Chapter 15. Fake prophecy
Hearing this, Jack seemed to have realized something. He anxiously and vaguely looked up, "Mommy?"
Jacintha gently said, "Jack, be good, don’t say anything."
Jack obediently nodded. Even though he didn’t understand why mommy had wanted to talk to this giant of a man, mommy had told him not to interrupt others when they were speaking, so he had stayed silent.
Raphael had glanced at Jacintha with cold eyes, had used the wet towel the servant had handed him to wipe his hands, and then had carelessly said, "Looks like you know you've done something wrong, huh?"
Jacintha had frozen, her heart aching as though pierced by a needle, but she had still forced a smile and said, "I hope you will be generous and not hold this against me."
"Alright, your smile looks awful," Raphael had said with a tone of contempt, his impatience evident. "I warn you again, don’t ever show up in front of me again!"
Jacintha had taken a deep breath, trying to suppress the embarrassment, anger, and humiliation rising within her, then softly said, “I’ll leave right now.”
Raphael sneered, “Leave immediately as you said, stop causing trouble here.”
What he had meant was for Jacintha to leave the restaurant right away.
Jacintha had replied with a simple “I understand,” then had sat down, looked at Jack, and said, “Jack, let’s not have the buffet anymore. Can we go somewhere else for grilled food?”
Jack hadn’t given a clear answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He had just lowered his head into Jacintha’s neck, then had stretched his small arms to wrap around her neck.
Jacintha had patted Jack’s head and had picked him up. Just as she had been about to turn to find Mira, a soft, jade-like voice had sounded from behind: “Raphael, who is this? Your friend?”
It had been Sharon.
Raphael had coldly glanced at Jacintha as Sharon had approached, as if warning her not to say anything inappropriate in front of Sharon, then had spoken up, "Not a friend, I’m not close with her."
As soon as his words had ended, Sharon had walked up to Raphael, smiling brightly at Jacintha. Her eyes had briefly scanned Jacintha’s sharp, alluring face.
Sharon had been one of the top female stars in the entertainment industry in recent years, frequently appearing in major media outlets and regularly on TV as the lead actress in idol dramas.
Thus, Jacintha had been very familiar with Sharon’s face, but Sharon had never met Jacintha before. When Sharon had seen Jacintha’s face, which had resembled her own exactly, she had felt slightly puzzled, as though she had been encountering a counterfeit version of herself. Sharon had felt quite repulsed by Jacintha, especially since she had seemed to be acquainted with Raphael.
Sharon had recalled the reminder her manager had given her, saying that Raphael had a sugar baby, but she hadn't been able to figure out who it was.
At that time, Sharon hadn't believed it and had argued with her manager, "That's just a rumor. Raphael loves only me."
The manager had advised, "If that's the case, then don't play with Mr. Wulfhart's feelings. What if he loses patience with you or starts paying attention to another woman?"
"Never." Sharon had said, her face full of smugness. "I've been with him for over twenty years, so I know him very well. I know he has liked me since we were children, and moreover, he is certain that I am his bond mate."
The manager had furrowed her brows and had asked, "Mate bond? What’s that?"
Realizing she had spoken too openly, Sharon had become irritated and had haughtily replied, "Don’t ask too much about my business. I know exactly what I should do."
Hearing this, the manager hadn't asked further. At that time, Sharon had still been certain that Raphael would only love her. She had planned to wait until her career reached its peak, then consider whether to threaten Elder Smith into continuing to fabricate lies to perform the pairing ceremony with Raphael or to find her true mate bond.
After Sharon's parents had sacrificed their lives in an enemy ambush while protecting the former Alpha of the Wulfhart pack—Raphael's father—she had been brought to Wulfhart and raised alongside Raphael. Everything he had had, she had had, except for the special training meant for the future Alpha.
At that moment, Sharon had accidentally discovered that Elder Smith, who had held the position of the wolf seer in the pack, had been the mastermind behind putting Raphael's father in danger during that ambush.
She had used this to blackmail Smith into giving a false prophecy that she was Raphael's future mate, while he had also made her take a pheromone suppressant so that Raphael could not smell her scent.
After years of being together, Sharon had successfully manipulated Raphael's mind, making him believe that he had owed her for the death of her parents, that he had to protect her, causing him to mistake this as love and think she was his mate.
However, now when she had seen Jacintha appear here, Sharon had suddenly felt a bit of wariness in her heart. But she hadn't shown her discontent outwardly, keeping a warm smile on her face, her demeanor still gentle and friendly.
Jack had curiously lifted his head, wanting to know who the woman who had just arrived was. Sharon, seeing Jack, had shown an expression of surprise, half-joking and half-asking Raphael, "Raphael, this boy looks just like you when you were young, especially his blue eyes, as if they were entirely inherited from you. If we weren't different from them, I would have thought he was your son."
Although werewolves had hidden among humans, most of them had occupied high positions, and having many lovers had been normal for them. However, the number of werewolves had been decreasing over the years because they had been gradually losing the ability to reproduce, and when mating with humans, they could not have offspring unless the human was their mate.
But how could that have been? Sharon had quickly rejected the idea that Jack's mother could be Raphael's mate. If Raphael had already found his true mate bond, then why would he have still believed in the false prophecy from Elder Smith that she was his future mate and continued to take care of her as he had before?
After hearing Sharon's joke, Raphael glanced at Jack, then coldly replied, "I don't have a son as foolish as him, not even strong enough to hold a popsicle stick."
Raphael had joined in with Sharon's joke, and he had been certain of it. He had been a werewolf, while Jacintha had been human, so even if they had had sex without using protection, she wouldn't have been able to get pregnant unless she had been his mate. But that had been impossible!