Chapter 382: Ice Coccon
"Not exactly," Jayden clarified. "She’ll still technically be B-Rank, but just have drastically more power than your average B-Rank beast."
"So basically, she will be just as unstoppable as an A-Rank," Tasha concluded, rubbing her temples. "And we are just going to keep her in the house until that happens?!"
Jayden nodded with a wry smile.
Tasha stood up, beginning to panic. "I cannot believe this is happening. Jayden, look—I know your ability is heavily related to beasts and all that, but you cannot keep bringing beasts into this house! I only accepted the Sapphire Sonic because she was just a cub, and she acts somewhat like a normal pet. But this... this is the Winter Wolf! She is definitely not a pet!"
"She’s right," Jessica agreed from the bed, hugging her knees. "That beast is not pet material."
Jayden furrowed his brows. "Weren’t you the one who once said you wanted humans and beasts to coexist peacefully?" he asked, looking at Tasha.
"Yes, but not like this!" Tasha hissed, gesturing wildly. "Right now, we are breaking dozens of rules by harboring a beast. Keeping her here basically makes us all criminals. And let’s not even get started on what Mom and Dad will do if they find out!"
"Jacob and Harleen cannot know about any of this," Jayden said, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate. "This stays between the three of us." He looked at the girls, his golden eyes pleading. "Look, I know there is a massive amount of risk involved in keeping her here. But I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t just abandon her to be killed by the EVA. I just couldn’t. All I am asking is for you guys to help me. After this, I promise not to bring any more beasts into the house."
Tasha stared at him, biting her lip as she contemplated the sheer insanity of the situation. Finally, her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. But where would we even put her?"
"The attic," Jessica suggested suddenly. "No one has been up there for years. Mom uses it for long-term storage."
Tasha nodded slowly. "Okay. But how are we supposed to get a twelve-foot wolf up a pull-down ladder?"
"I can handle the heavy lifting," Jayden assured them.
"Alright," Tasha took a deep breath, slipping into tactical mode. "I will go out to the hallway and keep watch to make sure Mom and Dad don’t wake up. You and Jess get her up to the attic."
Jayden and Jessica nodded. They were about to move into action when the room suddenly grew blindingly bright.
Whrum!
The soft, pulsing glow emanating from the Winter Wolf abruptly intensified into a searing, brilliant white light that engulfed the entire bedroom. Jayden and the girls shielded their eyes. In the center of the blinding aura, the Winter Wolf curled her massive body into a tight ball. The moisture in the bedroom’s atmosphere rapidly froze, snapping and crackling as thick, crystalline ice began to spread outward, rapidly encasing her body in a perfect, translucent sphere.
When the blinding light finally dimmed a few seconds later, the wolf was completely gone from sight. In her place rested a massive, jagged cocoon of solid, glowing ice. The wolf’s eyes were closed peacefully within the frozen sphere, and the ambient glow had faded to a dull, cool blue. She seemed to simply be sleeping in cryogenic stasis.
The three teenagers stared at the icy monolith in absolute awe.
Jessica was the first to break the silence. "Okay... that was weird."
"Is she going to be like that forever, or...?" Tasha asked, thoroughly unnerved.
Jayden was equally confused.
[The Winter Wolf is still evolving] Luna chimed in smoothly. [She has simply altered her surroundings to create a more conducive environment to accelerate the biological metamorphosis. The cryogenic stasis cocoon serves as the perfect incubation chamber]
Jayden nodded in understanding. He opened his mouth to relay the information to the girls, but his words died in his throat as he heard a knock on his door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Girls? Are you in there?"
The three of them froze. It was Jacob. His voice was slightly muffled through the heavy wood of the bedroom door.
"I heard some noises," Jacob called out. "Is everything okay in there?"
Tasha swallowed hard, instantly projecting a perfectly casual, annoyed teenager voice. "Yeah, Dad, we’re fine! It was just the game we were playing making all those weird noises."
"Yeah!" Jessica pitched in seamlessly, raising her voice. "It’s a really intense boss fight!"
There was a brief pause on the other side of the door. "Okay," Jacob replied, sounding convinced. "Is Jayden in there with you?"
"Yeah, but he’s in the bathroom right now," Tasha lied smoothly.
"Alright," Jacob said warmly. "Well, wrap it up soon. Try to get some sleep, okay. And don’t play video games all night. Goodnight, girls."
