Chapter 152 Chapter 152. Old Memories

Chapter 152 Chapter 152. Old Memories
One morning, Shirley sat in front of the mirror and slowly combed her hair. She looked at the silver strands left tangled between the teeth of the comb, and a faint sadness passed over her face.

“My hair has gone even grayer again.”

When she was young, Shirley had once been a well-known beauty among the werewolves. After Zephyr’s father passed away, she had carried the entire family on her shoulders by herself. She had done everything she could to maintain the family’s standing while also raising Zephyr and watching him grow into a man.

Those long years had taken too heavy a toll on her body. Even the wolf core of a pureblood werewolf, which should have been naturally strong, had slowly weakened as the years went by. By the time the first signs of decline had begun to show, she was no longer the same woman who could get through anything with ease, as she had been able to do in the past.

“By the time you finally complete your mating ceremony, I might already have turned into an old woman with a whole head of white hair.”

As soon as Zephyr heard those words, he tried to reassure her.

“Even if every strand of your hair turns white, you’ll still be beautiful, Mom. Besides, there are plenty of ways to take care of your hair nowadays. If you want, I’ll take you to the best doctor who specializes in treating werewolves.”

“Stop saying all those sweet things to me.”

Shirley sounded as though she was scolding him, but Zephyr’s words had clearly made her feel much better. The corners of her lips curved upward into a smile, and the look in her eyes softened a great deal as well.

At that moment, Faye came in from outside. Several members of the family who were responsible for handling the ceremony followed behind her. They carried formally designed invitation cards in their hands, along with small gift boxes meant for the guests who would be attending the mating ceremony.

“Zephyr, you’re not busy with anything right now, are you?”

Faye walked over and stopped in front of Zephyr, then reached out and took his hand without waiting for him to answer. She looked at the man standing before her, her eyes filled with expectation and happiness.

Zephyr closed his fingers around her fair, slender hand. The warmth at their fingertips passed through their palms as their hands rested together.

“What is it?”

“The invitation cards are all ready now. I want to go through them with you one last time, and then we can confirm the final guest list.”

Faye smiled as she spoke.

“And there are these gift boxes as well. I want to check every single one of them with my own hands before they’re sent out.”

Faye was clearly in a very good mood. A bright, joyful smile remained on her face, as though she could already see the day when she would officially become the Luna standing at Zephyr’s side.

Zephyr drew his brows together slightly.

“You can just leave these things to the people responsible for arranging the ceremony.”

“It isn’t the same.”

Faye spoke in a gentle voice:

“This is the Alpha’s mating ceremony. Everyone who is coming to attend is someone important to you and to the family. I want to personally check everything myself.”

After saying that, she turned toward Shirley.

“Aunt Shirley, don’t you think I’m right?”

Faye’s gentle words immediately filled Shirley’s heart with warmth.

“Of course you are.”

She looked at the two people standing in front of her, her eyes full of happiness and laughter.

“This is something that happens only once in a lifetime. There’s no harm in being a little more careful about it.”

Zephyr closed his eyes for a brief moment.

When he opened them again, there seemed to be a different emotion deep within his gaze.

The scene before him felt strangely familiar, almost as if he had already gone through something like this somewhere before.

Five years ago, when he and Zoria had completed their mating ceremony, there had also been a scene almost exactly like this one.

Back then, Zoria had sat alone in the living room, personally checking every invitation card and every gift prepared for the guests. She had also carefully gone over the guest list again and again, worried that missing even a single name would cause his family to lose face in front of everyone.

By the end, she had become so tired that both of her hands were trembling, but she had still refused to stop.

Zephyr suddenly had to use all his strength to push down the sadness rising in his chest.

The hand holding Faye’s also tightened without him realizing it.

“You’re hurting me, Zephyr.”

Faye frowned slightly and looked at the man in front of her in confusion.

The sudden change in his mood left her unable to understand what had happened to him.

Zephyr immediately loosened his grip.

His thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his cold face showed no sign that he intended to offer her any kind of explanation.

Only after a while did he finally speak in a low voice:

“All right. We’ll check everything together.”

Faye immediately brightened, looking as happy as though someone had just given her a piece of sweet candy. She sat down close beside Shirley, talking and laughing with her as they discussed every single thing that still needed to be prepared for the wedding.

The two of them talked about who should be invited and whether there was any need to invite reporters. They discussed where the wedding should be held, and how the ceremony between the Alpha and Luna should be carried out. They even talked about the color of the wedding dress and how the ceremonial hall ought to be decorated.

The sight of them together was warm and peaceful.

Zephyr lowered his eyes. His deep gaze settled on the red invitation card in his hand, and the expression on his face slowly became distant and absent.

He had never taken Zoria to meet his mother.

He did not know whether Shirley would have liked Zoria if the two of them had ever met. Nor did he know whether they would have been able to sit beside each other, talking and laughing together, getting along as easily as Shirley and Faye were doing right now.

“Zephyr.”

It was only when he heard Shirley calling his name that Zephyr finally came back to himself. He raised his head and blinked his dry, aching eyes several times.

Shirley asked him with concern, “Did you have trouble sleeping again last night? I called you so many times just now, but you didn’t hear me at all.”

“I slept very well.”

Whether he had truly slept well or not, Zephyr himself knew better than anyone else.

Now, all he had to do was close his eyes, and he would see Zoria.