Luna Palace had endured a chaotic night, and Catriona's room was somewhat damaged. That evening, she stayed in an empty room on the third floor.
Catriona walked wherever her son followed her.
Even when she was in the bathroom washing up, the little one would sit just outside the bathroom door, playing with his small toys, waiting for his mother.
Every two minutes, he would call out, "Mommy."
Only after hearing her response would he feel at ease.
Catriona hurriedly washed up, dried her hair, and quickly urged her son to go to bed.
It was already two-thirty in the morning. Tonight, not only she but all the werewolves were exhausted. Cedric rubbed his large eyes, visibly too tired to stay awake. Catriona lightly patted his back, "Mommy's here. Go to sleep."
Cedric inhaled the familiar scent of his mother, his chubby hand grasping one of Catriona's fingers as he drifted into a deep sleep. On his fair, adorable face, long lashes cast tiny shadows.
He was still a young cub, needing sleep for his bone development, and usually didn't get enough.
Catriona looked at her son with a pang of pity, pulled up the blanket to cover him, and turned off the light.
She couldn't sleep.
So much had happened tonight, and she was not the type of person who could just let things go without a care, unable to simply close her eyes and fall asleep.
The fallen werewolves were finally dealt with; capturing so many at once would bring Capital years of peace, she overheard.
That's good.
Cedric's kindergarten was already on holiday.
And in about a month, they could finally leave Luna Palace. She used to count the days, feeling like six months was so long, but now looking back, it seemed to have passed quickly.
Apart from some bumps along the way, things had progressed relatively smoothly.
Tomorrow, maybe she'd go visit Grandma.
Catriona drifted off to sleep only after organizing her thoughts.
Perhaps it was the sight of so many large wolves tonight, or the tangible sensation of riding on Roderick's true wolf form, soft and furry like a carpet, that led her to have an unpleasant dream.
In her dream, she saw the little black dog her cousin had drowned. The dog was alive, wagging its tail, running toward her.
In the dream, Catriona had turned into a seven-year-old girl again, already aware of the dog's fate. She was anxiously urging it, "Go away! Don't come over! Run quickly!"
"You'll die. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought you back."
But the little dog ignored her words, ran over to her, pawed at her, and barked twice.
In the dream, Catriona's eyes reddened. "Why did you come to see me? Are you mad at me? Are you doing well now?"
The dog barked a few times, circled around her, panting excitedly, then looked back at her and ran off.
In the dream, she couldn't quite make out where she was. It was foggy all around. Catriona helplessly slumped to the ground, watching the dog run off, crying. She cried.
"You have somewhere to go now, don't you?"
In the distance came a peaceful bark: Woof~
The white fog dissipated. Catriona opened her eyes, still a bit teary. It was already daylight, though she didn't know the time.
Her son was still fast asleep beside her.
She stared at the beautiful wolf patterns on the ceiling, lost in thought for a moment.
In truth, the little black dog that died was the second dog she had ever known.
The first was a chubby black dog she met while staying at her uncle's house.
Since she was a child, she had a fondness for fluffy little animals. She remembered staying at her uncle's house, where they had a beautiful and adorable Moser dog that she adored. However, her cousin, who was three years older, wouldn't allow her to hug it.
She could only stand aside, watching enviously as her cousin played with the beautiful white dog, tossing a toy for it to retrieve.
At the time, she thought, "How can there be such a clever dog? It must have come from heaven; it's not an ordinary dog but a divine one!"
After staying there for a while, the Moser dog became familiar with her. She selected a durable pink plastic bottle from her toy box, originally meant for snacks. She had seen her cousin toss it aside after eating, so she picked it up, cleaned it, and secretly played with it in her room.
When she tossed the plastic bottle, the Moser dog expertly retrieved it.
Then, her cousin, returning from school, spotted the scene.
"Mom! She stole my snacks!" Her cousin clutched the pink plastic bottle, her face flushed with anger as she reported her to the adults.
Her aunt frowned, looking at her. "Stealing is not a good habit. If you learn to steal at such a young age, what will become of you when you grow up?"
Her uncle sighed, "It's just a small snack. If she ate it, she ate it. Why argue with a child?"
They seemed to have decided that she had stolen the snack.
"I didn't steal it... I found the empty bottle..."
"You're lying! You stole it! This was bought for me by my dad! You don't have a dad to buy you things, so you stole it."
Hearing that, she felt both anger and injustice, bursting out in tears as she ran away. As she ran, she wiped her tears, sobbing, if... if she had a dad and mom, she wouldn't have to live in someone else's home.
But her dad and mom were gone, dead.
She understood long ago that being dead meant they were truly gone, and in this world, she would never find them again.
Under the dim golden sunset, the little girl ran along the path, crying out, "Dad, Mom, where are you... I can't find you..."
If only her parents had taken her with them.
Why did they leave her alone?
No one in this world liked her, so why did they leave her in such a frightening place?
"Please, take me with you, Mom!" she cried silently in despair, overwhelmed with sadness and unable to share her grievances with anyone.
Everyone longs to live surrounded by love; that is the only way to be truly happy.
If a person is unloved, uncared for, unwanted—a burden—most people, unless incredibly strong-willed, will lead a life filled with pain.
She had no idea how long she ran; eventually, exhausted, she slipped into a long-abandoned park overgrown with weeds.
There, she saw a chubby black dog.
