As the first light of morning slipped into the room, the fluffy little wolf in the hollow of the soft quilt twitched its ears and opened its eyes in confusion.
Nothing hurt. Before losing consciousness, it had been in terrible pain…
Now it could clearly feel its strength. The power was sealed inside its body, but none of it seemed damaged.
How could that be? It was in its smallest form. Its body would not have shrunk this far unless it had suffered serious injuries. Unless, while it was unconscious, some powerful force had healed it…
Qi Yan sniffed. A faint scent of crabapple blossoms reached his nose, so pleasant that his ears perked straight up. His keen wolf hearing picked up steady breathing nearby. Wary now, he looked toward a shape beneath the covers on the bed.
The curtains blocked almost all the light. Although the sun had risen, the room remained pitch-black. Without a wolf’s night vision and sharp senses of hearing and smell, Qi Yan would not have realized so quickly that someone else was there.
Had this person rescued him last night?
Qi Yan jumped down from his “bed.” His pink paw pads landed on the floor without a sound. The real bed was high compared with his current size, but fortunately, he could jump well. Even so, he made a slight noise as he approached.
The person on the bed rolled over, revealing a beautiful, porcelain-pale face.
Soft hair lay untidily across his forehead above a straight nose. Perhaps he was warm, because one slender arm rested outside the covers. Two buttons on his dark green silk pajamas had come undone, exposing a broad stretch of pale skin.
Qi Yan had never seen anyone so fair. He seemed even paler than Qi Yan’s own fur. His lips were the only vivid color on his face, as red as the roses in Qi Yan’s estate.
He looked like a rose that had come to life…
Qi Yan stared, entranced. His short legs failed to catch the edge of the bed in time, and he fell back to the floor. It did not hurt, but he was afraid of waking the person above him, so he stayed exactly where he had landed.
After waiting a while without hearing any sign of movement, he jumped again. This time, he found himself looking into a pair of cool, luminous eyes, still hazy with sleep.
At that same moment, a warm yellow light came on. Qi Yan froze and forgot to grip the edge of the bed again. But he did not fall. A cool hand caught the loose skin at the back of his neck and lifted him up.
How dare he!
Someone with no mental power dares treat this prince like that?!
If Qi Yan had not recognized the sleeper before, he certainly did now that the man was awake and he could see his face. Hardly anyone on the nearby planets failed to know Wen Shilan—the renowned God of War who had just won a spectacular battle and forced the insectoid queen into dormancy for years.
But Wen Shilan had also lost his mental power in that battle…
Qi Yan had not been sure whether the news was true when he came to Silan. Facing Wen Shilan now, he knew.
He could sense no mental power from him. Not a trace…
No one who possessed mental power could keep every hint of it from escaping. Wen Shilan’s power really was gone.
Qi Yan had come expecting a spectacle. Yet now he felt strangely unsettled. He was also getting a little dizzy…
Wait. Dizzy?
Damn it! What was Wen Shilan doing? Why was he shaking this prince?!
Qi Yan bared his teeth and thrashed all four legs, trying to claw at Wen Shilan, but he could not reach him.
He looked so ridiculous that most of Wen Shilan’s irritation at being woken disappeared. Wen Shilan carried Lu Yan off the bed and put him back on the quilt on the floor. His voice was husky from sleep, low and unexpectedly alluring.
“Climb onto the bed, and I’ll throw you off.”
Letting the little creature into his bedroom was already the greatest concession Wen Shilan was willing to make. With all that fur, it was bound to shed. If a single tuft ended up on his bed, he would throw the cub out without hesitation.
It could have his attention again when it turned human.
Standing on the soft quilt, Qi Yan felt thoroughly insulted. He bared his teeth in his fiercest expression. But he was so small that it was not frightening in the least. It only made him look adorable.
That might have worked on someone who liked animals. Wen Shilan was unmoved. He gave the cub a swat that sent Qi Yan stumbling, nearly knocking him off his feet.
“Go on. Bare your teeth at me again.”
