He Chose My Sister Over His True Mate

The guards at the border mind-link me before I see her.

'Luna, there's a situation at the eastern gate. Your sister is requesting entry.'

My sister.

I haven't heard those words in three years. Three years of building something here, of earning respect one small act at a time, of pretending I belong. And now Lainey's back.

My hands freeze over the supply ledgers I've been reviewing. The pen slips from my fingers, leaving an ink blot across the page like a wound.

'Let her in,' I reply, keeping my mental voice steady. 'Escort her to the main hall.'

I should tell Sebastian. But he's in a council meeting with the Betas from the northern territories, and I can handle my own sister. I've been handling her my whole life.

Except I haven't, have I? She's the one who's always handled me.

I smooth down my silk dress—deep blue, expensive, nothing like the rags I wore at the Wood Pack—and make my way to the main hall. My reflection catches in the hallway mirror. I look like a Luna now. Hair pinned up, posture straight, the mark on my neck visible and healed.

I look like everything Lainey was supposed to be.

She's waiting in the center of the hall when I arrive, and the sight of her steals my breath. She's thinner than I remember, her dress worn at the edges, her hair less glossy. But she's still beautiful. Still Lainey.

Derek Henry stands behind her, and he won't meet my eyes.

'Avery.' Lainey's voice drips honey, but her eyes are cold. 'Look at you. Playing dress-up in my life.'

I don't flinch. I've learned not to. 'This is my life, Lainey. You gave it to me, remember?'

'Gave?' She laughs, sharp and bitter. 'You stole it. You knocked me out and took my place at that altar. You stole my mate, my pack, my destiny.'

The lie is so smooth, so practiced, that for a second I almost believe it myself. Almost forget that she's the one who forced me into this, who threatened to let Mom die if I didn't go through with it.

'That's not what happened.'

'Isn't it?' She steps closer, and I smell desperation under her perfume. 'Look at you, Avery. Silk and jewels and a mark on your neck. Meanwhile, I've been struggling to survive with a mate who can't even keep his pack fed.'

Derek flinches behind her, but says nothing.

'I want to see Sebastian,' Lainey continues. 'I want to explain what you did. I want my life back.'

'Sebastian knows exactly what happened.' The words come out stronger than I feel. 'And he's busy.'

'Too busy for his true mate?' Her smile is poison. 'I don't think so.'

Before I can respond, she sweeps past me toward Sebastian's office. I follow, my heart hammering, but she doesn't go to his office. She turns toward the archives instead.

'Lainey, you can't—'

'I'm family, aren't I?' She throws the words over her shoulder. 'Surely I'm allowed to visit the archives. To see the Former Luna. Unless you're afraid of what I might find?'

I am afraid. But I can't show it.

The Former Luna's quarters are in the east wing, and Lainey navigates there like she's been planning this route for months. Maybe she has. When we arrive, Sebastian's mother is taking tea in her sitting room, and her face lights up when she sees Lainey.

'Lainey Wood. What a lovely surprise.'

I stand in the doorway, invisible again. Just like always.

Lainey sinks into a curtsy, all grace and charm. 'Former Luna Pierce. I've been hoping to speak with you. About family matters. About the truth.'

The Former Luna's eyes flick to me, then back to Lainey. 'The truth?'

'About the night Sebastian nearly died.' Lainey's voice drops, intimate and confiding. 'The rogue attack, five years ago. I was there. I'm the one who saved him.'

My blood turns to ice.

'I donated my blood,' Lainey continues, pulling papers from her bag. 'Rare healer blood. The only reason he survived. I have the infirmary records right here.'

She spreads documents across the Former Luna's table. They look official. They look real.

They're lies.

I'm the one who donated blood that night. I'm the one who nearly died giving Sebastian what he needed to survive. But I did it anonymously, through Elena Cross, because I was nobody. Just the Alpha's bastard daughter, worthless and wolfless.

And now Lainey's stealing even that.

'This is remarkable,' the Former Luna breathes, studying the papers. 'You saved my son's life.'

'I did.' Lainey's voice breaks perfectly, tears shimmering in her eyes. 'And then Avery stole my reward. She took my place at the altar. She took everything that should have been mine.'

The Former Luna's gaze shifts to me, and I see it happening. See her belief crystallizing into something hard and cold.

'Is this true, Avery?'

My throat closes. I want to scream that it's all lies, that I'm the one who saved Sebastian, that I've given everything to this pack. But the words won't come.

Because I don't have proof. I never kept proof.

And Lainey does.

'I think,' the Former Luna says slowly, 'we need to have a very serious conversation about who truly belongs at my son's side.'