Chapter 178: Alpha Loki & His Wolf Pack?
Chapter 178: Alpha Loki & His Wolf Pack?
The night air was thick with the scent of urban dust and hidden malice. Under the flawless concealment of my Hidden Gu, I glided across the final city blocks toward my Sky townhouse. The technique kept me completely invisible, ensuring the web of spies lurking in the dark shadows remained entirely oblivious to my return. Yet, as I neared the massive gates of my estate, the sheer absurdity of the scene playing out before me made me halt in my tracks.
Standing guard at the threshold were the two sentries I had personally pulled back from the jaws of death during the Taki Hanzo attack. Instead of maintaining a vigilant watch, they were leaning against the stone pillars, shamelessly flirting with a small flock of giggling noblewomen.
As I slipped past them like a ghost, their voices drifted clearly into my ears, carrying words that nearly shattered my concentration.
"Yeah, that’s right, ladies. The rumors are completely true," one of the guards bragged, puffing out his chest. "Count Loki Sky has a new son with his concubine and maid, Andra von Dark Sky. The boy’s a confirmed triple-mana element, healthy as an ox. His name is Nari Sky."
I froze. A sudden jolt of disbelief struck my chest. They’re openly gossiping about my private family matters at the front gates?
But as the initial shock faded, the puzzle pieces rapidly clicked together in my mind.
First, Andra was posing as Nari's mother. Second, if the boy's name was Nari, then biologically, he belonged to Angelica and me. Lastly, the guards weren't just gossiping carelessly—they were deliberately broadcasting specific details about his triple-element status and identity.
One of the young women leaned in closer, batting her eyelashes and teasing the guard with a playful pout. "Oh, come on, handsome, don't hide the best part. What are the baby's actual elements? I absolutely have to know!"
The other noblewomen nodded eagerly, their eyes gleaming with aristocratic curiosity.
The guard lowered his voice, casting a theatrical, exaggerated glance around the empty street. Thanks to my high proficiency in Espionage, his terrible acting was painfully transparent. He was intentionally putting on a show of passing a forbidden state secret.
"Just for you, young miss, I'll share what I know," the guard whispered loudly. "I can confirm he has the Air and Life elements. I don't know the exact nature of the third, but his mother is a high-tier Water Mage... That’s all I can say, cough."
A quiet sigh of relief escaped my lips. It was a brilliant, calculated smoke screen. Because Angelica was his true mother, Nari’s actual triple elements were Air, Dark, and Life. This whole public display was a meticulously crafted plot devised by Angelica to thoroughly confuse Vali, ensuring he would never realize he had a blood brother out there.
Stepping silently through the crowd without raising a single ripple in the air, I slipped past the gates and crossed the manicured grounds toward the front entrance.
Click. Creak~
Before my hand could even touch the handle, the heavy front door swung open on its own. Standing in the brightly lit entryway was a striking, five-foot-ten woman clad in a provocatively skimpy French-maid uniform. A vibrant, long red ponytail cascaded down her back, contrasting sharply with her placid, emerald-green eyes. She stared directly at the seemingly empty space where I stood.
"Master Husband," Pandora Cross spoke, her voice smooth and devoid of superficial emotion. "You are likely the only man alive who feels the need to sneak into his own home. I can sense your presence."
With a thought, I deactivated the Hidden Gu, allowing my form to materialize from the empty air. I flashed her a bright, weary smile. "Pandora. I missed you terribly. Is everything alright inside?"
Through our shared Summoner Link, a massive tidal wave of pure thrill and affection crashed into my consciousness, completely contradicting her stoic, professional demeanor.
"Your mother and Andra are currently on the fourth floor tending to your daughter and your new son, Nari," Pandora reported dutifully, keeping her expression perfectly composed. "Angelica, Lisa, Ayala, Lana, Celia, Frigg, and myself were all gathered together the exact moment we felt your arrival."
Finishing her report, the beautiful Shadow Puppet leaned forward slightly. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips, silently demanding her customary reward for a job well done.
Mwah!
Without a second thought, I wrapped my arms around her slender waist, pulling her flush against my chest as I deeply kissed her lips. We held each other tightly for a long moment, the warmth of home finally settling into my bones.
