The Alpha's Second Choice, His First Regret

CHAPTER 1

The day my twin sister Olivia died, her mate, Alpha Caleb begged me to marry him to reduce his son's grief by having his mother's lookalike around.

On my thirtieth birthday, which happened to fall on the fifth anniversary of her death, I decided to dye my hair back to my natural red instead of maintaining Olivia's honey blonde.

During the small celebration, ten-year-old Theo grabbed my birthday cake and poured the hot candle wax directly onto my head, the liquid streaming down my face and neck.

"How dare you try to be different!" he screamed as the burning wax slid down my face. "You promised to be just like mom!"

Gasps echoed through the room filled with pack members who'd gathered for my birthday dinner.

Theo's voice dropped to a snarl. "You're nothing but a cheap replacement. A stand-in who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air she did."

The burning sensation spread across my scalp and cheeks as he continued, "I hope your face scars so badly that you can never look like her again. Then everyone will see what a fraud you really are."

I stared at this child I'd sacrificed everything for and felt something inside me finally give way. If he couldn't accept me after five years, perhaps it was time to stop trying.

That night, I called my grandmother.

"I'm coming home," I said firmly. "I'm ready to reclaim my position as the Alpha Queen."

When I left the next morning, I never expected they would come crawling back, begging for my forgiveness.

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I sat on the cold bathroom floor, applying ice packs to my burned face where the wax had left angry red welts. Chunks of wax still clung to my newly dyed hair.

The door slammed open. Caleb stormed in with Theo hovering behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Caleb's eyes flashed with fury. "On the anniversary dinner of Olivia's death, you pull this stunt? Can't you behave for once?"

"It's also my birthday," I replied quietly. "The one day I thought I could finally be who I want to be."

"Your birthday?" He laughed cruelly. "Your only purpose here is to be Olivia. That's the arrangement we made."

"I never agreed to become her completely."

"You agreed to whatever would help reduce my son's grief!" he shouted. "And now look at what you've done with your hair! You've traumatized him all over again!"

Theo smirked behind his father. "She thinks she deserves her own identity when she's just a stand-in."

Caleb turned to his son. "Go downstairs, Theo. I need to talk to Emma alone."

Theo left, not without a final victorious glance over his shoulder.

"Fix this," Caleb demanded, gesturing to my hair. "Dye it back blonde before dinner. Wear the blue dress Olivia wore to her last birthday. Don't make this day any harder for him."

He slammed the door behind him, leaving me trembling.

I never intended to be in this situation.