They Chose Her Over Me, So I Chased My Own Future Chapter 01
The day two acceptance letters arrived at the Silvermoon Pack, my mother–the pack’s Alpha Queen–tossed my
letter to the Royal Werewolf Academy straight into the trash can.
However, she pried open my stepsister Sienna’s
acceptance to the Omega Academy carefully and posted it on her social media..
My older brother Ronan ruffled Sienna’s hair, his voice soft
with adoration. “Our Sienna’s so brilliant.”
My fated mate, Damien Blackwood, handed her his black
card, his gaze warm and tender. “Let my personal trustee handle my finances for me from now on.”
Meanwhile, I stood off to the side, completely invisible and ignored by everyone. I fished my crumpled, grubby letter
out of the trash can.
Mom shot me a piercing glare. “You know what you did wrong, don’t you?”
I pressed my lips shut and said nothing. She huffed in irritation.
“Did I tell you that as the older sister, you’re supposed to defer to Sienna? The academy held a unified entrance
exam, and you deliberately scored higher than her–what were you trying to prove?”
I clutched the frayed cuff of my uniform, a hollow ache settling deep in my chest.
I’d deferred to them in every single way possible.
I’d given her everything–my brother’s attention, my
mother’s affection, my fated mate, even my grades. Just this once, I’d only wanted to fight for myself.
All I’d gotten in return was cold, deliberate neglect from my own blood.
From this moment on, I was done deferring. I’d stop waiting around for their love, too.
I couldn’t bring myself to answer her accusation, and turned to slip away.
“Stop right there!” Mom barked before I could take more than a step. “Is that any way to speak to your elders?
Where’s your sense of decency?”
I stayed silent.
I’d tried standing up for myself countless times before, and none of it had ever mattered.
When my stepfather, Malcolm, moved Sienna into the
pack house of Silvermoon Pack ten years ago, the first thing they’d taken from me was my bedroom.
I’d fought to keep it back then. All I got was a long lecture
from Mom, followed by an entire month of her refusing to speak to me.
For a decade since Sienna moved in, everything had slowly
shifted to her: trivial things like control over the TV
remote, and far more precious ones–my mother’s affection, my brother’s attention.
Every time I dared to want something for myself, they labeled me selfish and ungrateful.
Mom’s temper flared at my quiet, defeated demeanor.
“You’re nothing like me at all! Everyone outside the pack
says Sienna’s the one who looks and acts like my real daughter.”
Her tone softened instantly into fondness just speaking
Sienna’s name, then hardened again when her eyes landed back on me.
“Tell me–how’d you suddenly score so high? Why hide
your ability all these years, or is there some ulterior motive behind this?”
Her words left my throat dry and burning. I lifted my
head, holding back the hurt welling up inside me. “Mom, I’m your biological daughter. What possible harmful
motive could I have toward you?”
She froze, caught off guard with no retort ready. I
dropped my gaze, a bitter laugh lingering unspoken on my lips.
Actually, I did have a motive.
For years, I’d intentionally tanked. my test scores, calibrating every exam result to land just below Sienna’s,
all to win their approval.
My only desire had been to earn my mother’s and brother’s love.
But I’d forgotten: they loved Sienna without needing a
single reason, just as they’d stopped loving me without needing one either.
Thick tension hung heavy in the air. Ronan stepped
forward, annoyance edging his features. “Rhea, you need
to understand this family. Sienna doesn’t have what you
do–you carry the ancient Alpha bloodline and its power,
and you’ve got Mom and me to rely on. Sienna’s just an
Omega. Malcolm’s all she’s got.”
Damien frowned and turned to me as well. “I know you’re
upset we switched your enrollment to the Omega
Academy so you’d be with Sienna. Throw a small fit if you
have to, but get over it and act mature.”
One after another, they piled all the blame onto me.
Simply refusing to shrink back for Sienna, simply
outshining her, made me the irredeemable villain in their eyes.
The mention of switching my enrollment twisted a sharp
pang of sorrow through my chest.
For the unified academy entrance exam, I’d skipped
holding back for the very first time. My score beat Sienna’s
by a full two hundred points–more than enough to earn
admission to the Royal Werewolf Academy, the most
prestigious school in the entire werewolf realm.
No one else in the house celebrated my achievement.
Malcolm, Sienna’s birth father, forced an awkward smile.
“Heh, Rhea, that’s quite an impressive score…”
Sienna burst into tears. “I’m useless. I can’t compare to my sister at all.”
Her asthma flared up right after. Mom, Ronan, and
Damien–the man who’d sworn to spoil me for life–all
scrambled around her in a panic, rushing to soothe her breathing.
Mom’s face twisted with distress. She snatched my phone
to check my exam scores, glowering furiously. “Look at
what you’ve done! I warned you time and time again to let
her have the spotlight! Were you just pretending to listen all along?”
Ronan gently held the asthma inhaler to Sienna’s nostrils,
then shot me a stern look. “Rhea, this was thoughtless of you.”
Damien didn’t even spare me a glance, refusing to utter a
single word in my direction.
To calm Sienna down, Ronan made a final decision for me
without a single input from my side. “You’re not enrolling
at Royal Werewolf Academy. Wherever Sienna goes, that’s
where you’ll attend school too.”
Just like that, the only dream I’d ever dared to chase for
myself shattered completely.
I didn’t waste another word arguing. I grabbed my
crumpled acceptance letter for the Omega Academy and
retreated to the tiny, forgotten bedroom at the far end of the second floor.
I pulled the official Royal Elite Program admission letter
out from under my bed, signed my name, and sent a
photo of the signed document to the academy’s
admissions advisor.
This was my last chance to escape.