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Chapter 1 Getting Thrown Out

In the Beastfolk Empire, the bronze gates of Wildermere Manor stood higher than two men.

The Wildermere crest was cast into the metal: a fox with its head lifted toward the moon, five tails fanning out behind it. Dark red energy stones were set into the fox's eyes, and from the top of the steps, those eyes seemed to stare down with cold judgment.

Two guards dragged Ida Wildermere out by the arms. They took her to the top of the steps and threw her onto the gravel drive.

Ida flew through the air in an arc before hitting the ground hard. Sharp gravel scraped across her skin, and pain shot through her knees.

Before she could even catch her breath, her suitcase came flying after her. It rolled across the drive and snapped open. The cheap latch broke on impact. Washed-out clothes slid across the gravel, all faded fabric, frayed cuffs, and worn seams.

Ida lay face down on the gravel. Her palms were scraped, and blood gathered in small beads, mixing with dust and grit. Then she passed out.

Behind the gates stood a woman in a dark purple dress, perfectly tailored and edged with silver cloud patterns. She looked elegant, rich, and far out of reach.

Her features carried a faint resemblance to Ida's, but her eyes held none of warmth. She looked down at Ida the way people looked at something broken beyond repair. No anger. No pity. Not even disgust.Just nothing.

She was Tania Wildermere, the current head of the Wildermere family. She was the family's proudest genius, an S Level psionic power female, and someone every major power in the empire wanted to win over.

Now she stood inside the gates with sunlight at her back, while Ida lay outside in the shadow of the house that had just thrown her away.

"FF Level psionic power. Can you believe it? The Wildermere family doesn't need useless trash like you." Tania's voice was calm and polished, as if she were saying something simple and obvious.

After that, she didn't spare Ida another glance. She turned and walked back into the manor, her dress gliding around her ankles.

Ida stayed on the ground, barely conscious. A harsh ringing filled her head, so loud that she could hardly think. Then memories that didn't belong to her came crashing in.

The beastfolk world, females, psionic power, soothing the males, bondmates...

The words tore through her mind in broken pieces. Images flashed past too fast for her to hold on to. She saw herself carried to the testing stone for the first time when she was three years old. The moment the stone lit up red, the hope on people's faces died right there.

After that, she was pushed into a forgotten corner of the back courtyard and left to grow up on her own. For more than ten years, no one taught her anything, or whether she was even alive. When the servants remembered her, they brought food. When they forgot, she went hungry.

Just moments ago, she had been brought back to the testing stone. The same red light had appeared. Then her psionic power level showed up: FF Level.

After that, the Wildermeres threw her out.

It took Ida five minutes to sort through the memories in this body. Even then, she only got the rough picture. The pain all over her body was what finally forced her to accept the truth. She had crossed into another world.

This was a beastfolk world. The intelligent race living on this continent was known as beastfolk, and they were divided into females and males.

Male beastfolk were born strong. Most of them awakened all kinds of abilities. Their bodies could take blows that would crush steel, and once they entered a feralized state, they became even more terrifying. However, every male beastfolk was born with a flaw deep in his genes.

Their psionic power would wear down during battles and from using their abilities. Their psionic field was like a house built too close to the edge of a cliff. Every use of power took another chunk out from under it.

Once their collapse index passed the danger line, they would lose control. At that point, reason would be gone. Beast instinct would take over completely. They wouldn't know family from enemy. They would keep fighting until they dropped dead from exhaustion or until someone killed them.

Female beastfolk were the opposite. Most of them had no real fighting power. What they had was the soothing ability. Their psionic power could pull a male back from the edge before he collapsed and calm the chaos in his field.

High-level females could even soothe several males at once. On a battlefield, that kind of female could keep an entire unit from falling apart.

That was why families like the Wildermeres mattered. The Wildermere family was known for producing high-level psionic power females. Among the original Ida's sisters, even the weakest one was B Level.

However, families like the Wildermeres were rare. Females were even rarer.

Across the whole beastfolk world, the ratio of females to males was about 1 to 300. That meant only 1 female for every 300 male beastfolk.

By imperial law, every adult female had to have at least three bondmates.

It wasn't just a privilege. It was also a duty. Every high-level female was a strategic asset to the empire. As long as she was alive, she could keep powerful males sane, stable, and useful.

An S Level female was a treasure every major force would fight to claim and protect. An A Level female would be treated like royalty wherever she went. Even a B Level female would have families lining up for a chance to win her favor.

C Level and D Level females weren't as dazzling, but they could surely lead a carefree life. Any smaller family would gladly take them in and treat them well.

But F Level was different. F Level meant useless.

And Ida was FF Level, even worse than useless.

The second test had only ended today, and the Wildermeres had kicked her out right away without hesitation. They didn't care that the former Ida was still young by beastfolk standards. She was supposed to be under her family's protection at this age.

Land beastfolk didn't live nearly as long as the Royal Ocean Clan, but the stronger they became, the longer they could live.

The empire had no clear law on it, but everyone accepted that a beastfolk wasn't considered fully grown until 25. The former Ida was only 18.

She had already been in bad shape. Years of hunger had left her thin and weak. Getting thrown out had crushed what little strength she had left, and the heavy fall made everything worse. She passed out right in front of the manor gates.

And that was how Ida came here. She sat on the ground for a long while. The dizziness in her head slowly faded, and only then did she move her numb hands and feet.

