Mated To The Wrong Twin

Chapter 2:

Amara's POV

A sharp, stabbing pain hit me right in the chest like a f*****g ice pick to the heart.

One second, I was floating on this amazing, electric high... the mate bond, the real deal. The next, it was just… gone.. snatched away and all that was left was this hollow aching void that felt like it was physically caving my ribs in.

I swear, the universe looked at my life and said, “You know what this needs? More kicking. While she’s down.”

The music and cheering for the perfect couple... my perfect couple... faded into a weird, muffled hum and that’s when I noticed the staring.

The entire pack was slowly turning to look at me. Not with pity. Nah, that would’ve been too nice. This was worse. It was this weird skeptical side-eye like I was a science experiment that just went horribly wrong.

The whispers started, slithering through the air.

“Did you see her face? She really thought it was her.”

“So strange. The bond never misfires.”

“To not be mated at all… it’s unnatural. An abnormality.”

“Bad luck for the pack, for sure.”

I just stood there, alone in the middle of all these happy, paired-up people, feeling like the world’s biggest i***t. My eyes flicked to Brielle, wrapped in Caspian’s arms. And wouldn’t you know it, she was looking right at me over his shoulder.

And she was smirking. Not a happy-to-see-you smile. A full-on, s**t-eating, “I-know-something-you-don’t-know” smirk. It was there and gone in a flash but I saw it. That b***h knew something!

***

The days that followed were a total f*****g nightmare. My epic humiliation was the pack’s favorite new gossip. Going outside was like running a gauntlet of assholes.

A group of girls giggled as I passed.

“Look, it’s the princess!” one of them singsonged. “Oh, wait, no she’s not! She’s just the girl who dreamed she was!”

The older folks were worse. They’d stop talking when I got close, then give me this look of pity and suspicion. I heard the words “unmated” and “cursed” so many times I wanted to scream.

It got so bad I just stayed in my room. My awesome, plain room that definitely didn’t get the fancy re-do Brielle’s did. I was burrowed under my comforter, trying to become one with the mattress, when my mom actually came in.

Shocker.

She sat on the edge of my bed.

“Amara, honey? You can’t stay in here forever.”

I just grunted into my pillow.

“The pack is talking,” she said, and her voice was actually kinda soft. For a whole five minutes, she didn’t mention Brielle once. It was a new world record. “They’re saying… well, some people are wondering…”

“Wondering what?” I mumbled. “If I’m a freak? Yeah, I got that memo.”

“No, honey. It’s… it’s just so rare. For a girl not to find her mate. It’s never happened before.” She paused, and I could feel her choosing her words carefully. “Amara… are you… you’re not a lesbian, are you?”

I shot up so fast I saw stars.

“What? Mom, no!”

“It’s just, if you were… you know the pack laws. We’d have to… well, it wouldn’t be good.”

“I’m not gay!” I said, my voice cracking.

In my head, I was screaming, Who the f**k cares? Does it matter? Everyone should just f**k who they want to f**k! But I didn’t say that. I just shook my head.

“I’m not!”

She seemed relieved.

“Okay. Okay, good. Well… try to come down for dinner later. Your father is… you know how he is about moods.”

She left, and I locked the door behind her. Moods. Right. My soul was publicly shredded, but hey, let’s not bring any moods to the dinner table.

The ache in my chest was back with all the hurt and humiliation. It was this desperate, horny pain that only seemed to have one face attached to it.. Prince Caspian’s.

“Dammit,” I whispered.

Screw it..!

I pulled down my undies, kicking them to the floor. My body was already responding with that familiar tingle spreading.

I closed my eyes, picturing Caspian above me with his lips on my neck, whispering that I was his real mate. My fingers slid between my legs, circling my c**t slowly at first, building the pressure. God, it felt good, but the pain twisted it into something intense and almost desperate.

I grabbed one of my big boobs with my free hand, squeezing the soft flesh, pinching the n****e until it hardened. In my mind, it was Caspian's mouth there, sucking and teasing.

I moaned softly with my hips bucking up as I rubbed faster.

“Caspian,” I whispered, imagining him thrusting his d**k into me and claiming me for real.

The fantasy built with him growling my name and his hands pinning me down.

The heat coiled tight in my belly with the ache from the bond fueling it. I plunged two fingers inside myself, thrusting with my thumb on my c**t.

My other hand kneaded my boobs harder, switching between them with the sensation overwhelming. I was soaked with the room filling with the slick sounds.

“Yes, right there,” I gasped to the empty air.

The o****m came so soon with my body arched off the bed and I squirted hard, the liquid shooting out in a high arc, splashing onto the floor in warm puddles.

I kept going, rubbing my c**t furiously through the aftershocks with more squirt pouring out until I was spent.

Finally, I slowed, circling gently with my breaths ragged. The pain eased a bit, replaced by a drowsy haze and I drifted off to sleep, sticky and satisfied.

I woke up later to a sound.. a quiet creak in the hallway.

I froze, listening. Maybe it was just the house settling. Or my dad getting a midnight snack.

Creak.

Nope. That was a footstep.

Curiosity, the thing that probably kills more than just cats, got me out of bed. I hastily pulled up my underwear and crept to my door, opening it just a c***k.

I saw her.. Brielle.. In a dark hoodie, tiptoeing down the stairs like a goddamn secret agent. Where the hell was she going? It was, like, midnight.

Without even thinking, I followed, staying far back and making sure the wind was blowing my scent away from her. Super-spy s**t. What was the perfect golden child up to?

She led me straight into the woods at the edge of our territory. This was so against the rules it wasn’t even funny. I ducked behind a thick tree, peeking out.

Brielle stopped in a small clearing. Someone else was there, a figure in a long dark cloak. Who the hell was that?

As if to answer my question, the figure lowered its hood and..

Holy. Shit..!

It was Vespera..! The witch..! The one who’d been banished from our pack lands years ago for messing with dark magic. What was she doing here? And what was my sister doing with her?

I held my breath, straining to hear.

Brielle was practically bouncing with excitement.

“It worked! It actually worked, Vespera! No one suspects a thing!”

The witch’s voice sounded like dry leaves scraping together.

“The magic was strong. The diversion spell I placed on him was… potent. It redirected the bond’s pull. To everyone, even to the Moon Goddess’s magic in that moment, it will appear true.”

“He looks at me like I’m his entire world,” Brielle gushed, sounding disgustingly pleased with herself. “It’s perfect.”

My blood went from cold to boiling.. a diversion spell?! Redirected the bond?!

It wasn’t real.

The bond between Caspian and Brielle… it was a lie..! A magical f*****g cheat code! She stole him. She saw that he was my mate and she stole him!

Vespera nodded with a slow creepy smile on her face.

“Enjoy your prize, little wolf. You have what you wanted.”

I stood there, hidden in the shadows with my hand clamped over my mouth to keep from screaming.

This wasn’t a mistake..! This wasn’t fate being a d**k…

This was a setup..!