Chapter 534 The Corruption

“I haven’t decided yet, Abuela. Once I make up my mind, I’ll let you know.” He told his grandmother, who studied him for a moment before patting his arm affectionately.

“You’re still young. I know you lost your wife, I heard you were the one who’d married Natalie, but that’s not the end of the world for you. You can start over, build a new life. That brother of yours, insensitive as he is, has his future already underway, his wife’s expecting, and very soon my great-grandchildren will be running through this building. This time, I intend to actually be present for it, whether he likes it or not. And you—”

“Abuela, I’ll let you know when I find someone I like. Right now, I don’t want anyone, I swear,” Alex said with a smile, trying not to offend her. It was something his brother would never have done, as he would have bluntly told her to get off his back with just a single word, thought Eleanor.

But just as she opened her mouth to press him further about his life decisions, they both caught sight of Ivy approaching from the opposite direction.

“If not for the pregnancy, I wouldn’t be able to tell that one apart from the Luna. What a remarkable coincidence, all of you being twins.” His grandmother whispered, as though sharing some great secret, watching Ivy draw closer. “She’s so reserved, and lovely, don’t you think?”

Before Alex could explain that this was simply Ivy’s nature and why he treasured her friendship, the woman herself was already within earshot, smiling as she approached and turned to greet his grandmother first.

“Good evening, Mrs.—Grandma Eleanor,” Ivy corrected herself, having initially addressed the elder she-wolf formally. Eleanor had only told her that evening to call her Grandma Eleanor or Abuela, just as she had told Viola to do. Although Ivy found it uncomfortable since she wasn’t part of their family, she didn’t want to upset the older she-wolf.

Eleanor beamed. “Good evening, dear. You did well arranging the ceremony with the Serrano girl today. It’s good to see sisters helping each other,” the older she-wolf praised, admiring Ivy, who smiled.

“It’s nothing. Alex here helped too. Actually, he did most of the work,” Ivy said, looking at Alex, who wrinkled his nose at her for giving him credit. However, his grandmother turned to him with a bittersweet smile and added,

“I’m glad to see that you’re moving on with life even after losing your little sister. It hard to move on from such thing. May her soul rest in peace.” She sighed, making Alex’s smile falter a little, but he quickly put it back on as though nothing had happened.

“Where are you off to, dear?” Eleanor asked, pulling Ivy against her other side and hooking their arms together. Ivy blushed at the warmth of the gesture as Eleanor drew her into their walk.

“I was actually looking for Alex.” Ivy said, and immediately the elder she-wolf stopped walking, unhooking her arm from the younger woman’s. “Oh, then I shouldn’t be playing third wheel here. I’ll leave you two to talk. I still have a few things to sort out with your aunties, Alex, make sure you walk Ivy safely back to her room, the building is filled with unmated men.” She told her grandson, before retracing her steps and leaving the two of them alone in the hallway, Alex smiling a little awkwardly in her wake.

“Don’t mind my grandmother, she doesn’t mean it the way it sounds.” Alex clarified, and Ivy smiled in understanding, knowing full well there was nothing between them but friendship.

“It’s alright. I’m just glad the air around this building feels a little lighter tonight, not so thick with grief anymore,” she said, falling into step beside him as he walked at an unhurried pace, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets.

“Merfolks don’t hold on to grief for that long in Aquaville. They move on so quickly because they don’t believe in everlasting death. They hold the belief that every soul will return once they find their Life Root again,” Ivy said conversationally, to which Alex, who was now well-versed in mermaid lore, turned to look at her.

“The Child of the Sea,” he said with a sigh. “Actually, that belief gives one hope. When you explained it to me, I found myself looking forward to that day,” he told her.

“Why were you looking for me?” he asked, and Ivy recalled exactly why she’d come looking for him in the first place.

“My sister just contacted me, asked me to come to their penthouse. She wants me to check her husband’s corruption progression, and she wanted to ask me something.” Ivy told him, and she saw him arch a brow at her, his lips curving into a small smile.

“Then you should go. She’s your sister, you don’t need my permission to go see her.” He teased, and Ivy nudged his arm, pursing her lips.

“Alexander, you know exactly why I came looking for you. Your brother makes me anxious, and apart from that, it’s long past time you two spoke and stopped making everything so awkward between you. And just so you know, my sister wants you to come along too. We need to study both your hearts.” She told him, as they stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for Sebastian and Viola’s floor, and Alex turned to her, frowning.

“Study our hearts? Why? Isn’t mine cured?”

Ivy had wanted to find the right moment to tell him this, but hadn’t found the chance until now, so this seemed as good a time as any.

“Corruption doesn’t happen to young werewolves, and you and Sebastian are still far too young for it to have set in this fast, even heartbroken as you both are. Corruption is a slow disease, something that builds over time, decades usually, closer to thirty years before it even shows itself. Neither of you is past your thirties. So tell me, how could it have happened this quickly to either of you?”

Alex’s frown deepened at her words. “So you’re saying whatever happened to us might not actually be corruption at all?” He asked, still not fully grasping what she meant.

“That’s not quite what I’m saying either. Your corruption still needs to be properly studied, and I haven’t examined yours again since I cured you the first time, so this might be the perfect chance to do that alongside your brother’s case and figure out what’s actually wrong. I still don’t have any real answer for why both your hearts were affected so fast.”

Alex fell into thoughtful silence, since he hadn’t put much thought into his own corruption before, but now that she’d pointed it out, he realized she was right, werewolves their age almost never suffered from something like this. Something like this was more to happen to werewolves the age of the elders.