After the Wolf King Brought Me Back to His Nest - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The den was warm.

A brazier burned brightly, and a thick layer of animal furs lined the floor, making it feel like a different world from the icy wasteland outside.

But I didn’t feel comfortable at all.

That man stood before me, looking down with a piercing gaze, as if judging whether I was worth keeping.

I shrank back, my throat tightening.

“What exactly do you want?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he countered with a question: “Name.”

“…Ning Yin.”

“Surname?”

“I don’t have one.”

His eyes flickered slightly, as if he were remembering something. After a long silence, he gave a curt grunt of acknowledgement.

“Qi Ye.”

“What?”

“My name.”

He raised his hand, his thumb brushing away the blood on my face.

“Remember it.”

I jerked my head away to avoid his touch, snapping irritably, “Who would want to remember you?”

He looked at me for two seconds, and for a fleeting moment, he seemed to smile.

It was faint.

And then it was gone.

“Quite a temper.”

“A strange man hauls me back to his den over his shoulder, and I’m supposed to thank you?”

“You should.”

His tone was infuriatingly calm.

“Without me, you’d be in a Snow Beast’s belly by now.”

I choked on my words.

He was telling the truth.

I stewed for a long time before asking stiffly, “You saved me, and then what? Doesn’t your Wolf Clan pride itself on rules? Surely you don’t actually intend to keep me here just to bear your children?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, the den fell silent.

Qi Ye stared at me, his eyes unreadable.

“Who told you that?”

“Everyone outside is saying it.”

“They talk too much.”

“Then deny it.”

“No need.”

I was so angry I almost laughed.

“No need? Do you have any idea what this means for me?”

“I know.”

“If you know, then why-”

“Ning Yin.”

He suddenly called my name.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it effectively cut off the rest of my sentence.

“Heal your wounds first. Then you can argue with me.”

He left immediately after saying that.

A moment later, a grey-haired old woman entered. Carrying a bowl of medicine, she began to dress the wound on my leg while sizing me up from head to toe.

“Sigh, such delicate skin.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Where did the King pick up such a piece of trouble?”

I looked at her warily. “Who are you?”

“Granny Yu.”

She wasn’t gentle at all. When she pressed the medicine against my leg, the pain nearly made me scream.

“Cry out if it hurts; don’t put on an act of being brave. You humans are built like fragile frames-one gust of wind and you’ll fall apart.”

I gasped through the pain but couldn’t help asking, “Does your King often pick people up and bring them back to his den?”

Granny Yu looked up, glancing at me.

“Never.”

“Then why did he this time-”

“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?”

She tied the gauze tight and said slowly, “He’s been quite mad these past few years. No one can get close to him. Yet as soon as you arrived, even his bloodlust settled a bit. For that alone, you’re already a rarity to him.”

My heart tightened.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Granny Yu stood up and shoved the medicine bowl into my arms.

“Girl, a word of advice: don’t be in such a hurry to run.”

“There are just as many people on this snowy plain who want to capture you as there are who want to keep you.”

I clutched the bowl of medicine, my fingertips gradually turning cold.

Only then did I realize with sinking dread that Qi Ye hadn’t just ‘found’ me.

It was more like he had claimed me.