Archie's POV
I couldn't believe what I heard and asked the girl excitedly and nervously, "What did you say? Your wolf can exist independently too?"
She nodded, her face filled with surprise and excitement, "You are the first man I have met who also has an independent wolf! Although my mom and brother say I am a unique miracle, I have always been worried about being different from other kids. Now that I have met you, I feel relieved! Can we be friends? And maybe our wolves can be friends too!"
Hearing her response, I thanked Moon Goodness for the first time. There was someone else in the world just like me, and she wanted to be friends! In my cold world, it felt like a ray of sunshine had penetrated through.
I nodded gently.
"That's great! After we get out, I will definitely introduce you to my family! You will like my mom and brother!"
Seeing her excited smile, I felt a rush of happiness in my heart. I realized how happy it felt to find someone of the "same kind". However, I felt a little strange, "Since your wolf can exist independently, why don't you let it directly help you?"
Upon hearing my question, she sighed, "My wolf doesn't listen to me much... Faye, our pack's witch doctor said it is because I'm too young. The bond between us isn't stable enough. Sometimes I feel her presence, and sometimes I don't, and she doesn't always obey my commands..." She seemed a bit embarrassed and hesitated, "I tried calling her out before, but there was no response..."
I had never encountered such a situation and didn't know how to help her, so I pondered. But she seemed worried that I wouldn't believe her and anxiously said, "I'm telling the truth, I'm not lying to you. Once we are out, I will make sure you meet her. She is very lovely! I bet you will like her! You can chat with her and be friends!"
Hearing her last sentence, I smiled. For some unknown reason, I felt a strange fondness for her. "I believe you. Now let's meet my wolf first. However, it seems affected by the previous drugs and is still asleep. Do you have a way to awaken it?"
The girl nodded. "It might be because my previous treatment wasn't sufficient. Let me try again." As she spoke, she leaned closer to me. "During the healing process, I need to touch your body."
Due to her feet and hands being tied, her movements were limited, but she still gently approached me and then touched her forehead to mine.
Her eyes closed tightly, and her slightly curled long hair fell over her head onto my face. I could smell a faint fragrance from her body, see the fuzz on her face, and a white light radiated from our touching foreheads. I felt a warm force entering my body, making my limbs and body incredibly relaxed, as if immersed in a hot spring, feeling light as if my soul might float in the air.
Then, I clearly felt my wolf waking up under the influence of this warm power!
After it woke up, it became excited like it had been given a shot of adrenaline, howling and wanting to come out. I usually kept it locked in the Bay when there was no fighting because I didn't want others to stare at it oddly. We often argued because of this issue.
But this time, I didn't stop it.
As soon as it touched the ground, it rushed towards the girl, circling around her, jumping, wagging its tail, and continuously whimpering.
I felt incredibly embarrassed instantly. Why couldn't it be a bit more composed? Right now, it seemed like a silly, foolish dog. "Come back, you fool!" I scolded it angrily in my mind.
But my wolf completely ignored my words, still surrounding the girl, even extending its claws, resting them on her leg.
My face turned crimson! I swore to myself that once I was free, I would hang that dumb wolf up and give it a good beating! I stammered an apology, "I'm so … so sorry, I don't know why it suddenly got so... so excited..." My wolf seemed to be disobeying my commands; I even wanted to temporarily lock it in the Bay to stop it from being so crazy, but it refused to comply.
Thankfully, the girl didn't seem offended; she laughed and said, "It's okay, I didn't expect it to be so handsome and enthusiastic! My wolf is a bit too quiet. But please, keep your voice down; we shouldn't reveal our secret to the enemies."
My wolf, completely indifferent to my scolding and commands, immediately closed its mouth, which was almost drooling, and became instantly quiet after hearing the girl's words.
I couldn't help but wonder if the previous drugging had damaged my wolf's brain, making it forget whose was his master.
Seeing my wolf obedient to her, the girl smiled with surprise and exclaimed to me, "Wow, it's so good and obedient!"
I responded with an embarrassed smile, and my wolf's tail wagged even more excitedly. I suspected it might wag its tail off soon.
Then the girl turned to my wolf and said, "Could you please help by biting through our ropes?"
Without a second thought, my wolf immediately lowered its head and bit open the ropes binding the girl. After she was rescued, she joyfully hugged my wolf, "Thank you, you are amazing!"
At that moment, I felt a twinge of jealousy towards my wolf. But right after my wolf was hugged, it happily opened its mouth and slobbered all over the girl's face!
I was instantly furious and awkward! But before I could react, the girl released my wolf, patted its head, "You are so affectionate, but we are pressed for time now. Let's save the others first, okay?"
Saying this, she went to untie her maid, while my wolf, very reluctantly, returned to my side and helped me bite through my ropes. As soon as I was free, I grabbed my wolf by the neck, preventing it from rushing back to the girl, to avoid further embarrassment.
"Don't act like a dog, okay? You have no shame, but I do!" I scolded it in my mind. I was immensely grateful that maybe due to the earlier drug's effect, my wolf still couldn't speak, and it could only hear my words, while I needn't hear his crazy nonsense. Otherwise, I bet its response to the girl would have been beyond embarrassing and awkward for me.
Once the three of us were free, we peered out of the window and saw no guards watching the house outside. It seemed they were confident in the effects of their drugs and didn't assign extra people to keep an eye on us.
So, we took this opportunity and quickly fled from the wooden house. However, it was pitch-black outside with towering trees; I had no clue which way to run.
The Dark Forest was the hell of exiled criminal rogues. If we choose a wrong way, we might encounter more significant danger. It was said that, the forest was a labyrinth, and once entered, there was no way out—the soul would be forever trapped in the woods.
At this moment, the girl grabbed my hand and softly said, "Follow me; I know a way out."
I was surprised but I decided to trust her. Then, we started running swiftly following her.
We were terrified and anxious all the way, especially her maid, who stumbled several times. After what felt like an eternity, the girl took a deep breath and softly said, "We're almost at the edge of the forest; we are almost out." We finally saw a glimmer of hope.
But just then, I caught a whiff of a nauseating, decayed scent in the wind—the scent of rogues. My wolf instantly tensed, gazing back defensively at us.
The girl noticed our reactions and asked nervously, "What's wrong?"
Before I could answer, a pack of wolf howls erupted from the dark depths of the forest, and crows darkened the already dim moonlight. Not far behind us, a group of rogues was swiftly closing in on us, footsteps, wolf howls, and insults filling the air.
We knew we had been discovered. From the sound of it, there were at least a dozen, if not dozens more. We had no chance to escape on this occasion.