He walked slowly downstairs.
The house was filled entirely with werewolves, both men and women, who had come to him seeing his success.
But lacking skills, not all of them could easily adapt to the human world. Some didn't stay long before returning to the snowy mountains.
The werewolves who stayed behind felt awkward about freeloading off Roderick, so they took it upon themselves to help around the house—sweeping floors, tidying up, tending to the garden. In this way, they settled in comfortably, feeling they'd earned their stay.
During the day, if they had free time, they'd go outside for fun. If they were hungry, there was food back at the house—pure enjoyment.
Seeing Roderick come downstairs, they greeted him enthusiastically.
"Alpha."
"The Alpha is up."
"Awoo! Alpha, there's a cub in the house!"
"Awoo! Alpha, you brought a human woman in!"
They had only come down from the mountains as adults, so in Roderick's house, they showed their ears and tails openly, feeling more comfortable and relaxed that way.
Roderick, unliked them, who grew up in the human world and was long accustomed to being alone. Whether outside or at home, no pack member had ever seen his ears.
Some of these werewolves had brown ears and brown tails, while others had red-black ears and red-black tails.
"Doesn't the Alpha hate humans the most?" a woman with red ears and a red tail spoke up.
Roderick glanced at her and spoke. "Ruby, go to the room and put that woman on the bed."
"Got it, got it. Alpha gave me a task! So good!" Ruby darted up the spiral staircase and disappeared.
The other werewolves murmured among themselves.
"Alpha, can we go see your cub? Is that okay?"
"He's sleeping now; we'll talk when he wakes up."
Roderick sat in the dining room, where an enormous plate held a cut of beef about the size of a basketball. Slicing into it, pale red juices seeped from the meat.
He picked up his knife and fork and began to eat.
The pack gathered around him, chattering non-stop.
"Alpha, is the human woman you brought back pretty?"
"Alpha, is the human woman's skin really soft?"
Roderick showed no expression, chewing his food with apparent calm, though the basketball-sized piece of beef was quickly diminishing.
"Alpha, are you planning to marry a human wife? Oh, I'm so envious—I want a human wife too."
At the black-and-brown werewolf's words, Roderick's face darkened. He lifted his gaze, staring sharply at him. "Have some pride, Black! As a werewolf, you should desire a werewolf mate!"
Black muttered defiantly, "Alpha, how do you manage to bring a human woman home while calling me useless and disloyal? Aren't you doing the same—planning to be with a human woman yourself?"
Roderick sneered, "Who said I'd be with her? I'd never be with her. Having a cub with her was just an accident from back then."
Black was shocked. "So she's the one? The human you'd rather live alone forever than be with?"
Roderick continued eating, his tone icy. "Who else could it be?"
"Alpha, is she really that ugly?" asked a man with green-black ears and a gray tail, curious as to why Roderick resisted her so much.
Unbidden, Roderick's mind flashed back to last night. Worried about the cub, that woman's eyes had reddened, a single tear stubbornly held back. Her full lips, bitten red from the strain...
Ugly? Beautiful?
It didn't matter.
He gave a casual grunt.
Everyone burst out laughing. "Is she really that ugly? I want to see just how ugly she is; I'll get a look soon enough!"
"Oh, poor Alpha," a werewolf female with blue-black ears and a tail piped up boldly, pretending to wipe away tears. "I don't mind if you're not loyal; come, let's shack up together."
Roderick's expression remained stoic. "No, thank you."
Black sighed, "I really do love human women."
The male werewolf with brown ears pouted, "I tried, but they ignore me... I went through all that trouble to hunt a giant wild boar in the mountains, killed it, drained the blood, and took the best cut of meat to her doorstep before dawn. And she just screamed and ran off."
Listening with a blank expression, Roderick suddenly sneered. "How long have you been in human society? Just a few years, and you've already picked up these habits? So easily tempted?"
William grinned sheepishly. "Can't help it, Alpha—human women are too cute."
Black added, "There are so few werewolf females, and they only like the strongest, best-built males. Alpha, guys like us are destined to be outcasts; might as well try our luck with human women."
William nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! Alpha, even if you've been unfaithful, you're so strong, doing so well in human society. There are still plenty of females in the pack who don't mind, like Ruby and Sapphire. And even Snowheart, the famous beauty from pack, confessed to you!"
"Alpha, you don't know how lucky you are. Boo-hoo-hoo."
Roderick:...
He stood up, his face darkening. "You all want this 'luck'?"
