Catriona:?
Undermine his sense of dignity??
The man looked slightly uneasy and said, "Don't overthink it, don't misunderstand—it's only because you're the cub's mother."
Catriona found it odd, "What would I misunderstand?"
Their relationship was only tied together because of the child, wasn't it?
Roderick's golden eyes shifted slightly as he stared at the woman in front of him. "What do you think you could misunderstand?"
He frowned, his voice soft with no trace of emotion, "Aren't you the one showing interest in me?"
"Huh? What?" Catriona looked confused. "What interest?"
Roderick stared at her, his narrow golden eyes showing a hint of sharpness, "Are you pretending not to understand? Why?"
???
Now Catriona was genuinely bewildered.
She cleared her throat and widened her eyes at the man in front of her, "No, why would I pretend not to understand? Is there something I'm supposed to know?"
Her mind was filled with question marks at the moment.
"Mr. Nightblade, could you please be clearer?"
Roderick leaned back, slightly raised his chin, and looked at her condescendingly, his tone a bit cold, "Do I need to spell out your own feelings?"
What was this woman thinking now, pretending not to understand to cover things up?
Admitting she wanted to be his mate wasn't shameful, was it?
"Whether it's you humans or us werewolves, there are plenty of people who want to be my mate. You don't need to hide it; I'm used to it."
Catriona fell silent, forcibly.
She felt speechless might as well be her main emotion from then own.
It had been a long time since she'd felt this speechless.
She never expected that a werewolf Alpha, a powerful head of the Nightblade Corporation in the human business world, could be this self-centered!
Where, exactly, had she—how had she given this wolf the idea that she wanted to be his mate?
For a moment, her gaze toward Roderick shifted. She had once thought him rather impressive, but now, something had shattered.
She straightened, lowered her head, and gave a deep bow toward the man across from her, sincerely apologizing, "Mr. Nightblade, it's my fault. I apologize for giving you such a big misunderstanding."
Roderick pressed his lips together, "Speak seriously."
Even after all these years in the human world, he still didn't understand their twists and turns.
"I mean, you misunderstood. I never intended to be your mate." Catriona looked him straight in the eyes. "Never. I swear, never."
Roderick was momentarily taken aback, "So, you're saying I overthought it? Fine. You know the truth yourself—we're impossible. That's my answer."
"I'd like to know what exactly I did!! What show of interest?" Catriona felt like there was a communication gap with this wolf.
She hadn't even developed any feelings yet and was already rejected? Not cool, alright!
Roderick, confronted with her question, actually looked away, avoiding her gaze and giving a slightly awkward cough.
His voice was low, speaking slowly, "You've smiled at me again and again—isn't that a show of interest? And with such..."
Such alluring, affectionate eyes aimed at him.
He paused, unable to finish the sentence.
But the car fell silent too.
The driver and Arden had quietly stepped out of the car, standing guard outside.
Suddenly.
The car door was flung open!
A woman's exasperated voice came from inside, "Mr. Nightblade! Frankly speaking, you're out of your mind! I can't have a normal conversation with you!!"
Arden was startled, widening his eyes and looking over.
He saw Catriona stepping out of the car in high heels, walking straight toward the kindergarten waiting hall without looking back, her heels clicking heavily on the ground.
So...
Arden paused, then slowly stepped forward, "Mr. Nightblade... what happened with Ms. Ashford?"
Honestly, Miss Ashford was really giving Mr. Nightblade the cold shoulder—she'd even told him to his face that he was out of his mind!
He'd been by Mr. Nightblade's side for five years and had never seen anyone dare to speak to him like that.
In his mind, he gave her a secret thumbs-up. Miss Ashford, impressive.
Roderick sat still in his seat, unmoving.
After a moment, he roughly unbuckled his seatbelt, his sharp brows furrowing as he gritted his teeth with a cold smile. "The cub's mother or not, what's with her attitude!"
Arden slowly stepped back, saying nothing.
Roderick threw off the seatbelt and got out of the car.
For the first time, he'd been openly snubbed, and his chest heaved with anger. "She's not even my mate—who gave her the guts?"
In both the human world and the wolf pack, no one dared treat him this way. Was this woman a bit too audacious?
Arden minimized his presence, pretending to be invisible.
On the other side.
Catriona, fuming, swiped her card and entered the waiting lounge, taking a seat.
He's nuts!
Roderick is seriously unhinged!
Just because she smiled at him, he thinks she wants to be his mate?
Ha! Anyone who heard that would die laughing!
She was decent-looking and had never lacked admirers. She'd never met anyone so self-absorbed.
Oh, correction—a werewolf.
Were all werewolves as self-important as he was?
From today on, she wouldn't smile at him again.
To outsiders, Roderick, the Nightblade's head, must seem impressive, but after this incident, she thought he was just a deluded wolf.
Thinking about those cards made her laugh in exasperation.
She should have taken one card! Instead, she'd been too stunned to say a word and got out of the car. She should've taken one and told him clearly, word by word, that she was only there for her son and hadn't thought of anything beyond that!
Scrolling through her phone, she saw Roderick's contact name: Mr. Nightblade.
She paused, then clicked into the contact and quickly typed, changing his name.
Silly Wolf suited him well, so she changed it to Silly Wolf.
Roderick, his expression grim, entered the waiting lounge with a mask on, his sharp, golden eyes visible.
He saw her sitting in the middle from afar but didn't go over, choosing an empty seat nearby instead.
After a while.
He saw the cub being led by a staff member, running toward Catriona.
The mother and son hugged affectionately.
He sat alone, indistinguishable from a bystander.
Cedric, hugging his mom, sniffed and suddenly looked in Roderick's direction.
His eyes lit up.
"Let's go home," Catriona said, holding her son's hand as they headed for the exit. As they passed Roderick, the little boy called out, "Daddy."
"Hmm."
Roderick stood up and walked behind the mother and son.
Catriona didn't look back, and though both adults were silently annoyed, they maintained the facade of calm for the child's sake.
They got in the car.
All the way home, Catriona didn't glance at Roderick even once.
After arriving at the estate.
The werewolf pack surrounded her in enthusiastic greeting, and just as Catriona was about to smile, she paused.
Would these werewolves overthink things too?
She glanced at Black, Brownie, and Draven...
No, she concluded the only odd one here was Roderick.
During dinner.
She didn't look at Roderick, afraid he'd read too much into it again.
After eating, she still needed to return to the shop.
But she worried that Roderick might still be suspicious and overthinking things.
So, after dinner, back at the shop, she sent him a message.
Catriona: Mr. Nightblade, just to clarify one last time—if I wanted to be your mate, I'd wish to gain fifty pounds. Please stop overthinking. My smiles are purely out of courtesy and politeness.
She felt this was about the sharpest thing a woman could say.
Shortly after, she received a response.
Silly Wolf: Oh, all the better.
Catriona glanced at the message, put her phone down, and continued working.
He could rest assured—she didn't have the slightest interest in him.
