Mated To The Wrong Twin

Chapter 4:

Amara's POV

The music was too loud, the lights were too bright and the whole pack beamed with fake happiness.. and there I was, Amara, the main event’s ghost, lurking in the shadows where I belonged.

In the center of it all, under a glittering chandelier was Brielle the mate-thief.

She was draped in some white dress, clinging to Prince Caspian’s arm like a designer parasite.

He looked… happy. Oblivious. It made the hollowed-out ache in my chest, the ghost of our bond, twist like a knife.

My dress was simple and boring. It was the sartorial equivalent of a sigh. I was doing my best impression of a wall, hoping to just dissolve into the ugly wallpaper.

No such luck.

Three girls glided over, their smiles as sharp as their claws. I recognized them... Brielle’s personal fan club.. the mean-girl brigade.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” the one in the middle, Sasha, purred. “Or should I say, what didn’t get dragged by a mate.”

The one on her left, Tessa, fake-pouted.

“Aww, are you here to get some ideas? See how a real mating is supposed to look?”

“Maybe she’s just hoping to catch the bouquet,” the third one, whose name I didn’t care to remember, giggled. “You know, since she can’t catch a mate.”

I took a deep breath.

“Hey, ladies. Shouldn’t you be over there, l*****g my sister’s boots? I think I saw a speck of dirt on the left one. Better hurry.”

Sasha’s eyes flashed.

“You think you’re so clever? You’re nothing… a defect. The Moon Goddess didn’t even want you.”

“Yeah, well, she must’ve been busy creating your winning personalities,” I shot back.

That did it. Sasha’s hand flew up, aiming to slap the sass right out of me. I braced for the sting.

It never came.

A hand caught her wrist mid-air.

“Is there a problem here?”

We all turned. The guy was tall, built with a easy smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked… normal. Which, in this pack, was a rarity.

“This doesn’t concern you, Boyce,” Sasha snapped, yanking her arm back.

“It does when I see three girls ganging up on one,” he said, his voice calm but firm. “The party’s that way. Go enjoy it.”

They shot me death glares but slithered away, back into the crowd. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, finally looking at my rescuer. “I guess.”

“Don’t mention it,” Boyce said, leaning against the wall next to me. “They’re a handful. Name’s Boyce.”

“Amara.”

“I know.” He gave me a once-over that was more curious than creepy. “Tough break, what happened.”

“You could say that.” I was wary, but he’d just helped me. Maybe he was one of the few decent people here.

We stood in silence for a minute, watching the happy couple.

“So, you new to the pack?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Nah, just keep to myself mostly.” He shrugged. Then he turned to me, his expression turning serious. “Listen, Amara… I was wondering about something.”

“Yeah?”

“My girlfriend, Lyra… she’s really cool. Super open-minded.”

“Okay…” Where was this going?

“And, well, word around the pack is that you’re, you know… into girls. A lesbo. Which is cool! Totally cool.”

My blood went cold. “What?”

“Yeah, you know. That’s why the whole mate-thing didn’t work out, right? So I was thinking… Lyra’s bisexual. And I’m, well, me. We’ve been looking to spice things up. You wanna come back to our place after this? Make it a party for three? Like a threesome?”

I stared at him. This guy didn’t help me out of kindness. He saw a rumor and thought it was an open invitation!

“What the actual f**k are you saying?” I finally choked out.

He looked confused.

“I just thought… since you’re a lesbian and all…”

“Who told you that?” I hissed, my hands clenching into fists.

“I dunno, everyone’s saying it. Your mom mentioned it to mine, I think. It’s no big deal, really. We’re just offering a good time.”

That was it. The last f*****g straw!

My own mother was not only in on the mate-theft, she was now spreading her own twisted little cover story to make me the pack pariah. All the anger, the betrayal, the sheer f*****g audacity of it all boiled over.

“You know what?” I snarled. “f**k you. And f**k your threesome. Go find someone else to ‘spice things up’ with, you asshole.”

I shoved past him, my vision tinged with red. I just marched straight through the dancing idiots, right into the middle of the dance floor, toward the band.

“Stop!” I yelled, my voice cutting through the music. “Stop the music!”

The violins screeched to a halt. Everyone turned. Hundreds of eyes landed on me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my parents’ horrified faces and Brielle’s smug little smirk.

