Fated to the Wrong Alpha

The day before the Marking ceremony, I got the wedding photos from the photographer. But the bride wasn't me.

Furious, I rushed to the bridal boutique to confront Alpha Liam. The moment I pushed open the door, I saw Liam's female childhood friend wearing my wedding dress.

When I demanded an explanation, Liam calmly sat down and blamed me instead.

"What are you throwing a tantrum about now? Ava was just curious and wanted to try it on. It's not like she can damage it by wearing it."

"Ava is my best friend. It's just a dress. Is it really worth getting this angry over? I'll just give her this wedding dress to use for photos."

He wanted to give my wedding dress to another woman!

Bullshit. I picked up the wine glass and splashed it in his face.

He thought that I, a human, wouldn't dare provoke a powerful alpha.

But what he didn't know was that my stepbrother is the alpha of Moonclaw Pack. He's powerful, handsome, and extremely possessive.

And he's had a crush on me for a long time.

Olivia Summers POV

Before the Marking ceremony, my wedding photographer Amy sent me the finalized wedding photos.

I opened the package with joy and began admiring them.

But I discovered that the woman standing beside Liam in the photos wasn't me.

It was Ava.

The daughter of the beta serving Liam's father. She grew up with Liam, his so-called best friend.

As I flipped through more pages, there were many more photos of just the two of them.

In the pictures, Ava wore an elaborate wedding dress. Liam either embraced her from behind, gazed at her affectionately, or kissed her.

In one photo, Ava's finger clearly wore the ring I had selected.

I remembered that half a month ago, Liam said he needed to help Ava with a favor.

So this was his idea of helping.

Going to take wedding photos with his so-called good friend, then continuing to deceive me by saying they were just friends.

Moon goddess above, he was deceiving his fated mate!

Yes, I am the fated mate of Frostveil Pack's alpha Liam.

But I'm not a werewolf. I'm an ordinary human.

Three years ago, Liam and I met at a friend's gathering and started dating.

After three years together, his proposal wasn't anything special. Just a sentence after dinner: "Get ready. The Marking ceremony is coming up soon."

As a human who grew up in the werewolf world, I certainly knew what the Marking ceremony meant.

Werewolves Mark their mates and form a strong mate bond. It's roughly equivalent to marriage in the human world, but much more solid and binding.

Liam's willingness to officially hold a Marking ceremony with me was a pleasant surprise. But the lack of a proper proposal still left me feeling somewhat disappointed.

So I discussed with Liam about at least taking a set of wedding photos before the ceremony.

He agreed very reluctantly at the time, constantly complaining that I was being too much trouble.

But he didn't find it troublesome to take photos with Ava?

Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Liam.

"Olivia, what do you want for dinner?"

I didn't reply.

I took a screenshot of the most intimate photo of him and Ava and posted it on Ins.

The caption read:

"I've decided to let them have each other. Congratulations to my boyfriend Liam and his best friend on their wedding. Blessings!"

Liam's call came through immediately, his tone filled with angry interrogation.

"Olivia! What the hell are you doing?! Delete that right now!"

"Am I the one going crazy, or are you?" I said.

"I already told you, I was just helping Ava out! She said she'd never done it before and wanted to experience what it felt like to wear a wedding dress and take wedding photos! As her best friend, how could I not help?"

When I didn't respond, Liam realized his tone was too harsh. He softened his voice slightly and continued more gently.

"You know Ava grew up with us. She still hasn't found her fated mate, so she wanted to experience it. There's nothing between us. Don't be so petty about this."

I thought his words were utterly ridiculous.

"I'm being petty? Should I applaud you two sleeping together to be considered generous?!"

Liam growled angrily.

"Olivia! Watch your mouth! Do you think everyone is as melodramatic as you? Ava has always been straightforward. She's not as filthy-minded as you!"

"Fine, I'm the filthy one. I've defiled your sacred friendship."

At that moment, I felt exhausted.

"The Marking ceremony is off."

Too tired to argue with him, I hung up the phone directly.

Olivia Summers POV

Half an hour later, my apartment door was violently burst open.

Liam stormed in, seething with rage.