She gathered the clothes scattered across the gravel. She picked them up one by one, shook off the dust, folded them, and packed them back into the suitcase.

The broken latch wouldn't close anymore, so she pulled a tough weed stem from the roadside and tied the suitcase shut as best as she could.

Then she stood up, brushed the dirt from her clothes, and looked up at the closed bronze gates. She raised her right hand and curled it into a fist. Then she made a one-finger salute—a universal sign of curse.

"So what if I'm FF Level?" Her voice was rough, but every word came out clear. It carried the rage of a 21st-century office worker who had been working half to death to make ends meet.

She complained, "Back in my world, I worked overtime every damn day. Barely got paid. Burned myself out making bosses and rich people richer. And people still called my generation the future. Your standards are so high? Why don't you launch yourselves into space?"

She took a breath and continued, "You looked down on me today. Fine. Don't come crawling back tomorrow. I'm broke now, not dead."

After she was done cursing the Wildermeres, she looked down at her own hands. They were so thin that the bones stood out under the skin.

She slapped her chest in frustration. "And you. Seriously? You got kicked out of and just gave up? That was enough to kill you? Come on. Have some backbone. Now, look what happened. You left this mess to me."

Chapter 2 Big Risks Big Checks

After the rant, some of the anger finally drained out of Ida. She picked up her broken suitcase and headed toward the city outskirts.

The view outside the city was nothing like the view inside. Inside the city, the streets were paved with neat stone, and the buildings stood in clean, orderly rows. Outside the city, there was only a vast old forest.

Towering trees blocked out most of the sky. Their crowns pressed together in a deep green canopy, and when the wind moved through them, the whole forest whispered like waves rolling in the dark.

At the edge of the forest stood a huge holographic notice board. It was about 30 feet tall and 60 feet wide, with a pale blue screen of light flickering softly in the air.

Recruitment notices rolled across the board one after another, including family guards, caravan escorts, mine supervisors, private bondmates, and so on. Lines of words and numbers kept shifting across the screen.

Ida was only passing by. She glanced at the notice board without much interest, but the bold posting pinned at the very top stopped her in place.

[Prison Zero is hiring one warden.]

[Any gender. Any age. Any psionic power level.]

[Room and board included. Monthly pay: 10,000 starcoins.]

[If you're interested, don't hesitate to get in touch with Colonel Eldric Hartfell of the Imperial Military.]

The monthly pay greatly shocked Ida.

She searched the former Ida's memories right away. In this era, an ordinary worker in the empire made about 300 starcoins a month. A decent job paid a little over 350. Compared to that, this salary was insane.

And the real killer was room and board. Right now, Ida had no money, no home, and no clue where she was supposed to sleep tonight. Free food and a free place to stay mattered even more than the paycheck.

Prison Zero sounded dangerous from the name alone. With hiring terms so loose, the message behind the notice was pretty clear. They were willing to take anyone brave enough to show up.

"Big risks, big checks," Ida muttered, and her eyes slowly turned firm.

Just then, noise came from the other end of the street. Ida looked over and saw a crowd moving her way. In the middle of it was a female beastfolk with fluffy cat ears. The pale orange fur caught the sunlight, making her look warm and delicate.

At least eight male beastfolk surrounded her. One held an umbrella over her head. One carried a fruit tray. Several walked ahead to clear the street. The whole scene looked more dramatic than a movie-star entrance.

People around them stopped to watch. The male beastfolk in the crowd didn't even try to hide the longing and envy in their eyes, but none of them dared to get too close.

According to the imperial law, no male was allowed to hurt females. A minor offense meant jail. A serious offense could mean exile or death.

Besides, the Felid Clan female had her bondmates with her. Each one looked sharp and dangerous. One cold look from them was enough to scare off anyone with evil ideas.

Ida watched the scene for a moment. Then she looked down at her own broken suitcase, tied shut with a weed stem, and the unfairness of it all hit her hard.

She tipped her head back and shouted, "God, this is so unfair!"

Her voice carried across the street, and several passersby turned to look at her. Ida immediately regretted it. She lowered her head and acted like nothing had happened.

The embarrassment lasted about three seconds. Then she dragged her suitcase to the notice board, tore off the route map to Prison Zero, and unfolded it.

After one look, her excitement cooled a little. Prison Zero wasn't just far away. It sat beyond the massive forest outside the city, which meant she would have to cross it on foot.

Still, 10,000 starcoins, free food, and free housing beat everything. Ida gripped the handle of her suitcase, clenched her teeth, and walked into the forest.

The forest was much harder to cross than Ida had expected. The ground was covered in tangled roots and soft, rotting soil. Every step sank at a different depth.

Tall trees blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving the forest dim and damp. The air smelled of wet leaves and wood. Every now and then, some unknown beast let out a low roar somewhere far away.

The former Ida's body was too weak. Years of poor food had left her with almost no muscle. She was moving on stubbornness more than strength, and before she had even made it halfway through the forest, both her legs felt heavy.

At last, she couldn't keep going. She found a thick tree, leaned against the trunk, and slid down to the ground, gasping for breath.

"What a weak body," she muttered between breaths. "I spent my previous life going from home to work, pulling nine-to-nine shifts, with zero exercise. Even I wasn't this weak. What did the Wildermeres do to her? Would one meal cost them much?"

