Chapter 5

I knew she was going to say this. Before I could figure out how to answer her, I reached for the things she had brought me. I opened the bag and rummaged through the contents.

I was thankful that she didn’t bring me her over-the-top clothes. They were all my usual style. But before I could finish talking, I saw something that didn’t belong to me in the bag.

It was a pair of four-inch pink high heels! Their pink diamonds reflected a different color under the light, and they were dazzling. I looked at them like I was looking at a devil.

“What is this!”

I shouted to Elizabeth.

“I brought you shoes.” Elizabeth shrugged. “The Lycan King asked me to bring a set of clothes. I thought you needed shoes too. I also brought you some toiletries. It took me a while to find my shoes. If I had found them yesterday morning, I wouldn’t have had to wear your pink flats. Aren’t they much better looking than yours?”

I looked at her in disbelief. She had actually given me her shoes. What the hell was she thinking?

“I’m not going to wear these shoes,” I replied stiffly. I began to change into the clothes Elizabeth had brought for me. I took out the cleansing milk, skincare tonic, and moisturizer she had brought for me and went into the bathroom to wash up.

“Alright, do as you wish. Then wear your Cinderella straw sandals and wait for the Lycan King to turn them into crystal shoes.” Elizabeth said angrily, “You know how busy I’ve been since yesterday. I’ve had to handle so many things that came my way, but I still have to deliver clothes here and listen to your nitpicking.”i

“So what did you deal with?” I asked as I applied the cream on my face in a circular motion with my fingers.

“Nothing! I don’t know anything. I didn’t interfere with anything from the beginning to the end. Now everyone is asking me, how would I know what to do?” Elizabeth was as self-righteous as ever. “Margaret, you have to go back and deal with these things. You can’t throw them to me like this.”

[Margaret’s POV]

I knew it, I thought helplessly.

“Didn’t Anthony do anything for you?” I asked.

“Ah… he—he did help a little.” Elizabeth’s voice suddenly fell silent. Puzzled, I looked back at her. Elizabeth seemed to be lost in thought as her gaze drafted. She noticed my gaze and quickly focused on my business again.

“But you should come back. I have the inauguration ceremony.”

I thought about what Donald had told me yesterday. If there really was an attack and our safety was not guaranteed, all the rituals would probably be postponed or canceled. However, as I looked at Elizabeth, I thought I’d better not tell her about this yet. She’d freak out.

Elizabeth had been looking forward to showing up with Armstrong at the Luna succession ceremony to slap the faces of those who usually didn’t get along with her, including Selina. My sister never cared about the tribe or anything. She just wanted her to be the most beautiful, popular, and respected person in the pack.

“I’ll help you. I’ll do what I promised. Yesterday was just…” I was at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain what happened between me and Donald.

Fortunately, Elizabeth did not mind. When she heard that I would help her, her expression softened and she interrupted me.

“What’s going on between you and the Lycan King?! He took you away just like that yesterday. He looks tall and powerful, and the girls in the pack are about to go crazy. But he looks a little scary, right? I mean, he’s shockingly strong. He can crush you.”

Elizabeth sounded odd, but I was used to not bickering with her.

“He is very tall, and he is very nice.”

I thought about how he had locked me up in the house yesterday and felt a little uncomfortable, but I insisted on speaking up for Donald.

“So he’s really your mate?! Oh my god, you’re actually the Lycan King’s mate. Oh my god, oh my god! I still can’t believe it from yesterday until now. There is countless speculation outside, but most people are guessing that you two are mates. Many people don’t believe that this will happen, so is it true? You two are really mates!”

Elizabeth screamed.

“I think so.” I started to giggle too. Even now I couldn’t believe it. Donald and I were really mates. Whenever I was alone, I would wonder if this was just a dream I had.

“Oh, Margaret, do you know? Selina is going crazy with jealousy. She’s spreading rumors about you and the Lycan King everywhere, but anyone with discerning eyes knows that she’s just jealous. No one pays attention to her. She’s like a clown. When you and the Lycan King show up, you’ll slap her in the face.”

Elizabeth was agitated. She and Selina had been enemies for a long time because Selina liked Anthony, but Anthony was nice to Elizabeth.

The two of them had been fighting openly and covertly over the past few years, and neither of them had an edge over the other. Elizabeth had been showing off in front of Selina for a long time because she had become mates with Armstrong.

It seemed that using my relationship with the Lycan King would suppress Selina until she could no longer make a name for herself. However, I didn’t want to be involved in their battle. In their previous battle, I was often the only victim.

I tried to change the subject.

“I heard from Donald—”

“Donald?! Is that the name of the Lycan King? You’re already calling each other by first names? Oh my god, Margaret, you really became mates with the Lycan King. How does that feel?”

Elizabeth cut me off again. She never thought it was rude.

“I was going to say that Armstrong came home yesterday.”

I continued what I had not finished.

I felt surprisingly calm at the mention of Armstrong.

