Chapter 2

"What are you going on about, Olivia?" my parents asked quizzically. "Don't you have the biggest crush on Blaise? I saw the soup that you placed on the table earlier. The butler told me that you made it specifically for Blaise."

I stared at the soup and found the situation incredibly ironic. What I thought was an act of affection only ended up fueling Blaise and Susie's affair even more.

When Blaise got injured in my last life, I brought him the same bowl of soup when I paid him a visit. To my dismay, he bribed the nurse who was on duty and asked her to cover for him.

The nurse informed me that he was still unconscious and that I should refrain from disturbing him. Despite what I'd been told, Blaise was actually having a passionate affair with Susie Hayes inside the room. In fact, they were so intimate that he might as well have marked her.

While I was lost in my thoughts, Vivian piped up again, "Olivia? I was just suggesting that we finalize the arrangement for now. We can take things slow—"

"That won't be necessary," I cut her off coldly. "Please dispose of the soup, Sam. I want it out of my sight."

Then, I turned toward Vivian and said, "Blaise doesn't deserve it."

The latter was furious.

"How dare you, Olivia!" she barked. "Blaise injured himself in order to protect you. How could you be so ungrateful?"

Then, she added, "If Blaise ever mistreats you, just come and talk to me about it. I will be on your side no matter what."

"Alright, then. Will you still be on my side if I insist on not becoming mates with Blaise?" I spat.

Vivian was confused. "I thought you liked Blaise. Why are you refusing to become his mate? Are you doing this because of Susie?"

My expression hardened at the mention of Susie's name.

Vivian sighed. "Our pack adopted Susie when she was an orphaned pup. Since she grew up with Blaise, it's only natural that the pair have a close, sibling-like relationship. I'd hate for this to cause a misunderstanding."

She continued, "If you don't like her, I'll remove her from the pack. I'll make it so that she doesn't appear in front of you at all."

In order to persuade me to form a mate bond with Blaise in my last life, Vivian kicked Susie out of the Silverwolf Pack.

Blaise hated me for it. Instead of reflecting on his own actions, he blamed Susie's death on me.

Our bonding ceremony took place on a night of a full moon. In order to punish me for what happened to Susie, he ended up torturing me the entire night.

One month later, the Silverwolf Pack's healer gave me a checkup and realized that I was with pup.

I was over the moon. However, before I could break the news to Blaise, I overheard a conversation between him and a couple of his werewolf friends.

The group was seated in a private room inside a bar.

With a look of disdain, one of the werewolves said, "I bet our Luna has no idea who her pup's father is."

"It's probably some filthy Rogue. There's no way Alpha Blaise would let her give birth to that mutt," spat another.

"I can't believe how desperate she is. Alpha Blaise couldn't give her what she wanted, so she went looking for some mangy Rogue? Talk about having zero standards…"

They let out a cruel and mocking laugh.

I was standing on the other side of the private room's door. My face paled, and I was frozen in shock.

I'd never imagined that Blaise would insult me like this behind my back.

He stayed silent and did nothing as his friends defamed my character. By not offering a response, he was basically admitting that their statements were true.

I couldn't take it anymore. Crying hysterically, I threw a vase onto the ground and yelled, "How could you, Blaise Larkin? I only agreed to be your mate because your pack begged me to do so."

Blaise stared emotionlessly at me as I threw a fit. Subsequently, he frowned in contempt and hissed, "What a madwoman—serves you right for shamelessly forcing me to become your mate."

He continued, "If you didn't abuse your pack's wealth and power, Susie wouldn't have been kicked out of the Silverwolf Pack. If she didn't leave the pack, she wouldn't have been killed by Rogues. If it weren't for you, she and I would've been mated by now!

"Susie is my fated mate, not you. You're just a lowly Beta. You don't deserve to be the Luna of my pack at all!"

His hurtful remarks completely crushed the love I once had for him. I mentioned rejection and wanted to break our mate bond, but he refused to accept it.

He said that he hated me and claimed that he wouldn't let me leave so easily. On top of that, he wasn't willing to forsake the resources that the Eastern Pack was providing him with. He still needed to use those resources in order to help the Silverwolf Pack get back on its feet.

He threw me into an underground prison cell and only gave me enough food to keep me alive. He forced me to give birth to my pup in the prison cell in order to atone for Susie's death.

When my parents noticed that something was amiss, they paid the Silverwolf Pack a visit in order to get some answers.

When they asked Blaise about the situation, the latter lied and told them that I'd cheated on him with a Rogue.

"Look at the daughter you raised! She cheated on me with some Rogue and humiliated the entire Silverwolf Pack," he spat.

Shocked by what they'd heard, my parents instantly fainted and were subsequently sent to the emergency department at Moonhaven Hospital to receive treatment.

The Eastern Pack had a huge amount of money and vast territories. With me being imprisoned and my father bedridden, the Silverwolf Pack immediately took over and carved up our resources.

I was in a tremendous amount of physical and emotional pain. Eight months later, I lost my pup and died from excessive blood loss.

By the time I reopened my eyes, I'd been reborn. The Moon Goddess had given me a chance to get my revenge.

…

Once I gathered my thoughts, I lifted my head and said, "I don't care who I'm bonded to—I just don't want it to be Blaise."

Subsequently, I turned toward my parents and told them, "I don't want Blaise to be my mate. Please ask them to leave."

My parents seemed hesitant.

"They're right, Olivia. You're supposed to be arranged mates with the future Alpha of the Silverwolf Pack. We have to honor our word."

Forming an alliance with another pack could be beneficial to us too.

"Blaise isn't the only candidate for the position," I crossed my arms and spat emotionlessly. "I think Ethan Larkin would make a pretty good mate."

Vivian jumped up from her seat. She clamped a hand over her mouth and exclaimed, "What? Ethan?"

My parents' eyes also widened in shock.

"How could you pick Ethan?" they asked.

"What's wrong with Ethan?" I asked in return.

Everyone was extremely taken aback by my suggestion.

My parents flashed me an awkward smile.

"Ethan is one of the candidates for Alpha, but…" They paused before continuing, "Have you forgotten, Olivia? His wolf was severely wounded during a kidnapping a few years ago. Because of his injuries, he can no longer shift into his wolf…"

A werewolf without his wolf was practically a sitting duck. Ethan was not a good option for a mate.

"If Ethan becomes your mate, you're going to end up all by yourself sooner or later…"