The tall, aloof man stood at the doorway, impeccably dressed. He asked, "Are you Catriona Ashford?"
"...Yes."
"On your right chest—do you have a red birthmark?"
Catriona's face turned red, a flash of anger glinting in her eyes. For a first meeting, his words felt quite invasive.
If he was being inappropriate, his expression was far too indifferent, his voice devoid of emotion. It felt less like a crude advance and more like an interrogation.
But how did this man know she had a...
Seeing her hesitation, the man paused briefly, then asked, "Four years ago at the Capital Hotel, did you enter the wrong room?"
Catriona was taken aback and lifted her gaze sharply.
She was engulfed in shock. Of course, she remembered that night four years ago—the night that changed her life. If not for that night, she wouldn't have been pregnant, nor would she have had a child.
"How could you possibly know..."
The man pressed his lips together. "That night, it was me sleep with you."
Catriona's eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
Five years ago, as a sophomore, she had returned to the hotel after a friend's birthday party, entered the wrong room, and ended up in the wrong bed.
In her drunken haze, she thought she was seeing a big creator—a large black dog appeared on the big bed in her room. Catriona had loved cats and dogs since she was young, but living under someone else's roof meant she could never have one of her own.
Back then, she was fearless. She climbed onto the bed and started petting the dog, not afraid of getting bitten.
Then, somehow, the big dog disappeared, and a very handsome man appeared in its place.
Thinking she was just lonely and having a intimate dream, she fully embraced the fantasy.
Before dawn the next day, she was jolted awake by the incessant ringing of the phone. Half-asleep, she answered, only to hear that the grandmother who had raised her for ten years had passed away. In that moment, she was thrown into utter despair, slipping out of bed and collapsing to her knees on the floor.
It was only then she realized she was completely naked, and a man lay beside her, his back turned toward her.
It wasn't a dream; what she'd thought was just a fantasy had been real.
But there was no time to think about it. She hastily dressed, not even looking at the man's face, and left the hotel, ignoring her physical discomfort.
Catriona had lost her parents early and was passed between relatives. At age ten, a distant grandmother, seeing her plight, took her in from her uncle's home.
Over the years, her grandmother had treated her well. Catriona had even planned to take care of her once she graduated.
She never expected her grandmother to pass away at seventy.
Catriona couldn't bear it. After so many years, she had finally found someone who truly loved her, and now, that person was gone too.
Grief, pain, and despair hung over her like a dense, heavy cloud, pressing down upon her. She couldn't shake it; wherever she went, it followed.
Beautiful scenery and delicious food did nothing to dispel that dark cloud above her. She felt as though everything had lost its meaning—until she found out she was pregnant.
"You have a low fertility rate. This child might be your only chance," the doctor said.
So...
Catriona took a leave of absence from school.
Throughout her life, no matter which relative's home she lived in, she could never blend into their happy family scenes. She always stood on the sidelines, watching.
She had no parents, no siblings, no blood relatives, but she could have her own child.
No one knew how much she longed for her own child.
She had to have this baby—this child was hers to keep.
Her grandmother's old house had been reclaimed by her children, leaving Catriona with no place to go. With a baby in tow, unable to afford school, she rented a cheap apartment and started looking for work.
She found a new reason to keep going.
In the hardest times, she took on multiple jobs daily.
Yet when she strapped her baby on her back and heard his cheerful giggles, she felt truly happy.
In this world, few people loved her, and most people disliked her.
The happiness that blood ties bring is something no amount of money can replace; there will forever remain an empty hole there.
She never imagined that the man, more mysterious than a ghost, would come knocking.
At that moment, the man glanced around at the worn-out stairway, the rusted railings, a faint crease between his brows.
"You've been living in a place like this all these years, with the child?"
Catriona gave a soft "hmm."
But she was planning to move soon—her new home was finally ready to be lived in.
"I'm Roderick Nightblade." The man's voice was deep, devoid of any trace of emotion. "I've come to take you and the child. Time for a new house."
Though his words were ordinary, his eyes were sharply tilted upward, the blond irises cold and devoid of warmth, almost... inhuman.
This feeling was familiar to Catriona, because, at times, her son was like this too—those blond, unblinking eyes, utterly empty.
They were like cold, transparent amber.
A gaze... like that of a predator, sending a chill down her spine.
She thought of wolves.
In her twenty-five years, she had met many people and purposefully looked into the eyes of many of them, but only with this man and her son had she felt this sensation.
It wasn't her illusion.
"How did you find this place?" She stared at Roderick. Perhaps after looking into her son's eyes so often, she wasn't afraid of this man's gaze. "That night...did you eat some aphrodisiac?""
Back then, thinking it was a dream, she had initially gone along with it. When it became too much, she had tried to pull away, even thinking she might be the first person to die from a dream of concupiscence.
