Ran took the last few units of meat from his inventory and threw them at the wolves. They didn't move at first, either out of fear or because they were waiting for his permission.

"Eat..." Ran said firmly. The wolves pounced greedily on their meal and left nothing but white bones. They seemed to be recovering from the paralysis effect and Ran crouched down in front of the pack leader.

He was about a meter tall and his light gray coat glistened in the moonlight. He seemed to have some degree of intelligence or at least common sense because he bowed his head to Ran when their eyes met.

"I repeat...Do you understand me?"

The wolf merely nodded weakly and Ran continued:

"You came here to kill, to feed on the people of this village...So you must have been prepared to suffer the consequences, right?"

The chief trembled slightly but did not move. Ran confirmed that he understood the meaning of his words.

"You have no escape, you are surrounded on all sides and even if you could escape you would only be delaying a more terrible and slower death...Starvation."

A long moment passed without anyone doing anything, the villagers watched Ran in silence, trying to figure out what he was getting at, The wolves had gathered behind their leader carefully avoiding Ran's gaze. But the alpha still didn't move, he knew there was nothing he could do but wait for the judgment of the strongest.

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"But you have a way to survive."

The beast's ears perked up and he dared to raise his head.

"Stay with me and I will see to it that you have what you need, food, protection, shelter, I will provide that, all you have to do in return is follow my orders. If you refuse I will let you and your people go back to the forest. But there will be no next time...Make your choice, your future depends on it."

The proud wolf turned back to his pack and they watched each other without a sound, exchanging silent opinions. Then the alpha turned back to Ran, he slowly walked over and sat down opposite him, bowing his head.

"So be it."

Ran pated his head and smiled, when the others saw that they surrounded him, lying down, rubbing against him or resting by his side. Were they really the ruthless hunters he saw a few moments ago ?

Then he understood

‘Guess I am the alpha now’

Ran smiled again, these wolves would be a precious addition to the village.

Ran understood that he could not always be there to protect it, he would have to move for some reason or another in the future, so these creatures would serve as additional security and they could be used as hunting partners if trained well.

They had just acquired valuable partners and that made him happy.

As dawn was breaking, the villagers broke the encirclement but kept their weapons just in case. A mixture of fear and respect in their eyes. Ran, still surrounded by fur looked up and saw the mayor coming to him.

"Something to say old man ?"

Joras stepped forward, took a deep breath, and said, "Yes, we have made our decision, I have talked with everyone in the village one by one after our meeting last night and most of them agree...We shall accept your offer.”

Joras then raised his hand to shake ran’s but kept it locked in place.

“We entrust you with our lives, our hopes and our future, but remember, this only holds as long as you can fulfill your part of the deal.”

“You won't regret it, believe me.”

“That we will judge, kid, but as for your strength I think those who still doubted are a bit more convinced now."

He grinned slightly before adding:

“So ? What now mister new Lord ?”