A long time ago, I had a twin sister. We were inseparable as kids. Wherever I went, Liana followed, like my shadow. Our parents treated us as their most cherished treasures, always proud and doting. I can still hear their laughter echoing in my memory, the warmth of our childhood so vivid it feels like just yesterday. But it wasn’t.
Everything changed when rogues raided our pack. Liana was taken, and just like that, our bright days were plunged into a never-ending darkness. We never found her body. No sign of life, no trace of death. Just nothing.
Our parents held on to the faintest glimmer of hope that she might still be out there, somewhere. They searched the continent for her, but distress and guilt took a toll on their health and they passed away without seeing her again.
I was left alone, burdened by their hope and my own desperate need to find her. For years, I searched. I prayed to the Moon Goddess every night, hoping for a sign. I begged for her to bring Liana back, even if just to give me closure. But nothing. It was like Liana had just vanished, leaving me to chase a ghost. And honestly, I thought I was losing my mind. How could I not, when one of the people I loved most had simply disappeared from the world?
Then one morning, after fifteen years of searching, a letter came out of nowhere. It was a wedding invitation.
My hands trembled as I opened it, recognizing the handwriting immediately.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I read:
["To my dear sister, Alicia,"]
[“I’ve waited so long for this moment, and I hope you can forgive me for being away. I’ve found my mate, and he’s the greatest man I’ve ever known. The Moon Goddess must have known I needed him in my life. I’ve finally found happiness, Alicia. Please, come to my wedding as my family. It wouldn’t be the same without you by my side.”]
She was alive. All this time, she was alive. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I read her words again, and again, like they might disappear if I blinked.
I bolted out of the room, my heart pounding, my vision blurred from joy.
Liana was alive.
After all these years, the Moon Goddess had answered my prayers.
“Edwin!” I shouted, bursting into his office. My husband looked up from his papers, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“I found her!” I could hardly contain my excitement as I waved the letter in the air. “I found Liana!”
His eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly stood, crossing the room in a few swift strides. “How…?”
I shoved the letter into his hands, the words spilling out of me as fast as my emotions could keep up. “She’s alive. She’s getting married, and she invited me—us—she wants us to come! After all this time, Edwin! Can you believe it?”
He glanced at the letter before dropping it onto the desk, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “Alicia… I’m so happy for you.” His voice was gentle, his grip comforting. That was all it took to break the dam. I sobbed into his chest, my heart finally releasing the years of worry, guilt, and sorrow that had built up inside me.
Edwin rubbed my back soothingly as I cried, whispering words of comfort. “It’s okay. You found her. She’s alive.”
When I finally pulled away, I wiped my tears and sniffled, the joy bubbling back to the surface. “I have to go. I need to see her.”
Edwin’s smile faltered just slightly. “But, Alicia, you’re four weeks pregnant. I’m worried…”
“I’ll be fine. I have to do this.” I knew what he was thinking—how could I not? We had only just found out about the pregnancy, and he was already protective. But this was my sister. My twin. My other half. I couldn’t let this chance slip away.
“I’ll ask the King for leave,” he said, though his hesitation was clear.
I shook my head. “You’re needed here. The rogue attacks are getting worse. The King needs you by his side.”
Edwin frowned, checking the address on the invitation. “Night Creek pack,” he murmured. “If it’s Night Creek, I suppose it’ll be alright. They’re an honorable pack.”
I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Three days later, I arrived at the Night Creek packhouse. It was even grander than I had imagined, a huge mansion with sweeping columns and carefully manicured gardens. As I parked the car and got out, my nerves started to bubble up. What if she was different? What if she didn’t remember me like I remembered her?
But then I reminded myself—this was Liana. My sister. And no matter how much time had passed, our bond was unbreakable.
I walked toward the entrance, spotting a maid nearby. “Excuse me,” I started, but she looked at me with an odd expression—disgust and horror, before scurrying away without a word.
I frowned. Was there something wrong with how I was dressed? Social events were never my strong suit, and maybe I looked out of place.
Shaking it off, I entered the grand foyer.
But before I could get far, a thundering growl echoed from above. My instincts flared up, but I held my ground, looking up.
A tall man descended the stairs. His Alpha dominance radiated off him like a suffocating wave. He was Liana’s mate, no doubt. She had spoken so highly of him, so I tried to stay calm.
