10
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+25 Bonus
Evie’s pov
My fingers brush over my tender neck as I stare at the ceiling in my room. I am laying on my bed with my tears rolling down my temples. I have not stopped crying since Mom left.
Why is this my fate? Why would the goddess give me a heart capable of loving someone like Ryan but a body too weak to ever stand beside him? Why do I have to let go of the one person whom I love most?
I let out a shaky sigh as I lift my hand to brush away the fallen tears. I knew there was no chance for me and Ryan to ever be something. I knew that we could never be. I was wolf less. Practically human. I was the weakest of the pack.
I couldn’t lead strongly by his side. Not like Kimberly would.
The thought made my heart ache.
As my thoughts trap me in my mind my door suddenly wrenches open. Tiredly I look over and see her. The one whom is to take everything that was meant for me. Kimberly’s eyes shine bright with a mix of triumph and cockiness.
“Guess who’s getting marked and claimed tonight?” she giggles, entering my room with a skip in her footing. “It’s been set by the luna and alpha that Ryan is coming over,” her happy smile widens as she claps her hand. ” Now I have to get prepared and you will help me.”
My heart squeezes. Ha. Fate really took me for a laughing stock. How ironic that I have to be the one to help her get ready to be claimed and mark by my own fated mate. 1
Kimberly beams, twirling in the middle of my room as if she’s on a stage. “I need everything perfect tonight,” she chirps. “Hair, skin, lingerie…all of it. And you’re going to help your sister, aren’t you Evie?” She tilts her head mockingly. “I mean you don’t really have a choice. Is either help me or get punished.”
My stomach twists painfully and I force myself to I sit up slowly. I hugged my knees to my chest as I try to breathe through the weight crushing me. It feels like someone was intentionally pressing against my chest.
“Why….why me?” My voice is barely a whisper, raw from crying. “You could ask any of the helpers-”
“But I want you to be the one,” She cuts me off with a sugary smile as she stresses on the word you. “It’s more meaningful this way. For you to see how things are supposed to be. For you to accept your place.”
My throat closes, the words sinking into me like thorns. So painful.
Accept your place. The words rush through my head over and over.
A place beneath her. Beneath everyone. A place where I don’t belong.
My fingers dig into my knees as if holding myself together will stop the scream clawing inside my ribs. The more I hold it in, the more painful it becomes. Kimberly steps closer, her perfume sharp and sugary, suffocating me.
She crouches slightly, lowering her voice, as if sharing a sweet secret instead of carving me open right in front of her. “It’s poetic, isn’t it?” she whispers, eyes glittering with cruel pleasure. “The wolf less sister preparing the future Luna. Helping me slip into the lingerie he’ll rip off with his teeth tonight.”
A soft, broken inhale escapes me before I can stop it and Kimberly’s smile widens. She lives for my pain. Relishes it.
“Oh my poor Evie,” she purrs, brushing my cheek with the back of her fingers like I’m a child. “Don’t cry sister. You should be grateful, fate never had a place for you up there. You were always meant to watch me thrive. You have no place above me.”
Her touch burns like acid on my skin and I flinch away. Her eyes flash angrily and she straightens with a flick of annoyance.
“Now,” she says rapidly and claps her hands, the sweetness she had just a while ago…….gone. “Get up. I want to try on the red set. The lace one Mother bought for this special occasion. Ryan will love it! And you’re going to fix my hair,” She lifts a brow.”
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+25 Bonus
I’m not asking again.”
My chest tightens so sharply I nearly fold in half. She might as well have reached inside my chest, grab my painfully beating heart and rip it out of me. This way I would not feel it anymore.
Fix her hair.
Help her dress.
Prepare her to be his.
My vision blurs. The air feels thin. A whimper trembles in my throat. It was small and pitiful but I swallow it because I couldn’t give her that satisfaction again. I can’t bear to give her it again.
Slowly, too slowly, I uncurl my legs and push myself to my feet. Every movement feels like I’m betraying myself. Like I was walking toward my very own grave. And in a way I was. Because tonight I lose everything. The man I love would be hers and that alone would shatter my soul.
Kimberly beams triumphantly and loops her arm through mine as if we’re close. As if this is normal. As if she isn’t ripping apart my entire world and forcing me to have a front row seat to watch her do.
“Chin up,” she says brightly and tugs me toward the door. A part of me wants to stop, refuse to help her but I know I would get severely punished if I did.” This is going to be the best night of my life!” she chirps, squeezing my arm as her smile widens.” And the last night you ever think about Ryan as anything more than your Alpha.”
Her words slice through me like a sharp knife. She knew I loved him. She has always known. Which is why she’s made it her mission to always embarrass me in front of him. Tonight is some sort of triumph for her.
She finally won.
She got the crown.
Ryan was hers.
