THE WRONG GIRL
1894 Words
I hated how quickly the house changed after Alpha Kael walked in.
It was almost pathetic.
Servants who normally complained under their breath suddenly moved with smiles on their faces. Guards straightened like their lives depended on posture alone. Even the older women from the pack who came to “welcome” him kept fixing their hair every five seconds while pretending not to stare openly.
And honestly?
The worst part was that I understood why.
Because from the second he stepped through those doors, he didn’t feel like a normal man.
He felt like danger dressed beautifully.
The pressure rolling off him was enough to silence an entire room without effort. Strong Alpha energy always affected wolves differently depending on rank and confidence, but this—
This was suffocating.
Even from upstairs, my wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin.
It wasn't attraction,,, more of awareness.
Beside me, Remi looked ready to throw herself down the staircase dramatically.
“Oh, he’s pretty pretty,” she whispered.
I elbowed her instantly.
“You sound embarrassing.”
“You have eyes, Kira. Use them.”
I refused to answer.
Mostly because she wasn’t wrong.
Alpha Kael looked nothing like the men from our pack.
Absolutely nothing.
The men here smiled too quickly whenever Jasmine walked past them. They tried too hard to appear strong. Too hard to appear important.
Kael didn’t seem like a man who needed to prove anything.
That alone made him intimidating.
Black clothes wrapped around his broad frame perfectly, sharp enough to make every guard around him look unfinished somehow.
Dark hair is slightly messy. Cold eyes scanning the mansion slowly, like he was already calculating everything inside it, including the people inside.
His Beta stood beside him speaking quietly, but Kael barely seemed interested in the conversation.
Then Jasmine appeared downstairs.
And suddenly the atmosphere shifted again.
My stepsister descended gracefully beside Selene while every servant watched admiringly.
She looked beautiful.
Beautiful in the effortless way that made girls like me invisible.
Gold wrapped around her skin perfectly, soft curls falling over one shoulder while confidence followed her like perfume.
Even I could admit it.
Jasmine looked exactly like the kind of woman powerful men chose publicly.
The perfect future Luna.
Remi sighed beside me.
“If she somehow ruins this contract, I’ll personally fight her.”
I snorted softly despite myself.
“You wouldn’t survive one second in a fight.”
“That’s rude.”
“It’s true.”
“I’d survive through emotional manipulation.”
“That somehow sounds worse.”
A small laugh escaped her before her expression suddenly shifted.
“Kira.”
“What?”
“He’s looking up here again.”
My stomach tightened instantly.
I looked down before I could stop myself, and there he was…
Looking directly at the staircase.
He was literally staring at me, not Jasmine.
Me?
Heat crawled uncomfortably into my chest.
No. Not possible.
Maybe he was simply looking around the room.
Maybe I was imagining things because Remi kept talking nonsense beside me.
But something about the stillness in his expression made my pulse feel strange.
Like he noticed me standing there.
He actually noticed me.
Then Selene spoke to Jasmine again, drawing everyone’s attention back downstairs.
Relief hit me immediately.
I looked away first.
Because holding eye contact with a man like Alpha Kael felt dangerous for reasons I didn’t fully understand yet.
“You’re blushing,” Remi whispered.
“I am not.”
“You literally are.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me.”
Unfortunately, she was right about that too.
The twins nobody wanted.
That was what we became after our mother died.
No one ever said it directly.
But you learn certain truths from silence.
From the way people look at you.
From what they choose not to say.
Father stopped looking at us warmly after Mother died.
At least from what little I remembered.
Selene tolerated us because she had no choice.
Jasmine learned early that we were beneath her.
And somehow Bruno became the only person inside this house who remembered we were still human beings.
“Why are you hiding up here?”
I turned slightly at the familiar voice.
Bruno climbed the staircase toward us wearing dark formal clothing, his expression already exhausted despite the evening barely beginning.
“You look miserable,” he told Remi.
“I inherited it from this family.”
“That’s fair.”
Then his eyes moved toward me more carefully.
“You okay?”
The question almost made me uncomfortable.
Not because it was rude, because genuine concern always catches me off guard.
“I’m fine.”
“You say that every time.”
“Because you ask every time.”
Bruno smiled at me.
A small smile tugged briefly at his mouth.
Bruno was the only member of this family who smiled without making it feel dangerous.
He glanced downstairs toward the entrance hall before lowering his voice slightly.
“Father’s tense tonight.”
“When isn’t he?”
“No, worse than usual.”
My stomach sank quietly.
That wasn’t good.
Political meetings always brought out the ugliest parts of Father. Reputation mattered more to him than breathing itself.
And tonight’s contract was important.
It was very important.
If Jasmine married Alpha Kael, the alliance between both packs would strengthen financially and politically.
Everyone kept talking about it like it was already decided.
Like Jasmine had already won some grand prize.
Maybe she had.
“She’s nervous,” Remi whispered suddenly.
We all looked downstairs.
Jasmine stood beside Selene smiling perfectly, but I knew her well enough to notice the tension in her shoulders.
“She’s terrified he won’t like her,” Remi continued.
