“M-mom…?!” Asher managed to say, looking at the older woman beside him.
“My, my… it’s been quite a while hasn’t it, my child. This serves as a rather terrible impression, especially after not seeing you in so long.” She smiled.
The Alpha couldn’t stop looking into the gentle, yet scheming eyes of the woman who birthed him. Millions of questions ran through his mind, momentarily distracting him from the despairing thoughts he was having about Roxanne.
“Let’s leave this place, it’s too crowded. Follow me.” She finally broke the silence, walking from her position.
Asher, who was dumbfounded looked at the woman walk away, and hesitated before finally following her from behind.
‘What is she doing here?’ He thought to himself, before quickly realizing that he had made a huge error.
A grin formed on Katrina’s lips. She had just heard his thoughts. Asher stiffened his face, making a slight glare. He wasn’t going to make that error again.
“Relax, Asher. You don’t have to be so stiff around me.” Katrina mumbled, still walking ahead of him.
“Am I being stiff? Last I checked, you were prying into my head. Consider this a precaution.” He responded, pulling himself together.
“How cold… even speaking to your mother like that. It seems you’ve grown up a little more.”
Asher didn’t respond.
Instead, he continued deliberating within himself what it was that his mother required of him. Why was she here? How long had she been around? She must have definitely had contact with Roxanne, so what did she want with the both of them?
‘I cant figure her out…’ His mind trailed.
Of course, this time she wouldn’t be able to see into his thoughts. The reason was because of his Alpha status, and the authority he possessed. She was only able to hear his earlier thoughts because of his weakened mental state at the time.
He was caught off guard, plus he wasn’t exactly in the right state, seeing as he was shattered by Roxanne’s letter. However, it was different this time.
Shrouding his mind with his strong mental energy, Katrina didn’t have enough power to even see a spec of his thoughts. And for some reason, she found it cold.
‘Her being here… does it have to do with the recent unrest within the packs?’
Asher had been having a feeling that someone had been somewhat causing the incidents that had been occurring, since they were too organized. However, could the mystery person truly be his own mother?
“I know what you’re thinking, Asher. Be at ease… I mean no harm.” Katrina suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Asher remained apprehensive still. Even if she couldn’t hear his thoughts, his mother was a formidable foe nonetheless.
After all, she was the only one in the history of the entire Oregon tribe who had been able to master the entire 6 Werewolf Arts, the most powerful figure in Oregon, and former Luna of his Rockwood Pack, Katrina Rockwood.
“Let’s sit here.” Katrina suddenly said, snapping Asker from his deep thought.
He raised his head, looking at where Katrina had brought them to. It was an empty park, one covered with snow and filled with white flakes. Of course, no one visited the place since there was no protection from the current harsh weather.
Katrina looked at one of the benches covered in snow, eyeing it ever so slightly. In an instant, the snow melted as soon as her eyes turned gold. As though melted by the summer sun, in no time the seats were good as new. She then proceeded to sit on a portion of her bench.
“Come on, sit.”
Asher was still hesitant, suspiciously eyeing the seats. While he knew none of her tricks would work on him, since his Domination and Aura levels were beyond hers, Asher wasn’t quite comfortable with her presence.
“Have you grown so cynical that you would doubt your own mother?” Katrina scoffed, slightly offended by her son’s behavior.
“Considering how you’ve been gone for so long, then yes. I believe I have every right to be this cautious.” He responded coldly.
After a bit of silence, Katrina nodded slightly. She couldn’t argue with his words.
“Fair enough. You can remain standing of you want.”
Asher didn’t like the way it seemed like she was permitting him to stand, so he proceeded to sit on the bench.
‘He’s still an easy kid…’ Katrina smiled to herself.
And so, both werewolves sat on the bench. The atmosphere was awkward, so none of them said anything.
“Don’t you have anything to ask me?” Katrina smiled, breaking the silence once again.
It appeared she was trying so hard to make a conversation, while Asher would rather dwell in the realm of his thoughts.
“You tell me… is there anything you’d like to tell me?” He finally spoke, looking at his mother.
Asher’s eyes were glowing red, but he withheld himself from going any further with his ability. If he used Domination, he could most likely succeed in gaining information, since he had higher status, both as the Wolf King and as Alpha of the Rockwood Pack.
However, Katrina knew this. The fact that she left herself so vulnerable was because she most likely had a countermeasure in place. That, or she believed she would be able to best him in a battle of arts.
‘My mind is a mess right now, so she might have the upper hand.’ He reasoned.
Reaching a logical conclusion, he refused to use his Arts.
“Wise choice.” Katrina smiled.
“What do you know about Roxanne? What did you do to her?” Asher blurted out, no longer hiding his suspicion.
“Straight to the point, eh? Not even gonna ask me how I’ve been or where I went to?” Katrina sighed a little, making a wry smile.
“You can take care of yourself. Plus, you left of your own volition. Now will you answer me or no-”
“Both of the things you said also applies to Roxanne, doesn’t it? She’s capable of holding her own, plus she also left of her free will. What’s the difference between the both of us?” Katrina interrupted.
Asher gritted his teeth upon realizing his mother was still playing games with him. He was running out of patience. Usually, he would be composed, but he was getting desperate.
“What do you want?” He finally asked, frowning.
There was no other way to deal with his mother than to be exactly forward in his approach.
‘I’m going to get what I want… one way or another!’