Wen Shilan crouched on the floor while Qi Yan stood on the thick quilt, bringing their eyes almost level. But Wen Shilan’s expression was cold, and displeasure showed plainly in his clear eyes. He really was angry.
Qi Yan opened his mouth to bare his teeth again. The moment he moved, Wen Shilan’s gaze grew colder, as though he might throw Qi Yan out the next second.
Qi Yan lowered his head and looked away. He plopped back down on his “bed” and began licking his fluffy white fur with his little pink tongue, pretending nothing had happened.
He was absolutely not afraid of Wen Shilan!
And he was certainly not backing down!
He simply knew when to be sensible!
The space pirates’ attack had come without warning, yet they had known his movements in detail. Someone must have been directing them. Space pirates did far more than steal supplies from passing ships; no one knew how much blood was on their hands.
Qi Yan had deliberately avoided their usual routes this time. He had traveled along safer border corridors, taking a route more than twice as long.
Even so, the pirates had appeared in front of him at exactly the right moment, as if they had been waiting.
Qi Yan had carried no valuable supplies on this trip. Revealing his identity had not stopped them. Every strike had been meant to kill.
Their band was not large, but its members stuck together like a pack of wild dogs. They were also careful about whom they targeted. They would not normally provoke someone powerful and risk a devastating retaliation.
This time, though, Qi Yan had carried nothing worth stealing, and he had revealed his identity at the start. Ordinarily, the pirates would have backed off. Instead, they had been determined to kill him.
If he had nothing they wanted to steal, someone else must have paid a great deal for his death.
As for who that person was…
Qi Yan already had a suspicion.
He did not know what had happened to the werewolf soldiers who had accompanied him. The person behind the attack had failed once and might well try again. Until his people found him—or his protective state ended—going out would be foolish.
Wen Shilan seemed to find him distasteful and had a rather unpredictable temper. Even so, there was no denying this was the safest place for Qi Yan to be.
He was licking his fur when a slender, pale hand appeared before him, carrying a faint scent of crabapple blossoms. His body reacted faster than his mind. By the time Qi Yan realized what he was doing, he had left a damp patch in the middle of Wen Shilan’s palm.
Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous!
Officer, someone is teasing a wolf over here!
Wen Shilan’s palm tingled. The cub’s tongue had tiny, soft barbs, and each lick left a warm, pleasantly prickling sensation.
If Qi Yan had been in human form, his entire face would probably have turned rose-red.
How dare he!
Outrageous!
Shameless!
The finest general in the stars? The God of War? He’s nothing but a scoundrel!
Seeing the cub freeze, Wen Shilan could not hold back a laugh. Delight spilled into his voice.
“Silly wolf.”
Wen Shilan rubbed Qi Yan’s head with little gentleness. The wolf’s whole head was smaller than his palm. He stood to find something to eat, but his vision suddenly went black. Dizziness struck as though someone had hit him over the head with a hammer. He lost his balance and fell back onto the edge of the bed.
Fortunately, the bed was right behind him. A fall to the floor would have left him miserable for a while. The dizziness soon passed, and his sight cleared.
The first thing Wen Shilan saw was the little wolf, somehow already in front of him. It stretched its neck and made a string of soft, puppyish cries.
Honestly, Wen Shilan thought the tiny creature looked nothing like a wolf. It seemed more like a loyal little dog trying to protect its owner.
“I’m fine. I was crouching too long and got dizzy when I stood up suddenly.”
The abrupt loss of mental power caused all sorts of problems. Every function of the body weakened. Wen Shilan had not simply become an ordinary person; he was weaker than one.
While he still had mental power, the many injuries he had sustained in battle had barely mattered. Without it, old sources of pain he had never even felt began to make themselves known. They would not kill him, but living with them was far from pleasant.
The original Wen Shilan had grieved over this for a long time.
He had been forced to watch his body grow weaker. Hands that had once fought fearlessly on the battlefield eventually could not even lift a bucket of water.
