I arrived at the ceremonial hall, which was full of males from various packs. Their muscles bulged, and they radiated intense energy.

I didn't try to sabotage Rosalie as she had done to me in our past lives. Instead, I bowed gracefully and explained that something had come up, and Rosalie would be there shortly. I then asked everyone to wait patiently for her.

They smiled, expressing their understanding.

These males came to seek mates, so they went all out to impress me with their charisma. If I were as inexperienced as I used to be in my past life, I would've been swept away by their charms.

But now, only bitterness remained in my heart, and I couldn't bring myself to even smile.

I quickly caught sight of Rosalie's mate in our past lives, the future Alpha of the Stoneridge pack, Jacob. He stood out among the crowd, and he had a calm air about him.

Unlike the other males, Jacob wasn't gingerly trying to please me. Instead, he stood a distance away. If I hadn't seen the hint of amazement in his gaze as he looked at me, I would've assumed he wasn't interested in me at all.

Just then, a sweating yet elegant Rosalie arrived at the hall. A hint of surprise flashed across her eyes when she saw the hall fully occupied.

Did she think I would take the opportunity to get revenge as she would?

Rosalie said, "Sorry, everyone, but my heart is set on someone else, and I've already decided to be his mate."

When the males heard that, they were a little disappointed, but they quickly surrounded me with even greater enthusiasm.

There was a hint of jealousy in Rosalie's gaze. Still, she pointed at Jacob in the distance and said, "That one doesn't look too bad. I think he's worthy of my sister. Our mother has already passed, so as Clara's older sister, I shall decide for her. Clara, I hereby betroth you to him."

I saw the purposeful smile on Rosalie's face before lowering my gaze to hide the complicated emotions I was feeling.

Rosalie wanted me to endure all the suffering she had gone through in our past lives.

Because of Rosalie's eloquent speech, I was thus arranged to be Jacob's mate. The Elder was a little mad that Rosalie attended the ceremony even though she had already fallen for someone else. Still, she was only grounded as a punishment so she could reflect on her wrongdoing.

As I kept track of the days, I knew that it was about time the messenger from the Sunfire pack arrived.

To my surprise, Julian had come in person this time.

The Elder was shocked to receive the news.

After all, the Silvermoon pack was no longer as prestigious as it once was. Even at the height of its glory, it never received anyone from the noble Sunfire pack seeking a mate from its ranks, let alone an heir like Julian.

The Elder bowed deeply and spoke respectfully to Julian. Rosalie was already released, and she was standing next to the Elder as she looked bashfully at Julian. "I've been waiting so long for you. Did you know that the Elder even locked me up?"

When the Elder and Julian heard what Rosalie said, their expressions darkened a little. With a hint of anger, Julian asked, "Why did you lock my future Luna up?"

Julian had always been quite assertive. He thought that the Elder's actions were an insult to him.

The Elder noticed the dark expression on Julian's face. He broke out in a cold sweat as he parted his lips to say something. In the end, he simply lowered his head dejectedly. "You may punish me as you wish."

I couldn't bear seeing the old werewolf, who had watched us grow up, humbling himself like that, so I hastily stepped forward. "Here's the whole truth. Rosalie had already fallen for someone else, but she had attended the ceremony regardless. The Elder had to do it to protect Rosalie's reputation. If not, the other packs would surely have complaints about her."

There was a hint of admiration in Julian's eyes when he saw me. Noticing the intrigued look in Julian's gaze, Rosalie was on high alert as she hastily held his arm and tried to flirt with him.

The Elder looked as if he were about to pass out when he saw Rosalie's behavior.

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.

Rosalie stared intently at me in extreme fear. She was worried that I might agree to Julian's wishes.

Jacob was looking at me as well, his deep gaze filled with pleading.

Everyone was looking at me. I recalled the pain of carrying a pure-blood pup in my previous life, then thought about the time I spent with Jacob in the past few days. Jacob didn't seem anywhere near brutal like Rosalie claimed he was.

On the contrary, he was charming and kind, and he was especially attentive to me.

I could see that he wasn't faking it. I had been a Luna in my past life, so I was all too familiar with hypocrisy.

I bowed respectfully toward Julian. When I saw Rosalie's expression instantly turning sour, I was gleeful for a moment. "Thank you for your kindness. However, according to our pack's traditions, it's taboo for sisters to serve the same male. Moreover, Jacob has been very good to me. I believe he's not brutal at all."

Rosalie hastily added, "Oh, yes! Jacob has a huge build, so I assumed he'd be a brutal guy without thinking twice. It was my fault."

When Julian heard that, his expression grew slightly colder because of my rejection and Rosalie's words.

The Sunfire pack considered themselves to be of old noble heritage, and they were born arrogant. Despite being Julian's future Luna, Rosalie had said something quite inappropriate, so Julian felt ashamed of her.

Julian didn't say anything else. He simply ordered a subordinate to take out a moonstone necklace. When Rosalie saw the necklace set with the rare moonstone, her eyes lit up.

However, Julian walked right past her and said to me, "Clara, I respect your decision. This necklace is my wedding gift to you."

Rosalie hastily cut Julian off as she said anxiously, "Our pack and Jacob's will take care of Clara's wedding gift. You don't have to go to such lengths. Moreover, she's not joining some prestigious pack, so you don't really have to give her something so precious."

Julian's gaze turned a little colder. In my previous life, I had spent many years with Julian, so I knew his temper all too well.

Julian did not like being rejected. He also had no affection for petty females like Rosalie, nor did he approve of her looking down on me. This wasn't because he took a liking to my beauty, though. He just didn't like werewolves who disregarded their families.

Still, it was too late for regrets. Julian and Rosalie had already made a vow before the Moon Goddess to become mates. Rosalie hadn't committed any grave mistakes, so he couldn't just back out of it.

Ignoring Rosalie's glare, I accepted the necklace and said, "Thank you for the blessing. With your blessing, my bond with Jacob will definitely be made perfect."

Seeing my graceful behavior, Julian had a slightly disappointed look on his face as he left with Rosalie.

I could still hear Rosalie saying, "Don't be fooled by Clara's seductive appearance. She's obsessed with riches…"

I didn't have to look to know that Julian's expression was turning even darker.

We werewolves had always worn our hearts on our sleeves, and the same was true for Julian. He treated rules with utmost importance. If not, he wouldn't have asked to be mates with common females like me or Rosalie, who saved his life. However, he wouldn't allow anyone to doubt his judgment. Everything Rosalie said just now had pushed all the wrong buttons.

I smiled and looked at Jacob. While rubbing his hands, Jacob said in a gruff voice, "I'll be good to you, I swear."

Of course, I believed him. After spending time with him for the past few days, I had a deep understanding of him.

I wondered how he grew to dislike Rosalie in our past lives.

By the looks of it, only Rosalie herself knew the answer now. I was curious, but that had nothing to do with me anymore.