Patrick saw Emma running on the road but he didn’t call out to her. He noticed she was holding a phone. She must be with her former friends, he thought. So, he decided not to disturb her and instead dealt with some pack matters before returning to the castle.
There weren’t many things to handle today. He decided to go up to the top-level garden and relax his weary mind. As Patrick ascended the spiral staircase, he heard Jennifer’s surprised voice, “Patrick!” During this time, Patrick had been very busy, and Jennifer felt like it had been a while since she had seen him.
“I’ve barely seen you during this time.”
Patrick paused. Ever since becoming alpha, he had always been busy. Only during the time when he had to bring Emma back did they spend time together as mother and son. “Mom.”
He started to become distant and indifferent, not even getting too close to Jennifer. Jennifer expressed her dissatisfaction with his attitude, “You’re always so distant.”
“I’m very tired, Mom.”
“Don’t say that, Patrick. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a meal together.”
Patrick looked puzzled, “But we just had a meal together last time.” Although that dinner did not make anyone happy. It was clear that Jennifer felt the same way. “That can’t be counted. That wasn’t a family dinner; a family dinner shouldn’t have outsiders.”
She was still like this. Patrick felt his exhaustion deepen. “Mom, I’ve repeatedly told you not to disrespect her. She’s Nelson’s daughter. Don’t forget that.”
“I don’t disrespect her,” Jennifer argued. She didn’t understand where she had gone wrong. Everyone thought she was deliberately targeting Emma, but in reality, she just didn’t like Emma. She intruded into their pack, took away everyone’s attention, and everyone cherished and cared for her. But Jennifer firmly believed she had other motives. “I just believe that, even though she lives in the Silver Moon Pack, she’s not our family.”
A mother only believed in her own version of the truth. Patrick was too lazy to argue with her about this today. He just wanted some quiet time alone without anyone bothering him. “I understand how you feel, Mom, but I’m very tired today. I’m going to the garden. Next time I’ll make sure to have a meal with you and Nelson.”
He didn’t intentionally bring up Emma. It would only intensify the quarrel between him and his mother. He didn’t have the energy for it now. Days of busyness had left him dizzy. Even an alpha couldn’t withstand the double blow of fasting and pressure. He hadn’t eaten for a long time, yet he still didn’t feel hungry. So, he looked terrible, like a mess.
He walked to the garden and sank into the cushion of the swing. The weather was very comfortable. He regretted not going for a run in the morning like Emma. It would have not only cleared his mind but also helped alleviate his dizziness and chest tightness.
But now, he wanted a beer to dispel the fatigue.
“Hey, alpha.”
Patrick, due to exhaustion, didn’t recognize the owner of the voice and thought it was a servant from the Silver Moon Pack coming to find him. “This place isn’t for everyone to come to. Didn’t I tell you the rules of the castle…” He opened his eyes and realized who the voice belonged to. “Emma?”
He turned around. “How did you know about this place?”
Emma brought food with her. “I don’t know, I just saw you going up this spiral staircase, so I followed you up.”
On the way up, she also met Jennifer. Of course, Jennifer, as she did every day, walked past without looking at her, expressionless. Emma felt relieved. Fortunately, she didn’t keep asking where she was going, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to lie. She wasn’t good at lying and often got caught because her eyes gave her away.
“You look much better lately than when we first met.”
Emma smiled at him. “After coming here, I’ve been getting plenty of sleep every day, eating well, exercising and reading. Naturally, I feel better.”
“Have you eaten today?”
“Not yet, I came up to eat.” She gestured to the food she brought. “I brought some sandwiches and milk. I’ve been eating well recently, but occasionally it makes me miss the simple meals of the past. It’s strange that even when people get out of trouble, they still reminisce about the past with some sighs.”
Patrick didn’t move, just watching her come and sit beside him. The girl’s loose hair danced in the wind. She didn’t look back at Patrick, just gazed into the distance. From here, one could see tall buildings and the flags flying in the distance at the school, while below there were crowded heads.
She tucked herhair behind her ear and said to Patrick, “I like the scenery here.”
She handed him a sandwich. Patrick didn’t know if he should accept it. He really didn’t have an appetite now, but not accepting seemed impolite.
“Eat,” Emma smiled at him. “I asked the kitchen about your preferences and aversions. You can try it. I used to work as a waitress in a restaurant, not good at cooking, but occasionally I had to assemble food for the customers. I added pickles; it should be appetizing. Give it a try?”
Patrick took it. He took a bite, and the pickles were pickled just right. In recent years, with the rapid development of the human world, the Silver Moon Pack would occasionally send people into the human world to learn. One day they brought back human recipes, and this pickle quickly gained the favor of the werewolves. Every household began to pickle their own pickles the way humans did. Not including him. He used to dislike pickles; he thought they had a moldy taste.
“These pickles are delicious,” he commented.
Emma responded gently, “I thought you would like this taste. It’s light, unlike the pickles I used to eat, which were very salty or sour. This one has a bit of sweetness, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Patrick admitted. “I didn’t used to like pickles. Many pickles were too salty, and they tasted like they had gone bad.”
“Cucumbers are fresh food. To preserve them for a long time, a large amount of salt is needed for pickling. Just like many canned foods are hard to eat. But this is indeed the best pickle I have ever eaten.”
She had tried to pickle them herself before, because at that time, there were no side dishes at home, and seeing every family around had them, she wanted to make some herself. But she often didn’t get the amount right; sometimes she put too little salt, and after a while, she would find the cucumbers had already become moldy and spoiled. Sometimes they were too salty, and eating them made her tongue feel like it was going to fall off.
Later, she finally learned how to pickle pickles, but there was no longer the same urgency to eat them as she had back then.
“A while ago, May told me some things about you when she was showing me around the Silver Moon Pack. She said you don’t like to eat, so I came to see you. You must be very tired lately.”