Caius stood up first, dusting himself off.
They had finished eating.
Which meant—
It was time to go back.
It was already night, and his squad had been left unsupervised for a solid thirty minutes.
Thirty.
Minutes.
He had zero faith in them to stay quiet for that long.
Not even a little.
Now, technically speaking—Caius was second-in-command under Kaela.
Which meant overall?
Yeah.
He was the strongest in the group.
Not physically though—no, that title went to Mira Valecrest without question.
Raw strength?
She was built like a walking battering ram.
Speed? That belonged to Talia Brightfang.
Blink—and she was already behind you.
Stealth?
That was Rowan Ashmoor's domain.
Dude moved like he paid rent inside the shadows.
Caius?
He was… everything else.
Balanced.
Analytical.
Level-headed.
Which, in a society like theirs—
Actually mattered.
Because while strength was respected—
It wasn't everything.
They weren't trolls.
They weren't mindless brutes.
If a pack leader was incompetent?
Yeah, no.
They'd get removed.
Quickly.
Sometimes jailed.
Sometimes worse.
Because when you're dealing with thousands of werewolves—
Each one capable of ranging from "bench press an elephant" to "accidentally flatten a mountain range"—
You don't get to be stupid in charge.
They will correct that problem.
Violently if necessary.
It wasn't about control.
It was about respect.
And the moment that disappeared?
Yeah—
You were getting packed up.
No ceremony.
No speeches.
Just—
Gone.
…
Anyway.
"We're leaving," Caius said simply.
Back to the present.
James blinked, still coming down from the spiritual experience that was his meal.
"…Damn," he muttered, standing up. "No digestion period or nothing?"
Except—
There was a digestion period.
It just wasn't human.
Because right now?
He felt amazing.
Like—ridiculously good.
A second ago, he had been full.
Now?
He felt ready.
Body light.
Muscles responsive.
Energy coursing through him like he had just slept ten hours and drank pre-workout.
He flexed his fingers slightly.
Yeah.
He could feel it.
If he wanted to—
He could probably tap into his wolf right now.
Maybe not full control—
But definitely more than before.
And as that realization settled—
His senses sharpened again.
Back to day-one levels.
Maybe better.
He could hear a twig snap somewhere in the distance.
Far.
Like—far far.
His vision stretched.
Details sharpening.
And then—
He looked at Caius.
And saw it.
—
A wolf.
Towering.
Brown.
Looming behind him like a phantom.
Not physical.
But there.
Watching.
Waiting.
James blinked.
Gone.
Blink again—
Still there.
"…Huh."
Caius paused mid-step.
"…Why are you staring at me? Let's go."
James shook his head slightly.
"Sorry," he said. "Got distracted by the giant wolf aura around you."
—
Silence.
—
Caius froze.
Just for a second.
Barely noticeable.
But it was there.
'…He can already see that?'
That wasn't normal.
Not even close.
Sensing aura?
That took training.
Years of it.
Even for werewolves.
Yeah, their senses were enhanced—
But this?
This wasn't just sensing.
This was perception.
And Caius wasn't even actively hiding his aura—
But still.
This early?
That was—
Concerning.
Impressive.
And a little bit annoying.
Because now he had to recalibrate everything he thought he knew about this kid.
—
Meanwhile—
James felt… watched.
Not physically.
Just—
Judged.
Hard.
He frowned slightly.
Werewolf senses were, of course, super-enhanced by nature, but if one could use them to feel the world around them, Mother Nature has a way of showing people what they really are.
That's kind of how it was easy for Caius to figure out that James was a virgin; he could sniff that shit right off of him.
Which was surprising considering James built, but oh well, who was he to judge. Though there was the smell of a man on James, maybe he was like the Romans. James had no clue why, but he felt like, for some reason, some very fruity assumptions were being made about him.
"…Why do I feel like you just made an assumption about me?"
Caius didn't respond.
Which meant—
Yeah.
He definitely did.
And honestly?
It wasn't helping that James hadn't showered.
At all.
The strongest scent on him right now?
Wasn't even his own.
It was Michael's.
Which—
Out of context?
Yeah.
That smelled wild.
Especially to a werewolf.
Add in the fact that the last few days of his life included getting absolutely folded by multiple people—
Mostly women—
And yeah.
The narrative wasn't looking good.
