My Mate Slept With My Sister, So I Chose His Father

The Betrayal Aria's POV The first thing I noticed was my sister's dress on the floor. A red silk dress. The same dress I had helped her choose that morning. I stood outside Adrian's bedroom, staring at it. And for some seconds, I couldn't understand why it was there. My sister, Selena, was supposed to be at the Moonlight Pack celebration with the other unmated wolves. I had watched her leave the house hours ago. Adrian was supposed to be here alone. My mate, the man I was going to marry. And the man whose future Luna I was supposed to become. Then I heard a laugh from inside the room. It's my sister's laugh and my fingers went cold. No, maybe I heard wrong. I pushed the door open. My entire world shattered. Adrian was sitting on the edge of the bed, his chest was bare. Selena was behind him, covered only by a white sheet. Her hair was messy. His scent was all over her. And my sister was wearing the silver necklace I had given her for her birthday. For a moment, no one said anything, nobody breathed. I stared at the two people I trusted most in this world. My mate. My sister. Together. "Aria," Adrian finally called my name like it's a prayer. It sounded strange coming from his mouth. Not loving, not concerned but almost irritated. I took a heavy breath. "What..." My voice broke, but I tried again. "What are you doing here?" Selena looked away, and Adrian stood up tall. "You're not supposed to be here." I blinked. Of all the things he could have said, that was what came out of his mouth. "Not supposed to be here?" My hands began trembling. "This is your bedroom." "I know." "And you're my mate." "I know that too." His calmness made my stomach twist even more. I looked at Selena, she wouldn't meet my eyes. "Get out of the bed." She raised her head up and looked at me. There was no apology in her expression, not even ashamed. Nothing. "Selena." My voice trembled. "Get out." She pulled the sheet higher around her body. Adrian stepped between us. "Don't talk to her like that." I stared at him. Something inside me cracked. "You are defending her?" "You're making a scene." "A scene?" I laughed, it came out broken. "I just walked in on my mate sleeping with my sister, and I'm the one making a scene?" "Keep your voice down." He whispered. "Why?" I stepped closer. "Afraid someone will hear?" His silence answered me. My wolf stirred painfully inside my chest. Mate. She had always trusted him. So had I. From the day Adrian and I discovered the bond, I had believed fate had finally smiled on me. He was the future Alpha, and I was the Beta's daughter. Everyone said we were perfect together. I had spent years imagining the day I would stand beside him as Luna. I had defended him whenever someone questioned his temper. I had believed every excuse when he came home late. I had ignored every rumor, and now I knew why. I looked at Selena. "How long?" She said nothing. "How long have you been doing this?" But still nothing. My eyes filled with tears. "Selena, look at me." She finally did, and the look in her eyes made my heart stop. There was no guilt, there was satisfaction. "Three months." The room became silent. Three months. I felt like I had forgotten how to breathe. "You've been sleeping with him for three months?" She nodded. I looked back at Adrian. "You let me believe everything was fine." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I was going to tell you." "When?" "Eventually." I almost smiled. "Eventually?" My voice shook. "Was that before or after you made her your Luna?" Selena's lips curved. That smile was the final blow. "You were never going to be Luna, Aria." I stared at her. "What?" She rose from the bed and wrapped the sheet around herself. "Adrian doesn't love you." My heart pounded. "Stop." "He never did." "Stop." "He only stayed with you because of the bond." "Selena!" My wolf howled inside me, and pain tore through my chest. I stumbled backward. Adrian looked at me, and for the first time, something resembling concern appeared in his eyes. "Aria..." He took one step towards me. I waved my hand and said, "Don't." He stopped. Tears rolled down my cheeks. "Please tell me she's lying." He said nothing. "Adrian." My voice became a whisper. "Tell me you love me." His eyes shifted away, that was all the answer I needed before my knees weakened. I caught myself against the wall. My wolf was whimpering, to me that he doesn't want us. "No," I whispered. Adrian's face hardened. "There is nothing I can do about how I feel." "Feel?" "You feel nothing?" I asked. "I don't love you anymore, Aria." The words hit harder than the betrayal. I had heard stories about mates abandoning each other. But I had never understood how a bond could be broken. Now I know. And it felt like someone was ripping my soul apart with their bare hands. I screamed, and my body folded. Pain exploded through every bone. And my wolf clawed desperately inside me. No! I could barely breathe. Adrian's eyes now looked scared. "Aria." He reached to me, and then Selena grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her, and then back at me. Something in his expression changed, his coldness replaced with hesitation. "I'm sorry." I shook my head. "Don't." He stepped back, and then his voice came again. "I, Adrian Blackthorn, reject you, Aria Vale, as my mate." The bond shattered. I screamed, it wasn't a normal screaming but it was the sound of something inside me dying. I collapsed onto the floor. For some seconds, I couldn't hear anything. Everything became distant, the room started blurring. My sister, my mate, their voices and the whole world. All of it disappeared inside the unbearable pain. Then something strange happened, and the pain suddenly stopped. Not gradually, but instantly. Silence filled my body. My wolf went quiet, too quiet. I pressed a hand against my chest, but nothing. No warmth, no bond and no Adrian. He had taken everything. I forced myself to look up. Selena was standing beside him, smiling. I hated her, yes, I hated him. But most of all, I hated myself for ever believing they wouldn't hurt me. I pushed myself upright, my legs shook. "I hope you're happy now." I muttered. Adrian looked away, but Selena didn't. "I am." That answer followed me as I stumbled to the door. I barely made it into the hallway before I heard footsteps behind me. I stopped, and I expected Adrian. But instead, the hallway suddenly became silent. Every wolf nearby lowered their heads, and I turned. A man stood at the end of the corridor. He was tall, broad-shouldered and dressed entirely in black. His presence alone seemed to crush the air around us. I recognized him immediately, and everyone in the pack did. Alpha Darius Blackthorn, Adrian's father. The most feared Alpha in the region. The man whose own mate had abandoned him years ago, his eyes were fixed on me. Not my sister and not his son but me. I wiped the tears from my face. "Alpha." I bowed. He didn't respond, but his eyes moved over my face. Then to my trembling hands, and then back to my eyes. Something dark flashed in his face. Anger, but why? He had no reason to care about me. I lowered my eyes and tried to walk past him. But his voice stopped me. "Who did this to you?" I turned slowly. Behind him, some warriors stared at the floor. But no one dared speak. I sighed. "Your son." Darius's jaw tightened, and for one terrifying second, his eyes seemed to darken. Then he looked at Adrian's room. A low growl rolled from his chest. It wasn't directed at me, and it wasn't even entirely human. But it sounded like a warning. Adrian appeared in the doorway. "Dad—" "Don't." One word. And Adrian immediately stopped. Alpha Darius looked back at me, his expression had now changed. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't understand. Something possessive, and something dangerous. Something that made my broken heart beat once, and hard. "Go home, Aria." I nodded and turned away. I didn't see him watching me leave, and I didn't hear what he whispered after I disappeared around the corner. But Adrian did. And the words made his face go pale. "She doesn't belong to you." Darius's eyes remained fixed on the empty hallway. "I know." "That's what makes this a problem."