CHAPTER ONE: THE PERFECT DAUGHTER

The bell rang, and I dropped my gloves. For a few seconds, I stayed where I was, breathing heavily as sweat trickled down the side of my face.

"Time."

I pulled the mouth guard from between my teeth and looked across the training room. My opponent was leaning against the ropes, breathing just as hard as I was.

"You're getting faster," he said.

I smiled. "I know."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you ever get tired of being so annoying?"

"Not really."

I walked toward the corner and grabbed my towel, wiping the sweat from my face. My arms were sore, my legs were burning, and I could already feel the bruises forming beneath my skin. It was worth it. Training was the one part of my day I actually enjoyed. Nobody compared me to Emily here. Nobody cared that she was beautiful, well-mannered, or destined to become the future queen. Here, all that mattered was whether I could keep my feet beneath me and hit harder than the person standing across from me, and I could.

I checked the time on the wall. Dinner. I groaned. Of course.

"Anna!"

My stepmother's voice echoed through the training facility. I closed my eyes. Apparently, she had decided to come looking for me.

"Coming!"

I tossed my gloves into my bag and headed toward the changing room. By the time I reached the house, I had showered and changed into something comfortable. I was halfway down the stairs when I heard Donna calling again.

"Anna, we're waiting!"

"I heard you the first time."

I walked into the dining room, but nobody was there. I stopped and stared at the empty table. Seriously?

A servant passing by noticed my expression. "Everyone is outside, Miss Anna."

I stared at her. "Again?"

She smiled politely. "Yes."

I sighed and headed toward the garden. I genuinely didn't understand my stepmother's obsession with eating outside. We had a perfectly good dining room, but apparently dinner tasted better when everyone had to deal with mosquitoes.

When I stepped outside, everyone was already seated: my father, my two brothers, my step-grandmother, and Donna. I pulled out the empty chair across from my father and then noticed something. Someone was missing. Emily. For once, I almost enjoyed dinner.

I picked up my plate. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

Then Dad looked around the table. "Where's Emily?"

My fork stopped halfway to my plate. I should have known better.

Donna answered casually. "She went shopping with her friends. She said she'd be back soon."

I rolled my eyes. Of course she did. Emily could arrive whenever she wanted and nobody would complain. If I were twenty minutes late, Donna would probably send a search party.

I began serving myself while my brothers argued about something across the table. For a few minutes, everything was peaceful.

Then the garden doors opened.

I looked up and saw Emily walking toward the table with two shopping bags hanging from each arm, while a servant followed behind her with even more. Of course. Why carry your own things when someone else could do it?

"Sorry I'm late," she said, her voice soft enough to make Donna immediately smile.

"You're fine, sweetheart."

Emily leaned down and kissed Dad's cheek. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello, darling."

Then she kissed Donna before taking the empty seat across from me. Her eyes briefly met mine.

"Hi, Anna."

"Emily."

That was all.

Donna looked at the bags. "Did you have a good time?"

"It was amazing."

Emily began talking about her shopping trip, and everyone listened. I tried to focus on my food. I really did. But then she started describing a dress she'd bought for the upcoming royal celebration. Apparently, it had been specially made for her.

I stabbed my fork into my food.

"It's beautiful," Donna said.

"I can't wait for you to see it."

"I already know you'll look gorgeous."

Emily smiled. "Thank you, Mom."

I resisted the urge to gag. Not because I thought Emily was ugly. Quite the opposite. Emily was beautiful. Everyone knew it. She had the kind of beauty that made people stop and look. She was graceful, polite, and effortlessly charming.

Everything I wasn't.

Everything I'd been reminded of since I was old enough to understand what comparison meant.

I took another bite. My brothers had started arguing again, this time about who was stronger. I almost laughed. They were both idiots. At least they weren't arguing about Emily. That would have been worse.

Dinner continued until Donna suddenly turned toward Emily.

"So, how is Devon?"

My appetite disappeared.

There it was. His name. Devon.

I didn't look up. I didn't need to. Everyone knew who he was.

Devon was the future king of Elarion. He was already one of the strongest wolves in the kingdom, but strength wasn't the reason everyone cared about him. It was his bloodline. His destiny.

For more than a hundred years, Elarion had not had a true fated mate bond. The absence had become a problem for the royal family. The king needed an heir. Not simply any heir, but an heir born from a true fated union.

Then Devon was born.

The gods revealed that he would have a fated mate and that his mate would come from the Vaspert family.

When Emily was born, the kingdom finally had its answer.

She was his.

Everyone knew it. Everyone had known it since the day she was born.

Emily would become queen. Emily would bear the royal heir. Emily would secure the future of Elarion.

I hated how easily her name seemed to belong beside everything important. Emily, queen, Devon, perfect.

"Devon is doing well," Emily said.

"Have you seen him recently?" Dad asked.

"Yesterday."

Donna smiled. "You two must be excited about the celebration."

Emily nodded. "Very."

I kept eating. I had met Devon a few times over the years, but I'd never bothered getting to know him. Why would I? He was Emily's mate. That alone was enough reason for me to stay away.

Besides, from what I'd seen, he was arrogant, too serious, and too confident. The sort of man who probably expected everyone around him to obey without question.

Perfect for Emily.

I looked across the table. She was smiling again.

I wondered what it would be like to have everything she had. Not because I wanted to be her. I didn't. I just wanted to know what it felt like to be the person everyone chose first.