My Mate's Unlawful Affair

Elaine's POV

There aren't many things we can handle by ourselves. Fate always drags a way out to punish the guilty. So why should I bother about redemption?

It started a few weeks ago. As the Alpha of Frostbite Pack of the south borders, I had way too many things to do. However, I chose to ignore the consequences of shifting my meeting schedule with the other packs' alphas because I was stupidly in love with my mate.

My mate was Jacob Castiglione. His reign was recognised by many other pack leaders. He was young and competent. Moreover, he was fated to be my mate. Of course, everyone recognised our alliance and grew scared of the power we held. An alpha couple is top-tier and almost too rare to find in this era.

So when Jacob asked me to pick up our engagement-related gear and come up to him, I cancelled my day's busy schedule to spend some time with him. We lived close to a human suburb. We lived in a mansion away from our pack houses because we wanted privacy. Moreover, it was to hide the fact that neither Jacob nor I wanted to have children. Staying away from the pack meant staying away from the elders' expectations.

Picking up a cake from the shop, I headed to the restaurant Jacob asked me to meet him at. It's surprising how we meet these days. It's never at home. In the morning. I was busy working because it fits my requirements and he's out in the evenings. We never spent time with each other at home. It was as if...he was avoiding my presence purposefully.

I was nearing the restaurant, asking for directions to our VIP cabin. As I was walking down the hallway by myself, I heard those words,

"But I love Marilda very dearly." He said with such innocence and adoration in his voice. I stopped in my tracks immediately. Of course...I should have known.

My hands were trembling as I struggled to gulp the lump forming in my throat. This was expected, why couldn't I have seen it coming sooner?

Matilda is...my younger sister. She was found as a rogue in the vicinity of our pack's territory. Seven years ago, she was just a pup and was abandoned by her rogue parents. With the greatness of my heart, I took her into our pack. Back then, I had my parents to support me. But five years ago, my parents passed away tragically in a pack raid which was a joint attack on our pack.

I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. I remember clutching onto Matilda's small head as our pack house crumbled to the soil. That night, our ally pack was too late to arrive. Turned twenty one recently and without a mate, Jacob Castiglione realized we were destined.

That night, as he pulled me out of the debris, he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. He claimed he was my mate, and I accepted him.

...What I couldn't fathom at that moment was a pair of eyes staring at us in awe. She wanted what I wanted. And she got it eventually.

Her whole life from that point onwards was about becoming another version...of me.

As I thought about it, a shiver ran down my spine. Suddenly, Jacob burst through the door and walked into me.

"The- There you are! Haha. I missed you, my love!" Jacob strode heavily and hugged me tightly.

"Oh, shit..." he didn't realize that he stepped on the cake box I dropped. His foot was covered with cake and frosting. It was my favourite flavour.

"Did you see the engagement preparations I made? I did it all by myself." He boasted. In fact, he sent me some pictures off of internet and didn't even ask for my opinion. I didn't like them. But I wanted to be good to him despite our lost proximity and bond.

He took me inside and clarified that those pictures were indeed from the internet.

"I thought you'd like them." He said, leaning his chin on his palm.

"So you're saying you didn't even put the effort in." I pointed out. His smile withdrew quickly.

"No. Gosh, why is it so hard to impress you these days? Your taste in things has changed, and I can't keep up with you anymore. Look at our sweet Matilda. She's everything about my preferences. In fact, she was the one who gave me the venue and decoration ideas I sent you. Can't you appreciate us a bit?" I stared at him in disbelief. Not only did he compare me to Matilda, he even sided with her preferences.

This was absurd. Who was his priority now? I forgot to mention, Jacob considers Matilda as his sister as well. But when Matilda grew into her new skin as a fresh eighteen-year-old, Jacob's thin line of boundary was erased. He started viewing her differently, spending more time with her than me.

And since she's become a duplicate of me, she had almost all of his attention. I can prove it to you. Just when he said the following words, I smirked to myself.

"Oh, by the way. I called Matilda over to talk to you about the preparations. I don't know how to meet your expectations anymore, so I needed her help. She'll be here soon." He said and prepared to eat. I looked down at the table.

It didn't come as a surprise when I saw all the dishes were Matilda's favourites.