Catriona walked downstairs, holding her son's hand. The werewolves greeted her warmly, and she responded to each with a smile.
When they reached the long dining table, a small incident occurred.
"I'm not sitting next to Alpha Roderick anymore, Catriona, let's not switch seats." Black didn't want to sat there, finding it too stressful to eat next to the Alpha.
"Oh, I see," Catriona didn't press further, smiling nonchalantly as she turned to Lightblaze sitting beside her. "Shall we switch?"
"No, no, I'm not going," Lightblaze shook his head vigorously, his large ears flapping with the motion, with the tip of his ear brushing against Catriona's arm.
Lightblaze immediately felt a piercing gaze fall upon him.
He trembled as he slowly raised his head, only to see the Alpha Roderick seated at the head, staring at him with sharp, icy eyes. The leader was still in his human form—short black hair, dressed in a black shirt. Yet, behind him, he could almost see the looming figure of a massive, fierce wolf casting its shadow, radiating an overwhelming menace.
Lightblaze shuddered as if his throat were being squeezed, barely managing to speak, "Um...well, Catriona, let's not delay the cub's schooling, go ahead and sit down for the meal..."
Catriona had no choice but to return to her usual seat next to Roderick.
Like the other werewolves, she didn't want to sit there either.
Roderick looked at her intently, then set the cub on his lap, cutting the meat into small pieces and feeding him.
Cedric alternated between sipping milk and taking bites of beef, his eyes narrowing in contentment. The small, short wolf ears on top of his head occasionally twitched, showing his enjoyment.
"What would you like to do tomorrow?" Roderick asked the cub softly, glancing at the woman beside him who was engrossed in her phone.
His thin lips pressed into a line.
Was she chatting with that Lucian?
He hadn't been aware of Lucian's existence before, but now it seemed they'd been in touch all along. When he was at work or when they picked up and dropped off the cub, did she go out with Lucian, meeting frequently?
During lunch, the cub ate at school, he went out with friends, but what about Catriona?
Did she... have lunch with Lucian?
At the thought of this, Roderick suddenly lost his appetite.
The family of three got into the car and went out.
On the plate left behind, half of a basketball-sized portion of meat remained.
Black exclaimed in surprise, "It's the first time I've seen Alpha Roderick not finish his meat."
In the car.
In between chatting with her son, Catriona kept her eyes on her phone, typing and responding to messages.
Her fingers were slender and fair, with a red scratch on the back—a result of yesterday's encounter with a rose thorn. It didn't hurt; she was used to these little scrapes.
But Cedric felt bad for his mom, often pulling out a small ointment to treat her.
Like now, he cradled her hand in his tiny arms, carefully applying the white cream.
Catriona was a bit taken aback. "Sweetheart, did you carry the ointment in your pocket?"
"Mm-hmm." Cedric nodded seriously, his head down as he smoothed the ointment onto the back of her hand, even giving it a gentle blow or two when he finished.
Catriona's heart melted at her son's attentiveness, and she couldn't help pinching his soft cheek, her eyes brimming with warmth. "Thank you, darling."
Across from them, Roderick sat watching the mother and son, feeling like an outsider, clearly kept at a distance by the warm, contented air that surrounded them.
Catriona had already lowered her head, replying to messages once more.
She replied...to Lucian's message.
The realization stirred something turbulent within him, and though he struggled to push it down, a flash of eerie green flickered in his dark eyes.
A werewolf's natural possessiveness over a mate had begun to take hold.
Clearly, Catriona was the mother of his child—they'd shared the most intimate bond. Yet, she wasn't his mate, and here she was, in front of him, flirting with another man!
Cedric suddenly sensed something, his little ears twitching as he looked up at his father with a wary expression.
He felt...that his dad's scent had intensified, making him instinctively uncomfortable.
"Dad?" he asked, frowning in confusion.
Roderick closed his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them, they had returned to their usual golden hue.
He said, "I'm sorry."
The werewolf's possessiveness had forced him to show his predatory aura—he'd gone mad. His cub was right here.
Catriona didn't notice anything amiss and glanced curiously at the father and son. Why had Roderick suddenly apologized?
But she was just curious and didn't ask.
After watching Cedric enter the school, only the two of them were left in the car.
Roderick's gaze fell on the two-centimeter scratch on Catriona's hand, and he said slowly, "Catriona, I have a lot of money."
???
So?
Caught off guard by this statement, Catriona's expression turned strange as she looked at Roderick.
What, was he trying to flaunt his wealth?
Roderick shifted his gaze from her hand to her face, his expression serious. "I've said it before—you're the mother of my child. My money and resources can be shared with you."
