Chapter 51 Protecting Her

Chapter 51 Protecting Her
The front yard of the Silverpaw pack house was bathed in warm sunlight, illuminating the grass still slightly damp with dew. A light morning breeze blew, carrying the fresh scent of earth and leaves. Several pack members could be seen moving about in the distance, going about their daily routines as usual.

But for Ruella, that morning wasn’t as bright and beautiful as it seemed.

Her steps were slow as she walked along the path in the front yard of the pack house, her hands clasped in front of her body. Her gaze was vacant, as if she wasn’t really seeing what was in front of her.

Calix’s words from last night still echoed in her mind.

"You can go back to the Bluemoon Pack."

Ruella’s chest felt tight just thinking about it. The fact that she had previously begged not to be sent back made those words sound like a harsh reminder that this wasn’t her place.

She let out a soft sigh, trying to shake off that feeling. "So it really is that hard to have a family..."

Instead of fading, the sadness only grew clearer.

Her steps halted when the sound of horse hooves reached her from the direction of the gate.

Ruella reflexively turned her head, and instantly her eyes widened, without realizing it, the corners of her lips lifted into a smile.

There, a man dismounted from his horse. His hair, nearly touching his shoulders, was slightly tousled by the wind, but it did nothing to diminish his handsomeness or his strength. He actually looked even more dashing than usual.

Ruella’s eyes widened instantly.

"Kyle? It’s... Kyle," Ruella murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kyle furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes when he accidentally spotted Ruella standing among the beautiful peony roses in the garden to the right.

"Ruella?"

"Kyle!" Ruella immediately ran without hesitation.

Her steps were so quick and hurried, as if all the weight she’d been feeling since last night had found an escape, a ticket to the festival, just as Calix had said.

"Kyle, you’re home!"

"Hey, you..."

And before Kyle could fully react, Ruella had already hugged him.

A tight hug.

Kyle froze for a moment.

His hands hung in the air, not yet having had a chance to return the hug.

"I’m so glad you’re back," Ruella said, sounding excited.

Kyle chuckled softly, a little surprised. "You really missed me, didn’t you? That’s so sweet."

Ruella tightened her embrace even more, she wasn’t even aware that she was currently pouring out all the sadness and uncertainty that had filled her heart all night.

"Ouh my goodness, easy... easy there... I just got here. And I won’t be going far again anytime soon, so you’ll be seeing me a lot. You might even get bored, haha," Kyle said, patting Ruella’s back.

Kyle lowered his head slightly, he could sense that Ruella’s embrace wasn’t just because she missed him, something must have happened to trouble her mind and heart.

Then, his eyes unconsciously drifted toward the front of the pack house, and there, on the front porch, stood the Alpha of the Silverpaw Pack.

Calix Sedgewick stood there, watching them as they remained in each other’s arms.

He just stood there silently with an expression that was hard to read, and beside him was Beta Orion, who looked puzzled, furrowing his brow.

Kyle took a small breath, he felt uncomfortable under Calix’s gaze, which seemed to pierce straight into his soul.

But instead of breaking the embrace, Kyle hugged Ruella back.

"Did something happen? Or are you bored with Alpha Calix and want to be with me?" he teased lightly.

Ruella shook her head, making Kyle chuckle.

Then, after a few seconds, he patted Ruella’s back gently again and said, "Alright," he said, "if you keep this up, I won’t have time to greet our Alpha. And he’s been waiting for me."

Ruella stepped back slightly.

"A-alpha? Where?"

Kyle tilted his chin forward.

Ruella followed his gaze, and there she saw him.

Calix stood there, staring at them. Instantly, Ruella’s body tensed, and she slowly pulled away from Kyle.

"S-since when has he been there?"

"Ever since you hugged me," Kyle replied casually.

"You should have told me, Kyle," Ruella muttered softly, lowering her head.

Kyle just chuckled softly. "Come on," he said. "Let’s go say hi to Calix together."

Ruella wanted to refuse, but Kyle had already started leading her closer, it would be very strange to suddenly make up an excuse to run away. Finally, she agreed.

They walked together toward the terrace.

Every step closer to Calix made Ruella’s heart feel heavy. The commotion from last night still lingered, and with Orion there too, it felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Ruella looked at Kyle walking beside her and thought to herself, "If you’d been there last night, would you have defended me or blamed me too, Kyle?"

Meanwhile, up ahead, Calix remained standing in place, his hands behind his back, his posture stiff, his eyes never leaving Ruella.

"She’s avoiding my gaze," Calix muttered to himself.

Orion beside him seemed to ignore Ruella’s presence and focused only on greeting Kyle with a warm smile.

Kyle stopped a few steps away from them, then bowed respectfully.

"Alpha, I’m back from my mission," he greeted.

Calix nodded briefly.

"Welcome back, Gamma of the Silverpaw Pack." His tone was flat, without a smile.

But a moment later, Calix chuckled softly, and so did Kyle. The seriousness between them dissolved, now there were just two friends reunited.

Kyle and Calix hugged.

"Good work, buddy," Calix said.

"Thanks." Then Kyle turned to hug Orion.

Ruella simply stood beside Kyle, her head slightly bowed.

Calix kept staring at Ruella, and the more he looked at her, the lower she bowed her head.

"You just arrived from Frostfang and came straight here?"

"Yeah," Kyle replied. "I was going to head straight home, but I decided to stop by here first."

Calix nodded.

"In that case, just rest here. You don’t need to attend the meeting today."

"Oh, you really are the best," said Kyle.

After that, Calix turned to leave.

But suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

"Wait a moment," said Calix, holding Kyle back.

"Yes?"

"For the festival the day after tomorrow, I’m assigning you to watch over Ruella. Protecting her."

Silence.

Ruella, who had been looking down the whole time, lifted her face. Ruella really hadn’t expected this.

"Watch over her?" Kyle repeated.

"And accompany her," Calix added. "Wherever she goes."

Ruella looked at Calix, her eyes widening slightly. A sparkle shone in her blue eyes.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

Calix didn’t answer.

But Ruella didn’t care, she was happy enough just to be able to go to the festival. "Turns out he kept his word, I really can go to the festival now that Kyle is back," she thought to herself.

Ruella smiled slightly, glancing at Kyle.

Kyle smiled back. "So that’s why you’re so happy to see me back?"

"Of course not, I really missed you," Ruella said.

Calix sighed and looked away. "Missed you, she says," he snorted softly.

"Cal, don’t worry, I’ll look after her," he said casually. "And I’ll make sure we have fun too."

Kyle raised his hand and gently ruffled Ruella’s hair.

Ruella wrinkled her nose. "You’re ruining my hairstyle."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle caught something. He glanced at Calix, noticing a change in expression that few others would pick up on.

Calix frowned slightly, looking annoyed. It was so subtle it was almost imperceptible.

Kyle gave a small smirk, but said nothing.

"I have to go to a meeting. You rest, and..." Calix turned toward Ruella. "You too."

Then Calix walked away, followed by Orion.

Ruella watched Calix’s retreating back.

"You heard that, right? You should rest too," Kyle said.

"It’s still early, I’ll rest during my nap later. You’re the one who needs to rest." Ruella gestured for Kyle to go to the annex. "I’ll go back to look at the flowers and pick a few."

After that, Ruella waved and returned to the garden.