Chapter 4

Alison POV

Late at night, Ethan didn't return to the Packhouse. My phone screen lit up—a text from him.

[Olivia's still not feeling well... I might be back late. Eat without me. Don't wait.]

I stared at that text, my finger hovering over the screen for a few seconds. The air still seemed to carry the scent from his hastily departed jacket.

I turned off the screen without replying.

The day Olivia was discharged from the hospital happened to be my birthday. But Ethan had obviously forgotten completely.

A few days ago, he had proactively mentioned his plans for that day. "Olivia just lost her father and has been very depressed lately. I want to throw a welcome-back party for her. Consider it appeasing the former Beta family's influence and cheering her up."

At the time, I was standing in the closet, inventorying tactical equipment needed for the new pack—silver daggers and several advanced combat manuals.

Hearing his words, I didn't look up: "Sure, do you need me to help organize it?"

Ethan paused. He had expected me to feel hurt by his excessive attention to Olivia, as I would have before.

"You don't mind?" he asked tentatively, his brow slightly furrowed. My excessive calmness made him anxious.

"Mind what?" I looked up at him calmly. "Comforting a pack member who lost a loved one is an Alpha's responsibility. Besides, Olivia really has had it rough—her father just passed, and she's been badly hurt herself."

He looked at me deeply and ultimately didn't ask for my help, instead personally taking charge of the entire party.

...

On the evening of the party, almost everyone who attended had grown up with Ethan and Olivia.

As Ethan's nominal Luna, I naturally had to attend.

The atmosphere grew lively as the alcohol flowed.

"I'm saying," a tipsy wolf stood up, "Olivia was our pack's recognized Luna back in the day! Now that she's back in the pack, shouldn't she drink with the Alpha?"

Instantly, whistles and low howls erupted around the long table.

Ethan's brow furrowed immediately, and he instinctively released a hint of Alpha pressure: "Enough. Alison is right here."

"Luna doesn't mind, right?" Another she-wolf friendly with Olivia spoke up, emboldened by alcohol, her eyes carrying hidden provocation. "Our Luna is a first-rate warrior who's been on the battlefield. She's the most generous! Right?"

All eyes, including Ethan's, instantly focused on me.

I leaned back in my chair, feeling the faint stabbing pain from the mate bond, but I only smiled faintly and pushed my wine glass away.

"Go ahead and drink. I don't mind." My tone was so light it lacked even a ripple.

Amid the cheering, Ethan and Olivia raised their glasses.

They stood very close—close enough for their scents to completely mingle.

Olivia's cheeks flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Ethan.

But Ethan's expression showed a hint of stiffness. His gaze didn't rest on Olivia but instead drifted involuntarily past their crossed arms toward me.

I instinctively turned away, no longer watching him.

After finishing his drink and setting down the glass, Ethan's first reaction was to stride over to me.

"Alison..." Ethan approached me, lowering his voice with a hint of panic. "Just now... they just drank too much. Don't..."

"It's fine, I understand."

I cut him off, my gaze drifting toward Olivia, the center of attention in the crowd.

"Look, tonight Olivia looks just like..." I paused, raising a faint smile, "like a true Luna."

Ethan was instantly speechless. He stared hard into my eyes, as if trying to find something, but he found nothing.

Halfway through the party, I got up to use the restroom.

Coming out of the restroom, I ran into Olivia in the hallway.

"Luna Alison." Olivia called out to me, her face showing perfectly calibrated regret. "Earlier... I'm really sorry. Everyone just drank too much and was fooling around. Please don't take it to heart. Don't let me affect your relationship with Ethan."

I stopped and turned to look at her: "Why would I take it to heart?"

Olivia was stumped by my response. After a pause, she bit her lip and said: "I mean... Ethan and I really are just friends now. Don't misunderstand..."

"I haven't misunderstood." I smiled, my gaze calmly sweeping over her. "You're friends, first loves, mates who were forcibly separated. I know all of it."

With that, I turned to leave.

"Wait!" Olivia suddenly raised her voice.

I stopped in place without turning around.

"Do you know he has a hidden photo album on his phone? The password is my birthday. It contains all our past memories, including the night we almost completed the Mark."

Olivia's voice carried a hint of smugness.

"Alison, you only became bound to him through mate bond because of an arranged marriage. You've been with him for four whole years. Has his wolf truly submitted to you even once? Now that I'm back—"

My body stiffened. That recording echoed in my mind again—"Staying by your side feels like going back to the past..."

But I didn't turn around.

"So what?"

"So..." Olivia walked up to me in her heels, her eyes challenging as they fixed on me.

"So he never forgot me. These four years, you've been nothing but my replacement."