"…Why am I getting jumped by women specifically?" James muttered under his breath.
No answer.
Just suffering.
—
"It seems your hunger was weakening you more than I initially estimated," Caius said after a moment.
He turned slightly, studying James more carefully now.
"What else can you see?"
Now?
He was interested.
Genuinely.
James blinked.
"…You want me to check?"
"Yes."
Well.
Alright then.
James focused.
Really focused.
His body responded immediately.
Like it remembered.
Like it had done this before.
Muscle memory.
His eyes shifted—
Subtle.
But there.
Wolf-like.
Sharper.
Locked onto Caius.
The aura was still there—
That massive wolf behind him—
But now?
He saw more.
Shadows.
Around Caius.
Dense.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Like they weren't meant to be stepped into.
Like trying would be a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
He blinked slightly.
"…Is that magic?"
—
Caius didn't answer.
But internally?
Yeah.
That confirmed it.
'…Monstrous.'
His thoughts flickered briefly—
To Luna.
To Aldric.
Monsters in their own right.
Luna especially—
Breaking records.
Rewriting expectations.
Mastering things in days that took others years.
Shadows bending to her will like they belonged to her.
Power bleeding into her human form like it didn't even need transformation anymore.
And now—
James.
Four days in.
Seeing aura.
Reading intent.
Sensing hierarchy.
All at a glance.
And even recognizing—
That Caius was stronger than him.
That level of instinct?
That awareness?
That wasn't normal.
Not even close.
—
'How weakened was he before?'
Because if this—
This—
Was him after one proper meal?
After healing?
After stabilizing?
Then before?
He must've been running on fumes.
Barely functional.
…
It then clicked for Caius, James had just survived 3 life threatening event in less than 72 hours back-to-back. His body was probably still in Alarm mode. As soon as he got food and fully healed, his muscles came back stronger, so did his senses, and all of his stats.
—
Caius exhaled quietly.
Then reached a conclusion.
Simple.
Unavoidable.
'…Miss Kaela is going to love this.'
Which—
For James?
Was terrible news.
Because the moment Kaela saw this?
She would want to run them ones.
—
He was getting challenged.
Immediately.
No warning.
No mercy.
Just—
A fair fade.
has gotten.
James instinctively felt a shudder down his spine, as he felt like he would get his ass handed to him once more.
—
They began walking back toward the cabin, the soft glow of lanterns lighting their path.
The road beneath their feet wasn't dirt like James expected.
It was structured—brick laid out with intention, almost like old Roman roads. Maybe even some kind of early concrete. Either way, it wasn't primitive. Not even close.
The lanterns lining the path burned steadily, yet there was no visible fuel. No oil. No wick.
At first glance, it looked normal.
Then James focused.
Runes.
Carved neatly into the inner frame of each lantern.
Faintly glowing.
And inside—energy.
Not fire. Not exactly.
Something else.
"…Huh," he muttered under his breath.
The runes were drawing from the natural mana in the air, sustaining the light without depletion. Efficient. Self-sustaining. Clean.
Yeah.
That checked out.
—
James stretched as they walked, rolling his shoulders.
His body felt… different.
Better.
Stronger.
His muscles felt tighter, more responsive—like they had been reinforced from the inside out.
If he had to guess?
His strength had easily more than doubled since the last time he used it.
Which was insane.
He flexed his fingers slightly.
Yeah.
There was power there.
Raw.
Ready.
For some reason, his blood started pumping faster.
Excitement.
Instinct.
He wanted a fight.
A real one.
A proper fade.
…
He blinked.
"…Yeah, that's new."
—
Speaking of which—
"You said we're leaving," James said, glancing at Caius. "Where exactly are we going?"
A pause.
Then—
"To meet your teammates."
James perked up slightly.
"Oh—bet."
Caius nodded once.
"They are members of the Ironmaw cabin," he added. "You will be working alongside them. It is necessary that you are aware of who they are."
James nodded along.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
—
Caius paused for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully.
Then—
"Though I must warn you in advance…"
A slight exhale.
"…they are a special bunch."
The way he said special—
Yeah.
That didn't sound promising.
At all.
James frowned slightly.
"…How bad could it be?"
—
He found out.
Immediately.
—
As they approached the cabin—
He heard it.
Yelling.
Screaming.
And—
The unmistakable sound of fists connecting with something.
Hard.
