While Cecile began her trial, Evelyn was climbing the snowy mountain surrounded by the lightning storm. The snow somewhat hindered Evelyn's vision, and the cold temperature was affecting even her. Still, she was able to resist using her energy like a protective membrane.
The four-meter-tall Wolf Queen walked beside her. Her white fur was impermeable as the snowflakes that landed on her slipped through it without melting. The effect was quite mesmerizing to look at. Moreover, the Wolf Queen's mastery over the Ice and Lightning elements made her completely immune to the weather.
As they walked, Evelyn looked at her with interest, "Say, Wolf Queen. Would you like a name?"
The giant wolf moved her blue eyes and asked, her voice slightly indifferent. "A name? What is that?"
Evelyn explained, "It is a way to differentiate individuals. I told you, right? My name is Evelyn."
The Wolf Queen asked with interest, "Why do you want to give me a name?"
Evelyn shrugged, "It is too bothersome to call you Wolf Queen. It sounds too impersonal. Now that we are connected with a blood contract, we should at least try to get along with each other. I know how unfair this contract is to you, so at least I want to make you feel more comfortable with it."
The Wolf Queen was somewhat surprised. It was true that the feeling of making a [Blood Contract] out of necessity was somewhat stifling. Right now, Evelyn could order the Wolf Queen as she liked, she couldn't tell her directly to die, but there were very few limitations in Evelyn's ability to make orders.
After hearing what Evelyn said, a small smile hung on the Wolf Queen's lips. She still didn't know if Evelyn was sincere, but she decided to trust this small female a little more. Therefore, she answered, "Sure, go ahead, give me a name."
Evelyn thought about it for a while; she didn't want to give her a random name. After some minutes of silence, she asked, "How about Luna? Does it sound good?"
The Wolf Queen frowned, "I don't like it. It sounds too soft. I'm a Queen. How could I be named after such a soft-sounding name?"
Evelyn chuckled, "You want one that sounds powerful? How about Ragash?" Evelyn emphasized the "R" by rolling her tongue when pronouncing it.
The beast thought about it, but it sounded too powerful this time. "Do you know any in the middle? Not too powerful sounding but not too soft either."
Evelyn complained jokingly, "You are so demanding! Let me think..."
The Wolf Queen was ticked off and snorted as a complaint. "It's not my fault you are so bad at giving names."
Evelyn rolled her violet eyes. Then, she exclaimed, "Ah! I know! How about Sierra?"
The Wolf Queen found its ring pleasant, "Sierra... Mm, I like it."
Evelyn smiled, "Then, I hope we have a pleasant cooperation, Sierra."
Sierra's eyes lost a little bit of her indifference and said, her tone slightly softer. "I hope I didn't choose my master wrongly, do not disappoint me, Evelyn."
Evelyn nodded seriously and focused on the surroundings again. She had previously asked Cecile through the communication device to know which race Sierra was. Although Evelyn could have asked the Wolf Queen to tell her directly, the names may differ from what was known in the Sky Continent.
However, Cecile told her that physical characteristics weren't all when deciding the race of a beast, the aura, the energies they used, and even the way they moved could make a difference. Therefore, she couldn't be sure unless she saw her in person, especially because wolf breeds are hard to differentiate at simple sight.
Evelyn accepted her explanation and decided not to ask about it. She wanted to deepen their connection a little more before asking more personal questions.
Evelyn had been climbing for some hours already, and the falling lightning was becoming too much even for her. No matter how powerful her [Lightning Devouring Body] was, everything had its limits. Evelyn spoke to the Wolf Queen. "Let's find a place to rest. I have to absorb all the lightning within me to continue advancing without risks."
Sierra nodded and agreed with her demand. Evelyn hasn't forced her to become her mount, nor has she asked her to fight in the front lines whenever beasts or cultivators appeared, so she was quite satisfied with her new master for the moment.
Even better, Evelyn had actually done the opposite during the few hours they were together. So trust began growing between them.
When fighting against cultivators or beasts, Evelyn always told her to support her from a distance. She could feel that she wasn't looking down on her but trying to forge herself with battles.
When they traversed through difficult paths, instead of asking for help, Evelyn advanced slowly on her own and didn't ask Sierra to carry her.
It was to the point that Sierra was actually itching to have Evelyn order her to do something. Still, she knew that this urge was a mild side-effect of their contract and didn't take it seriously.
One must know that when a beast makes a blood contract with a human, the beast gives up its right to be free. There are very few times when the beasts get the upper hand.
Most of the time, they will have to obey every command, and at the same time, they will grow alongside their master. The contract was a master-servant contract, after all.
