Alpha’s Accidental Mate: Bound To The Cursed Sister
SLOANE
Life in my own parent’s abode was hell. I’d been living doing everything within my power to prove that I was just as smart and worthy to be treated like a child as my twin sister, Scarlett, but none of that mattered. The maltreatment only worsened.
Then I stopped trying. I began to dream of the mating ball. The annual ball that was meant for mate finding, and would be my only escape from this hellhole. After all, I was now of age and had just gained my wolf.
But it was easier said than done. Today was D-day and I couldn’t find my dress. Completely disregarding Scarlett’s snickers as she combed her hair before the vanity mirror, I proceeded to turn her room upside down.
I have a hunch she had something to do with it and even if I tried, I couldn’t ignore it to save my life. My shoulders slumped in defeat when after turning her wardrobe upside down, leaving out nothing, my dress still was nowhere to be found.
I guess for the first time, I got it all wrong.
“Well, I'm sorry. I…I’m going to clean this all up in a minute.” I told her and although the apology gave off a bitter taste on my tongue, as Scarlett was the last person I’d want to lick her foot, I still had to say the words.
Despite how much torture I pass through in her mother’s hands, never for once had I suck up to her so she could convince her to somehow lessen my punishment, and I meant to keep it that way.
I sighed dejectedly, crouching down to pack her clothes back where they belonged when I caught a glimpse of my white dress lying tattered underneath her bed. I froze for a good three seconds, and rage couldn’t begin to describe how mad I felt as I stormed towards her bed and withdrew my dress.
As I held the dress in my hand, the damage done to it glaring, my chest squeezed painfully. I thought I was doing a good job fighting back my tears, but when it streamed down my face, a drop falling on the dress, I knew I had failed terribly.
This wasn’t just a dress. It was my sweat. Three years of sneaking out late at night while everyone else slept, and working tirelessly at every part time gig I could find just to afford this single dress. All in the hope of dolling myself up in it when the time come because I knew whether I request for it or not, I wasn’t going to receive any support from my father.
But now, now, as though all my efforts had all meant nothing, I was forced to stare at the very dress that held all my hope now completely ruined. The longer my eyes lingered on it, reality was harsh as it hit me in the face. How? How on earth could Scarlett bring herself to do this?
“Why would you ruin my dress?” I whipped around with a powerful force and stormed towards her. “You think you have any right to touch my belongings?” I spat.
I knew none of them would be happy if they knew I was going to attend the ball— since Scarlett has always been the face of this family, the one everyone believed had the right to attend— so I made sure to keep it to myself and hide it well. Only if I had known they’d go to any length to keep me caged and miserable here forever.
“Why don’t you start by telling me where you got the money to buy a dress like this?” Scarlett’s eyes turned on me, her lips twisting into a sneer. You must’ve stolen it from Father, didn’t you? Some habits really do die hard.”
Watching her laugh in mockery, my stomach twisted out of irritation and I didn’t know when I pushed her backward, cornering her against the wall.
“Don’t fuck with me right now, Scarlett. I just asked you what the hell you did to my dress—” An overwhelming rage exploded in my chest as I shouted, my voice rising higher with every word I hurled at her. But I didn’t even get to finish before she cut in, sounding as blunt as ever.
“Wait, don’t tell me you are now into prostitution?” Her eyes widened slightly, as she pretended to ponder and I furrowed my brows, trying to figure out where that ridiculous idea even came from.
It took me almost a minute before I recovered from the shock, and found my voice again. “Do you have any idea what you’re saying?” I squeaked and I hated that my voice broke easily, selling me out to Scarlett that my guard was now down.
The truth is, even though Scarlett and I were practically enemies who barely exchanged words despite living under the same roof— unless she came to either whine about me leaving one of her clothes out while washing them— I never, not in a million years, expected such a disgusting accusation from her.
Most times, I wonder; if we didn’t share the same blood, would she treat me even worse?
Scarlett rolled her eyes and scoffed. “That’s the only way I can imagine you affording this. Father always keeps his locker locked, especially around you. One can never be too sure, you know?” She threw her hands up in exasperation. Before I could react to her statement, she flicked my shoulder, sending me staggering a few feet backward.
My chest rumbled in annoyance, murder in my eyes as I watched her push herself off the wall. Standing at a convenient distance from her, I couldn’t restrain my eyes from trailing the length of her body.
That sparking white dress. Mine was valuable too but it couldn’t compare to Scarlett’s. Not just because hers clearly cost a fortune, but the fact it came directly from her parents. She’s always been treated with such love I could only wish for.
Maybe it’d have been better if I knew what I did to deserve this much cruelty. But… They’d never given me a reason for their hatred towards me. I had to find out myself. And it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Through the rumors, I learnt that right from birth, my parents had wanted to discard me.
I was a cursed child. I was fated with misfortune, and I was never supposed to be kept. But still, they did. Although they took precautions. While my sister slept inside her well furnished room with a roof on her head, I’d grown to sleep outside in the cold, on the terrace. Together with many other prices I've been paying for my parents choosing to keep my life.
As though I already knew there was still something left she wanted to say, my eyes stayed trained on Scarlett as she confidently sashayed to the door, halting abruptly to spare a look at me.
“The ball will be over in forty minutes, you still think you’re going to make it?” She asked, smirking as she briefly observed my face, in search of something akin to panic. But I couldn’t give her the satisfaction… not yet. I kept still, saying nothing either and with that, she stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her.
The moment she was gone, all hell let loose. I looked at my torn poor dress and recoiled, my heart sinking into the pit of my stomach. It suddenly felt like I had been set ablaze. I paced the room, cracking my head for some kind of solution and ended up slumping to the floor with a heavy sigh. There was no other way.
I wanted to look my best in a dress that had made me feel like I belonged, but with it torn, that dream was gone.
“Bye. And make sure to come back with the best man out there, Scarlett!” My mother’s voice rang out encouragingly from downstairs, followed by the sound of the car as it sped through the gate. And a thick sludge of shame crept in my mind.
Was I sure about this? Maybe not. But I knew one thing; I was going to hate myself if I didn't attend this ball, and heaven knows I couldn’t bear the thought of waiting another whole year.
I badly wanted my freedom. I wanted to be out of here. I want to escape always being nothing but Scarlett’s shadow.
Without thinking twice, I sprang to my feet. Maybe the dress was ruined but I convinced myself showing up and trying my luck was all that mattered, not what I had on. With that thought, I tossed the dress aside and was out of the room in seconds.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” My mother yelled after me as I swung the front door open and rushed past her. But I didn’t stop, nor did I so much as glance backward. She’d never cared where I went before and she had no right to start now.
As I stumbled out of our gates, I paused to catch my breath, and think clearly. Scarlett was far ahead by now. I had ten minutes left, maybe even less. If I tried to get there on foot, I’d never make it in time.
So, I knew to do one thing, shift into my wolf form. As a weakling, I had never once summoned her. Not just because I doubted I could fully shift, but because I’d never had a reason to.
But now, standing here hopeless and my fate lying in my hands, something in me spiked. My hands fisted by my sides, I managed to suck in a deep breath before my spine snapped, pain flashing across my features as my bones slowly rearranged themselves.
As fur spread over my skin, I thought I was doing my best standing in place, when I suddenly dropped on all fours, my wolf fully emerging.
This was it.
I was now at full advantage.
One last glance at the house, knowing this could be my last time seeing it if everything goes well, I sprinted off, my heart racing wildly.
