CHAPTER 27: CH 27: SAVING THE DOG....ER WOLVES - PART 3

Mira’s sharp intake of breath echoed in the cave as soon as the wolf forced itself free. Her eyes widened, and she almost lurched forward on instinct.

"We have to help it! It’s hurt—it won’t last long if we just stand here!"

She shouted, her voice trembling with both urgency and desperation.

But while her heart surged with pity, Lucian and Berry exchanged a heavy look. Both of them could see what Mira either refused to admit or couldn’t bear to accept.

The wolf’s body was mangled beyond saving. Even if they used medicine, even if they somehow brought it back to the clearing, it would not live.

Lucian clenched his jaw, unwilling to voice it out loud, but Berry was quieter, the truth written all over his face.

They both knew. And Mira—whether she wanted to or not—sensed it too.

Her lips trembled, and for a moment she looked like she might throw a tantrum, the way she had when Lucian first forced her to work through her pain.

But before the words could escape her, her eyes widened again. The wolf—bloodied and staggering—wasn’t looking at them in hostility. Instead, it dragged its battered frame forward and lowered its muzzle toward the small hollow where the cubs were hidden.

With trembling gentleness, it gripped one tiny pup by the scruff of its neck, carried it out, and dropped it into Lucian’s arms.

Lucian froze, staring down at the tiny bundle of white fur squirming weakly in his hold.

For a heartbeat, he was too stunned to react. Then, as the realization sank in, he released a deep breath that shook in his chest.

The wolf wasn’t attacking them. It was entrusting its young to them.

"I’ll take care of them."

Lucian said quietly, his voice low but firm. He bowed his head ever so slightly to the dying parent, his fingers tightening protectively around the fragile pup.

The wolf gave no reply, but when Lucian stepped into the hollow and reached down toward the nest, the reaction was clear.

Two more pups wriggled toward his hands, their soft whimpers rising as though they instinctively sought comfort from the scent of their parent.

Their tiny bodies pressed against his palms, refusing to let go.

The older wolf gave a small nudge with its bloodied muzzle, urging him wordlessly to take them too.

Lucian swallowed hard before he scooped the other two up.

The weight was almost nothing, but the responsibility pressed heavy on his chest. He handed one pup to Berry, who accepted it silently, and the other to Mira.

Mira’s hands trembled as the small wolf curled up against her chest. Her eyes stung with tears she stubbornly refused to let fall.

She wanted to beg the parent to come with them, to somehow survive long enough to see its children grow. But even as she opened her mouth, she knew the truth.

The wolf’s legs shook, its breaths came shallow, and blood matted the fur along its side.

With one last mournful look back at the cave, Mira tightened her hold on the pup and turned away. Her steps were slow, heavy, as though each one weighed on her soul.

Lucian and Berry followed, careful not to jostle the pups as they left the frozen cavern behind.

As they emerged into the pale light outside, Mira finally stopped and turned for one last glance over her shoulder.

Her heart clenched at the sight of the wolf standing tall despite its broken frame, eyes fixed on them—not with anger, but with a strange acceptance. It had given them its legacy.

"Come on. Now those pups are your responsibility. If you want to honor their parent, you need to pull yourself together."

Berry’s voice broke her thoughts. His tone was gentler than usual, though firm.

Mira blinked hard, then lowered her head and pressed the pup closer to her chest. She didn’t speak, but the determination flickering in her eyes told Lucian and Berry that she understood.

The three of them continued their way out, footsteps crunching over snow, the air crisp with silence.

But inside the cave, the injured wolf’s ears twitched. For a moment, its eyes softened as it listened to the faint whimpers of its young fading into the distance.

Then, its ears flicked again.

A faint hiss of melting snow echoed from deeper within the cavern. The wolf’s eyes narrowed.

A moment later, the ice that had collapsed over the intruders began to shift and crack apart.

With a violent burst, chunks of snow and shards of ice scattered across the floor as the suited team clawed their way free.

The female with flame powers stumbled out first, her protective gear dented and scorched from her own magic backfiring against the snow.

Her hair clung damply to her cheeks beneath the mask, and her furious eyes snapped toward the wolf still standing in the cave.

"You buried us alive. I tried being nice. I even gave you a chance. But I’m done playing games."

She hissed, her voice thick with venom. Flames licked along her gloved fingers as heat radiated into the frozen chamber.

The wolf, too battered to fight, stood its ground silently, its body trembling but its gaze unyielding.

Before the woman could unleash her fire, one of her subordinates stumbled to her side, his voice urgent.

"Captain! The pups—they’re gone!"

She froze. Then her face twisted with rage. The air around her shimmered with heat as flames burst to life around her hands.

"Gone?" she spat, her voice shrill with fury.

"You mean someone took them right under our noses?"

Her subordinates ducked their heads, wary of her wrath. The female let out a furious scream, then thrust both hands forward.

A torrent of fire roared across the cavern, engulfing the frozen walls and the injured wolf alike. The blaze surged outward, consuming everything in its path.

But the cavern refused to yield. The fire roared for only a few moments before the biting cold pushed back.

Snow melted rapidly, then hardened into sleet and ice, extinguishing the flames with a hiss. Steam filled the air, thick and suffocating.

The female staggered back, teeth gritted, as the reality sank in.

Here, in this land of ice and snow, her fire was weak. She could burn the cave black a hundred times, but the cold would smother it each time.

Her subordinates glanced at each other nervously, none daring to speak.

The female, however, trembled with frustration, her fists clenched so tightly that flames sputtered and died out between her fingers.

By then, the small figures carrying the pups were already far from the cavern, their breaths misting in the air, their future entwined with the fragile lives in their arms.

The suited woman’s rage could no longer touch them—not yet.

But the promise of pursuit lingered, burning hotter than her fading flames.