I blinked a few times and pinched the back of my hand.

I wasn’t dreaming. The woman with a face similar to mine, making it hard for others to tell us apart, was lying on the bed, and Alpha Romeo was feeding her dinner.

“Athena?” My voice choked as if a rock was stuck in my throat.

“Yes, I’m Athena. I’m your only older sister.” Athena chuckled.

Her soft voice, her cheerful laughter, and her beautiful smile were still as I remembered them.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. It felt so good to meet her. I wasn’t alone in this world; I still had family.

“Come here.” Athena cried with a big smile. “I’m sorry. I can’t hug you.”

Alpha Romeo stood up from the chair and placed the plate on the nightstand. Then, we made eye contact. He communicated to me through the mind link before I could ask him.

‘I’ll explain everything to you,’ Alpha Romeo said. After that, he and the head omega left Athena’s room, giving us space to let out our longing.

I approached Athena quickly. Like I did when people made fun of me. She would hug me tightly, rub my back, kiss my hair, and whisper words that calmed me down.

“I missed you so much.” Athena’s voice trembled. “Thank you, Moon Goddess. We met again because of your kindness.”

I nodded. My efforts to stay alive and never be tempted to end my life were the right choices.

‘I’m glad you finally met.’ My wolf said in a weak voice.

“Good to see you’re alright.” Athena smiled widely as I released my hug from her and sat facing her.

I was confused as to why she didn’t hug me.

"After two days staying here, I begged Romeo to check on you at your dorm. Your friends and the dorm supervisor said you left after finding out our group was attacked,” Athena said.

“I thought Romeo gave up looking for you.” Athena looked at me questioningly and asked me a lot of questions. “Where have you been living for a year? Have you met your mate? Where did you meet Romeo?”

I had buried all my memories of working at Alpha Johannes’ house.

“I lived and worked in a rogue group. Then I met Alpha Romeo while I was shopping at the market.” This was the first time I lied to Athena.

Athena nodded. I winced. She believed me so easily.

“What happened to you?” I asked as I studied her.

“Ah, Romeo didn’t tell you.” Athena nodded.

“Romeo found me unconscious in the middle of the forest after they tortured me. The next day, when I woke up, I was paralyzed and my sense of hearing, smell, and taste were not functioning.

“The doctor diagnosed me with an unknown virus,” Athena said casually, but I noticed she often looked at her hands under the blanket; she wanted to hug me so badly.

Athena suffered more than I did. She didn’t need to know what happened to me for a year.

Although Athena said she was no longer optimistic, her eyes radiated hope that the virus would disappear from her body one day.

The head omega entered Athena's room when I came out of there. Athena didn't want me to feed her.

With a rush of steps, I met Alpha Romeo in his office. I dared myself to look him in the eye with an angry face.

My fists were clenched tightly, standing a few steps to the right of Alpha Romeo, who was sitting on a single leather sofa.

"Why didn't you tell me about Athena? She is my older sister, and she is your mate. Why did you force me to sign that marriage contract?" I spoke in a high voice, and my chest rose and fell because of the turbulent emotions.

“Would you have told me about Athena if I hadn’t entered her room?” The cold temperature of the room couldn’t cool my hot body.

Alpha Romeo was calm, letting me rage at him to my heart’s content.

“Why did you do this?” My voice was hoarse. My throat was sore from screaming.

“Sit down.” Alpha Romeo pointed to the long leather sofa on his right side. “Calm yourself down first.”

Annoyed, I followed his orders and looked at him demandingly.

“Athena must have told you what happened to her.” Alpha Romeo lowered his eyes, and his expression radiated sadness.

“I’ve seen almost every doctor in the world, but as you can see, her condition hasn’t changed.” Alpha Romeo shook his head with slumped shoulders.

I was touched by his struggle to see Athena get better.

“I was looking for you because of Athena, but when I saw you at the auction, I suddenly got the idea to make you my mate.” Alpha Romeo stared at me unfocused. His mind was wandering.

I frowned. “Why did you have such a crazy idea?”

“The news that I have met my mate, who is a rogue, has spread far and wide, but Athena begged me not to announce her as my mate.”

No wonder the newspaper I read this morning had an article titled Alpha Romeo’s mate is really a rogue. I regret not reading that news.

“Many enemies sent their spy warriors or paid rogues to prove the rumor. Some of them almost found Athena’s room.” Alpha Romeo’s fists were clenched tightly until his veins stood out. The temperature in the room became hotter.

“I never had any intention of betraying Athena and hurting her heart. She has suffered a lot. I want her to always be happy with me.” Alpha Romeo looked at me pleadingly, asking me to believe him.

“Her heart will be broken if she finds out I pretended to be your mate!” I couldn’t help but get angry at him.

“I know.” Alpha Romeo nodded. “That’s why she can’t find out.” He shook his head.

“No way. What we did was wrong.” Guilt for Athena gripped my chest tightly. “We have to cancel the contract, and we have to apologize to Athena.”

"I did it to protect Athena." Alpha Romeo gazed at me intently. "As I predicted, after I announced you as my mate, no one else infiltrated my house to find Athena again."

I fell silent, thinking about his words carefully, but I couldn’t just believe him.

He lied to me and then asked me to hide it all from Athena.

“We betrayed her.” I wrung the hem of my clothes restlessly.

“Athena will forgive us. Besides, we won’t do anything. I just want to show everyone that I already have a mate and Luna.” Alpha Romeo assured me.

Was there no other way? Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a better idea.

I was useless wherever I was. If this lie could protect Athena from bad people, I was ready to be hated by her.

“You won’t give up on healing Athena, will you?” I asked him.

“What a stupid question.”

“I want to help you.”

“Okay. Do it.” Alpha Romeo was leaning back on the sofa with a relaxed body and looking straight at me as if reading my mind. “You’ve helped me. Tell me what you want.”

There were many things I wanted to do, but I couldn’t do them alone.

“I want to awaken my wolf and find my dad, Alpha Aiden, and the future Alpha.” A firm determination was embedded in my chest. Maybe they lived together.

“That’s easy.” Alpha Romeo nodded. Then he said something that shook my mind and broke my hope. “Your father is dead. I buried him.”

My world collapsed.

I stared at Alpha Romeo, trying to read the lie in his eyes, but his eyes were telling the truth, and his face was filled with sorrow.

“You’re lying,” I whispered.

But my mind immediately flashed back to the hundreds of rogue and wolf corpses I had seen that morning. I could no longer deny that I was an orphan and that I only had Athena.

My breathing was heavy. The cold began to creep up on my skin, but the fire of anger burned in my chest.

I swear, my wolf will tear them apart. They will pay for what they did to my pack.