Meanwhile—with James.
While the elders were calmly discussing the most efficient way to possibly kill him, he himself was in quite a pickle.
Yes, he was taller than his instructor.
Yes, on paper, that should count for something.
It did not.
Because she scared the absolute shit out of him.
Kaela looked joyful—almost radiant. She wore that wide, unbothered smile like the world existed purely for her entertainment.
But James' senses were not human anymore.
His hearing was sharper.
His sight clearer.
And his nose—
His nose betrayed everything.
He could smell emotions now.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Pheromones. Hormonal shifts. Chemical signals leaking from skin and breath.
Excitement smelled sharp.
Fear smelled sour.
Anger had heat to it.
And Kaela?
She smelled like danger.
Under the cheerful exterior, beneath the teasing smile, there was something coiled tight and eager.
She wanted to box.
Not casually.
Not professionally.
She was itching for a reason to throw hands.
And James would very much prefer not to give her one.
"Have you ever hunted before?"
He blinked.
That came out of nowhere.
"Well… my dad taught me the basics," James said slowly. "I can start a fire. Gut an animal. Cook it properly."
The memory surfaced uninvited.
His father crouched beside him in the woods.
A small rabbit hanging from a branch.
A knife placed in tiny hands.
Skin it.
He had been four.
Four.
Looking back?
Yeah.
That was kinda wild.
But his dad had started him young.
He remembered those years vividly.
Camping. Tracking. The smell of pine and smoke. His father's rough hands guiding his.
Up until sixteen.
His birthday.
They had gone out to buy something.
After that—
Fog.
Static.
He remembered the police.
Tight expressions.
"We're sorry."
No body found.
Just… gone.
Even now, the memory felt like it was
wrapped in cotton.
Blurry.
Distant.
A snarl echoed faintly in the back of his mind.
Low.
Irritated.
He ignored it.
He did not want to deal with his inner beast right now.
Wait.
His steps slowed.
What?
His eyes widened slightly.
Wasn't that—
Wasn't that voice his werewolf?
Why the hell was he hearing it in his head like a separate entity?
Kaela noticed his pause instantly.
"Oh," she said casually. "You can hear it."
He turned sharply toward her.
"Wait. So hearing the voice of your inner beast in your mind is normal?"
He was genuinely confused.
He was not used to having a second presence squatting in his skull.
"Yes," she replied nonchalantly. "It is."
That was it.
No dramatic explanation.
No warning.
Just: yes.
They stepped into a clearing.
And James forgot his question.
Because the place was beautiful.
Not just pretty.
Beautiful.
The clearing was wide and open, surrounded by towering trees that curved inward slightly, like protective guardians forming a living wall.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves in golden shafts, illuminating floating specks of dust and pollen that shimmered in the air.
Birds circled lazily overhead.
The grass beneath his feet was lush and impossibly green, bending gently under a soft breeze.
The air—
The air felt pure.
Too pure.
It carried the scent of wildflowers, damp soil, bark, and something faintly magical.
He could smell it.
Magic had a scent.
It was clean.
Crisp.
Like cold rain mixed with moonlight.
His lungs filled deeply on instinct.
It felt… safe.
Untouched.
As if the world outside the forest did not exist.
"That voice," Kaela said lightly, "is your inner beast."
"My inner beast?" He glanced at her.
She scratched her cheek thoughtfully.
"I'm not very good at explaining stuff."
That did not inspire confidence.
She stared at him for a long moment, genuinely thinking.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Long story short—it's your animal instincts."
A sharp grin appeared.
"It warns you about danger. Helps you react. And it's very useful when someone tries to mess with your head. Mind spells and all that."
He blinked.
"Mind spells?"
"You know what," she waved her hand dismissively. "I'm done explaining. That shit's boring."
Of course it was.
She turned and walked toward the far end of the clearing.
James followed her gaze.
There, built neatly into the edge of the open field, was an enclosure.
It wasn't some flimsy wooden pen.
It was reinforced.
Thick wooden posts driven deep into the earth, connected by woven iron mesh that shimmered faintly—probably enchanted.
Runes carved subtly into the beams glowed almost invisibly in the daylight.
Inside—
Rabbits.
Dozens of them.
Some brown. Some gray.
A few unnaturally large.
Some moved normally.
Others… did not.
One blurred slightly when it hopped.
Another left faint streaks of air distortion behind it.
Enhanced.
Kaela crouched down near the enclosure, her movements smooth and unhurried.
She scanned them.
The normal rabbits were calm. Predictable.
The enhanced ones twitched faster.
Their eyes sharper. Their bodies vibrating with contained energy.
She grinned.
Of course she chose the enhanced one.
