Chapter 3
Alpha Cynthia was not the biological child of my parents.
Yet in my own home, I often feel like an outsider.
Because I had been switched at birth. While I spent my childhood scraping by among abusive, alcoholic rogues, Alpha Cynthia basked in the warmth of privilege as The Ambersy Pack’s cherished princess.
By the time my real family found me, it was already too late.
Alpha Cynthia, who was raised as their daughter for two decades, naturally shares a closer bond with them than I, a stranger found later in life.
1/8
Even though my parents tried to compensate me materially, I could clearly sense their distance.
Their favored child, Alpha Cynthia, is obviously cherished, while I was merely a stranger, linked to them by blood, found later.
When I first joined The Ambersy Pack, every step felt like trudging through quicksand. I was drowning in unfamiliar customs and forced smiles, with no one to offer a hand- until I met Alpha Kennard.
He was the golden boy of the Shadow Pack and Alpha Cynthia’s closest confidant. Everyone assumed they were destined to be mates.
But on Alpha Kennard’s 18th birthday, the Moon Goddess proved otherwise.
2/8
It was the day of his first shift.
The pack gathered to celebrate the emergence of their future leader’s wolf.
The air was electric with anticipation. As Kennard shifted back into his human form, his piercing gaze swept across the crowd.
Then, he moved.
His steps were purposeful, cutting through the sea of pack members until he stood before me.
“My mate,” he declared, his voice steady and filled with certainty.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, followed by a heavy silence.
3/8
I couldn’t believe it. Me? The rogue child? The outsider?
From that day forward, Kennard was relentless in his pursuit.
His courtship was gentle yet determined. At first, I hesitated, torn between my own insecurities and the fear of hurting Alpha Cynthia.
But Alpha Cynthia assured me–laughing lightly, as if the very idea was absurd–that she had no romantic feelings for Kennard. With her blessing, I allowed myself to fall.
Alpha Kennard was perfect–or so I thought.
He was attentive, kind, and protective. For the first time in my life, I felt seen. I thought I’d found my fairytale.
4/8
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The cracks began to show quickly, though I ignored them at first.
Alpha Kennard and Alpha Cynthia had grown up together, and he insisted she was like a sister to him. I believed him.
But soon, Alpha Cynthia became a constant presence in our lives.
Dates were never just ours–she always tagged along.
He bought gifts for her as often as he did for me, sometimes even more thoughtful ones.
The day of our wedding, he left me standing alone in my gown to take her to watch a sunrise because she’d “always wanted to see it from that hill.”
5/8
Everyone saw this as normal, even my parents. After all, hadn’t Cynthia been The Ambersy Pack’s princess for twenty years?
l’endured it silently.
I convinced myself that Alpha Cynthia was family and deserved kindness. I told myself that Alpha Kennard’s bond with her was harmless, that it didn’t mean I was less important to him.
I was wrong.
Over the years, I bent myself into a shape, that fit their world.
Alpha Kennard didn’t want conflict, so I made it easy for him.
I wore the same style of clothes Alpha
6/8
Cynthia favored, ate the same foods she liked, even smiled through gritted teeth when he let her take my place at his side during pack ceremonies.
In five years of marriage, I lost myself. I became a shadow of a woman, living in the shadow of another.
Until today.
Lying in that hospital bed, the truth struck me like a lightning bolt. The pain of my injuries was nothing compared to the weight of realization: people who don’t care about you will never care, no matter how much of yourself you give.
Kennard’s betrayal, Cynthia’s privilege, my parents‘ distance–it all converged into one undeniable fact.
7/8
I was always being the outsider.
So I had always sacrificed, always endured.
