Christmas Eve My Husband Became My Sister’s Groom

My mother died when I was a kid, and my father only ever loved the daughter his second wife gave him. My one stroke of luck in this life was probably that I married my fated mate—David Brown. He swore to me he’d only ever love one woman: me. But on our first Christmas after the wedding, he just left me a text saying, “Don’t wait up for me,” and vanished. No matter how many messages I sent, he never replied. He left me alone to face the pack’s family gathering. David’s mother spotted that I’d come alone and frowned. “Where’s David? He can’t even be bothered to show up for our traditional family gathering?” I fumbled for an answer and couldn’t get a word out. Her face went cold, anger coloring her voice. “Jessica! I’ve already swallowed my pride and tolerated your background. This is how you repay me? You can’t even handle the basic duties of a Luna?” My palms were slick with cold sweat as I clenched my fists, silently praying for David to show up. But he didn’t appear—not even when the party was over. Worry started to creep in. He’d never ignored my messages like this before. I unlocked my phone, thinking I’d try calling him again. The moment the screen lit up, a f*******: notification popped up—Sarah’s new video. At first, I didn’t pay it any attention, until I realized the background of her video was David’s collection room. No one knew better than I do how much he valued those paintings and antiques. I told myself it was just a similar layout somewhere else—until David walked into the next second, and it felt like a hard slap across my face, my cheeks burning. The man I’d been silently begging to show up while I endured all the side‑eyed ridicule at the family gathering… The husband I’d spent the whole day worrying myself sick over… Was now surrounded by a crowd, down on one knee. He was looking up at another woman with all the love in his eyes, sliding a diamond ring—our symbol of love—onto her finger. And as everyone around them cheered and showered them with blessings, he pulled her into a kiss. Jealousy roared up inside me. Why did Sarah always get to take everything that belonged to me so easily? The status of being the family’s cherished young lady. My father’s affection. And now, even my husband had fallen for her. I knew what I was about to do was a mistake. If I wanted to keep this hollow shell of a marriage, I should have pretended I never saw any of it. But my fingertips were shaking as I still typed out one word— “Congrats”—and hit send. My heartbeat suddenly sounded painfully loud in my ears. I couldn’t stop the tiny, desperate hope that maybe, once David saw it, he’d call and explain. There must be a misunderstanding, I told myself first, trying to soothe my own heart. But the moment my comment went through, Sarah’s video disappeared. My phone buzzed in my hand—David was finally calling. My whole body went rigid with nerves. But as soon as I picked up, his fury slammed into me through the speaker. “Jessica, what the hell are you doing? Sarah is your sister. Can’t you think about her for once?” “How can you be jealous of your own blood sister? Do you have no shame at all?” All the blood drained from my face. It felt like someone had ripped my clothes off and thrown me naked into a crowd. “No… I…” My lips trembled, but I couldn’t string together a single complete sentence. In the back of my mind, my wolf Lily growled bitterly. “See? Even with a fated mate bond, the only thing a man really cares about is the woman he calls his true love.” On the other end of the call, I heard Sarah’s soft sobbing. “David, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I got too excited and forgot to block Jessica. Don’t blame her…” “If she’s upset, we can just pretend none of this ever happened today.” Her voice was all too familiar to me. I knew exactly how beautiful and seductive Sarah was. Her tears were the sharpest weapon she had for capturing a man’s heart. “Sarah, don’t say things like that. It breaks my heart.” Sure enough, David’s voice turned soft as he coaxed her. For me, though, his tone flipped back to harsh and commanding. “Don’t blame Sarah. We have reasons, and I’ll explain when I get back.” “Oh, and send me the cruise tickets you booked. Stay home and behave yourself tonight. Don’t wait up.”