Emma thought to herself, she was indeed one of the few people in this place who could truly empathize with Patrick. They had gone through similar terrible experiences at almost the same time.
“We all hope he can break free from his past. He’s already an alpha of the pack, a qualified and mature alpha should not be trapped by the past. If possible, I hope you can become friends with him,” May said.
Friends. But Emma’s only friend was Florence. In those dim and dark days, it was Florence who accompanied her through the darkness time and time again. Only they could understand each other’s pain. And now, this person in front of her wanted her to become friends with the supreme alpha here?
“Can I become friends with your alpha?” Emma asked.
May blinked at her. “Why not give it a try? You might succeed. Although the alpha may seem aloof at times, you understand that most of the time, he’s just not good with words. His heart holds too much, some of which shouldn’t be his responsibility, and those things have turned him into someone else.”
“You mean?”
“The former alpha might have been a lively and happy person, but being an alpha imprisoned him. It sounds strange, but you can help him open up. If he had a sibling…” May stopped in time, the vanished child was a taboo for the Silver Moon Pack, “Fortunately, he has a new one now.”
No blood relation, but as long as they consider each other the most important people, able to share pain and comfort each other, they can become true family.
Back at the castle, she met Patrick who had just finished work. He gave her a gentle but unexpectedly weary smile. Emma finally understood what kind of weight lay hidden behind his icy mask, and she began to feel sorry for him.
So she took the initiative to speak to him, “You look very tired.”
Patrick politely replied, “Yes.” Sometimes he would suddenly become difficult to approach, depending on his mental state. When he wasn’t very tired, he was usually more relaxed, but when tired, he would become aloof, just like now.
Emma didn’t mind his fluctuating attitude, and instead handed him an apple, “I didn’t bring back much, but the apples at the school are very sweet. Would you like to try one?”
Patrick took it, “Did May take you to the school? How does it feel?”
Emma shrugged, “The school here is big and looks very nice. I like it.”
Patrick smiled, “I knew you still longed for school.”
Emma also smiled, “Yes, you understand me very well.”
That evening, something seemed to grow closer between them. Emma thought, perhaps she had finally accepted Patrick as a family member in her heart.
Emma spent a long period of leisure with nothing much to do. Her enrollment procedures were still being processed, which would take some time. The transfer of her household registration from the original Blue Halo Pack to her current residence didn’t require Emma’s personal presence, so her daily routine was to exercise in the morning, then go to the school library, have lunch in the cafeteria with May’s card, stroll around in the afternoon, and then return to her room to rest.
She video-called Florence, showing her the environment she was living in now. Florence was very envious, “I told you that you should go with them, it’s so nice there.”
Florence looked enviously at her friend’s new environment, a scenery she would never get to appreciate in her lifetime in the Blue Halo Pack.
Emma was panting as she jogged along the road, responding, “When the chance comes, I’ll definitely take you to live in a better place.”
Florence smiled, “What’s a better place? At least, in my limited knowledge, where you are now is the best place in my mind.”
Emma thought for a moment, “How about New York? In the human world, I heard New York is very prosperous.”
The Blue Halo Pack lived on the mountains at the border of the werewolf and human societies, so they didn’t have easy access to information from the human world. A significant part of the later construction and development of the Blue Halo Pack was also based on the urban structure of human society.
Florence was excited, “New York? I like New York. It’s all skyscrapers, a bustling city that never sleeps, and countless handsome men and beautiful women. I heard New York is filled with opportunities.”
“It’s just a metaphor, Florrie. It means there are many opportunities in New York, even poor people can find opportunities to become rich there.” Emma loved reading, so she knew more about proverbs and their origins. Florence liked to hear her tell the stories she had read.
“So that’s what it means. I used to think New York also had mountains and deserts, otherwise how else could they pick up minerals and gold everywhere?” She suddenly became despondent, “I also wish I could go to school and study. I can’t even attend high school.”
Emma didn’t know how to comfort her. She had escaped from the secluded and backward mountain. If compared only to the Blue Halo Pack, or some other underdeveloped packs, Blue Halo Pack was not the worst. But compared to larger packs like the Silver Moon Pack, it seemed very backward.
She understood she was only sixteen years old and shouldn’t make promises she couldn’t keep. But she wanted to make Florence happy.
“When I come of age, I will leave the Blue Halo Pack with you. We can go to the human world. You can bring Jeff too. We can go to New York, Texas, Florida.”
“Only America?” Florence asked with a smile.
Emma said, “If you don’t like America, then we can go to England, France, Italy. England has London and Manchester, France has Paris, and Italy has Rome and Venice. If you think these cities are too big, we can go to Norway, Iceland, and the Netherlands. We will surely see the most beautiful scenery in the world. When we grow up, we will surely become the adults we want to be.”
Florence listened quietly.
“Florrie, don’t be sad. I will always be your most loyal friend. I will work hard to fulfill the wishes you want to achieve. Okay?”
“Okay,” Florence said, “Then you also have to promise me that you will live well in the Silver Moon Pack, study hard, and love yourself.”
“I will,” Emma said, “I believe in you, Emmie. You can always do everything well.”
“Say hi to Jeff for me.”
After hanging up the call, Emma returned to her room. She took the towel from her neck and carefully looked at the calendar. She thought, soon I will be able to fulfill the things I promised with Florrie. Once my enrollment procedures are completed, I can share all of this with Florrie every day through the screen.