Even though Urania didn’t explicitly give Maggie a score after her first study session, Maggie could sense that Urania was relatively satisfied.
Urania was indeed pleased. The next day, she handed Maggie another book, thicker than the previous political material. Without saying a word, Maggie took the book and locked herself in her room, diving into intense study.
On the other side of the human world, Marvin was enjoying his days to the fullest. Alisa tolerated only two days of his unemployment at home before forcing him to find work.
Now, he was working at a café and occasionally part-time at a bar, where his tall and handsome appearance attracted both men and women, and sometimes, customers even tipped him for touching his chest muscles.
Marvin thought, perhaps this was as good as it gets. No need to fight for resources through tearing and battling. Although he hadn’t experienced such a life much, the inner wolf nature in him was sometimes fearful. In dangerous situations, he would still show his fangs and claws to face enemies.
In the human world, he wasn’t an easy target for attacks. Standing at 6’8″ and weighing 150 pounds, with his muscular arms, he garnered envious yet somewhat fearful glances from both men and women, including a cautious avoidance.
Here, he wouldn’t encounter dangers requiring the display of beastly fangs and claws, and he could earn some pocket money. He wasn’t an ambitious person; he felt this was good enough.
Each lifestyle had its own way of living. Forget about the wolf pack, alpha, and all that. After Aldrich’s position stabilized, and there was no urgent need for him to appear in Blue Moon Pack, he planned to settle in the human world.
He liked it here now.
The only downside was that most of the money would have to go to Alisa when he went back. He had some objections to this, but Alisa didn’t seem to be considering negotiation. She said, “If you don’t want to give, you can consider finding a place to rent on your own.”
Marvin could only swallow his pride. He didn’t have any human identity information. Unlike Aldrich, who had never stepped into the human world before, he naturally wouldn’t have documents like an ID that would facilitate travel.
So, wherever he went now, it was Alisa who took him.
“When are you taking me to get an ID?” He handed the tips and the hourly wage from the coffee shop to Alisa. “I’ve never been on a plane, and I want to try.”
Alisa took the money, placed it in an envelope in the drawer, and asked, “Why? Do you want to stay here forever?”
“Not necessarily.”
“No.”
“Why?” Marvin felt hurt. “Do you dislike me that much?”
“I do find you quite disdainful. Besides, aren’t you planning to go back to the werewolf world? What about Aldrich? I don’t want to end up with a reputation for having a foolish big brother who abducts people.”
Marvin didn’t care about these words. “But I really want to take a plane. You’re the only person I know here, and only you know how to deal with these things. I don’t understand. Please, I’ll work hard to earn money!”
Alisa felt a chill for some reason. She didn’t know why this conversation gave off such a ambiguous vibe, as if an useless husband kept begging his indifferent wife to take him out for fun. She found the metaphor disgusting and shivered.
“Okay, stop being coquettish. Promise me that you won’t be coquettish in the future. Next month, I’ll take you to apply for a permanent resident ID.”
Marvin was especially happy, like an eight-year-old kid whose neighbors’ parents bought him an ice cream as big as his face.
Alisa sighed, thinking, “I really miss Maggie.” After all, Maggie was obedient and adorable, unlike this fool.
Every day, Marvin looked forward to the day he would get his ID. But before that day arrived, what came first was a call from Aldrich, his dear brother. They were having a meal when he answered the call.
Alisa looked at him with suspicion. “I remember that werewolves can’t use regular signals to communicate with the human world, right?”
She knew earlier than Maggie that werewolves and humans didn’t use the same signal waves; werewolves had their frequency, and humans had theirs. When werewolves tried to transmit information to the human world, it would be mysteriously blocked, and she didn’t know why, just that it would be blocked.
Marvin calmly accepted the call. “I established a special signal wave with him that can penetrate that barrier. It was done by a werewolf scientist specializing in astrophysics, so he and I can communicate freely through wireless devices.”
There was some commotion on the other side, but no voices were heard, like something had been knocked over. Marvin tried calling out, “Aldrich?”
Finally, a voice came through, “Marvin.”
“Why are you suddenly looking for me?”
“Maggie has been studying with the High Priestess lately.”
Marvin suddenly realized that with his partner not around, his little brother was getting bored.
“The High Priestess? Urania, right?”
“Yes.”
Alisa asked with her eyes who that was.
Marvin whispered back while covering the phone’s microphone, “The wisest person in our tribe.”
“Isn’t it a good thing that Urania is willing to help Maggie? You seem unhappy.”
“She said I won’t know how to love.”
“Well, you indeed don’t… you really don’t know how to love. I agree with her; you didn’t even like me before.”
Aldrich became even more unhappy. “Are you mocking me?”
“Of course not,” Marvin felt a bit amused. Before, they always said Aldrich was a guy without emotions, and he wouldn’t admit it. Now, the oldest and wisest person in the tribe said so, and he couldn’t refute due to lack of seniority. “Why do you care about what she says? As long as Maggie believes you love her, that’s all that matters.”
It seemed like that was indeed the case. But many things couldn’t be solved just by professing love. Aldrich felt this matter needed time.
“I don’t care. I just think her opinion is incorrect. When are you coming back?”
The topic quickly shifted back to Marvin. He scratched his forehead. “Not so soon.”
“But there’s nothing else going on right now. You can stay there for a while longer. Ethan Frost Bourne hasn’t made any moves lately. Some say he’s gone back to Frost Moon Pack to see Alexander. He hasn’t bothered with us for now.”
Marvin nodded, even though he knew Aldrich couldn’t see. It had become a subconscious habit to agree with the other, even if it was just a gesture.
“Is everything okay with you?”
“The new election for the Elder Council is almost over. Maggie has started training her powers. Everything is fine. How about you? How have you been lately?”
“I’m doing well too. Whenever you need me, I can come back anytime.”
The two brothers chatted for a while about this and that before ending the call.
After hanging up, Marvin saw Alisa’s mouth quirking in a half-smile. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Getting straight to the point, Alisa said, “Shouldn’t you have told him about your plan to stay in human society in the future?”