Before I could fully release her, the sound of approaching footsteps drew my gaze. When the second maid stepped into view, my jaw went completely slack in sheer astonishment.
"Welcome back, Loki... I missed you so terribly!"
My heart throbbed violently against my ribs, and a sudden mist veiled my eyes. Standing before me was a magnificent, six-foot-one High Elf, poured into an incredibly revealing maid outfit that left very little to the imagination.
Celia's cheeks burned with a deep, radiant crimson. Her platinum-blonde hair was pulled back into a flawless, professional bun, and a pair of decorative, wire-framed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose. The combination gave her the distinct, commanding aura of a modern Earth CEO, jarringly juxtaposed against her fantasy elf-maid attire.
I stepped forward and swept the tall, slender woman into a fierce embrace. Her heavy, voluptuous D-cups pressed firmly against my chest, nearly bursting free from the skimpy fabric of her top as she returned the hug with a desperate, passionate intensity. She pulled back just enough to capture my mouth in a deep, breathless kiss that tasted of sweet relief.
As the three of us began walking toward the back elevator, I kept an arm around her waist, casting a bewildered glance at her clothing. "Celia, why in the world are you wearing an arguably criminal, sexy maid outfit?"
She nervously fiddled with her fingertips, her gaze dropping to the floor as she searched for the right words. "Well... now that I've officially resigned from my position as ambassador, I needed to find a new path. Something I actually enjoy doing for a living. Like Pandora, I realized I feel incredibly comfortable managing the estate, and... I like the attire. So, I decided I will be serving as a maid around the house from now on. If that is alright with you, Loki?"
Stepping into the elevator cage, I turned her to face me and smiled gently. "Celia, I will wholeheartedly support absolutely anything you want to do, as long as it brings you happiness."
Her smile bloomed beautifully. With the two exceptionally tall, stunning maids flanking me, the elevator smoothly ascended to the fourth floor.
When the brass doors slid open, the sheer warmth of the scene waiting for me sent a surge of pure joy through my chest.
Sitting comfortably in the spacious fourth-floor living room were my mother, Ayala, Lisa, Lana, and Angelica. They were gathered around two small cribs, the domestic peace of the room instantly renewing my exhausted spirit. Just then, Andra stepped into the room. The day-walking Vampire with piercing gold eyes was also dressed in an elegant, full-length maid uniform. Her midnight-black hair was tied back into a sleek, swaying ponytail, instantly triggering a rush of nostalgia from my days in the Dark Garden and our wedding journey.
"Aah~wah!"
The very first person to notice my arrival wasn't any of the adults. It was the fiery, red-headed baby nestled safely in my mother's arms—my fierce little Amazon daughter, Layla.
At her cry, the rest of the women whipped their heads around in surprise. While the others looked overjoyed, Angelica's emotions through our Summoner Link flared with a complex, chaotic mixture of intense guilt, profound happiness, and distinct unease.
Initially, I assumed her guilt stemmed from whatever wild adventure she had undergone to bring Nari here. But the sharp, icy words that flew from my mother's mouth immediately corrected that assumption.
"Loki Sky," my mother snapped, her green eyes narrowing as she glared at me. "You finally have the nerve to show your face here after I found out you've been hiding an entire marriage and a son from your own mother?"
She pointed an accusing finger at the infant cradled gently in Angelica's arms, and then toward Andra. The Vampire maid looked thoroughly apologetic, unable to even blush due to her undead nature, clearly feeling terrible that I was taking the heat for a situation I hadn't actually caused.
Sensing my confusion, Angelica immediately threw me a lifeline, broadcasting an explanation through our mental bond while aligning her spoken words to support the ruse.
"Loki, your concubine Andra Dark had vital news regarding her new pregnancy, but she was forced to bring your newborn son, Nari, to the Balder Kingdom to find you," Angelica explained aloud, her voice steady. "Now that Nari's existence is known to the world, and since she is already carrying your second child, she will be residing here permanently. Come, hold your son."
Simultaneously, a massive torrent of concentrated information flooded our Summoner Link at lightning speed.
