Chapter 5

I walked toward the private room in the furthest corner of the establishment and opened the door. Dressed in a neat suit, Ethan was seated on the couch and surrounded by Betas. He exuded confidence—he didn't seem like a werewolf with a damaged wolf at all.

"What is the daughter of the Eastern Pack's Alpha doing here?" one of the Betas asked.

I stared directly at Ethan and replied, "I'm here to take a look at my future mate."

To my surprise, Ethan's gaze wavered ever so slightly. A hint of surprise flashed across his face before he let out a small laugh.

"So, do you like what you see?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," I responded.

I walked over and sat on his lap. Then, holding his chin, I added, "I like him very much."

"I thought you'd pick Blaise."

Ethan allowed my hands to wander across his body, but he spoke to me in a careful manner. It was almost as if he was afraid of scaring me away.

I shook my head. "What about you? Are you satisfied with your future mate?"

While staring intently at me, he swallowed before replying, "Yes. I like you very, very much."

…

The next day, Ethan personally drove me to the Silverwolf Pack's estate.

Every Luna of the pack had worn the same dress for the bonding ceremony for generations, so this was a tradition that I was not allowed to break. My measurements would need to be taken so the dress could be altered to fit me.

Ethan had the butler bring out the dress. Then, he turned toward me and said, "You should go try it on."

Before I could even touch the dress, Vivian stormed over and yelled, "Do not touch it!"

Since I was going to become Ethan's mate, she was treating me in a relatively hostile manner.

"What's going on, Olivia? I practically watched you grow up alongside Blaise. My son had always told me that he wanted you to be his Luna," she asked.

She continued, "Blaise has always been your future mate. If you don't choose him as your mate, you're not allowed to wear this dress."

Vivian pretended to look sad. She was trying to support her son while she made subtle jabs at Ethan.

"Only the future Luna of our pack can wear it," she added.

I was unfazed by her comments. "I am the arranged mate of the Silverwolf Pack's future Alpha, but I also get to choose the wolf I want to bond with. I insist on choosing Ethan as my mate."

"You're still relatively young, Olivia. As a she-wolf with more experience, I'm trying to give you some advice. Ethan has a quiet and boring personality. He's also not the best at taking care of others.

"On top of everything, his wolf is severely wounded. Becoming his mate would make your life extremely difficult!" Vivian said impatiently.

Then, she continued, "Blaise told me that he genuinely likes you, Olivia. Once you become his mate, he'll do exactly as you say."

Since Vivian was Blaise's mother, it was only natural that she'd want the best for him.

I scoffed at her. "He genuinely likes me, you say? I beg to differ. Your beloved son has been having an affair with Susie for the longest time."

Blaise, who happened to be passing by, managed to overhear what I said.

"I knew it—you were just pretending that you didn't love me anymore. Deep down, you're actually jealous of Susie," he declared with a triumphant expression.

Then, he snatched the dress off from the butler's hands and took a closer look at it.

"Susie hasn't tried this on yet. You shouldn't be able to put it on before she does," he said with a scoff.

"No way." I took a deep breath. "This is a mating arrangement between the Eastern Pack and the Silverwolf Pack. Susie has no right to meddle in this matter. You're crossing a line, Blaise!"

Susie suddenly began to cry. "You're the one who's being mean. Blaise and I are in love—why are you trying to tear us away from each other?"

Once Blaise noticed that Susie was in tears, his heart began to ache. He immediately ordered the butler to take Susie's measurements.

"Susie is the only she-wolf who'll become the future Luna of our pack!" he declared. "Her measurements should be taken first!"

Susie only asked Blaise to come over to make things more difficult for me. She pulled the exact same tricks during my last life. To stop me from wearing the Silverwolf Pack's traditional dress, she came up with a bunch of different ways to humiliate me and frame me for things that I hadn't done.

The butler seemed extremely hesitant. He didn't know what to do.

He turned toward Ethan for help and said, "Susie can't wear this dress, Mr. Ethan… It wouldn't be appropriate for her to do so."

Susie started sobbing even harder. "I think we shouldn't be together, Blaise. If an Omega butler is already looking down on me now, I don't know what will become of me once Olivia becomes your mate."

Not wanting to listen to their absurd conversation any longer, I reached for the dress.

I didn't expect Susie to suddenly lean toward me. After losing her footing, she stumbled onto the ground and let out a loud scream.

She was clutching her stomach with a pale face. "Blaise—my belly—"

"How dare you, Olivia?" Blaise yelled as he rushed over to check on Susie. "You're so evil! Susie is with pup. If anything happens to the pup she's carrying, I'll make sure you pay for what you just did!"

Subsequently, he picked her up in order to send her to the hospital for a checkup.

It wasn't the first time Susie had done something like this. In my previous life, she'd painted me as a villain in order to gain Blaise's sympathy on multiple occasions.

However, this time, things were different—I had Ethan in my corner.

"Wait," Ethan stopped Blaise from leaving. "Did I say you could go? Would you care to elaborate on what you just said?"

Feeling incredibly anxious, Blaise was beginning to work up a cold sweat. "Uncle Ethan? Since when have you been here?"

Ethan scoffed. "I have been here all along. Otherwise, I'm afraid the future Luna of our pack would probably have been bullied a lot more."

Blaise looked puzzled. "Olivia and I aren't bonded yet. I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding, Uncle Ethan."

Ethan stared down at Blaise and spat, "I am Olivia's future mate, Blaise. Our bonding ceremony is tonight."