“Hi, I’m—" I reached out, trying to introduce myself, but before I could finish, his hand came down hard across my face, sending me staggering back in shock.
Chapter 2I stood there, my hand pressed against my burning cheek, still reeling from the slap. My head spun, disbelief tightening in my chest. I stared at the man in front of me and tried to process what had just happened. My wolf was threatening to go out. Who the hell did he think he was?
Before I could even open my mouth to ask what was going on, he was already shouting again, his voice full of venom. “You shameless cheater! You dare show your face here after what you’ve done?”
‘What…?’
My breath caught in my throat. Did he just call me a cheater? I don’t even know this man. “What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped, barely keeping my anger in check. I could feel my composure slipping away the longer this ridiculous accusation continued.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” he spat. “How could you? After everything we’ve been through, you run off with some rogue and show up here like nothing happened? You disgust me.”
I blinked, utterly confused. “I don’t even know you!” I shouted back. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. How can I cheat on someone I don’t know?” My mind raced. If I was cheating on anyone, it’d be Edwin. My mate. My husband. But the thought of me cheating on him was laughable. The insult stung deep. How dare this man accuse me of something so vile!
My blood boiled as I realized people from their pack had begun to gather, whispering amongst themselves. I heard the words “shameless,” “cheater,” and “disgraceful” passed around like dirty gossip. Their judgment weighed on me, suffocating like a thick fog. What had I even walked into?
I raised my voice, trying to drown out their murmurs. “Are you Tyler? The Alpha of Night Creek?”
The man let out a harsh laugh, his eyes glinting with something nasty. “Oh, now you’re pretending not to know me, huh? You don’t even recognize your own mate anymore after running off with some filthy rogue?”
My stomach churned.
‘Mate?’
I felt so disgusted being linked to a crude man like him. He was nowhere near Edwin's caliber.
I tried to speak calmly, forcing myself to stay level-headed. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but there’s clearly a misunderstanding here. I’m not who you think I am.”
But Tyler wasn’t having it. “Misunderstanding?” He let out another bitter laugh and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “You want to talk about misunderstandings? Fine. Take a look at this.”
Before I could respond, he hurled the phone at me. I barely caught it, my hands trembling. The screen flickered to life, and then a video started playing.
A low, intimate moan filled the room.
My heart dropped.
The woman in the video… She looked just like me. Identical, down to the last detail, including a half-moon-shaped birthmark on her back. The whispers around me grew louder, crueler. My face drained of color as the implication of what I was seeing sank in.
Tyler’s voice boomed again. “There’s no misunderstanding. You abandoned our wedding yesterday for that rogue, and don’t you dare deny it. I know everything about your body, especially that birthmark.” His eyes narrowed, filled with accusation, rage swirling behind them.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. The situation was absurd. How could this be happening? I stared down at the video again, my mind spinning.
Although our birthmark was somewhat identical, there was a slight difference that only my family knew. Mine was a waxing half-moon on my left shoulder blade. The woman in the video had a waning half-moon on the right.
I took a deep breath, my anger that had been simmering was about to boil over. I only wanted to reunite with my sister after fifteen years. Why was this happening on the day of our reunion?
I threw the phone back at him, my voice icy with frustration. “That’s not me, and I'm not your mate. You're mistaking me for someone.”
Tyler’s growl rattled the room. “Liar!” His face twisted with fury. “Don’t even try to deny it. You’re just trying to save face in front of everyone, but we all know what you did.”
“You’ve got it wrong!” I snapped, clenching my fists. “That woman might look like me, but that’s not me. She’s my twin sister.”
“Lies! Your sister was already dead!” he roared, cutting me off before I could explain further. His patience was gone, replaced by pure rage. “You’ll regret this. Restrain her!”
He barked the command, and I watched in horror as two warriors stepped forward, their eyes locking on me.
Panic surged through me. My heart pounded, not for myself, but for the life inside me. My baby. I couldn’t let them touch me.
I stepped back, raising my hands in protest. “Don’t! Don’t come any closer.”
But, they didn’t stop.
My throat tightened, and I forced myself to speak louder, my voice breaking. “I’m the wife of the King’s Beta!” I yelled, my words piercing the murmuring crowd.
Chapter 3The warriors hesitated, their eyes flicking between me and Tyler as uncertainty crept into their stances. I used that moment of hesitation to assert myself.
