Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 19: Roc Forest (I)

"Sisi, I’m hungry..." Jojo complained as his stomach grumbled again. "Can we go on a hunt now? I can hunt for our dinner... and lunch... and breakfast too. I will catch a big forest buffalo for you. Ah, I’m so hungry..."

"You have to wait. It’s still raining, and the ground must be slippery. I don’t want you to get hurt," Sisi said as she hugged him tighter to share warmth.

It had been a day since they left the farm. At first, Sisi was scared that something might happen once they entered the forest. After all, they could encounter dangerous wild beasts at any time, and Sisi worried she wouldn’t be able to protect Jojo.

Fortunately, they were still near the edge of the forest, and aside from some wild foxes and snakes, they hadn’t encountered any life-threatening predators yet.

After half a day of walking aimlessly, Sisi found a cave just wide enough for her and Jojo to squeeze into and rest. She’d planned to take a quick break, but she eventually fell asleep from exhaustion. When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark, and a downpour had forced them to remain inside the cave.

Sisi looked at Jojo, still in his wolf form, whimpering softly while lying on her lap. She felt bad for not packing the salted fish. At least with salted fish, Jojo would’ve had something to eat, even if he disliked it.

The rain only worsened, so to warm themselves, Sisi set up a small bonfire and sat next to it while Jojo continued resting on her lap. She stared at the flames, trying to process their current situation.

At the moment, she had no definite destination.

All she had thought of was escaping her predicament by entering Roc Forest, staying as far as possible from human civilization so no one would discover Jojo.

But without a destination... what would become of Jojo? Surely, he’d prefer to settle somewhere, right?

It would be safer to find a place they could call home.

"What are you thinking about, Sisi?" Jojo asked. He stretched his body and yawned. To cope with his hunger, he had been sleeping often, but eventually even sleep wasn’t enough, and hunger overwhelmed him.

"I’m just thinking about what to do next. Do you have a pack? I heard wolves usually live in packs and hunt together. Maybe I can bring you home," Sisi said.

Jojo paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"My Daddy and I have always been alone. We don’t have a pack, so we just travel from one place to another," Jojo said weakly. Whenever he remembered his father, his chest tightened and he felt uncomfortable. The only comfort he found was by Sisi’s side, so he nestled deeper against her. "I asked Daddy once, because I want to have a friend too. But he told me I can’t make friends, because we always have to leave."

"B-but it’s okay! Daddy is all I need! I don’t feel lonely at all when I’m with him!" Jojo raised his voice as if trying to inject himself with optimism. He looked up at Sisi and smiled. "Now I don’t feel lonely either, since I’m with you, Sisi!"

Sisi smiled back and patted his head.

His answer was depressing, but also a relief. At least Jojo wouldn’t feel homesick during their journey.

Since Jojo had no destination, her next goal was to find his father.

"Do you know what happened before you got separated from your dad?"

"Umm... we were just walking through the forest like usual, and then we got ambushed by many tiger beastmen. We tried to escape, but got cornered near a hill. So Daddy threw me off the hill while he fought them all." Jojo’s voice grew small. "My Daddy is very strong. I’m sure he will survive!"

Sisi didn’t have the heart to shatter his hope. Even if Jojo’s father was strong, fighting that many tiger beastmen alone seemed impossible.

Perhaps it was better to try to find his father’s corpse. That way Jojo could understand and slowly accept reality.

"Then... do you know the way back to that hill?"

"Nope," Jojo shook his head. "When Daddy threw me, I just kept walking and walking until I found you!"

...

Sisi sighed.

"Well, let’s just keep moving. Maybe we’ll find your father eventually," Sisi said.

"Mm..."

Honestly, Jojo didn’t have much hope left either. He didn’t know where he was, and his father never taught him how to navigate Roc Forest. His father only taught him one thing: to keep himself safe if they were ever separated. Jojo simply believed his father would search for him after defeating the tiger beastmen.

When Jojo’s stomach growled again, Sisi decided to search for edible mushrooms near the cave using her ability. Once she located some, she used a long branch from outside to reach them and bring them back.

She cleaned the mushrooms, skewered them on sticks, and began roasting them.

Jojo’s ears perked up as a delicious smell reached him.

"What are you making, Sisi?"

"Roasted mushrooms."

"Mushroom? Urrfhh..." Jojo’s ears drooped. "It’s not meat..."

"It tastes kind of like meat... maybe. The rain won’t stop anytime soon, so it’s better than going hungry for another night," Sisi said as she pulled the mushroom skewer from the fire. She peeled away the burnt outer layer, revealing tender ’white meat’ with steam rising from it.

Jojo stared at the mushroom for a moment, then slowly got up.

"Sisi, give me one. I want to eat..." he said.

Sisi placed the mushroom on a pile of leaves so it wouldn’t get dirty, and Jojo ate it eagerly.

He didn’t know whether it actually tasted good, or if he was simply too hungry—right now, anything that filled his stomach tasted wonderful.

Meanwhile, Sisi ate while quietly observing him, making a mental note about the little wolf:

’He’s growing. He needs to learn how to hunt on his own, or he’ll starve if I die before him. I have to teach him how to hunt.’