Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 62: A Blizzard Chase (I)

"Y-yes, My King!"

Both Grishaw and the eagle envoy flapped their wings and gave chase to Sisi and Jojo.

Meanwhile, Marik was forced into a standoff against Kael. His chances of winning were abysmally low, but he would do absolutely everything he could to delay him. Sisi could fight against the two eagles with her power, but she was no match for Kael either.

Marik imagined the grim fate waiting for Sisi once she got caught, and the tale of terrible Dawn Star once Jojo was under Kael’s tutelage again, and his desire to fight this cursed bastard burn even brighter.

As Marik lunged toward the Beast King, Kael dodged effortlessly. He did this a few times before growing bored and taunting him.

"You’re not as good as before," Kael said. "Is it because you’re getting weaker? Or were you always weak, and merely made up the difference between us with numbers?"

Marik gritted his teeth and lunged again.

This time, Kael didn’t dodge. He grabbed the tiger’s arm and flung him into a massive tree.

"Urgh!"

Marik’s back slammed against the trunk. He heard a crack, but he couldn’t tell whether it was the tree bark or his own bones.

Nevertheless, he ignored the pain and forced himself upright once more.

"It’s good you don’t die from broken bones," Kael said coldly. "You and your pack broke plenty of mine back then."

His gaze sharpened as he finally extended his claws. He had enough playing around with this tiger. Though he didn’t doubt Grishaw’s strength, his gut feeling was telling him that delaying in here would make a difference whether he could reach Jojo again or not.

"I want to make you suffer before skinning you alive, you damned tiger."

"Jojo is better off without you, you cursed bastard!" Marik spat. Tonight might be his last, so he saw no reason to hold back. "He already has Sisi and me. We—we’ll be good parents to him!"

"Good parents?" Kael scoffed. "He already has me. He doesn’t need another father—"

He paused, recalling the woman carrying his son. Every time he remembered her guarded gaze, unease twisted in his chest, and thus further fueling his hostility.

"—or a mother."

"Jojo is growing up normally with us all this time," Marik pressed on. "He has a perfect childhood. We plan to settle in Jing Forest this spring and never return."

He knew it was only a dream now—a beautiful one he was forced to abandon because this cursed bastard had returned, stronger than ever.

"Pity Jojo will never have a good life once he’s with you," Marik added.

"I will make sure Jojo has a good life from now on," Kael replied calmly. "But you should die before that happens."

This time, Kael attacked first.

*

Grishaw and the eagle envoy weaved through the dense forest, pivoting through the blizzard as they pursued Sisi.

Sisi wasn’t fast. She was only human, smaller than average, and vulnerable to the cold. The blizzard nearly knocked her over several times, but she gritted her teeth and kept running, even as the deep snow slowed her down.

Under normal circumstances, Grishaw could have caught her in seconds. But the blizzard was the natural enemy of flying creatures. It was nearly impossible to dive accurately in such winds.

Whenever the wind nearly knocked Sisi over, it had already blown the eagles off balance first.

"General, we can’t keep this up! My wings are freezing!" the eagle envoy reported as they perched on a tree not far from Sisi. He had been blown off course at least five times just as he was about to grab her. "Something’s wrong with this blizzard. The wind keeps helping her. That can’t be a coincidence!"

Grishaw didn’t deny it. It truly was strange.

They were both trained soldiers of the eagle corps. Even in a blizzard, they should have been able to capture prey, especially Grishaw, the strongest eagle beastman to date.

Yet the wind felt... controlled. As though something unseen was deliberately interfering with their attacks.

After a brief moment of thought, Grishaw decided.

"We’ll attack together. I’ll dive from the front, and you come from behind. The wind won’t be able to knock both of us away at once. We only need to catch her once, pin her down, and we’re done."

He recalled the Beast King’s murderous aura and shuddered.

"We can’t fail again. Did you see how angry our King was?"

"I—I know, General. This is our only chance!"

*

Sisi ran blindly through the forest, her only thought to escape.

She had noticed the eagle beastmen diving at her several times, yet each attempt failed. The wind seemed to shield her in a strange, inexplicable way.

Maybe it was coincidence, but she was grateful they couldn’t reach her and Jojo easily.

Jojo sobbed quietly inside the pelt. Seeing his father yell at Sisi had hurt him deeply. He felt wronged on her behalf, yet she never showed anger toward him.

"Sisi... I’m sorry," he whispered. "I—I told you my Daddy was kind..."

Sisi kept running, bracing against the wind. She patted the pelt to comfort him.

"That man isn’t your father," she said softly. "You told me your father is gentle. So he is gentle. Not like the man we saw."

"B-but he looks like Daddy, except for his eyes!" Jojo insisted. "M-maybe my Daddy really is dead, and that man is a demon using his body... r-right, Sisi?"

"I... don’t know," Sisi admitted. "Let’s just focus on escaping, Jojo. Uncle Marik has done so much for us. The least we can do is survive."

"T-then you don’t have to carry me! I can run on my own!" Jojo tried to jump down again, but Sisi held him tighter.

"It’s too dangerous," she said firmly. "Stay still so I can run faster."

Jojo stopped struggling.

He stayed curled inside the pelt, watching Sisi force herself through the storm, and his heart ached.

’Sisi... I—I promise I’ll be good. Please... don’t die...’