With the conflict sorted out for the time at hand the werewolves became much less threatening. Instead of acting like hungry wolves they were more like big fluffy dogs. If their story of fleeing some vampire monster was true, and I had no reason to believe it wasn't, then they were really just desperate people driven to do desperate things. Now that I was here however, and should they put their faith in me, they would have nothing to worry about.

After leaving the human settlement I traveled with the wolves to their own village, a place they named Nova Bellumis. It was surprisingly not far away which made the over hunting all the more legitimate. They probably lived much deeper and closer to the foot of the mountains before and moving so close to open land must be frightening for them.

They ran pretty swiftly through the forest which made the travel of several miles only take an hour or so. At first they were worried about me being able to keep up, but that was quickly proven to be a silly thing to think. Of course a goddess like me could run faster than they could. I kept near the back of the pack however as they were the ones leading the way and I didn't want them to feel useless.

How was I even able to follow them? Well the had become my worshipers of course and therefore I could go wherever they were going too. Honestly it makes sense. After showing up and not only showing them mercy but saving them as well why wouldn't they worship me? Just after the steak incident these warrior wolves had already taken a liking to me. They seemed to respect power as well which likely helped the case for worshiping me as well.

The moon was still high in the sky as we arrived at Nova Bellumis with the chilly wind blowing through the trees. There were a little less than one-hundred people living in this village from the count I got on my mental map. It wasn't much to look at either, likely due to its rapid construction. Most of the buildings were simple single room houses with a sort of longhouse as the central structure. There were no crop fields to speak of because of the time of year.

Upon arrival most of them turned back into the human forms which let me confirm the ability. They were the kind of werewolves that could change back and forth on command, though I still wasn't sure if it was only at night or any time of day. This was still a good sign though as the trickiest kind would've been if they had no control at all when the moon was out.

Markku however kept his wolf form active. He was the leader of their little militia and it was likely out of habit, always needing to be ready to fight threats and whatnot. He alone stayed with me after the others had said their goodbyes and left to their families. The families who had come out to greet their returning members with great happiness.

As the two of us stood there watching the warriors be greeted by their families I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.

"I'm not gunna have to make streaks for everyone am I?"

Markku grunted and turned his head to look down at me.

"No goddess. We have a small amount of blood reserves that the women and children use. We will need to hunt tomorrow."

I lifted my left hand to rub my forehead in frustration.

"This situation is such bullshit. If you still lived where you were before the hunting thing wouldn't even be a problem. When I meet this vampire woman I'm giving her a piece of my mind. This is all her fault."

Unsure how to react to my frustration the hulking werewolf looked down at me in confused hesitation.

"Er... Goddess Jenna. I'm sure with your guidance there will be nothing to worry about. Also the demon mage will surely be no match for a goddess."

I lowered my hand and looked up at the man. In his wolf form he was at least three times as tall as I was. The very sight of the two of us standing together with the bigger one frightened of the smaller was a ridiculous sight to behold. It would make more sense when one knew my true size, but of course I wouldn't walk up to the werewolf village goddess size as it would terrify them.

The people who had gathered to welcome back their warriors had of course noticed me by now and were quite curious. From what I could hear being said it was being explained just exactly what I was and it was causing fear to rise among them. They looked at me now with worried expressions, their minds wondering what this would mean for the future.

All of the children however did not share in the fear of their parents. They only saw another child who seemed to glow in a way they couldn't quite understand. When they looked at me they saw something warm and inviting, someone who looked like fun to be around. This kind of reaction is one I'm quite proud of invoking and wish to live up to for innocence sake.

Several of the children ran over to where I was standing at the edge of the village and Markku tried to shoo them away as they approached.

I raised my hand towards him.

"No its fine."

There were around six children that were brave enough to gather around me. They varied in age from ten to as young as perhaps even three and both boys and girls. Of course this meant some were taller than I was and some were shorter. The looks on their faces were filled with curiosity and excitement. This was in stark contrast to the faces of the adults who were clearly fearful of how I would react to this.

"Ey!" one of the little boys said. "It's another girl! You're pretty!"

A girl around seven or so reached out to touch me but stayed her hand.

"Are you a werewolf too? Did Markku save you from those humans?"

Another child, this one a boy who was taller than I was, crossed his arms and frowned.

"We already have enough mouths to feed. You don't look like you eat a lot but you better watch it still."

There were two really little kids, one boy and one girl, here too. They were probably around three years old or so and they had attached themselves to my legs. With little options for movement without dislodging them I just took my hands and rubbed the tops of their heads.

At this point Markku was getting extremely antsy. It was clear I was getting overrun by children and the fear of what might go wrong was starting to put him in a panic. He reached down and carefully used his clawed hands to start pushing the children away from me.

"That's enough children! Leave the goddess alone or I'll bite you in two!"

