['Found her! Found her! It's the cub!! Woohoo~ I finally found her!']
A mature and steady voice, paired with a flippant tone.
Strange, yet it fit.
Holly Wyatt stood dazedly in the villa's living room, her eyes still stinging with suppressed tears.
'Did I just... hear a voice?'
She raised a slender, pale fingertip and touched her left ear.
'How could I be hearing things??!!'
'Is... is this place haunted!?'
The man who was supposedly her biological father stood before her, his lips opening and closing. He was saying something in a frustrated, disappointed tone, but a buzzing in her ears drowned him out.
She watched her biological father's lips, trying to read their shape. "We're just doing this for your own good. Marrying into the Jennings Family is your best option. After all... after you were abducted, we spent all our savings trying to find you, but we couldn't. We're so happy you're finally back, but... you're deaf and mute. We're worried no one will be there to look after you. The Jennings Family is willing to take you in. They've promised to treat you well and support you for the rest of your life so you won't have to work. Why can't you just agree?"
"Besides, our company's capital chain has snapped, and the situation is dire. The betrothal gift from the Jennings Family can plug this hole. And you get to live a life of luxury with them. It's a win-win."
"Your sister is still young and healthy, and she's still in school. She needs to find a good match someday; we can't just marry her off in a rush. But for you, the Jennings Family is truly the best you can hope for."
Her father sighed, the picture of frustration. "Tell me, my child. Why won't you agree?"
Holly Wyatt pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze, standing in silence.
It wasn't that she didn't want to speak; she couldn't.
She was mute. Or, to be more precise, deaf-mute.
Also...
'And when my father mentioned my "younger sister," was he talking about the girl they adopted, who's only two months younger than me?'
['What!? How can the cub's parents be so irresponsible?! By the standards of us in the Wolf Clan, she's not even an adult! And they're trying to make her mate and reproduce?! They don't even want to raise her anymore?! Trying to shove her off on someone else?! As if anyone else knows how to raise her properly! Damn them!']
['They're even more disgusting than those backyard breeders!!']
The voice was resentful and furious, laced with a fierce, almost maternal, protectiveness.
Holly Wyatt's head snapped up, her astonished gaze sweeping the room.
'There's no one here!!?'
'It really is haunted!?'
'Was that "cub" he mentioned... me??'
Her gaze fell upon the villa's entrance.
A cold, domineering figure of a man strode forcefully into the living room.
He wore a perfectly tailored suit that accentuated his ramrod-straight posture and steady bearing. His features were sharp and chiseled, his stern face taut with tension.
He was so tall he nearly blocked the entire doorway, his presence overwhelmingly oppressive.
And yet, atop his head were two fluffy black ears, twitching in a ridiculously cute way.
They were so realistic and animated that they couldn't possibly be a headband; it was as if they had sprouted right from his skull.
She could even see the pink, tender flesh of his inner ear, where fine capillaries pulsed with life!!
Holly Wyatt's breath hitched. 'A dog... man?'
'Oh my god!! There really are ghosts!!'
The man's thin lips barely moved. "I'll take care of her."
As he spoke, the ears on his head twitched in tandem.
Holly Wyatt blinked, and then she noticed the long, pure black, furry tail peeking out from behind him.
She immediately looked back at the others in the living room.
Their expressions varied, but none of them showed any fear.
'Can't they see the lifelike ears and tail?!!'
'Am I the only one who can see them?!'
'Mommy!! I'm scared!!!'
Holly Wyatt held her breath. She stared at the veins bulging on the back of his hands and the pectoral muscles that strained against the fabric of his shirt. She took two fearful steps back, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes as she nervously licked her lips.
['Oh my god! That's the cub, isn't it!? Why are her eyes all red!? Her parents must have made her cry! I'm so pissed!']
['The cub's grown a little since a few years ago.']
['Still too weak, though.']
['Tsk, how did they let her get into such a state? So scrawny and sickly... and kind of ugly. Standing there like a lamppost. The shortest one.']
'A lamppost? Me?'
She was almost certain the voice she'd been hearing belonged to the man standing before her.
But his lips hadn't moved. Besides, she was completely deaf.
Yet the voice was so clear, it was as if someone were whispering right in her ear.
The man's tail whipped nimbly around to his front, the tip curling into a perfect little heart!!
'Oh my god!! That's so cute!!'
Holly Wyatt secretly rubbed her fingertips together.
'I want to pet it...'
But then her gaze fell on his powerful muscles.
'On second thought, maybe I don't want to pet it that badly...'
The next second, her biological parents shot to their feet behind her and began to curse.
They lunged forward, ready to grab her and marry her off to the Jennings Family heir she had never even met.
AH!!
The person in the bed's eyes flew open in terror, and she gasped for breath.
Her mouth hung open, but no sound escaped.
The girl shot up into a sitting position, her eyes darting frantically around the room.
It was still the same familiar room.
Bare and empty, save for the essential furniture.
Holly Wyatt patted her heaving chest, mouthing silent words of comfort to herself.
'It's okay now, it's okay...'
Once she'd calmed down, she wiped the cold sweat from her brow and got out of bed to wash up.
Summer vacation would be over in a few days.
She needed to work more part-time jobs before the semester began to earn enough for her living expenses.
SPLASH. The sound of running water filled the bathroom.
Holly Wyatt wiped the fog from the mirror.
A small face, still holding a hint of baby fat, appeared in the reflection.
Her skin was fair and her features delicate. She had large, round, grape-like eyes, and small dimples that made her smile look heartwarming and adorable.
She wiped the water from her face and let her bangs fall.
The heavy, straight bangs covered nearly half her face, hiding her pretty features.
She walked into the living room, about to make some food.
"BEEP BEEP BEEP~ Password incorrect." The door lock glowed with an insistent red light.
Holly Wyatt's heart seized, and she clenched the towel in her hand.
"BEEP BEEP BEEP~ Password incorrect."
The alarm from the keypad lock continued to blare from the front door, its red light growing more piercing.
Holly Wyatt tiptoed to the kitchen, grabbed a fruit knife, and crept cautiously toward the front door.
This was a high-end apartment complex with excellent security, but she couldn't help but think of the news stories about women living alone who had met tragic ends in their own homes.
['Argh! This is so annoying! What was the password again? I'm sure it's the cub's birthday, so why is it still wrong after five tries?!! So frustrating! Human contraptions are such a pain!']
That mature voice, that childish tone, that unique nickname.
'That voice... Is that man outside the door?'
'The man who took me away from my biological parents two years ago?'
'The man with dog ears and a long, furry tail!?'
A sparkle lit up in Holly Wyatt's wide, round eyes.
She trotted to the door and opened it, the fruit knife she'd grabbed for defense still in her hand.
The man stared for a moment, stunned, at the girl before him, who was dressed in a small camisole and a pair of hotpants.
She only came up to his chest. If he so much as glanced down, he could see right down the front of her top.
A faint blush colored his stern features.
He turned his face away and said coldly, "Step aside."
['AAAH! DAMMIT! Who taught the cub to dress like this?! I've only been gone for two years! What happened to my cub who used to be all bundled up?!']
['Bring her back!!']
Holly Wyatt's eyes widened as she realized how little she was wearing. The knife clattered to the floor as she spun around and fled.
SLAM!
The bedroom door slammed shut.