The Alpha’s Forgotten Mate

CHAPTER2

CHAPTER TWO: The Truth

Aria's POV

Aria’s legs felt weak as she stood frozen in the grand hall, her eyes fixed on the woman in Dominic’s arms. The world seemed to narrow to a single point the face of her sister. Her breath came in shallow gasps, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if the weight in her chest was grief, rage, or something else entirely.

Her sister, Kiera, was alive.

Alive,

How

After ten years, Aria’s world had shifted on its axis, and she didn’t know how to find her footing again.

Kiera. She was six years old when Aria had led her to the river, when the world was full of innocence and laughter. How could she be standing here now, in Dominic’s arms, so beautiful and unfamiliar? Aria’s heart was painfully in her chest. The guilt that had gnawed at her every day for the last decade rose like bile in her throat.

Aria couldn’t look away from Kiera’s face. There was something in her eyes, something that seemed distant, like a stranger looking back at her. It felt like a betrayal, as though her sister’s life had been stolen, not by fate, but by this cruel destiny.

How did this happen?

Aria wanted to scream. She wanted to shake her sister, to demand the answers she had waited ten long years to hear. How could Kiera be alive, when Aria had seen her fall beneath the river’s surface, her tiny form swept away by the current?

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t move. Her feet were rooted to the floor, as though the weight of the past had anchored her in place.

Dominic, ever the calm Alpha, was still standing behind Kiera, his arms around her protectively. The gesture burned Aria. He had never once shown her such tenderness, such care. To see him holding Kiera in this way affection, comfort, even love was like a slap to the face.

"You can leave now," Dominic said in a low, controlled voice, his eyes not meeting Aria’s. “I love her.”

Those words felt like a dagger to her heart.

“I love her”

He had never told her that. Not once. She had lived in the cold, empty shell of a bond that was supposed to unite them. And now, just like that, he had chosen Kiera. She chose her over Aria.

The pain surged, hot and bitter, and Aria felt the sharp sting of betrayal cut deeper than she had ever imagined possible.

Her throat tightened. That is it, she thought. This is the end. Everything I thought I knew is gone.

Aria opened her mouth, her voice trembling despite herself.

"Sister..."

The word felt strange, foreign in her tongue, but it was all she could manage.

How could you be here? How could you be alive?

Kiera blinked, stepping back from Dominic’s hold, her eyes still filled with confusion, uncertainty. She looked between Aria and Dominic, clearly trying to piece together something she didn’t understand. And that was what crushed Aria.

“I’m sorry,” Kiera said softly, the words as empty as the distance between them.

“I don’t know you.”

Aria recoiled the words like ice water to her soul. She wanted to scream at her, to demand her sister recognise her, to remember the bond they shared, the nights they spent under the stars, the whispered secrets they’d told each other. But Kiera didn’t remember. She couldn’t. The woman standing before her was a stranger, and Aria was nothing more than an echo in her memory.

Her breath hitched in her chest, but she forced herself to steady. She couldn’t show weakness. Not now. Not in front of Dominic.

“I’m not who you remember,” Aria said, her voice breaking on the words. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m not the same person anymore.”

And then there was Dominic’s voice, cutting through the air, breaking the fragile silence that had settled between them.

“You’re still my mate, Aria,” he said, his tone unwavering. You belong here. As Luna of this pack.”

Luna. The word stung. She had never wanted that title. Never. Not if it meant being nothing more than an empty vessel for his expectations.

She turned away, not wanting to hear him, not wanting to listen to the cold indifference in his voice. She felt so small, so insignificant in the face of everything she had hoped for, only to have it crushed in an instant.

"I don’t care about being Luna," Aria said, her words sharp as a blade. I care about who I am. And who I was to you.”

There was silence, the weight of her words hanging heavily in the air. She turned and started for the door, her heart pounding in her chest.

But before she could escape, Kiera called to her again.

“Wait!”

Kiera's POV

Kiera felt a strange chill run down her spine as the woman, Aria, began to leave. There was something about her. The way she moved, the way her eyes locked onto Kiera's with such intensity, was unlike anything Kiera had ever felt. It made her feel like she had missed something, something important, something... familiar.

But who was this woman? The bond she seemed to share with Dominic was physical, like a magnetic pull that she couldn’t ignore. And yet, there was something... off.

Kiera stepped forward, her heart aching in confusion.

“Wait, please,”

She said again, this time louder, her voice breaking. “I don’t understand. You... you look like you should be someone I know, but... I don’t remember you. Please, tell me who you are.”

The pain in Aria’s eyes made Kiera pause. She didn’t know this woman, not really. She couldn’t remember her, but something about her expression of the sadness that lingered in her eyes made Kiera feel like she was staring at a ghost. The words that left Aria’s lips had shaken her to the core.

Sister?

Who was she? And why did it feel like the world had just split open?

Dominic’s voice interrupted her thoughts, harsh and cold, as if he were commanding Aria to leave. His hand clenched around Kiera’s shoulder in a possessive gesture. “That’s enough, Kiera,” he said, his voice brokering no argument.

But Kiera didn’t look at him. She couldn’t stop staring at Aria.

“Please,” she said softly.

“I need to understand.”

There was something about this woman, something buried deep within Kiera’s soul that whispered familiarity. A bond she couldn’t remember, a past that had been erased. The more Aria spoke, the more Kiera felt the weight of her own lost memories pressing down on her.

But before Kiera could voice the questions burning in her mind, Aria’s voice, broken and final, echoed through the hall.

“I have nothing left for you,” she said, her voice barely a whisper before she turned and walked out into the night.

Kiera’s heart pounded as she reached out instinctively, but it was too late. The door had already closed behind Aria, and the silence that followed was suffocating. She felt an emptiness that she couldn’t explain.

And Dominic, who had seemed so strong and commanding, now appeared distant and cold, as though a wall had risen between them.

Kiera looked at him, her brow furrowed. "What happened?" she whispered, her voice shaking.