Chapter 117

Aftermoon Battle

Felix Fire and recruits

As Felix drew the arrow, blood gushed, frightening all the other wolves around. They grimaced and lamented seeing their friend in that state.

"We need to stop the bleeding!"

Fabricio shouted. The wounded wolf began to revert, returning to human form, the man reappeared naked, all his clothes torn in the transformation.

Felix helped Fabricio apply pressure to the wound, which had been open for too long and seemed unwilling to heal. The rain washing down cleaned the blood that stained the ground red wherever they walked.

Joaquim approached, frightened; he had never seen the beasts up close. To him, the giant wolves were nothing but legends. And now, he had just seen them; they seemed fiercer than he had imagined.

"Get inside! Take him in! We have a healer in the castle!"

Even though afraid, Joaquim urged them to hurry inside; he feared there might still be enemy soldiers nearby.

Lucinda ran to her beloved, embracing him tightly. The rain poured heavily, the sky ablaze with lightning, startling Lucinda, who clung to her husband's arm for comfort. They entered together; the wolves transformed back into their human forms, and a line of naked men followed Lucinda and Joaquim into the castle.

As soon as everyone entered, the gates were closed. Unfortunately, due to the situation, Joaquim hadn't managed to thank them, but he knew there would be other opportunities.

Lucinda ran ahead, calling for Zebeu; Milenna and Josefa stood at the entrance, alarmed by all the commotion.

The men began entering naked; for them, it was normal—they had no shame in showing their bodies. The servants and maids covered their embarrassed eyes, the only one attentively observing, trying to see every detail, was Josefa, who smiled cheerfully. She had never seen such a thing; the wolves were strong, completely different from humans. Their abdomens were firm, their arms strong, their hair long and silky, their legs thick—they possessed an enchanting beauty. The maid remarked after admiring the wolves.

"I will fetch some clothes for the knights..."

Milenna covered her eyes with her hand as she headed towards the stairs, heading to the room to assist the maid with the clothing.

Zebeu appeared running, carrying his bag. He noticed something different about those men; the old healer had seen them during a visit he had made to Cateline a few months earlier. He gazed at them for a while before instructing the others.

"Place the man on the table!"

Zebeu shouted, and so Felix and Fabricio did, the wolf's pulse was already weak.

"I'll have to stitch it up! The bleeding is too severe..."

The healer said, but Felix interrupted; they didn't allow stitches on their bodies—the wound needed to be clean to heal naturally and perfectly.

"No... just give him something for the pain... he'll endure."

Felix said seriously, he had to follow his tribe's rules—the wolf needed to be strong to survive.

Milenna returned with some blankets and clothes alongside the maid; both distributed them among the men, even those with soaked garments, changed into dry clothes.

Amid all the confusion, Sandy appeared coming down the stairs; her belly was already quite visible. As she approached everyone, they immediately noticed the woman.

"Two pregnant women?"

Tomas asked, putting on the shirt Milenna had brought. He didn't know if it was a miracle or something else... He was amazed that three women were pregnant, almost at the same gestation period. He looked perplexed at the humans.

The wolves were amazed by what they saw; they knew Felix was doing the right thing. It would have been terrible if Helton had managed to invade; now they needed to protect those women at all costs.

Lucinda, still wet, approached Felix who was helping Zebeu. She wanted to thank him; she had let herself be carried away by emotion and fear. If her brother-in-law hadn't arrived in time, maybe they would all be dead by now.

"Thank you, I didn't know what else to do. If you hadn't come, Felix, your friends, I think we would've..."

Lucinda said, crying. She was desperate and didn't know how to show enough gratitude. Everyone there owed their lives to the wolves who had always been judged as demons.

"You don't need to thank me... Cateline will be happy to know you're all safe. She sends her regards and wants to see you soon. Let's put an end to this war once and for all, I promise."

Felix said, smiling, trying to console the woman. But she remained the same; something was tormenting her, something he didn't quite understand. Her heartbeat was too fast, confusing the wolf.

"Are you one of them?"

Lucinda asked, scared, looking at the men who had transformed.

"One of them?"

Felix questioned, she referred to the werewolves.

"You mean the werewolves?"

The wolf asked seriously. He knew it would take a while for everyone to accept, but like Cateline, he knew his family would understand.

Lucinda nodded, and Felix did the same, confirming to the woman. She took a few steps back, afraid of him, but Joaquim put his hand on her arm, startling Lucinda who was terrified. He held back the scream and glanced at Felix. Her husband smiled, trying to ease the strange atmosphere.

"Thank you very much... I don't know how to thank you."

Joaquim bowed slightly, showing respect and gratitude to the wolf, who did the same. It was the first time a human recognized him as an equal.

Zebeu was preparing some anesthetic ointments and, once he mixed all the ingredients, he applied the paste to the injured man's wound. The bleeding seemed to slowly stop.

Joaquim called Felix to a corner, where they talked. The wolf explained that no one could know about their alliance, and they would fight together until Helton was overthrown. The Lord agreed with all the points. While the two discussed the details, Felix noticed that Joaquim was injured. He could smell the human's blood mixing with his scent; to him, it was something mild that would heal quickly, but to Joaquim, it could be serious. He was human; he knew it could cause problems if he didn't dress the wound. Like an infection, something like that... He then looked at the human and said, noticing the wound hidden beneath his clothes. He couldn't see it but could feel it.

"This wound..."