Chapter 274 - 273: Discipline a Child Early

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t stop her lips from twitching. "Cut the act, old man. You’re grinning from ear to ear. You must be ecstatic that we’re leaving, right?"

When they first returned, they were the darlings of the elders, the apple of their eye.

But in less than three days, they had become universally despised pests, seen as a nuisance wherever they went.

It was as if the very air became polluted just by standing near them. ’Are we some kind of filth?’

Kai Preston shot her a glare. "You brat, watch your mouth! If you don’t know how to talk, then donate it to someone who does!"

’We’ve been bickering every single day since she got back!’

’The sentimental mood I worked so hard to build was just shattered by her, just like that!’

’She gets less cute the older she gets!’

’Truly, you have to discipline kids while they’re young. Otherwise, once they grow up, you can’t win a fight against them and just have to put up with their sass!’

Yvonne Lowell leaned lazily against Leo Grant, saying nonchalantly,

"If I donated my mouth, who would you argue with? You’d be bored to death, wouldn’t you?"

"Alright, scram, scram, scram! Just looking at you lot annoys me!" Kai Preston waved his hand impatiently.

Everyone else: ’...’ ’We didn’t say a word! Why are we getting dragged into this?!’

"We’re going, we’re going." Yvonne Lowell pursed her lips.

"Oh, right. Don’t just coop yourself up in here, or you’ll get moldy from boredom. You should visit Kingsland for a few days when you’re free. My parents have been wanting to thank you—my ’foster mother’—in person for a long time."

Her parents, the Lowells, had mentioned it several times. During the New Year, they’d even asked if they could pay him a visit, but she’d managed to deflect.

’Bringing them here is probably out of the question, so the only option is to get the old man to go out.’

’It’ll be good to give him something to do. Otherwise, he’ll just be on his phone all day. He’s already babbling nonstop from dawn till dusk thanks to that thing.’

"I know, I know. We’ll talk about it later. In any case, I’ll definitely make the trip for your wedding, if not sooner."

He paused, then it suddenly dawned on him. "Wait a minute! How did I become a ’foster mother’?!"

’Is that right?! Shouldn’t I be the foster *father*?! What is this, ’whoever feeds you is your mother’?!’

"You nag like a mother hen every single day. If that doesn’t make you a foster mother, what does? There’s no such thing as a ’father hen,’ you know. You want to invent the term yourself or something?"

With that, she grabbed Leo Grant and dashed out without a second glance.

"Hey! You little brat! You’re completely out of line!"

Furious, Kai Preston shot to his feet. He maintained his last shred of dignity and didn’t give chase—and it certainly wasn’t because he couldn’t catch her.

"Uncle Quincy, we’re leaving too."

"Goodbye, Uncle Quincy!"

The others, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, quickly said their goodbyes and scurried out, leaving Kai Preston fuming alone in the living room.

"AOW!" The Mountain Lord slapped Kai Preston’s thigh with its tail and let out a roar. ’Stop yelling. You’re going to be the death of this tiger. In all these years, I’ve never seen you win an argument against her.’

"See? Our Mountain Lord is the sensible one," Kai Preston said, ruffling the tiger’s fur. "If you were human, I’d make you the Young Master for sure. That brat wouldn’t even be in the picture."

"Come on. Let’s us two go watch them train. We’ll scare the daylights out of them!"

The Mountain Lord: ’...Is he nuts?’

...

「Moonshadow, The Menagerie.」

As Yvonne Lowell and the others walked in, the first thing they saw was Luna and Fenix cuddling at the entrance to their den while their pups ran amok in the yard.

Leo Grant faltered. ’Why do I feel like I’m getting a strange glimpse into my own future?’

When Luna spotted them, she let out a bark at her pups.

"AWOOO~" ’Pups, get over here and line up! Your grandma and grandpa are here, along with your great-uncles and great-aunts! Hurry up, come bow and earn your own milk money!’

The wolf pups: ’...’ ’We often feel out of step with the rest of the world, all because our mom is so trendy it’s painful.’

’But! That super pretty lady in the middle... why does she smell so nice?!’

Yvonne Lowell patted Luna and Fenix on the head. "Congrats on leveling up. You’ve worked hard."

"AWOOO~" ’It wasn’t hard work, it’s a hard-knock life!’

Yvonne Lowell gestured to Leo Grant beside her. "He wants to help you guys out by raising one of the pups. What do you think?"

"Awoo?" ’Is this for real? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?’

While Luna was still pondering the offer, Fenix had already nudged and carried all six of their pups, pushing them in front of the couple.

"AWOO!" ’Take your pick! Take them all, preferably!’

Leo Grant raised an amused eyebrow. ’It seems this couple really is desperate to get rid of their children, huh?’

However, he decided to stick with his first choice. He squatted down and picked up the pure white wolf pup he’d had his eye on from the beginning, lifting it by the scruff of its neck.

"I want this one."

Yvonne Lowell looked closer, a flash of surprise in her eyes.

’He’s got a sharp eye, picking out the wildest one of the bunch at a single glance.’

Though it was still just a soft, fluffy cub, its piercing blue eyes already held a wild glint.

Even dangling from Leo Grant’s grip, it showed no signs of submission.

If it were to live among a pack, it would undoubtedly become the next Wolf King.

Yvonne Lowell reached out and tapped its nose. "Do you want to go with him?"

The little pup tilted its head, looking dazed. ’The pretty lady’s voice is nice, and I love listening to it, but I don’t understand her.’

Leo Grant seemed to understand. He placed the pup back on the ground, pointed at Yvonne Lowell, and added,

"If you come with me, you can see her often."

Yvonne Lowell rolled her eyes. ’Seriously? Using me as bait? As if it wouldn’t see me often if it stayed here at Moonshadow.’

The Four Nights: ’Isn’t that the truth?!’

"Yip~" ’Now *that* I understand~ For the sake of the pretty lady, I’ll go with the stinky man. There’s no shame in that!’

The little pup trotted over to Leo Grant, its eyes never leaving Yvonne Lowell.

"Awoo?" ’Father-in-law, how is one pup enough? Take a few more, eh?’

’We’ve got food and a roof over our heads, we’re not living in the wild. There’s no need to keep these brats around to get in the way.’

Seeing through Fenix’s intentions, Yvonne Lowell laughed in exasperation. "What’s the matter? Am I not feeding you? Did I short you on the nannies? You really just can’t wait to get them all out of here, can you?"

But then she remembered that Nolan Crawford had always wanted one, so she said, "You have plenty of free babysitters right here. See who’s willing to raise one for you."

A lightbulb went off over the head of Nolan "The Obsessive Fanboy" Crawford. His eyes lit up as he stared at the two unscrupulous wolf parents.

Luna’s gaze swept over the group, considering each person.

’The great-aunt and great-uncle... lazy. They’d just dump the pup back here. Out!’

’That one, Ian Lynch... looks like he can barely support himself. Out!’

’This young uncle... he looks a bit foolish, and his gaze is a little creepy, but he has the face of a rich landlord’s idiot son. He must have money. You’ll do!’

With that decided, Luna trotted over to him.