at the hunting rite. I use what's left of my energy to ask for help through the mind-link connecting me and the others. Yet, none of them bothers replying to me. Even Leon Lane, the next candidate set to inherit the Alpha position as well as the wolf who's betrothed to me, blocks out my pleas for help. A long, long time later, I finally hear Leon's message coming through the icy expanse of the mind palace. "Stop it with your tantrum, Ivy. Tonight is Selene's afterparty. We'll talk more once the party is over." As I stare at the moon in the sky, I lose the will to struggle to survive anymore. It turns out that my life isn't as important as one of Selene's afterparties. This is the 99th time everyone has abandoned me for Selene's sake. Well, this time, I don't want them in my life anymore.

When my stepbrother, William Carson, and I get caught up in an avalanche, the search and rescue team is quick to find us. But they only have one stretcher, meaning only one of us can get rescued first. My dad grabs my hand as he tells me, "Wilfred, William has a weak constitution. Please give the spot to him. You can wait for the team to come back for you." In my previous life, I believed my dad, so I gave the spot of survival away to William. But later on, the blizzard picked up again, which suspended the search and rescue team's efforts to save me. That was how I froze to death on the mountain. William ended up inheriting all of my assets. He also officially got together with my fiancee, Violet Hathaway, who was cheating on me with him the entire time. As my soul levitated over the funeral, I heard my dad telling the guests, "Wilfred has always been defiant since young. The fact that he traded his own life for William's is enough to make his death worthwhile." When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the moment my dad is holding my hand. This time, I just nod quietly with tears in my eyes. Once again, I watch as William is placed onto the stretcher. I'd like to see whose death is the worthwhile one.

My sister ate the half plate of mango I had left on the table and broke out in hives from her allergy. My brother stormed over, pried my mouth open, and poured the mango juice straight down my throat. "You love mangoes so much, don't you? Today you'll get your fill." The juice flooded my lungs. I choked, fighting for air as my throat swelled in agony, begging him to save me. Instead, he turned and locked me in the basement. "Betty suffered because of you, so don't expect any comfort. Stay down here and reflect on what you've done. Growing up without any real guidance. No wonder you're so vicious." Two days later, my mom remembered me. "Ralph, that's enough. Let Catherine out. If she stays there much longer, she might start resenting Betty." My dad chimed in casually, "What's the big deal? Just buy her something nice to make up for it." My spirit clung to his back, floating along with them toward the basement. I'd like to see how they were going to compensate a dead girl.

My mom is a retired supermodel. She's added a monitor to the weight scales at home so that she can monitor my and my sister, Abigail Teller's perfect body weight. If my data goes up by 0.1%, Mom will ban me from eating for the next three days. But the thing is, Abigail keeps eating fried chicken every day, yet her monitor's light is always green. Mom claims that Abigail's still going through puberty. I defend myself, saying that I've gained weight because of the bloating caused by my period. As Mom points at the red light emitted by my monitor, she exclaims, "The data is never wrong! If you've gained weight, that means you've been snacking far too much!" After getting punished many times, I begin believing that being fat is a sin. On the night of my 20th birthday, the long-term diet I've been placed on has triggered my kidney failure, which causes me to bloat up everywhere. I kneel on the floor and plead to Mom that I'm seriously ill. But that's when the monitor lets out a shrill alarm. When Mom sees the 5% increase in my body fat data, she puts me through a devillish punishment. I can feel the electric currents jolting through my body. "It's bad enough that you've secretly snacked on cake, but to even lie in my face about your illness? I'd like to see how long you can stay stubborn for!" Having said her piece, Mom locks the door and takes Abigail out to celebrate her birthday. I guess Mom is correct. Monitors never lie. I'm the one who's at the wrong for being a glutton. That's why I've transformed into a monster who doesn't deserve any love at all. I'm sorry, Mom. I'll only drink water in my next life.