Chapter 4

I stood in front of the mirror, tugging at the hem of the white dress that hung awkwardly on my body. The fabric was scratchy against my skin, and I couldn't help but feel out of place in it. It was clear that this dress was not made for me; it was a hand-me-down from my sister, who had a better figure than me.

As I fidgeted with the neckline, trying to make it suit just right, I couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that settled in my stomach. This wasn't what I would have chosen to wear to meet Alexander, it was given by my mom.  She handed me the dress with an evil smile, saying that she would not be wasting any of her time or money on getting me a new dress.

I sighed as I smoothed down the skirt; it didn't matter how uncomfortable or out of place I felt in this dress because I didn't have a choice but to wear it;  if I walked out in anything other than what my mother had chosen for me,  she would punish me worse than ever before.

The sickening feeling in my stomach kept growing stronger the more I thought about wearing my sister's dress in front of the man that I was being forced to marry. With one last glance at myself in the mirror, I took a deep breath and headed out the door to go and meet him, trying my best to hold my head high.

As I entered the grand hall where Alexander was waiting, my heart pounded in my chest. 

He turned to look at me, and for a moment, his expression softened. But as I walked closer and he could clearly see my face, his eyes became extremely cold. I knew that him seeing me in this dress  would hurt him and my heart broke for him. it would have all been a part of my mother's horrible plan to try and stop this marriage.

"You really are trying to replace her, aren't you?" he said quietly, his voice laced with hate.

I bit my lip, feeling the sting of tears threatening to spill over. "No, I swear I'm not," I whispered, willing him to believe me.

But he just shook his head and turned away, leaving me standing there feeling like a fraud in my sister's dress. The weight of everyone's expectations of me was suffocating as I struggled to hold back my emotions. 

"I'm sorry, Alpha Alexander", I blurted out, trying to stop him from leaving. He stopped in his traps, standing there and waiting for me to go on. "I know that you loved Cas..." I stopped not wanting to say her name because even though she had bullied me my whole life, there was still a part of me that missed her, and just saying her name hurt me.

he turned to look at me, he tried to hide his emotions from me, but I could see the hurt in his eyes. "Her name was Cassandera" he spat at me as he walked toward me, his voice filled with venom. "Say her name" he ordered, waiting for me to do as I was told.

My heart was pounding harder than ever before, fear overtaking every part of my body as I stood there frozen in front of him.

"Say her name!" he emphasized, making me step away from him.

"Cassandra, my sister's name is Cassandra", I spat out, my voice filled with fear and sadness. That was the first time I had spoken her name since the day she died. I kept my head low, looking down at the ground, trying to hide the single tear that had escaped me.

I could feel his eyes burning into me as he stood there staring down at me. "You shouldn't be wearing your sister's clothes. You look like her now, but   you're not her."

I never wanted to replace my sister and it eats away at me that no one ever believed me. I lowered my head further, unable to speak because I knew that if I did, I would lose control of my emotions.

His cold fingers lifted my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. "You know, I promised your sister I would never love another woman."

his words pierced through me. The pain of losing Cassandera even though it had been two years was still fresh, and I knew that Alexander's heart belonged to her and always would. Unlike most he had chosen to love her they weren't fated together like most werewolves. I couldn't bear the thought of being a replacement for her, no matter how much my father and the packs wanted this marriage it was crushing me inside. I stayed silent.

"And I will keep that promise to her", he spat at this voice filled with promise.

"I always know that," I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady despite the tears threatening to spill over. "I don't want to come between you and her memory."

"Then tell me why you're trying to pretend to be your sister by wearing your sister’s clothes." His words were still cold and questioning.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to do it, my mom forced me to wear this dress." I tried to explain, "Please believe me."

"How could you expect me to believe someone who tried to seduce me at your sister's funeral." The pressure from Alexander made me breathless.

"No. No. I never thought of doing this. It was a misunderstanding." I shook my head desperately and argued for myself.

"You're not worthy of wearing this dress." Alexander turned to leave. 

His words stung my heart so hard that I felt tons of pain crushing me.

Looking at his leaving figure, I finally chose not to explain.

"Alexander", I called out, making him stop. "I'm sorry to remind you of painful memories. I feel the same for losing my sister." He had no trust in me but I still wanted to say something.

He hunched his shoulders for a second before straightening up and disappearing through the grand hall doors.