She reached into the enclosure without hesitation and grabbed a white rabbit by the scruff.
This one was different.
Its fur shimmered faintly in the light, almost like frost had kissed it.
The air around it stirred subtly.
Blessed by a wind spirit.
Fast.
Very fast.
"This'll be fun," she murmured.
She walked back toward him, holding the rabbit casually in one hand.
James stared.
"…Why do you have that?"
Instead of answering, she released it.
The moment its paws hit the grass—
It exploded forward.
Not ran.
Exploded.
A gust of wind kicked up behind it as it shot across the clearing in a white blur, kicking up a cloud of dust and shredded grass.
James barely tracked it with his eyes.
"What are you waiting for, pup?" Kaela's voice cut through the swirling dust, amused and commanding.
"Go catch it."
Wait.
She wanted him to catch that thing?
James stared at the spot where the rabbit had vanished, dust still settling in the air like smoke after a gunshot.
Well.
He could try.
He rolled his shoulders once and began scanning the clearing.
The place was stupidly pretty. Sunlight filtered through tall, ancient trees, their leaves whispering softly as a gentle breeze passed through.
The grass was lush and vividly green, dotted with tiny wildflowers that swayed lazily. The air felt impossibly pure—so clean it almost burned his lungs.
He could sniff it now. Not just smell.
The clearing was alive.
He could sense the wind brushing against bark. The warmth of sun-soaked stone.
The faint trails left behind by insects crawling through dirt. It was overwhelming.
And somewhere in all that—
That rabbit.
Unfortunately for him, it seemed that rabbit had been blessed by Hermes himself because that little fucker had hops.
James bolted.
The ground cracked slightly beneath his push-off as he sprinted, dirt spraying behind him. He caught sight of a flash of white ahead.
"There!" he muttered, lunging forward—
The rabbit zipped sideways in a blur, kicking up a spiral of dust and wind that stung his eyes.
James growled under his breath and chased after it again, pumping his arms harder.
The bugger sped off.
Left him in the dust.
"Relying on your human instinct won't help you for jackshit," Kaela's voice drifted lazily from somewhere behind him.
'I noticed,' he groaned internally.
His eyes flickered—
Gold flooded his vision.
Something inside him unlocked.
His muscles tightened, veins standing out against his skin. Power surged through him like lightning flooding dry veins. His stride lengthened.
His speed didn't double.
It more than quintupled.
The world slowed.
The rabbit darted ahead—but now he was catching up.
Almost.
Because the little bastard could change direction instantly.
It would sprint straight, then pivot mid-step like physics didn't apply to it. No warning. No slowdown.
James narrowed his eyes.
Alright.
He stopped lunging blindly.
The rabbit bolted forward again, heading toward a cluster of trees. This time, he didn't sprint at full speed.
He matched it. Stayed just close enough that it wouldn't dare slow down—yet far enough that he could conserve stamina.
His breathing steadied.
His heartbeat aligned.
As if something ancient stirred in his bones.
Caveman genes.
Predator logic.
He wasn't chasing anymore.
He was herding.
The rabbit veered toward a tree line.
Checkmate.
It couldn't go straight—tree trunk.
Couldn't jump right—dense brush.
Left—open space, and he'd cut it off.
Behind—him.
James leapt.
"I got you now—"
The rabbit stopped.
Just… stopped.
'Oh you little shit—'
Momentum did the rest.
Gravity grabbed him by the neck and flung him forward.
His body twisted midair, arms flailing once before he hit the ground shoulder-first.
He rolled.
Once. Twice.
Then—
Thunk.
A tree trunk introduced itself to his spine.
"Fuck," he groaned, face half-buried in dirt.
Meanwhile, under the shade of a broad oak tree, Kaela watched with a relaxed posture—one knee up, sword resting beside her.
This was going to be a long ass day.
But she had heard things.
Bronn, her favorite drinking partner and certified gossip machine, had told her the pup broke the chains.
Not metaphorical ones.
Actual primal restraint seals forged from pure silver.
Those didn't just restrain power. They carved into flesh. Left scars that never healed—slave marks announcing to the world that you'd once been caged.
James had none.
Not even a trace.
And Luna herself had dragged him back instead of letting him run feral.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
She leaned forward slightly as he pushed himself up again.
Something inside him clicked.
It wasn't rage this time.
It was focus.
His golden eyes sharpened, pupils narrowing like a predator locking onto prey. The world shifted for him.
He could see the rabbit's heat signature now—a faint shimmering outline through the brush.
He could smell—
Mockery.
"Wait," he muttered.
The rabbit was mocking him.
His jaw flexed.
His canines lengthened.
Not subtly.
They pushed past normal proportions,
stretching to nearly four inches each.