"We won’t! Goodnight, Dad!" they chorused back.
They stood in agonizing silence, listening to his heavy footsteps recede down the hallway. They heard the familiar click of the master bedroom door opening and shutting.
Tasha slowly cracked Jayden’s door open, peering out into the hallway. She looked left, then right, before giving a sharp thumbs-up. "The coast is clear."
They went to work immediately.
Jayden raised his hands. Using his Telekinesis, he enveloped the massive, heavy ice cocoon in an invisible grip and hoisted it silently into the air. Jessica led the way, opening doors and providing quiet directions, while Tasha stalked ahead to secure the route and keep watch.
They reached the ceiling hatch at the end of the hallway. Tasha pulled the cord, easing the creaky wooden ladder down as quietly as possible. She stayed at the base to keep watch while Jayden levitated the massive ice sphere up through the narrow opening, following closely behind with Jessica.
The attic was dark, musty, and choked with years of dust and forgotten cardboard boxes. Jayden maneuvered the floating cocoon toward the far back corner of the space, an area heavily obstructed by old furniture and stacked crates. It was the perfect spot; the cocoon would be completely hidden from view unless someone specifically climbed over the junk to inspect the corner.
He gently lowered the heavy ice to the wooden floorboards. Jessica rummaged through a nearby storage bin, emerging with a massive, heavy black winter blanket. She tossed it to Jayden, who carefully draped it over the glowing ice sphere, completely snuffing out the faint blue light and plunging the corner back into absolute darkness.
With their mission complete, they quietly descended the ladder, pushing the hatch closed and leaving absolutely no trace of their presence.
They regrouped back in Jayden’s room, keeping their voices to hushed whispers as they strategized. They agreed to set up a rotating schedule to check on the attic, ensuring the ice didn’t melt and cause water damage, and swearing to keep the secret hidden from their parents at all costs.
A while later, the adrenaline finally crashed. The girls hugged Jayden goodnight and crept back to their own room to sleep.
Left alone, Jayden lay down on his mattress, staring up at the ceiling.
He didn’t regret saving the Winter Wolf. Even though his initial motivation had been fueled by a desire for personal gain and raw power, he knew he couldn’t have just let the EVA butcher her. She had saved his life weeks ago, even if she had also almost taken it once before.
They shared an unspoken, complex dynamic—a mutual respect forged in blood and survival. He was deeply certain that whenever she finally broke free from that ice, she would willingly let him tame her. Especially after he had just saved her.
Before finally surrendering to sleep, he decided to check his progression. He mentally opened his interface.
——————
*Name: Jayden Starrk
*Race: Werewolf
*Level: 19
*Exp: 8,690 / 10,000
*HP: 930 / 930
*EP: 400 / 400
*Shop Points: 1,565,010
*Strength: 248
*Speed: Mach 1
*Agility: 264
*Stamina: 353
*Perception: 414
*Defense: 148
*Charm: 90
*Mastery: 172
*Stat Points: 80
*Heart Rate: 45 BPM
< Skills >
*Health Regeneration [Passive]
*Beastlord Aura [Passive/Active]
*Beast Gene Integration [Active]
*Partial Transformation [Active]
*Dragon Eye [Active]
*Lunar Empowerment [Passive]
<Abilities>
*Beast Energy Acquisition
*Telekinetic Force
*Poison Secretion
*Invisibility
*Enhanced Strength
*Matter Absorption
*Size Manipulation
*Pyrokinesis
*Intangibility
<Titles>
*Regent Alpha
——————
Jayden smiled faintly. He was highly satisfied with his progress. He now possessed nine abilities and was incredibly close to hitting Level 20.
In fact, he would have leveled up by now if not for one glaring problem: Skye hadn’t earned him any passive EXP today, or the day before. The experience points he had amassed was solely from his pack beasts and his own solo hunts.
Skye wasn’t actively hunting anymore.
He figured the Sapphire Sonic was simply taking a well-deserved break to digest her feasts, or perhaps she was just resting. The idea of something actually happening to her was entirely out of the question. She was a legendary beast with an overwhelmingly formidable ability. He honestly couldn’t imagine any beast in the universe being capable of defeating her.
He dismissed the tab, making a silent, hopeful wish that his bonded beast was okay out there in the cosmos, before finally letting his eyes close and falling into a deep sleep.