As soon as she said that, her stomach answered with a loud, angry growl.

"I'm starving," Ida said weakly, pressing a hand to her belly.

Right then, a dull thump came from nearby. Ida jumped and turned toward the sound. Less than three steps away, a gray wild rabbit lay stiff beside a tree root. Its legs twitched, then it went still.

Ida stared at it for a few seconds and looked up at the tree. Then she looked back at the rabbit. She saw a clear mark on its head. It had run straight into the tree root and knocked itself dead.

"Did dinner just deliver itself?" Ida muttered. Her eyes lit up at once. Hunger left no room for questions, so she scrambled up and grabbed the rabbit. It was surprisingly heavy in her hand, at least three pounds.

"Okay, I take it back. God, you do care about me," she said.

Her joy lasted less than ten seconds. She suddenly realized that she had no way to deal with the rabbit. Without a knife or fire, she could only eat it raw.

Ida held the rabbit and looked up at the sky again. She thought, 'This is like starving in front of a locked restaurant.'

Just as she was staring at the rabbit in despair, something shifted inside her mind. It felt as if a door deep in her consciousness had opened from the other side.

Before Ida could react, the forest vanished. Her awareness appeared in a square stretch of open ground.

The space looked to be about 1,000 square feet. The floor was flat-packed earth, and soft mist covered the edges, hiding whatever lay beyond. Beside the open ground stood an old stone well. Its rim had been worn smooth, and the water inside was clean and clear.

In the very center of the space stood the small apartment she had worked herself half to death to buy in her previous life.

It was only 370 square feet, with two levels, one bedroom, and one living room. It wasn't big, but right now, Ida was so excited that she almost cried. She rushed toward it as fast as she could.

The living room was packed almost to the ceiling with supplies. Back when she had been hooked on apocalypse novels, anxiety had pushed her to buy things bit by bit.

At the time, she kept telling herself that maybe one day, zombies really would surround the city. After every purchase, she also thought she was losing her mind.

Now, all those supplies were life-saving treasure.

Everything she had once called useless was sitting quietly in her space, waiting for her to use it.

Chapter 3 The Camp Cookout

Ida dug through the pile of supplies in her apartment and found a brand-new outdoor survival knife, a windproof lighter, and a full set of portable spice jars.

"Thank god. You really do look out for me." Ida held the knife and lighter tightly, her voice trembling.

She smiled and got to work on the rabbit. With the right tools in hand, this wasn't survival anymore. This was basically a camp cookout.

She skinned the rabbit, cleaned out the organs, and washed the meat with water from the well. The water was cool and faintly sweet, and the rabbit came out clean and fresh. Ida had no idea what talent this new body had, but she was pretty sure all her own points had gone into cooking.

Once the meat was ready, she gathered dry branches and built a small fire. The windproof lighter clicked once, and orange flames caught on the dead leaves. Soon, the wood was crackling.

Ida cut the rabbit into small pieces, skewered them on sharpened branches, and set them over the fire.

As the meat slowly roasted, she added salt, pepper, and chili powder one by one. The moment the spices hit the hot fat, the smell burst into the air. It was rich, sharp, and mouthwatering.

The rabbit was roasted until the outside turned crisp and golden, while the inside stayed tender and juicy. Oil glistened on the surface. When Ida bit into a piece, hot juice filled her mouth, and the flavor of the spices sank deep into every bite.

She sat beside the fire, turning the skewers as they sizzled and dripped oil.

After sprinkling on one last layer of chili powder, the aroma, along with the smell of the burning woods, floated among the forest.

Ida took another big bite and narrowed her eyes in pure happiness. The meat was crisp on the outside and tender within, hot juices bursting across her tongue as the heat of the chili and cumin shot straight to her head.

She sighed inwardly, 'This is better than every takeout meal I've ever ordered in my previous life.'

She wrapped the leftover rabbit meat in clean leaves and placed it on a stone beside her. Then she went back to roasting the last skewer in her hand. The flames brushed over the meat, fat dripped into the fire with a soft hiss, and the smell of roasted meat spread around her.

Spices like these had never existed on this land. Now that strong, tempting scent rode the night wind and drifted deeper into the forest.

*****

Meanwhile, Sylas Griswold was racing through the woods.

He was still in his feralized form, running on all fours. His silver-gray wolf claws tore over dead branches and fallen leaves, and he moved so fast that his body blurred through the trees.

Moonlight slipped through the canopy and fell across his fur, giving it a cold metallic sheen.

However, he was in bad shape.

Pain tore through his psionic field with every heartbeat. His vision kept blurring in and out, and the last of his reason was stretched thin. With one more push, it would snap.

Sylas knew what this meant. His psionic power was close to collapse. Once he crossed that line, he would turn into a true rampaging beastfolk. He wouldn't know friend from foe. He wouldn't know family from enemy.

He would keep going until his body gave out, or until his own people put him down.

Imperial law said once a psionic collapse index passed 70, forced soothing was required. Sylas had pushed through from 70 to 84.

He didn't want those females soothing him.

The Imperial Military and his mother had arranged noble females for him more than once. Each one was graceful, gentle, and polished. On the surface, they were perfect. But Sylas could see what was hiding behind their eyes. They looked at him like a prize.

Sylas Griswold was the Direwolf Clan's major general with S Level combat power and the youngest rising star in the entire empire. Every female wanted a male like him on their bondmate list.

