Lily and Alex arrived back swiftly to the tea house where Lily thanked the girls for watching the puppies and promised to thank them properly the next time they met up. She explained that she had to head home as something came up before they climbed back into the carriage both holding one pup in hand and the mother wolf following behind.

The guards at the duke's estate caused a small panic at the sight of the large wolf following their young ladies and lords' carriage. Thankfully Alex stepped out and explained to the knights what had happened in town. They let them in with worried faces as they watched the wolf almost as big as a horse stroll into the gates.

When they stopped close to the front entrance they noticed the duke and dutchess standing by the door waiting for them with a few maids. With a bright smile on her face, Lily approached the pair.

"Mother, father. I hope you are both doing well this fine afternoon." The duke gave her a tired look as his eyes moved over to the large wolf wagging her tail behind his kids.

"I see you have made new friends. I thought you were just going into town?" He raised an eyebrow at the young girl in suspicion.

"Father if I may. It seems two lost pups wandered into town and their mother went in looking for them. It caused quite a commotion as I'm sure you would expect. Thankfully Lily was able to calm the crowd and the mother and had previously stumbled upon her pups while on our way to the cafe. It's thanks to Lily that everything was reasoned calmly."

A large sigh left his lips as he nodded his head accepting the answer he was given. He looked over at the puppies his kids were holding and had to ask.

"Have you named them already?"

"I have not."

"But you want to."

"It would be good to have extra protection around here. I'm sure you have lots of enemies that would try anything to get to you. Who would be stupid enough to try and break into a place with many powerful magic beasts protecting it."

A proud smirk appeared on Lily's face as she thought her excuse was top-notch. Unfortunately, the duke didn't see her point.

"A dragon and lion aren't enough intimidation?"

Her face turned red at her wonderful excuse of not working. She started to fiddle with her dress as she tried to come up with something.

"I figured with the three of them, I could have one of them watching over each of you. Drago and Alaska are always by my side, but when I leave your side and they both follow me, you guys are vulnerable. If I have a contract with them and make you secondary contract holders. They could still feed off my magic but you would get the benefits of the familiar. I would also know instantly if any of you were in danger."

She looked at the ground as she quickly tried to get the words out. Her father's stone eyes always knew how to pull a confession out of her.

"Secondary contract holders? I've never heard of such a thing." the dutches commented.

"My magic works differently than others. I can see the flow of magic whenever people use spells. It's like a color of mist. When a contract is formed with a magical being. The mana takes the form of a thin thread. The thicker and stronger the thread the stronger the bond. If you name them as if you were going to create the contract yourself. I can influence your magic and make an extra thread that will pull magic from me, but give the benefits towards you three. The only reason I would be the main holder is because the bond will thrive on my own mana."

All three of them stared at the small teenager as she gave her explanation.

"Have you done it before?" Was the duke's only question.

"No, it's all theory. I have manipulated the threads before. I reinforced my bond with Alaska and Drago a while back. It helped me understand manipulating the mana. I've never manipulated anyone else mana but my own. I don't think it would take me long to learn though."

"Fine, I'll allow it."

At his words, Gabriella and Alexander had bright smiles on their faces. It was beneficial for Lily to get rid of some of her excess mana and the dukes family would be more powerful with magical beast under their command.

It was decided that Arthur would name the mother wolf. Gabriella would name the white wolf pup and Alexander would name the black pup. It was funny to Lily that Arthur and Alex matched their wolves with black hair and purple eyes. She decided not to mention it though.

The duke named the mother Lillith. Thankfully it took Lily the first try to get it right, but the process took way too long. Thankfully she got a little bit faster the next two times. Gabriella names hers Snow and Alex names his wolf Shadow. Of course, the duke would choose a human name while the others chose normal animal names. Once again, Lily had to stop her own giggles at the thought of her ever-so-serious new father.

Since the pups were still young they didn't have to start protection duty just yet. The duke decided to let her raise her pups on the estate grounds and told her to train them well as they grew until their time would come. They would all start at the same time when the pups were big enough.

Without Lily's knowledge, stories spread about a brave duke's daughter who stood face-to-face with a wild wolf and protected her citizens without conflict. The rumors spread throughout the kingdom getting more outrageous the more they spread. A few rumors spread as far as small villages just outside the border of Luminara and into other kingdoms.