“That’s impossible,” Bruno muttered. “Every male in this territory likes Jasmine.”
Not every male.
For some reason, that thought crossed my mind instantly.
And before I could stop myself—
I looked toward Kael again.
Oops, huge mistake.
Because his gaze found mine immediately.
Like he’d been waiting for it.
My heartbeat stumbled painfully.
What was wrong with him?
No.
What was wrong with me?
I looked away so fast my neck almost hurt.
Remi noticed instantly. She always did.
“Oh, Goddess.”
“Stop.”
“He keeps looking at you.”
“He does not.”
“He literally does.”
Bruno frowned slightly.
“What are you two talking about?”
“Nothing,” I answered too quickly.
Suspicion flickered briefly across his face before heavy footsteps echoed behind us.
It was Father. I hated his presence.
The warmth disappeared from the staircase instantly.
“You three are standing around while guests wait downstairs?”
His sharp voice made Remi straighten immediately.
“We were just coming down,” Bruno answered calmly.
Father barely acknowledged him before his eyes landed on me.
And immediately hardened.
“Fix your posture.”
I straightened instantly.
His expression darkened further.
“You look nervous.”
Because I was nervous.
I was always nervous around him.
Every conversation felt like standing one step away from punishment.
“I’m fine, Father.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
My throat tightened.
Here we go.
That familiar horrible pressure started building inside my chest again, the one that always appeared whenever too many people focused on me at once.
Don’t cry. Not now. Please do not now. I said to myself.
“You’ll assist the servants tonight,” Father continued coldly. “Stay useful and stay quiet.”
Humiliation crawled hot across my skin.
Beside me, Remi tensed slightly.
Bruno’s jaw hardened.
No one argued.
No one ever argued with Father publicly.
“Yes, Father,” I whispered.
His eyes narrowed instantly.
“Speak clearly.”
The pressure in my chest worsened.
“I said yes, Father.”
I was still too soft and pathetic. I hated this.
I hated how my voice betrayed me whenever I needed it most.
Father looked disappointed already.
Like usual.
“She’s nervous.”
The deep, unfamiliar voice cut through the staircase quietly.
Every muscle in my body froze.
Alpha?
I hadn’t even heard him approach.
The entire staircase fell silent immediately.
Father turned slowly.
Alpha Kael stood only a few steps away now; his expression was unreadable.
But his eyes… His eyes were on me.
“She’s nervous,” he repeated calmly. “You’re making it worse.”
There was complete silence. This time, it was worse.
I stopped breathing.
Remi looked shocked.
Bruno looked confused.
And Father—
Father looked dangerously embarrassed.
Nobody corrected him publicly.
Nobody.
Especially not in his own house.
“I expect discipline from my daughters,” Father answered carefully.
Kael’s gaze remained steady on him.
“Fear and discipline aren’t the same thing.”
Something sharp twisted painfully inside my chest.
Because no one had ever said that before.
Not once, not for me, not ever.
The silence stretched awkwardly.
Then Selene appeared downstairs like she sensed tension from miles away.
“Dinner is prepared,” she announced smoothly. “Why don’t we continue inside?”
Father finally looked away first.
“Of course.”
Everyone started moving again slowly, but the strange heaviness remained trapped inside the staircase.
I stayed frozen where I stood.
Mostly because my brain still couldn’t process what had just happened.
Why would he do that?
Why defend me?
It made no sense.
As the others walked downstairs, I forced myself to move too.
I took one step, then another.
My hands trembled slightly against my dress.
Stupid me.
Why was I reacting like this?
Because someone defended you.
The thought hit harder than expected.
Pathetic.
It should not feel shocking for someone to treat me like a person.
Yet somehow it did.
I kept my eyes lowered while following everyone toward the dining hall.
That was safer.
But halfway down the corridor Footsteps slowed beside me.
My pulse immediately quickened.
“You look terrified of everyone here.”
His voice came low and calm beside me.
Keal…
Walking beside me.
Close enough for his scent to wrap around me unexpectedly.
Dark woods, rain and wolves.
It was overwhelming.
“I’m not terrified,” I answered quietly.
I lied.
He glanced at me briefly.
“You avoid eye contact.”
“So?”
“So people usually do that when they’re afraid.”
I swallowed hard. Hoping my voice doesn't betray me.
“Maybe I just don’t like people staring at me.”
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
“That must be difficult in this house.”
The comment caught me off guard.
Before I could answer, voices echoed ahead of us from the dining hall entrance.
Kael slowed slightly.
“Does your father always speak to you like that?”
My chest tightened painfully.
That was personal, way too personal.
I looked forward immediately.
“That’s none of your business.”
His gaze stayed on me for another second; a small smile appeared.
It appeared tiny, barely there, but real.
And somehow that tiny expression changed his entire face.
Dangerous.
That was the word again.
His smile too, was dangerous.
“You’re finally speaking honestly now,” he murmured.
Then he walked ahead of me toward the dining hall.
Leaving me standing there completely unsettled.
And somewhere deep inside my chest something shifted.
- Writer