Caspian was frowning.

“What is the meaning of this?”

This was it. Now or never.

“The meaning is this is all a lie!” I shouted, pointing a trembling finger at Brielle. “She’s not his mate! I am! She stole it! She met with the banished witch Vespera and used a diversion spell! That bond is fake!”

The crowd erupted into gasps and murmurs.

Brielle stepped forward, a single tear tracing down her cheek. God, she was good.

“Oh, Amara,” she said, her voice trembling with fake sadness. “Not this again. I’d hoped your… delusions… had passed.”

She turned to the crowd.

“My poor sister. She’s been so envious, so consumed by her desire for Caspian, that she’s invented this terrible fantasy.”

“It’s not a fantasy!” I yelled. “It’s the truth!”

“Is it?” Brielle asked, her voice sweet as poison as she pulled a small, familiar book from her dress.. my diary. She must have stolen it from my room. “Then how do you explain this?”

She opened it and began to read in a dramatic, mocking tone.

“‘Dear Diary, I watched Caspian train today and I dreamt that he kissed me, that he chose me over my stupid sister…’”

My blood ran cold. I’d never written that. She was making it up on the spot.

She flipped a page.

“‘I saw him n***d in my sister’s room today. I can’t get the image out of my head. I will have him. I’ll make him mine, no matter what. I won't stop until I f**k him!’ You walked in on him, Amara! You wrote about it! And now you’re creating this vile story because your sick fantasies aren’t enough!”

The crowd was eating it up. Their whispers turned from shock to disgust.

“She’s insane!”

“A jealous w***e!”

“How pathetic!”

I looked at my parents, begging them with my eyes to stop this. My mother looked away and my father’s face was stone. They joined in.

“We’ve tried to help her,” my mother said, her voice laced with fake grief. “She’s always been… troubled.”

“She needs help,” my father added, shaking his head in disappointment.

I was completely and utterly alone.

Then Caspian stepped forward and he looked at me like I was something he’d scraped off his boot.

“Enough,” he thundered and the room went silent. “I have heard enough of your lies and your malice, Amara. You have disgraced this celebration. You have slandered my true mate. You are a poison to this pack!”

He took a final, disgusted look at me.

“I, Prince Caspian, banish you to the outskirts for three months. Maybe the silence will help you reflect on your madness. Guards! Get this wretched girl out of my sight!”

They didn’t wait. Two large guards grabbed my arms. I kicked and screamed but it was useless. They dragged me out of the ballroom, past the staring, hateful faces and into the cold night.

They dumped me and a small bag of my stuff in a shack on the outskirts. It wasn’t a house. It was a rotting wooden box that smelled like mold and regret. The door didn’t even close properly.

I sobbed and I cried until my throat was raw and my head pounded. I cried for my stolen mate, my traitorous family, my ruined life. I finally cried myself into a fitful, exhausted sleep on the dirty floor.

Which, of course, didn’t last. It was freezing and the wind whistled through the cracks in the walls. Then I heard the scratching.. big, fat rats, probably the size of small dogs, were investigating their new roommate. I spent the rest of the night huddled in a corner, shivering and crying.

And then, because the universe is indeed a giant asshole, it started to rain. A cold drip, drip, drip started from the ceiling, right onto my head.

Morning found me a soaked, shivering, sleepless mess. I was cuddled in the least drippy corner, wondering if a rat would do me a favor and just put me out of my misery, when the door was suddenly slammed off its f*****g hinges.

The same two guards marched in.

“What now?” I croaked, my voice hoarse. “Did I forget to pay rent on this shithole?”

They didn’t answer. They just grabbed me, dragging me out into the muddy ground.

“Let go of me! What did I do? What is it now?”

They didn’t say a word the whole rough, jostling trip back to the pack house. They dragged me straight into the main hall.

Caspian was there, his face darker than a storm cloud. His father, the Alpha, was on his throne, surrounded by stern-looking elders. My parents stood to the side, looking… nervous.

And there was Brielle. She was sitting on a chair, holding a b****y cloth to the side of her face. Her dress was torn. She looked like she’d been through a war.

“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Caspian stormed over, stopping inches from my face.

“You have the gall to ask?” he roared, making me flinch. “You’re here because of what you did! You tried to assassinate the love of my life! Your own twin sister..!”