Jennifer burst out in anger, “How dare you secretly conduct such an experiment without informing us!”
Patrick didn’t react much; he was genuinely exhausted. It wasn’t an excuse- the experimental drugs had made him incredibly sensitive, every little sound or movement felt like a sudden startle. He had been in this state for a few days now, and today was the worst, but also the last day. Once today passed, his condition would gradually return to normal.
So, he couldn’t really think about anything right now.
“I’m not a minor anymore, Mom. I’m an alpha of the pack now, and I have the right to make these decisions on my own. Moreover, Harry is fully aware of this. We made this decision after mutual discussion, it wasn’t the unilateral decision you’re making it out to be.”
Jennifer was still very angry, “You never even considered that I’m your mother!”
“Why are you so angry about this?” Patrick was puzzled. “I simply postponed the heat cycle; it’s not like I eliminated it as you’re thinking. To me, I have a lot on my plate during this time, and the heat cycle would only disrupt my current plans, so that’s why I chose this experiment.”
Jennifer didn’t believe his explanation, “If that’s the case, why now?”
She didn’t believe that Patrick deliberately delaying the heat cycle had nothing to do with Emma. She knew her son; if he had never shown strong resistance to something before but was suddenly very agitated now, it only meant that something had caused him to be greatly shaken.
Patrick yawned, “I’ve been looking for a similar experiment, but this one only came up recently. I know what you want to say, but this has nothing to do with Emma, and I hope you stop making that connection.”
Jennifer’s tone turned icy, “You say it’s unrelated to her, yet you’re defending her.”
“I hope, Mom, that you can learn to respect everyone, including Emma.”
…” Jennifer knew that continuing this conversation wouldn’t lead to any results, so she stormed out of Patrick’s room in a fit of anger.
The next morning, Patrick woke up early. He had made it through yesterday, and he felt a lot better. His sensitive senses were slowly returning to normal, and he no longer found the slightest sound unbearable.
He thought of Emma. He wondered if she had come back last night and encountered Shirley. But then he realized that the bakery had closed early.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. He opened it, and it was March.
“Alpha, Miss Emma didn’t come back yesterday,” he said. “May knocked on the door, but there was no response, so she used the spare key and found that she wasn’t there.”
Her wallet and ID were there, but her phone was gone.
“May tried texting her, but they all show as unread.”
A hint of worry crept into Patrick’s mind, “I’ll go look for her. Keep this quiet; we don’t want this to reach Nelson or my mother’s ears.”
March nodded and left.
Patrick turned and quietly left the house. It was quiet in the morning, and Jennifer wasn’t in the area. He didn’t know if Jennifer had been with Nelson last night, but it didn’t matter.
Either way, Patrick felt relieved. He wasn’t sure if he could keep his composure if he encountered either of them now. He hoped that his mother would one day understand him, although that day seemed distant.
He decided to go to the bakery, but it was empty. Normally at this time, Rory would already be there preparing and cleaning up. But the bakery still had its closed sign up.
A feeling of anxious frustration and anger rose within him. Was Emma with Rory right now?
A barista from another cafe told Patrick that the bakery had closed very early last night. Rory often frequented this cafe, and the barista was familiar with him. She mentioned that there had been a bonfire party last night, and Rory had probably taken a new staff member to the gathering.
Patrick thanked her and left. She also told him where these bonfire parties usually took place.
He felt a surge of anger and pain within himself. Was she with Rory? Were they alone, and why? What if Rory hadn’t taken Emma to the party but had used it as an excuse to take her elsewhere? What were they doing? Could they be on a date?
As this possibility crossed his mind, Patrick felt increasingly agitated. He desperately wanted to find Emma and ensure her safety. Had Rory touched her? Had he kissed her? Would he?
He… oh, goddess.
A surge of murderous intent rose within Patrick. If Rory had caused any harm or mistreatment to Emma, he would not hesitate to kill him.
He was so consumed by his emotions that he didn’t even realize he was now walking through the forest. He ran faster, catching her scent amidst a crowdof people, which made him uncomfortable yet relieved. At least Rory had indeed taken her to the party, and not somewhere else.
As he got closer, he frowned. He could smell the strong scent of alcohol. Had Emma been drinking?
What had happened? Was this the aftermath of the party? As he approached, he realized it was. Emma was lying under a tree, seemingly asleep. It was chaos, an absolute mess of a party.
Most of the attendees were people Patrick knew, some were his former classmates.
They were now all inebriated, sprawled out on the ground like prey drugged by a witch, waiting to be hunted.
Patrick desperately wanted to take Emma away immediately and forbid her from attending these parties in the future.
But he couldn’t. He couldn’t be so domineering. Emma needed regular social interactions, and some of these people would likely become her classmates, even friends. He couldn’t let Emma be marginalized here.
So, in the end, he simply kept calm and, with Rory’s consent, gently woke Emma.
“I found you seemingly passed out here when I arrived. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been angry with you. I wasn’t thinking straight at the time.”
Emma, feeling sorry for him, reached out to touch Patrick, wanting to comfort him, but she hesitated. It didn’t feel appropriate.
Patrick didn’t allow her to stay frozen; he reached out and held her hand.
“Thank goodness you’re okay,” he said.
Emma felt the warmth of his palm, which comforted her. The anxiety and sorrow she had been feeling seemed to dissipate with that touch.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The morning air felt especially soothing.
So she responded, “Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go back together.”