"Don’t touch me!" I growled, my voice hard, commanding, desperate to project strength, though inside I was shaking. My heart pounded in my chest, worry gnawing at my every thought. I had to protect my baby.
The room fell into an eerie silence. Tension crackled like electricity in the air as all eyes locked on me. Tyler stood across from me, his jaw clenched, disbelief and fury twisted across his face. It was clear he still thought I was Liana.
He scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer. “I never knew you could be such a bitch, Liana.” The venom in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. “And the King’s Beta is just as cheap as you, stealing someone else’s mate. You disgust me.” He spat the word like it was dirt in his mouth.
My blood boiled. How dare he insult Edwin!
“Take that back,” I growled, stepping forward, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. I felt the fury rising like a wave inside me, and it took everything in me not to lash out then and there.
Tyler’s eyes narrowed, filled with nothing but contempt. “Or what?” he challenged. His laugh was cold, mocking, as if I was nothing more than an annoyance in his life. “You think I’m scared of you? You’re nothing but a lying, two-timing whore. I don’t care what excuses you make. You abandoned this pack. You abandoned me, Liana.”
I felt my heart sink deeper into confusion. He was so convinced that I was Liana, that I had somehow betrayed him. How could he be so blind?
“Seize her,” he ordered, his voice sharp and cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. “Take her to the dungeon where she belongs.”
The warriors moved forward again, slowly this time, as if unsure whether they should follow through. Panic surged inside me, and I instinctively backed up, my mind racing. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t fight them and put my baby at risk. But I couldn’t let them take me either.
My breath came in short, rapid bursts as I glanced around the room, my eyes searching for someone who could stop this madness. That was when I saw them—the old Alpha and Luna of Night Creek, standing near the back.
A flicker of hope sparked in my chest. Edwin had mentioned before that they were honorable people, and if I could just get them to listen to reason, maybe, just maybe, I could put an end to this nightmare.
I called out, my voice louder this time. “Alpha William, Luna Rowena, please! There’s been a mistake. I’m not who you think I am!”
The old Alpha’s eyes locked onto mine, but instead of the understanding I’d hoped for, I saw only cold disdain. “Don’t bother trying to deceive us any longer,” he said, his voice thick with disappointment. “We warned Tyler not to trust a rogue like you. We told him to be careful. But he wouldn’t listen. And now, look at what you’ve done.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. “No,” I said, shaking my head, the frustration and anger bubbling over. “I’m not a rogue. I’m not Liana. I’m Alicia, the King’s Beta’s mate!” I yelled, desperation coloring my words. “You’ve got the wrong person!”
But they weren’t listening. The Luna, standing beside her mate, shook her head, her lips curled into a sneer. “An ambitious liar is all you are. A whore who thought she could play two sides and come out clean.”
The insult struck hard, a stinging slap to my pride. But I had no time to defend myself because, at that moment, Tyler’s mother, the Luna of the pack, stepped forward. Her hand came down hard across my face, the sharp sting of the slap making my head whip to the side. The room gasped at the impact.
I froze, my cheek burning from the assault. My heart was pounding so hard it hurt. I came here with good intentions but what I received were insults and abuse. I couldn’t let them treat me like this anymore.
Slowly, I turned back to her, anger flashing through me like wildfire. I wasn’t a meek, timid girl they thought they could bully. Night Creek was far from the royal territory so they might not have known that before I became the Beta's wife, I was a top-ranking warrior in the King’s court.
Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped her back, hard. The force sent her tumbling to the floor.
The room fell into stunned silence. I stood there, breathing heavily, my hand still raised. My heart hammered in my chest, but I refused to show weakness.
Tyler’s mother scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide with disbelief and fury. “You—” she started, but she didn’t finish. The shock of what I’d done was written across the faces of everyone in the room.
“I don’t care what you think of me,” I said, my voice low and steady. “But you will not lay a hand on me again. I am the wife of the King’s Beta, and if any of you touch me, you’ll have to answer to him.”
The tension in the room was suffocating, but I held my ground. I wasn’t Liana. And I wasn’t going to let them confuse me for her any longer.
Chapter 4Tyler’s eyes blazed with fury after I slapped his mother, and before I could even blink, he lunged at me. The suddenness of his attack sent my instincts into overdrive. I barely dodged, throwing myself to the side, narrowly escaping his clawed hand.
