Chapter 18: The First Pack
"Here wolfy wolfy~! I got snacks for you~!"
Ferrah called out inside the dark forest as she dragged the blind and unconscious Varnon behind her.
"Come now, wolfy! I don't bite! You're not my husband after all, hehe~!"
Ferrah giggled to herself in the dark forest. Silence is the only one to greet her back, but she was relentless in calling out to the vast dark forest.
Ferrah continued calling out to the wolves native in the forest while dragging Varnon until she heard growling from behind a tree lining.
"Grrrrr!"
Ferrah heard low growling sounds from the darkness that would have terrified an ordinary person. However, Ferrah was anything but ordinary.
"There you are! But, why are there so few of you?"
Ferrah greeted the wolves hiding in the darkness with a giggle as if she's meeting with long time friends.
The wolves took this as provocation and they all stepped out one by one. Dozens and dozens of brown furred wolves stepped out from the darkness.
The last one to step out was a beautiful black furred wolf that was bigger than the rest.
Ferrah whistled in appreciation at the beautiful wolf in front of her. The wolf's stride was full of confidence and contempt as it stared down at the defenseless woman in front of them.
"Wow! You're so strong and beautiful! What are you doing in a countryside forest?"
Ferrah voiced her appreciation to the alpha of the group of wolves. The alpha felt offended and growled to intimidate Ferrah.
"GRRRRRR!"
"Grrrr!"
"Grr!"
After their alpha growled to intimidate Ferrah, the other wolves followed suit. Seeing this display, Ferrah clapped her hands in praise.
"Well done! I see you're a respected leader as well!"
Feeling no scent of fear or apprehension from Ferrah, the alpha was enraged. It seemed that Ferrah did not respect them, and the alpha thought it would be best if they taught her a lesson.
"AWOOOOOOO!"
The alpha howled and the pack pounced. Dozens of wolves ran to bite and claw Ferrah.
"Hmm. You have many good qualities. However," Ferrah muttered before sending a small wave of potent killing intent on the poor wolves. "Your intellect needs development."
The wolves froze in their spot, even their alpha. The weaker ones fainted directly while most of the pack whimpered and tucked their tails in fright.
The alpha stood strong, but it stayed rooted on the spot. The alpha now knows that Ferrah is someone that can slaughter their pack.
"Now, what will you do? You now know what our situation is. Your pack didn't find me," Ferrah said to the alpha. "I found your pack."
The alpha realized what Ferrah wanted. Beasts may not be as intellectual as humans, but they are smart nonetheless.
The alpha walked forward past the other wolves shivering in fear. The alpha stopped in front of Ferrah, and bowed her head.
Her pack followed and all the wolves that were still conscious bowed their heads to Ferrah, their new alpha.
"Oh! A she-wolf? I caught a jackpot, huh?"
Ferrah leaned down and patted the head of the beautiful black wolf.
The black wolf sat there, somehow liking the affection of the woman that could've killed them all.
"Alright. I decided. You'll be my first beast companion."
Ferrah said to the black wolf. The black wolf raised her head to stare at Ferrah in the eyes.
Ferrah took this as her agreement and smiled. She waved her hand under her and a white colored magic circle formed below Ferrah and the black wolf.
The black wolf continued staring straight into Ferrah's eyes. Ferrah did the same as she gazed at the black wolf with respect and admiration.
A few moments later, the magic circle glowed. The black wolf grew in size until she didn't need to look up to stare into Ferrah's eyes.
The black wolf's yellow iris turned red and the fur around her eyes turned white.
Ferrah grinned before speaking to her beast companion.
"You shall be known as… Nerrunala."
As if the world heard the name, Nerrunala glowed in a bright white light as she bathed in mana.
Her body absorbed all of it and Nerrunala grew stronger. Her power grew to be equal as her companion, as was stated in the contract Ferrah decided would fit their relationship.
The mana Nerrunala bathed in eventually got absorbed completely along with the dissipation of the magic circle beneath their feet.
Ferrah grinned at the sight of her companion.
"Hoho! You really are amazing and beautiful!" Ferrah once again complimented the beautiful black wolf. "Nice to meet you, Nerrunala. Call me Ferrah!"
Ferrah stuck out her hand for Nerrunala to shake with her paw.
Nerrunala shook her head as if sighing at the antics of her companion.
