Giving Up My Mate for My Stepsister

The reason I had read that cursed story over and over again was to find a plot hole—anything I could use to save the female lead.

I despised the ending where the heroine was left to die, watching helplessly as her mate married her stepsister.

And then, somehow, I was inside the very book whose ending I loathed?

No way! That had to be a dream. I had to be imagining that because I had obsessed over it too much before falling asleep.

“Right, it’s just a dream. Wake up, Leah. Snap out of it!” I slapped my cheeks repeatedly, hoping the sharp sting would jolt me back to reality.

Selena’s voice, calm and curious, echoed in my mind. “What are you doing, Eleonor? And who is Leah?”

I froze. “It’s my real name, okay? I am not Eleonor—I’m Leah.”

The wolf inside me sighed, her exasperation palpable. “Eleonor, you’ve clearly gone mad. Maybe you should sit down and think this through.”

“No, I’m serious! I’m Leah, and I’ve somehow ended up in this ridiculous book.”

After five frustrating minutes of arguing with Selena, who refused to acknowledge my claims, I gave up. There was no reasoning with a wolf who believed I had lost my mind.

Instead, I trudged to the bathroom to take a shower, trying to ignore her occasional comments about teasing her too much.

When I emerged, Everly was waiting for me with breakfast on the table, her chatter filling the room. I said nothing, keeping my mouth shut, but my mind would not stop racing.

‘What page am I on now?’

As I absentmindedly bit down on my spoon, panic gnawed at me.

“Eleonor, are you nervous because your mate will turn twenty in a week and officially become the Alpha of the Nightwalker Pack? Not to mention, he promised to marry you after that, didn’t he?” Everly teased, a playful grin on her face.

“Married?” I repeated without thinking, the word sticking in my throat.

Everly nodded enthusiastically, launching into a long-winded monologue about the preparations, the expectations, and how everyone envied my position as the future Luna.

I barely heard her. My brain worked overtime, piecing together where exactly I was in the story.

A sudden realization hit me like a thunderbolt. But they never actually got married.

The next clue was the timing—a week before the Alpha turned twenty.

My blood ran cold.

It meant that was the final chapter.

The chapter I hated the most. The chapter where the female lead died.

A wave of panic surged through me. My thoughts spiraled out of control, and the sharp memory of my earlier experiment in the bathroom resurfaced.

I had tried to pinch and scratch myself to wake up, and it hurt. It bled.

Which meant I could die here.

“I don’t want to die,” I whispered under my breath, the words slipping out between Everly’s cheerful chatter.

“Die?” Everly paused, her brows furrowing for a moment before she grinned again. “Oh, you mean you’re being extra cautious because your wedding is just around the corner, right? Makes sense. After all, it’s such a big event....”

Her voice faded into the background as dread settled heavily in my chest.

I had one week left. One week to change my fate.

If I failed, I would not just hate the ending, I would be the ending.

I just pouted as Everly continued rambling enthusiastically, completely unaware of the storm brewing in my mind.

She did not know what was coming, since it had not happened yet, but I did. I had read this story three times, and each time, I was haunted by the same tragic ending.

But at that moment, I was not just a reader. I was there, living as Eleonor. And that meant I had a chance to change everything.

Right, that was the reason why I read the story over and over again. It was to find a loophole, a way for the female lead to escape her fate.

If I could use that knowledge to rewrite my own ending, maybe I could save myself.

The first step was clear. I needed to find my mother, who had gone back to her origin pack, Whiteclaw Pack.

“Let’s keep alive, Eleonor,” I muttered under my breath, the words both a prayer and a promise.

Everly, predictably, misunderstood. She beamed at me and chirped, “Right. Let’s keep alive until the wedding—no, no, I mean forever!”

I sighed, shaking my head. “Sure, Everly. Forever.”

**

After a long day of teaching at the academy, I felt the weight of my plan settling on my shoulders. If I was going to leave the Nightwalker Pack and seek refuge with my mother, I needed to make it official.

I printed a pack transfer letter and decided to bring it to the Alpha’s office for stamping.

It was a risky move, but I hoped it would go smoothly since Eleonor had often visited the Alpha’s office in the novel to handle academy-related files.

To avoid suspicion, I also carried a stack of academy documents with me.

As I walked through the packhouse, I forced myself to stay calm. Wolves passing by smiled and greeted me warmly, as if my presence there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was comforting and unsettling all at once.

When I finally reached Branden’s office, I paused outside the door to compose myself. But just as I was about to knock, I caught a glimpse of something through the small gap in the slightly ajar door.

My breath hitched.

Inside, Branden and Quincy were wrapped in each other’s arms, locked in a passionate kiss.

What a cursed pair of lovebirds!