After pouring the hot soup into the bamboo bottle, Nuan stored the empty wooden bowl, the sealed bottle, and the drying clay pottery safely inside her system inventory. They turned around and headed straight back to the camp.

After a short while, Nuan and Koda reached the pack’s territory. The entire clearing was buzzing with tension, and almost every wolf was standing tightly packed before Selka’s den.

Nuan slid down from Koda’s back, her bad ankle throbbing slightly. Koda shifted back into his human form, and the two of them walked toward the cave entrance. Nuan stopped a few paces back, intentionally keeping her distance and choosing not to push between the crowded pack members.

Suddenly, a series of pained whines and deep, angry growls echoed from inside the dark cave. It was Kael’s voice.

Nuan felt a sudden spike of panic. She was just about to push her way in when the wolves out front suddenly parted, clearing a wide path out of the den.

Kael was stumbling out, supported heavily by four strong wolves. His left arm was still tucked securely against his chest in the sheepskin arm sling, and his bruised body was completely covered in thick patches of yellow herb paste.

From right behind him, Selka was yelling at the top of her lungs for him to get back inside, but Kael wasn’t listening.

It was obvious he wasn’t actually walking on his own. His legs shook with every step, and the four wolves beside him were carrying most of his weight.

He should have been resting, but the moment he caught Nuan’s scent, instinct had dragged him outside before his injured body could stop him.

"Meek savior..." he muttered, his voice thick with beastly anger as he forced his heavy, aching legs forward, dragging his caretakers with him.

Over on the flat rocks, Lyra and Tala exchanged a wicked, satisfied smile. They leaned forward, fully expecting Kael to violently tear into the outsider for causing his injuries.

Nuan stared at him as he marched toward her. She quietly slid one hand behind her back, willing her hunting knife out of the system inventory.

For her, the rule was simple Never trust a wild animal, even if they are caged, and even if you raised them yourself. Once a wild animal, always a wild animal.

Her fingers wrapped around the familiar handle instantly. It was pure instinct—the same survival reflex that had kept her alive through countless dangerous moments.

But then she hesitated.

Wait... this is Kael.

Her grip loosened slightly, but she kept the knife ready. Old habits were hard to kill.

The second Kael stepped right in front of her, he violently shoved off the four wolves holding him up. He lunged forward and grabbed Nuan tightly by the shoulders, burying his nose near her neck as he started sniffing her aggressively, letting out a deep, territorial rumble.

Nuan’s knuckles turned white around the hilt of her hidden knife, ready for anything.

"Kael..." she murmured, using her free hand to firmly push against his solid chest to create some space.

He stared dead into her eyes, his fangs bared. "You... you rode Koda again! His scent is all over you!"

"Huh?" Nuan blinked, completely stunned.

Kael immediately lifted his head, snapping his jaws as he sniffed the air for the kid’s specific trail. He looked right up toward the roof of the cave. Koda was currently clinging to the rocks above the den entrance, hiding for his life.

Kael let out a furious growl. "Get down here, you!"

Koda, knowing very well it would be an absolute dead end if he jumped down in front of the furious Alpha, just shook his head rapidly, clinging tighter to the stone. I’m dead! he sobbed silently in his mind.

Kael took two aggressive, heavy steps toward the den wall to pull him down, but Nuan quickly jammed her knife back into the system inventory and grabbed him firmly by his uninjured arm. "Stop it, you idiot! Look at yourself! You should be laying down inside!"

Kael turned on her violently. "I told you to wake me up! You only ride me!"

"Yeah?!" Nuan hissed right back, her temper flaring. "Wake you up from a half-dead state just to ride your back?! Where the hell is your brain? Did that moose hit you in the skull too? Did you drop it out there?!"

"But you rode Koda again!" he roared back stubbornly.

"Ughhh! Stop phrasing it like that!" Nuan snapped. She raised her palm and delivered a sharp, light smack right to the top of his head.

Seriously, if by some horrible chance I am a character in a web novel, I am deeply afraid for the author. They’re going to get banned by the platform regulators because of Kael’s double-meaning dialogues!

Nuan stepped directly between him and the rest of the pack. "He helped me get to the river so I could make a healing soup for you! He even protected me from a giant brown bear named Bramor!"

"But—" Kael tried to argue, his chest puffing out, but a massive hand suddenly came down from behind, giving him a much harder head smack.

Selka stood behind him, looking utterly exhausted. "What a complete idiot I have raised! Just lay down! I told you Nuan was coming right back, and here she is!"

Nuan stared at Kael’s frustrated face as he rubbed his head. Aww... so he was actually just thrashing around because he was worried and waiting for me?

She glanced back at the crowd. Lyra and Tala were standing there with completely annoyed, sour expressions, their hopes of a violent execution thoroughly crushed.

Nuan let out a long sigh. She and Selka each took one of Kael’s sides, carefully steering his heavy frame back into the safety of the dark den.

Selka kept up a steady stream of scolding as they forced the stubborn Alpha down onto his thick bedding. As Nuan pulled away, she noticed a sharp, stinging pain in her lower leg. Supporting Kael’s immense weight just now had caused her freshly wrapped, ugly ankle to swell up even more.

Selka noticed it too. The old wolf looked at Nuan’s foot, then at her grumbling son, and let out a massive, defeated sigh. "Just a pair of absolute idiots. I am so done with babysitting. Just get better, both of you, and leave my sight!"

"Y-Yes! Sorry!" Nuan stammered, pulling her shoulders up.

She sat down cross-legged on the dirt beside Kael’s bed to take the pressure off her joint. "Um, Miss Selka, do we have a spoon?" she asked.

"Spoon? What is that? A new type of small animal?" Selka asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Eh, ah, no." Nuan raised her hand, mimicking the motion of holding a utensil and scooping up liquid to drink. "It’s like this."

Selka stared at her hand signs, blinked, and then understood. "Is it for the soup?"

"Yes."

"Then just pour it straight into this idiot’s mouth," Selka snapped, turning toward the exit. "I don’t think fools are capable of getting sick anyway."

"Well, it’s still hot... never mind," Nuan murmured.

She willed the bamboo bottle and the wooden bowl out of her inventory. She carefully poured a decent amount of the thin, warm hare soup into the bowl, blew on it gently to cool it down, and slowly brought the wooden rim right up to Kael’s lips.

Kael wrinkled his nose, sniffing the rich, savory steam. "What is this?"

Nuan didn’t answer. She simply slapped her free palm flat against his forehead, pinning his head back against the thick sand bed so he wouldn’t move. "Shut up and drink."

Selka looked back at the two of them over her shoulder. A small, rare smile touched her lips as she caught the warm, nourishing aroma of the meat broth filling the cave.

Without another word, she stepped out of the den, leaving them in the quiet darkness.

Kael silently swallowed another mouthful of soup. For once, he didn’t complain or argue.

Nuan raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You are actually eating without complaining. Are you secretly still unconscious?"

Kael ignored her joke.

"...I thought you ran away."

"You idiot," Nuan muttered. "Why would I run away while you’re half-dead?" Her expression softened.

Kael looked at her seriously. "Because you always say you want to leave."

Nuan opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

"...Okay. Fair point."

Kael looked away, his fingers tightening slightly against the blanket. "When I woke up... you weren’t there. I thought you finally escaped."

His voice became quieter. "I didn’t like that feeling."

Nuan stared at him, caught off guard.