My Family Stole My Alpha, I Married Someone Stronger Chapter 01

Ten years ago, I was forced to give up my fated mate, my fiancé, Alpha Andrew, to my older sister, Brianna.

After a full decade, my mother finally swallowed her pride and begged me to come home to the pack for Christmas.

At Christmas Eve dinner, she wiped away her tears and said, “I won’t even get to see you get married before I die. How am I supposed to rest in peace?”

Trying to comfort her, I replied, “Don’t say that. Everyone gets cremated these days. Whether you rest in peace or not, you’ll still end up as ashes.”

Brianna frowned in disapproval and scolded me. “Katie, how can you talk to Mom like that?”

“A few days ago, I asked your brother-in-law to find a decent, reliable man for you. I thought you two could meet.”

I looked at her without a trace of sisterly affection.

“Don’t bother. I already have two kids. I just forgot to notify you all when I got married.”

Brianna clearly didn’t take me seriously. She gave me a helpless smile before turning to Andrew.

“Darling, could you arrange it? Tomorrow afternoon would be perfect.”

Andrew picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth, then cast a cold glance in my direction.

“I told you a long time ago. You can bend over backward for her, but that doesn’t mean she’ll appreciate it.”

The atmosphere around the table turned icy.

For years, whenever I was around, this family could barely manage one genuinely warm and happy dinner.

Brianna reached over and gently patted the back of Andrew’s hand, her voice as soothing as if she were calming an agitated wolf.

“Don’t be like that, Andrew. Katie just doesn’t like me.”

Her tone was full of bitterness, as though she were the one who had spent all these years suffering.

The pack elders and relatives seated around the table shot me disapproving looks, while Andrew kept giving me pointed glances, one after another.

How ridiculous.

Even after our mate bond had been severed for ten whole years, I could still read Andrew’s intentions at a glance, catching the meaning behind every look and the slightest movement he made.

But even when I understood exactly what he wanted, I didn’t react. I simply lowered my head and continued eating.

Brianna sighed. “Forget it. I don’t blame her for resenting me. I deserve it.”

Andrew’s brow immediately furrowed.

Before I could say a word, Mom jumped in.

“What exactly do you have to resent her for? You’ve been out there fooling around for ten whole years! Do you have any idea what the other pack members have been saying about your sister all this time?”

“She’s your own sister, and she’s the pack’s Luna! Can’t you spare a thought for her? Now that your brother-in-law has finally found a suitable mate for you, you won’t even agree to meet him! What will people say about your sister if word gets out? What about her reputation as Luna?”

“Do you really have to drag your sister and her husband down with you just because you refuse to settle down and live a proper life?”

By the end, her voice was choked with tears, yet every word she spoke was still in Brianna’s defense.

As if all the nasty rumors circulating among the wolves over the years were somehow my fault simply because I hadn’t gotten married.

I set down my fork and stood up.

“When you called me, you said you missed me. If this is all you wanted to say, then I’m leaving.”

I had barely stepped away from the table when Mom grabbed my wrist.

She stared at me with bloodshot eyes, her voice taking on an unmistakably commanding tone.

“I want a straight answer right now! Are you going to that blind date tomorrow afternoon or not?”

I wrenched my hand free and didn’t give her an answer.

The moment I returned to my room, I heard muffled sobs coming from downstairs.

In the past, whenever she cried in front of me like that, it felt as if someone were tearing my heart apart.

I’d do anything to make that pain stop.

Sometimes, it meant accepting Christmas gifts from my father, who had divorced Mom years ago and lived far away.

Other times, it meant giving up the coveted spot I’d earned through my own hard work in the elite warrior program at the werewolf academy while I was still in high school.

The last time, she had stood in front of the house Andrew and I were supposed to share after our wedding, blocking the entrance and crying as she begged me to step aside for Brianna and let them complete their mating ceremony.

A steady, measured set of footsteps sounded behind me.

“Katie, you shouldn’t have talked back to your mother and sister like that today…”

“Did you come here to stand up for your wife?” I cut him off.

Andrew frowned, displeasure settling over his features. He looked as if he were reprimanding an unruly Omega who didn’t know her place.

“Don’t be so hostile toward me. I’m just trying to teach you how to conduct yourself.”

“And what gives you that right?”

Andrew fell silent for a moment before finally answering.

“Your brother-in-law.”

At that title, I couldn’t help letting out a mocking laugh.

“So I have to do whatever my brother-in-law tells me?”

I hadn’t listened to my own mother, either. Why should I listen to him?

Andrew lifted his head, his dark eyes radiating an unquestionable authority. The oppressive aura of a high-ranking Alpha began to spread through the room as he advanced toward me, forcing me back into a corner.

“You’re going on that blind date tomorrow afternoon. That’s final.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I won’t let the pack members keep saying your sister stole your mate.”

He answered without the slightest hesitation.

His deep, unreadable eyes locked onto mine. Deliberately slowing his speech, he enunciated every word.

“Brianna has suffered for ten whole years because of you. You’re sisters. You’ve stood by and watched her take all that criticism for long enough. It’s time you stopped. I’m making you go on this blind date for your own good, too.”

By the time he finished, his voice carried a threat he no longer bothered to conceal.

“You wouldn’t want people thinking that after ten years, you’re still pining after your own brother-in-law, would you?”

Andrew and I stared at each other in silence, neither of us saying another word.

Until a sudden noise came from the doorway.