This caused the children to look at me in confusion and one of them asked what he meant by goddess. In response I smiled warmly and gently pushed the two clinging to me off my legs. They then scurried over to join the others.

"Well I'm not a werewolf" I replied to their question. "And I'm not a human either. I'm a goddess."

"I heard about those!" one of the older girls said. "Those are supposed to be big and scary though and you're not big or scary."

This made me laugh and I shook my head slowly.

"Well I can be if I want to! Just ask Markku!"

If Markku's beast form was capable of blushing he would certainly be doing so. His canine aspects still showed his inner feelings however with his ears drooping and tail twitching.

"That's right children" he said gruffly. "The both of us will get big and scary if you don't piss off to your parents!"

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This aggressive stance alongside the low growl he did made the children run away squealing. Their reaction was in that mixture of fear and playfulness and so their screams of terror were not entirely genuine. Regardless it did give the two of us some breathing room finally.

The big wolfman looked down at me with another expression of confused reverence.

"I-I'm surprised you handle children so well." he said thoughtfully. "No. I'm a fool for not expecting it to be so. I apologize goddess."

"It's fine Markku" I replied with a pat on his arm. "Now lets go meet these elders of yours shall we?"

He nodded. "Yes goddess. Please follow me."

As we started walking into the village proper I allowed him to take the lead, keeping pace just behind him. The villagers here all were quite fearful of me still even after seeing me interact with their children. Not that I could blame them of course. They stood in the doorways and along the buildings, clutching their children or spouses close as they looked on. I could hear them whisper among each other if that little goddess really was safe.

One young man in particular caught my attention. He stood there and stared at me intently, the look in his eyes seeming to say he was comparing me to something else. His hair was long and the color of butter and his eyes were a deep yellow.

I motioned my head over towards this young man as Markku and I walked by.

"Who's that one?" I asked.

Markku looked where I indicated and snorted, clearly displeased.

"That's Remus. He's a young hunter with no accomplishments to his name save his surviving a run in with the demon mage. Any wolf worth his pelt could do the same by running away like he did."

I lifted my left hand to my chin and rubbed it thoughtfully.

"He survived meeting the vampire huh?"

I stopped walking and forced Markku to do the same.

"Hey Remus!" I called out. "Come here a moment will you?"

The young man looked at me for a moment in pure terror. He then looked at Markku and then to the two other adults with him.

"You heard the goddess!" Markku snapped. "Come over here boy."

Now without a choice the young man jogged over to us and stood in front of me. He was shivering not from the cold but from nerves. Even though he was twice my size he did an awkward bow and tried to avoid eye contact with me.

"A g-goddess? G-Greetings powerful one."

I put my hands on my hips and nodded with a little smirk.

"Yes yes. I'm Goddess Jenna. I heard you survived meeting this demon mage right?"

"Yes goddess" he replied with his head still down.

I felt a little bad for him now. He was so timid for someone who had met with a vampire, though the fact he was a werewolf I thought would counteract that somewhat. After all both of them were creatures of monstrous myth. It seemed to have shaken him up quite a bit though and now a goddess just walked into his village! Poor guy isn't having the best year.

"I just wanted to tell you good job" I said with a nod. "You're dismissed."

Now even more confused Remus bowed again and quickly walked back to the house he had come from. He then went inside likely to hide from my gaze and everyone else's.

I turned back to Markku.

"Ok lets continue."

Markku gave me an odd look but didn't say anything. He clearly disproved of the young man and would never question my decision to praise him. Either because of this or some other reason he was quiet the rest of the way to the longhouse. When we arrived he walked up to the door and held it open for me.

"This is the longhouse" he said. "The elders live in here. Please follow me and I'll introduce you to them."

I nodded and followed him in silently. The interior of the place was impressive for the limited time it probably took to construct it. Not that it was a complicated structure mind you, it was really a log cabin enlarged to giant proportions. There were several large fur rugs on the floor and many hunting trophies of animals on the walls. The furniture was simple wood with a large table in the middle of the room. At the far end there were several doors that led to small rooms, likely the bedrooms of the elders.

Said elders were currently sitting at the long table as if waiting for our arrival. They were in human form and were old wrinkly people of advanced age. There were two women and three men, all of whom had the wise look to them.

Upon entering Markku bowed to them and then motioned to me with his big wolf arms.

"Greeting esteemed elders. I bring to you an honored guest. May I present the Goddess Jenna."

One of the older men in his sixties with short white hair and matching beard spoke first. His voice was calm even after hearing such unbelievable news and if he felt fear it didn't know on his face.

"Greetings oh power of old" he said with an almost reverent tone. "You made quite the stir upon your arrival. If the reports we've heard about you from our returning warriors are indeed true you are a goddess in truth."

Markku did another standing bow again and spoke.

