Clara clenched her fist, her bones cracking in frustration for not being able to say anything to the guy, just because he was a noble of higher rank than Theo and Lucien.

Theo regarded the man with a blank expression before he looked at the others. "We will go and capture as many as we can. Let’s move."

Without waiting, he stepped forward, making everyone walk with him toward the destination.

Merek’s frustration showed plainly, a vein bulging on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. He glared at Theo with murderous intent, only for Theo to sense it and glance back.

But Theo did something nobody thought he would.

Theo smiled at the man and continued moving forward, momentarily leaving Merek speechless.

The guy stayed in that spot for a few seconds before reality set in and he realized that they were in an unknown forest within a gate. If he were to die or disappear here, they would just record him as ’dead inside the gate’, as there was nothing more that could be done without evidence.

_____

As they approached another area, the group reached the pack of wolves sitting peacefully on the ground.

Small pups tumbled over each other, playfully biting and yipping while the female wolves kept a watch over them.

Theo’s gaze shifted to a lone wolf sitting slightly apart from the rest and in the corner. It seemed larger than the others, and at the same time, its eyes were filled with pride, as if it were the ruler of this pack.

"Let’s capture them all, then we decide which ones we should keep and which not," Theo spoke.

Kaelor stepped forward and dropped to one knee beside him, observing the pack with Theo.

"Just don’t kill them," Theo added, his eyes firm.

Kaelor smiled.

"I will draw their attention. In the meantime, you can prepare your beast to hit that ability at all of them to complete this extraction."

With that, he unsheathed his sword from the scabbard and advanced.

Theo saw the man move forward and enter their space; the wolves immediately noticed him and rose to their feet.

There were seven on them in total, including two pups.

At the sight of an unknown being, the pups rushed toward the only thing that could protect them, their mother, while the adult wolves growled lowly, their bodies tensing as Kaelor moved his sword in a fighting stance.

Theo observed closely. Some wolves shifted toward the larger one, lowering themselves slightly as they bowed before it, their hind legs half-sitting and forelegs completely touching the ground.

That was when Theo realized something: there were two females and two males in the territory, making the pairing perfectly balanced.

Before Kaelor could engage with them, Theo released the mantis.

It blurred forward, spraying pollen across the area.

Even before the effect could fully set in, Theo charged ahead with ropes in hand while Lucien and the attendants did the same and followed close behind.

The moment the wolves inhaled the spores, they collapsed on the ground almost instantly, with the males falling slightly after the females and over them.

Theo rushed to the largest male, binding its muzzle and hind legs as fast as he could with a heavy-duty rope which was meant for the stronger beasts.

Just as he was about to go for the forelegs, the wolf’s eyes snapped open.

Its claws slashed toward Theo as he was too close.

But unfortunately for it, Theo was just too strong when it came to close quarters.

He dodged the claws effortlessly, then grabbed one of its forelegs before going to the next.

Then he called Clara. "Clara, tie it.’

But they were too late; the female beneath it surged forward, its jaw snapping straight for Theo’s neck, which he barely dodged.

The wolf’s speed was fast, faster than he had expected, and also deadly precise.

Theo drove his elbow into the wolf’s head, but the beast powered through the hit and lunged at him again, forcing him to take a few steps back.

A quick glance told him the other male was already fully tied up, while the female beneath it had its hind legs tied up as well.

Clara, Elias and Cassian had worked together as best as they could, while Lucien rushed to the pups and quickly tied them up with a weaker rope.

But he couldn’t help but speak out upon catching them.

"These pups have foam coming out their mouths! I think that attack was just too strong for them," he spoke and started stepping back while holding both the pups in his hands.

Theo immediately understood what was happening to them, and without even turning around, he called out, "Lysara, heal them!"

Then he moved forward to engage the female, who was trying to tear the rope off the male wolf’s mouth.

Lysara placed her hands on the wolf pups’ trembling head, only to realize the truth moments later. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"...I can’t save them. Their organs are too severely damaged..." she said.

Her words made Lucien keep them down, while Theo clicked his tongue in slight frustration.

But while Theo and Kaelor were doing their best, something shifted in Lysara.

A spark ignited in her eyes.

She crouched down and began healing them anyway, her hands glowing with bright light as it bathed the pups.

Minutes later, with Kaelor’s help, Theo managed to knock the female wolf unconscious before tying it up, while the other female was taken care of by the attendants as well.

Clara had her boar sitting firmly on one wolf’s body to keep it from moving, while they grabbed its face and tied its jaws with rope.

The entire lives of these wolves had changed in mere minutes, making Theo realize something.

In their eyes, they, the humans, were the wrong ones, the villains who had captured them.

He glanced back, his heart heavy, then paused.

The pups were moving a little.

Lysara had summoned her beast, its white coat shining with an intense radiance.

Together, they continued the healing.

And this time... it felt like the pups might have a chance to survive.