Of course, there were benefits for the beast. Firstly, they would grow many times faster. Beasts could only grow naturally, absorbing the world's energy passively and eating beast cores. However, after they enter a contract with a human or beast-human, they can advance as fast as their owner. There were limitations, mainly bloodline level, potential, and soul strength, but the strength advancement speed would always become faster for the beast.
Moreover, the chances to break their limits were increased manifold. For example, imagine a [Fire Wolf] contracts with a human. Even if their prior probability of evolving and becoming a [Magma Wolf] was less than ten percent, it may shoot up to a fifty-fifty chance after contracting with a human with high potential. The increase was that high.
Nevertheless, these advantages were stronger the more talented the human contractor was, so beasts were sometimes very picky or extremely adamant about forming contracts. Some even chose death before falling under a contract.
The fact that they also lost most of their rights was also a big factor; making a contract with a human they didn't trust was a recipe for disaster.
These points were the main difference between [Soulmates] and a [Blood Contract]. One was meant to become lovers, strengthening each other through a bond of trust and closeness devoid of any rules or limitations. The other was meant to create a master-servant hierarchy, using each other's potential to increase their own strength.
Evelyn had always known about this because she had studied a lot about beasts after getting together with Yasenia. Therefore, the question filling her thoughts right now was, 'Why would a Wolf Queen, a beast with a high-level bloodline and high potential, surrender to me?'
After thinking about it for a while, Evelyn decided to ask Sierra. To Evelyn's surprise, Sierra was honest and frank, telling her directly what she wanted to hear.
Evelyn was so used to interacting with humans that she had forgotten beasts were extremely straightforward, and only a few schemed to get what they wanted.
The Wolf Queen's voice was at first indifferent. But as she saw Evelyn's intention in getting along together. Her voice softened and became gentler. It sounded like a mature, gentle woman inside Evelyn's head. "Evelyn, I had to make the contract because if I didn't, I would die. There is a Wolf Clan that managed to create a curse that would kill me unless I made a contract, be it a [Soulmate] or [Blood Contract] bond."
Sierra sighed, creating mist before her snout. "They thought that I would either die or surrender to their patriarch. He has been very eager to make me his mate, but I refused since his conditions were for me to step down and steal my position as the Alpha."
Sierra looked at Evelyn and said, "Humans haven't appeared in a long time, so they were sure that I would surrender to him, forcing me to become his [Soulmate]."
Evelyn asked, startled, "Aren't [Soulmates] chosen instinctually? It isn't something that can be forced, right?"
Sierra nodded, "You are right, but that is only true in normal conditions. This curse seemed to have the effect of triggering my desire for the first male I mated with strongly. This reaction would cause my instincts to become confused and mark him as my [Soulmate], something I didn't want."
The giant wolf sighed again through her snout. "I didn't want to become under anybody because my pride wouldn't let me, especially not below someone weaker than me. If he had defeated me in battle fair and square, I wouldn't have minded, but his methods disgusted me to the point I almost killed myself."
Evelyn asked, "What about mating with another male you found worthy?"
Sierra shook her head, "I'm the strongest wolf right now; something like that doesn't exist. Even so, I had my eyes on someone since his potential was great."
Evelyn nodded, "I see. I now know why you were walking alone. But I still don't know why you decided to become my contracted beast."
The Wolf Queen chuckled and looked at Evelyn. "I can sense an extremely powerful Yang energy inside your meridians. The male that injected it into you must have a very powerful bloodline. Moreover, I can feel its wild nature, so I know that it comes from a beast."
"Knowing that you have an intimate relationship with a beast of that level made me think that I could ask for his help if I were your contracted beast. I don't mind becoming a slave if I can save my pack from being under their rule."
Sierra's eyes became cold as she said, "Their values are crooked. Instead of looking at every beast's strength, they look at their gender. I don't know who taught him that kind of ideology."
"They use female wolves as breeders and force male wolves to become fighters or sacrifices and die for the pack. The only reason the wolves under them hadn't split is that their shady methods prevent most of them from leaving."
Evelyn sighed, 'I knew that I was getting into something, but this goes further than I expected. A whole pack of wolves that can overwhelm Sierra? I can't go against something like that. I still don't even know if I can beat this Wolf Queen, much less a pack of wolves that can go against her. Moreover, I can't ask for Yasenia's help since I don't really know how far we are, and I don't want to disturb whatever she is doing.'
Evelyn thought of something and said with a smirk, "By the way, it is not a he, but a she."
Sierra looked at her confused, and Evelyn explained with a perverted smirk, "The one that poured that delicious, thick, and hot Yang energy inside me is female."
The Wolf Queen was so surprised that she didn't register the pervertedness of Evelyn's sentence. "How can a female release such a potent Yang energy? If a woman has so much Yang energy, they should look rather masculine, right?"
Evelyn burst into laughter. "Yasenia masculine? The ridiculousness of that statement is enough to become the joke of the century, hahaha!"