Bound to the Bastard Alpha

Fiona's POV "I'm getting married!" Serena's announcement exploded through the living room, and for one stupid second my heart lifted with genuine happiness for her. Then I saw whose hand she was holding. Nathan. My Nathan. My boyfriend, my mate, sitting on the couch with his fingers laced through my sister's like they'd been doing it forever. Their smiles were too bright, too pleased with themselves, and my pulse started hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears. My parents sat across from them, laughing and chatting like someone had just handed them the best news of their lives. They looked happier than they'd been around me in months, not since they'd found Serena, their real daughter, their biological child who'd been lost to them for over twenty years. The daughter I'd been raised to replace. The room felt like it was tilting. I'd walked in here expecting the usual quiet, expecting to fade into the background like I'd been doing ever since Serena came home three months ago. But this? This was something else entirely. I tried to steady my breathing, tried to smile like everything was fine, but my brain was screaming questions I couldn't answer. When did Nathan and Serena get this close? When did they even start talking to each other? And why did I feel like the last person on earth to know what was happening? "That's wonderful news, Serena," I managed to say, but my voice came out strained and wrong. Something was horribly wrong here. Serena caught my stare and her smile turned sharp and knowing. She lifted their joined hands high in the air like she was showing off a trophy. "What are you so confused about, sis?" Her tone was light and teasing, dripping with fake innocence. "Isn't it perfectly normal for a couple to hold hands?" Couple? The word hit me like a freight train. "What do you mean? Nathan's my boyfriend, my mate, and you're my sister. Don't you know that?" My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I couldn't help it. Ever since my parents found their long-lost daughter and brought her home, my entire world had flipped upside down. I'd gone from being the beloved only child to being the temporary replacement they no longer needed, the adopted girl who'd served her purpose and could now be pushed aside. My parents made it clear every single day that Serena was what they'd been searching for all these years, and I was just the shadow they'd settled for in the meantime. And Serena? She hadn't just come home to reunite with her family. She'd made it her personal mission to make my existence in this house unbearable, like I was nothing more than an annoying obstacle she needed to remove. But I never thought she'd go after Nathan. Serena shrugged, casual as anything, like my question was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "Of course I know that. So what?" So what? My mind spun and I shook my head hard, trying to make sense of this nightmare unfolding in front of me. My parents were still chatting away like nothing was wrong, like their adopted daughter's mate holding hands with their biological daughter was the most natural thing in the world. "What? You're getting married to my boyfriend!" The words exploded out of me, echoing off the walls. Instead of looking shocked or guilty or even remotely apologetic, Serena clutched her ears and made this theatrical display of fear, her eyes going wide and wounded. "Mommy, daddy, help! She wants to burst my eardrums! I already have issues with them as it is!" I felt like I'd fallen into some twisted nightmare where everyone had lost their minds except me. And then my father spoke up, and his words were like knives. "Fiona, what's the big deal about your ex-boyfriend getting married to your sister?" His voice carried this edge of annoyance, like my reaction was nothing but an inconvenience he had to deal with. "Serena has gone through so much before we finally found her. She deserves to get whatever it is that she wants. You lived a life of wealth for years while she was suffering out there. This is the least you could do for her." The words slapped me across the face. How could they be so blind? How could they act like my pain meant nothing? My mother jumped in before I could even respond, and her words were even more callous. "Ugh, stop with the drama already. The only reason Nathan was even with you in the first place was because you were the heiress of this family. Now that the real heiress is back, isn't it normal to return everything to the rightful owner? Even if it's a human?" My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. They were talking about Nathan like he was property to be handed over, like our mate bond meant nothing, like I meant nothing. "But he's not just my boyfriend, Mom! He's my mate! We're mates! Do you not understand the gravity of that?" My voice came out borderline hysterical, cracking on the last word. Nathan finally spoke, and his words destroyed me. "Not anymore, Fiona. I'm sorry, but I love Serena, not you. I don't feel the mate bond between us anymore. I'm choosing Serena over you, regardless of whatever." The urge to slap him surged so violently through me that my hands trembled, but I clenched my fists and held back. Instead I let out this bitter, disbelieving scoff. "You love Serena? Really? You literally met her a month ago and you love her already? Do I look stupid, Nathan?" My voice shook with rage and betrayal. "The only reason you're doing this is because I'm no longer the heiress, and like the gold digger that you are, you're immediately plundering towards the new heiress! You're merely an opportunist!" Nathan's expression shifted to defensive outrage and he rolled his eyes hard, sinking back into his chair like I'd personally insulted him. "I can't believe that you attended the best schools yet you don't know how to use your words properly. I have wealth too, so why on earth would I be a gold digger? My wealth is literally on the same level as this family's!" "That means nothing!" I shot back without missing a beat. "A person with wealth can definitely seek more wealth to add to their own, and that's obviously what you're doing!" Serena threw her hands up with exasperation, like she was the victim here and I was the unreasonable one. "Ugh! What is it with the gold-digging rubbish? Dear sister, do you not know how to handle rejection? You're no longer wanted, so why not just accept it and stop being desperate? It's honestly not a good look on you at all!" Fury burned through me like wildfire, threatening to consume every ounce of control I had left. But I refused to let them see how much they'd wounded me, how deep their betrayal cut. I squared my shoulders and looked Nathan dead in the eye. "Fine! But before you even have the chance, I'll do it on your behalf, you miscreant! I, Fiona Larson, hereby reject you, Nathan Blackwood, as my mate!" The words tasted like poison on my tongue, bitter and vile, but I forced them out with every bit of conviction I had left in me. A sharp pang pierced straight through my heart as I watched for his reaction, for any sign that this hurt him even a fraction of how much it was killing me. But Nathan just sat there. Unmoved. Unbothered. His expression stayed blank and unreadable, like my rejection meant absolutely nothing to him, like our bond had never existed in the first place. It stung worse than anything else, knowing he could discard what we had so easily. I spun on my heel and headed straight for the door, refusing to let them see the tears burning behind my eyes. But just as my hand touched the handle, Serena's voice cut through the air and stopped me cold. "Not so fast, sis! That's not all the news at all!" I froze but didn't turn around. Her voice was dripping with barely contained glee, like she'd been waiting for this moment. "Just in case you're feeling jealous of us getting married, would it make you feel any better if I told you that you're getting married too?"​​​