HAZEL
I stood at the back of the ceremony hall and watched Fia's world crumble around her. Every confused gasp from the crowd, every horrified whisper, every accusatory stare sent a thrill straight through my chest. This was better than I'd imagined. So much better.
The bruises on my face throbbed, but the pain was nothing compared to the satisfaction bubbling up inside me. I'd done this to myself. Punched my own face against the bathroom wall until the skin split and darkened. Ripped my own dress. Messed up my carefully styled hair. Every injury was deliberate, calculated, worth it.
Fia stood frozen at the altar in my wedding dress, her face pale as death. She looked like she was going to be sick. Good. She should feel sick. She should feel every ounce of the terror and humiliation she'd put me through my entire life just by existing.
Many would be led to believe that I was the villain in her story. Like I was cruel to poor, sweet Fia for no reason. But they didn't understand. They hadn't watched their mother's face crumple with shame when Father brought home his pregnant fated mate. They hadn't been five years old and suddenly expected to call some random Omega woman their stepmother. They hadn't watched their real mother, a proud Luna, reduced to nothing more than a discarded trophy wife.
I remembered that day so clearly. Father's voice when he told us. Mother's face. The way she tried to hold it together for me, but I could see the cracks forming. She'd been Luna of this pack. She'd stood beside Father for years, had given him a daughter, had done everything right. And none of it mattered because some Omega showed up along the way with a mate bond glowing between them.
The worst part was that everyone expected us to just accept it. To smile and nod and pretend everything was fine. To welcome this interloper and her parasite child into our home like they belonged there.
I'd prayed every night that they would die. That the childbirth would go wrong. That the baby wouldn't make it. That something, anything would happen to send them away and restore my mother to her rightful place.
But Fia survived though, even if her mother did not. Of course she did. She came into the world small and delicate, with these big doe eyes that everyone seemed to love. Even when she was a baby, she drew attention. People would coo over her in father's arms while my own mother stood to the side, forgotten.
I thought maybe she'd be born a Luna. That would have been the final insult. The daughter of a mere Omega ranking beside me in the pack hierarchy. But fate had been kind in that one small way. Fia was an Omega, just like her late mother. Weak. Submissive. Below me.
Surely that would be enough. Surely my position was secure now. I was the Luna daughter. I would stay the pride of Silver Creek. I would marry well and bring honor to our pack. Fia would fade into the background where she belonged.
But she didn't fade.
That was the thing about Fia that drove me insane. No matter what I did to her, no matter how much I tore her down, she bounced back. She had this confidence that made no sense. She was an Omega. She should have been meek and quiet and desperate for approval. Instead, she walked around like she owned the place. Like she had every right to be here.
And people loved her for it. They called her beautiful. Not as beautiful as me, obviously. I had the classical features, the perfect proportions, the elegant bearing of a Luna. But Fia had something else. This girl next door prettiness that people found approachable. Comfortable. They gravitated toward her in a way they never did with me.
I tried everything to break that confidence. I spread rumors. I excluded her from social events. I made snide comments about her and her late mother. I reminded her constantly that she was merely the daughter of the second wife, the interloper, the Omega who'd ruined my mother's life.
Nothing worked. She just kept smiling and holding her head high and acting like she belonged. She did not even hate me for it.
Then she found her fated mate.
Milo. A sentinel. Nobody special. Just some warrior with muscles, a decent face and a ten inch cock. But he was her fated mate. The Moon Goddess herself had chosen them for each other. And suddenly Fia had something I didn't. This cosmic connection that made her special in a way I could never be.
I'd been eighteen and mate-less while my younger half-sister paraded around with her destined partner. Do you know how that felt? Watching them together, seeing the way they looked at each other, knowing they had this bond I might never experience?
It wasn't fair. None of it was fair.
So I decided to take him from her.
It was easier than I expected. Milo wasn't as devoted as he pretended to be. A few lingering looks, some carefully placed touches, a suggestion that maybe the mate bond wasn't as important as he thought. He fell right into my lap. Literally.
The sex was fine. Good, even. He definitely knew how to use what he had, and yes, the goddess Selene had been generous in that department. But the real pleasure came from knowing I'd taken something that was supposed to be Fia's. That I'd proven her precious mate bond meant nothing in the face of what I could offer.
Still, it wasn't enough. Milo was just a sentinel. Having him didn't change my position or bring me any real power. If anything, pursuing him was beneath me. I needed more.
Then when I hit twenty three, Skollrend showed a sudden interest in our pack.
Alpha Cian. Everyone knew his name, knew his reputation. Cruel. Powerful. Dangerous. His pack was one of the strongest in the region. An alliance with them would mean everything for Silver Creek. It would elevate us from a struggling border pack to something with real influence.
And he wanted a bride from our pack of all places in the world.