Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 35: Darling of the Earth (I)

Marik and Jojo worked in unison to skin the bear. Jojo was a natural learner; he simply observed and copied the tiger beastman’s movements. Though, because of his small stature, he was more of a hindrance than a help to Marik.

Nevertheless, seeing Jojo’s earnestness to provide warmth for Sisi eased Marik’s heart.

No predator liked eating another predator’s meat unless they were starving, since the meat of their enemies was usually very tough. So they dumped the bear meat outside the cave and washed the pelt using the water Sisi had stocked.

However, it would take a while before the pelt was dry enough to use as a blanket, especially since the bonfire had been extinguished during Sisi’s fight with the bear.

Neither Jojo nor Marik knew how to use a match like Sisi, so Marik went out to find a dry stone to start a fire.

Jojo was left alone with Sisi. Uncle Marik had told him to watch over her and replace the leaves once they dried out.

Jojo sat next to Sisi, watching her attentively. He muttered, "Sisi, don’t sleep too long. Jojo is so scared that you won’t wake up anymore. What should I do if you don’t wake up? I... I don’t like to sleep alone."

...

Jojo went quiet after a while, hoping Sisi would suddenly open her eyes and look at him with her one-of-a-kind gentleness, smiling and telling him everything would be alright.

Unfortunately, Sisi kept her eyes closed, her expression twisted as she endured unbearable pain.

Jojo’s little heart ached. He kept blaming himself for being so weak. He knew he still had a long way to go before he could truly be useful to Sisi.

Even so, his small heart desperately pleaded to the Moon Goddess for help.

’Um... Selene, Big Goddess... can you please hear Jojo’s prayer? Jojo doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Sisi. She is the only one I have now. Please help her... J-Jojo will be a good wolf. I will pray more and praise you more if you help me...!’ Jojo prayed sincerely in his heart.

Of course, nothing happened after he prayed. So he quietly shed tears, and one teardrop accidentally fell onto the dry Acate leaves beside him.

*

Marik finally returned after finding a flint. He saw Jojo soaking the dry Acate leaves, ready to replace the old ones.

Marik let the boy do it while he focused on creating a spark to start a fire.

Jojo fed Sisi the fruit first, then peeled away the dried leaves on her back.

He put the newly soaked leaves on the wound, but gasped when something miraculous happened.

"U-uncle! Uncle!" Jojo called out, but his eyes stayed glued to Sisi’s back.

At first, Marik ignored him, concentrating on the fire—but a soft, glowing green light from inside the cave caught his attention.

He looked up, and his eyes widened.

The gentle green glow was coming from Sisi’s back.

He rushed to her side and witnessed the soaked Acate leaves glowing before they were absorbed into her skin, vanishing completely, as if they had always belonged there.

"Ngh..." Sisi groaned in pain, her body trembling, but Marik noticed warmth returning to her. Much better than her earlier cold, deathly state.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

Marik had been treated the same way before, but the leaves never disappeared into his skin. They simply dried out and he had to change it manually.

Suspicion began to stir in his mind.

Could she be an actual—

"Uncle! Uncle! What should we do? Will Sisi be okay?" Jojo interrupted, snapping Marik out of his thoughts.

Marik looked at the little wolf boy strangely, "Did you do anything to the leaves?"

"I soaked them, just like you told me to, Uncle!" Jojo answered earnestly.

Marik felt uncertain. He had applied the Acate leaves before, and nothing unusual happened.

Why did everything change when Jojo did it?

Was it because of his status as the Dawn Star?

Marik considered the idea briefly before dismissing it.

’No... as far as I know, the cursed stars only bring destruction. Their purpose is to conquer, kill, and become tyrants. I’ve never heard of them healing anything,’ Marik thought. ’This definitely has nothing to do with the wolf boy, but Sisi herself.’

His suspicion shifted back to Sisi.

’Is she really... a faerie? But how could a faerie be this big? Faeries are barely the size of a thumb at their largest...’

Overwhelmed by possibilities he couldn’t understand, Marik pushed his suspicions aside and told Jojo to apply more soaked leaves.

Jojo did so diligently. Seeing Sisi’s wounds improve, he soaked even more leaves and placed them on her back.

Again, the leaves were absorbed into her skin, replacing torn flesh with new, healthy tissue.

One by one, the leaves were used up. And when the final green glow faded, the huge gaping wound on her back had disappeared completely. Not even a scar remained. It was as if the bear had never injured her at all.

"Urgh..." Sisi groaned again. Warmth returned to her body, and her eyelids twitched as she slowly opened her eyes.

Sisi lifted her head, seeing Jojo and Marik holding their breath as they waited for her to speak.

She stretched, yawned a few times as though she had only taken a short nap, then looked at Jojo and smiled.

"Have you thanked Uncle Marik for saving you? A good boy should understand gratitude, you know?" Sisi scolded the little wolf boy lovingly.

"SISI!" Jojo ignored her lecture and threw himself toward her, sobbing again. He had been holding his tears all this time while taking care of Sisi, it was just right for him to finally let go of the nonstop aching in his heart by hugging her and never let go.

Sisi could only pat his hair helplessly.

"What? Why are you crying now? Don’t you see I’m perfectly fine? I thought a strong boy wouldn’t cry in front of an outsider," Sisi added.