MIA’S POV
Mate. The word echoed in my head like a cruel joke as I sat on my bed, knees pulled to my chest. My entire life, I'd dreamed of finding my mate - someone who would finally want me, choose me, love me for who I was.
Instead, I got Rolex. My stepbrother. A man who saw me as nothing but a burden.
"That's impossible," I whispered, stepping back. "I can't be. I don't even have a wolf yet. And you're my stepbrother—"
"Do you think I wanted this?" His laugh was bitter. "To be mated to Lillian's daughter? To someone so weak she won't even defend herself?"
Each word was like a knife in my chest. Of course. Even as my mate, I was still just a disappointment.
His words on the ride home cut deeper than any physical wound. "Don't get any ideas," he'd said, his voice cold. "You might be
