Chapter Four

Lyla's POV:

The world outside might have seen me as Lyla Rivera, the rightful heir to the most powerful Alpha lineage, but inside, I felt like an imposter in my own life. It wasn’t just the lies or the betrayal that haunted me—it was the aching loneliness of never truly belonging.

My earliest memories were of warmth and love, the kind of love that didn’t come with conditions or expectations. My mother’s gentle hands brushing through my hair, my father’s laughter filling our small but cozy home—those were my treasures. I had no idea back then that the family I adored wasn’t mine by blood. To me, they were everything, and I was everything to them. I didn’t care that we lived modestly or that our resources were limited. 

My father’s royal guard uniform might have been patched and worn, but to me, he was the strongest man alive. And my mother, though a palace maid, carried herself with a grace that made her seem like royalty in my eyes.

Then, the accident happened. One moment, I had parents who loved me, and the next, they were gone. Just gone. A car crash, they said. A freak accident. I’ll never forget the coldness of the orphanage they sent me to after, nor the numbness that settled over me as I tried to understand a world without them. And it was there, in that cold and loveless place, that the truth came crashing down on me.

I was not their daughter.

I was swapped at birth. Swapped, like some trinket by a bitter and vengeful nurse, who had stolen me from my rightful family and placed Marielle in my cradle instead. The Alpha family, the most prestigious and powerful bloodline in our kind, were my true parents. Me. Not Marielle. Not the girl who’d grown up in wealth and luxury while I scraped by in poverty.

When the truth was uncovered, I thought it would change everything. I thought that I'd finally belong. 

But oh how naïve I was.

They brought me into their grand mansion, all marble floors and towering mansion, a place that echoed with wealth and power. But I quickly realized I wasn’t there to take my rightful place. No, I was a reminder of their shame, an inconvenient truth they couldn’t erase. They couldn’t bear to part with Marielle, their “daughter.” their precious little girl who had been sickly and fragile at birth. She was their project, their pride, their excuse.

“You’ll understand, won’t you, Lyla?” My mother had said, her voice soft but her words felt like daggers. “Marielle needs us. She’s... delicate. She’s been through so much.”

And so, Marielle stayed. And so did I. Two daughters under one roof, but only one who mattered.

I was thrilled, at first, to have a sister. I wanted to love her, to share secrets and laughter the way sisters were supposed to. But Marielle’s love was as fake as the life she’d been living. She saw me as a threat, a problem. She clung to our parents with an iron grip, ensuring I was always on the outside looking in. She was beautiful, charming, and oh-so-sweet when anyone else was around. But when it was just the two of us, her mask slipped.

“Don’t get any ideas, Lyla.” She’d hissed at me once. “Just because they’re your real parents doesn’t mean they’ll ever love you like they love me.”

And she was right.

My mother’s doting was reserved for Marielle. “Poor Marielle.” She’d sigh. “She’s been through so much. We have to protect her, Lyla. You understand, don’t you?”

My father, though kinder, was distant, as if he didn’t know how to reconcile the daughter he’d lost with the girl standing before him. They gave me a room, a place at their table, but not their hearts. 

And the pack? 

The pack followed their lead. To them, I was the weak one. The disappointment. The true Alpha heir with an Omega wolf. How they whispered behind my back, their words dripping with disdain.

“An Omega?” They’d say, shaking their heads. “How could she ever lead us?”

Marielle, of course, was everything I wasn’t. Her wolf was a Beta, strong and confident. She excelled in every area where I faltered. And she made sure everyone knew it. Every accomplishment of mine was diminished, overshadowed by her perfection. Every moment I sought to shine was eclipsed by her.

I fought so hard to prove myself. To earn my place. To show them I wasn’t just an accident, a mistake to be tolerated. But no matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. My achievements were met with lukewarm praise, if any at all, while Marielle’s smallest successes were celebrated like miracles.

Even now, I can still hear my mother’s voice, soft and pleading. “You have to understand, Lyla. Marielle needs this. She’s… special.”

Special. Always her. Never me.

-----

Suddenly, my eyes flew open as if someone had poured cold water over me. For a second, my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might break free from my chest. 

It took me a moment to realize. 

Fuck, I was dreaming.

Or rather, remembering. My past had played out vividly in my sleep, as if it were still haunting me. But then, something else hit me. My body wasn not on a bed. 

No, I was being dragged. 

Grass scratched my arms, and the roughness of bushes scraped against my skin. Someone was pulling me by my legs through what seemed like a forest. The earthy smell of damp soil and crushed leaves filled my nose. Fear surged through me. I kicked instinctively, my heel connecting with something solid. There was a grunt, and the grip on my legs loosened.

Before I could process it, I scrambled to my feet. The cool air hit my skin as I bolted, ignoring the sharp sting from the bushes as I pushed through. My heart pounded in my chest as I ran. I didn’t dare to look back, but the sound of feet pounding behind her kept pushing me forward. 

Every breath felt like it could be my last.

I rounded a bend in the forest, my lungs burning as I fought for air. The trees blurred around me, my mind only focused on one thing: Escape.

But I wasn't fast enough.

I reached the edge of the forest and came to a stop, the ground sloping downward toward a dark riverbank. My eyes darted around, desperate for a way out, but the way was blocked. This is it. No way out. I barely had time to react before the masked assailant appeared, stepping out from the shadows with a gun in hand. 

"Don't move." A cold female voice commanded.

I froze, my pulse thudding in my ears, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. I lunged for the gun, my hands reaching for it, but the assailant shoved my hard, sending her stumbling backward.

The struggle resumed, our feets dancing in the mud and the gun still aimed at me. I pushed against her, trying to break free, but my feet slipped, and before I knew it, I was falling.

The cold water swallowed me whole.

I fell, my arms cutting through the murky water as I tried to reach the surface. My heart raced as the current tugged at me, pulling me deeper. 

Before I could even register what was happening, the assailant reached up, slowly pulling the mask away from her face. My breath hitched in my throat, the world slowing down as the fabric came away piece by piece.

The face that emerged was one I never imagined.

"Marielle?" The word left my lips in a breathless whisper.