[Loki, I am so incredibly sorry. Both Nari and I are now Original Werewolves, and Andra is currently acting as his biological mother to protect him. The cover story we gave your mother is simple: you and Andra met up north for a passionate, drunken one-night stand. You met her again, already pregnant, during your wedding tour at the Dark Vampire Kingdom... and it stayed hidden until now. For safety, only Camila, Alice, Andra, Pandora, and Bianca know that I am Nari's true mother.]
The mental transmission made everything perfectly clear. Armed with the full picture regarding Angelica, Nari, and my Vampire brides, I stepped forward to defuse the tension.
"Mom, I am deeply sorry. And to everyone else—I missed you all so much," I said, offering an olive branch. "Please, let me just hold my children before anyone decides to put me on trial, okay?"
The thick tension evaporated instantly. The lovely ladies leaped from their seats, crowding around me to offer quick, breathless hugs and affectionate pecks on my lips. Finally, I managed to sit down on the sofa, flanked by a deeply apologetic Angelica on my right and a thoroughly miffed Mother Rose on my left. I carefully settled a child into each arm—my little Amazon princess in my left, and my brand-new son in my right.
Layla immediately began aggressively slapping my cheeks with her tiny hands, letting her daddy know exactly how she felt about his long absence. After a few hits, she let out a massive, dramatic yawn. My mother gently scooped her out of my left arm and handed her over to Ayala, who stood up to take the sleepy baby to her room for a feeding.
That left me alone with Nari.
The little guy was exceptionally healthy. His striking, brilliant green eyes locked onto mine, tracking my movements with intense curiosity and a deep sense of inherent familiarity, clearly recognizing my unique scent and aura. Looking down at him, I noticed his dark, silken hair perfectly matched the child from my prophetic dreams. Even when his face had been obscured in those visions, I knew with absolute certainty that this was the boy the malevolent version of Angelica had shown me.
The realization brought a soft, genuine smile to my face. As if sensing my shift in mood, Nari’s tiny lips curled into a faint, mirrored smile.
Channeling my internal Life mana into the tip of my index finger, I silently cast a Minor Life Utility spell. I gently guided the soothing, warm energy through his tiny body, easing any lingering infantile aches or growing pains while allowing his latent Life mana to seamlessly intertwine with my own.
Nari squealed with pure delight, his tiny fingers wrapping tightly around my finger, finding the soothing magic immensely to his liking.
Across the room, my mother waved her hand, gesturing for Andra to take a seat on my vacant left side.
Andra sat down gracefully, turning her golden eyes toward my mother to defend me. "Mother Rose, Loki truly had no idea he had gotten me pregnant back then. To be entirely fair, it was nothing more than a wild one-night stand at the time. His blood was just so incredibly delicious that I kept it to myself, so he didn't find out until well after his marriage to Camila Dark."
I reached over to my right, taking Angelica's warm, trembling hand into mine, and looked directly at my mother. "Mom, please look at the state of the world outside these walls. I had to keep Nari hidden until now, or else all of our lives would have been thrown into absolute chaos. But now that Layla has been born, the timing was right to bring Nari into the light. I truly am sorry for keeping you in the dark, Mom."
In reality, my mother wasn't genuinely angry about the child's existence, nor was she upset about the secrecy. Andra had already told her a thousand times that I was completely innocent in the matter. However, my mother was fiercely protective of Andra, feeling that I had severely failed in my masculine duties during her pregnancy—reminiscent of the careless way Thorin handled his brief, casual flings.
After another dozen minutes of soft conversation, Nari’s eyes grew heavy, and he drifted off into a peaceful slumber. My mother and Andra carefully took him from my arms, carrying him off to his crib in the nursery.
With the babies asleep, the remaining women immediately swarmed around me, eager to hear my heavily sanitized, heavily edited tales of Demonic Sect management. I spent the next hour entertaining them, wrapped in their warmth, before faithfully promising every lovely lady in the room that I would personally visit their chambers to tuck them in shortly.
But first, Angelica needed to speak with me in absolute privacy.
Up on the fifth floor, inside the quiet sanctuary of Angelica’s bedroom...
