Chapter 6 Decided Half a Month Ago

Olivia never thought Raymond loved her all that much.

Last night's rescue at the castle banquet, this morning's custom-made ring — these were just the tyrant's ways of staking his claim.

She held the core code for the "Bloodline Fusion Serum." That was her real leverage, the card that kept her in the game.

Since the deal was already done, she had no reason to turn down a status that would save her a lot of trouble.

"Ms. Smith, please wait just a moment — your custom piece needs one final polishing step." The white-haired store manager bowed with great respect and personally brought her a cup of Ceylon black tea.

Olivia gave a small nod and lifted the cup.

Just then, the frosted glass door of the VIP room was pushed open from the outside.

The muffled thud of heels on carpet was followed by a wave of thick, sweet rose-scented pheromones drifting into the room.

"Clarence, I really love that pink diamond necklace. You upset me last night, so you have to buy it for me today." Elodie's voice came through in a playful pout.

"Of course. Anything you want." Clarence's raspy voice carried a hint of exhaustion and eagerness to please.

Olivia paused mid-sip. New York really was a small world.

Clarence's right arm was still in a cast, and he looked even worse than he had at the apartment that morning.

Raymond had beaten him badly last night, and then Olivia had kicked him out. He desperately needed to reclaim his sense of dominance and control as an Alpha — and Elodie was how he planned to do it.

Elodie was walking in on Clarence's arm when she caught something in the corner of her eye and stopped dead.

"What are you doing here?" Elodie's voice shot up as she stared at Olivia on the sofa in disbelief.

Clarence followed her gaze, and his expression darkened immediately.

Looking at Olivia's calm face, he felt a rush of blind anger surge up from somewhere deep inside.

That morning, she had walked out with her suitcase, no hesitation, and didn't even look back. And now here she was, in the same jewelry store he and Elodie had walked into.

A ridiculous thought flashed through Clarence's mind: she had been following him.

"Olivia, are you done with this act?" Clarence strode up to the sofa and looked down at her, his eyes full of contempt and a twisted kind of certainty. "You think showing up here and playing hard to get is going to make me feel sorry for you and ask you to come back?"

Olivia set down her teacup and stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Mr. Fisher, did the cast on your arm somehow cut off the blood flow to your brain?" Her tone was completely flat.

"Stop making excuses!" Clarence said through gritted teeth. He lowered his voice, aiming for a tone that sounded like he was doing her a favor. "I know what you said this morning was just out of anger. You're a Beta I kept for a year — you don't even have a place to sleep without me. You came to a place like this on purpose, didn't you? To prove you're doing fine on your own? Or to pressure me into taking you back?"

The more he talked, the more airtight his own logic seemed to him.

Elodie let out a cold laugh and walked forward on her heels, looking Olivia's simple, casual outfit up and down with disdain.

"Clarence, why are you even wasting your breath on her?" Elodie crossed her arms. "A single chip diamond in this store costs more than ten years of her salary. A nobody from the Lower District doesn't even deserve to set foot in a place like this. She probably slipped past security to have a look around."

Olivia leaned back against the sofa. She didn't even consider getting up.

"Are you done?" Olivia raised her eyes. The dark gold of her slit pupils held a cold edge. "Then get out of my space. Your pheromones are making me sick."

"You filthy little nobody!" Elodie snapped, enraged by Olivia's attitude. She raised her hand and swung it toward Olivia's face.

Olivia's eyes sharpened. She was about to move.

"Stop!"

The side door of the VIP room swung open. The store manager hurried out carrying a black velvet tray, his face tight with anger as he looked at Elodie. "Ms. Turner, this is Primal Gleam. You don't get to behave like this here."

Elodie froze, her hand still in the air. Knowing better than to push against this store's connections, she dropped her hand with a scowl.

Clarence turned to the manager, his face stony. "Your security has really slipped. You're letting anyone walk in off the street. Have this woman removed, or I'll cancel every order Vanguard Threshold Group has with you."

He was trying to throw his weight around as the heir to a powerful family and take back control of the room.

The manager didn't even glance at him.