He despised pure humans, yet he had ended up entangled with one. Loyalty meant everything to him, so much so that even if a werewolf female were willing, he would feel he was betraying her and couldn't bring himself to cross that line.
He was destined to live alone.
And these silly, foolish pack members' actually envied him.
Little did he know that as soon as he spoke,
the werewolves all shouted, "Yes! I want that luck!"
Fuming, Roderick turned and left for work.
These werewolves were hopeless.
On the other side.
With the Alpha's permission, Ruby bolted upstairs to that uniquely scented room.
The scent of a human woman, mingled with the cub's milky scent.
Awooo!
She burst into the room, her momentum sending her crashing into the table. Just as the lamp on the tabletop tipped over, she caught it the moment before it hit the floor.
She covered her mouth, startled.
The cub was still asleep—thank goodness.
But the human woman lying on the floor—ah!! She was awake!
In her drowsy state, Catriona saw a figure with large red ears on top of his head and a swaying red tail running toward her. He scooped her up in a bridal carry and gently placed her on the bed.
"Why... are you still wearing animal ears?" Catriona mumbled, reaching out to touch them. A warm, soft sensation met her fingers.
"Awooo!"
"Ah!"
They both cried out at once.
Blushing, Ruby stammered, "Y-you can't just touch my ears!"
Catriona gasped in shock. "They're real?!"
After speaking, she closed her eyes and fainted.
After all, she had just encountered an entirely new world and hadn't fully processed it before falling into a dazed sleep, eventually passing out from the shock.
Ruby quickly placed her on the bed and ran off.
Did she faint because of her? Will the Alpha be angry?!
By the way, this pure human woman is actually quite pretty.
She stopped halfway through her run.
She sneaked back, squatting by the bed to gaze at the woman's sleeping face.
After a moment, she extended her finger to poke Catriona's face. Wow, it's real! So soft!
She darted downstairs in a flash.
She was immediately surrounded by the other werewolves.
"Ruby, judging by how scared you look, is she really that ugly?"
"Come on, Ruby, tell us, how ugly is that pure human woman? And the cub? Is it cute?"
Ruby blankly replied, "You'll see when she comes out later."
"What? Did Ruby get stunned by her ugliness?"
"How about we sneak a peek?"
"If you want the Alpha to send you back to the snowy mountains, go ahead."
"Then forget it."
Suddenly, a seasoned elder's howl echoed from the kitchen, "A few wolves, come help prepare food for that pure human."
Black, wagging his tail, walked over, "What do pure humans like to eat? And what about pure human women? I have no idea, though."
The man in the white chef's coat was only thirty-two, but among this group of early twenty-somethings, he was definitely an "elder."
He concealed his wolf ears and tail well—he'd likely been in human society for a long time. With jet-black hair and a scar across his forehead, a broad chest, and thick, muscular arms, he had a touch of that rough, rugged aura humans often spoke of.
He replied nonchalantly, "Humans like cooked food. As long as it's cooked, they'll eat it."
"As for the Alpha's cub, just prepare milk, beef, and various milk powders. We've got wolf milk powder too; go on, get ready."
They prepared the food early.
They sprawled along the spiral staircase downstairs, here and there, slouching and sitting, without any intention of leaving.
They just wanted to see what the human who got involved with the Alpha looked like, and of course, the adorable cub. Awooo!
—
They waited until ten o'clock.
At the top of the stairs appeared a small, hungry cub, still smelling of milk.
They caught the scent, yet a whole pack of wolves dared not make a move, lifting their eyes to gaze longingly at the little cub.
The cub, Cedric, caught a familiar, sharp smell—it seemed like his own kind. He bared his tiny fangs, growling fiercely: "Awooo!"
Regardless, he wanted to make an impression.
The wolves, with their large ears perked atop their heads and tails frozen, stood still for a moment. Then, all at once, they collapsed to the ground in submission.
They were overwhelmed by the Alpha's adorable cub.
Cedric froze. Was he really that impressive?
So many here looked like him, with ears and tails, making him feel inexplicably happy and at ease.
The kitchen man brought warm milk to the table, calling, "Cub, are you hungry? Come down to eat. Where's your mom?"
He had no ears, no tail, and no strong werewolf scent.
Cedric paused, looked at him for a moment, then slowly went downstairs.
"Mommy is tired, she's still sleeping."
He didn't feel uncomfortable anywhere now; he just wanted to eat.
