The little wolf cub obediently let Catriona hold him in her arms, and she felt a sense of nostalgia, as if she were back in the days before her son turned one.
Back then, she would slowly walk around, gently rocking him.
Seeing his soft, adorable face made her feel so happy.
The werewolves from Snow Mountain were indeed different from ordinary wild wolves. In the wild, a four-year-old wolf was equivalent to a human over fifty, yet her son was nearly five and, even in his full-wolf form, was still just a little cub.
After holding him for a while, she reluctantly set him down.
Her arms couldn't take it any longer.
After all, this little guy weighed over forty pounds, and it was only thanks to her regular weightlifting that she managed to hold him for so long.
However, it seemed that from this day forward, her son began to show his full wolf form more often in her presence. He'd even paddle around in the bathtub during bath time, then insist that Catriona use the hairdryer to dry his fur. By the time she finished blow-drying his fur, the little one had already drifted off to sleep.
Catriona couldn't have been happier about this; she'd loved puppies and kittens as a child, and now, years later, she got to enjoy this through her son.
At that moment, Roderick was dividing the lake into zones: the left side was the shallow area, and the right side, the deep area, was off-limits.
He let the little cub into the water to test his swimming skills, and to his surprise... the tiny wolf seemed tireless. Splashing vigorously, his little legs paddled furiously as he zipped across to the other side and then swiftly back again, like a little whirlwind on the water's surface.
His little ears were soaked, and his short black fur clung to his body, not looking much thinner—see, he was solid.
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Roderick's eyes. As a werewolf, he could tell the cub's swimming skills were quite decent.
Catriona was stunned.
She had no idea her son was such a strong swimmer.
To exaggerate a bit, he was like a little speedboat.
"Cedric, you're amazing!" She clapped her hands. "Wow! Whose little cub is so incredible?"
"Awooo!" The little wolf cub barked in delight, and in the next moment, his gaze sharpened as he dove to bite into the water.
Catriona, watching her son from the shore, paused. "Cedric, did you catch a fish?"
The cub silently turned his back to his mom, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the small white fish in one bite.
The fresh, tender fish meat, the metallic tang of blood, and the lively struggle of his prey made his dark eyes deepen, a fleeting green glint flashing within them.
Something inside him suddenly came alive with excitement.
He licked his sharp fangs; it wasn't enough, and he wanted more. He glanced at his mom on the shore, let out a small "awoo," and swam further away.
Catriona paused, instinctively calling out, "Cedric..."
"Leave him be," Roderick said, watching the cub splashing on the lake's surface. The cub had caught another fish and was devouring it, his back turned to them.
"His primal instincts are kicking in. If he only eats cooked food, he'll lose energy. Can you... accept this?" Roderick looked at Catriona.
Catriona crossed her arms, watching her little one out on the lake. "Why wouldn't I be fine with it? What I wouldn't be fine with is him going hungry."
Her son was a werewolf; wasn't eating like this normal? What was he supposed to do, nibble on lettuce?
Roderick glanced down at her, then said earnestly, "You're really wonderful."
???
Catriona's skin prickled with goosebumps as she shot him a puzzled look. "That's it? That's why you think I'm wonderful? I'm his mother; isn't this just what I'm supposed to do?"
"Not every mother is like you."
Roderick had spent enough time between the werewolf and human worlds to have seen all kinds of people.
"About ten years ago, a human woman fell in love with a werewolf. They married and had a child. But she couldn't accept the child's ears and tail, insisted the child stay in human form, and only fed him cooked food."
"Then, when the child was five, he caught a snake in the bushes to eat in secret. The woman found out."
"And then?" Catriona couldn't help but ask.
Roderick's eyes were dark and heavy, his thin lips pressed tightly together. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "That woman screamed like she had seen a monster... and killed the cub."
Catriona's eyes widened in shock.
For a long time, she couldn't find her voice.
She clutched her chest, feeling a sharp pain twist inside.
As a mother, hearing this was unbearable.
She couldn't imagine how that woman could have done such a thing.
"And... the werewolf? Was he away working at the time?"
"Yes." Roderick recalled the werewolf who had come to the old estate, knowing that a group of the pack was heading back to the snowy mountains, gathering at the Nightblade's house. The werewolf sat in silence, eyes red and swollen, holding his dead cub in his arms, seemingly cut off from the world. He was alive, but already dead inside.
The snowy mountaintop was always at its coldest.
He wanted to carry his cub back to the snowy mountains as quickly as possible, fearing the body would decay. In the icy caves atop the mountain, his cub's body would remain preserved forever.
When he missed him, he could go and see him.
Pretend he was still alive.
That was the way of werewolves; their deceased loved ones were always there.
The Nightblade's werewolves did well in the human world; it was widely known. Regular werewolves needed three months to return to the snowy mountains on foot, but the Nightblade had special means, needing only half a month to return.
That werewolf never thought his human mate, who hadn't minded his werewolf nature while in love, would reject him after they had a cub.
When she treated the cub harshly, the werewolf, out of love for his mate, remained silent, turning a blind eye. Watching his partner grow increasingly unrecognizable, he was in pain, yet he never imagined she would go so far as to kill their cub.
Utterly heartbroken, the despairing werewolf took his dead cub back to the snowy mountains.
Humans were too fickle.
They could never give a werewolf a complete sense of security.
When they loved, it was to the death; when they didn't, they were like enemies, never speaking to each other again.
Every werewolf who chose a human as a mate did so out of true love.
They were willing to put their necks before the other's blade.
"And what happened to that woman later?" Catriona clenched her hands, taking a deep breath. "Did she regret it?"
"She remarried." Roderick's eyes held neither sarcasm nor anger, perhaps because he was used to it.
He looked at Catriona, her reflection appearing in his deep, golden eyes.
"You really are wonderful."
"It's not just this; in every way, you're wonderful."
"You're a rare, one-of-a-kind human woman."
He spoke with such sincerity.
This time, Catriona didn't feel a shiver of discomfort; she simply looked away.
Was she... really that good?
She hadn't done anything that any normal person wouldn't do.
Hearing such high praise from Roderick gave her a strange, indescribable feeling.
The next second, she froze.
Wait a minute—this silly wolf wasn't just saying nice things to try and charm her, was he?
After all, he had just confessed his feelings to her!
Catriona snapped back to reality. Her past suitors had complimented her with flowery words, and she wasn't one to fall for such tactics.
How did two simple sentences from Roderick leave her dazed?
Catriona!!
Pull yourself together and be on guard!
He may be a werewolf, but he's still a male werewolf!
There's no difference between him and those men trying to woo women!
And so...
She scooted a few steps to the side, replying nonchalantly, "Oh."
If Catriona had looked up, she would have seen the werewolf next to her with reddening ears, feeling embarrassed again!!