Roderick was silent for two seconds, then said, "You can think of it as me having eaten that."
In reality, that night had been his once-a-year mating season, which had arrived three days early.
He had checked into a nearby hotel, waiting for assistance.
Then, a human woman had barged in, touching him, hugging him, not sparing his ears, tail, or body, practically feeling every part of him...
Because his grandfather was human, Roderick had a trace of human genes.
It wasn't anything as mystical as a monster; in this world, not everyone was purely human.
Humans, however, were arrogant enough to believe they were the only species.
The werewolf had always lived in the coldest, most distant snow-capped mountains. It wasn't until recent years, when humans began building cities nearby, that his grandmother was drawn down the mountain, where she met his purely human grandfather.
Back then, when he came to his senses, he had already been taken back to the snow mountains by werewolves. The mating season would last five days, but a two-day soak in the ice-cold pools unique to the mountains could suppress it.
The werewolf bonds for life with a single mate, unlike humans or other beings prone to fleeting affections. Until they find that one person, they would rather spend year after year in the cold pools than seek temporary solace with just anyone.
It was laughable that humans had recently started pursuing this "one for life" ideal. He had clearly seen humans say one thing to each other's faces and do another behind their backs, with eyes wandering even as they held hands with their partners in public.
They made insincere promises they could never keep.
He deeply despised humans' disloyalty toward their partners.
So, from a young age, he had vowed that his mate would never be a pure human.
Humans were greedy, cunning, lazy, hypocritical, and unfaithful—just like his damned grandfather.
Due to her werewolf nature, his grandmother had remained loyal to his grandfather for life, supporting him in his business endeavors, only for him to fall in love with another human once he was wealthy. Fortunately, he eventually died drunk on the streets.
His grandmother, however, couldn't leave the human world and continued to grow her business empire, passing it down through the generations.
Roderick was the most outstanding heir of this generation.
But due to his early-arriving mating season, he had ended up in an intimate encounter with a very forward human woman.
His men had informed him that, by the time they arrived at the hotel to retrieve him, the room was empty—the woman had already fled.
She had come into his room, teasing and enticing, only to disappear after the night was over. Well, it figured—humans were frivolous and capricious. He should have known better.
Werewolves only ever had one mate.
He could either find that human woman and settle down, or face a lifetime of solitude.
The woman had fled; he had no intention of pursuing her.
At the time, he had just taken over the company and was buried in work. Once he returned from the mountains, he threw the whole affair out of his mind. A lifetime of solitude—what of it?
Company matters gave him more headaches. There were too few of people from his pack, and most of the business partners were human.
He wasn't skilled at communicating or getting along with human men or women.
Humans always wore strong-smelling perfumes, which he found unpleasant.
He thought he and that human woman would never cross paths again; after all, humans were plentiful, and any city was full of them.
But last night.
On the night of the full moon, in the dead of night, he heard the call of a young wolf.
It was soft, still a young cub.
When he followed the sound, he caught the scent of his own bloodline.
It was...his cub.
He had only been with one human woman.
He hadn't expected her to become pregnant, let alone keep and raise the cub.
Every werewolf cub at the age of four and a half must drink from the spring at the peak of the snowy mountain. Without it, their bone growth brings unbearable pain.
Human medicine has no effect. He spent the entire night to make it happen.
He had found her—the human woman, Catriona.
He wanted to take his cub back, but the records showed how she had labored tirelessly all these years, raising the cub on her own through hardship.
The cub wasn't his alone.
The cub had been born without his knowledge, and he had done nothing all these years. He had no right to take the cub away.
Then, he would take both mother and cub.
His brow furrowed, patience thinning. "Don't bother with refusals or pointless resistance. I won't allow my child to live in a place like this."
"You only need to nod. Understood?"
Catriona looked at his face, so strikingly similar to her son's, and let out a slow "Fine."
In fact, she hadn't even considered rejecting or resisting him at all.
As the saying goes, only a fool would refuse a good deal.
Since the child's father had come looking, of course, she would indulge his unspent fatherly love.
She turned and walked inside, saying, "I want to see the paternity test for you and the child."
Roderick: "Alright."
"Where are we moving to then? Tell me, and I'll see if it's suitable."
Roderick hadn't expected her to be so practical and accommodating, his expression softened. "The mid-hill area of Capital, Luna Palace."
"Come in and sit."
Roderick hesitated for a moment.
As soon as he stepped inside, he stood at the doorway, surveying the place. The light was too dim, the walls yellowed, the sofa worn, and the entire apartment was cramped—just a few dozen square meters.
But it was relatively clean, and everything was neatly arranged.
Under the wooden table sat a green inflatable horse, clearly a child's toy.
On the wall were a few children's drawings, about animals and flowers.
