Sophia nodded and laid her head on John's chest. She felt like she was an adult already after John marked her. Though Sophia was still a pup, she had heard about the marking from some teenage wolves. Now, she had experienced it.
John was watching around. When no enemy was within sight, he held Sophia to help her stand. "It's safe now. Come, let me fetch you home."
"Okay."
As Sophia was 4'2" while John was 6'1", it was hard for John to walk side by side by holding hands with Sophia. So, he lifted and carried Sophia to his chest.
Sophia grinned as she glanced at John. She snuggled her head into his chest, then smiled again.
"What?"
"It's like momma and daddy."
"Huh? What about them?"
"Daddy loves carrying momma on his chest. He said since it was what he did the first-day momma was his bride. So, he often carried momma to enter the house as a remembrance of the day."
"Ah, your father is a romantic man."
Sophia clutched John's neck and nodded. "He is. I want to have a mate like daddy." Then she stopped and blinked her eyes. "You're my mate. Are you a romantic man?"
"Uh …. Not exactly."
Sophia said nothing and laid her head on John's chest. "It's okay. Momma said we can train our mates to be romantic like daddy."
"I doubt it."
They talked about trivial things, and John grinned more frequently than before. Sophia's innocence was truly fresh air for him. He had walked a half-hour when he saw the pack's border was getting near.
John kneeled to the ground and let Sophia stand on her feet. "Sophia, as our packs are enemies, I can't go to meet your parents now. But I swear, I will be a great Alpha, and one day, I will come to you."
Sophia nodded and smiled as she circled her arms on John's neck. "Can we meet from time to time in the Highland Forest?"
"Yes, let's meet a week from now."
"Okay. I need to go now. I promised momma to go only for an hour."
"You can tell her everything if she is mad."
Sophia smiled again, and when she walked a few steps, she turned back.
"What happened?" John asked.
"Promise me we can meet again next week."
John bent his body and kissed Sophia's forehead. "Yes, I give you my word, princess. Now, go inside."
Sophia ran into her house. At the door, she waved at John. After she entered her home, John let out a sigh, then he left.
Some Lambdas of The Moon Band's pack who just returned from hunting saw Sophia and John unexpectedly. They followed John and Sophia quietly and hid in bushes. When John left after sending Sophia home, the Lambdas contacted the Kappa, their leader. Lambda is the rank for the hunter, while Kappa is the rank for the hunter leader.
"Greetings, Kappa Zee."
"What do you have from hunting?"
"Uh, not much, but we have interesting news that our Alpha may find interesting."
"Oh? Tell me now. I'll meet with the Alpha soon," Zee said. Zee is only a nickname from his name's initials. His real name is Zealous Home.
"When we hunted in the Highland Forest, we saw Sophia Claude with John Matthew."
Zee frowned as what the Lambda said made little sense. "What a Beta of rogues did with a pup?"
"He hugged her, and she did nothing. So, maybe they are lovers."
"Lovers? The pup is still … wait, how old is she?"
"Seven or eight, maybe. But who knows?"
Zee shook his head. The idea was too absurd for him. Then suddenly, he grimaced. "I know! The girl may be a messenger."
"For what?"
"To leak our pack's secret."
The Lambda shook his head. "I don't think so, Kappa Zee. Sophia is an innocent girl. She is my daughter's friend."
"Shush! Out now! I will go to meet the Alpha."
All Lambdas left the Kappa's place. Mike Timothy, who said nothing when his teammate talked with Kappa Zee, sighed.
"Why do you sigh?"
"I regret we came to Kappa's place."
"Why?"
"We may place the pup in trouble," Mike said
The other only shrugged. "What harm can happen to a pup? She is only a little girl." Then the hunter scratched the back of his neck. "But it was odd, wasn't it?"
"What?"
"John Matthew is notorious as wild and like a beast. He could fight with five werewolves and kill them all fearlessly."
"So?"
"Why did he have anything to do with a pup? Is it possible that he likes the little girl? I can't deny that the pup is pretty. She will be fought over when she is an adult."
Mike sighed again. "Sophia is indeed like her mother. She is a nice pup. Otherwise, I won't let my daughter become her close friend. What will Kappa Zee tell our Alpha?"
"Hey, it's not our business. Our job is to hunt the food and report whenever we see unusual things. What happened between the pup and John Matthew is quite unusual, isn't it?"
All said, "Yes!"
Mike said nothing.
The one, who reported to the Kappa, patted Mike's back. The one, who talked to the Kappa, patted Mike's back.
"It's time to go to the storage room. We should clean our food first. Afterward, we can go home."
They worked fast to clean the rabbit, deer, and some birds they could get in the forest. Later, after cleaning the hunted animals and dividing ten percent of the food among them, the Lambda returned to their places.
When Mike returned home, he called Aruna, his daughter. When Aruna saw his father, she leaped and hugged him.
"Daddy, you're home!"
"Yes, sweetheart. I have an important thing I need to ask you."
"Sure, daddy." Aruna stared at Mike with her innocent eyes.
"Has Sophia had a boyfriend yet?"
"No, why did daddy ask?"
"Nothing." Mike let out a sigh. "Call your mommy. I have brought some food. We should roast the meat now."
"Hooray! Roasted meat!"
Aruna ran to find her mother. Then together, they roasted the meat and enjoyed it for dinner.