It wasn’t until she left that the servant, who had been frightened to the point of breathlessness, dared to slowly approach. “Hello, Miss Emma.”
Emma breathed a sigh of relief. “Hello. Is there something you need?”
“Alpha has requested that we familiarize you with the Silver Moon Pack’s territory. I’m here to show you around,” the servant explained.
Feeling weary, Emma was in need of a glass of orange juice and two slices of bacon and egg sandwich. She couldn’t possibly engage in any form of physical activity, no matter how slight. “I’m sorry. I know this might make things difficult for you, but I’m just so tired today.”
The servant immediately understood her meaning. “It’s okay, Miss Emma. I just came to inform you. Whenever you’re ready to visit and familiarize yourself with the territory, you can call on me. My name is March; I live in the small house at the end of the right-hand side of the hallway where your room is. You can find me anytime.”
Emma half-bowed apologetically. “I’m really sorry.”
“Please don’t be so polite. It’s the least we can do. Let me escort you back to your room,” March offered.
Following him back to her room, Emma felt her nerves finally relax when March considerately closed the door behind her. The day had been suffocating.
Once relaxed, a wave of hunger suddenly overcame her. Due to her earlier confrontation with Jennifer, her anger had far outweighed her reason, so much so that she had forgotten about not having eaten much for dinner. Her stomach was now making its protests known.
She thought of March and regretted not asking for help earlier. It seemed awkward to go back now after having declined his offer. Emma held her rumbling stomach, hesitant to venture to the kitchen alone. It was her first day; in the morning, she had bid farewell to the Blue Halo Pack and Florence with reluctance, and now, in the evening, she found herself in a room at the Silver Moon Pack. She knew nothing about the building, let alone where the kitchen was located.
“If only someone would bring me a glass of orange juice and a bacon and egg sandwich, I would unquestionably fall head over heels,” she thought.
Before she could dwell on that thought, there was a knock at the door. Reluctantly, Emma got up from the bed, enduring her hunger. “It better be a roasted chicken at my door right now, or else I won’t forgive them.”
The door opened, revealing not a roasted chicken, but Patrick carrying a meal.
Emma thought her eyes were playing tricks on her and hesitantly asked, “Are you Santa Claus? Christmas still seems far away.”
Patrick chuckled, “Does your family have traditions for human holidays?”
Unsure whether to let him in, Emma replied, “The Blue Halo Pack enjoys festivities, so we celebrate werewolf holidays. If we like human holidays, we celebrate those too. What’s this?” She gestured at the food in Patrick’s hands.
Patrick lowered his head to look at the food. “This is food.”
Perplexed, Emma furrowed her brow. “I mean, why are you bringing me these?”
Did he and I have some kind of unknown telepathy? Emma’s heart leaped with excitement, but it couldn’t be. She didn’t even have a wolf, let alone a mind link with someone like Patrick.
Patrick handed her the food. “Because you didn’t eat much tonight.”
Although at dinner he had tried to smooth things over, his mother’s dissatisfaction was still glaringly obvious. Mike remained silent, and Emma didn’t seem inclined to respond much either, making the meal uncomfortable for him. He wished his soul could stay at the table in place of his physical body, sparing him from enduring this unbearable atmosphere.
He could see that Emma felt the same way. She had no interest in this superficial relationship; her eyes were fixed on the desserts and grilled meat on the table. Patrick guessed that these were her favorite foods, but due to the atmosphere at the time, she had refrained from taking any.
“I’m guessing you’re hungry. You’ve had a tiring journey, didn’t eat much for lunch, and hardly anything for dinner. Of course, this is just my guess, and you can disagree,” Patrick said.
Emma had no intention of disagreeing. Although the plate didn’t contain a sandwich, it did have foie gras, roasted beans, a small piece of waffle, and a cup of blueberry milkshake.
Goodness, this was her dream dinner.
She took the plate, calculating if she could have a dinner like this once a week. Normally, she made do with bread dipped in blueberry jam. But if she could have a meal like this once a week, life might be a bit more hopeful.
“You can join me in the dining hall; it’snot where we have dinner, just a regular dining hall.”
Emma, captivated by the food, didn’t argue with Patrick and immediately followed him to the dining hall.
The dining hall was a common area that anyone could use, but it was mostly reserved for the castle staff. The nobles didn’t frequent this place, so it had become the designated eating area for the castle’s workers.
Emma focused on eating the food on her plate. She felt like she was in a phase of indulgence. The hunger she had experienced in her childhood made her always feel like she wasn’t getting enough to eat. She wanted to eat everything but was confined by poverty, so she had to suppress her desires. Now, finally having a decent meal, she felt that being in a new environment might not be so bad after all.
A beautiful and comfortable room, a bathroom of her own, and now food-fresh, fragrant, and not the moldy, withered food she was used to-were all things she had once dreamed of.
“Having your dreams come true can be frightening,” Emma thought.
Patrick enjoyed watching people eat. He couldn’t discern much taste when he ate, as he had been eating the same kind of food since he was young. Even the most delicious delicacies became tasteless after repeated consumption. Therefore, his only requirement for food was to fill his stomach, not to derive joy or satisfaction from it.
However, watching Emma eat now, he could sense her happiness.
“I was a bit hesitant before bringing this over,” he said.
Emma was munching on roasted beans, enjoying the smoky flavor that reminded her of meat. “Why?”
“Because I had looked around the kitchen for a while and found that only the beans were warm; everything else had cooled down, especially the foie gras. Cold foie gras gives off a certain smell, and I was afraid you might dislike it.”
Not just the foie gras, the waffle had also cooled, losing its freshly baked softness. He had wanted to drizzle some maple syrup or chocolate sauce over it, but not finding any, he had to give up.
Despite this, Emma’s eyes lit up as she ate. At that moment, she felt that even if Nelson were standing in front of her, she could forgive him momentarily. After all, the person sitting next to her was the alpha of this pack.