The man looked me straight in the eyes without any sign of fear. His wife watched weakly from her spot on the bed while their kids huddled together with fear evident on their faces.

"I have decided. I will join your pack and work towards getting me and my family turned into werewolves. I have much knowledge to share, and I'm positive I can contribute to your pack. I just hope that you keep your end of the deal and follow through on your promise."

The man stepped closer to me and extended his hand. I smiled at his gesture and shook his hand.

"My name is Noah Schneider." He then turned to his wife and kids and began introducing them.

"This is my wife, Mariane."

The woman in question looked like a frail, withered skeleton. Her face had no color as she stared longingly at her husband.

"My eldest daughter, Cecilia. She is only sixteen years old, but she is already leaps and bounds above her peers. Before the apocalypse started, she had already gotten into a top university, studying engineering. She helped me a lot, so I'm sure her help will be invaluable to you."

The girl in question was skinny and quite short for her age. She had long black hair and wore glasses just like her father. Her two younger brothers clung tightly to her as she tried to shield them.

She was scared out of her mind. When my gaze met hers, tears began accumulating in the corner of her eyes. This reminded me of Allison for some reason.

"My two youngest are Arlo and Allen. Arlo is 10 while Allen is only 6."

The two boys held onto their sister tightly. Allen looked a bit scared, but Arlo… he was glaring at me.

'This one has a temper, I can tell.'

"For now, I welcome you all to stay at my settlement. I'll give you the bare necessities like food, water, and a place to stay."

"Thank you for your kindness," Noah bowed gratefully, then rushed over to his wife and cupped her hand in his. "Honey, we're going someplace safe, okay? We're going to heal you."

All the kids surrounded them as they stared at their sick mother, who was so frail she couldn't even speak. The only thing she could do was give them a weak smile. Noah then proceeded to lift her off the bed.

"You plan to carry her by hand?" I asked.

"Her wheelchair was destroyed in the chaos. I don't have a choice."

"Cerberus," I called out, and my companion spawned from my shadow like a ghost being summoned.

The black hound immediately began licking my face. All those monsters he has been eating has made him turn into a giant. He was now on eye level with me.

They all gazed at the giant black hound with fear in their eyes. It was understandable. Cerberus's appearance was ominous-looking, but with me, he was like a giant puppy.

"It's good to see you, boy. Haven't seen you in a while."

Lately when I summoned the other shadow hounds he doesn't appear.

"GRR! GRR!"

Cerberus growled at me, and I immediately understood what he was trying to communicate. This was their mating season, and he was making pups with all the female shadow hounds. He was hard at work building my legion of shadow hounds.

None of the pups have been born yet, but I would love to see them when they do.

I then turned my attention to the now terrified family of five.

"Cerberus will carry your wife on his back. Don't worry, she'll be safe. This way, if any monsters attack, you won't have to worry about protecting her."

"Thank you. I trust you. This will help a lot since I have a lot of tools I need to carry with me."

Noah and his kids circled around the mansion, picking up items they decided to bring with them. I also strolled around their mansion with Isabella, seeing if there was anything there that interested me.

"Your plan worked," she said as we checked out an old storage room. "You managed to get them to join your pack. And it only took destroying everything they have so they didn't have a choice."

"Things are better this way, for us and for them."

As I spoke, I opened an old box and took out an old clock. It seemed antique; must have cost a fortune, and here it was.

"Maybe…" she hummed. "There is nothing here but junk. Why did you even want to look around in the first place?"

"Just wanted to see if there is anything here of value that is worth bringing back…"

Suddenly, Isabella paused, which caused me to look in her direction. It seemed she had found something. She was head-deep in a rather large box.

"Found something?" I questioned.

"Maybe… come take a look."

As Isabella gestured, I went over to take a look in the box. I felt satisfied as I gazed at what was inside.

"Old clothes… and blankets too. My pack could use these."

"..."

Isabella was still quiet. Her eyes glued to something. I followed her gaze and realized she was staring at a giant pink plushy sitting at the bottom of the box.

"You can take it if you want."

Her face suddenly exploded bright red.

"Who, me?! W-why would I want that thing!"

As stubborn as always.

I sighed and reached into the box and pulled out the pink plushy that was shaped like a cute goat.

"Okay, then I'll take it myself."

"Hmph! Fine, give it to Lily. I'm sure she would enjoy something like that. I don't need it," she said, folding her arms and looking away to prove just how uninterested she was.

"Nah, I'll give it to Selthia. I'm sure she'll enjoy it."

Suddenly, her face twitched, and her eyes turned murderous.

"Why would you give it to her? Lily is the obvious choice," she said, looking at me coldly. "She is your little sister, don't forget."

"Yes, but if I give it to Selthia, she might give me a reward."

"A reward? What kind of reward?" Isabella questioned, trying to think of what it could be, but then her face turned flushed. "Like a k-kiss?"

"I mean, since you don't want it."

"I do!"

She grabbed the plushy from my hand and hugged it tightly while glaring at me.

"You can't just give away something I found!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her childishness. She really made the cutest face when she worked up.

We spent just a few more minutes gathering items we thought we needed, then it was time to head back.

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