章 36: The Hansleys' Wolf Cub (1)

Nicholas had no choice but to follow Sophie to see what she wanted to do. The girl ran toward the origin of the voice with eager steps. This made the man wonder if Sophie knew the animal that she became so worried about and immediately ran toward the voice.

He didn't know this, but when Sophie grew up with her parents, there was one creature that she found a constant presence in her home and somehow formed a connection with her only after some time. It was a white wolf cub that lived with them since she was born.

Because Sophie was still a kid, she often found herself jealous and a bit annoyed when the attention given to the white wolf cub was even more than what she received. The white wolf cub was always around too.

Did it have no mother or father like Sophie? Why was it here all the time?

"Why do we have a wolf cub?" a small Sophie asked and frowned at her father.

The white wolf cub was always with them and her mother gave it a lot of love. Sophie's father was a hunter and hunted a lot of creatures like deer and other forest animals so she didn't understand what made the wolf cub different.

"About that…" Jack Hansley, Sophie's father cleared his throat. He seemed wanting to explain but wasn't sure how to present it properly to a five-year-old girl.

"Why not make a wolf fur pelt?" Sophie batted her eyes at her father. "It will give us money. Why are you raising it? Even after years, it stays small."

The white wolf cub who was resting on the bed heard Sophie's suggestion and quickly ran out of the house. Sophie's father chuckled and shared a look with his wife who didn't seem all that pleased because of what Sophie said.

Sophie's father actually knew the answer as to why the wolf cub stayed small all these years. Other animals around its age would already become adult wolves at this point. However, in the five years it stayed with them, the cub only grew a little bit, not so much.

If Jack wanted to compare their wolf cub with a human boy, it was like a five-year-old boy who grew up to ten years old during his stay with the Hansleys.

Well… maybe Jack could use the analogy to make Sophie understand? The thing is, their wolf cub was not really a wolf. It was actually a werewolf cub who somehow refused to shift into his human form all this time.

But… would it be a good idea to tell Sophie all this now at her age? She was still a young child who couldn't keep a secret. She might accidentally tell the villagers about their cub.

And if this was heard by the village elders, the Hansleys might be arrested and sent to prison by the king for protecting a werewolf cub because the king hated those monsters so much.

He actually made it his life mission to kill every single one of the werewolves that they could find in this kingdom.

No... it was not a good idea to tell Sophie the truth. Jack Hansley turned to his wife and raised a brow. Anne Hansley, Sophie's mother looked worriedly outside of the house for a moment.

Then she whispered to her husband, "Jack.. please look for him. He must be feeling scared. Our Sophia is truly naughty today."

Jack smiled and nodded. He took his hat and left the hut to go to the woods and look for the cub. Meanwhile, Anne crouched down in front of their daughter and decided to give her the talk about what just happened.

"Sophia, the wolf cub who is living with us has been around even before you were born. He is FAMILY," Sophie's mother explained. "When he came here, he was gravely ill and hurt because of what happened to him."

Sophie frowned. "What happened to him?"

"Well…" Sophie's mother bit her lip. "I think his mother was really angry at him and hurt him. So, he ran away to look for another home. We took him in and he liked us. So, he decided to stay."

Sophie's eyes widened and she held her mother's hand. "What? Why would a Mama Wolf get angry at her baby wolf? Are they not kind like you, mama?"

A sad smile on her mother's face appeared. "No, not all mothers happen to become good ones. Sometimes, they have selfish reasons for wanting a baby or maybe their heart is not in the right place."

"Oh…?" Sophie's lashes fluttered at her mother's words. She was truly shocked.

Now, suddenly she felt so horrible for even feeling jealous of their white wolf cub. No wonder her parents were so good to him, he must have suffered a lot.

Anne hugged Sophie tightly. "Well, it's a tough lesson to learn and understand that some people might not have your best interests at heart, Sophie… and that's what happened to the wolf cub living with us. Sometimes, even shared blood is not enough to have love. Just because you are family, it doesn't mean you can expect to be loved."

Sophie hugged her mother back and asked. "But how did you know the wolf cub's story?"

"Oh well… your mother is really great at understanding animals," Anne managed a nervous laugh before she pulled away to look at her daughter. She held Sophie's hand. "Now that you're a big girl, I hope that you'll be nicer to Lee, okay?"

Sophie nodded obediently, "Okay, mama."

The door was opened and Jack Hansley showed up.

"Uh, dear… I can't find the boy—er, the wolf cub," The man came in, looking distraught. "I think he ran away to the forest after Sophie gave him a scare. He probably doesn't want me to find him or else assume that he'll become a wolf fur pelt."

The handsome man let out nervous laughter. His Sophie did scare Lee a little bit it seemed. This little girl could say the most unexpected things sometimes.

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Can you guess who is their wolf cub actually? XD

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