Chapter 0001

CHAPTER 1

“Do you, Alpha Damos take Sailyn to be your lawful mate, to stand by her through all that life may bring?”, the officiant's voice echoed

The chapel was a blur of white flowers, glittering lights, and murmurs of excitement, but all I could see was him. My Alpha. My mate. The one I was meant to be bound to. And yet… he couldn’t feel me. He couldn’t see the bond pulsing between us like a heartbeat.

And my twin, Sailyn, was radiant. Perfect. The way she smiled, the way her dress clung to her in all the right places, the way her hand rested on his arm like it was always meant to be there. It made me want to scream.

The officiant’s words were salt in a wound I was forced to keep open. I sat in the front row, like a prisoner at my own execution. Sailyn’s personal guard stood at each side.

To others, it was like they were protecting me, but I knew better. She had instructed them coldly with a cruel, elegant smile on her face. “Make her watch.”

A stabbing pain clenched beneath my ribs. My wolf was writhing uncontrollably, wanting to come out and take control. My wolf couldn’t bear the sight of our mate being married to another.

“No, not here. Not now.” I dug my nails into my palms, focusing on the sting. “Stay down, be silent.” I could endure this. I had to.

“...to have and to hold, from this day forward…”

A guttural sound vibrated in my chest. The bond, our bond, was screaming. I squeezed my eyes shut, muscles trembling with the effort to contain the creature raging under my skin. “Don’t. You’ll make it worse.” I pleaded.

On the altar, Sailyn slid a possessive hand up Damos’s arm. My wolf saw its mate being touched by another and it shattered the last control I had.

A raw snarl ripped from my throat. My body launched forward, not by my will, but by a force that I couldn’t control. My legs moved before my brain caught up, heels clicking against the marble like a warning shot.

I yelled, “STOP!”

The chapel went silent. Everyone turned. Gasps fluttered through the crowd.The officiant blinked, clearly startled, and said, “Excuse me…?”

I shoved past the stares, straight toward him. I ignored the officiant as I turned towards the only person that mattered in the room. “You can’t marry her!”, I screamed, my fists clenched at my sides "Don’t you feel it? Don’t you feel us?”

His calm, unreadable gaze swept over me. “Solyn… there is nothing between us. You need to step back.”

“No! You’re lying! I know you feel it!” I pressed my hands to his chest, his heart thumping around my hands. I tried to make him feel it…tried to pull him to me, but he didn’t flinch. Didn’t even acknowledge the bond. Nothing.

He pushed my hand away from his chest

The officiant cleared his throat, uneasy. “You may… you may now place the ring on her finger—”

I lunged. “Stop!”

Strong hands grabbed me from behind, Sailyn’s guards. Their hands pressed tightly into my stomach. I struggled to breath. “She can't steal him from me. I couldn't allow her.” My wolf growled internally, my body struggled, every muscle screaming, but I still couldn’t reach him. My heart shattered as Sailyn’s hand reached for the ring.

I held on to a chair near me before they could haul me out of the hall. I forced my voice over the murmurs of the crowd. “Don’t you see? I’m his mate!”, I screamed "You’re mine! You feel me", my voice lowers “ or you should!”

He looked at me, indifferent. Then he turned to the man behind me “It shouldn't be hard to handle a woman, Corvus. Get her out of the hall now!”

I froze. I let the men drag me out. My chest ached. Every breath burned.

The night was closing in and the ceremony ended. This couldn't be happening. My mate is my twin sister's husband and there was nothing I could do about it. I found Sailyn alone in a quiet corner of the hall, she was checking something or so… I didn't care.

I lunged towards her.

“You really think this makes you better than me?” I demanded, voice low, trembling with rage. “Stealing him from me?”

Her smirk widened, that infuriating curl of superiority. “Stealing? Solyn… he was never yours. You never had him.”

“Why do you always have to ruin everything?” I hissed. “Why him? Why now?”

Her laugh was sharp, a cruel, bitter sound. “Because I can. Because I want him. And because you’re… pathetic.”

I ground my teeth “You think I don't see through you?"

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Honey, he doesn’t mean anything to you. Not like he means something to me.” she scoffed “We both want the same thing. Power. I just deserve it more than you do”

"You are lying”, I shook my head " I don't want power. I just want to have my mate back. He is mine. Not…”

Before I could react, the silhouette of my mother appeared. She was dressed in a sleek, pearl-white gown, perfectly tailored, with a strand of pearls draped around her neck and an icy smile that made her look untouchable.

Sailyn shifted close to mother, grinning like she had rehearsed this moment a thousand times.

“You’ve always been jealous, Solyn,” Mom said, syrupy sweet. “Always wanting what Sailyn has. Always bitter. Always… less.”

“That’s a lie!” I snapped. “I…”

“Your insecurities are showing,” Sailyn interrupted, tilting her head. “Sad, really.”

I opened my mouth to shout, to rip into them, to scream, but Sailyn wasn’t done. From her clutch, she drew a small knife and dragged it across her palm. Blood blossomed like fire.

My mouth open in shock. I had no idea she was taking it that far. Her lips curled up in mischief.

“AHHHHH!” Her scream tore through the hall, jagged and raw. My legs went weak. My stomach lurched.

The Alpha came running , crouching to take a look at her hands. His eyes paled when he saw the blood dropping from her wrists. The panic in his eyes could not be put into words, but still… never once looking at me. The bond I had known, the connection I had felt pulsing through my veins, was invisible to him.

“She did this", my own mother said "She got so jealous… that she cut her sister", my mother covered her mouth as she looked at me, tears dropping from her eyes “She's your sister, Solyn. Why would you do this?"

“They’re lying!” I shouted, but my words were drowned by Sailyn’s wails.

“Out!” The Alpha’s command reverberated through the chapel. “You’re banished from this pack, Solyn!”

Banished. Cast out. My mate had turned his back on me.

My mother stepped forward. She wiped her fake tears with the back of her hands. She brings out a folder from her bag and handed it to me “Since you can’t stay, we’ve arranged a place for you. A college. Far away. You’ll go. You’ll start over.”

I stared at it. My hands shook. Every instinct screamed to tear it up, to run, to fight. But he couldn’t feel me. He couldn’t see the bond that had always been ours.

Finally, I whispered, “Fine… I’ll go.”