Chapter 132: Not Done Yet (bonus)

Tera gently grabbed Ermin’s arm.

He stopped, but his body was still coiled tight.

Tera looked between him and Calis. As much as she would like to drool over males fighting over her, she might have to cover up for this one before things got serious.

The last thing she needed right now was a fight. She was exhausted, her breasts ached from missed feedings, and if this escalated, someone was going to get hurt, and it would inevitably delay her return.

Then again, the more she thought about what had happened, her anger started to slightly return.

Calis could have just spoken to her like a normal person.

"I lost consciousness, and when he found me at the lake," she started carefully, shooting Calis a hard look when she saw he was about to interrupt her.

This silly wolf better not say jack shit when she was trying to save his skin. Even Tera herself would kick up a riot if a beast knocked out her cub and took them somewhere else, whether they were safe or not.

"So when he saw me alone with the wolf cub—"

"That wasn’t entirely the case."

Tera’s mouth clamped shut.

’What are you DOING?!’

Calis had stepped forward, and the look on his face was one she hadn’t seen before.

He didn’t want her to paint him in a kinder light than he deserved, and watching her start to lie for him made him feel terrible.

He had carried her unconscious body through the forest without even bothering to alert the nearby clan at the very least.

Even worse, he had questioned her sanity when she told him about her mates.

And now she was trying to protect him from the consequences.

He could not stomach it.

"I took her," Calis said, facing Xavi and Ermin directly. "I found her at the lake with my niece, and I... was curious. I did not know there was a clan nearby, and I wasn’t sure how a shiftless female could survive on her own out in the wild, so I brought her to my pack. I knocked her unconscious."

The clearing went deathly still.

Especially Xavi.

Every muscle in his enormous frame locked into place as if his body had turned to stone. His golden eyes, which had been warm with relief moments ago when he held Tera, drained of that warmth so completely they looked like molten metal being poured into a mould.

His nostrils flared once, pulling in Calis’s scent as if committing it to permanent memory.

The silence from Xavi was louder than any roar could have been, and every wolf present felt it press against them.

The two wolves who had brought the Dow clan members to the pack took an involuntary step backward.

Only Calis held his composure.

Ermin was a different kind of terrifying.

His green eyes blazed and his body literally hummed with self restraint. He was itching to immediately attack the wolf leader.

He did not care if he led a pack, how dare this beast strike Tera?

Xavi’s eyes slowly ran over Tera’s body as if looking for a wound and Tera immediately jerked at alert. "Hold on. I am fine and I didn’t feel any pain—"

"How did you knock her unconscious?" Ermin asked in a dangerously calm tone.

That spelt disaster, and Tera’s eyes widened in horror as the silly wolf leader was actually opening his mouth to respond and describe what he had done.

"You idiot! That’s enough!"

Tera stepped between them.

Her hand pressed flat against Ermin’s chest, and she could feel his heart hammering beneath her palm, rapid and furious.

She had watched Calis’s guilt crumble his composure, and her mates’ fury were already building toward something that could not be taken back.

Tera was tired, and she didn’t want any more conflict.

Not when she would especially have to sort out this pack thanks to her ridiculous system.

Bad blood between her clan and this one would make her work more difficult.

More importantly, every second she wasted here was a second she wasn’t holding Nadia and Althea.

Calis seemed remorseful, and that was fine enough for now.

"He has already apologised to me," Tera said firmly, her eyes moving between her mates. "I handled it."

Xavi’s jaw was so tight she could see the muscles jumping beneath his skin. His golden eyes hadn’t left Calis, and the fury still radiated off him and Ermin.

Ermin narrowed his eyes.

"He could have still searched to see if you were truly alone before taking you with him." He glared at Calis. "You took a mother from her mates and children."

Calis shifted behind her. The guilt on his face had deepened into something rawer, and his voice was strained when he spoke. "I did not apologise early enou—"

"I said ENOUGH."

Everyone flinched at how sharp Tera’s voice had gotten.

She faced her mates.

"Let’s just go. I want to return and see my babies," she said softly.

Their coldness melted when they saw how tired Tera was, and they immediately flanked her.

"Then we can leave now," Xavi said, already turning.

"But I also want to come back."

Every pair of eyes snapped to her.

