Chapter 114: Shiftless, Delusional & Apparently Hilarious
Calis frowned, fighting the urge to glance down at her chest again before she sprayed him with bodily fluid.
She was not well in the head, so she would actually do it.
"My twins will be waiting for me," Tera said firmly, pushing herself up. "Take me back. Now."
Calis growled. "You are not leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"If you have cubs, they will be brought here."
Tera went still. "Brought HERE? No! Take me back to my clan—"
But before she could even finish, Calis had already turned away from her.
He let out a sharp, low whistle, and two wolves stepped forward, and Tera’s protest died on her tongue as she registered, for the first time, just how many wolves were around her.
They were everywhere.
Behind Calis, sprawled across the forest floor in various states of rest. Some were in their beast forms, stretched across the ground like fur-covered boulders. Others had shifted to human form and sat in clusters, watching the exchange between their alpha and the strange, noisy female with wary looks.
And a large number of them were cubs.
They were too quiet for some odd reason, and the whole atmosphere carried some sort of strange gloom that rubbed off on Tera.
And every single one was looking at her.
’Oh.’
’What sort of depressing hole have I fallen into?’
[Host has just realised she is surrounded by approximately sixty-seven wolves]
[(ᵕ—ᴗ—)]
[This system recommends Host lower her voice]
[Several of them look hungry]
’You put me in this situation!’
[(•̀へ •́ ╮ )]
If Tera had beast ears, they would have shot upright. ’Wait! Sixty-seven?!’
[Yes!]
[Congratulations! Host has come across an unusual anomaly in this beast world]
[A clan of the same species!]
[New Location: Glimmer Pack!]
[Status: Critically Underdeveloped]
[Species: Wolf]
[Total Population: 67]
[Adults: 52 (4 Females, 29 Males, 19 Elderly Males)]
[Cubs: 15 (5 Females, 10 Males)]
[Infrastructure: Shoddy animal pen]
[Danger Rating: High]
[Welcome to your new project, Host!]
Tera could not believe her eyes.
’So, this is why you let me get napped!’
Calis spoke to the two wolves in a tone that left no room for interpretation. "Follow the path we took. Go straight ahead until you find that tribe, and be careful."
The wolves dipped their heads and vanished into the trees without a sound.
Tera’s mind raced. Those wolves were heading straight for the Dow Clan. If Xavi and Ermin saw unknown wolves approaching their territory while Tera was missing, the result just might be violent.
She really hoped that wasn’t the case.
If the system wanted her to come here, she would have just done it herself and planned towards it.
Tera shook her head and stood up, planting her hands on her hips and standing toe to toe with Calis, even though he stood taller over her by at least two heads.
Calis fought the urge to smile.
The shiftless female looked a little too adorable trying to look all big and scary. The pack’s cubs usually did this. If he could, he would commend her for the effort, as she almost looked intimidating.
"My beast mates will not take kindly to you keeping me hostage like this." Tera lifted her chin. "And my clan will also not appreciate that their leader is being held captive."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Every wolf within earshot went still.
Calis’ eyes widened wider than they had ever widened for the first time in his entire life.
[The wolves’ collective disbelief is so strong that this system can practically smell it]
[It smells like denial]
[ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ]
The wolves stared at Tera like she had just announced she could fly. Meanwhile, Tera was irritated by their reactions, and it didn’t dawn on her until seconds later.
Especially when Calis’s expression shifted for the second time to that same uncertainty he had shown when she had told him about the twins.
A shiftless female who claimed she had given birth to a cub, and said cub turned out to be twins, and now she claimed to be the leader of her clan.
Each claim was more impossible than the last. Any one of them would have been extraordinary. Together, they sounded like the ravings of a creature who had lost her mind.
And now Calis was convinced beyond a doubt that this female had indeed lost her mind.
A female having twins wasn’t so common, especially after the Collapse. But this was absolutely unheard of in a shiftless beast. A single cub was still possible, but twins?!
And what sort of males would willingly choose a shiftless female to procreate with?
Much less what beasts would have a shiftless female as their leader?
Calis immediately wondered if he should have just taken Luth and left this one in the water. He was not going to get sensible information from this deranged female.
A bark of laughter shattered the silence, and an elderly male stepped forward, still laughing so hard his body shook. He had the heavy, scarred build that spoke of a lifetime of fighting. His hair was streaked with silver, and two long claw marks ran down the left side of his neck, old and faded.
He clapped a hand on Calis’s shoulder, gripping it as if he needed the support to stay upright.
Calis didn’t turn. "Greymaw."
Greymaw laughed. "Alpha. Did you hear what this little thing just said?"
"I heard."
"She claims to be a clan leader." Greymaw wheezed, wiping at his eye. "A shiftless clan leader with twins and mates. Next she is going to tell us she defeated a corrupted beast with her bare hands and taught the trees to sing."
He dissolved into another round of laughter, turned to the rest of the pack and spread his arms wide as if presenting the evening’s entertainment.
"Brothers! Did you hear? The hairless one commands other beasts!"
Tera’s eye twitched.
The wolves rippled with laughter.
"A leader? Her?"
"What sort of beasts would follow a shiftless female?"
"Weak ones," another snorted.
"Maybe they are all shiftless too. An entire clan of broken beasts, led by the most broken one."
"I hope you do not seriously believe something that stupid?" a younger wolf asked the one beside him, grinning.
"She probably gives very good orders from behind a rock while the real beasts do the work."
[૮( `д´*)ა]
[This system is holding back some very unkind words about this pack’s intelligence!]
For some strange reason, this felt like when she had first met the Dow clan all over again. She had spent so long in her own bubble that she had nearly forgotten just how much shiftless beasts were looked down on here.
"Done laughing, you old dingbat?"