Chapter 001

TALIA

Everyone says twins are inseparable, but all my life, I’ve felt like the shadow to Tessa’s sun. We were meant to be equal, but she got the spotlight, and I got… nothing.

“Happy birthday to you…”

Through the closed door of my room, I heard my parents singing, their voices off-key but very loud. They were obviously heading straight for Tessa’s room.

I counted to five. Right on cue, her voice rang out, sounding surprised, as if this same ritual didn’t happen every single year.

“Mum! Dad!” she squealed, clapping her hands. “You remembered!”

“Of course we remembered,” my mother cried. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

I rolled my eyes and dragged myself out of bed. There was no point in waiting around as they wouldn’t be stopping by my room. They never did. For years now, they had conveniently forgotten that Tessa and I shared a birthday.

Last year, she got a brand-new phone. As an afterthought, I got her old one, the screen so cracked and scratched that I suspected she had smashed it on purpose the night before. And the way she smiled sweetly as she handed it to me had only confirmed it.

“Happy birthday to us,” I murmured to my wolf, Cara, as I shuffled to the bathroom.

Today, I turned eighteen. That meant I could find my mate after years of waiting. The thought left me torn between excitement and dread. Would he like me? Would he want me? After a lifetime of being invisible in my own family, I dared to hope. Maybe, just maybe, fate would finally be kind.

After a quick shower, I pulled on my clothes and headed downstairs.

The sitting room was warm with the rich aroma of coffee and sizzling sausage. My stomach tightened, not with hunger but with the familiar ache of knowing none of it was for me.

My father, his nose buried in a newspaper, mumbled, “Happy birthday, Talia.”

“Thank you, Dad.” I replied, smiling, but my voice was drowned out by the loud rustling of pages as he flipped to the next section, completely ignoring me.

At the kitchen counter, my mother was carefully cutting a cake. She glanced at me, then looked away.

“Happy birthday,” She said absently. “There’s cake. When I’m done, you can take some leftovers for your friends.”

I turned to Tessa, who was eating the same cake I would get as leftovers. I looked at her, not for the first time, wondering how two people who looked so alike could be treated so differently.

Same height. Same green eyes. Same golden hair. The only difference? She was thinner and not cursed like me.

“That’s if Talia has any friends, Mum,” Tessa said with a smirk, flicking a lock of hair out of her face.

She turned to me, her gaze challenging me to react, but I had promised myself I wouldn’t get angry. At least not today.

I forced a smile. “It’s our big day, Tessa. We’re finally eighteen.”

“You mean my big day,” She corrected. “We both know you don’t stand a chance at finding a mate today. Or ever. Even if by some miracle you did, I bet he’d be some hideous imbecile with warts.” She grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners. “I, on the other hand, just know Ethan is mine.”

“Now, now, Tessa, be nice,” My mother said, her tone as dry as when she’d wished me a happy birthday. She was carefully wrapping large slices of cake for Tessa, of course.

“But, Mum, it’s true,” Tessa whined, leaning against the counter and glaring at me. “She’s like ten pounds overweight, has no boyfriend, and zero I*******m. Who would want to be friends with that?”

I wandered over to the fridge, opening it just to have something to do. “And how are you so sure Ethan’s going to be your mate? You always overestimate yourself.”

The sudden bang of Tessa’s fist slamming the counter made me jump.

“Shut up about me and Ethan!” She snapped. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? Of course, you are. You’ve always been.”

I exhaled sharply, my patience wearing thin. “No, I’m not. I’m just being realistic. There’s no law that says your boyfriend will be your mate.”

Tessa’s eyes darkened. “Mind your damn business! Mum, tell her!”

My mother frowned at me as if I were the problem. “Stop saying such nasty things about your sister.”

I swallowed the bitter retort rising to my lips, knowing that saying the wrong thing could get me starved for two days. And she probably did not slap me because today was my birthday.

When we were little, my mother had taken us to see a priestess to ‘predict our futures.’ The woman had claimed Tessa would be the light of the family, while I would bring darkness if not subdued. That was the moment my troubles had begun. All because of some stupid prophecy.

“Stop right there, young lady!” My mother snapped as I carried my cereal bowl to the table.

I tensed. What now?

“Apologize to your sister,” She demanded. “You should be asking her for tips on how she bagged the Alpha’s son. Yet here you are, trying to infect her with your bad luck. Go on. Tell her you’re sorry.”

I glanced at my father. No help there. He gripped the edges of his newspaper so tightly it was a miracle it didn’t tear so I knew he was one sharp breath away from giving me a tongue-lashing too.

I sucked in a breath. Just get it over with.

“I’m sorry, Tessa,” I murmured. “I didn’t mean what I said.”

Tessa sniffled, grabbed the cake and her backpack, and stormed off, making a show of her exit.

My parents’ disapproving glares burned into me. I kept my head down, shoveling breakfast into my mouth so quickly I nearly choked.

I couldn’t wait to finish school. I couldn’t wait to leave home. A leaky, run-down apartment would be better than this. Anything would be better than this treatment I received.

I arrived at school twenty minutes later, scanning the crowd for Ruby, my best friend. In my backpack was a slice of cake. It wasn’t much, but I knew she wouldn’t mind.

Still walking, I noticed the change in the hallway.

Pink posters and banners with Tessa’s face were plastered all over the school. They had ’Happy Birthday, Tessa!’ written on them with bold, glittering letters.

But not a single one for me as I scanned the entire place.

I swallowed the familiar lump in my throat, blinking back the sting of bitter tears.

You’d think I’d be used to being the invisible twin by now but I wasn’t.

Sometimes, it really felt like I was invisible. I had to pinch myself just to make sure I was still here, that I was real, just because of how everyone treated me.

No one looked my way as I kept walking.

The hallway buzzed with laughter and chatter, students moving in clusters, completely unaware of me. Up ahead, Tessa’s locker overflowed with gifts and cards, people trying to wish her happy birthday.

I was walking past the crowd when it happened.

I felt a pull, deep and so strong that it nearly snatched the breath from my lungs.

And a scent. It was rich, intoxicating, and impossible to ignore as it filled my nose.

My wolf stirred, restless and eager to follow that scent, clawing against me like she had rogue. I stopped in my tracks, heart pounding as I turned.

Two lockers away, Tessa and Ethan were wrapped around each other, their lips fused together.

No.

Please, no.

Dread pooled in my stomach as realization crashed over me, my body trembling.

Still frozen in place, my chest rising and falling, Ethan paused and stopped kissing Tessa.

His arms dropped to his sides, and when his gaze met mine, his brown eyes widened in shock.

For a single, breathless moment, it was just us. The world fell away, and suddenly, I was weightless, floating toward him because he was the only axis my world could spin on now.

And before I could stop myself, I whispered, “Mate.”