He Sent His Twin, I Married Another Alpha

Chapter 2

Lily and Liam were barely friends, so she hadn't noticed that the groom had changed.

"Ava, as long as you get to marry Liam in the end, who cares if the ring was swapped? After all these years, you've finally made it through all the hard times and gotten your happy ending."

I knew she meant well. Every word came straight from the heart.

After all, she'd watched me spend years pining after Liam and putting myself through hell for him.

Liam and I had first met at the pack's New Moon Festival banquet when we were 18. The second our eyes met, we both knew we found our fated mate.

I never lied to myself about why Liam agreed to be with me. Marrying his fated mate would strengthen his claim to the Alpha title.

Still, I'd always held on to the hope that after all those years by his side, I'd carved out at least a tiny corner of his heart for myself.

Three years ago, rogues invaded the pac. One of them caught Liam off guard and crept up behind him, ready to strike.

My blood ran cold. "Liam! Look out!"

I threw myself in front of him and took the rogue's blow head-on.

When I woke up in the hospital, Liam was sitting beside my bed, gripping my hand. His face was covered in stubble, his eyes bloodshot. He looked more exhausted and worn down than I'd ever seen him.

The second he saw me awake, he pulled me into a tight hug.

"Ava, I'll treat you right from now on, I swear. I'll spend the rest of my life making you happy."

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them. I thought I'd finally melted his cold heart.

Yeah. Right.

I stared at Noah, the groom's boutonniere still pinned to his lapel, and let out a bitter, mocking laugh.

All those years of feelings had been nothing more than a sad, one-sided fantasy I'd built in my own head.

My wedding dress had been hand-stitched by a prestigious bridal boutique.

When I told Liam we didn't need to go that overboard, he was adamant.

"Ava, the dress you wear has to be better than that."

Better. Not the best.

Because the very best was reserved for Mia.

A sharp knock on the door cut through my thoughts.

I was still stunned when Mia walked into the room.

She gave me a soft, sweet smile.

"Happy wedding day, Ava!"

Liam was right behind her, hovering awkwardly by the door with one hand still wrapped around the handle.

"You don't mind me showing up uninvited, right?" Mia asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear like she always did.

Lily's eyes immediately locked onto the emerald ring sparkling on Mia's ring finger.

"Wait, isn't that the Luna Ring?"

She spun around and glared at Liam, her jaw clenched tight.

"You said you'd lost it! Then how the hell did it end up on her finger?"

I stared at Liam, calm.

This time, he owed me an explanation.

Before Liam could even speak, Mia hurriedly tried to pull the ring off.

"Oh my God, this is the Luna Ring? I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."

Her voice trembled as she bit her lower lip, every inch of her radiating fragile, wide-eyed innocence.

Liam took the ring and slipped it right back onto her finger.

"It's just a ring. I've given it to you, so it's yours."

Lily's face flushed bright red with rage.

"That's it! Ava, we're calling off this wedding!"

I gave Lily's hand a gentle squeeze to calm her down, then turned to Mia with a cool smile.

"Liam's right. If he's given it to you, it's yours. I really appreciate you coming all this way to wish us well, but showing up to a wedding empty-handed is pretty rude, don't you think?"

Lily let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"Sure, she's Liam's stepsister on paper, but he dotes on her so much. The least she can do is get her brother and sister-in-law a proper wedding gift, right?"

All the color drained from Mia's face.

It looked like reality had finally hit her—Liam was actually getting married.

Mia and Liam. They'd once been the star couple back in high school, the pair everyone had gushed over and rooted for.

Then Mia's mother married Liam's father.

The star-crossed couple had been torn apart against their will.

One of them had left the pack heartbroken, running all the way abroad to escape.

The other had stayed behind, devastated by their breakup.

Lily's snarky jab made Mia blush with embarrassment.

She shot Lily a venomous glare, spun on her stiletto, and clicked out of the room as fast as she could.

Liam immediately moved to follow her, but I stopped him.

"You sure you want to walk out right now?"

His voice was sharp with disapproval.

"My dad marrying Mia's mom has always been an open wound for her. You had no right to bring that up and throw it in her face."

With that, he hurried after her without a second glance.

I stared at his back and let out a bitter, hollow laugh.

Lily looked at me, worry written all over her face.

"Ava... do you still want to go through with this?"

I pulled out my phone and booked an urgent, same-day ritual with the witch to break my mate bond.

"Go through with it? Hell yeah."

I quickly fixed my smudged makeup, then pulled out my phone and sent a message to Ethan, Alpha of the Ashclaw Pack, Liam's longtime rival and the man who'd been pursuing me for seven years.

Ava: You once said you wanted to marry me? Does that offer still stand?