Inside the car.
Catriona still turned down the younger guy.
"I already made it clear before; you don't need to waste your time on me. I'm not at the shop right now, so you don't need to..."
"But I just like you, and I don't think it's a waste of time. Do you know how much I wanted to return to China these past six months? I missed you, and as soon as I got back, I didn't even go home—I came to see you."
The boy's voice over the phone sounded full of grievance.
Catriona opened her mouth, pressed her fingers to her brow, feeling a bit of a headache.
"Thanks, but I have things to do here, so I'll hang up now. Go home, quickly."
After saying that, she hung up first.
These young guys, seriously—they don't even study properly. She felt no spark with someone mature like Lucian, so she definitely wasn't interested in this younger guy.
Catriona didn't expect that, upon returning to Luna Palace, she would see Snowheart.
She was back.
She sat on the sofa, her long, wavy white hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She wore a simple white T-shirt and denim shorts, her skin exceptionally fair, with delicate features. On closer look, one would notice that even her eyebrows and eyelashes were white.
She had hidden her ears and tail, presenting herself in a purely human form.
The younger werewolves who hadn't dated yet were all chatting with her in the living room. The shy ones stood at a distance, like Brownie, whose face had turned red.
Snowheart was a renowned beauty from Snow Mountain; they were all thrilled to see her.
Roderick's car drove into Luna Palace, and the werewolves cheered, "Wow! Alpha Roderick is back!"
"Catriona and the little cub are here too, right?"
"Time to eat!"
"Snowheart, you must be starving, right?"
Snowheart smiled, "Not too bad."
She looked through the floor-to-ceiling window at the car outside. Roderick got out first, then bent down to lift a little cub from the car, holding him in his arms and ruffling his hair.
On the other side, a slender woman with a small bag got out.
They looked like a real family of three as they walked toward the entrance of the living room together.
A hint of a smile crossed Snowheart's eyes. This was nice.
He was no longer a single wolf.
That was enough.
Catriona saw that beautiful woman again!
Seeing that white-furred female werewolf, she couldn't help but sigh at her beauty.
Snowheart stood up and walked over.
"Hello, I'm Snowheart."
She lightly curved her lips, looked at Catriona, and extended her hand.
"...Hello, you can call me Catriona." Catriona smiled faintly, taking Snowheart's hand.
Snowheart turned her gaze to the little one.
She took a step toward Roderick.
Roderick pressed his lips together and instinctively stepped back.
?
Snowheart stepped forward again, and Roderick took another step back.
Snowheart:?????
Before Snowheart could speak, Roderick frowned and said, "If you have something to say, say it from a distance."
Due to past misunderstandings with Catriona, he had to be extra careful.
Snowheart laughed in exasperation, "I want to hold the little one! Who wants to get close to you?"
Roderick pursed his lips, holding the little one a bit too close, so he set Cedric down on the ground, "Go to your mom."
Cedric stood by his dad's leg, small and holding onto the edge of his clothes. He looked up, his big eyes filled with curiosity as he gazed at Snowheart.
White fur!
Snowheart crouched down, extending her hand. "Little cub, come here. Want a hug?"
Cedric pursed his little mouth, his expression serious, and politely said, "Thank you, sorry."
That was his way of refusing.
After he spoke, he turned to his mom, running over on his short little legs and grabbing onto Catriona's coat.
He didn't let strangers, people he wasn't familiar with, hold him.
Snowheart didn't mind either; it was normal for a cub to be wary of someone they were meeting for the first time.
During the meal, only Catriona had small plates with a few cooked dishes and warm drink in front of her, while the rest of the werewolves were all eating meat.
In Cedric's plate were small pieces of meat, with a bottle of milk on the side.
Snowheart took a bite of meat and glanced at Catriona's food, instantly realizing it was purely human.
Her brows furrowed slightly. A pure human's lifespan was barely a hundred years.
After the meal, Catriona held her son's hand and went back to their room.
Roderick watched the mother and son's backs. He wanted to join them...
It was another day envying the cub.
Snowheart suddenly spoke up, "You know the ways for a pure human to extend their life, right?"
Roderick paused, then murmured, "Yes."
"Apart from the rare Snow Mountain Crystal, she would also need to soak in the cold pool of the Snow Mountain for ten days. She's so thin; I suggest you have her strengthen her body a bit more."
The icy cold pool of the Snow Mountain was bone-chilling, something a pure human couldn't easily endure.
But the Snow Mountain Crystal, whether for werewolves or pure humans, could prolong life. For werewolves, the cold pool could alleviate their heat cycles, while for a pure human, soaking in it could change bone structure, enhance physical strength, and adapt her body to the Snow Mountain's cold climate.
"I'll accompany her."
If she's willing.
Even if the Snow Mountain Crystal was incredibly hard to obtain, even if it was dangerous, he would prepare it for Catriona. He would hold her in the cold pool and be by her side.
Since he liked her, these were things he had long considered.
He would arrange everything.
All he needed was for Catriona to nod and agree.
Just then, a car drove into Luna Palace.
Arden got out of the car.
He walked into the living room holding a thick stack of packaged documents.
He headed straight to the dining table.
"Mr. Nightblade, everything is here."
Roderick looked at the stack of documents with a deep gaze, silent for a few seconds, then reached out and took it.
"Is everything here?"
"Everything that could be found over the years is here."
"What's this?" Snowheart asked curiously.
Roderick stood up, "It's not convenient to disclose."
With that, he took the documents and headed to his study.
If Catriona found out he was investigating her privately, she might be angry.
But he couldn't wait to learn about her past.
He locked the door, sat at his desk, opened the package, and turned to the first page.
The entire werewolf was a bit stunned.
In memories long buried and almost forgotten.
He had been held by that human child, staying under the big tree in the garden for an entire night.
"Doggie, do you not have a home either? Stay with me, be with me—I don't have a home either."
"Doggie, are you hungry? I only have two cookies, but I'll share one with you."
"Doggie, it's dark now. Are you scared? I'm not scared, not at all."
He was eight then, still a cub himself.
In the human world, he felt isolated, unable to fit in at school. That human child fascinated him.
He spent ten days with that human child, a few years younger than him, visiting her every day to play.
"When I have money someday, when I have my own home, you can come live with me. I'll take care of you and give you good food."
He thought to himself that his family had plenty of human money; he didn't need her to take care of him.
Yet he couldn't help but go looking for her.
But one day, at their usual spot, she was gone.
It took him a long time.
Only much later did he realize he had been deceived by a human child.
Just like his grandmother.
Humans were too frightening, even a child could easily deceive a werewolf.
Roderick stared intently at the photo on the first page. The child in the picture appeared to be around the same age as Cedric, and that face—it overlapped with the one in his memory.
Even his young cub, Cedric, looked a bit like him.
[Catriona: Four years old]
He almost couldn't recognize these few words.
