After some time, Mira returned to her family, when she finally decided to face the truth. Her family lived deep in the forests of Darkova, far from any human footsteps. They were not ordinary wolves, but sentient beings with intelligence equal to humans, with their own laws and traditions.
Mira had shifted back into her brown wolf form, carrying little Akira strapped to her back, his body wrapped in a small blanket. She ran through the forest without stopping until she reached the old wooden cabin she had grown up in.
The moment she stepped inside, her family emerged to greet her, including her parents, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Both of them had the same brown fur she inherited from them.
Mira spoke with a voice filled with plain surrender:
"Mother, Father… I'm back."
But their eyes were not on her… they were fixed on the sleeping child on her back.
Her mother asked with a sharp voice:
"Mira, why are you carrying a human child on your back?!"
Her father stepped closer, narrowing his eyes.
"He's not human… look at his ears! How strange."
Mira lifted the child off her back slowly, holding him close as if her arms were the only refuge left.
She spoke in a low voice, trying to steady its tremble:
"He is my child. His name is Akira. He was born from me and a human… I'm so sorry, Mother, Father…"
Their eyebrows shot up together, anger beginning to surface clearly.
Her father barked, his voice rose sharply:
"What did you say?! You… how could you? How did you dare do something like this? You've broken all our laws! We are wolves, not creatures mixed with humans!"
Mira's eyes filled with tears.
"I know it's hard to believe. But I love Akira, and he's part of me. Please… don't turn your backs on me now. He needs all of us!"
Her mother snapped with stifled fury:
"Did you think about us? About our family? What will happen if the other wolves learn about this child? We cannot allow such a monster to exist among us!"
Her father's tone turned harsher:
"You've brought shame upon us, Mira. Go and get rid of him right now!"
Mira gasped:
"I will never do that!"
The anger inside the cabin rose like a storm, everyone's breathing turning tense. At that moment, heavy steps echoed from the darkness behind them. Her younger brother stepped out… Kalex.
A massive wolf, dark-brown leaning toward black, his eyes are glowing red like embers. His presence alone was enough to silence the entire room.
He spoke with a cold voice stripped of any sympathy:
"If you insist on keeping this child among us, we'll have to correct things ourselves."
His gaze dropped straight to the sleeping baby, unaware of the danger surrounding him.
Mira screamed in panic:
"Kalex, no! He's just a child! Please, don't hurt him!"
But Kalex moved without hesitation. He lunged forward, grabbed Akira with his jaws and lifted him violently from her back. Akira woke up instantly, crying loudly.
Kalex growled:
"You're holding a monster, Mira. This child is a threat to you and to our family, and he must be eliminated."
Mira reached forward, trying to pull him away.
"No! He's my child! You can't kill him!"
Kalex lowered the baby to the ground, raised his sharp claws, ready to end it in a single strike.
Mira cried out, her voice is shaking:
"Kalex, you can't do this! Please, don't! He's innocent!"
But Kalex didn't stop. His claws rose, glinting under the dim lantern light. That moment was all Mira needed. She threw herself in front of him without a second thought.
She leapt forward, placing her hands directly on his claws. His claws tore into her skin, blood bursting from her right hand, but she didn't move. The pain was sharp, but her fear for her child was far greater.
She screamed as she bled:
"Please… don't kill him… I'll do anything, anything to keep him alive. I'll keep his secret forever, and I won't let anyone else find out about him!"
Her voice trembled, blood dripping onto the wooden floor. She looked at her brother with shattered eyes. Kalex stepped back, his expression shifting, anger fading slightly as a flicker of guilt crept in.
He spoke, still rough, but no longer as merciless:
"Mira… what have you done?"
Then he looked at Akira, still crying, and at Mira, shaking between pain, fear, and fierce protection. His voice finally softened.
Four years passed.
On an ordinary morning in the Darkova forest, four-year-old Akira ran near the cabin, picking up sticks, chasing butterflies, laughing to himself. Between the trees, Kalex appeared. His hateful expression remained the same… his old anger untouched by time. He had never accepted Akira's existence, never looked at him as a child… not even for a second.
