“So, who does the Alpha heir truly love? Why must we choose one of you to form a sworn brotherhood?”
I shook my head blankly, feeling guilty, and said, "I died in such a hurry that I didn't hear it."
I turned my gaze to Lyra, but she also replied helplessly, "I don't know either."
Yeah, Cassian never told us this.
After a long and stressful day, we finally decided to split up and take action.
My mother went out for a walk to see if anyone was willing to exchange Mate Contracts with my sister and me, while Lyra was responsible for checking all the eligible female wolves in the territory to see who had any connection with Cassian.
Since I was most familiar with Cassian's character, I had to go to him and try to find out what he had to say.
When I saw Cassian again, he was drawing a portrait of the Moon Soul in Alpha's study.
A portrait of a woman, but without facial features.
When I leaned over to ask him something, he calmly set down his brush.
Just like before, her smile was perfectly timed.
“Can't you see? Of course, this woman is you.”
My heart ached.
Cassian particularly liked to draw portraits of moon spirits without facial features.
Red dresses, white dresses, black dresses—some sing moon songs, some bask in moonlight, and some peruse ancient books.
Every time I asked him, he said it was me.
He didn't draw my facial features because I was the most beautiful in his heart, and no paintbrush could depict my appearance.
I was always overjoyed after hearing it, and never bothered to investigate its flaws.
Now that his mindset had changed, he noticed the abnormality in the details.
The woman in the portrait had a crescent-shaped mark on her right neck, but I didn't.
In addition, there was a very faint scent of Moon Lily remaining on the drawing paper.
I stopped trying to hide it and went straight to the point. "Cassian, this isn't me, is it? There was no crescent-shaped mark on the right side of my neck.”
Cassian's back stiffened, a rare occurrence.
After regaining his senses, he looked up at me and asked, "Selena, do you really want to know who she is?"
I held my breath, intently awaiting Cassian's next sentence.
But then he changed the subject, saying, "You fool, this is really you."
“That's not a mark, it's just some moon ink that got on my neck by accident. Don't you know how I've treated you since you all these years?”
I was speechless for a moment.
Yeah, it was right that Cassian was really good to me.
Alpha Magnus and my father were best friends, and both Cassian and me were inseparable since I could remember.
When I was a young pup, I was playful and didn't like learning the ancient language of the wolf tribe, so I always secretly skipped classes.
Every time my parents were about to punish me, Cassian would rush to my aid.
He promised his parents that he would personally teach me the lessons I had missed.
I always escaped danger because of him.
And he wasn't just saying it casually. He really sacrificed his time, staying up late to tutor me.
He even secretly learned Luna Code and told me about it.
I once laughed at him for having an Alpha heir learning such things, and he sighed and told me that he was afraid that I would be gossiped about by other wolves after I registered in the Luna Registry.
That time, a warm feeling inexplicably rose in my heart. It was around that time that I suddenly felt it would be great to be his Luna.
Later, for his sake, I learned my lesson and reined in my temper.
I truly became a qualified noble Luna heir.
Standing next to him, I could always hear others praising us as a couple blessed by the moon goddess.
Even the Lycan Queen was very satisfied with me and repeatedly told Cassian to treat me well.
He kept those words in mind and treated me better and better.
When I fell ill, he stayed by my side day and night, personally preparing medicine for my treatment.
Whenever I was bullied, he would always stand up for me immediately, no matter who the other person was.
Even during my coming-of-age ceremony, he prepared a sea of moonlight flowers covering the entire territory for me, saying that he didn't want anyone to look down on me.
I really couldn't understand when someone who was so nice suddenly changed.
The sour feeling rising in my throat pulled me back to reality.
I rubbed my nose and asked in a muffled voice, "Cassian, if you really care about me, why didn't you clearly write your name on the Mate Contract?"
Cassian paused slightly, then said, "Selena, you and Lyra have been fighting over me all these years, making a scene that the entire Moon Capital knows about."
“I didn't write her name because I was afraid of hurting her feelings. After all, she's your sister. I thought that if you accepted the Mate Contract first, she would feel better.”
“Unfortunately, I didn't expect you to misunderstand me because of this and reject me out of spite.”
Actually, Cassian and I both knew that Lyra didn't like him that much.
What Lyra liked was the feeling of competing with me.
When I was little, I would fight over food, toys, and my parents' affection. When I grew up, I got bored and started fighting over the people I liked.
My absent-mindedness made Cassian think I was wavering.
He pressed his advantage, saying, "So Selena, I've made up my mind. The person I want to mark has always been you."
“I will come to Silvermoon Pack in three days to exchange my Mate Contract. I will not do anything that could cause further misunderstandings.”
“Will you forgive me just this once?”
“After we’re bonded later, I'll make you your favorite Moon Lily Cake every day, okay?”
Looking at his sincere expression, I fought back tears and choked out, "Okay, I'll give you one chance."
“But let's forget about exchanging the Mate Contract; Lyra would make a scene if she knew.”
“Come directly to the Mate Ceremony in three days.”
Cassian let out a long sigh of relief, looking as if he had found something he had lost.
When Lyra returned home, she and our mother learned the whole story and were stunned.
Lyra, contrary to her usual behavior, didn't confront me directly, but instead raised her hand and slapped me.
“Selena, can you please wake up? Would you still marry an Alpha like this? Didn't you suffer enough in the first cycle of the Moon Goddess's reincarnation?!”
For the first time, I wasn't angry with Lyra. Instead, I calmly sewed my ceremonial robes and said, "Mate bond is a must. But the person he’s going to mate with isn't me...”
Lyra stood there, stunned, her brows furrowing slightly.
She asked me anxiously, "You don't mean you want me to mate with him, do you?"
“Selena, we're blood sisters. We may argue, but I've never intended to harm you. If you dare to cheat me, I'll really turn on you.”
I rolled my eyes at her, then explained to her.
“What are you thinking, Lyra? In the last cycle of the Moon Goddess, I thought Cassian liked you, that’s why I made you form a bond. Now that I know your fate too, how could I possibly harm you again?”
“Lyra, you misunderstood me.”
Lyra breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "So, you mean you’ll let the female wolf from our pack replace us to mate with him?"
I still shook my head.
“Cassian is an arrogant and proud wolf. If he didn't like someone, why would he possibly look down on an ordinary female wolf?”
Lyra deflated, annoyed, and said, "This is wrong, that is wrong, what exactly do you want, Selena?"
“Besides the two of us and those female wolves, who else can we marry?!”
I looked up at my mother and whispered, "Mother."
Our mother took two steps back in alarm, waving her hands frantically. "Oh, no! I can't do that! I'm old enough to be Cassian's mother!”
I was both amused and exasperated listening her refusal.
“No, Mother. I just need your help with something. I think I know who Cassian has feelings for.”
Actually, I didn't realize it at first. Cassian's act was so convincing that anyone who heard it would believe he was truly sincere towards me.
But he forgot to say his last sentence.
My favorite was not Moon Lily Cake at all.
On the contrary, I had always hated the smell of Moon Lily.
And the same scent lingered on the portrait of the Moon Soul.
However, he did remind me that Silvermoon Pack does indeed have someone who is a big fan of Moon Lily Cake.
Moreover, before I came back, I specifically went to verify that there was indeed a crescent-shaped mark on the right side of that person's neck.
So I've decided that rather than continuing to argue with Cassian and eventually ending up at the Royal Council, I should just pretend to agree for now.
Once the Mate Ceremony was over and the Luna Registry registration was complete, everything would get really interesting.
