"You're back."
She actually had a lot she wanted to ask.
Why he had bought her.
Why he always called her "cub."
Where he had gone two years ago, and why he hadn't taken her with him.
Why he had suddenly returned.
The words on her screen were typed and deleted, deleted and retyped, until only a single sentence remained.
"You're back."
A simple statement, plain yet warm.
Silas Thornton stared at the words on the screen, his cold eyes flickering. He felt a little awkward.
It felt as if he were a husband coming home from a long day of work, greeted by his young wife who had been waiting for him all day.
'Isn't this a bit inappropriate? It feels so... intimate. What has the cub been learning these past two years?! It's all my fault! I should have left someone behind to teach her properly!'
Holly Wyatt blinked in confusion. Seeing the man's ears turn as red as if they were about to drip blood, she put her phone away.
The glow from the screen illuminated her fair little face, making her look soft and adorable.
Was there something wrong with what she'd typed?
"You're back."
Those two words were fine, weren't they?
What was so intimate about it?
Do humans and wolves just think differently?
Holly Wyatt licked her lips, gazing at him in puzzlement.
Silas Thornton's breath caught as he looked at her crimson lips, shimmering and moist.
He cursed himself viciously.
'That's a cub! A cub!! What are you thinking, you dog?!'
Holly Wyatt: ? 'Is he calling himself a dog? Isn't he a wolf?'
Silas Thornton averted his gaze. His tall frame settled onto the living room sofa as he unbuttoned his suit jacket.
He was about to toss it directly onto the sofa.
But then he glanced at the spotless sofa, paused, and folded the jacket neatly over the armrest.
Holly Wyatt looked over. The man's tail was coiled leisurely on the sofa, a fluffy bundle, its tip wagging happily back and forth.
"Have you had breakfast?" Silas Thornton's gruff voice reached Holly Wyatt's ears.
Clutching her phone with both hands, Holly Wyatt shook her head quietly and obediently, like a child being scolded.
'She hasn't eaten? But I don't know how to cook... This is a problem. Can the cub eat the Wolf Clan's food? Probably not... The cub is human.'
Silas Thornton frowned slightly and said succinctly, "Get ready. I'll take you out to eat."
Holly Wyatt nodded, patting down the front of her clothes and standing up straight.
Silas Thornton hesitated, pressing his lips together. "Let's go."
He stood up, undid the top two buttons of his shirt, unfastened his cuffs, and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong arms.
The smooth lines of his muscles suggested immense power. His veins were so prominent you could almost see the blood flowing within them.
Holly Wyatt licked her lips and subconsciously took two steps back.
In truth, Silas Thornton was nearly twice her size.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't scared at all.
He could probably kill her with a single punch.
'Hm? Is the cub scared? Scared of what? Me? What is there to be scared of? Didn't I clean myself up and make myself look presentable before I came today? Don't I look human enough?'
Silas Thornton's cold eyes shifted downward, scrutinizing himself.
Holly Wyatt's nervousness was washed away by his unintentional silliness.
Combined with the sight of Silas Thornton's black ears flattened back in frustration and his big tail swishing restlessly, sweeping the floor, her fear of his large frame dissipated.
She wasn't so afraid of his large frame anymore.
No one could resist the charm of a fluffy little wolf!!
Holly Wyatt walked to the entryway and took out her little white sneakers. Silas Thornton stood behind her.
'The humans around here all seem pretty tall. Why is my cub so short and skinny?'
Holly Wyatt paused.
'I'm not short!!'
People from Bervenia are naturally taller; it's genetic!
'Sigh... If I'd known, I wouldn't have left after bringing the cub back. I should have just let the Wizard handle the rest of the clan's migration.'
Holly Wyatt froze.
'So he left two years ago to handle his clan's migration.'
'He didn't abandon me on purpose.'
Holly Wyatt pressed her lips together, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. Her large, round eyes sparkled.
She opened the door, looked up at Silas Thornton, and waited for him obediently.
Silas Thornton glanced at the electronic lock. "Right, the password."
'I just tried entering the cub's birthday five times and it was wrong every time. She must have changed the password herself. Not bad, her security awareness is pretty strong. Good for her for knowing to change it, that's great!'
Holly Wyatt's eyelashes fluttered. She clutched the hem of her shirt with one hand and typed with the other.
"I changed the password. It's not my birthday. It's 179380."
Silas Thornton nodded. "Got it."
