Tessa Skylanders

After the college entrance exam, the school's reigning beauty dragged me into a wager over our scores. "Only the girl with the higher marks is worthy of being Eric's girlfriend." Eric Lowell scoffed. "That's enough, Jocelyn. My relationships aren't yours to dictate." Then, in front of everyone, he confessed to me. I mistook it for the answer to a long-held crush. With the crowd egging us on, I flushed and said yes. That night, he took me back to his place. From then on, we hardly spent a night apart. Before application season, I went to his house, hoping we would apply to the same university. Instead, I overheard part of a phone call. "Jocelyn, everything's ready: the photos, the videos. Just like you asked." Jocelyn's laughter drifted through the receiver, light and pleased. "You must've gone to so much trouble~ Then let's wait until the school assembly the day after tomorrow and stream it to the whole school. I'm curious to see how Tessa plans on applying to those top-tier universities after that." "Eric," she added casually, "you're not having second thoughts, are you?" He hesitated, then answered, "Why would I? If anyone's at fault, it's her for not knowing her place. What right does she have to keep scoring higher than you?" I set the custom ring down, opened my email, and accepted the Oxford offer that had been waiting for me for a week.

My girlfriend is an heiress from the upper class of Jetland, and she is worth tens of billions of dollars. In order to test me, she has never spent a single cent on me, nor given me any presents during the seven years that we have been together. She even splits the bill with me when we buy rubbers. After my mother falls severely ill, I borrow all the money that I can from all my family and friends. I only need two thousand dollars more to afford my mother's operation. However, even when I beg my girlfriend to lend me money, she refuses. After my mother passes away, I take care of everything on my own. When I go home to pack my things, I accidentally come across a list of presents that she has bought for our neighbor, whom she treats like a younger brother. These gifts include a luxury villa, a designer watch, and haute couture suits. There is also an audio recording of her conversation with her best friend. "Tessie, I heard that Ethan begged you so he could borrow two thousand dollars from you. Is that true?" Tessa Seinfeld snorts, and her voice rings out carelessly. "Zeke's right. Only a leech would go down on his knees just for two thousand dollars. We've only been together for seven years, and he's already so eager to get money out of me." In the end, our seven years of relationship mean nothing. It only takes a provocative comment from her neighbor, Zeke Palmer, for everything to fall apart. But it doesn't matter. From the moment my mother died, I have already decided to leave Tessa.

The seer foretells that I will mate with an Alpha and give birth to the strongest heir. Because of this, I am arranged to be mates with the Alpha heir, Chad Gibson, since I was a child. And from then on, I am groomed to become a Luna. I devote my entire youth to bleeding, fighting, and enduring it all. Every smile, every step, and every breath is for the sole purpose of becoming the perfect Luna. And yet, what do I receive in the end? On the day of the marking ceremony, Chad carries in an expecting Rogue with Omega bloodline, Yelena Lockhart. He then publicly declares that during a hunt, he accidentally consumed a lustbane and bred with Yelena. Thus, he must take responsibility and make her his future Luna. Seeing the unshakable resolve on his face, I ask in a trembling voice, "What about me? What am I supposed to do?" Without a moment's hesitation, he replies, "Tessa, because of that false prophecy, you have stolen the future Luna's place and enjoyed privileges that were never yours for long enough. Now, you must step aside. "But don't worry, I won't cast you out. As long as you keep serving Yelena as her maid in atonement, you may still stay by my side." The world falls into dead silence, and the stares of the pack weigh on me like a mountain. I neither scream nor beg. Instead, I simply remove my veil and return the ring that symbolizes the future Luna. Later, when Yelena gives birth, the pup turns out to be of Omega bloodline. Only then does Chad realize the prophecy is true, that I alone can bear the Alpha heir destined to lead. But when Chad finally regrets everything and begs me to come back, it is already too late. I have already accepted the Alpha King's proposal and no longer belong to Chad.

The biggest mistake I had ever made was falling in love with my Alpha stepbrother, Cayden Gates. I was 12 when my mom remarried, and he was the only one in the new pack who treated me kindly. I fell for him at first sight. When I was 16, I was attacked by rogue wolves, and he fought off ten of them alone to protect me. At 18, he was poisoned by silver. He nearly died. That was when my wolf told me he was my fated mate. Without hesitation, I donated my bone marrow to save him. That night, watching him asleep with a pale face, I couldn't help but kiss the corner of his lips. He opened his eyes at that exact moment, his face flushing red. "Tessa, we're siblings. You shouldn't cross that line." From then on, he started avoiding me, like I was a mistake he couldn't afford to make. His fiancée, Rosie Lloyd, had been diagnosed with a rare blood disease, and I was the only compatible donor. For the first time, he pleaded with me. "If you're willing to save her, I'll agree to anything." But I was already weak from the marrow transplant. Giving blood again might kill me. I said no, and Rosie died in the end. He didn't shed a single tear, like nothing had happened. But at her funeral, he smashed the portrait I'd painted of him in front of everyone and said coldly, "How filthy of you to dream of being with your own brother." Later, I became a disgrace, a walking joke. Humiliation and despair swallowed me whole, and in a haze, I fell into the lake and drowned. When I open my eyes again, I'm back at the moment he begs me for blood. I say yes calmly. I consider it the final debt I owe the Gates family. Cayden, from now on, we're done. There are no more ties between us.

