Chapter 1

I tightened my hold on the keychain, staring through the doors of where I thought Matt would be.

It’s been an hour since we were supposed to meet, but I don’t see him anywhere.

“Excuse me, have you seen Matt anywhere?” I asked a random girl who had been leaving his classroom, grabbing her arm gently.

She must be his classmate.

Matt was the alpha’s son and so the next in line to be the alpha. Everyone knew who he was.

Her head shook to the side and I dropped my hand, feeling disappointed that I still had no clue where my supposed mate was.

Thanking her for not flipping out after getting stopped by me, I turned on my heels, making my way to the cafeteria.

Matt was my mate and boyfriend for two years. Being the son of the alpha, everyone wanted to have him.

But he was mine.

Today was our second anniversary and I got a keychain to remind him of the first day we had met.

I had other things ready, but this was just a start.

“Hey! Tiana,” someone called out to me from brunt and I immediately turned around 

I came face to face with Justin, who was Matt’s cousin and also like a best friend.

If anyone was going to know where Matt was, it was going to be him.

“Hey, Justin. Do you have any idea where Matt went? I can’t seem to find him,” I asked, staring at him as I waited for at least a positive response from him.

The worry in my voice was seeping in and I couldn’t help but think of the worst that could have happened.

“You have no idea where Matt is? Have you tried ringing him?” Justin asked like I didn’t leave his phone with thousands of missed calls and messages from me.

“Oh, thanks for the suggestion, Justin. Why didn’t I think of that?” I couldn’t help the snarky remark that escaped my lips, sarcasm dripping from them.

He was asking as if I would search for him if I had an idea of where he would be.

Justin’s face blanked at my retort and he rolled his eyes.

“I am not certain where he is, but you should check the library,” Justin said finally, pushing his thumb behind him in the direction of the library.

My brows furrowed in confusion.

The library?

Matt always complained about how much he hated books, what would he be doing in the library?

Not wanting to voice out my confusion, I thanked Justin and made my way to the library.

He didn’t even tell me he was going to be there, and it’s already been so long since we said we would meet.

Wasn’t he with his phone? Why couldn’t he answer my calls?

Different thoughts ran through my mind, and I struggled to get an answer for each of them.

“Maybe he was getting a surprise ready for me; it was our anniversary after all,” a voice in my head said, and I nodded slightly.

That could be the only explanation. I wonder what kind of surprise he had waiting for me.

My lips pulled into an ear-splitting grin as I got closer to the library.

The moment I walked into the library, I felt him first. The scent of my mate filled my nose, pulling me closer to him.

But it was not just him; there was another scent mixed with his. 

One I knew too well and shouldn’t be there.

Maybe there’s a logical explanation for whatever was going on, it’s not too bad for her to ask him for help.

So I would understand.

I followed his scent deeper into the library, my heart pounding harder with every step I took.

Why am I nervous? It's not like Matt was doing anything wrong. 

Maybe she was just helping him plan the surprise he did.

 My mind raced with thoughts of what kind of surprise Matt could be planning for me.

 It had to be something big if he had been ignoring my calls and texts all day.

And he even needed my sister's help. 

But as I turned the corner, the smile on my face froze.

No…

My eyes landed on Matt, and my breath caught in my throat.

He wasn’t alone.

There, pressed against the shelves, was my younger sister, Sophie. 

Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and their lips were locked together like they belonged to each other.

He was too invested in his passionate kiss to not feel my presence even though I was just a few meters away from where he stood.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. 

My body was frozen in place as I watched the two people I trusted most betray me in the worst way possible.

How could they?

My mouth opened and closed numerous times, words failing to form.

I could feel my heart beat wildly, but not in excitement this time.

My breath heated up, my eyes blurring as I burned the image before me into my mind

“Sophie?” My voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to make them pull apart.

Matt turned to face me; his eyes widened in shock for a second before they shifted into something unreadable. 

He didn’t look guilty or even apologetic—just...calm.

He couldn't even bother to act like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. 

How could be?

“Tiana,” he said like he was greeting me on a normal day.

His eyes flickered to the keychain in my eyes and then back to my face.

Sophie didn’t even bother stepping away from him.

 Instead, she clung tighter to his arm, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Oh, hi, Tiana. I didn’t see you there,”

How could they?

How could Matt do this to me and with no one other than my sister?

“You couldn't have seen me when you were locking lips with my mate,” I hissed with more venom than I thought I had in me.

None of them said anything, both staring at me with the same blank face.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

 “What the hell is going on here?” My voice rose, shaking with anger and disbelief.

At least apologize! Look sorry!

I wanted to scream at them but I kept it all to myself. 

If they had apologized maybe I would have forgiven them and seen it as one small mistake. 

But it was obvious this was anything but a mistake. 

Matt sighed as if I was the one inconveniencing him. “It’s not what it looks like,”

Was I so stupid he thought he could easily lie to me and get away with it?

I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest. 

“Not what it looks like? I just caught you kissing my sister! How else am I supposed to take this?”

Was I supposed to clap and hoot at them? How else was I supposed to see this?

But the look in their eyes told me they felt I was overreacting, and that made my blood boil.

Sophie tilted her head, still holding onto Matt.

 “Why are you overreacting? It’s not like you didn’t know Matt and I have always been close,” She said like it was common knowledge and I should have expected my sister to be swapping saliva with my mate

“Close?” I snapped, glaring at her. “You’re supposed to be my sister, Sophie! How could you—”

Matt cut me off, stepping in front of Sophie protectively.

 “Calm down, Tiana. This isn’t some big betrayal. It’s just the truth coming out,”

My heart broke at that one gesture, everything crashing down all around me.

It should be me behind him, he should be protecting me. 

“The truth?” My voice cracked as I stared at him. “What truth?”

He looked me dead in the eyes, his calmness only fueling my rage.

 “That Sophie is better for me. She’s always been the favorite—your parents love her more, and honestly, so do I.”

My chest tightened as his words sunk in.

It was no secret that my parents doted on my younger sister more, but hearing my so-called mate say such?

I didn't know what to feel.

“What are you talking about? You’re my mate, Matt. We’re supposed to be together!”

His expression hardened like I was speaking nonsense. 

“We were never equals, Tiana. You’re weak. You can’t handle what it takes to stand beside me as an alpha’s mate. But Sophie...she can.”

What?

Sophie grinned, leaning her head against his shoulder like she’d already won.

She didn't look the least bit remorseful. 

She had just stolen her sister's mate and she didn't care about that. 

“You bastard,” I hissed, my voice trembling. “You think I’m weak because I trusted you? Because I believed in us?”

Matt shrugged like my pain meant nothing to him. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I, Matthew Jerkins. Reject you, Tiana. You’re not my mate. Sophie is the one I want by my side.”

I let out a cry, falling to my knees as tears flowed from my face uncontrollably. 

I could feel the searing heat from our mate getting severed, and I couldn't handle it anymore. 

What did I do to deserve this? I did all I could to make sure I would be befitting for Matt, and yet...

Sophie’s smug smile was the last thing I saw before I pushed up from the floor and ran, tears blurring my vision as I stumbled out of the library.