Louisa’s POV
I chopped, minced, mixed and stirred, quickly rolled all the ingredients into balls.
Then, I put them into boiling water, and then fried them in oil to give them a layer of nice crispy crust.
After that, I prepared the garlic sauce, adding cranberries and ground cinnamon powder, so it became sweet and sour at the same time.
As I poured the garlic sauce on top of the meatballs, the chef’s compacted facial features unfolded on his face.
His saliva was dripping from his mouth while watching the meatballs being put into individual bowls.
He took up a bowl and gorged all the meatballs into his mouth.
"Wait! It’s too hot!" I tried to stop him, but it was too late.
The chef’s face turned red and I could see steam and fire coming out of his eyes and nose.
"My Moon Goddess! This is… soooooo delicious!!!" he exclaimed in tears.
All the soldiers were drawn by his voice and gathered outside the kitchen tent.
I handed out meatballs one bowl after another.
When they ate it, they all started to jump up and down while howling with happiness.
"I don’t know what I’m eating but this is so good!"
"I want to eat this every day!"
"That she-wolf can cook!"
I wiped off my sweat.
I was more than satisfied to see that everyone enjoyed my cooking.
I took up a big bowl, put as many meatballs I could get inside and walked towards the giant black wolf.
"Here. This is for you." I put the bowl of meatballs in front of him.
He sniffed on the meatballs for a while and pushed the bowl away with his snout.
I was surprised.
"You don’t like meatballs?" I asked in disappointment.
He snorted and rest his head on his giant paws.
"Well, you have to eat something, big guy. You’ve been walking all day." I pushed the bowl forward, "Don’t be a critical eater. It’s better than nothing."
He used his snout to push it away again. Then, he turned his head away.
I frowned.
The only one I wanted to please didn’t like my cooking.
I felt so deflated.
There must be something inside the meatball that he didn’t like.
If only he could tell me.
"Hey, big guy. I’ll prepare you something else to eat." I said, "I know you aren’t a big talker, but could you please at least tell me what you want to eat? I really want you to cook you something… anything."
He turned back and stared at me.
For a brief moment, I thought he was about to say something.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he licked his snout.
I immediately knew he was thirsty, so I ran away and got a pot of water for him.
However, when I took the pot for him, he didn’t drink it at all.
He looked at the pot and then stared at the meatballs.
I was a bit confused.
I took up a meatball and damped it into the water pot, then I lifted it up to his mouth.
He sniffed it carefully, and then swallowed the meatball into his mouth and started munching.
At that moment, I finally realized.
He hated the garlic sauce.
Ah, a very critical eater. I thought to myself.
I damped all the meatballs into the water pot and put them back in the bowl.
He buried his head into the bowl and started bingeing.
"You don’t like garlic, do you, big paw?" I patted his head.
He stopped eating and looked at me, nodding his head very seriously.
"So, I won’t put any garlic in the food anymore." I said and wiped the sweat on my face.
He licked me again.
"Ah! Your tongue is so greasy!" I giggled, "And I taste salty right now!"
He wagged his tail happily and finished the last piece of meatball in the bowl.
Then, he looked at me while licking his snout.
"What?" I asked, "Do you want some more? I’ll get you some more."
I took up the empty bowl and wanted to run away to the kitchen.
But his giant tail stopped me.
I looked back at him and saw him standing up, lifting his chin towards the sky.
Then, he started howling.
His mouth was open, but there was no sound coming out of it.
My heart was throbbing again.
He was mute.
He couldn’t say anything.
That was why he had never said anything to me.
My heart was broken, so I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"I’m here." I said softly, "I’m right here with you, big paw…"
Before I could finish my sentence, I felt that my feet were leaving the ground.
He flung me up to his back and let me ride him like a horse.
I felt overwhelmed with thrill, so I used my legs and arms to wrap his body.
He stood up and turned his back towards me, as if he was checking if I was well seated.
Then, he used his mouth to bite off the chain on my neck and the chain on his neck.
I was amazed when the iron chain was broken like noodles in his mouth.
I used my hands to grab his thick mane tightly.
At that moment, I felt the rush of adrenaline shooting up my head.
I was ready to let him take me anywhere in the world, from the deepest valley of the ocean to the tallest peak of the mountain.
Wherever he went, I would follow.
For the first time in my life, I felt empowered, full of motives and drive.
"Hey, what do you think you’re doing!"
"Come down here, she-wolf!"
I heard soldiers shouting out on the ground, but I was on cloud nine.
The giant black wolf dashed a few steps and charged towards the river.
I realized that he wanted to jump across the river.
The river looked so deep and wide that I thought it was impossible to fly across it.
But then, without any hesitation, his strong powerful legs stomped on the river bank and he leaped into the air.
High.
Higher.
Into the clouds and into the wind.
Higher.
I felt the time was frozen.
I felt like there were wings coming out of my back, like chrysalis transforming into a butterfly.
I felt like I was out of the restraint of gravity, free of any boundaries on earth.
I felt like…
… I was flying.
Steadily, we landed on the other side of the river.
When I looked back and saw how wide the river was, I realized —
With this giant wolf on my side, I could overcome any difficulties in my life.
I was…
…emancipated.