CHAPTER 111: STOP FOLLOWING ME, I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR LOYALTY!

The wolves all turned around to escape, but Mozrael wasn’t going to let that happen.

If Aramith could kill one so easily, then I can deal with them without breaking a sweat.

This excited her. Their first challenge!

She shot off from Aramith’s back and landed in front of the wolves, blocking their escape route.

They all stopped and stared at Mozrael. When did she appear there?

Don’t get cocky, human! If not for that wolf, you wouldn’t be proud!

They snarled at her, and this time, three of them attacked.

Now here’s what the remaining wolves saw.

There was a bright blue light that appeared out of thin air just when the human raised her hand, and then their three mates who attacked disappeared. Coupled with that was a strong heat they felt, along with the strange smell of burnt fur and meat.

If you’ve never seen a wolf with its jaw dropped, try to picture it, because that was the expression they held. And remember, it’s not just one wolf but several of them. [It’s a strange expression, believe me. Saw it one time when I went hiking on Jupiter. Never been the same person since.]

This human is even crazier than that wolf!

They all realized they had chosen the wrong people to mess with, and now they were going to pay with their lives.

In their confusion, they turned around and ran toward Aramith.

Aramith was confused by their behaviour. It was clear they’d thought Mozrael was weak, but what kind of reaction was this?

They bowed, grovelling in the dirt, as if the moment of resistance had never existed. Aramith stared in bewilderment.

Me? A leader?

His heart thudded uncomfortably. He wasn’t ready to command anything. He barely understood himself. The idea of loyalty, of responsibility for creatures who only moments ago wanted to tear them apart, sat heavy on his shoulders.

He stepped back instinctively, but they crawled forward, desperate, pleading. Their eyes shone with primal reverence, and Aramith’s stomach turned. This wasn’t a victory he could rejoice about. It rather felt like a trap made of loyalty.

Wolves were intelligent beings and would give up when they knew they couldn’t win a fight. Escaping was their best option, but if they were defeated by another wolf pack, they would have to accept that wolf pack as their superior and become underlings. The same worked if a dominant wolf came over to take control of the group.

This was what they were doing now. They were pledging their loyalty to Aramith and hoping he would agree to be their leader. A leader wouldn’t have reason to kill his subordinates, right?

Aramith studied the group for a moment, failing to understand what was wrong with them. Didn’t they see that he was trying to kill them because they attacked him?

He took a step back, and they crawled to him.

Are they crazy?

He stepped back again, and they grovelled forward, looking at him with pleading eyes.

What is wrong with these wolves?!

"Maybe they want you to be their leader? After being defeated by a stronger wolf, isn’t that what wolves do?"

Hearing Mozrael’s voice made them all whimper.

In a second, they’d all disappeared and reappeared behind Aramith for protection.

Stay away from us, human!

Mozrael just stared at them. Am I that scary? He also tried to kill you. He killed one of you without even meaning it!

Now Aramith was confused, but he understood something that made him laugh. The wolves feared Mozrael.

And mind you, an eight-foot-tall wolf with muscles rippling through its fur as it makes a strange sound it sees as laughing is not comfortable when you’re seeking refuge from it.

The wolves shook in fear. What was this supposed to mean? Is he going to kill us?

After he’d calmed down, he looked at Mozrael. She was annoyed at him.

"Okay, what are we going to do?" he asked.

"Maybe we—" The wolves whimpered again, and Aramith burst into laughter once more.

"Fine!" Mozrael turned around.

"Wait, sorry! I’ll listen." HE begged her.

Mozrael eyed him carefully. This time, he was serious.

She let out a sigh and looked at the wolves who shrank back at her gaze. For the first time, Mozrael rolled her eyes.

Unbelievable!

But Aramith couldn’t risk laughing.

"You remember that skill you used to store the fire? Why not try it on them?"

Aramith’s eyes widened.

The skill in question was something he’d learned while in the wolf form. It was something he learned to do when training with Mozrael.

She shot a fire dragon at him, and he created a smoke cloud that absorbed the fire. He later shot it out, and it was in perfect shape.

Lynnor made him practice it a few times, and he was able to keep large things in the space.

He managed to keep these things with him even in his human form for a week, and when he pulled them out, they were in perfect shape. Even trees could be kept within without being affected.

But animals... He’d never tried that before.

He looked at them. Did they understand language?

"Line up here," he commanded.

The wolves all got up and lined up before him.

They understand me. Interesting...

He calmed down, then shrouded one with the smoke. It disappeared in the smoke.

"Is it alright?" Mozrael asked.

Aramith closed his eyes and reached out for it. He could feel the wolf. It was there.

He called it out, and it reappeared. It just bowed before him.

It was strange that it didn’t act confused or anything. How did it just accept things like that?

He expected a reaction from it when it came out again, but it wasn’t disoriented in the slightest.

He then proceeded to store all of them, which was more arduous than expected.

He allowed them to stay within for a minute, then brought them out. Again, they were calm, but still afraid of Mozrael. He thought it over, but this might not work.

"We’re going to the academy, and I don’t know if I can keep them in for long. Also, what if they act out of control?"

Mozrael nodded. She had the same thoughts. "It was an interesting discovery, but these wolves were very strange. And the way they followed him silently was still something he’d been unable to understand.

"Stay here," he commanded. "Let’s ask Lynnor when we meet her again."

Mozrael nodded and climbed onto his back.

Even as they continued down the path, Aramith could sense them at the edges of the forest, trying their best to be discreet, but watching, and following. They obeyed his command to "stay," but not a single one turned away. Their eyes gleamed faintly in the shadows.

Mozrael glanced back once, shuddering despite herself. "They’re not just wolves, Aramith. Something’s wrong with them."

He didn’t answer. Because deep down, he felt it too. Their loyalty wasn’t natural. Was this an effect of his darkness? If so, this could be trouble.