Caius suddenly grabbed him and pulled him to the side.
"Wha—"
CRASH—
A bed slammed into the exact spot James had been standing in just seconds ago.
Wood splintered.
A hole now decorated the side of the cabin.
James blinked.
"…The fuck—"
"—GIVE IT BACK—"
"MAKE ME—"
"YOU STOLE IT—"
"I FOUND IT—"
"IT WAS UNDER MY PILLOW—"
"THEN YOU SHOULD'VE DEFENDED IT BETTER—"
…
James slowly turned his head toward Caius.
"…What did I just walk into?"
Caius' eye twitched.
The cabin was visibly damaged.
Again.
This was the seventh time this month.
Seven.
Could they not go one day without breaking something?
Apparently not.
He walked up to the door—
And opened it.
—
Chaos.
That was the only word for it.
The cabin itself was large, built from thick logs with reinforced beams running across the ceiling. Weapons lined the walls—spears, blades, bows—organized.
Or at least—
They were organized.
Before whatever the hell this was happened.
Two girls stood in the center of the room—
Throwing hands.
No hesitation.
No restraint.
Just straight-up boxing.
Fists flying.
Footwork sharp.
Impact loud.
THUD—CRACK—
The taller one moved like a tank.
Athletic build. Muscular. The kind of woman people would voluntarily let ruin their lives.
Her braid whipped behind her as she drove forward, every punch heavy, deliberate.
Her eyes were locked in—
Full of excitement.
The other—
Shorter.
But fast.
Ridiculously fast.
She blurred through the room, weaving and striking with precision, movements sharp and efficient—like a cheetah on crack.
Across the room—
Completely ignoring the chaos—
A black-haired boy leaned in the corner.
Still.
Quiet.
Almost melting into the shadows themselves.
Like he wasn't even fully there.
Observing.
Detached.
A ghost watching violence unfold for entertainment.
James took it all in.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "They're wild."
Each punch—
He could feel it.
Every strike carried enough force to break steel.
And the smaller girl?
She was just tanking it.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just eating hits that would've knocked out an elephant.
"…Holy shit," James breathed.
Durability was insane.
"So this is what you meant by special," he added, a wry smile forming as he watched one of them throw a punch—
Only for the other to block it—
Then immediately counter with a full-on body slam.
A straight-up Bastibomb.
James blinked.
"…What kind of bullshit did I just witness?"
Caius groaned, clearly annoyed.
He left for a short time—
And came back to this.
Again.
How exhausting.
He cleared his throat.
—
The second he did, everything in the room froze, it was as if they had suddenly been made aware of Caius presences.
The taller girl straightened up first, now that James had a better look, she was about 5'6.
And Now that James had a better look, she looked more native than anything else, her hair was braided into a long ponytail behind her, she had a white painting that ran like a stripe from the left to the right side of her face, going over her nose and all.
She had several wounds across her body, she look about 15 ish, she had multiple necklace, she look like a fucking warrior, a goddam problem.
She wore a wolf coat, and she had very sharp fucking teeth.
"Oh—Caius!"
She walked right over like she hadn't just been committing aggravated assault five seconds ago.
"How was your day?" she asked cheerfully.
Caius looked at her, the same way one would look at a misbehaving child.
"You were supposed to be resting." Ah yeah, she was.
"So then Mira, tell me why, you arent in bed" He seem more annoyed than angry.
Mira opened her mouth to explain, but before she could.
A voice came from beside them.
"Because she stole Talia's sword."
James suddenly was aware of the other guy, he had suddenly appeared there..
Like right next to Caius.
Like he spawned there, it felt like he came from Caius shadow.
Talia..this was probably the name of the other girl that had gotten batista bomb.
However, Mira was not happy about being snitch on.
"Snitch."
She asked no question and immediately swung at him.
The boy vanish, reappearing back into his bed, as for Mira punch.
James watched in horror as Mira punch landed on the nearby wall….and the wall was
destroyed…as in fully.
"Rowan you annoying snitch" Okay, so the guy name was Rowan, he seem to be more focus on stealth.
Mira seem all about strength, and Talia seem more speed oriented.
Then she seem to realise something, ignoring Caius increased annoyance, she noticed the new guy.
—
—
As she gaze at him, James felt a shudder going down his spine.