Those females always smiled at him, but their eyes showed they were judging the value of an expensive weapon, which made him sick.

That was why he would rather go to Prison Zero. His old commander was locked up there. He was Aurelian Veyr, marshal of the Third Imperial Legion.

Aurelian's psionic collapse index had passed the danger line three years ago, but he had refused soothing from every female sent to him. In the end, the military had sent him to Prison Zero under the name of protective custody.

Sylas thought that place might suit him too. At least in there, no one would look at him with those eyes as if he were prey.

Three days ago, he had left the Northlands garrison. He had crossed the Wolf Fang Mountains, passed over the Luvian Plains, and entered this old forest. Prison Zero sat in the valley at the far end of the woods. At his speed, he should reach it before dawn.

What he didn't expect was to catch a scent less than 30 miles from Prison Zero. The moment he smelled it, he stopped.

It was roasted meat, but not the kind he knew.

Sylas had eaten plenty of roasted meat on the battlefield. During forced marches, soldiers hunted whatever they could find, skinned it, and threw it over a fire. The meat was only cooked and edible. No one cared about flavor.

This scent was different. There was the rich smell of hot fat and charred meat, but mixed into it was something sharp and unfamiliar. Spicy, smoky, and fresh all at once. One breath of it was enough to pull at something deep in him.

His steps slowed on their own. He drew in another breath. The scent hit his senses hard, and for one brief moment, even the pain tearing through his psionic field seemed to ease.

Sylas stood still. His reason told him to keep moving. Prison Zero was just ahead. But his four paws stayed planted on the ground. He couldn't make himself leave.

He had been sent to the battlefield soon after he first learned to take beast form. He had fought his way through life-and-death missions for years, and he had never once thought the empire owed him anything.

But right now, for the first time, he felt that he had treated his own tongue terribly.

After a few seconds of struggle, Sylas made a decision so ridiculous that even he couldn't believe it.

He changed direction and followed the scent through the trees without making a sound.

He wouldn't let anyone see his face. After all, he was a major general of the Third Imperial Legion, a rare S Level fighter from the Direwolf Clan, and a tactical genius whose battles had been written into Imperial Military Academy textbooks.

If anyone found out he had sneaked into the woods for a bite of roasted meat, he wasn't supposed to give orders in the military ever again.

Thus, he gave up on his human form completely. He shifted fully into beast form and became a massive silver-gray wolf.

In this shape, even if someone saw him, no one would connect him to Major General Sylas Griswold. At most, they would think he was just an unusually large wolf.

Sylas pulled back every trace of his killing pressure and moved through the forest in silence. At last, he stopped behind a thick patch of bushes.

Through the leaves, he saw the scene by the fire.

A petite, skinny female was crouched beside the flames. Her hair was tied back in a careless knot. Her clothes were old and faded, and there was a scrape on one knee.

Her face was dusty, with a few dark smudges across her cheeks. She looked miserable, like some stray little thing that had been caught in the rain.

But her eyes were bright. Her mouth was shiny with oil, and she looked so happy with every bite that even the mess on her face somehow seemed lively.

Beside her, on a stone, sat a bundle of golden roasted rabbit wrapped in leaves.

Sylas's gaze locked on that bundle. His throat moved before he could stop it.

He thought, 'Is this embarrassing? Yes. Do I still want the meat? Yes.' He had lived an honest life, yet today, he could afford one bad decision.

The next second, a silver-gray shadow shot out from the bushes.

Ida was still turning the last skewer over the fire when she caught a huge gray blur rushing toward her from the corner of her eye.

Before she could react, the shadow swept past her side, grabbed the leaf-wrapped rabbit from the stone with perfect aim, and landed a few steps away with a low sound in its throat.

The whole thing happened so fast that Ida barely had time to blink. In less than two seconds, her meat was gone.

Chapter 4 What A Cool Puppy

Ida held the half-eaten skewer in her hand and stared blankly at the uninvited guest in front of her.

Under the moonlight, its silver-gray fur carried a cold, faint shine. It was more than twice the size of any canine she had ever seen on Bluestar.

Its shoulders came almost to her waist, and its long legs looked lean and powerful. Its claws dug into the dirt, each one looking sharp enough to tear her skin open.

The wolf stood there with its gray-blue eyes squinted, the bundle of rabbit meat still clamped in its jaws. It had moved really fast, but at least it had some manners. It didn't swallow the leaves with the meat.

Ida blinked at it again and again.

The wolf finished most of the rabbit in a few bites. Even the bones cracked under its teeth and were easily swallowed.

After it was done, it licked its lips, let its tongue hang out, and had some deep breaths. A brief look of deep satisfaction passed through its gray-blue eyes.

Ida knew that look. It was the face of someone getting wrecked by spicy food and still wanting another bite.

"What a greedy puppy," Ida said, unable to hold back her chuckle. "How long have you been starving?"

The wolf ears on Sylas's head caught the word "puppy", and they flattened back by instinct.

Sylas thought, 'Puppy? I am a pure-blood wofe. An S Level fighter. A major general of the empire. And this female called me a puppy?'

But the meat in his mouth hadn't even gone down yet, and the taste still sitting on his tongue made it hard for him to get angry. More importantly, he suddenly noticed something.

Only a few dozen seconds had passed since his first bite, but the sharp pain in his psionic field had eased.

