The Alpha’s Replace Bride

Amelia POV

“I want you to go to the Royal Pack and pretend to be your sister.”

My father dropped the words like they weighed nothing.

It wasn’t often that Alpha Maximus called me into his office for a private conversation. The whole walk there my mind spun. What did he want? Had I done something wrong? I paused outside the heavy oak door, smoothed my palms over the front of my long black dress, and knocked.

“Come in,” came his voice, low and firm.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room smelled of polished wood, old leather, and the faint smoke from the fireplace that burned even in summer to chase away the chill of power. Shelves towered with books and artifacts, and his desk looked more like a throne carved from dark mahogany. He used this space to impress allies or break enemies. Sometimes both at once.

“You wished to see me, Father?” I kept my tone even and polite.

“Sit.”

I took the chair opposite him, back straight, hands folded in my lap the way years of tutors had beaten into me. I lifted my eyes to meet his. Cold blue, sharp as winter ice. The Clark eyes. Mine. Alyssa’s. The same shade that marked us as his blood.

“I want you to go to the Royal Pack,” he repeated slowly, “and pretend to be your sister.”

The air left my lungs. “Pretend to be Alyssa?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.

He leaned back, fingers steepled, watching me like prey that hadn’t yet realized it was caught. “Your sister ran. Again. The moment I reminded her of the marriage I arranged years ago. She is promised to the son of an old friend. A high-ranking wolf in the Royal Pack. She refused. Disappeared. Typical Alyssa.”

I stared at him. I had always known he would decide our mates. That was the price of being born to an Alpha. But I hadn’t known he’d already locked in a future for my twin.

“Why not wait until you find her?” I asked quietly.

His gaze hardened. “An Alpha keeps his word, Amelia. This is not negotiable. You will take her place. Temporarily. Until we track her down.”

The bitterness rose in my throat before I could swallow it. Two months ago he had arranged my own marriage to Alpha Asher Hudson of the Sky Green Pack. Contracts signed. Alliances promised. Then Asher found his fated mate. Felicia. Kind, soft-spoken, genuinely good. The wedding dissolved overnight. I was relieved. Happy for them, even. But Father saw only the slight to his pride. He blamed me somehow, as though I had personally conjured the mate bond to humiliate him. He banned me from their ceremony. The wound still festered in him.

And now he was using me to clean up Alyssa’s mess.

“But Father, that means lying to him. To his pack. To everyone.”

“Do not question me.” His voice cut like a blade. “A proper daughter obeys. Pack your things. You leave at first light. Alyssa’s fiancé will meet you at the airport.”

“Yes, Father.”

I stood, dipped a small curtsy out of habit, and walked out before the heat behind my eyes turned into something he could mock.

I made it to the forest behind the house before the tears came. I stripped quickly, let the shift rip through me. Black fur. Silent paws. The wolf didn’t care about politics or promises. She just ran. Trees blurred past. Wind tore at my ears. My lungs burned until the sharp ache in my chest dulled to something I could breathe through.

When I finally returned, legs trembling, I shifted back, dressed, and slipped into my room.

Lucy was already there, opening suitcases on the bed. She glanced at my face and said nothing, just began folding dresses with careful hands.

I sat on the edge of the mattress and stared at the growing pile of clothes. Silk. Lace. The kind of lingerie an engaged woman might wear. My stomach twisted.

A soft knock broke the quiet.

“Amelia?”

Joseph.

My heart gave a stupid, hopeful thud. I looked up. He stood in the doorway, shoulders tense, dark eyes troubled. His hair was messy, like he’d dragged his fingers through it too many times.

“May I speak with you?” he asked.

“Lucy, give us a minute.”

She left silently, pulling the door almost closed. Not fully. Never fully. Father’s rule: no closed doors. Not even with Joseph—the Beta’s son, Father’s godson, the boy who had been my closest friend since we could walk.

Joseph stepped inside but kept his distance. He glanced at the luggage, then back to me.

“I heard you’re leaving for the Royal Pack tomorrow morning,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.”

“Why now?” He took one step closer. “He’s never let you out of his sight. Not once in twenty-four years. And suddenly you’re gone?”

I looked down at my hands. “I can’t tell you.”

“Amelia.” My name in his mouth sounded different tonight. Softer. Almost pleading. “You can trust me. You know that.”

I met his gaze. Those warm brown eyes had seen me cry, laugh, rage, bleed. He had bandaged my knees when we were kids, taught me how to hold a knife properly, stayed up late talking when nightmares kept me awake. He was the only person who knew the real me underneath the perfect mask.

I took a breath. “Alyssa ran away. Again. Father arranged a marriage for her. Some powerful wolf in the Royal Pack. She refused. So now…” I gave a small, helpless shrug. “He wants me to go instead. Pretend to be her. Meet the fiancé. Keep up appearances until they find her.”

Joseph’s face drained of color. Then he moved, fast. He crossed the room and dropped onto the bed beside me. His hand closed over mine, warm and rough from years of training.

“You can’t do this,” he said, voice rough. “You might end up living with him. In his house. In his bed. What happens when he finds out? What happens if he touches you thinking you’re her?”

The words landed like a slap. Heat crawled up my neck. “It’s only temporary. Father’s men will find Alyssa soon.”

“I’ll talk to him. I’ll make him change his mind.”

“No.” I squeezed his hand. “You know how he is. It’s done. If you push, he’ll punish us both.”

Joseph stared at me, jaw tight. His thumb moved once across my knuckles, a small, unconscious stroke that sent sparks up my arm.

“I’ll find her myself,” he said quietly. “I swear.”

“Don’t. It’s too dangerous. Just… let it happen.”

He didn’t answer. We sat there, hands linked, the silence heavy with everything we had never dared say.

I had loved him forever. Since that day he pushed me higher on the swing until I screamed with laughter. Since he carried me home after I twisted my ankle racing him through the woods. Since I caught him watching me during training and realized my heart wasn’t racing from exertion.

But he was Beta blood. I was Alpha blood. Father would sooner die than allow the match.

Joseph finally stood. He let go of my hand slowly, like it hurt to do it.

“Be careful,” he whispered. “Please.”

“I will.”

He walked out.

I stared at the doorway long after he disappeared, chest hollow.

Tomorrow I would step onto a plane. Tomorrow I would become Alyssa. Tomorrow I would look into the eyes of a stranger who thought I belonged to him.

And deep down, in the part of me that still believed in fairy tales, I wondered if this lie might destroy me in ways my father never intended.

What if the fiancé saw through the mask right away?