"I can assure you she is a true goddess elders. Yet she shows great kindness and mercy."

Another of the elders, this one a woman in her late fifties, spoke next. Her long red hair and green eyes were quite the contrast with each other. Her expression was slightly more fearful.

"We understand what your arrival back into the world represents oh great one." she said shakily. "We thank you for showing such benevolence to us."

Another of the men spoke up, this one with long black hair and gray eyes. He was also in his sixties and had a long beard that reached the table. His voice sounded almost depressed and defeated.

"Of course we also understand the mercy of a goddess doesn't come without its requirements. Our fates were in your hands since the moment the humans called upon you. We can only beg for your mercy to continue Goddess Jenna."

Their plea for mercy was understandable. Such was the way of the world. When the winners overcome the losers they do what they like with them, usually with extremely detrimental results for the losers. These elders probably thought my mercy so far was so I could be led to their village and properly exterminate them. I was the goddess of humans after all and they likely thought I didn't like non-humans that much. They were in for a surprise however.

With a knowing smile on my face I walked over to the table and stood up on a chair. My left hand was on my hip and my right hand hung down to my side. Now with this vantage point I could look down on them even though I was in human form.

"Fear not werewolves!" I said boisterously. "You're in luck!" I cocked my head to the side for a moment before lifting it up again. "I see ya'll as people just the same as any humans. So as long as you play nice with my other worshipers you're free to enjoy my protection as well."

The elders all looked at each other in confusion and wonder before looking back up at me standing over them. The first man who spoke when I arrived voiced their bafflement.

"Surely this is a trick?" he asked. "You demand no sacrifices? No pledges of loyalty?"

I shook my head and crossed my arms in front of my stomach.

"Nah. My only rule for you wolfies is that you don't ever taste human blood ever again. I've heard about your plight with having to move recently and will arrange to have food shipped in this winter to help you make it through. That way you and the human village won't over hunt the wildlife in these woods."

The woman spoke up again.

"What about the demon mage?" she asked to the agreement of her peers. "Will you protect us from them?"

I put my hands on my hips again and let out a little laugh. The chiming sound causing them all to sit up in their chairs and Markku's wolf ears to perk up.

"Yeah I've already promised your friends I'd take care of her. The next time she shows up all you have to do is pray to me and I'll show up and put an end to her campaign of terror over you." I then looked a bit more serious. "Is it true she raised the dead?"

Markku was the one to answer from behind me.

"Yes goddess. I've seen it personally. She took the bodies of the dead and raised them to life again. Both skeletal and rotten corpses followed her command."

My left hand rubbed at my chin and I sighed in disappointment.

"I see. Not true resurrection then. Just undead minions." I then glanced around the room and grinned a little. "Man! Werewolves, vampires, and now zombies? Did Halloween come early or something? What a munster parade!"

None of them understood what I was talking about and just looked at each other in confusion. They wondered if they should know what I was talking about or something. To ease their concerns I just giggled again and shook my head.

"Well never mind all that. If ya'll don't have more questions for I'll be leaving."

Another of the old men spoke up after hesitating for a moment. He had auburn hair to his neck and a bearded braid, his eyes like blood.

"Excuse me Goddess Jenna..." he said before pausing. "If you'll become our patron goddess we need to know what rituals or customs will be expected of us so we can properly follow them."

I looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling for a moment and then directly at him. This made him nervous of course but at this point I had shown I wasn't a danger.

"Well besides praying to me there isn't much in the form of ritual." I shrugged. "Just being virtuous people and seeking to make the world a better place for everyone is sort of the goal I'd have for my worshipers. My full title is 'Goddess of Light and Knowledge' by the way."

The man smiled almost happily as he heard my reply.

"I see. A goddess of the sun. I know our curse will be less of a burden as we live in your light."

Another smile came onto my face and it beamed onto them. One could swear there was actual light coming from my mouth.

"I'm sure it will! Now if you excuse me I simply must be going."

Each of them gave their respectful goodbyes as I stepped down off the chair and walked back over to the door where Markku was standing. He looked down at me with even more newfound revrence and bowed deeply to me.

"Goddess Jenna." he said solemnly. "It's been a great honor to not only meet you, but to have the opportunity to serve you. If you wish it I shall escort you anywhere in the land. Though you of course won't need it."

I gave him a smile and shook my head.

"Nah. I'll just portal home. You've been a very good dog tonight and I'll be happy to have you in my service."

He bowed again. "Of course goddess."

With the final goodbye out of the way I searched my map for someone in Doovlin and opened a portal to them. The circle of light appeared above me and descended over me, transporting me across the kingdom to my first home in this world. The werewolves were left behind to commune among themselves in wonder of the night's events. As for me my excitement couldn't be higher. A spooky menagerie of horror creatures has arrived on my doorstop and I couldn't help getting hyped up for monster madness!