"Olivia!" His eyes were red as he pointed at me. "Explain yourself! What do you mean it's off?!"

I sat on the sofa, not even glancing at him.

Liam grew even more furious.

"Delete that Ins post right now and go apologize to Ava! Otherwise this ceremony..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

I stood up and threw the Marking ceremony contract onto the coffee table in front of him.

Liam froze.

"What are you doing with that?"

I didn't answer.

Right in front of him, I pulled out a page and tore it forcefully.

"Are you insane?! Stop!"

Liam reacted and tried to grab it.

Too late.

I didn't stop. I tore the entire document into pieces, then raised my hand and scattered them.

I watched Liam's stunned expression and told him calmly:

"I said the ceremony is off, so this thing is useless now."

Liam was completely shocked by my action.

After the shock came humiliation and rage. I heard a low growl rumbling from his throat.

I had no doubt he wanted to rush over and bite through my throat.

But he wouldn't. Ryan had told me that werewolves cannot kill their own fated mates.

"Fine! Olivia, this is your choice. Don't you dare regret it!"

He just left those harsh words and stormed out, slamming the door violently.

Looking at the mess all over the floor, I actually felt relieved.

At what point in this relationship did I become so pathetic?

My proposal was Liam's casual remark after dinner: "Get ready, we'll have the Marking ceremony soon."

All the subsequent preparations were done by me alone.

For three years, I kept telling myself "he just doesn't understand romance."

But those exquisite wedding photos Amy sent completely shattered my lie.

It wasn't that he didn't understand. He just couldn't be bothered to make an effort for me.

Memories came flooding back.

The passenger seat in Liam's car was always Ava's, with the excuse that "she doesn't like sitting in the back."

We'd plan to see a movie, but he'd insist on buying an extra ticket so Ava could sit beside him.

Even when Ava went out on missions, he'd follow and accompany her the whole time, leaving me sick and alone in the hospital.

And my grievances were always met with just one sentence from Liam:

"Why are you so petty?"

For three years, I changed too much for Liam, learned to give in too much.

It wasn't love that beat me. It was him and his friend who had no boundaries.

Now, I wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

I picked up my phone and started making calls one by one, canceling everything related to the Marking ceremony.

"Hello, Amy? Sorry, you don't need to come tomorrow... Yeah, that woman wasn't me. It's okay, it's not your fault."

"Honey, the Marking ceremony is canceled. You don't need to come. I can handle it. Just... don't tell Ryan yet."

With each call I finished, I felt the shackles on me lighten a bit more.

Three years of youth wasted on a dog was better than wasting a lifetime.

At least there was still time.

Olivia Summers POV

After Liam left, my Ins exploded.

Ava posted a new update.

The images showed several playful selfies of her and Liam in intimate poses.

The caption was written casually but dripped with manipulation.

"Oops, just wanted to experience taking wedding photos, didn't expect it to cause some people to misunderstand. Sorry for the trouble, everyone. Guess we'll just keep being single friends!"

Immediately after, my phone started blowing up.

The messages came from Liam's friends, warriors from Frostveil Pack, and they all said virtually the same thing.

"Olivia, it was just a joke. Don't take it seriously."

"Three years together isn't easy. Delete that Instagram post and give Alpha Liam a way out."

"You know Ava. She's like one of the guys. Don't overthink it."

Looking at these messages, I laughed coldly.

Everyone stood on their moral high ground, urging me to be magnanimous.

I understood now. They were protecting Liam.

These people were Liam and Ava's companions. They were never mine.

I didn't reply to any of them.

I opened the messages and found their names, blocking them one after another without hesitation.

After clearing out those people, my phone rang again. It was Liam's mother calling.

I answered:

"Hello."

On the other end, Liam's mother spoke with the pressure of an elder:

"Olivia, I heard from Liam that you two had a fight. How can you talk about breaking up over a little joke?"

"It wasn't a joke."

"I watched Ava grow up. She's like a daughter to our family. She and Liam have been playful since childhood. You need to be more understanding."

Liam's mother's words were full of excuses for Ava.

"As Liam's future mate and the pack's future Luna, you need to be more gracious. Be good, delete that Ins post, and we'll put this behind us. Don't let everyone laugh at us."

