Chapter 145: [Fairy Tale] He Has a Little Gray Wolf (70)

The moment the black flames erupted, everyone felt an intense, scorching heat wash over them.

Mrs. Griffin had been carried to a spot near the house. She glared at Ryder, her eyes brimming with bitter hatred.

"Ryder! Your parents were both noble knights; why have you allowed yourself to be bewitched by a vicious wolf? Look at what you have become! Red Cap Town is our shared home, and we are all kin. How could you bring yourself to do this?"

Ryder waited patiently for Mrs. Griffin to finish before saying, "No, we are not kin."

He lowered his gaze slightly, a mocking sneer curling his lips. "If you had ever treated me like kin for even a single day, you wouldn't have mocked me daily just because I lacked magic, or because I rescued a wolf in the Black Forest."

"But tell me, what is the difference between the wolf pack and humanity? There are vicious wolves, but are there not also wicked men?"

Asi watched the sudden flash of sorrow in Ryder’s expression, and for some reason, her heart ached. She reached out and scratched his palm.

The boy’s icy expression faltered. The tips of his ears began to turn a slow, deep shade of red. He then cast a look of pained reproach at Asi, as if to say, "I am in the middle of serious business; don't provoke me."

Asi pursed her lips and nodded obediently. Yet, her fingers refused to listen, scratching his palm once more, and her tail flicked incessantly, betraying her affection.

"You dare compare us humans to those beasts! Ryder, you've gone mad!" Mrs. Griffin was incensed. Her son had been killed by a wolf, and her hatred for them knew no bounds.

Ryder did not look at her again. Instead, he took Asi by the hand and walked boldly toward the crowd.

The knights, fearing the black flames surrounding Ryder, retreated one after another. The boy wore a black cloak, his silver hair catching the sunlight and shimmering with tiny, scattered sparks. Behind him, the young girl wore a cream-colored dress, her hair braided into two pigtails that hung at her sides. They both looked so refined, appearing perfectly matched.

Asi glanced into the house. The cabinets and chairs were overturned, strewn across the floor. Even her favorite little dress had been tossed aside carelessly. That red dress, which Ryder had designed and sewn himself, had been torn to pieces, scattered on the ground like rags.

The corners of Asi’s mouth, previously turned up in a smile, slowly flattened. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She turned around, furious, and cried out, "This is someone else's home! Why did you rummage through things without the owner's permission?"

Asi set her face in a serious expression, her eyes wide as she fought back the tears threatening to spill. Many of those present seemed to realize that their behavior had been rude. Others, however, felt no such shame, their hearts filled with hatred the moment they saw the wolf tail behind Asi.

Led by Mrs. Griffin, the residents of Red Cap Town—those long accustomed to bullying Ryder—immediately began to shout insults back at her.

Asi was beyond angry.

With a sharp howl, the young girl instantly transformed back into her true form: a massive wolf. Her gray fur shone brilliantly in the sunlight, and her pitch-black eyes were filled with fierce intensity. She leaped forward, pinning Mrs. Griffin and the others around her beneath her body.

Asi had grown, and her form had become much larger. In her true shape, she stood even taller than a grown man.

"You are bullies!" No, she meant they were bullying a wolf. Asi whined, her claws pressing down on the people beneath her as she bared her teeth.

"You are the beasts!" Asi was no beast; she was a majestic, awe-inspiring giant wolf! Her sharp fangs were bared, looking exactly like the wolf statues kept in homes.