It wasn't an illusion. The pain had really eased. He closed his eyes and checked inside himself. His collapse index had dropped from 84 to 83, all from one bite of meat.

Sylas opened his eyes wide, disbelief filling his pupils. He had gone through countless tests at the Northlands military clinic, used the most expensive medicine in the empire, and even received treatment from the newest psionic therapy devices.

Even the best treatment had only held the pain back for a while. His collapse index had never dropped.

But the roasted rabbit from this female had somehow brought his collapse index down by a full point.

Sylas stood there and watched Ida. A darker, sharper look moved through his gray-blue eyes.

He thought, 'Who is this female? And what exactly did she put on the meat?'

Sylas could feel her psionic power clearly. It was very weak. It might not even reach the lowest F Level. On any family's testing device, that kind of result would set off a red warning light. Across the empire, it was the level everyone called useless.

However, the meat she roasted worked better than the most advanced psionic therapy device in the empire. Sylas thought it made no sense.

Ida had no idea that the big dog in front of her was losing his mind inside. Her attention was on something else entirely. She sighed inwardly, 'Oh my, he's such a cool dog.

'He's more than twice the size of an Alaskan malamute from Bluestar. His silver-gray fur looks thick and soft, with a faint glow under the moonlight. It must feel amazing.'

Sylas's gray-blue eyes looked like clear gemstones in the firelight. His pointed ears twitched every now and then, and his fluffy tail hung behind him with the tip slightly raised. He looked alert, curious, and wild in the best possible way.

Ida could barely fight her urge to pet this dog.

Back on Bluestar, Ida had two hobbies. One was studying food, and the other was petting anything fluffy.

As long as she wasn't working overtime, she spent her weekends checking in at cat cafés and dog cafés. She had membership cards for every pet café within three miles of her apartment.

But to her, no dog she had ever met on Bluestar could match even a fraction of the one standing in front of her. He had the kind of beauty no house pet could have—wild, powerful, and proud.

Ida put down the skewer in her hand and looked at the huge wolf with shining eyes. Without meaning to, her voice turned soft and sweet, the way people talked to cute animals. "Hey, puppy. Want some more?"

She waved the uncooked meat skewer in her hand.

Sylas looked at the raw meat for one second, his face unreadable. He had eaten raw meat for twenty years, and he had no interest.

His gaze moved back to the little jars beside the fire. Those colorful bottles were what this female had sprinkled over the meat.

He had seen that she had sprinkled some powder onto the rabbit, and then that impossible smell had filled the air.

When Ida noticed that he wasn't looking at the raw meat and was staring at her spice jars instead, she got even more excited.

She set the skewer aside, crouched down, and tried to meet the giant wolf at eye level. Then she slowly reached out her right hand, palm up, in a careful invitation.

"Come here, puppy," she said, her eyes bright with pure kindness and barely hidden excitement. "Let me pet you, and I'll roast more meat for you. Relax, I won't hurt you. I'm really good at this. The puppies at the pet café all love me."

Sylas stared at the female in silence. When she said she wouldn't hurt him, her voice sounded so honest and matter-of-fact that she clearly didn't see anything strange about it.

Sylas almost wanted to laugh. He thought, 'I'm an S Level beastfolk. Beneath my fur and muscle is enough power to tear steel apart. She's a female with incredibly weak psionic power.

'How exactly is she supposed to hurt me? With the stick she stuck into the dirt? That thing probably can't even break one strand of my fur.'

That was what logic said, but his body moved before his mind could stop it.

He took one step forward, then another. Sylas told himself he was doing this to figure out what those powders were. He needed to know if the drop in his collapse index had been a fluke. This was for military research and the empire.

But somewhere deep down, a much quieter thought slipped through. 'Gosh, her eyes are beautiful.'

They were bright and warm, with deep brown pupils.

There was no calculation in the way she looked at him. She wasn't weighing his value or treating him like a title, a weapon, or some prize to add to a bondmate list.

She looked at him as if she had found something that made her truly happy. That look was clean and simple, with pure admiration.

The feeling was so unfamiliar that Sylas didn't know what to do with it.

Before he had time to think, he was already standing in front of Ida. His huge body blocked part of the firelight, and his shadow fell over her.

Ida's eyes lit up at once.

She reached out carefully and placed her hand on his front leg. The moment her fingers touched his fur, her whole body gave a tiny shake. It wasn't from fear, but from joy.

His outer fur was a little coarse to resist strong winds and sunlight, but the fur underneath was unbelievably soft. It was thick, warm, and dense, and her fingers sank into it in the best way.

Under all that fur, she could feel firm muscle and steady heat. He felt alive, powerful, and warm under her hands.

"So cute." Ida's voice went soft and dreamy. She immediately put another hand too. She ran her hands up along his front leg, over his shoulder, and then to the side of his neck.

The wolf was so big that she had to use both arms to reach around part of him. She buried her face in the thick fur at his neck and took a deep breath.

He smelled like cold night air, pine trees, and clean wind. The smell was wild and strangely comforting.

"Oh my god, your fur feels so soft," Ida murmured. "What do you even use? Your fur is smoother than any golden retriever I've ever seen."

Upon hearing that, Sylas froze where he stood.

Every muscle in his body went tight. It was not fear or nerves. It was something strange, something he had no name for.

A female was touching him all over. Her fingers sank into his fur and moved close to his skin. She wasn't exactly gentle, and she was getting bolder by the second, but he didn't hate it.

