Chapter 109 - Auntie Rosalynn

Emilio's eyes widened upon hearing that. 

'I recognize that voice.' 

He blinked.

'I RECOGNIZE THAT VOICE!' 

He looked to where the voice was coming from, asking, "Rosalynn?"

"Been a while, Emile," Rosalynn said, scoffing. 

"How have you been doing? How's life been treating you?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer to the questions she asked Emilio.

When Emilio didn't answer Rosalynn's question, she threw her head back and laughed. 

"Fine, have it your way."

"You know exactly what I'd answer," Emilio said bitterly.

"Why pretend to not know, Rose? What are you doing here anyway, and how did you get past the barrier in the first place?" 

"Does Xavier even know you're here?" 

"Of course, he does. He was the first to realize I was here." 

"What did you do this time?" Emilio asked, sounding particularly annoyed.

'Does Emilio dislike Aunt Rose?' Madeline wondered, listening intently into their conversation.

It sounded so from the way he talked to her. 

"Did you shapeshift into something?" Emilio asked, wishing he too could shapeshift.

Rosalynn scoffed, "Of course, I did. I wouldn't want to waste the skills in which I was bestowed."

"And besides, at least my antics didn't lead me to my doom," she said, referring to Emilio and him being trapped in that cave.

Emilio took it as a personal attack.

"Did you come all this way to insult me or did Cornelia send you?" He asked, wondering what her point was in angering him. 

"Did Cornelia send me? Of course not. I chose to come here all on my lonesome," Rosalynn explained, clearing things up.

All she did was pay a little visit to her friend's daughter. Was that wrong? 

She had first intended to visit Madeline and her alone, until Madeline took her in, causing Rose to have to extend her stay.

If she had left Madeline to return to where she had come from, that would've hurt Madeline in the process, would it not?

Madeline adored Lily - albeit she barely knew the kitten.

She took her in, gave her a name, made her a bed, provided her shelter and sustenance, et cetera et cetera. 

Madeline wasn't obliged to do that. Hell, she wasn't obliged to even spare her one glance.

But she did.

Rosalynn was surprised by the warmth and affection she was given on her first day at Eudora, even if it was in the form of a kitten.

However, the more she thought about it, she couldn't dismiss Xavier's action.

He hadn't ratted her out to Madeline. 

All it took was one glance for him to realize who she actually was, but instead of doing anything, he kept silent. 

Perhaps it was due to the fact that he didn't want to hurt Madeline or spoil it for her. 

It was common knowledge that Madeline grew up without ever knowing her spontaneous mother. 

Emilio interrupted Rose's train of thought when he asked Madeline, "Madeline, are you there?"

"I am," Madeline answered. 

"I could leave," she said, knowing her presence wasn't exactly warranted here anyway.

"Alright, dear," Rosalynn answered. 

"You should probably inform Xavier too," she said.

"Right," Madeline nodded, before she was on her way to Xavier's office.

When she was halfway there, she stopped herself. 

She figured that she'd been pestering Xavier too often lately, so she decided not to bother him now.

"Madeline?" Xavier asked. 

Madeline looked up to see Xavier looking at her.

"Xavier? What are you doing here?" 

Wasn't he supposed to be working at that given time?

Strangely, Xavier felt like his voice was trapped in his throat. Like he couldn't form a sentence around Madeline for some reason. 

Why could that be?

"I was looking for you," Xavier admitted after a couple of moments of silence.

Madeline pursed her lips, "There must've been a reason you didn't tell me, right?"

Xavier nodded.

"Of course."

Why had he kept it from her when he could've spilled Rose's secret to her right then and there?

Why did he pretend to have a cat allergy instead of just telling her the truth?

"You could've just told me the truth," Madeline reasoned.

"I doubt you wanted me to tell you your cat was a friend of your biological mother and wasn't what it was pretending to be."

"You were fond of it, were you not?"

