Chapter 258: Chapter 258. Arriving at the wolves' den.
After half an hour of a crazy run, Sierra slowed down as she approached a forest with blue and white trees. These trees were big enough to make Sierra look like a normal wolf.
The weather was still the same snowy, windy, and stormy, but the temperature was clearly warmer. Still freezing cold, but not as cold as before. Even then, the vegetation in the forest was flourishing as a wide variety of blue, white, and green plants grew normally.
Evelyn could also see small animals looking at them curiously. Evelyn was impressed, "Wow. Even in this weather, life is flourishing in the forest."
Sierra said, "That's true. Even in the cold season, there is plenty of prey to feed one pack."
Evelyn's face froze, "What do you mean in the cold season?"
Sierra answered with slight confusion, "Hm? I mean, when the temperature stops being so warm."
Evelyn almost fell off Sierra's head because of how surprised she felt, "This weather is warm!? I'm almost freezing out here!"
Sierra snorted with laughter, "Freezing? Then, you would maybe freeze to death when the weather becomes cold, even for some wolves of my pack."
Sierra suddenly stopped and looked left. Evelyn was seated on her head, so she moved with her. Evelyn asked, "Is there something in that direction, Sierra?"
Sierra said coldly, "A group from their pack is approaching. They must have picked up my scent since I'm not hiding it on purpose."
Evelyn asked, "Why?"
"So that they guide me to their den. After dominating this whole area, they don't stay put in one place since they have to find food."
"How far are they?"
Sierra said, "Three and a half hills away."
Evelyn made a confused face before smacking her forehead, 'Am I stupid? How could a wild wolf know about the metric system? I will have to teach her about it in the future.'
After waiting for five minutes, a group of ten wolves jumped out of the woods and landed in front of them, showing off their auras and fangs.
However, they all froze when they saw Sierra, who was almost triple their size. Sierra was already bigger than a normal wolf before breaking through, so after doubling in size, it was similar to seeing a normal wolf beside a puppy.
Sierra looked at them with her icy blue eyes and sneered, "Weren't you so imposing just a moment ago? Appearing before me as if you were above me? Why are you suddenly frozen?"
Yet, the ten wolves were so terrified of Sierra's aura that they couldn't even answer. They were all frozen stiff with their tails between their legs. Evelyn almost laughed aloud.
Sierra didn't lose time and ordered, using her aura, "Get me to your pack leader. It is time I put an end to this."
The ten wolves didn't say anything, and they made way for Sierra with their tails between their legs.
Evelyn was barely holding her laughter, "Why are they acting like that? Shouldn't they try to bar your way? You are clearly going to fight their leader, right?"
Sierra was confused, "What do you mean? Since I'm strong, they won't attack me. Who would attack something that is much stronger than them?"
Evelyn smiled wryly, "I think you will be surprised once we leave this place together."
Evelyn thought about something and asked, "By the way, do all the wolves have the same level of intelligence as you? You were very clever since the first moment we saw each other."
Sierra shook her head and said bitterly, "No, they don't. Even before advancing, I was above all of them in terms of intelligence. The only reason I fell to his plots was that I was ignorant that rituals like that even existed."
Evelyn, who sat on Sierra's head, caressed her through the fur. "Don't worry. We will make them disappear soon."
Sierra smiled after feeling Evelyn's concern and the little hand rubbing her head.
Even if Evelyn's hand was very small for someone of Sierra's size, it spread a comfortable current of warmth inside of her. 'Although it was a desperate move I made in a desperate time, I'm glad I bet on Evelyn. I can feel through our connection that her heart is incredibly pure, free-spirited, and devoid of any restraint.'
Sierra shouldn't be able to feel anything since she was the slave end of the contract, but Evelyn didn't hide much from her new companion. She wanted to build trust between them, and actions spoke louder than words.
They walked for some minutes and reached a place hidden between some snowy hills. In each of those hills, there was an entry to a different cave system.
Looking from a distance, Evelyn could see that some caves were bigger and others smaller. Clearly, these wolves understood the concept of hierarchy better than normal wolves. Moreover, she could see some wolves bringing hunted prey to the bigger caves as a form of offering.
Around the place, wolves of all sizes walked around. Their colors were a mix of grey, black, and bluish-white. There wasn't a single wolf pure white like Sierra.
Sierra said to Evelyn, "The grey-colored ones are the ones we've come here to beat up. The black wolves were my previous pack, and the bluish-white wolves are from another pack that was assimilated before ours."
Evelyn was surprised, "You are so different from your pack. Did that ever bring you trouble?"
Sierra said honestly, "Yes. Until I proved my strength, I was always isolated by my pack. Even my mother got killed by the previous alpha since he thought I wasn't the same blood. But after some struggles, I managed to live and come back later, killing him and stealing the alpha position."
