Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 383: Medals And Meat

The man had no comeback for that. He just hung his head and let the soldiers haul him away.

Inside the cage, the captured falcon wasn't going down without a fight. He thrashed against the bars, making the metal clang. "You bitch! Let me out! I'll peck your eyes out!"

Before he could finish, Hunter’s sharp gaze swept over him. The golden eagle raised a talon and kicked the side of the cage. "Quiet, you little trash. Say one more word and see what happens."

The falcon shut up instantly. He retreated into the corner, shivering so hard he didn't even dare rustle a feather.

The overnight sting operation was a complete success.

As the first light of dawn hit the horizon, the adrenaline finally wore off. Nancy was so exhausted her eyelids felt like lead, and she couldn't stop herself from yawning.

Seeing her state, Simon knelt down in front of her. "Nancy, hop on. I'll carry you down."

Nancy’s battery was officially dead. She didn't bother arguing with her brother and slumped onto his broad back. The second her head hit his shoulder, she was out cold.

Fine snow began to drift from the sky.

Hunter saw the flakes and began to circle low, spreading his massive wings. With a wingspan of over two meters, his feathers acted like a moving tent, shielding the siblings and the weary soldiers from the falling snow.

Snowball performed his usual trick, coiling around Nancy’s neck like a living scarf. Master Crow settled quietly on top of her head, fluffing out every feather until he looked like a round, ultra warm hat. Crow feathers are top tier natural insulation, trapping a thick layer of warm air between the quills.

It was easily the warmest hat Nancy had ever worn.

The group made it down the mountain in the early morning light, exhausted but victorious.

…

By noon, they were back at the military base.

Simon knocked on the door of the lounge, his voice light. "Nancy, time to wake up. If you don't get moving, Snowball is going to eat all the chicken legs at the victory banquet."

Right on cue, a white blur leaped onto the bed. Snowball nudged Nancy’s cheek with his pink nose and patted her shoulder with a soft paw.

"Wake up! You have to take me to get my prize! I heard the medals are huge today, way brighter than the sun!"

Master Crow was even more impatient. He landed on the headboard and let out a series of raspy caws. "Get up! I heard the medals are pure gold!"

The bird alarm clock did the trick. Nancy dragged herself out of bed and got ready, heading out with Simon and the animals to collect their honors.

The award ceremony brought together the animal task force and the military brass. Not only had the spy ring been dismantled, but thanks to the desert rats’ intelligence, the military had already found and disabled every monitoring device scattered across the Northwest.

Nancy accepted a heavy medal from the regional commander. The two million reward money had already hit her account.

Snowball stood on his hind legs on Nancy's shoulder, proudly showing off his own miniature medal. "Look! I have a police medal and a military medal now. I am a decorated ermine!"

Master Crow was losing his mind with excitement. He gripped his medal in his beak, tilting his head to inspect the shiny gold surface.

"Caw! The purity is spot on! I can feel the weight. This is fine gold for sure! This is going to bring so much luck to my nest." He tapped the medal with his beak, listening to the ring like a professional jeweler.

The military had also prepared custom medals for Hunter and the lynx.

For Hunter, this meant everything. Back at the rescue center, being hand fed always felt a bit like charity. But today, he had earned his keep. He had played his part in a war and won. The mission hadn't just restored his pride as a predator; it gave him a new purpose.

Especially when the armed soldiers; men everyone called the strongest in Dracovia looked at him with respect and called him the legend That ego boost felt better than soaring at ten thousand feet.

Nancy and Master Crow hadn't lied to him. This partnership was worth keeping.

The man tasked with photographing the banquet was Logan, the reporter the lynx had bitten earlier. His arm was still in a bandage, but the lynx was currently sitting perfectly still, letting Logan use the top of its head as a camera mount.

The lynx was a Himalayan breed, the largest of its kind. Even sitting down, it stood over a meter tall. It adjusted its height perfectly based on Logan’s instructions, acting like a voice controlled tripod. The lynx had chosen to stay by Logan’s side as a bodyguard, its way of making up for the injury it had caused.