It was full of a homely atmosphere.
It was evident that though the mother and son lived simply, warmth was everywhere.
He noticed height marks by the door.
The latest mark was nearly at his thigh.
His little one was relatively tall.
After all, he himself was 6.43 feet tall.
The room's scent wasn't unpleasant; the warm, milky fragrance of the cub lingered in the air, softening the darkness in his gaze for a brief moment.
The cub was in the room.
With hands behind his back, he looked out the window, seeing a row of clothes hanging on the tiny balcony.
There were clothes belonging to the cub and to Catriona.
Suddenly, a noise came from the child's room. He seemed to smell something, letting out a soft growl.
Roderick raised his leg and slowly walked over to the room's doorway.
The cub stood on the bed, dressed in nothing but a white T-shirt that reached his knees, leaving his chubby little legs bare. His round, pudgy face glared at him with fierce blond eyes.
Little mouth open, he revealed two tiny, sharp fangs as he growled a warning:"Aw... awooo!"
He growled in a soft, childish voice.
Almost four and a half now, his bones were developing, and without the spring water from the icy peaks, he felt discomfort, his chubby face flushed.
Catriona, a pure human, would just assume the child had a fever.
She couldn't know the pain he would feel at night from his growing bones lacking the spring water's soothing effect.
"Awooo!!" The child kept growling, trying to drive away this dangerous intruder, his instincts telling him that this intruder was strong and dangerous.
He had to protect his mother.
"Awwoooo!!" He howled even louder, perhaps spurred on by the threatening scent of his kin. His soft black hair twitched on either side, and suddenly, two fuzzy black wolf ears popped up. Being a young cub, the ears were small and stubby.
Those were not ears a pure human would have.
"Awoo..." The cub's growl was cut off abruptly, ending in a short sound as he too realized something, hurriedly lifting his chubby hands to cover his ears.
He was afraid someone might see, especially his mother.
He thought his mom had never seen it before.
Even at his young age, he had realized he was different from others.
In this world, being different meant being wrong.
He felt like a little monster.
He covered his little ears, stuck his tiny bottom up, and burrowed under the blanket—but his pure black tail was still sticking out.
Not the smartest tactic.
After finishing her conversation with the person outside, Catriona entered the room and saw Roderick standing at the door, frowning as she strode over.
Roderick watched as the little one on the bed grew even more frantic, squirming under the blanket with all his might, trying desperately to tuck his tail and ears back in.
Roderick spoke, "Open your mouth and take three deep breaths."
He was instructing him.
The cub hesitated for a moment, then seemed to follow along, and his little tail instantly disappeared.
Catriona had also reached the doorway, her voice low. "Mr. Nightblade, the child's asleep; don't wake him. He's not feeling well."
As she spoke, she glanced into the room.
On the bed was a small lump, distinctly not the shape of someone asleep.
"Baby, you're awake?" Her eyes lit up as she stepped inside. "Feeling any better? Are you still uncomfortable?"
The little one showed his chubby face, which had turned even redder and was covered in sweat, from the panic he had just experienced.
The sight hit Catriona hard; she widened her eyes, rushed over, and with trembling hands, touched her son's face. "What's wrong? Are you running a high fever again? We're going to the hospital. Mommy will take you."
It had been half a month, yet trips to the hospital hadn't helped.
The symptoms clearly looked like a fever, but the doctors insisted nothing was wrong. She had been to over a dozen hospitals without any results.
Some doctors even questioned her mental state.
They claimed there was nothing wrong with her son.
But she knew better than anyone that her baby was sick.
But she was powerless; she couldn't take the pain for him. Every night, her son would break out in a cold sweat from the agony, that tiny little body gripping her hand tightly—he was in such pain.
As Catriona thought of this, her eyes reddened, heart aching, and her whole body trembled. She prepared to pick up her son and leave immediately.
"I know what illness he has," Roderick spoke up.
Catriona froze.
"I can save him."
"There are things in him that pure humans don't have. You must have noticed."
The little cub was still hiding the trial, but after four years of being together, how could a mother not notice?
The cub was simply too innocent.
Catriona stiffened slightly, holding her child tighter.
Roderick disliked beating around the bush. Impatient, he got straight to the point: "I am his father. You don't need to be wary of me. He has more than half wolf blood. Human medicine won't work on him."
As Roderick finished speaking, the little cub in Catriona's arms seemed tired, and a pair of small ears suddenly popped out on his head; he didn't have the energy to hide them anymore.
Especially with Roderick there, the instinctive scent was triggering him.
But with his mom there, he hurriedly reached out his chubby little hand to cover himself, trying to hide.
Helplessly, he burrowed into Catriona's arms, muttering, "Don't look, Mommy don't look... ooo... don't look..."
