Chapter 1

After my parents, my brother, my sister, and my fiancé all betrayed me, I gave up.

Business proposals? Not writing them.

Pack meetings? Not attending.

Business dinners? I made a scene right there and then.

I handed back control of the Gonzalez Pack's finances and stepped down as Alpha.

I agreed to let my brother mate with the gold digger Sophie Grant, and I let my sister spend money however she pleased.

After I built my own business and made it to the top of the world's billionaire list, they came begging me to come back and save their broken family.

But I wasn't that stupid anymore.

*****

After my sister hooked up with my fiancé, my whole family sat down together, telling me to move on.

Adam Nelson, my fiancé, declared, "Olivia is so cute and lively. Being with her, I finally feel like my life has meaning. I love her."

Olivia Gonzalez, my sister, said tearfully, "Amber, Adam doesn't love you. Please, don't make things difficult for him, alright?"

Ethan Gonzalez, my brother, jumped in, "Amber, you already have everything. There's no need to fight Olivia over this. In a relationship, the one who isn't loved is extra."

I turned to my parents, hoping they'd have my back.

My mom looked troubled, but she tried to persuade me. "No matter who Adam chooses to be with, he'll still be part of the Gonzalez Pack."

My dad, radiating Alpha authority, made the final decision. "We've discussed enough. Let's pick a date for Olivia and Adam's mating ceremony."

Adam took Olivia's hand and thanked my parents for their blessing.

While they were speaking, none of them bothered to ask my opinion.

I couldn't help but laugh. My bitter, sarcastic laugh awkwardly echoed in the middle of this pack reunion.

My mom glanced at me and sighed, "Amber, you're the big sister. You should let Olivia have what she wants."

That was how she'd always raised me. As the oldest pup in the family, I had to let Ethan and Olivia have whatever they wanted.

All my clothes, shoes, and bags were hand-me-downs from my mom and Olivia. When we moved into the new pack house, I always ended up in the leftover room nobody else wanted.

Whenever the pack needed extra hands, my parents would make me stay behind to help out instead of letting me go to the academy.

Of course, Olivia was cute and lively.

When she was born, my parents made sure she had a home right in the heart of the Gonzalez Pack's territory.

She never knew what hardship was. She was pampered from day one, always getting the best of everything.

She had top-notch teachers and every chance to see the world. She spent a few years with the Northern Pride, treated like royalty.

As the Alpha of the Gonzalez Pack, I was supposed to be the top dog, but in reality, I was just a workaholic, pulling overtime day and night.

Every penny I made was carefully budgeted. The money was sent off to the Elder Council, handed out as employee bonuses, and even allocated to pups in the poor packs, all to make the pack look good.

All I ever got was the 2,000 dollars a month, clearly stated in my contract.

All the work I put in for this pack, and somehow it still couldn't compete with Olivia's tears and sobs.

"Amber, you can't compete with Olivia. Why bother clinging to Adam?" Ethan said.

I couldn't compete with Olivia?

I turned to Ethan and asked slowly, "Two years ago, your roommate plagiarized your graduation thesis and tried to frame you, almost getting you kicked out of the Graduate Academy. I went everywhere, pulled every string to clear your name. Do you remember that?"

He paused, pressing his lips together.

I continued, "Last year, you pissed off the Alpha of the Northern Pride over some showgirl, and I had to beg him to let you off the hook. Right?"

His brows furrowed, and he suddenly got angry.

I went on, "And this year, your PhD advisor flat-out said he wasn't taking any more students, but I pulled every string I could, waited for the right moment, and got you into his program. Right?

"I was there for you through every mess you faced in school, and now you're telling me I can't compete with Olivia?

"When you were dealing with all that crap, what was Olivia doing? Did she ever lift a finger to help you?"

Ethan shot up from the couch, his chest heaving violently.

He shouted, "Amber Gonzalez, if you hadn't brought it up, I would've kept quiet. But since you did, let's settle this right now.

"I never wanted to go to the Graduate Academy, let alone some PhD program. But you pushed me into it. And Sophie isn't some showgirl. She is the woman I love, and you are the one who broke us up.

"Olivia never makes me do anything I don't want to. She is always there for me when I feel lost and alone. Just for that, you can't hold a candle to her."

I stared at Ethan, the brother I'd always put first, and it felt like a punch to the gut.

He actually thought everything I did for him was me pushing him into something he didn't want.

All those times I pushed him to study, cleared a path for his future, and kept him away from that gold-digger, none of it mattered compared to Olivia saying a couple of comforting words.