[Bonus chapter] The Malanov brothers

'What a cruel fate,' Celeste thought as tears streamed from her silver eyes. It all seemed to have been happening in slow motion as the wolf lunged toward her with its mouth wide and its bloody claws extended toward her.

However, it suddenly stopped mid-air.

Celeste's eyes widened, 'What?'

The wolf was then sent flying into the same tree it threw the brown wolf earlier.

Celeste's heart skipped a beat at the sight of a man standing before her. 'W-Where did he come from?' she thought, her lips parting as she stared at him.

He was immaculately dressed in a black suit. His white hair was slicked back on his head and a pair of rectangular glasses covered his alluring purple eyes. They were like miniature purple galaxies; Celeste couldn't stop staring at them, but they held no friendliness.

He looked irritated to see her.

Celeste didn't hold his gaze for long; the black wolf was charging toward them again. "Behind you," she panicked in a high-pitched voice.

The young angel watched with wide eyes as the man gripped the large beast by its neck before gripping the top of its mouth and ripping its head from its body before throwing it aside.

The stench of blood wafted through the cold air, tickling Celeste's nose and fueling her nausea. She had never been exposed to this much blood and violence before. Her eyes felt tainted; she wished she could forget all that happened.

"You idiot," Celeste heard a deep, masculine voice mutter and she tore her gaze away from the black wolf's corpse.

The white-haired man was stooped by the severely wounded body of the brown wolf. Its breathing was shallow and its heartbeat was faint; it wasn't dead yet.

'Was it his pet?' Celeste wondered.

She dared to take a step forward, her body still trembling from the shock and fear. This man, though horrifying, saved her life; she needed to thank him.

"U-Umm," Celeste started as she stepped forward. "T-Thank you for saving me." She tried to calm her nerves, but she was still too terrified to speak correctly.

This man ripped a giant beast's head off with his bare hands, how could she not be afraid?

Celeste stopped walking when he looked at her over his shoulder. She watched as he scooped the wolf in his arms and stood. "I wasn't saving you," he coldly responded before walking off.

"Please wait," Celeste urged, walking after him into the bushes. "I can help."

"I don't want your help."

"He's dying." Celeste quickened her pace to keep up with his long strides. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I can heal him."

It was then that he finally stopped walking. Celeste's breath hitched when he turned around to look at her. She was immediately lost in the beauty of his eyes, so lost that his light pink lips were moving and she wasn't hearing anything.

"I don't owe you anything," was all she heard him say after she somehow got herself out of the trance his eyes put her under.

Celeste stared at his broad back as they silently walked through the woods. She wondered where they were going, but didn't ask; the last thing she wanted was to annoy him with her questions.

Soon they arrived at a cave dimly lit by a small bonfire. There were blankets spread on each side which made Celeste wonder if there was another person with him; his wife perhaps.

Celeste released a soothing breath when the warmth of the fire hit her skin. She felt a lot more at ease no longer freezing to death.

"What are you waiting for?" she heard the man question after resting the wolf on one of the blankets.

"Right," Celeste muttered under her breath before kneeling by the side of the wounded beast. She ran her hand along its coarse fur, "He's in a lot of pain."

When she turned her head, the man's eyes were already focused on her. A strange feeling like fluttering butterflies filled her stomach and she almost forgot what she was about to say as she gaped like a fish.

He raised a brow and she turned around before asking, "Could you turn around?"

To Celeste's relief, he didn't ask any questions and did as she requested. She took a quick glance at him from over her shoulder before tugging on the large shirt she currently wore as a dress.

'How does this come off?' Celeste irritatedly thought as she continued to tug on it. She took her hands out of it first and tried tugging on it again, but it still wouldn't come off.

'I don't have the time for this,' she thought in annoyance as she tugged harder. After a breath, she decided to calm down and think back to how the witch put it on. "Over my head," Celeste muttered before finally pulling the shirt over her head to get it off.

Celeste knelt naked by the dying wolf, her eyes closed and her breathing even. Her sole wing sprouted from her back just as a lone tear slipped from her left eye, landing on the wolf's face.

Celeste's expression saddened as her hand reached over her shoulder to touch the wound on her back. One of her wings was really gone.

She took the long, sharp thorn she plucked on their way to the cave in her hand and carefully sliced her wrist. Celeste winced at the sting before dropping the thorn and placing her bleeding wrist over the wolf's mouth.

The intoxicating scent of Celeste's blood reached the man's nose and his eyes widened as he inadvertently turned around.