Sisi opened the wolf cub's mouth and fed him some water first.
She guessed the cub must've been hungry, but she had nothing for him to eat. Besides, he was still asleep, so all she could do for now was wait until he woke up.
The wolf cub's expression eased after being treated. The horse shed was the safest place for him at the moment, because Sisi was the one responsible for feeding the horse and cleaning the shed. Mr. Piker wouldn't bother going in unless he needed to take a horse.
Sisi continued her usual activities. Despite getting beaten almost every night, she still had her responsibilities around the farm, otherwise she would be beaten even worse.
She was already clinging to her little life every time she lost consciousness in the shed; one extra beating could've sent her straight to the afterlife.
First, she had to cook Mr. Piker's breakfast. Once she was done, she had to go back and forth from one shed to another to take care of the farm animals.
Mr. Piker could've hired someone else, but she was basically free labor he could use at will. So he only hired extra workers for half a day to cut costs.
By the time Mr. Piker woke up and walked to the dining table, all the food had to be prepared beforehand, and Sisi had to serve him his morning coffee before she could leave.
Mr. Piker sat and sipped his coffee. He glanced at Sisi a few times and said, "Why haven't you treated your wounds? You look terrible like this."
"We ran out of bandages and antiseptic, sir…" Sisi replied. It wasn't a lie, she had used the rest on the wolf cub and had nothing left for herself.
"Is that so? Then I'll buy more from the apothecary today," Mr. Piker said calmly. "And didn't I tell you to call me by my first name, John, so we can connect better? I also don't mind if you call me daddy, since playing daddy-daughter must've been fun."
Sisi's perfunctory smile cracked. She tried her best not to show her disgust.
Yes, she had called this man "Father" when Mrs. Piker was still alive. But once he lusted after her body and tried to force himself onto her, she stopped calling him Father and referred to him as Mr. Piker instead.
After all, what kind of sick bastard wanted to sleep with his own daughter?
But she was glad he would buy more medicine. She could use it all to nurse the wolf cub.
"You can go now. Remember to come to my bed tonight, or else you'll get beaten. Hmph, at this point, you should know resisting is useless," Mr. Piker scoffed.
Sisi said nothing and left the dining table. She quietly eyed the few pieces of salted fish she had stolen and hidden under the kitchen counter.
She couldn't steal beef or chicken because their stocks were limited and Mr. Piker would notice if any went missing. But fish was plentiful and cheap, so she could feed the wolf cub with it instead.
It wasn't ideal, but the cub needed to survive first. Maybe she could catch something else for him later, or maybe he'd be able to hunt on his own.
After Sisi finished all of her morning duties, she finally had time to wash herself. It was the calmest time of her day, because she wouldn't have to see that bastard while she was in the shower.
She intentionally used the bathroom outside the house near a shed, just to make sure Mr. Piker had no chance to peek at her.
In the small space, she scrubbed the places where Mr. Piker had tried to touch her—her waist, her thighs, her butt. It felt disgusting, and it made her wonder whether she could ever get married in the future with a body constantly harassed by her adoptive father.
'Ah, what am I even thinking? There's no way Mr. Piker would let me go. I'll probably spend the rest of my life like this—well, I don't think I can survive until the end of the year anyway.'
With such a bleak thought, Sisi had already accepted her fate. She simply hoped that Mr. Piker wouldn't dare to defile her corpse once she died.
**
Jojo opened his eyes slowly. He didn't feel cold anymore, but he was forced awake by his grumbling stomach.
It had been a full day since he had eaten, so he couldn't force himself to sleep any longer.
He looked around and realized he was still inside the horse shed. He didn't see the human girl anymore, but he noticed his body had been moved onto a haystack, where it was much warmer.
He also found himself treated and wrapped in white cloth. He didn't know what medicine the human had used, but he felt better now.
Jojo stared at the ceiling in a daze. Now that he felt better, he began recalling the event that had separated him from his father.
Despite being wolf beastmen, he and his father lived in solitude. They had no pack and moved from place to place.
Jojo once asked why they didn't have a pack, and his father simply replied;
Because we have many enemies. We have to keep moving, or else we'll be killed. You'll understand in the future, Jojo.
Jojo still didn't understand who their enemies were or why they were running from them. His father was very strong, he fought often and always won. These "enemies" must have been powerful to force his father to abandon his pack.
But in the end, Jojo had seen their enemies: a pack of tigers. It was strange, because as far as he knew, tigers usually lived alone.
The tigers had cornered them, and in desperation, his father flung Jojo down the hill while he stayed behind to fight them alone.
Jojo's body trembled as he remembered his father's fierce struggle. At this point, he might be…