The captured beasts were quickly dragged into the blue building, where they were thrown into even more secure cages stacked in a dark and cold basement. Even with his thick fur, the white wolf felt cold. Meanwhile, the bandits, as if desperately trying to outrun their shameful actions, had already fled the city. This magnificent city was the royal capital of the Tinding Kingdom, a small domain in a vast continent of empires and duchies. While the kingdom's power was average, to a low-level beast, it was an absolute behemoth.
Like many kingdoms bordering the Endless Forest, the Tinding Kingdom profited immensely from the trade of demonic beasts. These creatures were sold as tamed beasts for transport, defense, and even war. Their bodies were also used in alchemy to concoct highly valuable pills. This profitable trade greatly contributed to the kingdom's economic development, making "beast tamer" a title given to those who could enslave demonic beasts, a highly respected position in human society.
For three weeks, the demonic beasts were well-fed and given special pills to artificially increase their size and muscle mass. Some of the beasts grew visibly happier with their new luck, but the white wolf became even more terrified of the vicious human heart. From the callous chatter of his new handlers, the wolf learned that the beasts were being actively groomed for the bidding block. They would soon be sold to restaurants, alchemy shops, and treasure refiners. The lucky ones would be bought by beast tamers.
This horrifying knowledge made the white wolf's heart shudder. Worry for his mother and sister reached a new peak. He knew that their only remaining hope for survival was to be bought by a beast tamer, preferably together, though he knew this fragile hope was a hollow delusion. All he could truly hope for was that they might survive as human slaves, their deaths delayed.
To arm his family against fate, the white wolf fanned the embers of rage in his mother and sister, convincing them to gorge themselves on the growth pills. He understood all too well that beast tamers were the most likely buyers of large, powerful-looking beasts. To further increase their chances, he also taught them basic human commands he had deciphered and coached them to appear as docile as possible. He knew that his family would outgrow the other beasts because the rest of the captives thoroughly disliked the bitter smell and painful side effects of the medication.
The humans were practically force-feeding the other beasts, so the white wolf came up with a clever scheme: he convinced the other beasts to secretly give their pill portions to the wolves in exchange for a piece of their meat. The internal pain from the concentrated pills was agonizing, but his mother and sister endured it, fueled entirely by the hope of future revenge. They trusted the white wolf, who had always been the smartest of the pack. The other beasts simply saw the wolves as having gone completely mad from fear and captivity.
As for the white wolf, he had always been small. He knew the pills wouldn't magically change his skeletal size in a mere three weeks, so he held a entirely different plan for himself. Still, he swallowed a few pills to keep up his strength, while ensuring his mother and sister got everything they needed to survive the block.