The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 924

Chapter 924

+20 BONUS

Chapter 924

Nicole was starting to worry.

Cola never showed much interest in other dogs. Molly couldn’t win him over no matter how hard she tried, and he treated Dumbo like a little follower despite all his attempts to get closer.

Now, he was giving a wolf his favorite chicken drumsticks.

Apparently, even Cola could get swept off his feet.

The thought left Nicole uneasy. If the wolf was female, would he get so attached that he forgot about them? What if he followed her off one day and never came back?

And if it was male, that raised a whole different set of questions about how this relationship was supposed to work.

Zeph stared at her. “Why are you worrying about that?”

If Cola decided to leave, they couldn’t make him stay.

Nicole knew that, but understanding it didn’t make her worry any less. She had raised him, after all.

Zeph gave her an exasperated smile. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”

Cola was practically a senior citizen in dog years. Nicole tried to accept that he could make his own choices. What mattered was that he was happy.

Still, she couldn’t stop watching him.

Cola went out more often and stayed away longer. Whenever he came home, he greeted them with his ears laid back and his tail wagging furiously, doing his best to win them over.

Nicole worried, but there was no denying how happy he was.

After so much time cooped up inside, he seemed like a different dog. His eyes were bright, and he was excited about everything.

That made Nicole a little sad. Without the disasters, he might have spent all these years enjoying a freer, happier

life.

At first, the white wolf stayed well away from the house. As it grew more comfortable with Cola, it ventured closer, eventually coming within a few hundred yards.

Cola’s visits went from every few days to every day. Sometimes, he went out twice.

Nicole often sat on the hill and scanned the surrounding ice. Apart from the wolf, she saw no animals and no sign of people.

Perhaps instinct and sheer persistence really were enough to keep it alive all these years.

Another month passed before a fierce blizzard swept through, filling the air with huge snowflakes as the wind howled without letting up.

Cola paced by the door, restless and eager to get outside.

Nicole usually put up with his stubborn streak, but in this blizzard, the wind could sweep him off his feet. She wasn’t letting him out.

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Chapter 924

+20 BONUS

After two sharp scoldings, he finally curled up in his bed, looking utterly miserable, and went to sleep.

Nicole watched him for a while. Once she was sure he gave up, she went to her room for a nap.

She was half asleep when a tremendous crash jolted her awake. The front door seemed to burst open, followed by the sound of things hitting the floor.

She and Zeph scrambled out of bed.

Wind and snow tore through the doorway, making it almost impossible to see. Nicole turned away, pulled goggles from her storage space, and put them on before wrapping herself in a heavy military coat.

Cola’s bed had been blown across the room. Cola himself was gone.

Poppy searched the house while Nicole and Zeph wrestled with the doors. The wind was so strong that they could barely move them.

The doors opened outward, forcing them to step outside and haul them back toward the frame.

“He’s not here!” Poppy shouted. “I think Cola went outside!”

Nicole nearly screamed in frustration.