Catriona had seen them. She had seen them long before.
It was during this past half month that she had seen them.
Watching this scene, Roderick frowned, his voice dropping, "You've put pressure on him. He's afraid of you finding out."
Catriona's heart trembled as she hugged her son tighter. "It's alright. It's alright. It doesn't matter that I saw them. Mommy thinks they're adorable. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid."
Her lips, mingling with her tears, pressed a kiss on her son's little ear. "Mommy has known for a while. It doesn't matter. Mommy loves you the most, right? Don't be afraid."
The little cub gradually calmed down, his wide eyes peeking at his mother. "Mommy?"
His fluffy little ears were gently stroked by his mom, who looked down at him with a warm smile.
Ooh! Mommy really wasn't scared!
Happy now, he giggled in Catriona's arms, revealing two little fangs before slowly closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Only after her son was sound asleep did Catriona leave the room.
She wiped her tears and looked at Roderick. "I don't care what kind of werewolf or fairy you're from. I only want my child to be healthy."
That night.
Without even packing, Catriona took her son and left with Roderick.
In the underground depths of a luxury estate on Capital, it felt like winter, with ice and snow everywhere.
This was an ice chamber Roderick had invested heavily in, equipped with top-notch facilities to maintain freezing temperatures.
At the center of the ice and snow was a small pool of blue water.
This was spring water Roderick had brought back long ago from the peak of a snowy mountain.
Catriona sat in the unfamiliar, beautiful room, too preoccupied to notice her surroundings. Her eyes were fixed on her son's flushed little cheeks, her heart clenched with worry.
No wonder, no wonder the hospital couldn't find anything wrong.
She felt foolish, following a man she had known for only a few hours.
What if Roderick was deceiving her, just toying with her? Or worse, wanted to harm her child...
No, it was useless to think that way now.
She had no other options.
A desperate mother, she had no choice but to place her hope in this stranger.
After all, her son looked so much like him, and she had seen the paternity test. She had no choice but to trust him.
As soon as Roderick entered the room,
Catriona sprang to her feet and ran toward him like he was her lifeline. "Mr. Nightblade, did you bring the medicine?"
She was standing too close.
Roderick stopped, frowning slightly. "Keep your distance." He sidestepped her and walked toward the bed.
The werewolf was very particular about proximity with females. They would only get close with their mates.
Although he and Catriona had shared the most intimate of encounters, she was not his mate. She was the human who had seduced him that night, only to disappear the next morning.
He didn't despise her, but he certainly didn't like her either.
They could never have been mates before, and they never would be in the future.
The existence of the cub didn't change his attitude.
"You humans are always so touchy-feely," he mocked.
Right now, Catriona's mind was filled entirely with thoughts of her child, paying no mind to his attitude. She followed him, standing a short distance behind, her gaze fixed intently on the jade bottle in his hand.
He opened the lid, and a white mist seeped out from the bottle's mouth.
"Wake the cub."
Snapping back to reality, Catriona climbed onto the bed, gently cradling her son in her arms and lightly shaking him. "Sweetie, don't sleep just yet, okay? Take your medicine first, and then you can sleep. Once you take it, it won't hurt."
The little one slowly opened his eyes.
Catriona held out her hand. "Give it to me, I'll feed him."
Roderick scoffed. "You? The icy spring water from the mountain peak—you think you can touch it?"
A human's hand would feel as if it were touching searing hot iron, causing a burning pain.
Catriona paused, finding his words unbearably sharp, and pursed her lips. "Fine, then you do it."
Roderick said nothing, bringing the mouth of the bottle to the cub's lips. Catriona then watched as her son drank eagerly, as though tasting the nectar of the heaven, gulping down every drop until the bottle was empty.
"One bottle a day. Go to sleep," Roderick said, reaching out to pat the cub's head.
"He won't be in pain tonight."
Catriona frowned. "I'll stay with him."
She couldn't rest assured otherwise.
Roderick's gaze lingered on her dark circles and slightly weary face for a moment before he tugged his lips into a small smile. "Suit yourself."
He turned and left.
That night, Catriona stayed awake all night, but her child, for the first time in over half a month, finally slept peacefully.
Her son was truly saved.
A smile curved her lips. She hadn't rested much over the past two weeks, and now, with the pressure finally released, she couldn't hold on any longer. She simply collapsed, falling asleep right there on the thick, white carpet beside the bed.
She didn't even have the energy or the thought to make it to the bed.
Seven in the morning.
Roderick stepped into the room, pausing when he saw the woman asleep on the floor.
After a quick look at the cub, he was reassured and turned to leave.
As for the woman lying on the carpet, he didn't spare her another glance.
He had no intention of touching this human woman.
However, she was still the cub's mother.
Let someone else carry her.
There were female werewolves in the house.
