My Sister’s Fiancé Is My Mate

The entire Mooncrest Pack was celebrating my sister’s future.

Music filled the pack hall, loud enough to drown out most conversations. Tables covered with food and wine stretched across the room, while silver decorations hung from the ceiling and reflected the warm glow of hundreds of candles.

Laughter filled the air as members of the pack raised their glasses and congratulated the couple everyone expected to become the heart of Mooncrest.

Tonight was about one thing.

Selene and Kael.

My sister stood at the center of the hall beside the man she had been promised to since childhood. Almost every eye was drawn toward them, and I couldn’t blame anyone for staring.

Selene looked beautiful.

Of course she did.

She always did.

Her dark hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and the silver dress she wore seemed almost made for her. Every time she moved, the fabric caught the candlelight, making her look exactly like the woman Mooncrest expected to become its future Luna.

Someone beside me leaned closer.

“They look perfect together.”

“They do,” I replied.

And I meant it.

At least, I had always believed I did.

I had never wanted what Selene had.

She was my older sister, my closest friend, and the person who had protected me more times than I could count. When I was younger and other children made fun of me for being quieter than them, Selene was the one who stood up for me.

When I doubted myself, she reminded me that I mattered.

I loved her.

That was why seeing her beside Kael made me happy.

Kael Blackwood was going to be her husband.

One day, he would place the Luna crown on her head, and the entire pack would accept her as their leader beside him.

That was how it had always been.

Everyone in Mooncrest knew it.

So did I.

There had never been a reason to question it.

I picked up my glass and took a small sip as Alpha Kael stepped forward.

The conversations around the hall gradually faded.

Kael didn’t need to raise his voice to command attention. He simply had that kind of presence.

Tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit, he carried the quiet authority expected of an Alpha. He had returned to Mooncrest only recently, and tonight marked the beginning of the final preparations for his wedding to Selene.

In a few weeks, she would become his wife.

Then, after the ceremony, his Luna.

Selene looked at him with a soft smile.

Kael smiled back.

Something about the sight made me feel like I was intruding, even though I had every right to be there.

I looked away.

This was their night.

I wasn’t going to stare at my sister’s future husband.

I lifted my glass again.

Then Kael walked past me.

Everything changed.

His scent reached me before I even understood what was happening.

My breath caught.

The glass slipped from my fingers.

It shattered against the marble floor, and the sharp sound cut through the music.

For a moment, I couldn’t move.

The hall seemed to disappear around me.

The music faded.

The laughter became distant.

Even the people standing only a few feet away seemed to vanish.

All I could smell was him.

Dark cedar.

Rain.

Something warm and strangely familiar that seemed to settle beneath my skin.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Then my wolf woke.

Not slowly.

Not gently.

She surged awake with a force that made my entire body tense.

My wolf had always been different.

Quiet.

Too quiet.

For years, I had wondered why she rarely spoke to me the way other wolves spoke to their hosts. Sometimes I had even wondered if something was wrong with me.

But she wasn’t quiet now.

Her voice crashed through my mind.

Mate.

My stomach dropped.

No.

The word echoed again.

Mate.

I slowly raised my eyes.

Kael had stopped walking.

He was staring directly at me.

His face had gone completely still, but his eyes gave him away.

Shock.

Recognition.

Fear.

His wolf had felt it too.

My heart began racing.

No.

This couldn’t be happening.

Not him.

Anyone but him.

My gaze moved past Kael.

Selene was still standing near the center of the hall, happily speaking to one of the elders. She hadn’t noticed anything.

She couldn’t know.

Not yet.

I turned and hurried toward the doors.

“Liana?”

Someone called my name, but I kept walking.

I pushed through the doors and stumbled into the quiet corridor.

My hands were shaking.

I pressed them against my sides and tried to breathe.

“Please.”

My voice was barely audible.

I wasn’t sure whether I was talking to myself or my wolf.

“Please tell me this isn’t real.”

Her answer came immediately.

He is ours.

“No.”

Mate.