The kitchen man prepared a bottle of milk, a piece of beef, cucumber sticks, and diced fruit.
Starving, Cedric ate a lot.
Catriona slept straight through until noon, waking up to find herself starving, her stomach practically glued to her spine. She reached out beside her—her son was gone.
Catriona broke out in a cold sweat, getting up and running barefoot out of the room, only to find her son at the center of a table, surrounded by a group of "people" wagging their tails.
"Cub, look at my ears, green and black. Aren't they pretty?"
"Cub, look at my big tail, it's black and brown."
"Cub, what color are yours? Show us, please."
For a moment, Catriona felt like she had crossed into another world. Was this still the human world?
Suddenly, Black twitched his nose, and Ruby looked up.
"Wow! The pure human is awake!"
And then...
Catriona saw her son quickly climb down from the table and run toward her. She steadied herself, pushing down her fear, and made her way downstairs, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.
These "people," like her son, had ears and tails. She felt a brief sense of relief—it meant her son had companions.
The "fairy" Roderick mentioned yesterday—how had they evolved? Ears and tails like animals? Were they reverting to some ancestral form?
So that unexpected night... she hadn't even been with a human.
Perhaps everything had been foreshadowed, a warning sign of sorts.
Over the years, her son had occasionally shown a dark, icy gaze. Then, two weeks ago, one night when he had a fever, right before her eyes, he revealed small, fluffy black ears and a little black tail.
After the initial shock, she had thought, "So, it's true."
Yesterday, seeing her son hiding his ears had tugged painfully at her heart.
To her, it didn't matter what her son was, as long as he was healthy and happy.
She held her child, turned to put on her shoes, and gathered her courage. At the staircase, she called out nervously, "Hello?"
A group of werewolves stared at her in astonishment from downstairs.
This is considered ugly? The Alpha... does he even have a sense of aesthetics?
The Alpha doesn't know how lucky he is!
They snapped out of it and warmly invited Catriona to join them for a meal.
Catriona descended the stairs with her son in her arms, feeling slightly stiff, yet her son gave her a sense of security.
Last night, Roderick had at least conversed with her in human form, so she hadn't felt truly frightened.
But now, it would be a lie to say she felt no fear at all.
After all, this wasn't a movie, an amusement park, or a convention.
"What's your name, human?" asked a man with dark brown ears. "I'm called Black."
"You can just call me Catriona."
"I'm Ruby!"
"I'm Brownie."
"This is the food we made for you. Do you like it?"
In front of Catriona was a large plate containing... beef and potatoes?
Except the beef was in enormous chunks, and the potatoes were whole...
Unconsciously, Catriona felt less tense. She realized they were quite friendly and seemed easy to get along with. She gradually relaxed.
"I noticed that your fairy ears and tails really look like wolf features."
As soon as she finished speaking...
The lively atmosphere suddenly grew awkward.
After a pause, Black scratched his nose and said, "Uh, well, we're actually werewolves."
"Oh! Sorry, sorry," Catriona apologized hastily, utterly embarrassed.
"It's fine, it's fine! Awooo!"
Everyone was enthusiastic and friendly, sharing stories about werewolves.
"We werewolves don't reproduce as easily as humans. Altogether, our population only numbers a few million."
"We werewolves only have one mate in a lifetime, and only with our mate can we have cubs. We don't settle for less. Most werewolves never find their mate, so they never have cubs."
"But in recent years, it's gotten better. Some of us have come down from the mountains and fallen in love with pure humans. The cubs born from these unions are half-werewolves. Our population should grow over time."
Black scratched his head bashfully, his face red. "I'd like to find a pure human woman to settle down with too."
"I want that too."
Catriona felt like she had opened a door to another world, seeing something completely new.
"The spring water from the mountain peak is only available here at the Alpha's estate. Any cub who turns four and a half is sent here to stay for six months."
Catriona was startled. "They need to drink it continuously for six months?"
"Yes. Without the cold spring water during their bone development phase, cubs would suffer extreme pain and eventually die."
Catriona's heart clenched, and she held her son tightly.
Thank goodness. Thank goodness.
At that moment, looking at these werewolves who were so different from her human world, she found she wasn't afraid at all.
Upon closer look, other than their large ears and tails, they weren't any different from humans. They were all tall and quite good-looking.
She was about 5.6 feet tall, considering herself on the taller side for a woman, yet here she was the shortest of all.
"I'll be relying on all of you from now on," she said sincerely.
Her son was no ordinary child now, and these werewolves could help him.
