Chapter 143: The Old Woman Won’t Shut Up
Princess was driving as we followed Sasha’s car. Her sister was the one driving ahead of us, leading the way to the location Shelley was sensing. The red taillights of the car in front flickered through the dark, and I watched them like they were the only thing keeping me grounded.
The car was quiet. Princess focused on the road, her hands gripping the steering wheel tight, while I kept looking out the window. I watched the trees blur past, my mind racing with a million thoughts about Uncle PP and what we might find. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to get there.
"So, what did the unfortunate father say about your little pups inside you?" Aunty Sali said from the back seat, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife.
I felt my heart skip a beat. My attention snapped away from the window and back toward her.
"What?" I said, my voice coming out a little sharper than I intended. I stole a quick glance at Princess. She had been oddly quiet since she started the engine, her face unreadable in the dim light of the dashboard.
"I’m talking about the father of your unborn pups," Aunty Sali continued, leaning forward. "He must have been the reason you were so eager that night to take aconitum. Men these days are useless and senseless..." she spat the words out like they were poison.
Princess glanced at me for a second, her eyes meeting mine briefly before she turned her focus back to the road. She didn’t say a word. Her jaw looked tight, but she kept her mouth shut.
I didn’t say anything either. I just turned my face forward again, staring at the windshield and hoping with everything I had that she would just drop the topic. But no. This woman was clearly looking for a conversation, and she just had to choose to bring up that night, the night I had already tried so hard to forget.
"I mean, what kind of irresponsible father was that?" Aunty Sali went on, her voice rising as she got more worked up. "It brings me back to my days. My man was such a lovely person. He cared for me and our pups. You can never find that kind these days. Back then, a man knew his place and his duties. Now? It’s all running away and hiding from responsibility."
I felt the heat rising in my chest. I tried to stay calm for the sake of the mission. "I’m glad to hear that, Aunty, but I assure you mine is also responsible," I said, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace.
Inside, I was screaming. Please just end this topic. Talk about the weather, talk about the herbs, talk about the road, just talk about something else or just shut up.
"I’ve seen so many young wolves come into my shop demanding aconitum," she continued, ignoring my clear discomfort. "They come in shaking, wanting to get rid of the Moon Goddess’s blessing. We are blessed by her, so why go that far? Why do the deed if you can’t keep the blessing? It’s a disgrace to our kind, really."
That was it. I had enough of her blabbering. My patience snapped like a dry twig. I didn’t want to be part of this conversation anymore, and the fact that Princess hadn’t said a single word to defend herself or the situation made it ten times worse. The silence from the driver’s seat was loud.
"Please, please, please stop talking," I snapped, turning around in my seat to face her. "Your generation and mine are completely different. You live in the past, and we live in the present. We are not the same. If you hate the fact that young wolves get rid of their unborn pups, maybe you should actually do something about it. Support them with funds and time to raise what you call a blessing. Sometimes we slip without thinking about the consequences, but it’s still our choice. You don’t get to judge us from your high horse."
The woman looked shocked, her mouth hanging open slightly as she recoiled into the upholstery.
"You are not one of them," she said, trying to soften her tone but only making it worse. "You are responsible. You chose the right decision by not taking it. Even if that ungrateful delinquent doesn’t want to take part in your life, you have a bright future ahead. The Moon Goddess will pave a path for you and your pups. You don’t need that boy to make a life for yourself."
I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. I could feel the anger bubbling over now, hot and uncontrollable.
"Look, like I said, she is very responsible... and grateful," I growled, my voice low and dangerous. "She didn’t abandon me."
Aunty Sali blinked, her eyes widening. "She?"
"Yes, old woman, she." I gestured toward Princess, who was still staring straight ahead. "This bitch right here is the one responsible. I don’t know why she hasn’t said a word this whole time, but I don’t like you calling her names. If she won’t defend herself, I will. So shut your fucking mouth."
The air in the car turned freezing. I glanced at Princess, my frustration shifting toward her now. She was just sitting there, taking it, letting this woman tear her down without a fight.
"Why the fuck are you not saying anything?" I muttered, my voice tight and shaking with frustration.
Princess didn’t look at me at first. She kept her eyes on the road, her expression calm, almost bored.
"I don’t know if you like the type that gets irritated by the sight of hags," she finally said, her voice smooth and steady. "Would I still be your type if I had thrown her out of my car the moment she started talking?"
I stared at her for a long moment, my mouth dry. Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I had completely forgotten. Princess had been doing this all week, obsessing over every little move, trying to figure out exactly how my type would behave. She was so caught up in her own head about making a good impression that she had just sat there and let an old woman insult her.
I stopped talking. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes for a second because, honestly, she wasn’t wrong. If she had reacted like the Alpha she actually was, she wouldn’t have wasted time arguing. She would have pulled over and kicked the woman out onto the side of the road immediately.
The woman went quiet after that. The realization seemed to finally sink in that she was sitting in a car owned by an Alpha, and I was carrying an Alpha’s pups. That kind of knowledge shut her up fast. She didn’t want to meddle in Alpha business, especially not when the Alpha in question was the one driving the car.
Not long after, the tension must have exhausted her because she dozed off in the back. Her head slumped against the window, leaving the car heavy with a thick, suffocating silence.
We kept following the red lights ahead, driving deeper into the night to find Uncle PP.
