Patrick shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Harry thought to himself, this person is still the same as before, liking to keep things to himself.
“Alright,” he said, “then I’ll be going.”
“Wait!” Patrick still hoped that he could share some of his pain, “I think I need your help.”
Harry sighed, “You never used to be like this; you were always distant, resisting any interaction with others. You seemed perfect back then, like you didn’t need anyone.”
Patrick instinctively denied, “I haven’t always been so distant, that’s an incorrect accusation.”
Harry became somewhat agitated, “It seems like you don’t even understand yourself. Back then, you scorned any interaction with anyone, pushing away anyone’s goodwill when they tried to get close to you. You enclosed yourself in a cage, sealing it tightly with indifference, not letting anyone get close. If you weren’t indifferent, how did we end up here today?”
He knew that Patrick’s fear of deep connections with others had developed due to his father’s death and his mother’s miscarriage of the second child. Every time he tried to understand what Patrick was thinking, Patrick would push him away, refusing his exploration. In the long run, he couldn’t provide any useful emotional support for Patrick, as Patrick also refused to respond to his care.
Naturally, he severed their mind link.
Patrick didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t justify his past self-isolation. At that time, he felt he was enduring the most unfortunate pain in the world, so he turned himself into a lonely island, isolated from the world.
It was completely reasonable for Harry to hate him. Even if Harry had left him first, he should apologize to Harry.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I apologize for my past neglect of you.”
Harry had intended to say something harsh, but seeing Patrick’s vulnerability, he couldn’t harden his heart. “Alright, you can tell me specifically what happened now.”
And so, they ended up in their current situation, sitting together on a park bench, eating hot dogs that Harry had bought from the convenience store. Harry loved this kind of food; its high calories could sustain his energy for a long time. Patrick often avoided such high-calorie foods.
But today he had already eaten a sandwich wrapped with pickles, so eating a hot dog slathered with mustard and mayonnaise wasn’t that difficult.
“Did Luna urge you again to find a suitable partner?”
“Yes,” Patrick said dejectedly, “I haven’t met my destined partner yet. I don’t want to rush into choosing a partner.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“… not entirely. I’ve met a girl I like. I’ve known her for a short time, but she is genuinely kind. She is far smarter than anyone I’ve ever known, and she is the one who understands my pain the most in this world.”
Harry clicked his tongue. “Saying that she is smarter than anyone you’ve ever known is a bit much.”
Patrick stuck to his thoughts, “She needs time, she needs someone to guide her. She happened to go through a period without anyone’s help, which makes her seem difficult to get along with. But she is not foolish.”
The gap between not being foolish and being far smarter than everyone else was probably significant, but Harry felt that wasn’t the most important thing. “Why not tell her you like her?”
“I can’t,” Patrick said painfully, lowering his head, burying it in his fingers, with only a small gap of light to see his eyes filled with disappointment. “I’ve known her for too short a time; I can’t do that. I don’t want her to think I’m fickle.”
“Who would think the alpha of the Silver Moon Pack is fickle?”
“She’s still sixteen.”
“… you just like her, that’s all. You haven’t said you want to mark her or sleep with her.”
“She’s also my stepsister.”
Harry’s brain momentarily crashed. He felt like he had heard wrong, perhaps he had heard Patrick say that he had a stepsister because he ate the hot dog too quickly?
“Stepsister? Nelson’s daughter? How does he have a daughter!”
Initially, everyone had been opposed to Nelson, and in the end, no one could resist Jennifer’s stubbornness. For her safety, Patrick had almost reluctantly agreed to let Nelson join the Silver Moon Pack. At that time, everyone was resentful, and Harry, by his side, knew that Patrick was the least satisfied.
But at least everyone thought that as long as he could take good care of the former Luna, they could endure it.
However, after a few years, a sixteen-year-old daughter suddenly appeared.
“My mom had the same reaction,” Patrick said helplessly, “she couldn’t even tolerate Emma staying in the Silver Moon Pack until she reached adulthood. I almost had to persuade her to let Emma stay and provide heraccommodation and schooling.”
Harry didn’t know what to say and could only sigh, “If I were your aunt, I wouldn’t be able to accept it either.”
“Emma’s mother passed away recently. According to werewolf society’s laws, she has to stay with one of her remaining guardians. Nelson is her only guardian, so she has to stay here until she reaches adulthood. Besides, Nelson has never fulfilled his fatherly duties. He must be responsible. If he chooses not to take care of his underage and socially unprotected daughter for fear of being abandoned by the Silver Moon Pack, even if Emma didn’t come to the Silver Moon Pack, I would have kicked him out.”
Harry absentmindedly looked at the uneaten hot dog in his hand for a long time. Finally, as if making a decision, he patted Patrick’s shoulder, “An alpha cannot be swayed by personal emotions; you have been overly biased towards her. But I think you’re doing well. You can withstand the pressure to take care of an underage werewolf meticulously. I’m proud of you.”
“Emma said something similar to you.”
“What?”
“She said I deserve to be loved and treated differently by others. She even praised me as an excellent alpha, and that she would be proud of me.”
Harry was puzzled, “That’s a fact. Strictly speaking, it’s not even praise. She just stated an objective reality.”
Patrick looked at him in confusion, “No one has ever said that to me.”
Harry was even more puzzled, “Because everyone has already assumed your excellence, so it’s our consensus. Our Silver Moon Pack members are all proud of you.”
Patrick didn’t realize this, “I wasn’t aware. I often feel that I’m not doing well enough, which is why no one has ever told me that I’m doing well, or made me feel proud. She made me realize for the first time that I don’t have to view myself with such a strict perspective. Maybe I can relax a bit, and it won’t be so taxing.”
Harry thought, “I understand why Patrick might like that Emma girl.”