All Chapters of MATED TO MYSELF-THE ALPHA I HATED IS ME: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

Chapter 2 Lyra's POV I stood outside my front door with my hand pressed against the wooden surface, my heart hammering so hard against my ribs I thought it might burst. I really hadn't wanted to follow Nathan last night. I still couldn't understand what force had pushed me to go after him, what madness had made me think it was a good idea. I was about to push the door open when it suddenly swung inward, making me stumble backward in surprise. My brother Marcus stood in the doorway, his familiar face looking concerned and slightly annoyed. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my expression neutral as I met his eyes. "Hi Marcus," I managed to say, though my voice came out shakier than I'd hoped. I cleared my throat and tried to sound more normal. "Where were you last night?" he asked directly, his brown eyes scanning my face like he was looking for lies. I gripped the hem of my shirt tighter, my fingers twisting the fabric nervously. Of course no one knew I had followed Nathan. Of co

CHAPTER 4Lyra's POVI sat on the edge of the guest bed, staring at the plain white walls around me, my suitcase lay open on the floor where I had abandoned it an hour ago, clothes still folded inside because I couldn't bring myself to unpack them, unpacking felt too permanent, like accepting this nightmare was really happening.My stomach growled loudly, reminding me I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. I pressed my hand against it, trying to make the hunger go away through sheer willpower. But my body wasn't cooperating. Another loud grumble echoed through the quiet room."You need to eat something," Kael said gently in my mind."I know," I replied silently, not moving from the bed. "But that means going out there. That means seeing him."The thought of walking through Nathan's house, of potentially running into him in the hallway or kitchen, made my chest feel tight. What would I even say to him? How was I supposed to act normal when everything inside me was screaming?"You ca

Chapter 6"Is Nathan around?" Marcus asked, confirming my fears. "I want to talk to both of you, make sure you're not killing each other."He said it like a joke but my smile felt painfully fake. "Um, let me see if he's available."I walked out of my room and down the stairs, my heart pounding with every step. I found Nathan in the living room, sitting on the couch with his laptop open, he looked up when I entered, his dark eyes meeting mine."Marcus wants to talk to both of us," I said, holding up my phone.Nathan's jaw tightened but he nodded, he closed his laptop and moved over on the couch, making space for me to sit beside him, I sat down stiffly, keeping as much distance between us as possible while still being in frame."Hey man," Marcus's voice came through the phone. "How's it going? Are you two behaving?""Everything's fine," Nathan said smoothly, and his voice was so normal and friendly that I almost believed him myself. "Lyra's been a perfect houseguest." Immediately th

Chapter 8 "Like what?" Kael asked, genuinely confused.My stomach dropped straight through the floor, he wasn't feeling it. The mate bond was only going one way. I could feel it pulling at me, could feel Ivy going absolutely insane in my head, but Kael felt nothing."Kael is in Nathan's body," Ivy said, and for the first time since this whole thing started, she didn't sound angry or demanding. She sounded thoughtful, like almost calculating. "And the mate bond that we've been waiting for all these years just appeared out of nowhere the second he touched us.""So what are you saying?" I asked her silently."I'm saying you were mated to yourself this whole time," Ivy replied, her tone deadly serious. "That's why you never felt anything when you turned eighteen, that's why we've been waiting four years with nothing. The bond was always there but it couldn't activate because Kael was inside you instead of another body."I looked at Kael again, really looked at him, he was still standi