Der größte Fehler meines Lebens war, mich in meinen Stiefbruder – Alpha Cayden Gates zu verlieben. Ich war zwölf, als meine Mutter wieder heiratete. Er war der Einzige im neuen Rudel, der mich freundlich behandelte, und ich verliebte mich auf den ersten Blick in ihn. Mit sechzehn wurde ich von Einzelgänger-Wölfen angegriffen. Er stellte sich allein zehn von ihnen entgegen, um mich zu beschützen. Mit achtzehn wurde er durch Silber vergiftet und wäre beinahe gestorben. In diesem Moment teilte mir meine Wölfin mit, er sei mein Schicksalsgefährte. Ohne zu zögern spendete ich mein Knochenmark, um sein Leben zu retten. In jener Nacht sah ich ihn bleich und schlafend daliegen. Ich konnte nicht anders, als seine Lippenwinkel zu küssen. Genau in diesem Moment öffnete er die Augen und sein Gesicht rötete sich. „Tessa, wir sind Geschwister. Du darfst diese Grenze nicht überschreiten.“ Von da an mied er mich, als wäre ich ein Fehler, den er sich nicht leisten durfte. Bei seiner Verlobten Rosie Lloyd wurde eine seltene Blutkrankheit diagnostiziert. Ich war die einzige passende Spenderin. Zum ersten Mal flehte er mich an: „Wenn du sie rettest, erfülle ich dir jeden Wunsch.“ Doch ich war nach der Knochenmarkspende völlig geschwächt. Eine Blutspende hätte mich töten können. Ich sagte nein – und Rosie starb. Er vergoss keine Träne, als wäre nichts geschehen. Doch auf ihrer Beerdigung zerschmetterte er vor allen Augen das Porträt, das ich von ihm gemalt hatte, und sagte kalt: „Wie widerlich, von einem Leben mit dem eigenen Bruder zu träumen.“ Damit wurde ich zur Schande, zum lebenden Gespött. Demütigung und Verzweiflung verschlangen mich, bis ich wie in Trance in den See stürzte und ertrank. Als ich die Augen wieder öffnete, war ich zurück in dem Moment, als er mich um Blut anflehte. Ich sagte ruhig zu. Es war die letzte Schuld, die ich der Familie Gates zurückzahlte. Cayden, von jetzt an ist es vorbei. Zwischen uns gibt es nichts mehr.

O maior erro que já cometi na vida foi me apaixonar pelo meu meio-irmão Alfa, Cayden Gates. Eu tinha 12 anos quando minha mãe se casou de novo, e ele foi o único na nova alcateia que me tratou com gentileza. Me apaixonei por ele à primeira vista. Quando eu tinha 16 anos, fui atacada por lobos selvagens, e ele enfrentou dez deles sozinho para me proteger. Aos 18, ele foi envenenado por prata. Quase morreu. Foi quando minha loba me disse que ele era meu companheiro destinado. Sem hesitar, doei minha medula óssea para salvá-lo. Naquela noite, olhando para ele dormindo com o rosto pálido, não resisti e beijei o canto dos seus lábios. Ele abriu os olhos naquele exato momento, o rosto corado. — Tessa, somos irmãos. Você não deveria ultrapassar esse limite. A partir daquele dia, ele começou a me evitar, como se eu fosse um erro que ele não podia se permitir cometer. Sua noiva, Rosie Lloyd, tinha sido diagnosticada com uma doença sanguínea rara, e eu era a única doadora compatível. Pela primeira vez, ele me implorou. — Se você aceitar salvá-la, eu concordo com qualquer coisa. Mas eu já estava fraca por causa do transplante de medula. Doar sangue de novo poderia me matar. Eu disse não, e no final Rosie morreu. Ele não derramou uma única lágrima, como se nada tivesse acontecido. Mas no funeral dela, ele destruiu o retrato que eu tinha pintado dele na frente de todos e disse friamente: — Que nojo você ter a audácia de sonhar em ficar com seu próprio irmão. Depois disso, me tornei uma vergonha, motivo de piada por onde passava. A humilhação e o desespero me consumiram por completo, e em um momento de confusão, caí no lago e me afoguei. Quando abro os olhos de novo, estou de volta ao momento em que ele me implora por sangue. Eu digo sim, calmamente. Considero isso a última dívida que tenho com a família Gates. Cayden, a partir de agora, acabou entre nós. Não existe mais nenhum laço nos unindo.