“Are you insane?” I shouted, backing away quickly, my body tense and ready for the next blow. My heart raced in my chest as I measured him up. His expression was twisted with rage, his features barely resembling the man Liana described in her letter. This was no loving mate. This was a mad Alpha who had lost control.
“Get back here!” Tyler roared, charging at me again. I ducked low and rolled to the side, creating distance between us. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I didn’t want to fight, especially not in my condition. But I had no choice.
“You dare hit my mother?” His voice was rough with disbelief, but I could see his embarrassment too. He wasn’t just furious that I had struck her. He was humiliated that I had done it in front of his pack.
I straightened, trying to keep my breath steady as I held his gaze. “She hit me first,” I spat, my voice defiant. “And you? You’re an idiot if you think I’m your mate, or that I had anything to do with whatever mess Liana made!”
Tyler’s face darkened further, his fists clenched so tightly I could see his knuckles whitening. “You’re just arrogant because you think being the Beta’s mistress gives you power,” he sneered, his words laced with venom. “But you’re nothing but a seductress. You think you can just steal someone’s mate and get away with it?”
A wave of disgust and anger surged through me. “You’re delusional,” I snapped, squaring my shoulders as I glared at him. “I’m not Liana, and I sure as hell don’t want to be your mate. And Edwin? He’s my husband, not someone I tricked or seduced. Get that through your thick skull, dumb Alpha.”
I didn’t want to provoke him, but I needed a way out. There was no window for escape, no ally in sight. Every single person in that room saw me as an enemy, and I had to create an opening.
Tyler’s face twisted in rage, and I knew I had him.
“You talk like you’re something special,” he snarled, his chest heaving. “But you’re nothing, bitch.”
“Is that what a real Alpha does?” I shot back, my voice cold and sharp. “Blame others for his incompetence? Attack a woman he barely knows? Pathetic.”
The insult hit its mark. With a furious roar, Tyler charged again, faster this time, his eyes glowing with dangerous intent.
He swiped at me, and I dodged to the right. This time, his momentum carried him forward, leaving him slightly off balance. It was just enough for me to bolt out.
I didn’t look back as I sprinted into the open air. My heart was pounding, every muscle in my body burning with adrenaline. There was no way I could drive away fast enough. I’d be caught before I even got the keys in the ignition. So I ditched the car and ran on foot, sprinting as fast as my legs would carry me, away from the Night Creek pack.
The trees blurred past me as I tore through the forest, the branches whipping at my arms and face. My lungs burned, and every step felt heavier than the last, but I couldn’t stop. I had to put as much distance between us as possible.
But I underestimated Tyler.
I could hear him gaining on me, his heavy footfalls crashing through the underbrush, far faster than I’d anticipated. Damn it! Of course, he was quicker. He was the Alpha of his pack. A seasoned fighter. And I… I wasn’t at my best right now.
My breath came in ragged gasps, my body protesting as I pushed it harder. Desperation clouded my thoughts, but I forced myself to focus. I needed to hide and think of a way out.
I spotted a huge tree up ahead, its trunk wide enough to shield me for a moment. I darted behind it, pressing my back against the rough bark, trying to slow my breathing. My pulse pounded in my ears. I needed to plan my next move, but my mind was scattered, panic edging in.
Then I heard it—the faint rustle of leaves nearby. Tyler was close. Too close.
I barely had time to react before he rounded the tree, his eyes locking onto me with predatory precision. With a furious growl, he grabbed me by the arm and hurled me to the ground like I weighed nothing.
The impact knocked the wind out of me, my body hitting the earth hard. Pain radiated through my side, but I forced myself up, refusing to stay down. I staggered to my feet, my vision spinning, but I couldn’t afford to be weak now.
Tyler came at me again, and I fought back with everything I had. I landed a kick to his side, followed by a sharp jab to his jaw, but it barely slowed him down. He was relentless, and his anger drove him forward with terrifying force.
His fist collided with my gut, and the world tilted. White-hot pain exploded in my abdomen, and I doubled over, gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. My body screamed in agony as I crumpled to the ground, clutching my stomach.
I couldn’t lose here. My baby!
But as my vision darkened and the world around me started to spin, I felt myself slipping, powerless to stop it.