Xavi stopped. Ermin’s head turned slowly.

"What?"

Tera looked at the wolves around her. The poor wolves had eaten cooked meat for the first time last night, and had been dealing with drought until hours ago.

Ermin looked uneasy. "After what they—"

"Their leader did that. Not them. Still, I spent the whole night helping them get water. Their stream has been dry for years now, and I helped them with that." She looked at Xavi. "They are in the same position our clan was in when I first arrived."

Xavi struggled with Tera’s words, directing a harsh glare at Calis who was eyeing Tera with such shock and astonishment.

Then his gaze drifted to the sorry state of the rest of the wolves.

Only then did his eyes soften.

Just a little.

"I know it sounds silly, but I want to help them. Being selfish with what I can do does not feel right."

And she needed to get this pesky system off her back too as soon as possible!

Xavi and Ermin exchanged a look.

They clearly did not look happy about this, but they could faintly understand Tera’s words even though it didn’t entirely sit well with them.

But they also knew this look in her eyes. They had seen it when she announced she was going to build shelters out of sticks. When she declared she was inventing farming. When she stood in the rain and drew lines in the dirt for water channels.

When Tera decided something, the only real option was to get on board or get out of her way.

"Home first," Ermin said firmly. "Then we discuss the rest."

Xavi also nodded, though the one thing on their mind was to delay Tera long enough before she could leave again, and if she did, they would follow her wherever she went.

[HOST!]

[( ˶°ㅁ°) !!]

The system’s screen exploded into view with such frantic energy that Tera nearly flinched.

[WHAT ABOUT THE TASK?!]

[Host cannot just LEAVE!]

[This current task requires—]

[...]

[(꒪⌓꒪)]

[...]

[Oh...]

[(⊙_⊙)]

’The fuck?! Say something!’

[The task seems to have just reached completion]

[(⁝‾ᗜ‾)⁝]

’What?’

[Task Complete!]

[Establish positive relations with the Glimmer Wolf Pack: SUCCESS!]

[Rewards granted!]

[Influence +5, Charm +5, Nipples +20]

[This system is baffled]

[Host’s sincere declaration of wanting to return and help the pack, combined with the water restoration and meat feast, has fulfilled all admiration and cooperation requirements!]

[(..◜ᴗ◝..)]

[Host completed this task by... genuinely wanting to help]

[This system did not think that was a viable strategy]

[What happened to good old communication?]

’Maybe you should take notes.’

[ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ]

Greymaw was silently fuming as he watched everything.

Meanwhile, Calis, who had been listening to all of this, watched Tera cradle her mates’ faces. She seemed to be whispering something to them, and the way she looked at them woke up a restless feeling in his chest that wouldn’t die down.

He felt terribly guilty now, and he was a wolf who usually pride himself in discipline.

Yet, look what he had done.

But a part of him wanted to see their clan. He also wanted to understand what Tera had been able to accomplish due to her being shiftless.

At the very least, he wanted to make things right.

This could be am avenue for him to move his clan to better land, and closer to these beasts.

"I would like to come with you, please."

Xavi and Ermin’s expressions darkened simultaneously, and the warmth that had been slowly returning to the clearing dropped several degrees.

"Absolutely not," Xavi growled, his voice carrying a darkness that made the nearest wolves flatten their ears.

Tera sighed. "Why do you want to come? I still intend to return."

Xavi looked at her sharply, but she held her ground. The fact that she was giving Calis the chance to speak instead of refusing outright was not lost on anyone present.

Calis met their displeasure evenly. "It would be good for our... groups to build a relationship since we are neighbours. And I am eager to see the clan she has spoken so much about."

He paused, and when he continued, the mask of authority slipped enough to show something more honest beneath it. "My pack is struggling. We have water now, but food is scarce, and our territory is too close to the corrupted beasts. I have been considering whether it would be possible to move the pack closer to your region. Being near reliable water and a thriving clan would benefit my wolves."

It wasn’t a demand. It wasn’t a power play. It was a leader admitting his people needed help, and the cost of that admission was visible in how rigidly he held himself while saying it.

The wolves hearts were touched, and a lot of them were feeling terrible for not believing Tera earlier.

They were so close to apologising on their Alpha’s behalf too when they noticed the reaction of the older wolves.