I finally understood where Liam learned his lack of boundaries.

Ava's existence was enabled by them.

If I actually ended up with him, just thinking about the future made me feel suffocated.

I interrupted her.

"This isn't a joke. It's a matter of principle. Liam and I have broken up, and that decision won't change."

Liam's mother became somewhat displeased.

"How can you be so unreasonable? Liam is an alpha. He can do whatever he wants. Does he really need to explain himself to a human like you?"

So that was it. I knew that to some werewolves, humans were too weak and looked down upon.

But as times changed, most werewolves' attitudes toward humans had become more moderate. Liam had also assured me that no one would look down on me.

But his mother had just personally admitted her discrimination against me.

I didn't want to argue anymore.

"Sorry, I have things to do."

I hung up and blocked this number as well.

Olivia Summers POV

After hanging up on Liam's mother, I remembered the wedding dress.

It was the main gown I had designed for the Marking ceremony. I'd gone to the studio over a dozen times to work on it myself.

Since I'd decided to end things, I needed to deal with it. At least pay the remaining balance or see if I could return it.

I took a cab to the haute couture bridal boutique.

I had just reached the VIP fitting room door and hadn't even pushed it open when familiar laughter came from inside.

"Wow, Liam, does it look good?"

My hand froze on the door handle.

That was Ava's voice.

Immediately after, Liam's voice came, full of affection:

"Beautiful! It's like it was made just for you, Ava. You look gorgeous in a wedding dress."

I shoved the door open.

In front of the full-length mirror, Ava was wearing the mermaid-style white gown that should have been mine.

Those layers of lace were details I had stayed up late drawing and revising.

Now, they were on another woman's body.

Ava stood on her tiptoes and kissed Liam on the lips.

And my fated mate Liam didn't refuse.

Sometimes I really wondered if everything I'd learned about werewolves at Moonclaw Pack was fake.

Didn't they say fated mates were destiny arranged by the moon goddess, the existence werewolves valued most?

Why could Liam betray me so easily?

Hearing the door open, both turned around at the same time.

Seeing me, embarrassment flashed across Liam's face.

"Olivia? What are you doing here?"

Ava lifted her skirt and came over with an innocent expression.

"Olivia, don't misunderstand. I just thought this wedding dress was too beautiful and couldn't resist trying it on. Don't worry, even if I'm wearing the wedding dress, Liam will only Mark you. He'll only recognize you as his mate."

She twirled, the hem of the dress sweeping past my feet.

"Olivia, you don't mind, right? I'll only wear it for ten minutes."

I looked at her, then at Liam.

"Take it off."

Liam frowned.

"Olivia, what are you throwing a fit about now? Ava just wanted to try it on out of curiosity. It's not like she can damage it."

"This is my wedding dress."

I stared at Liam.

"It was custom-made for me. I was supposed to wear it at the Marking ceremony. Liam, do you have any sense of boundaries at all?"

"Are you done?"

Liam impatiently put down his phone.

"Ava is my best friend. It's just a dress. Is it really worth getting this angry over? At worst, I'll just give her this wedding dress to use for photos from now on."

Give it to her?

I laughed in disbelief.

The wedding dress I had custom-made had become, in his mouth, something to make another woman happy.

"Oh no, Liam, don't scold Olivia. It's all my fault..."

Ava looked like she was about to cry and frantically tried to grab my hand.

Just then, the cup of bright red strawberry tea in her hand accidentally slipped.

The red tea spilled out, most of it splashing onto the white wedding dress.

Large dark red stains quickly spread across the snow-white lace.

"Ah!" Ava screamed, covering her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Liam's first reaction wasn't to look at the wedding dress.

He grabbed Ava and nervously checked her hands and clothes.

"Are you okay? Did you get your clothes dirty?"

After confirming Ava was fine, he turned to look at the mess on the floor and frowned at me.

"Look what you did. You came here to yell at her and scared Ava so badly she couldn't even hold her cup. Fine, it's just some tea stains. Have the staff dry clean it. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

I looked at the ruined wedding dress, my heart turning cold.

"No need to wash it."

I raised my head.

