'Huh? What's the cub laughing at? Looks like she really isn't afraid of wolves, hahahaha~'
Silas Thornton turned around, his hands clasped behind his back. He tilted his head up slightly and issued a command to the pack, "Go back to your own villas. Those who live in this one, stay."
Holly Wyatt watched as the pack, which had been crowded together, reluctantly dispersed. Before she could figure out what was happening, she heard Silas Thornton's passive-aggressive inner voice.
'What are you looking at?! She's my cub!! If you want a cub, go have your own! Why are you always trying to look at mine?! So annoying!! And you're not even restraining your scents! You're getting it all over my cub!! Usually, you all can't wait to run wild outside and not come home for a month, but now you can't seem to leave the manor. So annoying! So annoying!'
Holly Wyatt watched as the pack gradually dispersed, leaving only a few of them standing in the living room.
The three wolf pups were there too.
Her tense mood finally eased slightly.
*
Holly Wyatt sat in the backyard gazebo, staring silently at the three little wolf pups around the table.
Silas Thornton had said he needed to take care of some things and told her to play with the children.
She had also heard his satisfied inner thoughts.
'Cubs should play together. It fosters pack unity and makes them easier to look after.'
Holly Wyatt really wanted to argue that she wasn't a cub!
But when she recalled the wolf pup forms she had seen in the bedroom earlier, her heart stirred, and she agreed.
Now, she looked at the three adorable cubs. The ears on their heads looked so delicate, as if they would flush red with shyness at the slightest touch.
Oh my god!
The cuteness was killing her!
"Hello! My name is Evie, and I'm nine years old!" The little boy who had tugged on her sleeve earlier politely extended his small hand, mimicking human etiquette as he introduced himself.
Holly Wyatt nodded, intrigued, and gently took his small hand.
She hadn't had a chance to get a good look inside the villa earlier, so she was only now sizing them up properly.
Evie's ears were quite special—his left was black, and his right was white.
"My name is Annie, and I'm five." The girl with the red-and-white ears also held out her hand to her.
Holly Wyatt's eyes crinkled into slits as she smiled, and she carefully shook the girl's hand.
The youngest girl shouted eagerly, "Me! Me! My name is Snowy, and I'm three!"
Snowy's ears were white with just red tips, making her look like a little fox.
Holly Wyatt smiled and nodded.
She wanted to introduce herself too, so she quickly pulled out her phone, intending to type out her name.
Just as she typed the first letter, she suddenly froze.
She looked up at the three children before her.
The oldest was nine, and the youngest was only three.
Human children this age couldn't necessarily read well, let alone little wolf cubs.
She opened her mouth, letting out a dry, silent "ah."
Then, she lowered her gaze in disappointment, staring at the dark screen of the phone in her hand.
A small hand poked her arm.
Holly Wyatt looked up.
"You can write it for me to see." The boy, Evie, pulled a small notebook and pencil from his pocket as if by magic. "I can read."
He had seen Holly Wyatt start to type on her phone, only to turn off the screen for some reason.
He remembered that the Lord of the Wolves had instructed him that this human cub couldn't speak or hear, so they needed to communicate through writing. He'd told him to bring a notebook.
He had specifically brought his newest one! 'It's finally coming in handy!'
Holly Wyatt blinked. Staring at the homework notebook before her, which had three corners chewed off, she took it hesitantly.
When she opened it, the smell of spicy strips wafted out.
Holly Wyatt was at a loss for words.
She picked up the pencil, its tip chewed to bits, and wrote neatly.
"Holly Wyatt. It's my name."
Evie leaned over and read her name aloud, very seriously, "Holly Wyatt~"
"Holly Wyatt~ Holly Wyatt~" Snowy repeated, as if trying to memorize the name.
Annie chanted along as well.
Holly Wyatt. A name that was a wish for her well-being.
Every time someone said her name, it carried the meaning of "wishing you well."
It was the name her adoptive parents had given her. It wasn't very sophisticated, but it was full of love and hope.
Watching the three little ones' serious expressions, she felt a warmth spread through her heart.
They knew she was deaf and mute, but there was no disdain in their eyes—not even curiosity.
It was as if her condition was completely normal, as if she were just another person, with nothing strange about her at all.
She also noticed that when the three wolf pups had spoken to her, they had deliberately slowed their speech so she could read their lips.
Just as considerate as Silas Thornton.
This made her heart soften and filled her with an even stronger urge to pet the little wolf pups.
She carefully wrote in the notebook, "Can I touch your ears? They look really cute."
After Evie read it, his mismatched black-and-white ears instantly flushed bright red.
He clapped both hands over his ears and quickly backed away, his little face blushing furiously.
His expression was tense as he shook his head gravely. "You can't!"
A helpless look flashed in Holly Wyatt's eyes. Thinking her request had offended him, she looked apologetic and started to write an apology.
Annie, who was standing to the side, suddenly blurted out, "Only mates can touch ears! Holly, you can't touch Evie's ears, but you can touch mine."
Holly Wyatt was stunned for a moment. Before she could react, Annie had nudged her hand up with her head and placed it on one of her red-and-white ears.
'It was so fluffy and soft!!!'
"No rubbing! No rubbing!" Annie's face turned bright red as she covered her ears and dodged away.
Holly Wyatt rubbed her fingertips together, feeling a bit wronged.
'I didn't rub them, I was just pulling my fingers back.'
Still, she gave Annie an apologetic look.
Snowy scooted up to her and curiously took her hand.
This time, Holly Wyatt quickly pulled her hand back.
Snowy was young and probably didn't understand.
But from Annie's and Evie's reactions, she knew.
'Their wolf ears must be very sensitive and shouldn't be touched casually.'
'Probably their tails, too.'
Otherwise, Evie wouldn't be so nervous that his tail was coiled up and tucked away.
She turned to a new page and quickly wrote.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize your ears couldn't be touched. Could you tell me more about your clan's taboos? I'll be more careful next time."
Evie, who was standing far away, read the sentence, and his tense body relaxed.
He and Annie zipped over to her side, chattering away like the old-fashioned lotus flower candles people put on birthday cakes.
Their little mouths ran a mile a minute, making Holly Wyatt's head spin.
Evie: "Our ears and tails have a lot of blood vessels, so they're really sensitive. Only a mate can touch them during mating season. Normally, no one can touch them! Not even our parents!"
"Right, right, right! Tails, too! Awooo~"
"And also..."
"Holly, listen to me..."
"..."
Half an hour later, Holly Wyatt raised both hands and carefully made a hushing gesture toward her two little "guardians," one on her left and one on her right.
The two "lotus flower candles" finally fell silent.
It was too much information. Not only could she not remember it all, but her eyes were starting to hurt from trying to keep up.
They had told her so much, all about their daily lives as wolves.
They explained things in a jumbled, illogical mess, jumping from one topic to the next as things occurred to them.
She paused. 'Maybe this is a good time,' she thought, 'to ask the questions I've been holding back from Silas Thornton.'