Her hands were a little cool. Her nails were clean and short. The touch was light and steady. It slipped through his fur and reached places he hadn't known could react.

Sylas lowered his eyes and looked at the petite female who barely came up to his knees. Her whole face was buried in the fur around his neck, and the small part of her ear that he could see had turned red.

Her fingers moved in slow circles near his shoulder, and she kept mumbling, "So soft. He's so cool. How does his fur feel so good?" Most of it made no sense to him.

Sylas's tail gave a small sway.

He held it back at once. He forced his tail still, lifted his chin slightly, and put on a cold look. His gray-blue eyes narrowed as he tried very hard to look like a dangerous beast, not a giant dog enjoying being petted.

But his ears gave him away. When Ida's fingers brushed the base of his upright ears, they twitched fast. Then, against his will, they folded back.

"Oh, your ears moved," Ida cried in delight. She lifted her face from his fur and stared at the fluffy ears with shining eyes. "That's so cute. Can I touch them?"

She didn't wait for an answer. In her mind, a dog wasn't going to answer her anyway, and her hand had already reached up.

The wolf ears felt nothing like she had expected. A layer of short, dense fur covered the outside, finer and softer than the fur on his body. The ear itself was thin and flexible, and her fingertips could feel the shape of the cartilage under the fur.

She gently rubbed the tip of his ear with her thumb. His ears instantly pulled back, twitched several times, and then slowly stood up again as if they were trying to act normal.

Chapter 5 He Still Wanted More

Sylas lowered his head and looked at the raw rabbit beside his paw. Then he looked at the skewer Ida was roasting over the fire. After a short pause, he raised one front paw and gently nudged the uncooked rabbit.

The movement was very light, almost careful. It was as if he were saying, 'Cook this one like the same way.'

Ida followed his movement and looked down at the huge paw. Then she looked back into his eyes and understood right away.

"You want this one too?" she asked, pointing at the raw rabbit.

Sylas nodded. His big head moved up and down while his ears swayed with the motion.

Of course he could speak. Not only could he speak, but he could also give a full battlefield report in three official imperial languages. But he refused to speak now because this female clearly thought he was a dog.

And when she had petted him earlier, she had called him cute. It had also felt good. Sylas thought, 'Seems she likes dogs. Then I can be a dog for now.'

A major general of the empire pretending to be a dog for roasted meat was the kind of thing that could make his soldiers laugh their ass off. But there was no one else in this forest to see it, so Sylas decided to keep his mouth shut.

When Ida saw him nod, she laughed and shook the spice jar at him. "Fine. Give me a minute. I'll make it for you."

She set the remaining raw skewers back over the fire, and this time, she took it even more seriously.

The rabbit pieces turned slowly above the flames. Ida held the skewers in one hand and added the seasoning with the other.

First came the salt, so the meat had a solid base of flavor. Then she added pepper and cumin. The heat woke up the spices at once, and the smell rose sharp and rich from the sizzling meat.

Last came the chili powder. The red powder landed on the hot, oily surface and melted into a glossy red coating.

Ida turned the skewers at an easy, steady pace. She waited until each side was lightly browned before moving to the next, making sure the meat cooked through without burning or drying out.

Sylas crouched beside her, his eyes fixed on the meat.

His sense of smell was even sharper in beast form. Once the spices hit the fire, the scent became almost impossible to ignore. It pushed straight into his nose and took over every thought. He couldn't help thinking, 'When was the last time I smelled something so good?'

He couldn't remember that. The legion mess hall served nutritional drinks and black bread in different combinations, as if that counted as variety. The Northlands field rations were so dry and hard that swallowing them took real determination.

This skewer of meat made the last 20 years of his diet feel like a crime.

When the meat was done, Ida took it off the fire, blew on it, and held it out to him. "Here. Careful, it's hot."

Sylas lowered his head and took it from her. He took a bite, and the crisp surface gave way to tender meat underneath.

Hot juice filled his mouth, mixed with spices and a deep roasted flavor he had never tasted before. He finished the whole skewer in two bites, bones and all, the crunch loud in the quiet forest.

Then he lifted his head and looked at her again.

His gray-blue eyes said it clearly that he still wanted more.

Ida spread both hands and pointed at the pile of clean bones on the ground. "I found only one rabbit. I ate half. You ate the other half. No more left."

After she said that, she suddenly paused. She looked down at the spice jar in her hand, then at the bones on the ground, and the math finally caught up with her.

She thought, 'Wait. He stole the first half, and I used my own portion to make these for him. So I basically spent all this time feeding him. Whatever. I'm full anyway. Besides, his appearance won him food.'

When Sylas heard there was no more meat, his tail lowered.

He turned around and slipped back into the trees without a sound.

Ida was packing up the spice jars when she caught the movement from the corner of her eye. The huge silver-gray figure had stood up and was walking into the forest.

She froze for a second, then got to her feet and chased after him for a couple of steps. "Hey? Puppy?"

The forest stayed quiet. No answer came back. Only the wind moved through the leaves, with the faint sound of insects calling somewhere in the distance.

Ida stood beside the fire, still holding the bare skewer in her hand. For some reason, her chest felt a little empty. She sighed, looked down, and chuckled. She thought, 'That's a wild animal. Gets food, then leaves. That's normal.'

