My Husband's Mate Is My Sister

Chapter 6

~AVERY~

He's my mate, but my sister was the one that married him. He's supposed to be mine; he's supposed to love me, not her.

It breaks my heart to see them together at every dinner, breakfast, and every lunch. It's almost as though they want to hurt me.

I feel as though someone is taking a knife and slicing my heart into the tiniest pieces. It's more painful than if someone was actually doing that to me.

I want him.

I want Lucas. I want my sister's husband. He never belonged to her; he's always belonged to me. I see how he looks at me; I see that longing in his eyes and know that it matches mine.

Since the first day I saw Lucas at home, I have fallen deeply in love with him. I knew he was my mate; I knew he was meant to be with me. I know that my sister can sense it; she must know the truth. We have always been inseparable, but I knew that this was something that would be difficult for the both of us.

"You look beautiful, Avery," Ace tells me as he smiles. "Don't look so sad that our sister has just gotten married. Very soon, it will be your turn."

It's been a few hours since I watched Lucas and my sister say I do. They were officially husband and wife now. It was too late for me to declare my love for Lucas to my father. It's not like that would have changed anything. If I'd told him that Lucas was my mate, indeed, he would have found a way to kill him.

I never had a choice in this matter. The second father announced their wedding; I knew that no force on this earth could stop that wedding from happening. And I was entirely right. They're now married, and no one was able to stop the wedding, not even Lucas's family, who were totally against it.

I had hoped that Freya would speak up and beg our father to stop the marriage, but I knew she was most likely protecting Lucas and me. She knew that we were never allowed to go against his wishes. We saw what happened to Arthur when he chose to follow his heart. None of us wished for a similar fate.

"Avery?" Ace calls my name. It's only then that I realize he's asked me a question, and I have yet to give him an answer. It would have been easier if I had even heard the question to begin with.

"Yes, brother."

"I asked if there is a man that you are interested in?" he says. "As long as he isn't your mate, I can try to speak with father and organize the arrangements for you. That would be better than father choosing a stranger for you to wed."

My cheeks redden. There was only one man that I was interested in, and he got married today.

"No." I lie. "There is no one that I'm interested in. I would be happier if our father never finds a man for me to marry."

He chuckles and takes my hand in his, "We both know that you will find a suitor much faster than any woman I know. All men are captivated by you. That's why father will choose only the best for you to marry. He knows they will all be lined up for a chance to marry you."

I swallowed hard; that wasn't much good news. It meant that I would have to marry a man that I didn't love, while my sister married the man that I was in love with.

What a terrible fate was that! Even though my brothers seemed to be content with marrying women who weren't their mates, my sister and I were never okay with it. We've always hated these stupid rules that our father came up with because of his past.

We deserved to be with our mates. We deserve to have a happy life without losing our family because of it. Arthur chose love and got to be with his mate after many challenges. However, he lost his entire family because of it. We are even forbidden from seeing him. I know my brothers still sneak out to see him sometimes, but those occasions are rare.

"Why do you look so unhappy today?" Ace asks. I was not hiding my unhappiness well from my brother. I didn't need him to worry about me. He always worried about us but never about himself.

"I'm not unhappy, brother," I assure him. "I've just had a very long day and would prefer to get some sleep."

I knew that sleep was the last thing I would be getting tonight. Lucas and Freya were in a room together, and they were expected to consummate their marriage.

I felt sick thinking about it.

Stop it, Avery. Stop torturing yourself.