Kalex snapped sharply:
"You. What are you doing here?"
Akira lifted his head immediately, his small eyes shined with innocence.
"I'm playing. Do you want to play with me, Uncle Kalex?"
But innocence didn't soften him. Kalex marched toward him, grabbed Akira's arms with more force than a child that age could possibly endure.
He shouted:
"You're just a monster! How dare you show yourself among us? Don't forget… you're not one of us! You're not a wolf! You will never belong to our family!"
Akira froze, his eyes widened.
"But… but my mother said—"
He didn't finish. Kalex shoved him hard. His small body hit the ground, pain rushing through him before he could make sense of anything. At that moment, Mira appeared from behind the trees, her steps quick, her expression tense.
She snapped:
"Kalex! Stop! He's just a child!"
But her words didn't pierce his anger. He crouched over Akira… and began hitting him. One blow. Then another. Then a third. His small body was crushed under force that should never be used on a child. Akira tried to crawl away, his breaths sharp and broken, his eyes filling with tears, shock, and fear.
Mira screamed as she shoved Kalex's hand away:
"Kalex! Stop! Are you trying to kill a child?!"
He froze for a brief second, then stepped back. Akira lay on the ground… his body covered in dirt and scratches, his chest trembling with every sob he tried and failed to hold in.
Mira ran to him, kneeling as she gently lifted his shoulders.
"Akira… I'm sorry… I'm really sorry… but I can't do anything."
Akira couldn't look into her eyes. His voice came out hoarse and broken:
"Why… why don't they love me?"
He didn't understand hatred… but he felt it. Felt the world shrinking around him despite how small he already was. His tears streamed silently as he held onto her, searching for shelter and finding only her arms. Mira wiped his tears with unsteady fingers.
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Akira. Nothing will stop me from loving you."
He raised his head slightly.
"I… I'm not like them, am I?"
She held him tight, her heart is breaking inside her chest.
"You… you're better than they are, Akira. One day, you'll become something great."
But her words couldn't erase the pain. They couldn't hide from his heart the harsh truth awaiting him. He was small… but old enough to understand that the road ahead wouldn't be easy, and he would face the world alone far more than any child his age should.
On another sunny morning, little Akira hopped lightly between tree trunks. Inside the house, Mira was preparing his food. Akira wandered farther than he should have. Suddenly… a group of gray wolves appeared in front of him. They were strangers to Mira's family, approaching with slow steps. Their eyes locked onto the child, their expressions shifting gradually into tension and hostility.
One of them stared and said:
"What… what is this strange creature?"
Another examined him from head to tail.
"This child has both human and wolf traits!"
Akira's heart pounded fast. His eyes grew wider and wider, struggling to understand what he was seeing.
He said with a trembling voice:
"I-I… I just… want to play…"
But the wolves didn't budge. Their stares sharpened, their suspicion growing.
A third wolf growled:
"How can this creature be one of us?! We won't allow any cursed half-human to exist among our kind!"
Akira began stepping back slowly, trying to run toward the cabin.
"Mom… Mom! Where's Mom?"
His voice reached Mira. She rushed out, the sound of his cry breaking her heart before breaking the air. When she saw the wolves surrounding him, rage ignited in her eyes like a feral spark.
She shouted, charging towards them:
"Get away from my child! Don't touch him!"
Her eyes gleamed, her teeth bared, her body ready to fight without hesitation.
The second wolf growled fiercely:
"You're defending disgrace! How dare you keep this creature here?"
Akira hid behind her, trembling. Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes, without understanding anything except that everyone hated him.
Mira spoke with a steady voice despite her shaking hands:
"He is my child, and he is part of me! I won't let any of you touch him!"
The third wolf snapped:
"This isn't a family. This is treason!"
From the shadows, Kalex appeared. He spoke with a cold, decisive tone:
"We must put an end to this. We cannot allow this child to stay among us. He's a threat we can't ignore anymore."
One wolf added a line that set the situation on fire:
"If you care so much about him, then return him to the human world before we kill him!"