*
「At the breakfast shop downstairs.」
Silas Thornton glanced at the menu and pushed it in front of Holly Wyatt. "Order whatever you want."
'I don't know what the cub likes to eat, so it's better to let her choose. I can eat anything.'
Holly Wyatt blinked, licked her lips, and typed.
"Can I really order anything?"
"Yes." Silas Thornton's expression was stern as he instructed her, "Order more."
'The cub is so skinny. She must not have been eating well these past two years. Damn it all! I clearly hired a human nanny to take care of her, so how is she still this thin?'
'That's right... Why is the cub the only one in the house? Where's that human nanny?'
Holly Wyatt's breath hitched. She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
She stared blankly at Silas Thornton's ears, which looked like they were steaming with anger.
The truth was... that nanny had stolen the money Silas Thornton had left for her and run off with it just a month after he left.
If the sale of the house hadn't required Silas Thornton's signature as an adult, she probably wouldn't even have a place to live now.
She had reported it to the police at the time.
But she was deaf and mute, and no one was willing to listen to her.
After all, communicating with her was too difficult.
On top of that, she was just a minor with no one to back her up.
After they found the nanny, the police said she had already spent all the money and couldn't pay it back. They could only freeze the nanny's assets and hastily closed the case.
But she had clearly seen the nanny's son use the money to buy a house in a high-end downtown neighborhood.
It wasn't that the nanny couldn't pay it back; it was just that it would have been troublesome, and no one was willing to go to the effort for her.
She could only suffer this loss in silence.
Because... she was, in fact, mute.
Thankfully, Silas Thornton had paid her tuition for these two years in advance.
She just had to work part-time during the holidays to earn living expenses and save up whatever was left to pay him back in the future.
On a normal day, she pinched every penny, and that was enough for her to get by.
She had never once set foot in this breakfast shop downstairs.
Looking at the dazzling array of dishes on the menu, her stomach started to RUMBLE.
She swallowed hard, pointed to the cheapest item on the menu—soup dumplings—and pushed it toward Silas Thornton.
Her big eyes shone with a boundless light, making the wolf's heart soften.
'The cub is so cute! Cuter than all those wolf pups in the clan! And so well-behaved. She's my cub! Yes!'
The man's wolf ears twitched rapidly, flipping inside out to reveal the soft, pink inner canal.
POP~
Then they snapped back to their normal position.
A blush crept up Holly Wyatt's face, still round with baby fat. She lowered her head and tapped the picture of the soup dumplings with her delicate fingertips, pulling Silas Thornton back from his thoughts.
Silas Thornton kept a straight face. "Mm, what else do you want to eat?"
Holly Wyatt shook her head and pushed the menu back, gesturing for him to order what he wanted.
'He's already spent so much money on me.'
'I don't know how much wealth a wolf has, but it can't be infinite.'
'Besides, a wolf has his own clan to support.'
The word "clan" implied there were many wolf mouths to feed.
'The expenses must be huge.'
'Since I'm his... cub, the one he bought, I should be considerate of him and not be wasteful.'
The phone was pushed in front of Silas Thornton.
"I don't eat much, and this breakfast shop is a bit expensive."
'?? Expensive?? Does that mean we shouldn't eat?! How can that be?! A growing cub needs to eat!?'
Holly Wyatt took her phone back and continued typing.
When she looked up again, the table was covered with plates of all sizes.
The dishes on them looked exquisite and delicious.
Holly Wyatt couldn't help but swallow, glancing worriedly at Silas Thornton, who was picking up a pair of chopsticks to wipe them clean.
Silas Thornton's expression was cold as he pushed the chopsticks into her hand. His tone was serious. "No picky eating."
He pushed the plate of soup dumplings she had ordered earlier in front of her.
Then he arranged the other plates in a circle around her.
Making it easy for her to reach every dish.
'She's already so tiny, and she's not even eating more. How is she supposed to get enough nutrition?!'
Holly Wyatt gripped her chopsticks, her eyes growing hot as she looked at the semi-circle of plates on the table.
"What were you trying to say to me just now?" Silas Thornton lifted his gaze and glanced at her. "Let me see."
Holly Wyatt froze for a moment, staring at him in astonishment.
'I went to get some side dishes just now and didn't get to see what the cub said. She was looking down and tapping away on her phone, so she must have had a lot to say.'
Holly Wyatt looked at her now-dark screen, a trace of sorrow appearing in her eyes.
This was the first time anyone had ever wanted to see her long-winded ramblings.