Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 29: A Stalking Tiger (III)

Sisi halted her steps immediately, but she didn’t react to Marik’s provocation.

Marik didn’t know what kind of expression was on Sisi’s face right now, but he was far too curious, perhaps wickedly so. He didn’t care if Sisi got angry at his mocking tone; all he wanted was to know her better.

Everything about her enticed his curiosity, and just like how he enjoyed stalking his prey for hours, he also liked prying into his target’s secrets even if it might cause his death.

"I saw your ’son.’ He has very rare, exquisite white fur, even in the beastman world," Marik pointed out. "Do you plan to raise him and then butcher him once he’s big enough? I know humans would value his unique fur. You could spend your entire life drowning in gold once you sell his pelt. Hell, even I’m quite interested in getting his pelt myself, he’d make a good belt for me."

In a flash, Sisi used her power to shoot vines up from the ground, wrapping Marik’s body completely from toe to chest.

She took out her dagger and rushed toward him.

Sisi pressed the sharp tip against his neck, her eyes vicious. From one look, Marik knew she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him right here, right now if he said or did the wrong thing.

"Listen here, tiger. I don’t give a damn if you want to accuse me or mock me. But if you dare to touch Jojo, then I will gut you first," Sisi said coldly. As her anger grew, her power surged as well, and a hint of violet glimmered in her eyes.

Marik was calm at first. Even with vines restricting him, he knew he could break free easily.

But when Sisi pressed the dagger to his neck, he felt the vines tightening and bulging, as if they could expand and crush him at her will.

Even then, Marik still wasn’t scared, not even with his life on the line.

He had faced countless dangerous incidents in the past.

Instead, he was fascinated by Sisi’s sudden change.

She was gentle and kind toward the little wolf boy, just like a mother should be. She had also been kind enough to save Marik when he was dying, even giving him her own food just so he could survive.

Had Marik not known this side of Sisi, he might have assumed she was a weakling incapable of violence.

But he was proven wrong.

This woman could be vicious when her buttons were pushed.

Yet this violence was also proof that Sisi truly loved and cared for that little wolf boy.

Marik’s amber eyes gleamed as he relaxed. "I have no intention of harming your son, Sisi. I’m just curious. It’s rare for a human to raise a wolf beastman as her own child."

Sisi eyed him suspiciously before lowering her dagger. "Say whatever you want about us, but he is my son."

Honestly, Sisi wasn’t even sure if she was saying the right thing. Was it alright to claim Jojo as her son when they weren’t related at all? What would happen if Jojo’s father might still be alive? They hadn’t spent that much time together, yet Sisi was acting out of the line.

But when Marik spoke about taking Jojo for his pelt, a surge of anger burst in her chest. She didn’t even hesitate to point the dagger at his neck instantly.

She would kill this tiger if he dared to struggle.

Yes... she could feel it. She wanted to protect Jojo no matter what.

She didn’t know if it was because she saw him as her son or simply because Jojo needed protection. Nevertheless, the result was the same: she had to keep him safe, even if it meant staining her hands with blood.

"Then I’ll believe your words," Marik said. "Don’t worry. You’re my savior, so I won’t harm you, and that extends to your son too."

"Besides," he added, "Didn’t I tell you I’d follow you after you saved my life?"

"There’s no need for that. We can protect ourselves just fine."

"Winter in Roc Forest is coming, and it’s harsh, Sisi. Even if you don’t want me, I’ll still have to squeeze in for now. I’ll keep following you, at least until I save you once, to repay my life debt."

Sisi had no reason to argue with this stubborn tiger anymore. Truthfully, she regretted saving his life a little. Had she known she’d rescued a pesky tiger, she would’ve let him die by the riverside, at least it could save the headache.

Nevertheless, the deed was done. She simply had to focus on Jojo now, especially with winter coming soon. Marik was right, winter in Roc Forest must be harsh, so she couldn’t stay lax.

Sisi turned around, wanting to return to the cave immediately.

"Hey, how about releasing me first?" Marik called out, still tightly bound by vines.

"You’ll be free once I’m far enough," Sisi replied nonchalantly as she walked away.

"That’s so cruel of you. I didn’t even do anything wrong."

Sisi looked over her shoulder towards the seven-feet-tall tiger beastman who was feigning his innocence, and rolled her eyes.

Marik watched her figure grow smaller and smaller and the vines finally loosened once Sisi was out of sight.

He sighed pitifully, but a smile formed on his lips, satisfied with his discoveries today.

This woman was truly one-of-a-kind, someone Marik couldn’t take his eyes off of.

"I never thought I’d actually meet a kind-hearted woman like you in this damned forest," Marik murmured.

He had grown up with only his mother. Tigers were solitary by nature, so he knew nothing about his father, and it wasn’t important to know anyway.

His mother was a cold-blooded beastman, just like him. She raised him, fed him, and taught him to hunt, but she was never gentle.

Raising a child felt like nothing more than a perfunctory instinct, and love was never part of it.

He knew all tiger beastmen grew up the same way as it was normal in the beastman world, but that didn’t stop him from being fascinated by Sisi’s dedication to caring for Jojo.

Marik leapt into a tree and watched the cave from afar, making sure they were safe in the middle of the dangerous forest.