I called Magnus first. When he learned that I was safe and sound, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness he didn’t hurt you.”
“Yeah, I was worried he might hurt you too,” I replied.
Magnus chuckled. “Don’t worry, he can’t hurt me.”
Magnus’s confidence made me want to believe him, but I couldn’t figure out where his certainty came from. Why was he so sure Kael wouldn’t harm him?
Magnus was just a doctor. Physically, he didn’t appear as strong as Kael, who was not only a boxer but also a werewolf. By any measure, Kael far surpassed Magnus.
Perhaps Magnus was just trying to reassure me, to keep me from being overly anxious about him…
Thinking about this, I told Magnus, “That’s good to hear. You don’t have to worry about me either. But there’s something I need to tell you in advance-I’ve decided to go back to work at the Eagle Club.”
“What? Why would you go back? Did he threaten you?”
Magnus immediately assumed Kael had threatened me. He understood me so well. It made sense-someone as perceptive and thoughtful as Magnus probably knew me inside and out by now.
I smiled at him. “No, it’s my own decision. He offered me such a good deal-double my previous salary. How could I not be tempted?”
“Are you still going to the lab?”
“Of course. I promised you, didn’t I? I’ll still go to the lab-it’s only once a week, so it doesn’t conflict with anything.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“But I’m sorry about today. I promised to treat you to dinner, but things got so rushed that I didn’t even get to pay the bill.”
“Then treat me next time,” Magnus said with a quick laugh.
“Deal.”
After chatting with Magnus for a bit, I felt my mood lift.
Magnus was truly different from everyone else. He always had a way of healing people’s emotions.
Unlike Kael. Every time I was with Kael, I felt like I couldn’t breathe under the weight he carried.
And now, with him showing me baby pictures and telling me I wasn’t my parents’ biological daughter-that I had been adopted, abandoned by werewolves?
It was ridiculous!
Yet, no matter how much I refused to believe it, Kael’s words still lingered in my mind.
If he were lying, it would be such an easy lie to expose.
But what if he wasn’t lying?
This thought nagged me as I returned to my apartment. The first thing I did was call my mom.
After a while, the phone was answered, and my mom’s gentle voice came through. “Seraph, it’s been so long since you called.”
I was an independent person. Ever since I went to university, I’d rarely contacted my parents.
They didn’t reach out to me much either. Occasionally, we’d chat on WhatsApp, but actual phone calls were rare.
“Yeah, Mom. How are you and Dad doing?”
“We’re doing well. Every day is peaceful now. What about you, Seraph? How’s school? How’s life?”
“I’m doing great. I recently got a new part-time job, so I’m earning a bit more and even saving some money.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” My mom chuckled. Then she asked, “Seraph, do you blame your dad and me for cutting off your allowance so early?”
“Of course not.” I immediately shook my head. “Lots of my classmates are in the same situation. Besides, Dad’s health isn’t great. You need money for his medical expenses.”
When I was younger, we were a middle-class family. Dad worked as an executive, and Mom was a homemaker. Life was comfortable.
But a couple of years ago, Dad’s health deteriorated due to overwork, and he developed heart problems. He had to leave his job and take up less demanding work, which caused a significant drop in the family’s income.
The fact that they were willing to pay my college tuition and let me continue my studies was something I was already deeply grateful for.
How could I possibly blame them for anything?
“Seraph, I’m sorry,” Mom said softly, still sounding apologetic.
“How’s Dad’s health?” I asked.
“He’s doing well. As long as he doesn’t overwork himself, there aren’t any issues.”
Hearing this, I felt relieved.
But then, something came to mind, and I couldn’t help but ask, “Mom, do you remember what it was like when you gave birth to me?”
“Seraph, why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I…” How could I tell her I wanted to confirm whether I was her biological daughter?
“Recently, I’ve been working on a project about animal pregnancy and birth. It made me curious about humans. I was wondering if it’s similar.”
“Haha, Seraph, when I was pregnant with you, you were such a good baby. I barely had any morning sickness. I could eat and drink as I pleased. Some people lose weight in the early stages because they can’t eat, but I gained quite a bit. Even when you got bigger, you were always so quiet and didn’t kick me much.”
As I listened to my mom recount these details, I felt my heart gradually settle.
See? I am her biological child. If I weren’t, how could she describe so many details?
If someone asked me to describe pregnancy symptoms, I wouldn’t know where to start-I’ve never been pregnant.
Kael was just a liar. He’d been deceiving me all along!
“So I was well-behaved even before I was born?”
“That’s right, Seraph. You’ve always been a good child. You never gave your dad or me any trouble.”
…
After finishing my call with Mom, I hung up.
The weight on my heart lifted. The shadow Kael had cast over me by claiming I was a werewolf child finally disappeared.
And my hatred for Kael grew even deeper.
I couldn’t believe how despicable he was. To try to be with me, he went so far as to mislead me, making me think I was a werewolf and pushing me to question my parents.
Thank goodness I hadn’t directly asked my mom whether I was adopted. If I had, it might’ve broken her heart.
But… what about my strange abilities?
For some reason, I still couldn’t shake a lingering doubt.
Kael had said the pattern on my blanket was the totem of a werewolf tribe.
Thinking about this, I quickly opened my laptop and began searching online.
I uploaded a picture of my blanket into the search bar and chose to do an image search.
I hadn’t been very hopeful. But then, a result popped up.
It led to a forum post. Someone had written about it, providing information.
“You can see below that these patterns are actually totems from werewolf tribes. If you come across them, please contact me.”
It really was! My eyes widened in shock.