The wolves circled Mira and Akira from every direction. There was no way out.
Kalex approached, his gaze were sharper than ever:
"You've crossed the line, Mira. I can't live with this half-human for another year! This ends now!"
Mira's voice cracked, though she tried to stay firm:
"Kalex! How can you be this cruel? Haven't you learned anything these four years?!"
But her words didn't stop the disaster. One of the wolves suddenly lunged forward and snatched Akira from behind her. The child's scream pierced the air. Mira couldn't reach him. She was forced to stand against a whole group while Akira was pulled away.
The first wolf said coldly:
"This cursed child will grow and attack us and kill us like the humans do! If you want to save him… tell us his father's address, or we'll kill him here."
Mira turned toward her son, her body shaking, tears are filling her eyes.
"Please… don't take my baby… please!!"
Kalex spoke with icy detachment:
"Mira, if you truly love him, you must let him go. Tell us where his father is, and we'll take him there."
Akira was clamped between the wolf's jaws, his body twisting with fear. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he cried with the last of his strength:
"Mom! Mom!"
The third wolf stepped closer, his claws gleaming as he prepared to strike.
"There is no place for this deformity among us. It ends here."
And Mira begged:
"No! Please… don't touch him!"
Her heart felt like it was being torn apart. Her tears wouldn't stop, her breath trembled inside her chest. In front of her, the wolf raised his claws, ready to rip her son apart in one swift motion. Akira's small body shook violently, his scream breaking into pieces.
He cried, his voice cracking open from the inside:
"Mom… Mom… I don't want to die!"
Mira couldn't think. There was no time left. No solutions. Only surrender. She screamed through her tears:
"Please! I'll tell you! I'll tell you where Filippo is! Just please… let him live! Let him live!"
The third wolf froze for a single moment. Then his grip on Akira loosened, and he halted the attack.
Kalex stepped forward, saying flatly:
"You did the right thing, Mira. Don't let your love for this child blind you from seeing the danger he brings to all of us."
She couldn't even look at him. She could barely breathe.
"I'll tell you… His father, Filippo… he lives in the capital, Noxar. In a medium-sized white house… near the Grand Darkova Library. Black hair… just like Akira's… I'll give him to you… just… just don't kill my son."
Then Akira slipped from the wolf's jaws and rushed straight into his mother's arms, screaming again as if the world itself were collapsing on him.
He cried, burying his face in her chest, his small hands trembling violently:
"Mom! Don't leave me! Mom! Don't leave me… I want you!"
Mira held him tightly, her tears soak his hair.
"Akira… I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry… forgive me… forgive me, my little one…"
But it didn't last. The first wolf stepped forward quickly, grabbed Akira's clothes from the back with his teeth, and yanked him away violently. The child almost screamed again, but Mira covered his mouth with her hand, terrified that he would anger them further.
She whispered in a broken voice, touching his face with a trembling hand:
"Akira… don't be afraid… You'll go to the human world, to your father… You'll live a better life than this… trust me…"
The first wolf growled as he dragged Akira away:
"We got what we wanted. Now we'll take this half-wolf to the capital, Noxar, where he can live among humans far away from us."
Akira was pulled, his legs lifting off the ground, his cries tearing through the air.
"Mom! Mom!"
Mira couldn't move toward him. Her strength failed her. Tears blurred her vision as he grew farther and farther away.
She whispered weakly:
"Akira… my little one… I'm sorry… so sorry… I don't want to leave you… but you'll live in a better place… you'll find your father… you'll be far from this life… don't be afraid… you'll have everything you need."
Kalex and the first wolf moved on, carrying Akira deeper into the forest, toward Noxar.
Mira finally screamed, her voice shaking and filled with helplessness:
"Akira, please… know that I love you… don't hate me… please don't hate me!"
Akira's voice grew weaker with every step:
"Mom… Mom…"
Then she couldn't hear him anymore. Only the wind remained… and a forest swallowing the echoes of a child's cries that should never have been heard.
Mira whispered, her body trembling under the weight of pain:
"I'll never forget you… I'll love you… forever, Akira."