Ida stamped out the fire, then bent down to pick up her baseball bat and suitcase.

Just then, the bushes behind her shook hard.

She turned around and saw the huge silver-gray dog walking out of the forest with three gray rabbits in his mouth.

Each one was plump and perfectly intact. He held them carefully by the back of the neck, so gently that there wasn't even a tooth mark on their fur.

He stepped over the fallen leaves and came to a stop in front of Ida. Then he placed all three rabbits neatly at her feet and looked up at her.

His gray-blue eyes were calm and serious, while his tail gave a small, unconscious wag behind him.

Ida looked down at the rabbits, then looked back at him.

"Whoa! Good boy!" Her eyes lit up. She crouched down, cupped his face with both hands, and rubbed it with delight. "I thought you left and weren't coming back."

Sylas's face was pushed out of shape under her hands. His cheeks squeezed through her fingers, and with those calm eyes, he looked helpless and funny.

He mused, 'She thought I was gone for good? Three rabbits are enough to make her this happy?'

But he didn't hate the way she smiled when she was pleased. So he stayed where he was and let her rub his face as much as she wanted.

Ida rubbed him for a full minute before she finally pulled her hands back, still a little reluctant. Then she lowered her head and looked over the three rabbits again.

They were fat, with smooth fur, and each one weighed about three pounds. It was more than enough for her and this big dog to have another meal.

Then she noticed something else. There were no teeth marks on the rabbits's necks. Their fur was perfect. Not even the skin had been broken. Ida glanced at Sylas, thinking, 'This dog has crazy control. He carried three live rabbits back and didn't even break their skin.'

"All right," Ida said, rolling up her sleeves. She crouched down again and pulled out the knife and spices from her space. "You brought the food, and I cook. How can I say no to a fluffy face like that?"

She started working on the rabbits with quick movements. This time, she was clearly better at it. Skinning, removing the organs, washing, cutting, she handled each step smoothly.

She used the well water to rinse the meat clean. The knife followed the joints with sharp, easy cuts, and the pieces came out even. She laid them on a clean flat stone, then rebuilt the firewood she had just kicked apart.

The lighter clicked, orange flames caught the dry branches, and the fire crackled back to life.

Sylas lay down beside her and watched her work. Firelight fell across her face. Fine beads of sweat formed near her temples. She wiped them away with her hand and kept turning the skewers, adding spices, and checking the heat.

Soon, cumin and chili filled the air again, stronger than before. For bigger portions, Ida was generous with the seasoning.

As she cooked, she muttered to herself, "I need to check if there's a grill in my space. This chili powder is almost used up. I'd better still have some stored. And if I had honey to brush on top, this would be amazing."

After a while, she even started humming. Sylas didn't know the tune. It was light, loose, and careless. It couldn't have been more different from the heavy marching songs of Northlands.

He rested his chin on his front paws and watched her quietly. He thought, 'This is much better than chewing field rations in Northlands.'

Chapter 6 He Wanted To Protect Her

Almost all three roasted rabbits ended up in Sylas's stomach.

Ida watched him crunch through two rabbits, meat and bones together, like it was nothing. After he finished, he even licked the fur around his mouth, then let his eyes drift toward the meat in her hand again.

Ida quickly shoved the last half skewer into her mouth and raised one hand in surrender. "See? No more. Seriously, no more. You ate three rabbits. I barely got a bite. How are you still looking at me like that?"

Sylas looked away as if nothing had happened. Then he lowered his head and licked one front paw, pretending he hadn't heard her.

After they ate, Ida put out the fire, stored her suitcase back in her space, and kept moving.

With food in her stomach, she had a little more strength. But the former Ida's body was still hopeless. Less than twenty minutes later, she was already out of breath again.

Sweat gathered on her forehead. Her legs felt heavy, and every step made her calves shake.

She forced herself to keep going for a while longer, but in the end, she had to stop under a large tree. She leaned back against the trunk and slowly slid down to the ground, breathing hard.

The forest was getting darker. Through the gaps in the branches, the sky had shifted from pale blue to a dull orange. The sun was sinking, and the air in the forest had cooled by several degrees.

Ida was worried. She couldn't spend the night in this forest. She had no desire to find out what this place turned into after dark.

However, her legs refused to work. She had no choice but to close her eyes and rest against the tree for a while. In her head, she tried to figure out how much longer it would take to reach Prison Zero at this speed.

When she opened her eyes, a silver-gray figure had appeared right in front of her without making a sound.

Turned out Sylas had been following her since the moment she stopped walking. He had watched her take a few steps, stop to breathe, then force herself forward again. He couldn't help but worry about her.

His wolf face couldn't show a real frown, but his eyes were full of confusion and concern.

He thought this female's body was far too weak. He had seen plenty of wounded soldiers in his life, yet her condition still shocked him.

In Northlands, even female clerks in the logistics department could march several miles on foot without falling apart. But this one looked ready to collapse after a short walk. Sylas thought, 'How did she survive this long?'

"Puppy?" Ida exclaimed. She opened her eyes and found that cool wolf face right in front of her. He was less than two feet away, looking down at her. She had no idea how long he had been staring.

She moved back on instinct and bumped the back of her head against the tree trunk. Pain shot through her scalp, and she hissed. "Don't get that close out of nowhere. You scared me."

She took a breath and looked at Sylas. He was crouched in front of her, still and steady, with no sign that he planned to leave. A helpless, sour feeling rose in her chest.

