Blood for the Pack

Noah saw my strange posture, and his gaze flickered. His tone softened.

"I really don't get you. Why do you care so much about these animals and even imitate them?"

My heart ached with bitterness.

He used to allow me to keep all kinds of animals in the villa because I loved them, even saying I was cute like a little wolf.

After he got bitten by the venomous snake, however, all those animals were sent away. Only my wolf mom stayed by my side.

Yet now, he said he could not understand me.

I refused to let them come near. Suddenly, I felt a heavy blow on my head. Everything went dark.

When I woke up, my scalp throbbed as if it was breaking apart. I rubbed my head hard.

A cold, familiar voice came from nearby.

Did you hit her too hard? Why is she still not awake?"

The butler bowed and apologized repeatedly. When he saw I had woken up, he quickly reminded Noah.

Noah hurried to my bedside. He was about to sit but stopped, then sneered.

"Now you have a headache, huh? You were so stubborn just now. Those animals are dead now. Go apologize to Ava properly. Let this end."

I grabbed his sleeve, my voice trembling. "Noah, why did you do this to me?"

Coldness flashed in his eyes as he shook off my hand.

"Wendy was the mistress who killed my mother, and you're the stray kid she brought back. You even set a poisonous snake on me to steal my family's fortune. How else should I treat you?

"I told you: if you behaved, I'd let you live well in the Potters. But you keep defying me for those animals."

"Aunt Wendy was never a mistress! After your mother's suicide, she met your father because of their love for animals—"

Crash!

Noah swept everything off the table, cutting me off.

"Stop telling me your crazy story about being raised by wolves again! I was crazy to ever believe you!"

He slammed the door and left.

I watched his back, feeling hopeless.

Years ago, Aunt Wendy stopped a hunter who tried to shoot me in the wild.

She carefully approached, shocked to see a shirtless girl snarling like a wild animal. Nonetheless, she reached out her hand.

From then on, she taught me to read and walk upright. With the Potters' wealth, she expanded a large habitat for the wolves.

I used my unique gift of communicating with animals to help her gather rare data. The Potters became a world leader in animal research and won many patents.

She brought me to the Potters. Years later, I fell in love with Noah. He held my hand and promised he would marry only me.

That was until his childhood friend, Ava, returned from abroad with photos showing his father cheating with Aunt Wendy. All of a sudden, she was poisoned.

After that, Noah changed. He saw me as an enemy.

Aunt Wendy's assistant came in with a grave expression.

"Ms. Walker, I've completed the investigation. You should prepare yourself."

She handed me documents.

One photo after another nearly made me collapse.

When we married, Noah swore the Potters would only place abandoned cubs or injured animals in zoos and never train them for dangerous shows.

The documents showed otherwise.

The Potters built zoos nationwide, claiming to care for animals but actually capturing them to expand their collections.

They had never treated those animals properly.

Many of those poor beasts were my childhood friends. I remembered running free with them in the forest. In these photos? Their eyes only showed fear.

A forest fire destroyed their homes and left them badly hurt.

I thought the Potters' zoos would be a safe place. Instead, I sent them straight to hell.

The wild habitats were developed into rich men's hunting grounds.

People held their guns proudly to the camera in the photo.

I felt sick and vomited.

This was all my fault.

The assistant held me up.

"Ms. Walker, protecting animals was Wendy's life mission. It's on you now."

I gritted my teeth and nodded.

I would take my wolf mom and blow the bone flute. The Potters would suffer the consequences, and I would be the deliverer.

I locked my wolf mom in a secure room. Limping, I went to the door but saw blood trailing from inside toward the back of the estate.

I panicked and ran.

Before I left the yard, I heard Noah's voice in the room.

"I'll find another wolf for you. Why bother with this one—"