Andras's eyes flashed cold.
"She's too interesting a specimen to release. We'll take her with us. Chain her well—the rope won't be enough to hold her."
"And what about the corpses?" Anita asked.
"The slimes will take care of them," Andras answered. "Their skeletons will remain as a warning to other bandits who might try to nest in this cave later."
"The bandits' loot?" Anita asked.
"Gather every valuable," Andras commanded. "Weapons, gold—everything comes with us!"
"Understood!" Anita shouted. "You heard him, knights—loot the spoils!"
"Yes, sir! Hurrah! Glory!" roared the fifty Wolf Knights in unison, and the cave rang with the clashing of steel as they set about collecting the treasure.
The knights made camp halfway, the firelight flickering among the trees. Ironclaw was chained to a thick oak, her body still weak from the shock, though she was slowly regaining her senses.
"Ah… where am I?" she groaned. "What the hell is this? I'm chained? I remember now! I'm still alive… so I endured the tingling!"
Anita noticed the beast‑girl waking and immediately called for the Young Wolf. Andras stepped closer, his shadow falling across Ironclaw as she sat on the ground. The moment she saw him and heard his voice, her body reacted instinctively—she let go again, collapsing inward.
Andras stopped before her, his eyes flashing cold.
"Do beastfolk always enjoy wetting themselves, or is that just your habit?"
Ironclaw protested indignantly, though with embarrassment:
"I didn't wet myself! I just… marked the territory!"
A ripple of quiet laughter passed among the knights, though none spoke aloud. The tension and the grotesque absurdity mingled together, filling the camp's atmosphere.
Ironclaw was ashamed. Not long ago she had stood as a proud pack leader, the strongest warrior of her clan, and now she lay before a human child who had not only defeated her but had forced the same humiliating reaction from her for the fourth time. The shame burned her, but Andras was unfazed. He knew it was merely a side effect of Electroshock, and he understood that Ironclaw was an exceptional specimen of her kind.
The Young Wolf's eyes rested on the female's wolf ears. Childhood memories stirred within him: in Earthworld he had once had a dog, a loyal companion who always clung to him and wagged its tail happily whenever its master petted it. Nostalgia brought a faint smile to his lips, and instinctively he reached toward Ironclaw.
His fingers stroked the female's head, just as he used to pet his dog. The gesture was gentle, almost alien in the cruel world of battle. Ironclaw froze at first, then slowly surrendered to the sensation. She had never experienced anything like it before: the touch was pleasant, soothing, almost intoxicating.
The female wolf‑halfbreed closed her eyes, and her shaggy tail began to wag involuntarily, like a puppy reunited with its master. The moment was grotesque, yet it radiated a strange peace: the proud pack leader had, with a single touch, become a submissive, grateful creature.
Ironclaw's eyes widened as the sensation of the stroking ran through her.
"What is this feeling? This human child is so strong, yet his hand is gentle and his scent is kind. It's as if… as if he were… as if he were my… Master!!!"
Andras looked at her in surprise, then his magical eye flashed before him. The vision clearly displayed:
Ironclaw: Tamed. Imprinting complete. Master: Andras Wolfwood.
"What is imprinting?" Andras asked, slightly confused.
"Master!" Ironclaw cried, almost pleading. "More! Pet me more!"
"Master? You mean… me?" Andras exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, you are my master!" the female earth‑wolf replied, wagging her tail.
Andras pondered.
"Actually, I recall something… I think I read about this. Dog‑ and wolf‑type beastfolk, if they acknowledge someone as their master, they remain loyal for life. And you, Ironclaw, are an earth‑wolf halfbreed. So I am your master now?"
"Master, I'm hungry!" Ironclaw whined.
Anita narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Don't you dare believe her! She's just pretending to be a good girl so you'll let her go and she can escape."
"No," Andras shook his head. "She truly acknowledged me as her master."
"And why are you so sure of that?" Anita asked.
"Because my magical eye displayed it…" Andras thought, then added aloud: "Because I can smell it on her."
Noelle brightened.
"So that's why she marked the territory between herself and the Young Wolf. I understand now! That's how beastfolk are."
Andras shrugged.
"No, then she really just wet herself…"
"Yes, that's it," he continued, smiling at Noelle. "Your mind is as sharp as Anita's sword."
"All right, if you say so," Anita muttered, though clearly unconvinced.
Andrea spoke up then, a little uncertainly:
"So… do we release her now?"
"Yeah," Andras nodded. "Take off her chains, then let's go eat."
Andrea and Anita removed the chains from Ironclaw. The young female still moved sluggishly, the effects of Electroshock not yet fully gone—she would need another day to recover completely. The company sat down beneath the tree to rest, and Ironclaw joined them without hesitation. She settled right beside Andras, her eyes fixed almost obsessively on her master.
"You're too close to the Young Wolf, female!" Anita scolded sternly.
"My name is Ironclaw! Don't call me female!" the beast‑girl shot back proudly.
Andras smiled.
"Ironclaw… I like your name. Who gave it to you?"
"My clan," Ironclaw replied. "I was the strongest among them. They named me. You're called Young Wolf by your knights, Master? Then are you a wolf?"
"The symbol of the Wolfwood house is the wolf," Andras explained. "There are many wolves in Wolfwood. But I am human—the knights just call me that. And our knights are the Wolf Knights."
"So your knights are wolves?" Ironclaw asked, slightly confused.
"No," Andras smiled. "My knights are humans, only our symbol is the wolf."
"So… wolves, but not wolves?" Ironclaw scratched her head.
"Humans, they just like wolves," Andras replied patiently.
"I like my master too!" Ironclaw suddenly said, wagging her tail.
Andras laughed.
"Good girl! As a reward, you'll get a gingerbread."
"What's this?" Ironclaw asked as she bit into it. "It's so delicious! Sweet! I've never eaten anything like this before."
"This is gingerbread," Noelle explained proudly. "I baked it."
Andrea turned curiously to the female.
"Ironclaw, were the other bandits your clan?"
"My clan," Ironclaw nodded. "It no longer exists."
Anita narrowed her eyes.
"Do you resent us for killing them?"
"I don't care," Ironclaw answered coldly. "They were weak. They died. I am strong. I live. Master is stronger, therefore he is my master."
The knights watched the scene in silence. The proud pack leader was slowly becoming something new, something strange: a beast who no longer bound her loyalty to her own clan, but to the Young Wolf himself.
Andras looked seriously at the female in the firelight.
"Yes, beastfolk see things differently than we humans do. You listen more to your instincts than to your human hearts."
Andrea leaned forward curiously.
"Why did you become a bandit, Ironclaw?"
The female earth‑wolf's eyes flashed.
"Because I am strong, and I refuse to be a slave."
Andras nodded.
"Slaves are kept only in the Empire. Here, in the Kingdom, we hunt beastfolk only if they harm the villages of the land."
Ironclaw asked hesitantly:
"You don't hate us, half‑breeds?"
The Young Wolf smiled.
"I have no problem with beastfolk. In fact, I even like strong and beautiful females—like you."
Ironclaw's eyes lit up, her tail wagging like a puppy's.
"I love you too, Master! Give me more sweets!"
Andras pulled another piece from his satchel and handed it to her.
"Here, there's plenty more."
The female happily devoured the gingerbread, closing her eyes at the taste of the sweetness. The knights watched in silence: the proud pack leader, who not long ago had been a deadly enemy, now behaved like a tamed creature, loyally clinging to her new master.