Catriona tightened her grip on her seatbelt, stunned. "Mr. Nightblade? Why are you here?"
Roderick didn't respond; instead, he drove the car, pursing his lips in annoyance, thinking that this woman was chatting away with Black.
"I need to talk to you."
"Uh... If you have something to say, let's just talk here. Otherwise, we'll waste time going back and forth."
She thought the cub was supposed to go to kindergarten today.
Roderick turned the steering wheel without changing his expression. "Today is Saturday."
After such a busy week and getting up so early today, Catriona's brain hadn't fully started working yet, and she momentarily didn't register it. A hint of confusion appeared in her eyes. "Oh, and so?"
Roderick thought this woman didn't seem very smart. How had she managed to raise the cub all these years?
His sharp, arrogant brows slightly furrowed, but since she was the cub's mother, he replied seriously, "Kindergarten is closed on Saturdays."
Catriona finally realized it, and a hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes.
"Sorry, I've been so busy lately." She felt a bit embarrassed but didn't show it on her face. Instead, she calmly said, "So, Mr. Nightblade, if you have something to say, go ahead. You don't need to specifically drop me off."
Roderick got straight to the point. "Tomorrow, I want to take the cub to the Prairie to play."
Catriona responded with an "oh." "Sure, if he agrees, I don't have any objections."
She said it lightly.
Roderick slightly gritted his teeth. "Do you really think the cub will agree? We haven't had much chance to spend time together; he's not familiar with me."
He didn't need to ask; he knew the cub wouldn't agree.
"Actually, he seems to like you quite a bit..."
"He sticks to you all day." Roderick said somewhat irritably, "Because you're distancing yourself from me, the cub will gradually distance himself from me as well."
Catriona felt a bit awkward at his bluntness. After all, she was human, and aside from those with particularly low emotional intelligence, most people tended to consider others' feelings when they spoke.
She had indeed been avoiding Roderick lately, trying to avoid meeting him whenever possible.
He said "distance"?
They hadn't even reached the point of distancing; they had never been close to begin with.
Since he was being so straightforward, she would be direct as well.
"Isn't that what you want, Mr. Nightblade? You don't like us humans, and you dislike me."
"I don't dislike you," Roderick said, his voice lower than usual, accompanied by a slight, awkward cough.
The car was extremely quiet.
They continued down the winding road on the mountainside. Through the thin layer of fog, the human-made skyscrapers at the mountain's base appeared densely packed, like a beehive.
Roderick pulled his gaze back from the window, continuing, "I neither like nor dislike you."
When Catriona didn't respond immediately, his expression darkened slightly. "What, did you want me to like you?"
She looked startled. "Of course not! I'm not like some narcissist."
Roderick paused, catching on. "Are you talking about me?"
Catriona replied, "Who knows?"
Roderick chose not to dwell on it; after all, it was a misunderstanding on his part—a rather embarrassing one.
In a serious tone, he added, "I think I've made myself clear. There's no need for you to go out of your way to avoid me. I hope you understand there's an innocent cub between us."
Catriona fell silent at his words.
She was fully aware of that; in fact, she hadn't initially intended to leave after six months. The Luna Palace was filled with werewolves, which would be beneficial for her son's growth.
If it weren't for Roderick's narcissistic outburst and Grey's comments that night, these two werewolves wouldn't be acting like they had a persecution complex, making it seem as though she was clinging desperately to Roderick.
The narcissist made it clear she shouldn't like him.
Grey had intimidated her and tried to drive her away.
Who could withstand that?
Besides, she had grown up relying on others, so she was more sensitive than most.
Roderick noticed her silence and pressed his lips together, "I'm sorry about what happened with Grey."
Since that night, Catriona hadn't seen Grey again. Her superficial injuries had healed long ago, yet Roderick was still apologizing for the incident.
This wolf fell silent for a moment, his voice turning more serious, "I won't let any werewolf harm you again, including myself."
"Didn't you say so? We can at least interact normally for the next six months, especially in front of the cub."
Catriona didn't notice the change in him and nodded, "I did say that."
Roderick had been waiting for that line, sneering, "Then look at us. Are we interacting normally now?"
"...What do you mean?" Catriona looked at him.
At the red light, the car came to a stop. Roderick looked directly at her through the rearview mirror, his tone leaving no room for argument, "You're going tomorrow too."
"In the future, for anything regarding the cub, I hope we can be collaborators, allies. You need to cooperate with me."
Without much thought, Catriona nodded in agreement.
"Sure, about the shop..."
"Let Draven take a few werewolves with him; he can handle it." Roderick looked at her, "How long has it been since you took the cub out to play?"
Catriona fell silent, lowering her gaze.
Her expression betrayed her guilt. It had been over two months since she last took her son out to have fun.
Roderick glanced at her, then looked away, "Before, when you were a single woman raising a cub, it wasn't easy; that wasn't your fault. But now that I'm here, if things remain the same, that's my problem."
The car fell silent.
Half an hour later, at six o'clock, the sun was fully up.
Roderick slowly stopped the car, "Is this the place?"
"Yeah." Catriona unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. "Just wait for me in the car."
Originally, she intended to call Black to help with the moving, but it turned out to be Roderick instead. She was familiar with Black, not with Roderick.
Call him to help her carry flowers?
Heaven forbid she dirty his expensive clothes.
She couldn't bring herself to say that.
But unexpectedly, Roderick got out of the car and, pressing his thin lips together, said, "I'm going too."
He remembered how this woman had casually asked Black to help her when getting into the car.
When it came to him, she simply said, "Wait for me in the car," and he felt inexplicably irritated.
