Frozen Wolf, Fire Dragon

Chapter 2

The Crimson Cloak

In my past life, I’d had rather unusual taste in books. While most people preferred the more popular genres, such as romance, slice-of-life, self-help, or other things like that, I found that those just didn’t really call to me. Knowing that my preferences were a bit more niche, I actively hunted to find what kind of novel drew me in the most. I spent fruitless hours reading through thousands of angst novels.

This is boring. Isn’t there anything more exciting?

But then I finally found what I was looking for—a novel that included all my favorite themes: R-rated content, angst, soap opera drama, and femdom dynamics.

In The Crimson Cloak, the wolf hybreed male protagonist was forced into a tantalizing submissive role. I felt a thrill as I read how the male protagonist started by resisting the female protagonist’s advances but ended up begging for more at the end. I just couldn’t help but be fully sucked into the story and—

Ah, but let me take a second to explain the whole setup of the novel.

It took place in a world that had humans and hybreeds. The hybreed territory was divided into quadrants—north, south, east, and west. The two main hybreeds, the wolves in the north and the dragons in the south, had an intense history of being hostile toward each other.

It was all because of this old legend that said a wolf had once stolen a dragon’s heart, which then caused all the dragons to go through a process called a second awakening. This process led the dragons to gain two hearts. In order to manage the overwhelming powers they gained as a result of their second awakening, the dragons then needed to give one of those hearts to a partner, and any dragon that was not able to form a partnership would perish. The first dragon, the one whose heart had been stolen by the wolf, was left all alone to die. In their dying message, they said, “I will come back to find that wolf again. No matter what, I will find them.”

It was never told how exactly the wolf stole its heart. There were people who said it was just a myth, but plenty believed it to be real.

However, the dragons were like royalty among the hybreeds, so the wolves would not dare go against them. In the end, tensions built until both sides became very hostile—one could even say they came to detest each other. At the height of the animosity, the female protagonist, known as the Crimson Cloak, was introduced—she was the dragon chief’s only younger sister.

Her hair was as black as the night sky and her eyes were as red as rubies. The reason she grew up to become a ruthless commander of obedience was her brother’s death. Her brother was born with only one heart, just like the dragon from the legend.

“He’s really back to kill the wolves.”

“Will war break out between the north and the south?”

The dragon hybreeds murmured the rumor that the legendary one-hearted dragon had come back to life to kill off the wolves. The chief, knowing his sister would worry greatly about him, hid the fact that he had been born with one heart. In order to control his overwhelming powers, he trained vigorously and even wore a magic suppressor around his neck like a dog collar. However, tragedy has a way of inevitably coming to the surface.

The Crimson Cloak, who was as pure and innocent as the main characters in other fairy tales, witnessed her brother’s death with her own eyes. He was overcome by his own fire magic. It was the death of her only remaining family member, so it inevitably threw her into a dark, revengeful state.

“I will annihilate all the wolves,” she’d said, swearing to destroy the entire snowy north.

This is how the war between the north and the south started. Wolves died helplessly at her feet as she rampaged through towns. In one village, as she was using her fire magic to melt the winter woods before her, she had spotted a trembling boy crouched over a charred corpse.

The boy was not fully a wolf hybreed nor a human—he was a half-blood, part human and part hybreed. The Crimson Cloak had heard of mongrels but had never seen one before in person.

The mongrel trembled at her feet and begged, “P-please, don’t kill me...”

“You’re a... mongrel?”

“I beg of you, spare my life! Please... No, you can kill me, but please... Please just leave my sister’s corpse alone.”

The Crimson Cloak took a liking to this boy as he pleaded with her. She took the half-breed wolf in, not as a companion, but as a pet. She decided to train him to suit her particular needs, and by now it should be obvious what kind of “needs” I’m talking about.

“Yes! This is it! This author is great. The Crimson Cloak is the best!” the me in my past life had shouted with excitement when reaching this part in the story, as erotic novels had always thrilled me. I even applauded the author for being able to rewrite the fairy tale masterpiece into this new Crimson Cloak rendition.

Obviously, I only praised the Crimson Cloak and had little interest in any of the wolves. I much preferred the dragons, and I certainly didn’t express any interest in being the male protagonist’s sister either.

Oh, wait. Maybe I did say something kind of close to that...

It happened when I got to the scene where the male protagonist had been thrown around a bit after resisting the Crimson Cloak’s advances, but with tears dripping down his pretty face, he had suddenly realized his feelings for her. It was such a beautiful scene.

Yes! What a masterpiece. Brilliant! Bravo! A round of applause for the author. Imagining the male protagonist’s beautiful tears in that moment, I said to myself, Oh how I wish I could see that in person!

