Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 52: Do you hate Daddy?

"Then... do you hate my Daddy, Uncle?"

...

Marik knew that a boy Jojo’s age wouldn’t understand the blood feud between him and his father. Besides, Marik had no intention of telling Jojo about the Dusk Star and the Dawn Star.

Living together throughout the winter had made Marik realize that Jojo truly had no malicious bone in his body. He was innocent and understanding, something Marik also credited to Sisi.

Sisi had been a wonderful mother figure to Jojo: comforting him when needed, being strict when he made mistakes or threw tantrums, and offering fair advice and encouragement to ensure he grew up with a healthy mind.

It made Marik wonder.

If all Dawn Stars from previous eras had been raised properly, would they have grown up to be good as well? At this point, he couldn’t imagine Jojo becoming an evil, wretched bastard like his father.

But the curse dictated that the Dusk Star and the Dawn Star were bound by the same fate.

’Once the moon vanishes when dusk has arrived, then the sun will refuse to come at dawn.’

There were many prophecies regarding the Dusk Star and the Dawn Star—knowledge Marik had gathered during his long journeys through Roc Forest, where these cursed beings had existed for centuries. And every prophecy had proven true. In every era, the Dusk Star raised the Dawn Star as his own son, and together they became an unstoppable pair that destroyed everything in their path until both died in agony after claiming many lives.

’But since Jojo has been separated from his father... the prophecy won’t come true this time, right?’ Marik asked himself.

He looked at Jojo, who was waiting patiently for his answer, and sighed.

"I don’t like him as much as I like you," Marik replied.

Jojo tilted his head in confusion. "But Uncle, you’ve never met my Daddy. How can you dislike him? Is it because Daddy has many enemies?"

...

Marik wondered what Jojo’s reaction would be if he ever found out that Marik himself had forced him to be separated from his father.

’No... I don’t even want to think about it. He’s far too young to know,’ Marik told himself, quickly pushing the thought away.

Jojo assumed his uncle disliked his father simply because he didn’t know him, so he tried to convince him.

"Uncle, Daddy is very kind to me. He’s the best Daddy ever! You’ll like him too if you meet him!"

...

Marik said nothing.

Because he knew that the first time they met had been drenched in blood. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Back then, Marik was still a young tiger who had only just left his mother’s den. Unlike other tigers, he hadn’t rushed to leave her behind. He wanted to preserve the only blood relationship he had left. He planned to stay with her until she passed away from old age, then find a mate of his own and build a family.

That dream was shattered the day he witnessed his mother being brutally murdered by a young Kael.

Kael tore out her heart and crushed it without a word. He merely glanced down at her corpse, spat on it, and walked away.

Jojo hadn’t been born at the time. He didn’t know the anguish and pain Marik had felt, and Marik never intended to tell him.

Seeing his uncle fall silent again discouraged Jojo. They lapsed into silence once more, but this time, it wasn’t as uncomfortable.

After finishing the cleaning, they returned to the cave, where Sisi was waiting beside a bonfire she had just lit.

She immediately noticed that the tension between Marik and Jojo had eased, proved by how Jojo took the initiative to ask his uncle how to prepare the meat.

The sight filled her heart with relief.

They needed to stay close. At this point, they were a family, a dysfunctional one, perhaps, but a family nonetheless.

With spring approaching, Sisi didn’t know whether Marik would eventually leave, since she never heard a male tiger to settle in one place for a long time if it wasn’t his territory. But having him around was invaluable. He was powerful and kind enough to protect and teach Jojo. Marik had all the qualities a godfather should be.

She wanted to find a way to keep him around, at least until Jojo was strong enough to hunt independently, or until she found a safer place to settle where food and shelter wouldn’t be constant worries.

As dusk fell, Jojo quickly drifted off to sleep. After spending the entire afternoon hunting, he was exhausted and slipped into dreams right after he burped his meal.

Marik and Sisi sat in silence, staring into the fire. When a cold gust of wind blew, Marik added a few logs before finally speaking.

"I know what you want to talk about, Sisi."

"And it’s about time," Sisi sighed. "I don’t know your history with Jojo’s father. But you shouldn’t ignore the boy because of his father’s mistakes. Jojo knows nothing about what his father may have done—if he even did anything terrible in the first place."

"Trust me, he did," Marik said firmly, his voice cold and resolute. "Jojo’s father has done many terrible things. Things that make killing him justified. That’s why he has so many enemies. He is better off dead than alive at this point."

Sisi recalled Jojo mentioning the many beastmen who had attacked his father, that’s why they had to move from one place to another, living as a pair of isolated father and son.

Thus, Sisi concluded there had to be some truth to Marik’s words.

Still, it was hard to wrap her head around the idea of Jojo’s father being evil.

She watched Jojo every day. She knew how kind he was, and how he didn’t have any maliciousness in his heart.

Surely, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, right?

So how could Jojo be so angelic, while his father was described as a demon?

Who, then, was truly at fault for their seemingly irreparable conflict?