She reached out and tried to reason with this oddly smart dog. "Puppy, you can't keep following me. I can't even take care of myself right now. I definitely can't feed you."

Sylas didn't move but only stared at her.

Ida sighed. Her voice dropped low, like she was talking to the dog and to herself at the same time. "I'll be honest with you. I just got kicked out of my family. I don't have money. I don't even know where I'm sleeping tonight.

"You're a good dog. You're cool, and you can hunt. Following me would be a terrible deal for you. The forest is better for you. You've got skills. You've got space. Why come with me and suffer?"

She said it in a calm voice, as if she were talking about someone else's problem. But Sylas noticed the slight drop at the corners of her eyes. He also saw how tightly her fingers gripped the handle of her suitcase.

He thought, 'Wait. She said she couldn't look out for me? Don't make me laugh. I am the heir of the Direwolf Clan, a major general of the Third Imperial Legion, and the deputy commander of the Northlands defense line.

'I have never had to worry about money in my life, and she is worried she can't feed me?

'She doesn't have a place to sleep tonight, yet she's still worried about not being able to feed a dog. How can anyone throw away such a foolish female? Well, since no one wants her, I do.

'Not want. Protect. I mean protect. Every female in the empire is under special protection by law. A female traveling alone, with no attendants and no guards, needs more help. Any male with a military rank has the duty to watch over her and keep her safe.'

The major general found himself a perfectly official reason and decided not to look too closely at why it had come to him so easily.

Ida saw that he was still crouched in front of her with no sign of leaving. Letting out a sigh, she pulled the route map to Prison Zero from her clothes and unfolded it for him.

She pointed at the destination marked with a red circle, her face very serious. "See this? I'm going to Prison Zero. It's really far. We still have to cross that mountain up ahead. I can barely walk by myself right now. I really can't bring you along."

Sylas glanced at the map. Hearing Prison Zero made his ears move slightly.

That had been his destination from the start. To be more exact, he had planned to reach Prison Zero tonight and have himself locked inside, just like the marshal had done years ago.

His psionic collapse index was already close to the breaking point. He would rather lock himself inside a prison for the empire's most dangerous criminals than accept soothing from noble females who looked at him with ambition in their eyes.

Then fate had dragged him into this forest, sent the smell of roasted meat into his path, and led him to her.

More coincidentally, she was going to Prison Zero too.

Sylas rose from his crouch. His four legs settled firmly beneath him, and his silver-gray fur caught the fading evening light with a cold sheen.

He took one step forward, turned his body slightly, and offered Ida his back. Then he looked over his shoulder at her. The meaning in his gray-blue eyes was clear—he wanted her to get on.

Ida blinked, not quite understanding his meaning. She blurted out, "Puppy?"

Sylas tilted his head again. His gaze moved toward his back, then returned to her. The message was the same.

This time, Ida understood it.

A huge silver-gray wolf, bigger than any Alaskan malamute she had ever seen, was crouched quietly in front of her and telling her to climb onto his back. Ida stood there without moving.

It wasn't because she didn't want to. Something had suddenly pressed tight in her chest. That very morning, her own family had thrown her out like trash.

She had hit the gravel outside the gates, her suitcase had burst open, and not one person had cared enough to spare her a glance.

Now, a wild dog she had only just met had hunted for her, stayed with her, and even offered to carry her.

A dog was being so nice to her. However, the Wildermeres didn't even meet that bar.

Ida blinked hard and forced the sting in her eyes back down. Then she took a deep breath and smiled.

She braced a hand against the tree, stood up, and brushed the dirt from her clothes before walking toward Sylas.

"You sure about this? I look skinny, but I'm still a grown adult. Don't push yourself." As she spoke, her hand had already landed on Sylas's back.

Sylas answered with a very soft breath through his nose. It was almost too quiet to hear, but the meaning was clear enough. "Don't look down on me, okay?"

Ida stopped hesitating. She held onto the thick fur at the sides of his neck and carefully climbed onto his back. His fur was thick and soft. Sitting on him felt like sinking into a warm blanket that heated itself.

His body heat came through the fur, steady and comforting, and Ida almost let out a happy sound before she caught herself.

"Okay," she said, gripping the fur at his neck and leaning down close to his ear. Her voice was full of excitement she couldn't hide. "Let's go, puppy."

Her warm breath brushed over Sylas's ear, and the fine fur at the tip trembled. Sylas complained inwardly, 'She still thinks I'm a dog.' Then he started running toward Prison Zero.

His body moved through the forest with smooth, steady speed. he kept himself slower than usual on purpose. The female on his back was too fragile, and he didn't want the ride to hurt her.

Even at a small part of his real speed, the trees still rushed past them. Evening wind swept by, lifting Ida's hair behind her.

She lay against his back and held tightly around his neck. Her face sank into the soft fur at the back of his neck. The wind, the insects, and the rustle of leaves blended into a quiet forest song.

Ida narrowed her eyes and felt the whole thing become unreal. This morning, she had been lying on the ground outside Wildermere Manor. Now, she was riding a giant wolf through an old forest to apply for a prison job that paid 10,000 starcoins a month.

She exclaimed inwardly, 'My life has officially gone off the rails.'

A small laugh slipped out of her as she murmured, "Thanks, puppy."

Sylas's ears twitched again, but he didn't slow down.