My Alpha Chose My Sister, So I Chose Someone Else Chapter 02
Author: Willow·hai
There were no new messages on my phone the next morning.
Pavel had clearly forgotten what he said about coming with me to get Annie.
Just as well. Once I picked up Annie, it would be time for me to leave.
When I reached the pet store, a crowd had gathered outside.
Something felt wrong. I pushed through and went in.
Pavel had his arm around Vivienne’s shoulders. The second he saw me, his face went dark.
“Ashlyn, some dog you raised!”
I stopped short.
My Annie was barely breathing.
The instant she saw me her eyes lit up and she tried to run to me the way she always had, but she hurt too much to move.
I dropped down and gathered her into my arms.
“Annie, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m taking you to get better.”
But as I stood up with her, her eyes closed, and the little body that used to run hot as a furnace slowly went cold.
The pet store employee looked stricken.
“Ashlyn, Annie is gone.”
In that instant, it felt as if I had plunged into ice water.
I bit down hard on my lip and looked up at Pavel.
“Why did you hurt her?”
Vivienne’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ashlyn, I’m so sorry. I knew Annie, the dog you and Pavel raised, was being treated at the animal hospital, and I wanted to bring her home as a surprise for you. I had no idea she was so afraid of strangers.
“This is my fault. Even after she scratched and bit me, I should have just taken it.
“Don’t be angry at Pavel. He only ordered her thrown out because he was afraid she would hurt me again.
“Blame me if you have to blame someone. Hit me, yell at me, whatever it takes to make you feel better.”
Pavel’s eyes filled with distress for her.
“How is any of this your fault? The animal clawed you first. You have nothing to apologize for.”
He turned to me, and there was reproach in his voice.
“Vivienne got clawed, and all you care about is that animal. Do you have a heart at all?”
My nails dug into my palms, and I could not keep from shouting.
“You know exactly how much Annie meant to me!”
My father, Gareth Marlowe, is the Alpha of the Moonsong pack. His first Luna was his fated mate, and they had Vivienne together.
His fated Luna died young, and to shore up his power he took my mother as his second mate.
My mother, Elara, was the daughter of the Alpha of the Cloudweave pack.
Marrying her meant Cloudweave would be folded into Moonsong. He married her for what it got him, nothing more.
But before they were mated, he coaxed her with so many pretty lies that she fell in love with him.
Once he had what he wanted, he stopped pretending.
My father broke her heart. My mother never recovered, and she died when I was six.
He had no love for her, and he paid no attention to me either.
Annie was the dog my mother had chosen for me before she died, and she was the only one who stayed with me through all the years that followed.
Annie was old by then, and she was gentle. Even when another animal bullied her, she would only slink away. She would never hurt anyone.
I looked at Vivienne again. Her clothes were not torn. There was not a mark on her anywhere.
“Pavel, Vivienne’s wolf has already awakened. You’re telling me a werewolf got clawed by an ordinary little house dog? Do you believe that yourself?!”
I clenched my jaw, sick with hatred.
He flinched at the grief and fury in my eyes. A flicker of pain crossed his face before he suppressed it.
“Whatever you think, Vivienne came here to pick Annie up for you out of kindness.
“That animal attacked her on purpose. It died, and that’s that.
“Vivienne has always been timid, and what happened today terrified her. You should be coming with me to the hospital and taking care of her.”
Vivienne shook her head, putting on a brave face.
“Pavel, stay here and comfort Ashlyn. I’m fine. I can get to the hospital on my own.”
I stood up with Annie in my arms and swept a cold look over the two of them.
“This doesn’t end here. You’re both going to pay for what you did to Annie.”
I didn’t look at them again. I went into the store and asked the staff to help me arrange Annie’s burial.
By the time Annie was buried, the sky had gone dark.
I made a wish to the moon.
“Moon Goddess, I wasn’t a good owner. Please watch over Annie and give her a good family in her next life.”
Just then a message from my father came up on my phone.
“The arranged mating is settled with the Phantom pack. The ceremony will be held in three days. It can’t be changed.”
I answered without hesitating.
“I won’t change my mind.”