This was his genuine thought, not some ulterior motive.
For instance, her comment last night about him trying to buy her off with material things to keep their child.
He was serious; he'd give her anything she wanted.
"What I mean is, you don't have to struggle so hard anymore."
Yet after trying to offer her cards two times, she was still wary of him.
As expected, her eyes grew cautious the moment he finished speaking. She promptly rejected him with, "I'm not struggling. I'm doing great. I'm living a full life. Thank you!"
Roderick took a deep breath, frowning, "I'm not trying to buy you off! The cub is yours."
Catriona said nothing, but her expression was full of distrust, her eyes guarded.
For a moment, Roderick felt that giving money was harder than earning it.
Just then, the car stopped at Flower Shop.
Catriona unbuckled her seatbelt, said, "See you in the afternoon," and got out of the car.
Watching her walk away without looking back, Roderick sat in the car, and his mind drifted back to that day at the kindergarten—how she had smiled at Lucian, chatting cheerfully.
To be precise, she extended her warmth and kindness to everyone except him.
This was what he'd asked for in the beginning.
But why was it now that he was the one who couldn't stand it?
Thinking carefully, he realized that she hadn't changed. She'd always kept her distance, always had that passerby attitude.
The one who had changed...was him.
Why? Why did he have to change? he wondered, feeling almost bitterly ironic.
Catriona was a pure human, and by changing, he was digging his own grave, placing himself in danger, and putting his neck to the blade.
There was a river by his family home as well, and like the black rabbit, he didn't want to jump in.
No matter how lively or tempting the other side of the river was, he didn't want to jump.
Even if she were taken away by the yellow rabbit, he still wouldn't jump.
Catriona was a pure human, the kind he detested and feared. His grandmother, still up in the snowy mountains, would occasionally speak of his grandfather with sorrowful eyes.
He would never allow himself to fall into such a pitiful state.
Compared to the pain of one day losing a beloved mate to another's embrace, wasn't this present loneliness far better?
Werewolves weren't like pure humans; humans always held something back in love.
They, on the other hand, gave all of themselves to their mates, like what humans would call "love-struck fools."
They would hold their mates in their hearts forever—it was a resolute choice, their one and only.
He would not jump into the river, not to the other side.
Noon.
At Villa.
In the spacious treehouse suite, Roderick sat with his friends, dining together as usual.
Once again, Magnus, the ruler from the neighboring province, had come by.
Magnus was a serious werewolf with an air reminiscent of an old, upright human detective. He didn't care for jokes and spoke plainly, getting straight to the point without any detours.
At this moment, he fixed his gaze on Roderick and said, "I just found out that Sapphire dared to leave the Luna Palace?"
Sapphire from Luna Palace, the extremely timid and endearing female werewolf, had once been attacked by a rogue lone werewolf. Magnus had saved her, and since then, she had fallen for him.
Magnus was busy every day arresting and judging rogue lone werewolves. At only thirty-three, he was quite young by werewolf standards, where lifespans typically reached three hundred years or more. He had no time for romance and couldn't accept her love.
So, he sent Sapphire to Luna Palace, where she could also find refuge.
He still remembered that after the attack by the rogue lone werewolf, Sapphire was traumatized, tearing up at the slightest provocation, which made him worry about her even more.
Thus, he would occasionally ask Roderick about her to check up on her condition.
Roderick nodded. "She found a job at the flower shop run by the cub's mother."
It was initially just for help, but a few days ago, when the paychecks were handed out at the Flower Shop, he saw Sapphire happily holding the money, sitting on the couch and giggling softly because Catriona had paid her.
"Is that so?" Magnus was slightly surprised. "I'll go see her later."
Roderick was silent.
It was noon now, so she was probably having lunch with Lucian. Her likes and dislikes, her little habits at the table—Lucian would surely know them all.
Thinking of this, he looked at the werewolves around him and suddenly found he had no appetite eating with this boisterous group.
After finishing his meal.
Magnus stood up. "I'll be leaving now."
Roderick paused, uncertain about something. "Let's go together."
The two werewolves left the treehouse booth. When Magnus learned that Roderick was also going to the Flower Shop, he didn't ask why, as he was never one to pry or gossip.
When they arrived at the Flower Shop.
It was already one-thirty.
A brown-haired boy was busy with a box outside the shop. Suddenly, he caught a scent, and his eyes shot up to look toward the roadside.
He saw the Alpha Roderick, whom he hadn't seen in over ten days, and Magnus, the Ruler from the neighboring province, getting out of the car and walking toward him.
The next second, Sapphire, who was helping in the shop, came running out, holding a half-wrapped red rose, her eyes red.
