Sisi was extremely busy today. For some reason, Mr. Piker kept ordering her to do one menial task after another since breakfast; cleaning the furniture, sweeping the entire house again, even though she already did those chores every three days.
She was worried that Jojo would grow too hungry and, tired of waiting, leave the shed in search of food.
She tried to sneak out of the house several times, but the daily workers had been instructed to guard the area, making sure she wouldn't get a single chance to leave.
Thus, she spent the entire day working indoors until late noon, and the longer the clock ticked, the heavier her worry grew.
She knew Jojo must be starving by now.
'I need to finish these chores quickly and bring him food. Maybe I should give him extra since he hasn't eaten anything all morning,' Sisi thought as she entered the kitchen and grabbed another chunk of meat for the wolf cub. With salted fish and meat, Jojo should have enough energy to last another day.
**
Meanwhile, Jojo was sitting on the haystack, yawning repeatedly as he slowly woke up from a deep sleep.
He had woken up late. He barely slept the night before.
He was a little sad that his savior hadn't woken him. The first thing he wanted to see when he opened his eyes was her. He wanted to make sure her fever had gone down and her bruises were healing after he spent all night licking her wounds.
He was also a bit hungry, but going out was dangerous. Even if his body was small in wolf form, humans would still notice his white fur in broad daylight.
So he waited. From morning until late noon, he waited—but his savior never came.
Jojo began to worry.
He knew her body was very weak. She reminded him of himself two days ago—when his father threw him down the hill for training, and he wandered the forest for days without eating.
He couldn't think clearly then. Only his father's voice kept him going, echoing in his head, urging him to move even when he felt like collapsing with every step.
'W-what if that evil fat human hurt her again? I-if he beats her again, she might die!' Jojo grew too restless to sit still. He imagined his savior's face, her gentle smile fading as she lay helpless on the floor, being beaten.
Jojo didn't know what had happened to his father. If he lost his savior too…
'Then I will be all alone…'
Fear crept into the little boy's heart. He had walked a long, lonely road without his father, and the solitude terrified him. Sometimes he would start sobbing, and remembering the warmth of sleeping beside his father made him cry even harder, until he finally stopped from the sheer headache that followed.
His savior was human, but the warmth she gave him whenever they slept side by side felt just like his father's.
And he didn't want to lose that warmth again.
'No—I have to save her!' Jojo told himself. He jumped off the haystack in wolf form and dashed through the small hole in the wall.
But the moment Jojo's head poked out, his heart lurched.
A huge dog was waiting, baring its teeth, ready to tear his neck apart.
Jojo had seen wolves bigger and stronger than this dog. Even this beast was no match for his father in wolf form. But Jojo was alone, and even if he shifted into his beastman form, he doubted he could win.
His only option was… to retreat.
"GRRRR…!!" Bruno, the farm dog, lunged forward. It was his duty to attack intruders. But the little wolf quickly backed into the shed, trembling.
"So, there is a pesky pest on my farm, huh?" Mr. Piker kicked the door open and spotted the small white wolf cornered inside. He raised his gun, ready to shoot, but when he saw the exquisite white fur, he immediately lowered it. "A little white wolf? So that bitch was hiding something valuable this whole time?!"
Jojo was cornered. The small escape hole was guarded by Bruno, and two more guard dogs stood behind Mr. Piker. There was no escape, neither in wolf form nor beastman form.
Within moments, the dogs surrounded him. Mr. Piker grabbed him by the scruff and shoved him into a tiny cage barely big enough for a cat.
"Grrh! Arf! Arf!" Jojo snarled, trying to intimidate him, but it was useless. He was too small, too young, too weak.
Mr. Piker examined the wolf with greedy eyes. "Little wolf, do you know how rare you are? I can sell you for a fortune to a collector. You'll be raised as a pet… and then skinned for your fur once you're old enough."
Jojo froze. His barking stopped instantly as terror took over.
"But before that, I need to teach that bitch a lesson about obedience. She hid you from me. She needs to know her place," Mr. Piker muttered as he walked out of the shed, carrying the cage with the trembling wolf cub inside.