THE SWITCH

AMARIS POV

“Lied? What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

I’ve always hated when people lied to me, so lying to others was never an option. I could withhold the truth, but never lie in serious situations.

“When was the first time you saw me?” he asked.

“Yesterday?”

“Wrong, and don’t even try to say the wedding because I wasn’t in town for it. We’ve met before. That day at the club… I was sitting right next to Zevian.”

“What day?” I gulped, swallowing the hot saliva that had gathered in my throat.

“That night. It was all you, Amaris—the tipsy girl who shamelessly tried to woo Zevian… the one who told Zevian that if he didn’t agree to marry you, you were going to kidnap him to an abandoned island and wife him. Those were your exact words, if I’m not mistaken.”

My breath caught in my chest.

“I remember because I found it amusing. No one has ever had the guts to flirt with Zevian in that manner. I mean, look at him. He terrifies even me sometimes.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about, Lucas… I’d have to go to my room now,” I said, but before I could turn, Lucas added,

“And when you stole a kiss from him. You both felt something. The pheromones that only belonged to mates were all over the place.”

Lucas stood up from the chair, leaning casually on the table.

“Now, my question is, when Zevian tracked you down, after you know what…” he coughed.

My cheeks immediately lit up.

“Why did you lie that it was Amoria?”

I turned to walk away without answering, but Lucas gripped my hand, preventing me from taking a step. Right now, his aura was quite different… overpowering.

“I don’t want to remind you whose house you’re in and what he can do if he finds out you and Amoria played him. I want the truth, and you better start talking.”

After moments of biting my lips in frustration while Lucas refused to let go, I decided to talk.

“I never lied.” I said. “ I never told him that it was Amoria… On the contrary, we didn’t even meet the day he came to my house, so how was I going to tell him that?”

“How come Amoria ended up being with him then? If you and Zevian felt the mate bond, how come your sister is the one he’s married to now?”

I looked around, considering whether to say it or not. What harm could it do? Everything had already turned upside down. My parents did the one thing they promised me they wouldn’t.

“Amoria likes Zevian, “ I said, but Lucas only raised an eyebrow at me in confusion.

“I guess Zevian wasn’t aware that we were twins when he first came to my house. As you should know by now, my parents don't really utter a word about me to anyone, not even to themselves. They have no pictures of me in their phones and certainly none hung around the house. So you see, it’s very easy for Zevian to be convinced that Amoria was the one he met that night.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? You could have told him. You guys met eventually,”

A self-mocking laugh escaped my lips. “The next time I ever saw Zevian was the day he got married to Amoria in this house.”

A flicker of emotions ran through Lucas’ face.

“I couldn’t bring myself to tell him or do that to my sister. She looked extremely happy, the happiest I’d ever seen her. Wouldn’t I be a terrible sister if I had ruined that?”

“Besides, they looked extremely in love with each other, so what was the need?”

“But I still don’t understand,” Lucas said. By now, his hands had already let go of mine. He adjusted his glasses before adding,

“Mate bonds don't just disappear… how come he didn’t smell you at the wedding? How come he claims Amoria as his mate?”

Lucas looked at me, searching for an answer that I myself didn’t know.

“I guess true love overrides even mate bonds,” I said, trying my best to not sound as miserable as I felt.

“Can I go now?” I asked.

“Are you really not going to do anything about this?”

“About what?”

“This situation. It’s extremely rare to find mates given the society now, and once you do, I’ve been led to believe that it makes a wolf complete. You could lie that you can ignore the bond, but you and I know that’s extremely impossible, especially if you’ve had a sexual relationship with your mate.”

I bit my lips, trying my best to remember what happened that night. How could I have forgotten the most beautiful night of my life?

I didn’t even remember how I got drunk that night, but I did, and spotting Zevian’s face amidst every other person was the only thing I remembered.

I remembered how I continuously tried flirting, fully aware that I was terrible at it, but Zevian didn’t pay attention to me.

I didn’t even remember the kiss. The only thing I remembered was waking up beside a gorgeous looking man. I was too terrified and left without a word…

Maybe if I had stayed, maybe if I had woken him up, maybe everything wouldn’t have been like this.

A sigh escaped my lips. “There’s nothing I can do about this. The last time I tried coming out with the truth of him being my mate is what brought me here. And if not for the fact that you came the moment you did, I wouldn’t even be breathing the same air as you right now.” I mumbled.

But the next words that fell out of Lucas’ mouth left me in a state of utter dumbfoundness.

“Let’s say you have a chance to claim your mate back. Would you take it?” He said, his voice carrying strange certainty. “Answer honestly, Amaris, this is going to be the last time I offer such a chance, so choose wisely.”

Did I?

I wanted him as badly as I needed air. There wasn’t a thing I didn’t love about him. The way he walked, talked or casually touched his lips with his thumb when he was deep in thought.

I craved his attention. But as shameless as these thoughts were, I still couldn’t bring myself to do that to my sister.

“No.” I muttered, my heart beating violently against my chest at this decision.

“Still thinking for others instead of thinking about yourself.” Lucas kissed his teeth. “How foolish,” he said before bending down to grab the bag he came in with.

“See you very soon, Amaris,” he said, waking away.” Oh, and Zevian must never hear of this issue… from now on, you’re his sister-in-law. That’s all.”

Was I really going to let my only chance go?

Wouldn’t I regret this decision for the rest of my life?

But Amoria…

I whined as I watched Lucas inch closer and closer to the door.

And then he disappeared behind it, taking my last hope with him.