Catriona was stunned, watching Sapphire, who had been talking to her one moment and had run out the next. "What's going on?"
She got up and followed her outside.
Then she saw two tall men walking toward her.
Roderick, and that other one... Magnus.
Both were tall with long legs and striking auras, looking like male models, catching the attention of passersby, who kept glancing back.
With red-rimmed eyes, Sapphire ran to Magnus and looked up at him, a mixture of resentment and grievance in her gaze. "How long has it been since you came to see me?"
She looked aggrieved, stomping her foot, but she didn't throw herself into his arms; they weren't mates, and physical contact would be inappropriate. She feared he'd be displeased.
Magnus looked down at her with a serious expression. "I heard you found a job. Congratulations."
At this, Sapphire's eyes brightened. "Yes, I can earn money now. I've made a lot of progress, haven't I? I won't be a burden to you."
Her last words made Magnus frown. "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"I'm not spouting nonsense."
Catriona listened to their conversation, and it became quite clear.
But why was Roderick here as well?
Roderick stared at Catriona, breathing in the scent wafting from her; there was no trace of Lucian's scent, so they hadn't had lunch together?
"Mr. Nightblade, you came...for something?"
"Just passing by."
"Fine."
Roderick took the initiative to ask, "How's business today?"
"Not bad."
Their conversation was dry and sparse, while a short distance away, Sapphire pouted and complained, and Magnus was softly comforting her.
The contrast was stark, and even Catriona felt awkward.
She was about to turn back to the shop to continue working. Maybe it'd be polite to invite them inside? Just as the thought crossed her mind, Magnus approached her.
"Hello." Magnus nodded politely. "Thank you for providing her with a job.""
Catriona glanced at this internet-famous detective, known for his sharp skills, and shook her head. "No need to thank me. Sapphire's a hard worker and has helped me a lot."
After a brief stay, Magnus and Roderick prepared to leave.
Sapphire burst into tears, holding her bouquet of roses, eyes red and filled with reluctance—a sight that would melt anyone's heart.
"When that fallen werewolf showed up, I knew you'd come to Capital, but you didn't visit me. I was so scared back then, you know? And now you're leaving again."
Watching her cry, Magnus sighed, a bit helpless. "Don't cry. I'll come see you next time."
"When is next time? I miss you; I like you."
Magnus pursed his lips and replied earnestly, "Sorry."
Sapphire stopped crying, gazing at the tall werewolf's chiseled features, her eyes full of love and grievance. "Go ahead. I know you're busy."
He was so outstanding, so dazzling, admired by both humans and female werewolves alike. She was just one of his rescue cases. He didn't want a mate right now, nor did he like her, did he?
Sapphire thought about this and, not wanting him to think she was only capable of tears, tried hard to stifle her urge to ask him to stay. She reluctantly said, "Goodbye."
Then, she turned and went back inside the shop.
After her figure disappeared, Magnus looked at the young werewolf boy with brown hair helping at the shop entrance, who seemed in his early twenties. He could smell this werewolf's scent on Sapphire.
With this thought, he turned and left.
At that moment, he had underestimated this young werewolf.
——
Catriona wasn't too busy today and didn't need to work overtime.
After picking up the young one and having dinner with Roderick, the sky darkened, and she took a storybook to the lawn with the werewolves.
Holding the book at the staircase, she ran into Roderick going upstairs. He glanced at the book in her hand, paused briefly, but said nothing.
In that instant, for some reason, she asked, "Would you like to come and listen too?"
Because, she felt Roderick's gaze was saying just that.
But, she was overthinking.
Roderick declined.
So then.
The liveliness of Luna Palace gathered on the lawn.
The werewolves happily finished a story, and then someone suddenly said, "In half a month, it'll be Alpha's birthday. Do you think he'll celebrate in Snow Mountain or stay in Capital?"
"Alpha's thirtieth birthday is coming up?"
Catriona was a bit surprised, realizing that in a little over half a month, her own twenty-sixth birthday would arrive as well.
"The head will surely return to Snow Mountain to celebrate. I heard he loves it there, though it's a pity his grandmother chose him as the Alpha."
"Yeah, I've been in Luna Palace for a while, and I haven't seen Alpha have any pure human friends."
"He grew up almost entirely in the human world, right? But he doesn't seem to fit in. He's not interested in human electronic games or fun activities. I, on the other hand, love playing star games and watching TV."
Brownie lowered his voice and said, "I heard he was only brought to the human world at eight years old. He stayed in a human school for a few years but never fit in, always keeping to himself. Eventually, his grandmother sent him back to the old mansion and arranged private tutors."
"So, we want to leave the mountain, but does the head want to return to Snow Mountain? Why didn't they choose a different Alpha? Doesn't his family group have about fifty wolves?"
"Of course, Alpha Roderick is the best choice—he's perfectly managed to appear as a pure human. If I had to deal with pure humans, I'd reveal my wolf form in less than a day."
"Just thinking about that kind of pressure is suffocating. Alpha is incredible, acting like a pure human all these years without a single slip-up. How many years have you been in Luna Palace? Have you ever seen his ears or tail?"
"What about the Alpha Roderick's father and mother?"
"The Alpha Roderick's mother isn't in good health, so his father has stayed with her in Snow Mountain."
Catriona was hearing this for the first time, and she pursed her lips, listening in silence.
"Ah, he only came to the human world at eight, so he definitely couldn't fit in. Look at the young one—born in the human world with a pure human mother. He fits in perfectly."
Hearing this, Catriona let out a deep breath of relief.
She feared her son wouldn't fit in, ending up as lonely as Roderick.
Eight-year-old Roderick had arrived in the strange human world, in a noisy school, fully aware that he was not like the others.
He had no interest in pure human hobbies, finding them noisy, always on guard against revealing himself.
But in Snow Mountain, he could freely reveal his ears and tail or run in full wolf form. He didn't like school; he didn't want to interact with pure humans.
After eight years on the snowy mountain, he had come to prefer showing his ears and tail—it felt freeing that way. He would sometimes sneak off to empty fields or deserted parks, places where he could relax without hiding. But once, a pure human saw him and hurt him with a stone.
That was also the time he made a brief friend—a human child. They played together for ten days.
But soon after, his only human friend disappeared. He followed her scent, shifting into his pure wolf form, wearing the little bow she'd gifted him around his neck. He ran through the bustling human streets and alleys, but the dense, chaotic smells of people overwhelmed his senses. He couldn't find her.
When he finally did, she was playing happily with new friends.
Her scent had changed, in ways only a werewolf's nose could detect. In humans, it's said their scent only settles permanently at eighteen.
Unable to truly fit into the human world, Roderick rarely interacted with humans. He didn't know how to read them, nor how to speak to them. Proud, solitary, awkward, and rigid, he was often at odds with himself and preferred going his own way.
Just like now, the lively atmosphere on the lawn didn't belong to him. In his darkened room, he turned down his sense of hearing, and, cut off from all sound, sat alone on the sofa—completely at odds with the world around him.
While the other werewolves enjoyed the latest human inventions, he felt like an accidental intruder, a single wolf who'd wandered out of the dense forest and into a world that wasn't his.
He stood outside the bustling entrance.
He could felt his shyness and loneliness, his restless wildness, his homesickness, his homelessness.