And while Madeline appreciated the sentiment, she found it odd that was Xavier's reason for keeping Rose's existence from her. 

He didn't even try to pretend he didn't fathom what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about it sooner. It was a mistake on my part."

Xavier thought it was pathetic of him, telling her he kept a secret from her all because it was difficult for him to have to see her face something she had personally admitted to him she wanted nothing to do with. 

Madeline had specifically said she wanted nothing to do with her biological mother. 

Xavier originally thought Rose would leave in peace. That she wouldn't bother telling Madeline the truth about her and leave, even if it meant Madeline being heartbroken that she had lost her dear companion. 

She'd spend endless nights, either searching for Lily or worrying about where she was at every given moment. 

However, now that she knew who Lily truly was… Even Madeline had to admit she felt some sense of relief.

Madeline was in between a 'yay, I no longer have to figure out a way to get rid of Lily, as well as a 'now I have an aunt'. 

It was funny because she would've never seen this coming.

Madeline wasn't as shocked as she would have been months before.

If she were to discover that a cat had the ability to shapeshift into a human form, and that her father was a werewolf, she'd burst into laughter and dismiss everything as well as call whoever told her or whatever piece of evidence that lie in front of her completely untrue.

But now, she wasn't as shocked. She took it more calmly than Rose would've expected her too.

For a moment, she thought Madeline would've reacted harshly to her turning into a human the moment that droplet of blood had made it onto the floor. But no, she hadn't. 

"You're hurt," Xavier noticed, lifting Madeline's hand to reveal her bandaged finger.

He thought to himself, 'So, that was how Rose returned to her human form on Eudorian grounds.' 

'Once her dear friend's daughter's blood was spilled, she was able to return to her human form.'

"Yeah, Rose explained to me that was how she was able to transform back into a human."

"Correction, Aunt Rose," Madeline corrected. 

Xavier wondered if that was what Madeline thought when he brought that up.

He couldn't care less about how Rose could transform back into a human.

And besides, Rose knew it was a risk the moment she stepped foot into Eudora. The only reason she had access to Eudora and could pass the barrier was Emilio. 

She was Cornelia's dearest friend.

What else was he supposed to do, not let her in his territory?

He was madly in love with Cornelia.

So much so that he'd do anything for her. 

He was a biased alpha, and he knew it too. 

Xavier wasn't concerned.

Rose was harmless.

He knew she wouldn't do anything to harm Madeline. 

And what reason would she have to hurt Madeline in the first place?

Cornelia and her were still on good terms, Xavier presumed. Heck, Cornelia probably knew about her visit to Eudora too.

Whilst it was a surprise Cornelia didn't come with, it was expected.

After knowing her for a long while, Cornelia probably thought her research was more important than seeing her daughter. 

And knowing Rose… She disagreed with Cornelia on that one thing. 

Rose was a kind soul. Cornelia, on the other hand, only cared about what was best for her.

Giving Madeline away was her one last courtesy towards her daughter. 

Did Cornelia ever even spare Madeline a glance?

Did she ever think about her daughter? Did she?

It was strange, since Cornelia seemed truly in love with Emilio.

They were destined to be together, even if fate wanted it another way for the two of them.

So when Emilio was sent to that cave… Xavier expected Cornelia to still stay by his side.

Regardless of whatever hardships the two of them faced, they'd get through it all. They'd still find a way to be happy together.

But was Xavier wrong.

He was shocked by Cornelia's actions when he received word she no longer visited Emilio or wanted anything to do with him.

Then again, he had done the same thing, abandoning his ex-friend by leaving him to spend the rest of his life alone.

Except, there was a difference.

This was the way packs worked.

The beta killed the alpha. 

The beta took the alpha's place in the pack, assuming the throne and becoming alpha. 

He or she would assign another beta, and the whole cycle would play once more.

Except… There were times the beta refused to kill the alpha. 

Or challenge the alpha to a duel in the first place. 

So what would happen if that were the case?