Instead, he walked straight to Olivia and bowed deeply, holding the black velvet tray out with both hands.

"Ms. Smith, I'm so sorry you had to deal with this. This is the royal betrothal ring Mr. Carter commissioned half a month ago — sourced on an urgent basis from a South African mine and finished overnight by our master craftsman. Please take a look."

The moment he finished speaking, the VIP room went completely silent.

Clarence's pupils shrank. He stared at the tray, unable to look away.

The manager slowly opened the velvet box.

Against the black interior lay an exceptionally rare dark red blood diamond.

It was the size of a pigeon's egg. The cut was flawless. Under the light, it cast a deep, unsettling red glow.

The setting was crafted from meteorite gold, engraved with ancient totems representing the supreme authority of the Wolf King's bloodline.

This wasn't just a ring. It was a symbol of power.

Only the queen of a pureblooded wolf lineage had the right to wear it.

"That's impossible..." Elodie went pale and took a step back without thinking. "How can this be real? A royal betrothal ring? For her?"

Clarence's breathing turned ragged. The veins in his forehead pulsed visibly.

He stared at the blood diamond, then looked at Olivia, his eyes wild with jealousy and disbelief.

Half a month ago?

Had Raymond started preparing this ring half a month ago? Back when Olivia was still living in his apartment, going through his data every night?

"You're lying!" Clarence jabbed a finger at Olivia, his voice cracking from the force of his jealousy. "What did you do, Olivia? Did you steal Raymond's black card? Did you hack the system and fake the purchase records? There's no way Raymond would marry someone with no background, no family, nothing. You're insane if you think you can impersonate the Wolf King's fiancée — the entire wolf clan will tear you to pieces!"

He refused to believe it.

He could not accept that the woman he had pushed around, kept hidden as a secret, made to stand in his shadow, could now be the most powerful woman in the entire wolf clan.

Watching Clarence's face twist as he completely fell apart, Olivia felt a sharp, clean satisfaction.

She stood up slowly and paid no attention to Clarence's helpless rage.

She reached out with pale, slender fingers and lifted the heavy blood diamond ring from the velvet box.

The cold metal settled against her fingertip.

Olivia raised her hand and held the ring up in front of Clarence and Elodie.

"Open your eyes and look carefully." Her voice was quiet, but every word landed like a blow. "Starting now, I am Raymond's fiancée. Neither of you has any right to raise your voice in front of me."

"She's lying! Security! Arrest her for stealing a royal artifact!" Elodie screamed. Her rose pheromones spiraled out of control, driven by sheer panic and envy.

Clarence's eyes went red. His one good hand shot out to grab the ring from Olivia.

He had to expose her. He couldn't stand being made to look like a fool.

His fingers were almost on her.

Then the thick bulletproof glass door of the VIP room exploded inward.

In a shower of flying glass, a blast of icy pine and hard liquor hit the room like an avalanche — overwhelming, suffocating, absolute.

The temperature dropped to freezing in an instant.

Elodie's rose pheromones were crushed on contact, ground to nothing.

She didn't even have time to scream. Her whole body shook uncontrollably.

Clarence had it worse.

His forward momentum slammed him into an invisible wall. The Wolf King's pressure pinned him flat to the floor. His already-broken right arm let out another sickening crack of bone. Cold sweat soaked through his shirt in seconds.

Heavy boots crunched through the shattered glass with a sound that killed the air in the room.

Raymond stepped through the doorway in a long black coat, his tall frame blocking out the light from outside.

His grey-blue eyes burned with a killing intent so sharp it looked like something that had walked out of hell.

The entire store fell dead silent. Even the air seemed to freeze.

Raymond walked straight to Olivia. He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her into him, then bent down and kissed her — hard, forceful, leaving no room for argument.

When he pulled back, he took the ring and slid it onto her ring finger, pressing it into place.

He swept a cold look over Elodie and Clarence, both of them white as paper, as the weight of his presence filled every corner of the store.

"Remember this. She is my fiancée. Anyone who touches her is declaring war on the entire wolf clan. I will hunt you down across every territory. I won't stop until you're dead."

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