Chapter 3

Because of Julian's forceful insistence, the date for Rosalie's bonding ceremony was decided.

An idea occurred to Rosalie, and with ill intent, she suggested that my bonding ceremony be held alongside hers. She said that we were very close to each other, and now that she was about to become Julian's mate, she wanted me to be in the spotlight as well. She wanted Jacob to know that someone powerful was backing me.

Rosalie spoke with such sincerity that Julian gazed at her with an even softer look now.

The Elder was a little opposed to it. The bonding ceremony was the most important event of a female's life, and she should be the center of attention on her big day. Hence, it wasn't reasonable for two females of a pack to have their bonding ceremonies on the same day.

Moreover, Rosalie was the future mate of the esteemed Alpha heir of the Sunfire pack. Her entourage and grandeur would be far above mine.

The Elder was about to say something when I put my hand on his, stopping him. Then, I smiled as I said to Rosalie, "You're so good to me, Rosalie."

When I sensed Julian's obvious gaze, I subconsciously stopped smiling. Rosalie glared at me as she moved to stand between Julian and me.

Jacob arrived with the gifts. To my surprise, he had faithfully followed the ancient traditions by hunting a rare white stag and bringing it as a gift.

In my previous life, my bonding ceremony was held in a hurry, so I didn't get to see Jacob coming to take Rosalie as his mate. Still, I felt that she must have received the same grand gift back then.

Rosalie's expression darkened. She was furious that Jacob would hold me in such high regard.

I couldn't help but slip in a quiet chuckle. Rosalie was no longer Jacob's mate, but she was surprisingly mad about this. She was quite an odd one.

The Elder was getting old, and he felt a little tired. Hence, he went to bed.

During the few days of ceremonial preparations, I was thrilled. In my previous life, my bonding ceremony was held in a rush, and I was bound by various rules as soon as I arrived at the Sunfire pack.

But this time, I could enjoy the freedom and anticipation a betrothed female deserved.

I took Jacob on walks in the Silvermoon pack territory, whereas Rosalie kept bothering Julian and hanging out at his residence.

Finally, on the day before our ceremonies, the Elder summoned Rosalie and me to his room.

The Elder took out a gift list and said to Rosalie, "Rosalie, your bonding ceremony concerns our pack's glory, but Clara is one of us as well. I want her to receive a larger share of the blessings, so…"

With a straight face, Rosalie snatched the list from his hands and said, "No! I'm the future Luna to the Alpha heir of the Sunfire pack. I am representing the pride of our pack, so I must get as many gifts as possible. As for the Stoneridge pack that Clara is joining… Well, there's no need for such extravagance."

Looking at the sheets of paper in her hand, Rosalie took out the paper with the simplest list and tossed it at me.

The Elder was a little upset, but I thanked Rosalie and picked up the list.

Suppressing his anger, the Elder looked at Rosalie with slight worry. "It has been a long time since our pack last formed a mate alliance with the Sunfire pack. We call it a mate alliance, but they're of much higher prestige than we are. If you join them, I'm worried that they may mistreat you, yet we won't be around to help you. Please be careful."

While glaring at the Elder, Rosalie scoffed. "I know you're a useless lot. You're not just useless, but you're also obsessed with keeping up appearances. Come on, of course, they won't mistreat me. But as for you, Clara…"

Rosalie had a mocking look in her gaze as if she could already see my tragic ending after I became Jacob's Luna.

But I wanted to laugh, too. Rosalie thought that after she saved Julian, she could safely give birth to pure-blood pups and become an esteemed Luna.

The Sunfire pack was an ancient bloodline, and their pups were rare because their bloodline was simply too strong. Normal mothers couldn't bear the strength and power at all.

Getting pregnant with a pure-blood descendant was the utmost glory, but as long as the pup was inside the mother's womb, they would constantly draw life force from the mother and torture her without rest. If the mother became too weak, to protect the precious offspring, the Sunfire pack wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice the mother.

They would only consider saving the mother if she herself had a similarly strong bloodline.

In my previous life, I was lucky to have chanced upon a moonflower before I got pregnant. If not, I would've been tragically sacrificed, too.

However, Rosalie was completely unaware of this. She was still lost in her fantasy, and I definitely wasn't going to tell her.

Looking at me, Rosalie said, "Clara, Jacob is actually quite a brutal guy. Don't expect anyone from our pack to stand up for you, either. Just hang in there, okay? I wanted to help you, but it's your fault for trying to flirt with Julian, you know."

Rosalie had just finished speaking when Jacob kicked the door open and came in. He stared at Rosalie with a fierce look on his face.

Rosalie shuddered, but when she saw Julian standing behind Jacob, her eyes lit up. Running up to Julian, she reached out and held his arm.

However, Julian paid her no mind. He simply looked at me with an amused gaze. "The future Alpha of the Stoneridge pack is brutal, you say? Clara, why don't you come with me as well? You'll be on equal standing with Rosalie, and you two can serve me together."

When Rosalie heard that, her expression immediately darkened.