“It’s much easier to die when nobody expects anything from you.”

Rain poured heavily beyond the wooden porch while a younger Ezrina stood silently beneath dim lantern light. Across from her stood one of the older girls from the pack. Beautiful. Admired. Strong. Everything Ezrina was not.

“You don’t have a wolf,” the girl continued casually while folding her arms. “So you don’t have responsibilities, no one depends on you, no one expects you to protect anyone.”

A soft laugh escaped her afterward. “You’re free because nobody thinks you’re important enough to matter.”

Silence settled quietly. Then unexpectedly, young Ezrina lifted her gaze. Calm. Steady.

“I am a lot better than needing praise created by demeaning someone else’s confidence,” she said quietly.

The older girl froze slightly. And for the first time, a stubborn spark appeared within Ezrina’s eyes.

“Ezz will never become one of you.”

Even as a wolfless child, nobody truly managed to break Ezrina. Not because people were kind. But because she eventually stopped expecting kindness from them at all. As a child, Ezrina used to follow her elders around constantly. Quiet little footsteps trailing behind older wolves through hallways and training grounds. Watching them. Admiring them. Trying desperately to belong somewhere among them.

At first she thought,if she behaved well enough, if she smiled enough, if she became useful enough, someone would eventually care. But slowly, the truth revealed itself. They never ignored her because of who she was as a person. They ignored her because she was wolfless. Worthless. A defect. And strangely, that realization did not destroy Ezrina. It angered her. A quiet rage settled inside the little girl afterward. Not loud. Not explosive. Something calmer. Sharper. More dangerous than a storm. Because eventually, Ezrina stopped seeking warmth from people who measured worth through wolves and ranks.

‘If you’re going to measure my worth with something like this...’

‘Then I’m already doing better than all of you.’

And eventually, the little girl simply chose a forgotten corner of the estate to grow up in. Alone. Quietly. Without expecting anyone to come looking for her. Perhaps that was exactly why she never entertained others with her expressions afterward. Never cried before them. Never begged to be loved. Never gave them the satisfaction of watching her break. Instead, she carried herself with a strange calm dignity far beyond her age. And perhaps that was why the loneliness never fully consumed her either. Because somewhere deep inside, Ezrina always believed she would eventually create a place where she belonged.

She just never expected that place to begin with a tiny silver wolf cub .The first time she found him, rain had been pouring mercilessly through the forests. A tiny wounded wolf trembling beneath the storm. Terrified. Alone. Young Ezrina remembered staring at him silently for several moments before slowly kneeling beside him.

Then carefully, very carefully, she pulled the soaked cub beneath her hood against her chest. Warmth. The little wolf froze instantly beneath her touch. As though kindness itself felt unfamiliar to him.

“A lot of you were wrong,” she whispered softly beneath the rain.

The cub’s blue eyes lifted weakly toward her.

“Ezi found a wolf.” A tiny determined smile appeared across her face afterward. “And Ezi will protect him.”

The first few months with Chunky felt clumsy. Chaotic even. The tiny wolf distrusted everything around him at first. Always alert. Always tense. As though expecting the world to hurt him again the moment he lowered his guard.Yet somehow, he tolerated Ezrina. Mostly because she ignored every warning growl he made.

“Stop looking at Ezi like that,” she would complain while poking his forehead lightly. “You’re just fluffy.”

The cub would immediately bare tiny teeth afterward. Which only made her laugh harder. Some nights they slept beneath trees while rainstorms echoed softly through forests. Ezrina always curled shamelessly against his warm fur despite his obvious irritation. Other mornings she wandered through forests collecting berries proudly while speaking to him endlessly about absolutely nothing important. And although the little predator never answered, he always walked beside her.

...

One afternoon, after Ezrina accidentally fell asleep beneath a tree while hugging him, the tiny wolf slowly tried sneaking away from her arms. Carefully. Quietly. One paw at a time. Freedom was only inches away.Then suddenly, a small hand grabbed his tail. The cub froze immediately. Ezrina sat up sleepily afterward before pulling the offended wolf directly into her arms like a puppy. A dramatic pout spread across her face.

“You are never leaving Ezi alone, okay?”

The cub stared at her blankly afterward. Utter disbelief visible even through wolf eyes. Then he tried escaping again. Ezrina hugged him tighter instantly.

“No.”

The tiny wolf looked deeply offended afterward while she buried her face into soft silver fur proudly.

“Your fur is sooo soft...”

Years passed strangely peacefully afterward. The silver cub slowly grew larger. Then terrifyingly larger. Yet somehow, nothing between them truly changed. Ezrina still spoke endlessly beside him every night. Still saved the best pieces from her hunts proudly for him. Though occasionally, whenever she wanted a bigger piece for herself, she shamelessly made the saddest puppy face imaginable until Chunky reluctantly surrendered part of his share. At night, she slept peacefully beneath thick silver fur while storms raged outside forests. And eventually, The two of them discovered the abandoned chapel hidden deep within the woods.

Broken stained-glass windows.

Dust-covered floors.

Collapsed benches.

At first they observed the place cautiously for days. Watching silently from afar. Waiting. Until eventually, a little girl and her wolf stepped inside together. And, the ruined chapel became home.

Ezrina remembered cleaning old floors proudly while Chunky lazily watched from the corner. Remembered talking excitedly about how rain no longer reached them while sleeping. Remembered laughing while trying to decorate broken walls with flowers she found outside. And somewhere during those years, something inside Ezrina quietly changed too. One day, while resting peacefully beneath his fur, she suddenly remembered the words spoken to her long ago.

“It’s much easier to die when nobody expects anything from you.”

Back then, perhaps the girl had been right. Because now, Ezrina could no longer afford to die carelessly. Not anymore. Now there was someone waiting for her return every night. Someone she wanted to protect. Her beloved wolf. And perhaps for the first time in her life, living finally felt important to her.