It was a terrible thing to accept.
Qi Yan blinked as Wen Shilan got up again. His paws carried him after the man almost of their own accord. Before he could work out why he was following, Wen Shilan had nudged him out of the bathroom with his foot. A moment later, the shower came on.
Fine. Since Wen Shilan needed to bathe, Qi Yan would forgive the discourtesy.
He paced outside the bathroom door, occasionally glancing toward it and listening to what was happening inside.
He was not worried about Wen Shilan. If something happened to the man, there would be no one left to look after him. That was all!
Hot water poured over Wen Shilan, and he felt warmth slowly return to his body. His communicator was unaffected by the shower. Its screen continued to light up with message alerts.
Honestly… it was getting irritating.
After his shower, Wen Shilan made a simple bowl of noodles to fill his stomach. Even though he had cooked it himself, he frowned at the taste. It was only a little better than nutrient solution.
The little wolf could not eat noodles. Wen Shilan opened a tube of nutrient solution and fed it to him, then placed a fresh one where the cub could reach it.
“I have to go out for a while. You’ll be home alone. Don’t get on my bed, and it would be best if you stayed out of the bedroom altogether. If I find your fur on the bed, I’ll throw you out immediately. Understand?”
Wen Shilan’s expression was calm. He did not sound as though he was making a threat, merely stating a fact as ordinary as the weather.
Qi Yan could tell he was not joking. If he broke the rules, Wen Shilan really would throw him out…
With no choice but to live under someone else’s roof, Qi Yan tipped back his head and gave a small “awoo.”
Wen Shilan nodded in satisfaction. “Good boy, Puppy.”
????????
“Oh, right. Puppy is the name I just gave you. I’m heading out, so behave yourself while I’m gone~”
Wen Shilan waved to the cub. When Qi Yan charged toward him in a fury on his short little legs, Wen Shilan closed the door with deliberate slowness, almost as if he were taunting him.
Those legs were far too short. Wen Shilan did not need to hurry; Qi Yan had no chance of reaching him in time.
Baring his teeth, Qi Yan slammed into the door with a thud. He was so angry he let out several indignant howls.
Damn Wen Shilan! Qi Yan was a prince of the werewolves, their future ruler, and that man had dared to call him Puppy!
Qi Yan had begun to hate this protective form. Wen Shilan needed to see how tall and imposing he was as an adult!
He was the mightiest prince of the werewolves, the strongest fighter, with the most magnificent coat of fur!
Wen Shilan was infuriating!
Once this protective form wore off, Qi Yan would lift him with one hand and show him who was truly powerful!
While Qi Yan howled furiously at home, Wen Shilan arrived at the Federation headquarters at an unhurried pace. Low-ranking soldiers bowed and greeted him along the way. Their respect for strength ran deep.
“General! You’ve finally come back!”
A huge, burly man put on the bashful manner of a young girl and lunged toward Wen Shilan. Wen Shilan sidestepped him with ease.
“Wu Yi, I don’t have any mental power now. If you tackle me like that, I might end up back in the hospital.”
Wen Shilan looked a little helpless. Wu Yi was his other deputy, a thoroughly reckless man, but also the only one who had always stood by the original Wen Shilan and never abandoned him.
Wu Yi’s eyes were already red. Hearing Wen Shilan speak so lightly about losing his mental power filled them with tears.
Wen Shilan could only look more helpless. Imagine a bald man nearly six foot three and weighing well over two hundred pounds standing in front of you, shedding hurt little tears.
“Take your time crying. I need to speak to the commissioner.”
With that, Wen Shilan walked past him without a word of comfort.
It was not that he was coldhearted. He simply had no idea how to console people.
Wu Yi went rigid. He could not believe his beloved general had not offered him so much as a comforting word. Just as his heartbreak deepened, Wen Shilan turned back. Hope lit up Wu Yi’s face.
“Oh, right. Go to my office and put the potted plant on my desk in my car.”
Wu Yi heard his heart shatter…
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