Chapter Three

Aegis’s P.O.V

Three hours into dinner, and I was already planning murder.

The murder of my dearly beloved sister.

But that was beside the point.

He was ignoring me.

After last night, I thought we would be closer. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve believed all of it was just a dream. But the soreness between my legs with every step reminded me otherwise.

We were having dinner with the Alpha’s family. The unusual absence of the Alpha and Luna made an already horrible day even worse.

We’d been attending this dinner since we were children. It was a customary tradition between the Alpha’s family and their Betas.

As little kids, whenever dinner lost our interest, we’d sneak outside to play.

We were a formidable trio—Elias the prankster, me the tomboy, and Sheila the princess and baby of the group.

We were close, bound together by the intricacies of living in the pack house as high-ranking children.

But now, the sound of Sheila’s laughter burned like acid in my chest.

Everything she did made me angry.

It hurt so much that I felt rage brewing inside me—for my own sister.

But could I really share the attention of the one person who was supposed to be mine?

Sheila had always been the center of our parents’ attention. I used to blame it on her being the younger child, but deep down, I knew the truth: they simply didn’t care for me. And I couldn’t hate them for it.

I wasn’t their biological daughter anyway.

They adopted me when I was found abandoned in a nearby forest. For that, I was forever grateful.

Still, their favoritism wasn’t subtle.

Sheila and I couldn’t have been more different.

She was friendly; I was socially awkward.

She was confident and beautiful; I was quiet and withdrawn.

She had friends who’d gladly die for her; I only had her.

Everyone believed she was Luna material.

Me? I was simply “the beauty’s sister.”

Or as her friends loved to call me—“the Beast.”

My stomach churned as I pushed food around my plate.

We grew up as different people, and I never minded. Sheila was my sibling, and I was proud of her. She never asked for the attention people gave her. She was just… that good.

As stupid as it sounded, I—her older sister—looked up to her.

She was a role model.

She was one of a kind.

Just as I was.

She was beautiful.

Just as I was.

And my mate was supposed to see that.

But for the first time, I felt something foreign clawing at my chest—

jealousy.

Jealous of all she had that I didn’t.

Jealous of what he saw in her.

Jealous of the memories and friendship they shared.

Watching them together made me realize—

I was the outlier.

The odd one out.

For the third time that night, tears pricked my eyes.

I just wanted a place here.

A place in my mate’s heart.

The scent of cedar and mint hit me all at once—the same scent that had mixed with mine last night. Memories of his touch made me desperate to step into his arms again, to claim his skin as mine, to hold his heart in my hands.

But I couldn’t.

That was my mate.

The other half of my soul.

He was so close… yet so far away.

He must have sensed my thoughts because I felt his eyes on me.

Heat rushed to my face in embarrassment.

Sheila suddenly stood, startling me. She tapped her fork on her wine glass to gather everyone’s attention.

“Would everyone please move to the living room? We have an announcement—and one last gift for the birthday girl.”

Confused, I followed after our parents and Elias.

My birthday had been yesterday. Why a gift now?

I trailed into the common room last, my thoughts still consumed by a certain brown-haired man who was carefully avoiding my gaze.

Sheila smiled at me mischievously and disappeared into another room, reemerging with a large blue box topped with a small red bow. She handed it to me with a grin before lowering her gaze to her strappy black heels.

“This one is from Elias and me.”

Elias stood leaning against the wall instead of joining her in the center of the room. His arms crossed over his chest, muscles flexing.

Temptation gripped me by the throat. Those hands had undressed me the night before.

I sat on the nearest couch, box in hand, my heart pounding.

Was this why he’d been avoiding me?

A gift?

Awn… He was truly a weird man.

I looked up at him with a smile, nearly drowning in his forest-green eyes as I opened the box.

My fingers trembled as I lifted the lid.

And then—my heart stopped.

A beautiful rose-red dress lay folded neatly inside.

On top of it, a silver envelope with elegant lettering:

You are specially invited

to the wedding of:

Elias Jonathan

&

Sheila Davids.