Rowan had been taking a sip of water, and upon hearing that, he spluttered and coughed.
"Cough! Cough! What the—who am I seducing?!"
"There was a news story in the human world about a guy who, after falling for a girl, saw all his male friends as threats and sent warnings to each of them. You're not that type of werewolf, are you?"
Roderick neither nodded nor denied it.
Catriona wasn't officially his mate yet, and he felt completely unsteady, every little shift making his nerves taut with tension.
She was right there, in that hospital room. If he extended his hearing, he could pick up her voice among thousands—her clear, cool, polite tone that she used with him.
She was right there.
So why did he feel she was so far away, so distant that it filled him with a gnawing anxiety?
Back at the office, he found it hard to focus, glancing at the time now and then, waiting for the moment he could pick up their little one and head to the hospital. Then, at least, he'd have a reason to be there.
In the hospital.
After learning of her illness, Catriona's friends had been arriving at the hospital one by one.
Eulalia asked softly, "Does it still hurt?"
Catriona shook her head. "I'm fine."
"You actually got appendicitis?" Eulalia patted herself, wondering aloud, "Do you think I might get it too...?"
Catriona gave her an exasperated look. "Don't say that. Can't you hope for something better? You think this is something good?"
Thinking about it, she felt a lingering fear. If she hadn't been at Luna Palace and was home alone with her son, in such an emergency, she would have been down, unable to move, while her son, still so little, would have been unable to help her. Who knows how worried and frightened he would have been?
The thought alone made her heart ache.
"You live alone, so you need to be extra careful..." Catriona suddenly paused. "Oh, Grey is still with you, right?"
Eulalia chuckled. "Yeah, he's there. My little bodyguard is actually pretty good, you know? That night when Sylvaine took me home after drinking, my little bodyguard was waiting downstairs."
At the time, Sylvaine wanted to take her back to her place, but Eulalia insisted on going home.
She was so drunk, she only kept saying, "I... have a bodyguard at home, have to go... feed it."
"When did you start keeping pets?" So, Sylvaine took her back to her apartment.
She hung her head, limp as a rag doll, while Sylvaine helped her out of the car. She then saw a pair of long legs in her line of sight, and their owner, with a youthful voice, said, "Hand her over to me."
"Oh, and who are you?" Sylvaine's gaze lingered on him with a hint of mischief before looking back at Eulalia. "You're sneaky, claiming you're single but having a secret young boyfriend."
Eulalia heard this and let out a hiccup. "Hic... he's my little bodyguard."
Seeing she was drunk, Sylvaine decided to follow them upstairs.
As for Eulalia, she was handed over to the tall, slim boy.
Eulalia, was 120 pounds, wriggled restlessly in the boy's arms. Although he looked thin, he was surprisingly strong, holding her securely without breaking a sweat.
But the boy had a bit of temper too. Eulalia, like a plump, unruly pet piglet, swayed her legs while reaching out to pinch his face.
He leaned back, frowning as he lifted his chin to avoid her. "You asked me to pick you up. Stop moving!"
He wore a scowl, seemingly displeased, but Sylvaine noticed his ears were slightly red.
Ah, so the little guy was actually shy.
Eulalia was doing well for herself—where else could you find such a tall, handsome puppy-like guy?
"Anyway, I just remember Sylvaine coming to my place, and she laughed, saying I was 'playing around,' before leaving. Now she even thinks Grey is my little boyfriend and doesn't believe me."
Eulalia laughed, exasperated. "Have you ever seen a boyfriend who, after carrying his drunk girlfriend home, just tosses her on the living room couch for the night without even taking her shoes off?"
Eulalia felt there was no way she and Grey could ever get involved romantically. They were more like siblings, with clear boundaries and distance.
As Eulalia spoke, she suddenly noticed two beauties lounging on the couch behind her, one with red and black hair and the other with blue.
"Uh, when did you get here?"
Catriona laughed. "They've been here the whole time. Eulalia, you're just nearsighted and too carefree."
Ruby let out a playful growl and giggled, "Catriona's friend, go on!"
Sapphire asked shyly, "Are we interrupting you?"
Eulalia:"..."
Ruby covered her mouth, stifling laughter. Grey, one of the only two werewolves at Luna Palace who disliked humans, had stayed at a human's home for so long and even carried her around—it clearly meant something.
Eulalia was human, so maybe she didn't see hugging as that big of a deal.
Ruby giggled softly. "Grey is so young, and he already wants a girlfriend!"
Hearing this, Sapphire paused, her expression dimming as she looked at Eulalia with a trace of envy in her gaze.
After Eulalia left, Aveline arrived.
She had lost a lot of weight, her face looking more worn and exhausted than even Catriona's, who had just undergone surgery.
Catriona frowned slightly. "Are you okay? Let me know if there's anything I can do."
Aveline managed a weak smile. "I'll be free soon—if all goes well, I'll be divorced by the end of this month."
What once seemed like paradise had turned out to be nothing short of hell.
Catriona nodded. "If you haven't found a job yet, my second shop needs a manager. It includes room and board. Are you interested? You're already familiar with the work."
Since moving into Luna Palace, her shops had been overflowing with floral orders, barely keeping up with demand.
It seemed like every business event, restaurant opening, and celebration in Capital came to her.
Aveline agreed with a nod.
When Lucian arrived, Aveline rose to leave; it was almost time for her child's school pick-up.
Lucian placed a bouquet of lilies on the bedside table, a worried look in his eyes. "Is the wound still painful?"
Catriona shook her head.
"Take it easy for a while, alright? The shop can wait," Lucian said, his gaze softening as he gave a faint, helpless smile. "I'd love to take care of you, but I know you wouldn't allow that, would you?"
"If you ever want, you could move out of his home. I have a place by the river, close to Cedric's kindergarten."
But Catriona only shook her head again. "Thank you."
She didn't want to stay in anyone else's home; in three months, she would return to her own.
She was no longer that helpless girl from her childhood. Now, she could support and care for herself and her little one.
Lucian chatted a bit more before getting up to leave. "I'll come see you again tomorrow. Call me if you get bored—I'll be looking forward to it."
Catriona nodded awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Roderick left work early, waited a while at the kindergarten entrance, picked up the cub, and headed straight to the hospital.
Just as his car pulled into the hospital entrance, he saw Lucian coming down the stairs from the inpatient department.
The cub was playing with a little gift Roderick had given him, with the flowers Catriona had asked him to bring beside him.
Roderick's gaze instantly turned cold.
Lucian had come to see Catriona. How long had he stayed? What had they talked about?
Catriona had told him to leave, but what about Lucian? Did she ask him to leave?
