He didn't care if that big, fat man was probably twenty times bigger than him in his wolf form. Nevertheless, he would still try to bite his toe at the very least.
And if biting wasn't enough, then he would shapeshift back into his beastman form and fight tooth and nail, as long as he could avenge what his savior had suffered!
However, right before he could dash toward the man, Sisi suddenly grabbed him tightly and hid him under her chest.
'Wha—let me go! I will fight him!' Jojo yelled in his heart. He was about to snarl to show intimidation, but Sisi covered his mouth and hugged him even tighter, locking the wolf cub in place.
Fortunately, the shed was dark, so Mr. Piker didn't notice anything.
He saw that Sisi wasn't trying to defy him anymore, probably thinking she had finally reached her breaking point. He scoffed smugly, imagining that she would soon submit to him or else, she would die.
Mr. Piker slammed the door shut as usual, and Sisi waited until the bastard was far away before releasing the wolf cub.
Once freed, the cub hurried toward the door, ready to bite the man. But seeing the door shut and the man gone, he could only snarl aggressively and bark a few times. He was about to squeeze through the same small hole he had used to enter the shed last night, but Sisi grabbed and hugged him.
"Don't try to attack him, little wolf. You should hide instead," Sisi said gently.
Jojo snarled even louder, growing angrier.
"That man is dangerous. I'm afraid you'll be killed if he finds you."
Jojo began nibbling on her arm. He didn't want to hurt her, but he desperately wanted to settle the score with that fat man. He wanted to avenge what had been done to his savior!
Sisi smiled faintly when she realized the little wolf cub actually wanted to protect her despite their size difference.
Her entire body ached so badly that she could barely sit upright.
But she didn't show any pain in front of the cub. Instead, she sat him on her thigh.
"Don't cause trouble, okay? Look what I got for you," Sisi said, taking out a small piece of raw beef wrapped in paper. "This is your dinner. You should eat it and get healthy soon, okay?"
Jojo stopped struggling when he saw the raw beef in her palm. He looked up at her gentle smile, so soft and warm, even though she looked like she was on the brink of death.
Her eyes still held traces of warmth, and she didn't cry even though he knew she must have been enduring unbearable pain. Her hands trembled, and she swayed several times as if she were about to faint before forcing herself stable again.
It was such a painful sight that four-year-old Jojo couldn't help lowering his head and hiding his tears.
His father always said that crying was useless. The law of the jungle forced everyone to grow up quickly, and shedding tears would only soften the heart and make you hesitate to kill.
But right now, all Jojo wanted to do was cry. His heart ached horribly seeing his savior beaten black and blue over a piece of meat.
He was also upset because he couldn't do anything to stop it. He was frustrated, and being only four, he had no way to vent it.
"Hey, little wolf, you need to eat," Sisi urged when she noticed the cub had no appetite.
It was strange. She sensed this wolf seemed unusually human-like, as if she could read his emotions clearly. She patted his head. "Don't be upset. I'm used to this. Besides, I got this piece of meat for you, so I'd say it's worth getting roughed up a bit."
The wolf cub didn't respond. He simply lowered his head and stayed silent, no whimper, not even a sound.
Sisi smiled and lifted the meat toward her own mouth. "If you don't want to eat this, then I'll eat it… aaaah…"
"Eat it."
Sisi's heart skipped a beat, she almost dropped the meat in her hand. She looked at the little wolf cub and then shook her head, 'Ah… I must be having a concussion. How could I have heard a boy's voice just now?'
But the wolf cub lifted his head and stared at her with human-like tears, an expression of pain too clear for Sisi to ignore.
She froze as the cub opened his mouth and spoke like a human.
"You… go and eat. Jojo is not hungry…"
"Y-you—did you just—" Sisi was speechless. She shook her head again, certain she hadn't fainted yet.
Suddenly, the wolf cub leaped from her lap. In just a second, his body grew larger and larger. His white fur receded, replaced by tender human skin. His snout shifted, reshaping into regular human facial features.
What remained different were his ears; a pair of white wolf ears atop his head, and a drooping tail behind him.
The wolf cub had turned into a cute four-year-old boy with silver hair, dark blue eyes, and tiny canine teeth peeking from the corner of his lips.
His eyes were red from crying, and he looked genuinely upset. "Why did you stop me? I can fight him too…"
Sisi needed a moment to process what she had just seen. She stared at the boy in a daze before asking softly, "You are… a beastman?"
He nodded. "My name is Jojo."
"Jojo…" Sisi repeated the name, committing it to memory. She then chuckled weakly. She exerted her last strength for tonight to warn this wolf boy, "Well, Jojo, you need to eat this meat before it goes bad. I'm human, I can't eat raw meat, you know? Oh, and… don't go anywhere. It's too… dangerous… outside…"
After lecturing the little beastman briefly, everything went black and Sisi fainted.