Page 21 of The Wolf's Bullied Mate
We walked together back to his house, finding the utterly confused agent in front of the open door.
“If you don’t want to go through with the arranged marriage after all…” She started, fixing the glasses on her nose.
“We do,” I said before I could lose courage.
“We do,” Oliver nodded.
“Okay,” the agent said, raising her eyebrows. “I’ll explain the arrangement details and then let you make the final decision from there.”
Oliver invited Mrs. Ellen, Ray, and me inside the house and led us to the living room. The furniture was all made of light-colored wood, and a large leather couch sat in the middle of everything. The room was cozy enough but lacked a personal touch—there was little in terms of additional décor. A wooden sculpture of a dog chasing a cat sat on one of the cabinets, but that was it.
Oliver chuckled, which made me look back at him.
“You can decorate however you want,” he had a twinkle in his gaze. He had seen right through me. “I know the place is a bit… lacking right now. I moved here a year ago with the money saved from my job as pack beta. I never felt like decorating just for myself, though.”
He had a soft smile on his lips, and reluctantly, the corners of my lips lifted into a small smile. “I would love to decorate the house.” It was the truth—at my parents’ home, I couldn’t even put a picture frame on the wall. Having a whole house to make my own would be like a dream.
Oliver’s eyes widened. “You smiled.” He then smiled even brighter. I felt as if a bright sun was shining upon me; it was the same way I felt whenever Ray smiled.
My heart thumped quickly in my chest.
Mrs. Ellen cleared her throat. “Where should I sit down?”
The sweet moment between Oliver and I broke. Oliver directed her to one of the armchairs. He noticed Ray staring at the dog and cat figurine and decided to give it to my son to play with for now. Then Oliver and I sat together on the leather couch. There was enough space between us for me to feel comfortable.
The agent took out a tablet from her bag. “I’ll read the terms of the agreement to you.”
We both nodded.
Having our attention, Mrs. Ellen proceeded. “The Twin Tails agency has arranged a marriage between Mr. Oliver Norton and Ms. Pauline Anderson. This marriage will bring both parties to live together in Mr. Oliver’s house. To do so, the Twin Tails agency will arrange the move of Ms. Pauline Anderson and her son, Ray Anderson, from the Lone Bite pack to the Moondust Hollow pack. The parties will only need to sign this agreement, and all paperwork will be completed by the Twin Tails agency.”
The agent then proceeded to list the terms of our marriage—it would follow the rules of the pack where we would live, Moondust Hollow. I remembered that thirteen years ago, back when I had lived there, divorces were frowned upon by this community, but not forbidden. Given that this marriage was contractual I hoped that—should I not be able to stand being around Oliver after all—I would be able to get out of this agreement. The rules that Mrs. Ellen read to us stated it should be possible.
I found nothing amiss with the document. Oliver didn't look bothered by anything, though he asked a few questions.
In the end, Mrs. Ellen asked us the poignant question, “Do you want to sign the agreement and enter an arranged marriage?”
“Yes, I do,” I said, this time with much more conviction.
Oliver looked at me, his eyes unreadable. What could he be thinking about at this turning point in our lives? Did he really want to marry me?
“I do, too,” he said, dispersing my worries. “Let’s sign the documents.”
The agent passed the tablet and the tablet over first to me, then to Oliver.
With a few simple strokes of the stylus pen, I sealed my fate.
Chapter 6 - Oliver
Seeing Pauline again immediately made my feelings for her resurface—the same longing I had felt towards her as a teenager, the same wish to capture her sweet lips under my own. When she blushed, it was all the way up to her ears and collarbone. I wanted to kiss a trail down her skin, following the alluring redness. She had become even more beautiful now that time had passed—she was a fully grown woman with enough curves to make me more than eager about palming her breasts and ass.
She’d had a vision shortly after seeing me. I wanted to question her about what the vision had entailed. I also wanted to question her about other things. She had run from me, seeming spooked about my presence… but I didn’t know why. Something in the vision must have changed how she felt about me and the marriage, yet I couldn’t bring myself to ask her what it was. Her visions had always been so personal and sacred to her, only for her to see. I wanted to respect her privacy.
As the agent explained the details of the agreement, I stole glances at Pauline. She looked at me shyly from underneath her lashes. It was endearing.
My gaze wandered to Ray, her child, playing on the rug with the figurine of a dog chasing a cat that Mom had given me as a ‘housewarming present’ a year ago. Much good it had done to add warmth into my house and make it a home. Even Pauline had noticed how sparsely decorated the place was. All the better for her though—she could make whatever home she desired here.
Ray was the spitting image of Pauline, with a halo of red hair and big green eyes. I enjoyed watching him play happily by himself. My heart warmed at seeing him peaceful and joyous.Even though he wasn’t my child, I wanted to protect him as if he were my own son.
