Little Yan took in a deep, clear breath. Her nose twitched, "The barrier's dissolving!"
She and a few of her cousins were the only ones who could stay by Little Ju's side. Despite the uncertain state her brother was in; life wouldn't wait. Chaos often ran rampant within the forest with conflicts between clans and races a daily occurrence. Her mother and father had obligations to attend to, so they had to leave. She was given the task of guarding the heir.
Her jaw clenched as she remembered the whispers amongst the beasts. Her brother was the heir. There was no way that she'd allow herself or anyone else address him as anything else.
For a moon cycle, he and that human had been in an almost vegetative state. The barrier around them unyielding. Those who stayed closely could feel the channels of strong energy constantly reinforcing the shield; making it difficult to breathe.
Today, she could breathe easy.
"Little Ju," Her silver-eyes flashed as they caught her brother's movements. Relief loosened her shoulders. Although there were so many problems they would need to deal with, she was glad that he was no longer close to death. Her eyes narrowed; locking in on the human.
That weak human would end up putting her brother's life on the line because of her inadequacy. In the last hundreds of generations, none of her bloodline had ever had to worry about the heir disqualifications. None had ever deemed a human worthy of bonding with those of their stature.
Her brother had been the first. She blamed herself for it.
If she hadn't brought that human along, then he wouldn't be shackled to her for the rest of his life. Living was different from surviving. He would breathe and go through life as a servant. How could she allow that to happen to her little brother?
"Why would you bond yourself to a human?" Her roar split the heavens; sending ripples through the forest. Running fast, two wolves from different parties racing towards the clearing.
Amber eyes bore into silver, "Sister, she is my benefactor. I can't let her die." He stood up on firm legs; not at all looking like a beast that had been in a poisoned and reduced to a coma-like state for a long period of time.
A snarl left Little Yan's snout. "What benefactor? Have you so easily forgotten what those humans have done to you? She was only there to pay for her people's dues!" The wolf couldn't help but feel loathing towards herself. "You've thrown your life away for an insect!"
Yun Da Xia groaned. Her eardrums were ringing due to the deafening roars.
She massaged the back of her neck; a cramp emanating from there. Circulating qi through her body, she was surprised to find that there were no open wounds on her. At most, she was smelly, grimy, and sore.
"Little Ju," Yun Da Xia tried out his name. She hadn't bothered to ask what it was a while ago. It solidified the fact that this was real, and she was going to be followed around by a beacon for trouble.
Slowly moving to stand, she looked at her spirit beast. "Say your goodbyes quickly. I need to return to the academy." She had been gone for a month. It was likely that a majority would believe her dead.
Three figures appeared in her mind. Would they think she was dead too?
"How dare you command the heir." Little Yan wanted to squish the human between her jaws.
The girl raised her brows, "Was I talking to you?" Was it smart for her to provoke a massive wolf? No, it wasn't. But frankly speaking, Yun Da Xia didn't really care about being all that polite to the beast that almost drained her dead. As long as the creature's brother was her spirit beast, then it wouldn't dare hurt her.
Energy hissed within the clearing. It was a battle of will.
Yun Da Xia stopped herself from staggering back and raised a brow. Heaven rank spirit beast? Not bad. Although the difference between a Heaven ranked spirit beast and a Sacred rank spirit beast was miles apart, it showed how formidable the silver-eyed wolf was. What more her in her current state? If she wasn't supported by Little Ju, she was sure that she would have fallen down.
That was alright for now. She had already vowed that a day would come where she would no longer be forced to yield.
"It's alright, I don't need to say my farewells." Little Ju said.
If he didn't want to, then she wouldn't force him.
"Little Ju! What are you saying? Are you really going to accept her as your master?"
Yun Da Xia paused, looking at her contract beast seriously. To higher ranked spirit beasts, they believed that submission to a human was humiliating. She didn't care about any sort of hierarchy, as long as there was a sense of camaraderie between them both. "I don't require you to call me master. Just call me Yun Da Xia."
The amber-eyed wolf nodded, then turned to his sister. "You are the heir now. Do right to our kind."
Little Yan shook her head. There had never been a desire in her heart to ascend to the role of leader. She had always been content to stay by her brother's side. He was, after all, the one with the golden eye color of their ancestors.
"We can find a way to reverse it!' She shouted. Little Ju ignored her and lowered his body to the ground. His sister looked on with shock and unease in her heart.
"It will be faster to return to your academy if you… ride on my back." Although his inflection showcased his hesitance, he nonetheless waited for her to get on. The girl didn't reject the offer and lifted herself to mount Little Ju. The action was unpolished and slow. In the time she struggled; a wolf broke into the clearing. Its eyes were green and brown speckled. Little Yan approached the creature.
"Father, Ju is-" He shook his head to stop her words. Her father's eyes never left her brother who waited patiently for a human to use him like a horse.
"There's nothing we can do but bid him goodbye." His voice was melancholy. He had stood in the clearing for a while now, and yet his son never looked his way.
"There must be some way to break the bond!" Little Yan insisted; glaring daggers at the human who had reduced her little brother into doing such a humiliating act.
"What's done is done. He has made his choice." The green-eyed wolf closed its eyes. Little Ju was his own. He understood him enough to know that pity wouldn't have been enough for his son to initiate a beast contract. He only wished that he could have talked to him before it came to this.
At least his son would never have to resort to the option that would take him away from the world forever.