I guess that’s how I was reborn as his sister—the one who would end up as a charred corpse. Ha. If I’d known wishes could come true this easily, I would’ve asked to be a millionaire instead. Damn it.

That crazy author.

I gritted my teeth as I looked at my mother’s pregnant belly. I felt sick as I imagined the domination and sexual abuse my unborn brother would have to endure. My own fate—being burned to ashes—didn’t help my nausea either.

I had to stop that future no matter what.

There’s no way Mother would believe any of this even if I told her, so I decided on a different kind of drastic plan. Early in the morning while it was still dark, I took Father’s ax and put all my effort into swiftly breaking as much of the house as I could before she woke up. I wrecked the home that we had built together with Father.

Then, explaining to my mother what had happened, I lied for the first time.

“Mother! The wolves attacked our house! They said they’d kill us all if we don’t leave!”

No one would dare to question a sobbing child after something like that, so that is how Mother and I ended up going into hiding, living deep, deep in the forest.

After giving birth to Sion without any medical assistance, Mother’s health started deteriorating. No wolves were willing to deliver a mongrel. Being desperate, I searched for anything edible and healthy. Using Father’s herb encyclopedia, I hunted out medicinal plants and sold them, all the while hiding my appearance, of course.

“Selling things at such a young age? How greedy!”

I got beat up by people who disapproved of my business, but I carried on. It was the only way I could get money to keep us alive.

However, Mother’s condition never got better. The day she passed away, she held my hand while struggling to breathe. Even at her deathbed, she gave me a faint smile.

“Eve, good things come to those who do good deeds... Please, be a good child.”

“Mother...”

“I’m sorry, my daughter.”

Those were her last words.

“Mother...”

It was only after she had passed that I allowed myself to cry.

That day there was a heavy snowstorm and, while holding baby Sion, I swore we would survive no matter what.

* * *

I may have been reincarnated into a fantasy world, but it was my reality now. I had to protect my family and my future. But now, to think that I had brought the Crimson Cloak into my house, and even had taken care of her.

I’d brought death upon myself.

Why did I have to remember Mother’s words at that time? Having focused so much on this being a fantasy novel, I had forgotten it was also bleak and angsty.

No, it’s going to be okay. I shook my head vigorously. The story hadn’t even started yet, so I still had the chance to change it. I wouldn’t just walk mindlessly into my fate.

“Eve? What’s wrong?”

Having heard my shout after I’d seen the girl’s eyes, Sion came over to us. The Crimson Cloak’s eyes fell upon him.

“N-No!” I sprung to my feet, hiding Sion behind me as I shifted back a few steps. I couldn’t let her see him.

“Sis?”

Sion poked his head out, but I moved my hands desperately to block his view.

No! Don’t look!

Noticing my frantic movements, the girl blinked a few times and then slowly sat up in the bed.

Huh?

Something didn’t seem right. The Crimson Cloak was too young. If she was going to do all those sexual things with Sion as in the novel, she would be an adult. However, her appearance suggested she was around the same age as Sion, eight years old, tops.

Furthermore, the personality of the Crimson Cloak from the novel was highly suspicious of people, and always had her guard up. There was no wariness or evil intent in this child’s eyes.

Is there actually a chance... Could I change the future? I hesitantly came back to the bed as she stared at me with her big, ruby eyes.

“Are you okay?”

She just stared blankly at me. It was direct, assertive eye contact, just as it was described in the novel.

I took a big gulp and said, “You had collapsed out in the forest, so I brought you here. You didn’t look too good.”

I reached out to her forehead and could still feel the heat. I left my cold hand there to cool her down and then frowned as I realized, This probably isn’t a fever, but her dragon powers.

Now I understood why the medicinal herbs had done nothing for her. As I pulled my hand back, her small hand grabbed mine.

“What the...?” I flinched at the unchildlike strength of her grasp.

She looked up at me with shiny eyes.

I have a bad feeling about this. A deep sense of unease was creeping over me.

“Did you...” Slowly blinking with her big eyes again, she mustered, “Did you save me?”

“Oh, um, yeah, I guess...”

“Why?”

Why? Must there be a reason to save someone?

Smiling uncomfortably, I said gently—I had to be kind!—“If someone is sick, the obvious thing to do is help them get better, right?”

The child remained silent for a long time.

Was my answer weird? Was she offended for being treated by a wolf? I waited anxiously for her answer.

“Then...” she said, the words coming out slowly as she looked up at me, blushing shyly, “You’re my savior.”

“Well, I guess I’d rather be a savior than—no, wait a minute.” I got goosebumps as her words fully hit me, and my mouth dropped open.

Her savior?

I’m sure I’ve read those words before.