Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 43: Godfather (V)

The cold winter in Roc Forest passed uneventfully after Marik indirectly declared himself Jojo’s godfather, teaching him life skills and protecting both him and Sisi from harm, as some predators were more active during winter.

The unusual relationship between the tiger godfather and his wolf godson improved greatly after they began going on daily hunts together. Still, Jojo continued to address him as "Uncle Marik" rather than "father," because Marik never demanded more than that, and Jojo never took the initiative.

On top of that, Marik felt that letting Jojo call him "father" was simply ridiculous. As a tiger beastman, he didn’t even know who his own father was.

His late mother had once told him that tiger beastmen became very romantic when entering courtship, but once the female became pregnant, the male would leave and mate with another female.

That was the way of life for tiger beastmen, and Marik had never questioned it. He had never called anyone "father" and never truly understood the bond Jojo had with his "Daddy," whom he praised every day.

He had a strong bond with his late mother though. As cruel and unfeeling as she could be, Marik still felt an undeterred hatred whenever he remembered how the Dusk Star, Jojo’s father, killed her in cold blood.

Though Jojo was learning many survival skills from the best of the best, he was still immature and made plenty of mistakes. Sometimes, Marik wondered how he could have so much patience with both Jojo and Sisi, especially when Jojo often sabotaged his own hunts on purpose, just so he could run back and hug Sisi like a fledgling that failed to leave its nest.

"Sisi, I failed to hunt another deer today. We can only eat hares again..." Jojo muttered, resting his cheek on her shoulder.

"Isn’t this already your third failed deer hunt?" Sisi asked. "Uncle Marik told me you’ve learned a lot. You should at least be able to hunt a fawn by now, right?"

She didn’t immediately comfort Jojo, knowing it might spoil him. But she also didn’t completely reject his need for reassurance, as Jojo still seemed to crave constant comfort likely due to his emotional scars.

"Mm, I tried, but it’s hard..." Jojo admitted. "I-I’ll try harder tomorrow, I promise!"

Hearing this, Marik clicked his tongue. "Don’t fall for it, Sisi. Jojo could absolutely catch a fawn just now in his beastman form. He just didn’t want to, because I told him that once he hunts something bigger than a fawn, he’s no longer a kid, and that means he can’t cry and ask you for hugs anymore."

Jojo tilted his head and stared at Uncle Marik with one eye, looking utterly wronged, before burying his face back into Sisi’s shoulder.

"Uncle has been mean to me too, Sisi," Jojo complained. "He said you’ll leave me if I can’t hunt a fawn..."

Sisi finally frowned and turned to Marik for an explanation. The tiger beastman suddenly felt nervous, as though he’d been caught bullying the little wolf.

"Don’t make things up, Jojo," Marik said quickly. "All I said was that a female won’t want to stay with a male who can’t hunt a deer!"

Sisi sighed and gently patted Jojo’s back. "Is that really what Uncle said?"

Jojo paused, then nodded.

"Sisi... will you leave me because I can’t hunt a deer?" Jojo asked.

...

Sisi hesitated. She wondered whether this was the right time to explain mates and adulthood. It was an inevitable topic, but Jojo was still too young, he wouldn’t even turn five until next summer.

Though their physiology was similar, Sisi felt there was a huge gap between a human and a beastman’s way of life.

"Just say it," Marik interrupted. "At best, he won’t understand. At worst... he still won’t understand."

Sisi took a deep breath. "I won’t leave you, Jojo. But once you grow up, you’ll want to find a mate of your own."

"A mate? Like someone you want to spend the rest of your life with?" Jojo asked innocently. "My Daddy told me about that! I remember an evil fat man wanted to be your mate, Sisi. You shouldn’t!"

"Evil fat man?" Marik frowned.

"It’s a long story," Sisi said quickly. She didn’t want to dwell on her past, especially not on the memories from the farm, or Mr. Piker and his harassment.

"Yes!" Jojo interrupted. "Uncle, when I met Sisi back then, her face was all blue and black! It was because of the evil fat man who wanted to be her mate!"

Marik glanced at Sisi. She looked troubled, but not frightened, so he assumed it was something from her human past, something he had no interest in prying into.

Changing the subject, he said, "Once you’re an adult, you’ll want to spend your life with your mate. I’m sure your father had one too, or else you wouldn’t be here."

"Did he?" Jojo pondered, staring at the cave ceiling as he recalled his father, whom he’d been separated from for nearly half a year. "My Daddy and I were always together, Uncle. I never saw him with anyone else. If he wasn’t with me, he was always sitting or sleeping alone. Sometimes, when he got hurt after a battle, he would lick his wounds and stare at the moon for a long time."

Marik and Sisi exchanged a look, silently agreeing that Jojo’s real mother was most likely dead. But neither of them had the heart to tell him since he had already lost his father.

"Uncle," Jojo said suddenly, "You told me I’ll find my own mate someday, but I don’t want to be separated from Sisi! Can she be my mate instead?"

"That won’t do," Sisi chuckled. Just as she expected, Jojo was far too young to understand, much like a human child insisting on marrying their parents.

"Why not?"

"Because she’ll find her own mate someday too," Marik answered quickly. "And if you cling to her forever, you’ll become too heavy for her to carry on her back."