The white light that had been enveloping Liliana all this time disappeared in an instant, replaced by the darkness of the night as before.
"Auntie, why did you hit Liliana?" Cassian asked as he looked at Liliana, who was unconscious in Mega’s arms.
"She will die if she keeps forcing herself to use her power," Mega said firmly.
"Take care of those three tigers. Didn’t you just have a very comfortable rest?" Mega asked.
Cassian looked at Mega, then swallowed. "Auntie, but..."
"Twenty minutes. If you fail to deal with them, don’t expect to get the secret recipe for my cooking," Mega said.
"Alright, alright..." Cassian replied as he raised both hands in surrender. "You win again this time, Auntie."
Cassian turned and looked at the three tigers that had been watching him all this time.
"Have you seen enough?" he asked. "You’ve had enough fun, haven’t you? My little sister almost died because of you."
He transformed into a wolf in an instant. His claws extended as he shot forward, leaping high toward one of the tigers.
The tiger growled and quickly backed away. However, Cassian did not let it escape; he moved as fast as lightning and killed the tiger in front of him within a minute.
There was no longer any weak wolf who had been panting heavily and was on the verge of death earlier. The ferocity radiating from him truly reflected his status as the future Alpha.
Slash!
Cassian’s sharp wolf claws wounded the tiger’s abdomen once again.
"Weren’t you the one who injured my abdomen earlier?" Cassian asked in the wolf language. "Because of you, Liliana ended up like this."
The tiger died without having the slightest chance to fight back.
Cassian turned around, walked forward with dignity, and stood directly in front of the last tiger. The white-furred tiger with black stripes.
"So, you want to die in a different way?" Cassian asked. "You weren’t satisfied with the way I killed you earlier and chose to make me use another method? How ridiculous. Fine, then. Let me finish you off once more in a different way than before."
The tiger lowered its head, its body stiff, yet it continued staring at Cassian with an expression in its eyes that was difficult to understand.
Cassian’s movement stopped for a moment when his gaze met the tiger’s eyes. Seeing the opening, the white tiger with black stripes immediately shot toward Liliana, who was lying not far from Mega on a large rock. Everything happened so quickly that even Mega did not have time to notice.
Cassian’s eyes instantly darkened when the tiger lunged forward and bit Liliana’s leg.
"Are you looking for death?!" Cassian roared in explosive anger.
"Stop!" Mega shouted just before Cassian’s claws could slash at the tiger’s eyes.
"Auntie... are you protecting it?" Cassian asked.
"Do you like Liliana?" Mega asked the white tiger without answering Cassian’s question.
The tiger released Liliana’s leg, raised its head to look at Mega, then slowly nodded.
"If you want to, come with us. If Liliana accepts you, you may stay by her side when she wakes up. But if she hates you, we will make you our meal. Are you ready to accept the risk?" Mega asked with a sharp gaze.
The white tiger with black stripes did not answer immediately. It stared at Liliana’s face for a moment, then nodded at Mega.
"Auntie, you’re going to take it home? It almost killed Liliana! How can you allow it to come with us?" Cassian protested.
"Liliana is a girl. Surely, she will like a cute and adorable pet like this," Mega said casually. "Isn’t keeping pets also a trend among the girls at the academy?"
Cassian furrowed his brows in confusion. From what perspective did a tiger this large look like a cute and adorable pet?
"Take Liliana back immediately, and bring the two tiger carcasses as well," Mega ordered Cassian. "I’ll clean up this mess before anyone else notices."
Cassian was about to refuse, but seeing the seriousness on his aunt’s face, he finally nodded obediently.
He immediately transformed back into a human, lifted Liliana’s body onto his shoulder, then dragged the carcasses of the two tigers he had just killed with both hands.
The white tiger with black stripes followed Liliana and Cassian without being told.
"If anything happens to her, don’t expect to die in one piece," Cassian threatened in a low voice as he laid Liliana’s body beside the striped tiger.
The tiger lowered its head, then gently rubbed Liliana’s face with its head as a sign of its promise.
Cassian snorted in annoyance, then firmly closed the back door of the car.
Mega returned shortly after she managed to subdue that stupid tiger.
"Start the car. We need to leave this place as quickly as possible," Mega said.
Seeing the worried look on Mega’s face, Cassian immediately obeyed her order. The car door closed quickly. He started the engine and operated the gear shift with hurried movements.
"Auntie, what exactly happened?" Cassian asked as the car began leaving the central area of the forest.
Mega closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again.
"There was something watching us when Liliana’s energy exploded earlier."
Cassian tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Who? Have you found it?" he asked.
Mega shook her head. "There should be more than one person who noticed the change in Liliana’s energy. I tried to track it at the location where I sensed it earlier, but I couldn’t find any trace."
Cassian’s gaze sharpened. Mega was a former leader of the pack; her strength was equal to that of his father, who was an Alpha. If she was unable to track that person’s whereabouts, then there was only one possibility.
That person was much stronger than her.
"What should we do?" Cassian asked.
Mega shook her head. "For the time being, don’t let Liliana leave our pack’s territory. At least until Viktor returns with the things he needs."
Cassian nodded slowly. He glanced briefly toward the back seat, where Liliana was lying against the striped tiger’s body.
Ckittt!!!
Cassian’s car suddenly stopped when someone suddenly stood blocking the road.
"Don’t get out of the car. I’ll deal with it. Take good care of Liliana," Mega said.
Cassian swallowed and nodded obediently.
The two of them talked for quite some time outside the car before finally transforming into wolves. A fight was inevitable. Howls and growls echoed back and forth.
The battle continued for quite some time before a pack of wolves suddenly emerged from behind the dense trees and lined up behind the wolf that had been fighting Mega. They stood alert, ready to attack at any moment.
Mega slowly stepped back, as did the wolf opposing her.
Without waiting for an order, Cassian immediately opened the car door and stood beside Mega in his magnificent black wolf form.
The opposing wolf that had been fighting Mega earlier glanced briefly toward the inside of the car, then let out a long and loud howl into the air.
It transformed back into a human in an instant.
"You don’t need to worry," he said calmly. "My master only wants to know who possesses this rare power. He has no intention of killing her... at least not for now. So, the two of you can be a little more at ease."