Forcefully Marked By My Twin Sister’s Fiancé

Chapter One: The Wrong Twin The first time Damon Blackwood touched me, he was wearing my sister's engagement ring on a chain around his neck. I noticed it because he kept his hand against his chest, as if the small diamond hidden beneath his black shirt meant more to him than the expensive watch on his wrist. I should have minded my business. I should have turned around and gone back to the party downstairs. Instead, I stood in the doorway of his study, staring at the man my twin sister was supposed to marry. "You shouldn't be here, Evelyn." His voice was low, almost lazy, but it carried enough warning to make me stop moving. I tightened my grip on the glass of water I'd come upstairs to find. "I was looking for the bathroom." "The bathroom is on the other side of the hall." I glanced behind me. Of course it was. Heat crept up my neck. "Then I must have taken a wrong turn." Damon leaned back in his chair, studying me with the sort of expression that made people feel as though they had been caught doing something terrible, even when they hadn't. He was dressed in a black suit, his tie loosened slightly around his throat. His dark hair was brushed back, and the faint scar cutting through his left eyebrow only made him look more dangerous. At twenty-nine, he was the youngest Alpha to take control of the Blackwood Pack in generations. Even my father, who rarely praised anyone outside our own pack, had admitted that Damon was a man worth respecting. My sister, Vanessa, had called him the love of her life. I had called him arrogant the first time I met him. That had been a mistake. He remembered it. "You have a habit of wandering into places where you're not wanted," he said. "And you have a habit of assuming everyone wants to be around you." For a moment, he said nothing. Then the corner of his mouth lifted. It wasn't quite a smile. Somehow, that made it worse. "Careful, Evelyn." "Or what?" His eyes settled on mine. "Your sister might start wondering why you keep finding excuses to be alone with her fiancé." I nearly dropped my glass. "Excuse me?" "You heard me." "I don't want to be alone with you." I set the glass on his desk a little too hard. "Believe me, Damon, if I had known you were in here, I would have found another bathroom." "Then we're in agreement." "Wonderful." I turned toward the door. "One more thing." I stopped, mostly because I was beginning to suspect that leaving this room would require a signed permission slip. "What?" "Vanessa is looking for you." That made me pause. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" "Because watching you argue with me was more entertaining." I glared at him. He looked entirely pleased with himself. I left before I could say something that would get me thrown out of my sister's engagement party. The music from downstairs grew louder as I descended the staircase. Gold lights glittered against the walls, and the enormous ballroom was crowded with guests from several neighboring packs. Everyone had come to celebrate the engagement of Vanessa Hale and Damon Blackwood, the union that would supposedly strengthen the alliance between our families. My sister stood near the center of the room in a silver dress that fit her perfectly. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, and the diamond on her finger caught the light whenever she moved her hand. She looked beautiful. She always did. We had the same face, the same green eyes, and the same dimple on our left cheeks. Strangers often confused us, especially when we wore our hair the same way. But Vanessa had always known how to make people look at her. I had learned to live with being the other twin. "There you are!" Vanessa spotted me and hurried over, catching my arm. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." "Upstairs." Her smile faltered. "Upstairs where?" "Near Damon's study. I took a wrong turn." For a second, she simply stared at me. Then she laughed, though the sound seemed a little forced. "You went near his study?" "I didn't know it was his study." "Well, don't go wandering around there again, okay?" Something in her voice made me look at her more carefully. "Why?" "Because he's busy tonight, Evelyn. He has important people to speak with, and I don't want you interrupting him." I frowned. "I wasn't interrupting him. I was looking for the bathroom." "Good." She squeezed my arm, her nails pressing into my skin. "Let's keep it that way." Before I could ask what she meant, she released me and turned toward a group of guests approaching us. Her smile returned instantly. It was the kind of smile that made people believe she had never been unhappy a day in her life. I watched her greet the guests, wondering why she'd suddenly become so tense over something as insignificant as me entering a study. Then I caught sight of Damon across the ballroom. He was speaking to an older Alpha, one hand tucked into his pocket. As if he felt my gaze, he turned his head. Our eyes met. He didn't smile this time. He simply looked at me for a moment before turning away. A strange chill crept down my spine. I told myself it was nothing. I had more important things to worry about than my sister's irritating fiancé. For one, I needed to leave the party before my father noticed I hadn't been smiling enough. For another, I had a secret of my own. A secret I had kept from everyone, including Vanessa. My wolf had started acting strangely three weeks ago. She had been restless at first, pacing inside my mind whenever Damon visited our family estate. I had blamed it on the unfamiliar Alpha scent that seemed to linger around him. But tonight, the restlessness had become something else. An ache sat beneath my ribs, growing stronger whenever Damon came near. I had tried to ignore it. I had even asked our pack healer whether something was wrong with me. She had told me to wait. Wait for what, she wouldn't say. Now, standing in a ballroom full of people, I could barely hear the music over the frantic beating of my heart. He's close, my wolf whispered. I swallowed. Who is? She didn't answer. Instead, she pressed against the walls of my mind, desperate to get closer to something I couldn't understand. Then Damon crossed the ballroom. He didn't come toward me. He walked straight to Vanessa, leaned down, and whispered something in her ear. My sister's smile disappeared. She looked at him, then glanced in my direction. My stomach tightened. Whatever he had said, it had upset her. Damon followed her gaze. This time, when he looked at me, something changed in his expression. It was subtle, but I saw it. His jaw tightened. His eyes darkened, and his fingers curled at his sides as if he were fighting the urge to reach for something. Or someone. Me. I took a step backward. My wolf whimpered. Mate. The word struck through my mind so sharply that I nearly gasped. No. Absolutely not. Damon Blackwood was engaged to my twin sister. He had placed a ring on her finger in front of both our families, and their wedding was less than a month away. He couldn't be my mate.