MTMLF CH 07

Chapter 7

The Dog You’re Raising

 

“Wh-who is it?”

Jania swallowed hard and her body trembled. Then, a calm voice spoke again from behind her.

“Are you still cold?”

“Uh, um, I-I…”

Without waiting for her answer, the man behind her pulled her into an even tighter embrace.

Jania glanced down and saw the two arms wrapped firmly around her waist.

They were lean but strong, adult male arms, with muscles and blue veins standing out clearly.

She was too shocked to speak.

“Don’t worry. You can lean on me. It will still be a while before morning comes.”

“……”

His voice was deep, steady, and oddly comforting. For some reason, Jania felt a strange sense of familiarity from him—though she couldn’t explain why.

“Um… who… who are you?” she managed to whisper.

Her head was spinning. She didn’t even realize that she and the stranger were clinging to each other with nothing between their bodies.

She only wanted to know who this man was. But her exhaustion was too much.

Her eyes kept growing heavier and heavier.

‘I still need to find Alex…’

It was still raining hard outside. What if Alex was caught in it? She had also heard the sounds of beasts fighting earlier.

Could Alex have…?

Even as she slipped back into unconsciousness, Jania’s last thoughts were of Alex.

“Who am I?”

Rupert murmured softly, even though he knew Jania had already fallen asleep. A low, rough chuckle left his throat.

“I’m the dog you’ve been raising, Jania.”

He lowered his head and gently pressed his lips to the back of her round little head. His golden eyes gleamed with a feverish obsession.

***

When Jania woke again, it was already morning.

She blinked in confusion, then suddenly sat upright.

“Wait… my clothes…”

She was dressed properly. But when she had half-woken in the night, she was certain she hadn’t been.

And the person holding her wasn’t a stranger anymore.

It was Alex—the wolf she had been so desperately searching for.

“Alex!”

“Grr.”

“Where were you! Do you know how worried I was?”

Her voice cracked with relief as she threw her arms around him. His soft fur brushed against her, comforting her trembling heart.

So it really had been a dream. Of course it was—there was no young man like that living in this forest. Hugging Alex tightly, Jania gave an embarrassed, awkward smile.

‘Why would I dream something like that? I’ve never even had dreams about men before…’

Maybe it was just loneliness. Living by herself all the time had to be getting to her.

But then… why had the man in her dream been someone she had never met before? If she were lonely, shouldn’t she have dreamed of her family or old friends?

She tilted her head curiously, but Alex shifted, clearly uncomfortable with her clinging. Finally, she let him go.

“Sorry… was I bothering you?”

“……”

Alex gave no answer. He just turned his head slightly, avoiding her gaze.

Frowning a little, Jania stood up and checked herself.

“My wounds are gone?”

Last night, she had scraped her knee badly in the storm. She had also been knocked down by… something. And yet now, her body was perfectly fine.

“Huh… what’s going on?”

She couldn’t figure it out no matter how she thought about it.

“Woof!”

“You saved me, didn’t you, Alex?”

“Woof woof!”

The only thing she was sure of was that Alex had carried her here safely through the storm.

Smiling brightly, she stroked his head.

“Thank you. You’re my lifesaver.”

“Woof!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll give you extra jerky.”

But even as she laughed, Jania sighed.

Jerky was all she ever had to offer. It didn’t feel like enough for everything Alex did for her.

Besides, she wasn’t even sure he liked it much.

Still, with Alex by her side, she felt safe as they left the cave together.

“Oh… so this was a cave.”

Only after stepping outside did she realize where they had been hiding from the rain. It was a small, natural cave, just enough to provide shelter.

“You must’ve had a hard time carrying me all the way here.”

“Grr.”

Alex raised his head proudly at her words, and Jania chuckled softly.

The air was fresh after the heavy rain, and the forest felt calmer than usual.

‘Strange…’

The uneasy tension she often felt in the woods was gone. Maybe it was just because of the storm.

Humming quietly, she walked home with Alex trotting faithfully beside her.

Of course, she didn’t know that the wolf at her side was Rupert, watching over her silently.

***

“Alright!”

Jania lined up the berries and fruits she had gathered earlier.

Then she remembered—wolves were part of the dog family. And she had heard before that wolves sometimes enjoyed eating honey or fruit as snacks.

‘That’s right. The first time Alex returned my favor, he brought me fruit.’

He had probably picked it just like she did—food for himself, but shared with her as well. Smiling confidently, she studied the fruit.

“Hmm… but which ones do you like best?”

Surely, just like people, wolves would have different tastes. So she decided to test each fruit on Alex, one by one.

“Alex, come here!”

“……?”

Alex stopped chewing on a toy ball Jania had made, then spat it out with a snort.

The ball was full of holes from his sharp fangs. With a sigh, Jania picked up a raspberry and held it out.

“Try this.”

“……”

Alex sniffed it once, then turned his head away.

“Guess not…”

She remembered hearing somewhere that raspberry seeds could be dangerous for dogs if not removed. Maybe Alex was clever enough to sense it just from the smell.

Impressed, she set it down and grabbed a new fruit.

“Okay, what about this?”

Her eyes sparkled.

It was an apple.

A safe, healthy fruit for both humans and dogs—a true favorite.

Right away, Alex’s golden eyes brightened. His tail gave a small wag as he stepped closer.

“Haha, you like apples, huh?”

“Woof!”

Jania’s heart warmed at the sight of his excitement.

She raised the apple to give him—but then stopped.

‘Wait. This could be my chance to train him!’

Alex had never shown much interest in jerky, but apples were clearly different.

Maybe, just like with dogs, she could train him with treats.

Holding the apple up, she gave her first command.

“Alex, sit!”

“……”

“Sit!”

But Alex only stared at her silently.

Her shoulders slumped.

So it really was impossible. She sighed and finally offered him the apple anyway.

“Never mind… just eat it.”

“Grr!”

Alex crunched happily into the fruit, chewing noisily. Watching him eat so eagerly lifted Jania’s spirits again.

“I’ll only give it to you sometimes, though. Too many won’t be good for you.”

“Woof!”

“I wonder what else you’d like besides apples…”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. The forest didn’t offer many options besides wild berries.

She had heard dogs liked strawberries and bananas too, but bananas were impossible to find here, and strawberries were rare.

Feeling suddenly drained, she got up.

“Ugh… I’m so tired today. Must be from all the rain last night.”

She waved to Alex.

“Sorry, I’m going to rest inside. See you tomorrow.”

Leaving him sitting quietly, she went into the house and collapsed into bed. Sleep came almost instantly.

Not long after—

“…Hm?”

A strange sensation made her open her eyes. Through the blur of her drowsy vision, she saw a faint human shape.

‘A… person?’

There shouldn’t be anyone else here.

Her vision cleared a little, and she suddenly realized—

It was the man from her dream in the cave.

Her lips parted in shock. But before she could react, sleep pulled her under again.

A low voice brushed against her ears.

“This is my fault. I’ll take responsibility and heal you.”

And with that, Jania sank into deep, dreamless slumber.