Chapter 1

• Karin
• “HOW DO YOU EXPECT ALPHA KILLIAN TO CLAIM YOU AS HIS MATE AND LUNA WHEN YOU’RE INFERTILE?!”
• My eyes fly open to the sound of my father’s raised voice. He is yelling at my twin sister Anna in the kitchen, something he has never done before. My heart races as I hear his anger, and I shrink deeper into my bed, grateful I’m not the one to face his wrath.
• “I’m sorry!” Anna cries. “It’s not like I chose to be infertile! I would love to have Alpha Killian’s babies, but the pack doctor told me I can’t get pregnant. It would be impossible!”
• My eyes widen at my twin sister’s words. Can it really be true that Anna is infertile?
• I would be shocked if it is.
• Anna has always been perfect. She is also the polar opposite of me: extroverted, confident, and powerful, with a beautiful wolf form. I always expected great things from her, and I wasn’t surprised when it was announced she would marry our Alpha, Killian Hart.
• An Alpha claiming a powerful female werewolf as his mate is nothing new. But if Anna can’t have babies, then Alpha Killian won’t want her. That’s why we have this dumb rule in our pack that the future Luna has to be knocked up before the wedding so the Alpha knows his Luna can have his babies.
• “This is a disaster!” my father bellows inside the kitchen. “Do you even realize how bad this is for our family? The only reason we have food on our table is because you’re the future Luna. Without your position, we would all be starving!”
• My father’s voice is so loud that a few books drop from their shelves. One of the books even manage to hit my head, and I grimace in pain.
• Damn it, why couldn’t they give me a normal room? I live in the old kitchen storage like some modern Harry Potter, and the walls are woefully thin.
• “I know it’s a disaster, Dad,” Anna’s voice cracks with unshed tears. “That’s why I’m telling you this right now. Alpha Killian has requested I spend every night with him until our upcoming wedding, but what’s the point if I can’t get pregnant? I need a solution!”
• “Solution?!” our father laughs out loud. “There is no solution, Anna! You’re just as useless as your wolfless Omega sister who looks like you, but—” he suddenly trails off and gasps in realization. “That’s it!”
• Suddenly, my door is yanked open, and I shriek when my father pulls me out of my bed and into the harsh light of the kitchen. What is the meaning of this?!
• Startled, I stumble, my wide eyes taking in Anna’s red face and teary eyes. She has never liked me and is pouting like a child until my father speaks.
• “You!” My father points at me with a trembling finger. “You should be the one to bear Alpha Killian’s child! You look identical to Anna! You both have the same dark hair and hazel eyes. The Alpha isn’t likely to notice the difference in the heat of the moment!”
• Anna gasps. “What do you mean he won’t notice?!”
• At that moment, our mother chooses to enter the kitchen with a glass of chardonnay in her hand. “Please,” she snorts at my sister. “I love you, Anna, but young men are all the same. All they want is sex, and Alpha Killian is no different. Like all young men, he thinks with his dick and won’t notice any difference between you and Karin if you swap places at night. He will just see a pair of boobs and a pretty face.”
• I can’t believe even my mother is in on this! Have they all gone mad?!
• My heart thuds so loudly I fear it will break through my chest. Anna and I are indeed identical twins. We have the same olive skin, long black hair, hazel eyes, and delicate curves, but our personalities couldn’t be more different. She is a powerful wolf, while I am an Omega—what if Alpha Killian can somehow feel that I’m weaker than my twin sister? He would call me an imposter and kill me on the spot!
• “This is crazy!” Anna exclaims and glares at me with pure hatred in her eyes. “Am I just supposed to let that…let that THING sleep with my future husband?!”
• “Yes, you are!” our father roars. “It’s the only way!”
• “But it’s immoral! It’s deceitful!” Anna screams back at him, her anger mirroring his own.
• “A small deceit to ensure our family’s future,” he growls back. “Take a minute to think about this, Anna. Without a baby in your stomach, the Alpha won’t marry you in the first place.”
• Anna opens her mouth—probably to cry and say Alpha Killian might pick her as his mate regardless of whether she can give him an heir or not—but then she seals her lips with a look of hurt flashing over her features.
• I almost feel sorry for her.
• My sister must have finally realized that most Alphas don’t marry out of love but out of duty and tradition. And that duty is to give birth to an heir—a strong, legitimate heir that Anna is apparently not capable of providing.
• “Here is what we will do,” my mom interjects, her voice slicing through the tension like a knife. “Anna, you will continue to court Alpha Killian during the day, show him respect, and win his heart as you’ve been doing. And you Karin, you will swap places with Anna when night has fallen.”
• “And remember Karin, Alpha Killian mustn’t suspect anything,” my mother adds pointedly, fixing me with a stern gaze. “You must act like Anna, talk like Anna. In his eyes, you will be Anna.”
• “But I don’t know how to...to—” I gasp when I’m cut off by my father, who slaps me in the face with his large hand.
• “Shut up!” he yells. “You will do what you were told and not cry like a baby about it! For years, we have protected you and given you a roof over your head, so this is the least you can do to thank you. Get pregnant and ensure our family’s survival. Stop thinking about yourself and think about us!”
• I swallow hard, feeling the sting of my father’s palm on my cheek, but more than that, the sting of his words. It’s no surprise to me how my family thinks it is okay to use me like this. In their eyes, I’m a maid, not a daughter. But still, hearing it so plainly breaks my heart.
• Tears prickle behind my eyelids, but, like always, I don’t dare to speak my mind. It would result in another beating. So I say nothing and give the word to my sister.
• “I have a question,” she says. “What do we do when Karin gets pregnant?”
• “Easy,” our mother says. “We hide Karin at home until the baby is born. In the meanwhile, we just pretend your baby bump isn’t showing. Then, later in the pregnancy, you will wear larger dresses with a fake bump underneath to pretend you are pregnant. Once the baby is finally born, we present it as yours.”
• Anna smiles while a sickening feeling washes over me. Am I just supposed to carry a baby like it’s nothing and hand it over to my sister like an object?
• The thought leaves me hollow. I look down at the floor and try my hardest not to break out into tears. I’ve always wanted a big family, and the idea of giving away my own baby makes my chest clamp in unbearable pain.
• But I have no choice, do I?
• I’m the Omega, and I wouldn’t get very far if I tried to run away. If my own pack wouldn’t catch me trying to leave our city, the rogues or the vampires would get me. There’s no way out...except for going along with this idea until I find a solution.
• “I like this idea,” my sister suddenly says and smirks my way. “And you, sister, are you ready to be Alpha Killian’s wolfless concubine?”