Just yesterday, this name brought me endless disappointment and pain. But after just one day, he wouldn’t cause any more waves in my heart. I could already accept the fact that he would become my sister’s mate and give him my blessings sincerely. This was the power that Donald had given me.

“Oh, I think so. I saw him at the venue yesterday.”

I looked at Elizabeth in surprise. She did not look interested.

“You only saw him at the venue? Didn’t he come home at night?”

Ever since Elizabeth and Armstrong became mates, Elizabeth had moved to live in Armstrong’s place. If Armstrong wasn’t home, or if they had any arguments, Elizabeth would run home and stay for a few days. But Armstrong had just returned, and Elizabeth should have missed him. They shouldn’t be apart.

“He didn’t come back last night. He was probably dealing with tribal matters. I don’t care about his Alpha business. In fact, I couldn’t even do Luna stuff. As soon as I got up this morning, the Lycan King notified me to give you something. Now I’m here.”

Elizabeth was talking about things that didn’t matter, but she looked depressed. She always wanted to talk to me about Armstrong before, but I didn’t want to discuss him. It seemed like she and Armstrong weren’t getting along as well as I thought.

[Margaret’s POV]

I suddenly felt sorry for my sister. I always thought that she was doted on and could have whatever she wanted. I had never done my part as an older sister. I didn’t think she needed me at all.

But from the looks of it, that was not entirely true. Perhaps Elizabeth’s life was not as good as it seemed.

He might really be up to something.

I thought about it and tried to comfort Elizabeth.

“Something happened to the pack next door. They were all nervous. Armstrong is the Alpha of the pack. He has to care about these things.”

Elizabeth waved her hand.

“I don’t understand any of this. But Margaret, I think Armstrong treats me differently than he treats you. You always had endless things to talk about. I mean, you two were good friends before, and even now, you have a lot to say to each other.

He and I are mates, but I don’t know if all mates are like this. Of course we desire each other. But other than that, I feel that Armstrong doesn’t value me. At least, not like how he valued you before. I don’t understand what went wrong. Are you and Donald like this too?”

I had not expected this. When Elizabeth and Armstrong stood together, they had always been a perfect match. They looked happy together.

“I don’t know. Uh, Elizabeth, do you love him? Do you love Armstrong?” I asked, holding Elizabeth’s hand.

“Of course I love him.” Elizabeth didn’t look as determined as she sounded. “He’s the Alpha of the pack. Every girl in every tribe wants to marry him. He’s tall, handsome, smart, and strong. He’s still the mate the Moon Goddess chose for me. When I saw him show up that day, I felt hot all over. Doesn’t that mean I love him?”

I didn’t know how to answer Elizabeth. Listening to Elizabeth tell me how she felt about Armstrong made me feel complicated.

I was sure I wouldn’t be moved by Armstrong anymore. All my love was tied to Donald alone now, but hearing my sister talk about what happened between her and my ex still made me feel weird.

I realized pathetically that I couldn’t fix relationship problems for my sister. I didn’t even know what to do with Armstrong myself. We were lovers and friends.

Later we weren’t lovers, but I thought we could still be friends. Now I wasn’t sure about this anymore. If he really hurt my sister’s feelings in the future, or if there was a conflict between them, should I support my sister? Could we still be friends? This was really a mess.

“You guys might just need time,” I managed to say.

“Maybe.” Elizabeth did not immerse herself in her emotions for too long and pointed her finger at me. “You haven’t told me what happened between you and the Lycan King. Anthony and I were walking towards the venue with the Lycan King when he suddenly walked towards you and announced in front of so many people that you were each other’s mate. After he took you away, I could not contact you anymore!”

Elizabeth glanced at me questioningly, as if her relationship problems had never existed. Her gaze made me uncomfortable.

But I knew that if I didn’t tell her, she would keep asking.

“It’s what you saw. I wanted to contact you yesterday too. I called you, but you didn’t answer,” I explained.

“Is that so?” Elizabeth looked down at her phone. Her attitude was still annoying. “Maybe. There were too many people looking for me yesterday. A lot of people wanted to ask me about you. I couldn’t handle them.”

“Then I’ll go back with you to deal with those things now.” I sighed. This was what I had planned. I had only gotten back on track after being pestered by Elizabeth and asking a lot of questions.

“You should have come back yesterday.”

I ignored her and put on my pink heels.

I felt like I was stepping on stilts. I took two tentative steps. It could only be described as treading on thin ice. I would definitely fall if I wore these shoes! I began to hate Elizabeth again.

But I had no choice. I didn’t know where my shoes had gone yesterday. They probably fell when Donald picked me up.

I looked over at Elizabeth. She was wearing a pair of blue shoes that were about the same height. Even if I exchanged shoes with her, it would have been useless.

Forget it,?I thought.It’s not that far. I’ll be fine walking home,?I reassured myself. I followed Elizabeth out like a child who had just learned to walk.