"Haaa. Are you mad? You'll treat me as an equal? How could you make me this powerful? Are you not afraid I'll retaliate?"
Nerrunala opened her mouth and the sound of her husky voice rang out, impressing Ferrah.
"Hehe. That's how beasts, both magical and non-magical, think. Remember this, Nerrunala," Ferrah lightly scolded her companion before speaking in a serious tone. "You may be as powerful as me, but I'm stronger than you."
Nerrunala gazed at her companion for a few moments before nodding in understanding.
Normal beasts have keen senses, and a magical one is more so. Despite becoming instantly more powerful than she could have imagined herself to be, Nerrunala could sense that she could never hope to beat Ferrah no matter what she did.
"I understand. I'll take your words to heart."
Nerrunala promised Ferrah. The latter only grinned in response and moved closer to hug the neck of the huge fluffy wolf.
"Aww! So you're saying I'm in your heart now? I love you too, little Nala~!"
Ferrah cooed as she snuggled Nerrunala's neck fur. The wolf was big enough to not let Ferrah's arms meet around her neck and it made the latter feel that she could grab all the fur she wanted to snuggle.
"Hey! I'm no child! Let go of me!"
Nerrunala struggled and tried to escape Ferrah's hug unsuccessfully. Despite being much larger than her, Nerrunala couldn't shake off Ferrah's arms from her neck.
"You are for me! I won't stop treating you like one unless you make me draw my weapons hehehe~!"
Ferrah continued hugging Nerrunala's neck until the big black wolf got tired.
After a minute of trying to make Ferrah let go of her, Nerrunala just stood there awkwardly.
Ferrah cuddled close to the wolf a few moments more before letting go and going back to her original purpose of finding the wolves.
"Nala, you should tame your pack now. I want you to build a force to be reckoned with. My family will need you someday."
Ferrah said to Nerrunala after letting go of her.
Hearing the pressing tone in her companion's voice, Nerrunala listened and turned her back to face her pack.
Nerrunala stomped a paw to the ground, strong enough to rouse the unconscious wolves.
The brown wolves stepped back from their alpha met her gaze. Dozens of wolves stood there staring at the powerful figure of Nerrunala.
Nerrunala unleashed a small dose of mana. Feeling her power, the wolves bowed to her. Nerrunala has once again become their alpha.
Not a second later, a magic circle was summoned under each of the brown wolves. The forest was lit up by the collective bright white glow.
Similar to what happened to Nerrunala, the wolves were bathed in mana. The amount of mana was not enough to make the wolves as powerful as Nerrunala, but it still greatly enhanced them.
The brown wolves grew in size until each of them was as big as Nerrunala's original size before becoming Ferrah's beast companion.
Their almost pale brown fur turned into a healthy shade of brown. Their eyes changed color and became a lighter shade of Nerrunala's red.
Seeing their transformations, Ferrah nodded in contentment and appreciation.
"Good. They turned out better than expected." Ferrah said as she stroked the fur of Nerrunala.
Ferrah then waved her hand in front of her. Suddenly, bodies of dead men piled up on the ground between Nerrunala and her pack.
"All of you eat this for now. You're magical beasts now, so go ahead and eat the bones as well. You all will have a long journey after this."
Ferrah spoke to the wolves and gave them permission to eat the bodies of the men she killed earlier tonight.
The wolves understood what she meant and they all howled in gratitude and agreement. They then pounced hungrily on the dead bodies, tearing the flesh cleanly off the corpses and munching off the bones.
Nerrunala did not partake in the feast Ferrah gave for her and her pack. Instead, she turned to Ferrah and asked her a question.
"You want me to expand my pack?"
"Yes. Only in Westerra for now. These wolves will do your work for you." Ferrah gestured to the feasting wolves as she answered Nerrunala. "You can feel it, right? You have the ability to talk to them telepathically no matter the distance."
Nerrunala nodded when she felt that she indeed had the ability Ferrah told her.
"Good. Remind them to be careful and avoid humans. I don't want anyone to know that common wolves are uniting to become magical beasts."
"I will."
Silence passed for a few moments between Ferrah and Nerrunala before the latter asked another question.
"What do you need an army of wolves for?"
A blank look formed on Ferrah's face as she stared at the distance before turning back and walking away.
She picked up the unconscious and probably dead body of Varnon before answering her companion's question.
"War."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone