Patrick listened carefully, furrowing his brow. “So, you found a new part-time job?”
“Yes,” Emma replied. “To be honest, I don’t want to stay at the manor all the time. It’s uncomfortable for me there. Besides you, Patrick, May, and March, I don’t know anyone else, and I don’t want to see your mother often. I don’t want to speak ill of her, but she seems very sensitive. I can feel it; she really dislikes me.”
Jennifer’s malice exceeded her initial expectations. She couldn’t understand where Jennifer’s hostility was coming from. After coming to the Silver Moon Pack, she rarely saw Nelson. Apart from the first day’s dinner, she hadn’t spoken to Nelson or seen him, no contact at all.
Even if she thought she was vying for Nelson’s attention, after all this time, she should have dispelled that idea by now. She didn’t want to actively seek out Nelson. Moreover, it wasn’t her own choice to become Nelson’s daughter. She had no choice but to leave her home.
Patrick knew she was in a difficult position but still didn’t want her to be too burdened. “You’ll be going to school soon, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to manage both.”
“It’s okay. Rory promised to schedule my shifts according to my class timetable, and he’s paying me very well, $12 per hour. As a part-time job, I’m satisfied with this salary.”
Patrick had no understanding of the catering market and didn’t know where this pay level stood. But since Emma said it was high, he decided to go with Emma’s opinion. But Rory, that name sounded very familiar to him.
“Is the shop next to a clothing store in the fifth district of Deer Street?”
Emma carefully recalled, and it did seem like there was a clothing store next to it. “I think it’s called Sara’s Wardrobe.”
Patrick confirmed that it was definitely the Rory he knew and decided to find a time to meet him.
After discussing business, the two fell silent, for some reason, although both had a lot on their minds and wanted to confide in each other, they became quiet when they were face to face. After hesitating for a while, Patrick decided to ask the question that had been troubling him all day. “You cried today. Did you?”
Emma turned to look at him, her eyes calm and confused. “How did you know?”
“I’m a werewolf; I can hear.”
“I forgot werewolves still have this ability.” Emma knew she had no privacy in front of the Alpha.
“I just knew you’d be embarrassed if I said it.”
He didn’t mention the urgency he felt to open the door and rush in to kiss and embrace her; he was afraid of startling her. Before she could truly decide her own life, he wanted to give her absolute freedom, including whether she wanted to continue staying in the Silver Moon Pack.
“Oh,” Emma lightly replied, “I found my mother’s letter.”
She looked up at the sky, the night sky was truly beautiful.
The stars were so bright today, as if someone was really responding to her yearning.
“Every time I mention anything related to my mother, I still feel pain,” she said. “I can’t help but tremble all over, I long so much for her to visit me again. Tell me that everything is fine, tell me she just went to a faraway place. I just want a hug with her warmth. Just like this, I would be satisfied.”
But this wish was no longer possible.
Her tears fell along her eyes, dropping on the intricately textured cobblestones, weighing heavily on Patrick’s heart.
Patrick reached out and pulled Emma into his arms. “Don’t cry, Emma, I’m here with you.”
Emma lay on Patrick’s shoulder, the suppressed sadness resurfacing at this moment, and she cried out loud, the flowing tears soaking not only the fabric of Patrick’s clothes but also his heart. Any fluctuation in her emotions would cause ripples in the center of his heart.
“I’ll always be by your side,” he whispered in Emma’s ear, like an eternal promise.
Nicola and Harry walked on the road. Although they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, it wasn’t as awkward as when they first met Patrick. “When I left, you were about the same height as me, now you’re a head taller than me.”
Harry protested, “How do you still remember my embarrassing moments? Why do you only remember mine and not Patrick’s?”
“Where did Patrick have an embarrassing moment? Back then, you two played together every day, and you were the one who made a fool of yourself.”
Harry thought about it and seemed to have no comeback.
“Is this how bad I appear in your eyes?”
Nicola innocently turned to look at him, “I didn’t say that, sweetie, I’m just stating the facts. You were fourteen and not as tall as me, remember? Every time you wanted to skip class and go out to play with Patrick, Patrick had to lift you over the wall to get you out.”
As Harry got angry, “You even reported me to the teacher!”
Nicola suppressed a smile, “I swear by the moon, I didn’t intentionally report you. At that time, the three of us had the worst grades, and every time adults talked about you, they were full of worry, not knowing if you could graduate from junior high. Although I wanted you to be happy, I also didn’t want you to repeat a year. If you could study like Patrick and still be in the top five without opening a book, I wouldn’t have reported you for skipping class.”
“Damn it!” Harry cursed under his breath. His poor grades as a child were well known, so both teachers and classmates kept an eye on him, fearing he wouldn’t graduate. “I’m just a Beta, yet I’m treated like this.”
“Isn’t being a Beta good? No one is pressuring you to choose a partner you’re not satisfied with, you can wait for your destined partner to appear,” Nicola said with a smile. “Look at Patrick, he’s been urged to find his Luna at every turn since he came of age, but you won’t. You’re free.”
Harry muttered under his breath, “I don’t necessarily want a destined partner.”
Nicola didn’t hear clearly, “What did you say?”
Harry quickly turned away, “Nothing.”
He thought, even if you don’t have a wolf, even if the moon goddess didn’t choose you, you are still my destined partner in my heart.