"I find dirty things disgusting."

Liam froze. "What do you mean?"

I turned and walked straight to the counter, slamming the invoice I hadn't yet paid the balance for onto the desk.

"Manager, I'm not returning this wedding dress. I'll settle the balance now."

"Since Ava likes it so much and has ruined it, please have Liam pay in full. Liam, didn't you just say you wanted to give it to her for photos? Pay up."

Liam's eyes widened.

"Olivia, are you insane? This costs hundreds of thousands!"

"What's wrong? Not willing to spend money on your best friend?"

I said.

"Weren't you being pretty generous just now?"

The staff and customers around us all cast watching eyes, pointing and whispering.

Liam couldn't save face. He gritted his teeth, pulled out his bank card, and slammed it on the desk.

"Fine! I'll pay! It's just a broken wedding dress! Only you would treat it like a treasure! I'll buy it and give it to Ava so you can stop being sarcastic here."

The card went through successfully.

Ava was still pretending to object on the side.

"Liam, it's too expensive. I can't accept it..."

"Take it!" To save face, Liam's voice was loud.

"Wear it whenever you want from now on!"

I nodded, looking at Liam.

"Remember what you said today. This wedding dress belongs to you two now."

With that, I walked out of the bridal boutique.

Behind me came Liam's exasperated voice:

"Olivia, stop right there! What kind of scene are you making now? You're getting more and more unreasonable!"

I didn't stop.

Tears fell, but I quickly wiped them away.

Olivia Summers POV

By the time I got home, it was already evening.

I felt cold all over, my stomach sending waves of spasming pain.

It might have been from the rage at the bridal shop earlier, combined with not eating all day. My old stomach problem had flared up.

When I first arrived at Moonclaw Pack, I was terrified of these savage people who would start a fight over anything. I was afraid I'd become like them.

So I tried to stay out of sight. I ate as little as possible. Ideally, I wouldn't touch their food at all.

Until my stepbrother Ryan found me passed out from hunger and took me to the pack's elderly healer.

After that, Ryan started learning how to make human food and supervised my meals every day.

But the problem of stomach spasms from not eating had lingered.

I just didn't expect it to relapse at this moment.

I forced myself to walk into the bedroom and pulled out my suitcase.

I didn't want to stay in this house for one more minute.

I started stuffing my clothes into the case.

The twisting pain in my stomach continued. I just wanted to finish packing quickly.

Just then, the sound of a key in the lock came from the front door.

Liam was back.

He was carrying several takeout boxes.

Seeing me packing, Liam froze for a moment, then showed an expression of impatience.

"What are you making a scene about now? I already bought the wedding dress and paid for it. You're still not over it? Now you're running away from home?"

In his view, I was purely throwing a tantrum.

I had no energy to argue with him.

I clutched my stomach and slowly crouched down.

"Liam, do you have any medicine? Help me get some water."

Liam walked over with a frown.

"Stop acting. You were fine at the store just now. How are you suddenly sick as soon as you get home?"

"My stomach hurts. It really hurts..."

Liam scoffed.

"Come on, Olivia. How many times have you used this trick? Every time we fight, you suddenly don't feel well. Can't you come up with something new?"

Even though he said this, he still put the takeout on the table and turned to get water.

Just then, his phone rang.

Liam's expression changed, and he immediately answered:

"Hello, Ava?"

From the other end came Ava's tearful voice:

"Liam, there seem to be some rogue wolves near my house. I'm so scared..."

Liam's voice instantly became gentle as he coaxed her patiently:

"Don't be afraid. I'll be right there!"

Liam hung up and rushed toward the door.

"Liam..."

I lay by the bed, using my last bit of strength to grab the hem of his pants.

"I really feel terrible. Take me to the hospital..."

Liam stopped and looked down at me.

He said impatiently:

"Stop pretending!"

He shook off my hand forcefully.

"There are rogues near Ava's place. What if something happens to her? You just have a stomachache. There's stomach medicine in the cabinet. Can't you take two pills yourself? Do you have to put on this act right now? Even throwing tantrums should have priorities!"

With that, he didn't spare me another glance on the floor and strode out of the bedroom.

"Bang!"

