Chapter 8 Eiden
Eiden's POV
I have a fun new hobby now, which brings a smile to my lips that haven't had a genuine smile in a long time.
Watching prisoners and captives being tortured is no longer interesting.
Over the past week, I have realized how comfortable and relaxing this house is. I used to come here only to sleep, but now I sit wherever the chairs and sofas are.
I was embarrassed to show my happy smile to people. They know me as someone who didn't show much emotion.
I left the dining room after lunch. In fact, I ate lunch and dinner at home. The omegas panicked because they usually only prepared breakfast for me.
I sat in the living room, taking a moment to glance around and feel the cool silence that I had been ignoring for so long.
This house never gave me the warmth I needed.
I leaned back on the sofa, pushing away the annoying memories that always ruined my day.
"Liam, what are you doing?"
I looked at the photos of Liam and me on my phone. We weren’t smiling in any of them, but that was fine. I was grateful Liam didn't refuse me.
Celeste had worked hard to persuade Liam to take a picture with me. I appreciated her effort. I hoped he wouldn't be upset with her.
'He looks just like me, doesn't he?' I said to my wolf with a proud smile.
'Yeah.' My wolf nodded reluctantly. 'I hope his face is the only thing that looks like you.' He grinned widely, mockingly.
I snorted. But secretly, I agreed with my wolf.
'I still can't believe Liam is my son.'
I watched a video of Liam playing with Levi at the arcade. I had recorded it secretly. I was sure he would be mad at me if he found out.
'Me too.' My wolf looked up with tears in his eyes. He always did that whenever we talked about this.
'I feel sorry for Celeste,' he said.
'She’s a good woman. That’s why the Moon Goddess didn’t take long to bring her a second mate. She didn’t give birth alone, and she has someone to help her care for Liam.'
My wolf’s words were like a thousand knives stabbing me right in the heart.
Liam's presence made me not regret mate-bonding with Celeste.
Celeste met her second mate, who was incredibly kind to her, and that also made me not regret rejecting her.
But I can't deny I was very mean to Celeste. I don't know what I was thinking at the time.
I didn’t know if I wanted to turn back time and reject Celeste without making the mate bond first.
Never mind, stop thinking about it. The most important thing now is getting Liam to fully accept me as his biological father.
I had no idea Celeste would get pregnant because we only had sex that night. The next morning, I rejected her.
“Moon Goddess.” I closed my eyes, my hands covering half my face, and deeply breathed. “I am a bastard who doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”
I never bothered to find out about Celeste. At the time, I simply erased her from my thoughts.
I don’t remember her name or face, but I haven’t forgotten that I rejected my mate.
Two weeks ago, a rogue I once paid for information told me about a boy at a rogue clan kindergarten whose face and hair resembled mine.
Of course, I didn’t believe him. I had never had a rogue girlfriend or been interested in them.
The rogue gave me more detailed information a few days later, making me go to that kindergarten.
When I saw the video and photos of Liam, my heart stopped, my eyes widened, and the world seemed to disappear. The rogue confirmed that Liam was a werewolf.
He even sent me a photo of Celeste and Levi, saying that they were the ones who drove Liam to school and were most likely his mother and little brother.
My wolf never forgot Celeste. He exclaimed enthusiastically that Celeste was our ex-mate and encouraged me to see Liam.
I wasn't upset or offended that Celeste pretended not to remember or recognize me. I had already deeply hurt her and her wolf.
I wasn't sad or disappointed that Celeste hadn't told Liam that Benedict was his stepfather, and who his biological father was.
"If you forget about our ex-mate, I think I'll just assume Liam just happens to resemble me." I shook my head with a self-mocking smile.
'No, I won't let you ignore that information. I'll encourage you to find out why Liam looks so much like you.' My wolf glared at me. He wanted to hit my stupid head so bad.
I wasn't sure I would do that.
“Alpha,” Beta Selena shouted as she stepped inside.
“Why are you always shouting? This isn’t a forest.” I clicked my tongue.
Beta Selena turned to me and hurried over.
“You’ve been home lately, but you’re not sitting in your office. I had to go find you. It’s been tiring, you know.” She sat down next to me and handed me the file.
“I apologize.”
“You don’t mean it.”
I shrugged, glancing lazily at the file in my hand. “We have so many prisoners to release.”
“You really want to deal with Alpha Jackson when he’s even angrier? Sure, it’s his fault, but if we’re the ones thinking clearly, we should back down,” Beta Selena snorted.
"It's so tiring dealing with him," I grumbled, signing the file in annoyance. "I'll wring his neck again if he breaks his promise."
"No, that doesn't work on him anymore." Beta Selena shook her head. "Make that face he's always so proud of, ugly." She chuckled at her crazy idea.
"If I could touch his face." I'm not that evil, and I'm afraid he'll destroy mine too.
"When will you show me that picture of you and your son?" Beta Selena glanced at my phone, which I was clutching tightly.
She smiled brightly as if she had seen a diamond when I let her look at the three photos.
"He really does look like you. Only his eye color is different." Beta Selena studied the photos with both seriousness and amusement. "When are you going to bring him to the pack?"
I told her I'd already discussed it with Celeste. It wasn't possible to bring Liam here alone.
"Since he was a baby, he's never seen or received any love from you. Then his mother and stepfather loved him very much. He's close to his little half-brother."
I nodded.
“Of course, it took him a long time to accept you, especially since he knows what happened to you and his mother,” she added.
“I have to be patient and not rush,” I murmured, lowering my head.
“Don’t give up, Alpha.” Beta Selena looked at me optimistically and pumped her fist in the air. “There will come a time when you and your son will become so close that you’ll be inseparable.”
I smiled faintly, hoping her words would come true.
“Has your ex-mate turned rogue?” she asked cautiously.
“Yes.” I nodded. “His second son is a pure rogue.” She rounded her mouth. “Her mate died after being eaten by a wild animal a week ago.”
Benedict didn't look like someone who was about to die. Who would have thought he had been attacked by a wild animal? Death is truly mysterious.
"My condolences." Beta Selena shook her head in disbelief. "So she's living with her two sons now."
I never thought about that before.
Celeste takes on the roles of both father and mother to her two sons. Isn’t that exhausting? I send money for Liam every week, hoping it lightens her load a little.
"Your ex-mate has been living in the rogue clan for a long time. Why don't you tell her about what you've been going through these past two months? Who knows, maybe she knows a lot more professional rogue spies."
Beta Selena said this passionately, convinced her idea was a good one.
"I don't know." I shook my head weakly.
"Are you afraid she'll laugh at you and look at you like you're crazy, like your ex-girlfriend?" Beta Selena loved to blatantly tease me.
“Just focus on getting closer to Liam. If you can make your son trust you, your ex-mate won’t have a choice but to trust you too,” Beta Selena said.
Dread gripped my chest tightly at the thought of Celeste's reaction when I asked for her help.
I wouldn't mind if she looked me in the eye and said she didn't care about me, but I would feel like a strange person if she laughed or gave me a scornful look.