Eight sharp teeth now gleamed when he parted his lips. He couldn't fully close his mouth anymore.
Didn't care.
His nails elongated next—four inches of curved, dark claws scraping against stone. Fur crept along his forearms, spread across his chest and back in uneven patches.
He wasn't fully wolf.
But he wasn't human either.
Hybrid.
Raw.
Untrained.
Power fluctuated violently within him—spiking from high-class predator to unstable novice in erratic waves.
Kaela felt it instantly.
"So that's what the scion of Luna looks like," she murmured, lips curling into a slow smile.
Wolf-state in human form.
No ritual.
No guidance.
Just instinct.
The shit that took most wolves months—years—to even brush against.
He was doing it mid-hunt.
Her pulse quickened.
Gods, she wanted to box him.
"Get stronger, pup," she muttered.
—
James didn't hear her.
The rabbit bolted again.
He moved.
This time when it darted right, he pivoted unnaturally fast, claws carving into dirt to anchor his momentum shift.
This was fun.
The wind rushed through his hair, cool and wild. The sun kissed his skin, warm and alive. It felt freeing. Like invisible shackles had fallen off his soul.
His necklace glowed faintly against his chest.
He didn't notice.
The rabbit hit a fallen trunk and springboarded.
James leapt after it—
Midair twist—
Claws swiped—
Missed by a hair.
He landed in a crouch.
Grinned.
Shadow flickered beneath him.
Dark chains erupted from the ground, snapping toward the rabbit.
Kaela's eyes widened.
'He can make shadow constructs?!'
Her excitement spiked violently.
Oh nah.
He was getting her.
She blitzed forward.
One moment she was under the tree.
The next—
She was in front of him.
His claws struck—
And stopped.
Her hand caught his wrist effortlessly.
"Huh?" he blinked.
"I changed my mind," she said cheerfully. "We fighting now."
Her kick came fast.
He reacted on instinct—shadow coating his forearms a split second before impact.
BOOM.
He was launched backward, skidding across dirt several meters before slamming into another tree.
'I was right,' she thought, eyes gleaming. 'Best way to train him is to fight.'
He hadn't even realized he reinforced his bones with shadow to avoid complete shattering.
Pure instinct.
Adaptation mid-combat.
He rose slowly.
"The hell you doing? Wasn't I supposed to catch a rabbit?"
"Don't worry about it, pup."
She rushed him.
Telegraphed punch.
He parried with his right, countered with his left toward her ribs—
Blocked.
They separated.
She came again.
Haymakers.
All telegraphed.
He blocked every single one.
Each impact felt like his bones shattered—then reformed instantly under accelerated healing—only to shatter again under the next strike.
'FUCK… she is strong.'
"Oh," she said lightly. "You getting better. Good."
Then she got serious.
Her speed multiplied.
She vanished from his sight.
Twenty punches slammed into his chest in under a second.
Each one detonated against him like a cannon shot. His ribs caved inward, healed, caved again. Air exploded from his lungs.
She spun—
Side kick.
CRACK.
His head snapped sideways as he was launched across the clearing, carving a trench through dirt before smashing into a tree hard enough to splinter bark.
"FUck—"
She was already there.
Hand around his throat.
She lifted him effortlessly and slammed him against the trunk. The tree shook violently, leaves raining down.
Then she tossed him back toward the center like discarded meat.
"Come on, pup. Show me what makes you worthy of being Miss Luna's scion."
He lay twisted.
Bones bent wrong.
Spine misaligned.
And Kaela watched.
Watched as his body snapped back into place in real time. Flesh knitting. Bones grinding back together with wet pops.
Her breathing deepened.
This—
This was good.
{Fight back.}
The growl returned in his mind.
{Let me at her.}
His control slipped.
A few feet away, Kaela's excited smile faded.
His body expanded violently—muscle swelling, bones elongating, fur exploding outward—
Ten feet tall.
A mindless beast.
Her expression turned flat.
"Weak."
Disgust laced her tone.
If she wanted to hunt a feral animal, she would have.
The beast roared and pounced.
She cocked her fist back.
—
Time skip.
—
"Ow."
James blinked awake.
Everything hurt.
His body felt like it had been folded, unfolded, and then used as a training dummy for an angry god.
He pushed himself up weakly.
Looked down.
Pause.
He wasn't but ass naked.
Cool.
"She really fucked my shit up" He said groaning a bit.
"She does that to people" He would instantly look up, making eye contact with someone new.
A/N Every supernatural fighter shown so far are above 200 years, so bare minimum they all have 150+ years of experience over him.
He is like 4 days old, there is no way anyone expect him to beat people who been boxing even during slavery time.