The door slammed shut.

The pain in my stomach felt like it was tearing me apart, but the coldness in my heart was even worse than the pain.

I curled up on the floor, tears silently soaking into the carpet.

So in Liam's heart, I really couldn't compare to Ava.

I used to think his neglect of me was because he didn't understand human physiology.

But I suddenly realized that my stepbrother Ryan, also a werewolf, could detect my condition.

Tonight I finally understood. I had just been deceiving myself.

After a long while.

I struggled to get up, rummaged through the drawer for stomach medicine, and dry-swallowed two pills.

The bitter taste spread through my mouth.

Looking at the empty room, I suddenly laughed.

Good thing the Marking ceremony hadn't happened yet.

Liam, since you like being with her so much, then stay with her forever.

Olivia Summers POV

Early the next morning, Liam pushed the door open.

I sat on the sofa without even glancing at him.

Liam changed his shoes while announcing:

"Ava's place isn't safe lately. She'll be staying in our guest room for the next few days."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ava poked her head out wearing Liam's shirt, carrying the bag with the stained wedding dress.

"Morning, Olivia! Liam gave me this wedding dress. I'm planning to shorten it into a cocktail dress. You don't mind, do you?"

I glanced at the oversized men's shirt. It was Liam's clothes, now worn by another woman.

I smiled.

"I don't mind. If you like picking up other people's unwanted old clothes that much, keep it."

Ava's expression stiffened. She hadn't expected me to snap back like that.

Liam frowned, scolding me with displeasure:

"Olivia, watch your language. It's just a piece of clothing."

I laughed coldly, too lazy to waste words, and turned back to my room.

That evening.

A pungent spicy chili aroma came from the living room.

Liam came out carrying two bowls of noodles.

Ava sat at the table and eagerly took one:

"Smells amazing! Liam, you're so good to me. You knew I wanted to eat this."

Liam placed the other bowl in front of himself and turned to tell me:

"You don't like eating this kind of thing. There's plain rice porridge in the pot. Help yourself."

Ava ate while sighing:

"Poor Olivia, can't eat such delicious noodles and can only drink tasteless porridge."

I stood in the bedroom doorway, looking at those two polarized dinners, and suddenly laughed.

I walked to the dining table and looked at Liam.

Liam felt uneasy under my laughter and looked up impatiently:

"What are you laughing at?"

"Laughing at your poor memory." I said. "Liam, who told you I was born loving plain rice porridge?"

Liam froze, then slammed his utensils on the table:

"What are you going crazy about now? Haven't you been eating like this for three years?"

"Yes." I smiled. "But wasn't all of this because you said you didn't like heavily flavored food?"

Liam seemed to recall that incident, looking embarrassed. "I... Ava wanted to eat it, so I tried it with her."

Then he suddenly became defensive with embarrassment.

"You didn't want to eat it. Could I force you? Eat it or don't!"

He really couldn't force me.

So I was foolish. That version of me who loved him so much she lost herself.

I straightened up and nodded coldly.

"You're right. From now on, I won't touch anything I don't like."

With that, I turned to leave.

"Stop."

Liam called out to me, switching to a gentler tone:

"Jason's having a gathering tomorrow night at the usual place. You come too."

I paused mid-step, my back to him, saying nothing.

Liam thought I was putting on an act, his tone growing more impatient:

"Don't make a scene again. Everyone's been unhappy these past few days because of the wedding dress thing. Tomorrow when you go, it'll be a good opportunity to make peace with Ava and we can put this behind us."

As long as I obediently showed up tomorrow and obediently backed down, he'd forgive me for my unreasonable behavior these past few days.

Behind me came Ava's saccharine voice:

"That's right, Olivia. Everyone's waiting for you. You wouldn't refuse, would you?"

I turned around.

I looked at these two, clearly on the same page.

"Sure." I looked at Liam and smiled.

Liam frowned, but hearing me agree, he still relaxed a little.

"Good. At least you're being reasonable."

I said nothing more and returned to my room.

Go? Of course I'd go.

Since I was settling the score for the past three years, how could I forget about those people?

I wanted everyone to know exactly what kind of scumbag Liam really was!