The moment the heavy oak door clicked shut, she threw herself into my arms. We exchanged a fierce, wildly passionate kiss that burned with hunger and relief. When we finally broke apart, she pulled me down onto the plush loveseat, straddling my lap comfortably as she began to recount everything that had transpired during my absence.
First, she explained the catalyst: she had suffered another horrific, vivid nightmare of Vali ruthlessly attacking Nari. The sheer terror of that vision had driven her to immediate, desperate action.
She had gone directly to Bianca after catching wind of Alice, her child, and the forbidden secrets of the Altar of Night. Through sheer determination, she had convinced Camila and the other two Vampire Brides to assist her in a perilous ritual—strengthening Nari by fundamentally altering his biology into that of an Original Werewolf, ensuring he would possess endless vitality and the near-immortal ability to survive any physical harm.
Just like with Alice, both mother and child were simultaneously blessed—or cursed—with the potent gifts of the progenitor. However, a severe, unexpected complication had arisen during the ritual. The colossal, roaring torrent of raw vitality flooding through Angelica's body had drastically accelerated her pregnancy.
By the time they cut the umbilical cord, Nari's newborn body had physically aged to match that of a developed four-month-old infant. Because of this sudden physical development, the fabricated backstory involving Andra—who actually shared a striking resemblance to Nari's features—worked perfectly, especially alongside Andra’s genuine, early-stage pregnancy.
Therefore, until the day Vali no longer posed a lethal threat to Nari's life, the boy would be publicly recognized as Andra's bastard son, while Angelica raised and protected him from the shadows.
My chest tightened with a painful, constricting ache as Angelica detailed the excruciating agony she had to endure to become an Original Werewolf.
Yet, looking into her eyes, there wasn't a single shred of regret in her expression. I found myself in a thoroughly awkward, yet profoundly moving situation, holding my incredibly foolish, insanely brave, and fiercely daring Dark element Mage wife.
Angelica’s breathtaking face was a mere matter of inches from mine. Her brilliant, piercing blue eyes searched the absolute depths of my soul, looking for any sign of rejection.
She still stood at her proud height of five-foot-ten, and her magnificent, voluptuous E-cups were on full, tantalizing display as she sat entirely naked in my arms and lap, her bare skin smooth and radiant. Her long, midnight-black hair fell in silky, vibrant waves down to her chest. Her body was just as flawlessly perfect to hold as it had always been, but her internal body temperature had drastically shifted—it was now burning hot, radiating a fierce, primal heat that perfectly matched the temperature of my own Pure Yang Body.
So, what exactly was different about my beautiful Angelica as she watched me now like an apex predator stalking its prey?
Two silky, midnight-black wolf ears poked through her dark hair, twitching acutely, while a matching black wolf tail swished slowly against the couch cushions behind her, displaying her absolute mastery over her new shapeshifting form. The moment she felt the rapid, heavy thud of my heartbeat against her chest, her lips curled into a predatory, intensely excited smile, her pronounced, sharpened canine teeth glinting dangerously in the dim lighting of the bedroom.
Reaching down, she picked up a glowing artifact—the Soul Lamp that had been violently expelled from her magic core during the agonizing transformation—and pressed it into my hands.
"So, my dear husband Loki," she whispered, her voice a low, melodic purr that vibrated against my chest. "Now that I've turned myself into a literal monster... will you still love me? Haha."
I leaned forward, capturing her lips in a deeply affectionate, reassuring kiss before looking straight into her glittering blue eyes. I nodded firmly. "I will always love you, Angelica. And I will always love our little Nari. But in the future... please let me know before you do something this reckless. Let me be there to support you. I love you."
Her black wolf ears twitched violently at my words, and her tail swished with sudden, unbridled joy. She leaned down, burying her face into the crook of my neck, and let out a low, vibrating, distinctly carnal growl directly into my ear.
"Haha... I've always loved doggy-style, and playing those 'who's your daddy' bed games with you, Husband," she purred, her hot breath sending a violent jolt of electricity straight down my spine. "But now... you get to play with a real wolf woman. Are you ready, Husband?"
Holding her tightly against my lap, a sudden, terrifying realization washed over me.
An Original Werewolf currently in heat was an absolutely frightening thing to behold.