Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 72: Morning Hunt with Demon Daddy (I)

The dawn after a long blizzard was surprisingly serene. Jojo had endured an exhausting night, but he woke up feeling refreshed, having slept beside the warm fire.

On top of that, the crimson-eyed demon had a very warm body—similar to his father’s—which made it even easier for him to fall asleep. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

When Jojo yawned and opened his eyes, he noticed that Sisi’s eyes were red from lack of sleep. He looked around and quickly concluded that no one except him had slept properly last night.

Of course, he knew Sisi wouldn’t fall asleep while this demon was still awake. And it seemed that the demon also imitated some of his father’s habits—like sleeping very little because he needed to keep watch over him.

’Um... this crimson-eyed demon is too similar to Daddy. I’m afraid I’ll mistake him for Daddy later...’ Jojo grieved silently. He didn’t want to believe his father was dead, but if this demon could wear his father’s face, then death was the most likely explanation.

Still, the boy couldn’t accept it.

’No, no. Daddy is very strong. He must have found a way to survive,’ Jojo reasoned in his small mind. ’Maybe he’s recovering somewhere, and this demon is just using Daddy’s face to find a mate!’

Jojo knew his father was very popular among female beastmen because of his handsome looks. During their travels around Roc Forest, Jojo had seen many female beastmen trying to win his favor to get on his father’s good side.

Fortunately, his father had never been tempted, and Jojo had disliked those female beastmen in return.

If this crimson-eyed demon was using his father’s face to trick a woman and find a mate, then Sisi—

Jojo glanced at Sisi. After observing her carefully and recalling what had happened the night before, he concluded there was no way Sisi would be attracted to this demon just because of his handsome appearance.

’Humph! Of course Sisi won’t like this demon. She told me she likes a good boy, so that means she likes a good man too! ’Jojo decided. ’Uhm... maybe like Uncle Marik? No, no, my real Daddy is a much better match for her!’

Sisi had no idea about the train of thought racing through Jojo’s mind. When she saw that he had woken up, she smiled and asked, "Good morning, Jojo. How are you feeling today?"

"Oh! I’m as great as I can be, Sisi!" Jojo replied cheerfully as he hopped off Kael’s lap and rushed toward her. His tail wagged happily as he smiled. "How about you? Are you still hurting anywhere?"

"Nope, I’m doing great too," Sisi lied.

In truth, her left arm was aching badly after the Beast King had grabbed it the night before. She normally would have used a painkiller made from mushroom powder, but all her supplies had gone missing during Marik’s fight with the Beast King. The only thing she still had was the leather pouch at her waist, which carried only her essentials.

"The sun is rising. It’s time for you to fulfill your promise, Jojo," Kael said. "You told me you’d hunt for me."

"Oh, okay, Daddy!" Jojo nodded as he shifted into his beastman form.

He also wanted to hunt for Sisi. Maybe he’d need to catch two fawns today, since he doubted the crimson-eyed demon would be willing to share.

Jojo walked out of the cave with Sisi and Kael following behind him. He noticed the eagle beastmen eating the monitor lizard they had hunted earlier, but what caught his attention was Uncle Marik, who lay weakly on the ground with his arms and legs tightly bound by rope.

He looked cold and injured, reminding Jojo of Sisi’s condition the night before.

"Daddy..." Jojo looked up at the demon and begged, "C-can we let Uncle Marik go? He looks hurt."

"No," Kael replied firmly.

He might be willing to compromise with Sisi, because Jojo had bonded with her deeply and would even fight his own father for her.

But Marik was different.

"Why not? Daddy, he took care of me too..." Jojo argued.

"He is our enemy," Kael said without hesitation. "He is the leader of the tiger pack that separated us, Jojo."

Jojo’s eyes widened. So did Sisi’s.

Neither of them had ever imagined that their archnemesis had been living alongside them all this time.

Sisi recalled the moment she first met Marik. Back then, he had been gravely injured, with a bloody wound across his chest. She had assumed he’d fought another predator.

’So his enemy at that time was... Jojo’s father?’ she wondered. ’Does that mean he’s been targeting Jojo all along, waiting for the right moment to kill him?’

Yet Sisi doubted her own conclusion. She stared at the unconscious Marik and recalled everything he had done for the wolf cub.

’But why does his love for Jojo feel so... genuine?’ she wondered. ’He truly treats Jojo like his own son...’

Sisi wasn’t the only one troubled by these thoughts. Jojo was just as troubled.

He remembered how Uncle Marik watched over him while he hunted, taught him many things, and protected him from predators that could have killed him.

Jojo didn’t know much about his Uncle Tiger’s past—Marik never liked to talk about it—but he knew his care had been genuine.

So he doubted his father’s claim.

’Could it be that Daddy is lying?’ Jojo wondered. ’No... this isn’t Daddy. He’s just a demon wearing Daddy’s face!’

"But, Daddy, Uncle Tiger has helped me many times before," Jojo said carefully. "Are you sure you’re not mistaken? You once told me that just because someone is bad doesn’t mean everyone like them is bad. Maybe it’s a different tiger..."

"I will never mistake the tiger who forced me to throw you off that hill," Kael said coldly.

He grabbed Jojo’s hand and dragged him away. He didn’t want Jojo pleading for that damned tiger anymore.

"Let’s go. You promised to hunt for me. If we’re too late, all the prey will leave the area."

Sisi didn’t follow immediately.

She remained where she was, staring at Marik as unease flooded her heart.