The Mate He Hates

Amanda’s POV

For a moment, I moved my gaze across everyone. My eyes met with Alpha Edward’s, and I could see the relieved look on his face. It was obvious the presence of Elisa’s mother was a relief to him, but it wasn’t for me. I knew I was in big trouble. Confused and panicked, I looked in Beta Matthew’s direction, and just like me, he wasn’t in a good mood. He looked worried and confused.

“You have been hiding for years,” Alpha Edward spoke as he walked closer to Elisa’s mother. He stood just an inch away from her, his anger burning in his eyes as he stared at her.

“First, you are going to tell me how you made my wolf think your daughter Elisa is my mate, and secondly, you are going to tell me the name of the lady who saved me, and you will do it now!” he demanded, while my stepmother scoffed bitterly, glancing my way. Our eyes met, and she glared at me with hate and disgust. The hatred in her eyes was so consuming that I wondered what I had ever done to make her hate me this much.

“Why are you staring at her?” Alpha Edward questioned, and Elisa’s mother glared at me one more time before looking back at him. “I have already been caught, so I will just go straight to the point,” she said while my heart pounded in my chest. The fear of the truth spilling out was frightening, and I had to turn to Beta Matthew, but he looked at me with a strange expression, one I hadn’t seen before.

“That day in the woods, you were saved by Amanda here,” my stepmother announced, going straight to the point, and a lump formed in my throat. I wanted to deny her claims, but I knew it was useless. The truth was out, and there was no need to hide it.

“Amanda?” Alpha Edward raised a questioning brow before looking my way. Our eyes interlocked, and I frowned and looked away.

“Yes, she was the one who saved you in the woods, not my daughter,” Elisa’s mom confirmed, and I swallowed nervously as I looked at Beta Matthew, who had a blank look on his face. It seemed like he wasn’t really bothered by Elisa’s mother’s words; he seemed to be deep in thought about something else.

Moving my gaze away from Matthew, I looked in Alpha Edward’s direction and could see the dumbfounded look on his face as he struggled to believe what Elisa’s mother had just said.

“You?” he asked, confusion evident in his eyes. “You were the one who saved me? How…” He paused, then his eyes widened. “Shit! How could I not have thought about it… The first day I saw you, you looked so familiar even though I was sure I hadn’t met you in my life…” He paused and took a step closer to me. “Amanda, you were the young girl who saved me?” He was still processing his thoughts, finding it difficult to believe what he had just heard.

“You? It’s you? You…”

“What do you want?” I asked with a raised brow. “I’m the girl who saved you, but I wish I never did. If I could turn back time, I would have listened to Elisa’s advice and left you to die in the woods!” I spat with hate. “I regret saving you, Alpha Edward.”

His brow furrowed as he stared at me with disbelief and questions. “Does that mean we are mates?” he asked, puzzled, and I couldn’t respond.

“Yes, she is. She is your mate, Alpha Edward,” Elisa’s mother announced.

Alpha Edward stood there, stunned. The room fell silent as the weight of Elisa’s mother’s words sank in. His eyes bore into mine, seeking answers, searching for a truth he had been blind to for years. The anger and confusion that had been radiating off him now shifted to something more complex, something I couldn’t quite understand.

“Amanda, is this true?” he asked, his voice a mixture of disbelief and something else-hope, perhaps?Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

I nodded slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. “Yes, it’s true we are mates,” I said, there was no need to hide it anymore.

His eyes widened as he stared at me, then he looked at Matthew, who had been oddly silent. “Then what about Matthew?”

“Amanda is not my mate,” Beta Matthew spoke up for the first time, and I looked at him. “As a matter of fact, she is my sister,” he announced, and my brow furrowed.

“Your sister?” I asked, totally shocked and confused. Beta Matthew stared at me for a long moment before he looked in the direction of my aunt, who had been quiet, and I had totally forgotten she was even present.

“I think your aunt has something to say to you,” Beta Matthew said, and my curiosity piqued as I stared at my aunt, who had a worried look on her face.

“Aunt, is there something you want to say to me?”

She nodded and took a step closer to me. “I want you to listen to all I have to say,” she said, sounding so serious, and I became more restless and curious. “What is going on, Aunt?”

She hesitated for a long moment before taking a deep breath. “Your mother is not your biological mother,” my aunt announced, and my eyes widened. “Yes, Amanda, you were stolen by me from Alpha Beta’s mother,” she added, and my breath hitched in my chest. “I’m a senior nurse in the pack hospital. My sister gave birth to a dead child, and she was so scared that her husband would leave her for his mate, since the only thing keeping him with her was the baby. She was scared that once he knew about the dead child, he would abandon her. When I noticed that she was really worried and in pain, I decided to do something foolish…” She paused, her voice trembling with the weight of her confession. “I decided to switch the babies. I took you from Alpha Beta’s mother and gave her the dead child instead. Your real mother knew the truth. She wanted to object, but when she heard that Elisa’s mother had delivered a baby girl, she decided to keep you too. My sister raised you as her own, hoping that no one would ever find out.”

The room fell into a stunned silence. I felt like the ground had disappeared beneath my feet. All my life, I believed I was someone else, only to find out I was stolen, lied to, and thrust into a life that wasn’t mine.

“You stole me?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“I’m so sorry, Amanda, I’m sorry…” my aunt apologized while I swallowed in pain, struggling to come to terms with what I had just discovered. I couldn’t believe that the woman I had known all my life wasn’t my mother, and the man I thought was my father wasn’t either.

“Well, it’s not a new thing for me. I knew all along, and so did my husband,” Elisa’s mother spoke and glanced my way. “We found out you were stolen, but I asked my husband not to say anything about it because I knew we would have good use for you.” Elisa’s mom said with a soft chuckle. “This is why you were treated like trash, and your father couldn’t say anything about it…” Her words got stuck in her mouth when Beta Matthew landed a slap across her cheek. My eyes widened at what he did, and I stared at him in disbelief. “How dare you have the mouth to talk after all you’ve done!” he yelled in anger.

Alpha Edward’s anger blazed as he looked from Beta Matthew to Elisa’s mother. “Enough!” His voice echoed through the room, silencing everyone. He turned to Beta Matthew, his face a mask of barely controlled rage. “If Amanda is your sister, does it mean you two…” He paused, unable to finish his words. Rather, he looked at me with so much confusion and so many questions in his eyes. “What is going on here?” Alpha Edward asked, and neither I nor Beta Matthew knew what to say.

“Matthew? I need you to speak,” Alpha Edward demanded.

“Amanda isn’t my mate, and we never had sex,” Beta Matthew revealed, and a gulp passed down my throat.