I closed my eyes.

How could fate be this cruel?

Kael was Selene’s.

Their families had arranged their future years ago. The pack had watched them grow up together. Everyone expected them to marry.

And now my wolf was telling me that the man my sister loved was mine.

Guilt twisted painfully inside my chest.

I couldn’t do this to her.

The door behind me opened.

I didn’t need to look.

I knew that scent.

Kael quietly closed the door.

“Liana.”

I shook my head.

“Don’t.”

He stopped.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he asked quietly,

“You felt it.”

It wasn’t a question.

I forced myself to look at him.

His jaw was tense, and his eyes were darker than they had been in the hall. He looked just as unsettled as I felt.

“Go back.”

His brows drew together.

“What?”

“Go back to Selene.”

“Liana…”

“Please.”

He took a step toward me.

I stepped back until my shoulder touched the wall.

“Don’t come closer.”

He stopped.

I could see the effort it took for him to obey.

“Did you feel the bond?” he asked.

I looked away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liana.”

His voice was low.

“I felt it.”

My chest tightened.

“Then forget it.”

His expression hardened.

“You think I can just forget my mate?”

The word made my entire body tremble.

“Don’t call me that.”

“But you are.”

“No.”

“Liana.”

“My sister is inside.”

The words finally forced the reality of the situation between us.

Selene.

The woman he was supposed to marry.

The woman who was only a few doors away.

Kael dragged a hand through his hair.

“Selene and I are getting married in a few weeks.”

“I know.”

“You knew?”

“I’ve always known.”

He studied my face.

“Then you know what this means.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“Yes.”

I swallowed.

“It means nothing.”

“You don’t believe that.”

“I have to.”

I pushed myself away from the wall.

“I don’t care what the wolves say. I don’t care what fate says. You’re my sister’s fiancé.”

His expression changed.

“And you’re my mate.”

My heart twisted.

“I won’t take you from her.”

“You think I asked for this?”

“No.”

“Then stop acting like I’m the only one responsible.”

His words silenced me.

Because he was right.

Neither of us had chosen this.

But someone was going to get hurt.

And I already knew who it would be.

Selene.

“I love my sister,” I whispered.

Kael’s expression softened.

“I know.”

“So this ends here.”

The words hurt more than I expected.

But I forced myself to mean them.

Kael stared at me.

Then he stepped closer.

My wolf reacted instantly.

Warmth rushed through my body, and my knees almost weakened.

I hated how easily my body betrayed me.

Kael noticed.

His eyes dropped briefly before returning to mine.

Neither of us moved.

Then footsteps sounded from the other side of the door.

“Kael?”

Selene.

My heart stopped.

Kael glanced toward the door.

Then back at me.

“You need to stay here.”

“What?”

“Don’t come out until I get her away from this corridor.”

Before I could answer, he opened the door.

He stepped outside.

Through the small opening, I saw Selene walking toward him.

The moment she saw Kael, her face brightened.

“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Kael forced a small smile.

“I needed some air.”

Selene slipped her hand into his.

My chest tightened.

I looked away.

This was how it was supposed to be.

Selene and Kael.

Not me.

Never me.

I waited until their voices disappeared down the corridor before leaving my hiding place.

When I returned to the celebration, everyone was still laughing and talking as if nothing had happened.

As if my entire world hadn’t just shifted beneath my feet.

Then Selene saw me.

Her smile faded slightly.

She excused herself from the people around her and walked toward me.

“Liana, where have you been?”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

She studied my face.

“You look pale.”

“I’m fine.”

She didn’t look convinced.

Her eyes moved briefly toward the doors behind me.

Then back to my face.

“Did something happen?”

My heart began pounding again.

I forced a smile.

“No. Nothing happened.”

Selene watched me for another moment.

Then she reached for my hand.

“Come on. I want you beside me when we make the announcement about the wedding.”

I let her pull me toward the center of the hall.

But as I walked beside my sister, one thought wouldn’t leave my mind.

Her future husband was my mate.