Evelyn laughed, "You are such a badass."
Evelyn continued, "Anyway, it is good to know who is in your pack. So, will there be any diplomacy, or will we just take the path of the strongest fist is right? I don't know if you want to have too many deaths. Also, if you need any help speaking, I can always speak for you."
Sierra answered confidently, "I will try to talk to him first to make more wolves gather. Once they see my new strength, they will surely ally with me. If the two sides have a similar number of wolves, I will be able to decide everything in a one-against-one fight."
Evelyn laughed, "You may not even need me."
Sierra chuckled, "You are the one that gave me this strength. Doesn't that mean that whenever I fight, it is your strength?"
Evelyn denied her assumption, "No, you are your own, and you advanced because of your talent and strength. Even if our relationship technically is master and slave, I don't want to treat you like that. We are going to be long-time partners, so treat yourself as such. That is why I told you to call me Evelyn and not master, remember?"
Sierra's blue eyes became tender, and she answered, "Yes, I remember. Thank you, Evelyn."
As they talked, Sierra walked forward fearlessly toward the center of the den. Every wolf that saw them followed after since they knew that something was about to happen, and Sierra's aura was filled with leadership, even stimulating those unintelligent wolves to follow.
They reached the middle of the lair, and Evelyn got down from Sierra's head. She was so small that she would be able to sit on her paw comfortably.
Sierra then gathered energy in her throat and lifted her head, a powerful howl exploding from her. "AWOO!!!"
Her howl spread through the surroundings like a tide, making every creature in the surroundings know about the return of the Wolf Queen.
In one of the biggest caves, a three-and-a-half-meter-tall wolf stood up from its nap with a start.
This wolf was clearly more intelligent than the others. His fur was grey colored, but it had some red symbols over it, resulting in a beautiful but ominous beast. 'What a great surprise. She has finally returned! I thought she would just die alone somewhere in the mountains. Did she regret it after feeling death coming after her?'
He immediately gathered his pack and rushed out in the direction of the howl. However, he had some doubts. 'According to my calculations, she should have died two or three days ago. Even if she managed to return, the curse should have already weakened her immensely. '
He reached the area, and his eyes automatically locked onto the wolf that was almost thrice the size of any other wolf.
At first, he was scared since he thought it was a wild, powerful wolf that had come here, but the snow-white fur and those blue eyes were impossible to miss.
This grey wolf only knew about a single wolf with these qualities, the one that he wanted to make his mate at all costs. He was doubtful and didn't rush forward. His dulled instincts were screaming that something was very wrong. 'What happened? How did she become so big?'
Evelyn shouldn't be able to understand the next conversation as they spoke in their own beast language, but her connection with Sierra translated it for her.
Sierra also didn't miss the wolf with red glowing markings. Then, she declared with a powerful tone, "I've come back to take my pack with me. Release them, or I will have to kill my way out!"
He was at first surprised and then angered. He snarled and barked, "You've become so confident after being banished! Do you think that with just your strength, you will be able to escape?"
Sierra looked at him coldly and let her aura burst out. The weather seemed to become stormier as an explosion of energy burst forth from Sierra.
Yellow electric arcs coursed her body as her presence seemed to multiply before all the wolves eyes. "Since you are so determined. I challenge you to a death match to become the alpha!"
The wolves that were scared of the red-grey wolf were completely paralyzed before Sierra's imposing aura.
It wasn't just a matter of strength now. What these wolves were feeling was bloodline pressure!
Sierra hadn't been a Wolf Queen since birth. It was a mutation that happened after being near a lightning treasure from the heavens and earth.
Because this transformation happened when she was already in the third rank, it didn't change her completely, and traces of her previous self remained, creating a murky "Queen" aura.
However, Sierra's transformation when entering the fourth realm eliminated all these imperfections and let her become a complete Beast Queen, similar to Cecile before and after her rebirth.
Taking all of this into account, the current Sierra would be able to even fight against the whole pack of wolves since her aura suppresses them.
Evelyn was standing beside Sierra with a proud smirk. She felt a slight resemblance to her dragoness from Sierra when Yasenia went all out. 'Sierra also has this natural monarch vibe around her. Aren't I lucky to get a companion like her after getting a wife like Yasenia? I will become the Beast Queen tamer- *Cough* The Beast Queen companion!'
That red-grey wolf and those near him were different from the rest because they had gone through strengthening rituals that had changed their physiology to that of a mixed wolf. Therefore, Sierra's aura just suppressed them in the sense of a fourth-ranked beast facing a third-ranked beast.
After showing off her new might and intention to fight, Sierra didn't waste any more breath and pounced forward like a yellow lightning bolt.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone