The Mate He Rejected Was His Uncles

The wedding dress suddenly felt too tight around my chest.

I stood outside Cassian’s penthouse suite with my hand frozen over the door handle, trying to ignore the sick feeling twisting inside me.

The music from downstairs still echoed faintly through the hotel.

Our engagement party.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to become Luna of the Ashford pack.

My childhood best friend.

My future Alpha.

The man I had loved for eighteen years.

So why did my wolf feel like it was dying?

Another sound came from behind the door.

A low groan.

Then a woman’s breathless laugh.

My stomach dropped.

No.

No, Cassian wouldn’t—

Another sound.

The bed creaking.

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

I pushed the door open.

And the world ended.

Cassian was in bed.

Half naked.

His hands wrapped around another woman’s waist while she sat in his lap, her fingers tangled in his dark hair.

For one second, nobody moved.

Then the pain hit.

It exploded through my chest so violently that my knees gave out beneath me.

I collapsed onto the floor with a choking gasp.、

Something was wrong with the mate bond.

It felt like claws tearing through my heart.

“Lyra—”

Cassian’s voice sounded distant.

The woman slowly turned around.

And I stopped breathing.

Because she had my face.

Not identical.

But close enough that my wolf instantly recognized the blood connection.

Wide silver eyes.

The same mouth.

My lips parted shakily.

“…Selene?”

Fifteen years.

I hadn’t seen my twin sister in fifteen years.

Not since our parents divorced.

Not since my father took me away and banned any contact with my mother and the daughter who left with her.

For one brief second, I saw it.

The mockery in Selene’s eyes.

Sharp.

Then suddenly, tears filled her eyes instead.

She hurried behind Cassian like she was frightened of me.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” she whispered weakly. “She’s still my sister…”

Cassian immediately pulled her against his chest protectively.

And something inside me cracked.

“She’s my mate, Lyra.”

The words sliced straight through me.

“You know twins often carry similar scents. For years, I thought you were my mate because of that. But I finally understand now… Selene is the one my wolf has been searching for. I was wrong about you, Lyra. Just a mistake.”

Eighteen years of growing up together.

Eighteen years of him holding my hand beneath school desks.

Sneaking into my room during storms.

Promising me forever.

Reduced to:

a mistake.

Cassian sighed impatiently.

“So I think you should change out of the wedding dress.”

I stared at him. Waiting for the punchline.

Waiting for him to laugh and say this was some disgusting joke.

But he only looked relieved.

Like he had finally solved a problem.

“What about us?” My voice shook. “Even if she’s your mate, you still chose me first.”

Cassian’s expression hardened.

“That was before I understood the bond.”

“And my father?” I asked desperately. “He’s one of the major