Harry wasn’t sure how to comfort his friend at this moment, not knowing the extent of the pressure Patrick was under. Over the years, they hadn’t communicated in any way, especially after severing their mind link. Despite having Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, they stubbornly refused to use these social media platforms to connect, not even with a simple “How have you been?” They were somehow inherently drawn to each other, both equally stubborn, which meant that when problems arose, neither knew how to resolve them.
“I’m sorry I haven’t affirmed and given you confidence before,” Harry said, unsure of how to console Patrick.
“You don’t need to apologize,” Patrick replied, his eyes vacant, lacking their usual sparkle, like a falling star. “I never knew, I thought I wasn’t good enough. That’s why no one loves me.”
Harry wanted to comfort Patrick by placing his hand on his shoulder, but he hesitated, unsure if it was appropriate. “Everyone loves you, Patrick. You must not think like this.”
“They love the alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, the son, the grandson. Who would love the real Patrick, if I wasn’t an alpha?”
“You underestimate yourself, Patrick. Why are you so lacking in confidence? Is it just because your destined mate hasn’t appeared yet?”
“Perhaps it’s because I’m not worthy of love, that’s why the moon goddess delays my destined mate.”
Harry found his thoughts somewhat absurd. “Listen, Patrick, the moon goddess wouldn’t exclude any werewolf. If you haven’t met your destined mate, it simply means your paths haven’t crossed, it has nothing to do with you. Just because you’re an outstanding werewolf doesn’t guarantee you’ll find an equally outstanding or even better destined mate. Are you studying history for the first time?”
Patrick knew he simply lacked confidence.
“Pull yourself together, Patrick. Jennifer wants you to find a mate because the Silver Moon Pack needs a Luna, that’s true. But she’s overly concerned about it. Everything she’s been through has made her fearful; she doesn’t want a repeat of her life in yours. She hopes you find the right Luna, one who can help you stabilize as the alpha, just like her and your father. They were a perfect match, which is why they have someone as close to perfect as you.”
“I’m not as perfect as you say, I’m terrible. Only I know that. Since my wolf can no longer respond to me.”
After his wolf disappeared, he fell into self-doubt. With no one to support him, his already faltering confidence became even more fragile, and he started having some extreme thoughts. On one hand, he wanted to consolidate all power in his hands as soon as possible, while on the other, he feared being impeached.
Harry felt that Patrick’s lifelong flaw was overthinking. “You’ve always been denying yourself, Patrick, I don’t understand. You often want others to love you while shutting yourself off. You enjoy the affirmation from that girl, saying she likes you, yet you remain silent. It’s emotional abuse, just like how you treated me in the past.”
Patrick was shocked. “You severed the mind link! You made my wolf disappear! You turned our friendship into fragments! How can you say I abused you?”
Harry sneered, “Indeed, I willingly severed the mind link between us, but have you forgotten what you did at the time? You’ve forgotten that prolonged self-isolation has degraded your memory, turning you into an emotionless creature. If that girl hadn’t suddenly appeared and torn your heart open, you’d still be that emotionless creature.”
Patrick couldn’t accept such an accusation. “You betrayed our friendship first.”
“I’ve never betrayed you, otherwise, I could have just left. It’s you who refused any communication. I wanted to show you that I’m your only supporter, willing to give everything for you, as long as you’re happy, as long as you can return to your former self. But you rejected me. You said you no longer needed friends, no longer needed anything to fill the void in your heart, perhaps at that time, life’s disasters had crushed you. I didn’t hold those words against you.”
Indeed, Patrick couldn’t remember saying those words. When his father had just died, he truly had been like an emotionless creature, just as Harry accused him of. He didn’t engage with anyone, didn’t communicate with anyone; he wore a cold expression, observing the world as if it were a vast garbage dump.
He must have said something extremely excessive, otherwise, after so long, Harry wouldn’t still be so angry when mentioning it.
“Later, you became an adult, you had a wolf, and I had mine. I was your loyal servant, your faithful comrade; my wolf submitted to you, willing to obey all your commands. We established a mind link. I thought things would turn around, that the mind link wouldbring us closer, that I would still be your best friend. But no, after establishing the mind link, things only got worse.”
He often called out to Patrick but received no response. Even in urgent situations, Patrick still refused to communicate through the mind link, forcing Harry to resort to traditional methods to reach out to him, calling him, messaging him on Facebook, trying various technological means to contact him.
After several such incidents, Harry’s wolf became deeply disappointed. It believed Patrick was someone who could tame it, someone who should naturally respond to its thoughts, yet Patrick remained silent. This made the wolf irritable; it detested its past promises. It had once sworn lifelong loyalty to Patrick just like Harry, but now it began to despise that oath.
It demanded that Harry sever the mind link with Patrick.
“I hate Patrick, I will no longer obey his orders. You cannot be friends with him anymore.”
After repeatedly confirming that his wolf was resolute in wanting to sever the mind link, and after several times of calling out to Patrick with no response, Harry finally took the initiative to sever the mind link between him and Patrick.
“That’s the whole story. I didn’t betray you; I severed the mind link because you didn’t value me and didn’t care about my wolf. I may be your Beta, but I was once your best friend. Since you’ve forgotten, there’s no need for me to continue staying by your side,” Harry concluded.