Because the way she looked at him-
Yeah, that was the exact same way, Kaela looked at him before whooping his ass, Mira gazeright now looked exactly like that crazy bitch.
Yet, Mira was much weaker, and even James was still having slight ptsd from Kaela, Mira hunger for a fade had his blood boiling, though unlike his previous self, he could control that urge relatively easily.
"Who the fresh meat..?" She looked at him, up and down, if it wasnt for the fact they were in a camp right now, some might confuse her for a body warrior.
Caius sighed a bit, let handle this.
"He is James, James Smith" Caius introduced him.
—
James blinked and suddenly someone else was infront of him.
She too had tattoo on her face and body, she to wore, barbarian outfit, she too wore multiple necklaces.
However, her hair was blond and curly.
James paused.
'Did i just get blitz' He did not even have the time to process her speed and she was already infront of him, if she had try to attack him, he doubt he would be able to counter her.
Why did it feel like she was gliding on air.
Talia around 5'4 was much shorter than him, yet she was looking at him like he was a questionable purchase.
"This the pup?"
She had seen him before, was it when Raze was trying to chomp on him.
Their group wasnt there for the pack leader talk, they were out on patrol.
But she did hear, he was an alpha, she analyse him more.
"…He doesn't look like an alpha."
The overwhelming power an Alpha had, was not felt from James right now, who was trying to keep it lowkey.
"Appearence can be deceiving" Was all James could say in his defence.
Caius' voice cut in.
"Do not touch him without consent."
Talia paused.
Then pouted.
"Boooooring."
She stepped back.
Clearly offended by basic boundaries.
For fuck sake, they all slept in the same room, sometime on the same bed on night of big party where they lay down flat ass drunk after taking to much ail.
—
Caius gestured slightly.
"James Smith," he said. "Turned a few days ago."
Rowan, who was about to sleep, paused a bit, opening his mouth. He said.
"It takes a full month to turn." It was more of a fact than anything else.
That was the standard protocol: if you get bitten by one of them, the werewolf venom enters your system for the next 30 days, and you will be in the worst pain you've ever felt in your life.
Some do not even survive it and die before fully turning, so the fact that the boy survived was surprising.
Caius, as if to answer Rowan answer would open his mouth and say.
"He is a leap year full moon birth."
Silence.
Rowan blinked a bit.
"Ah, I see." It seems like this boy had been blessed by the moon.
James turned to Caius, as if to ask how the heck he knew that.
Caius glanced at him.
"Thane informed us."
A beat.
"To facilitate your integration, certain information was shared."
That was…actually smart.
Jeez, weren't they just straight to the point?
—
Mira, meanwhile—
Was already back in his personal space.
Way too close.
Eyes practically glowing.
Excited.
"So that means you're strong, right?" she said.
James leaned back slightly.
"I am probably decently strong," James said honestly. He didn't know his strength; everyone he fought so far outscalled him by magnitudes.
"Let's fight." Her eyes glowed, she seemed excited, her claws were coming out, and her canine were making themselves known to the world.
"No fighting," Caius said calmly, stopping them before they even started.
"We have a scouting mission tomorrow, you may fight after that," Mira looked annoyed.
"You are so boring." She didnt like this at all.
Caius didnt seem to care about them, turning to James before saying.
"They will be your teammates," He paused for a bit.
"The one who wanted to fight you is Mira Valecrest; she is good with combat." The girl, meanwhile, as going back to her bunk, was annoyed. Why couldn't she throw hands with the newbie?
Like, come on, it would be so fun.
"The mysterious guy in the corner is Rowan Ashmoor. He is well-versed in shadow, and he specializes in stealth. He is very attuned with the spirit side of things." Rowan would just lightly wave before lying back in the bed.
"And lastly, we have Talia BrightFang, she is the fastest among us, and specializes in speed." The girl who had invaded his boundary would simply smile.
This would take some getting used to.
"Anyway, your bunk will be above Rowan…" Caius paused when he realised that the bed that had been thrown out earlier was that bunk.
"Mira..put it back…do not make me repeat myself."
"Aw, you're so annoying, threw one bed, and you are mad." She looks annoyed at his nagging.
"We were just having a friendly fight, and why did you even assume I threw it?" Caius looked at her as if she was stupid; she deadass just admitted to throwing it.
As Mira went to take the bed outside and install it back, James would internally think.
'This is a special group.'
A/N Next chapter on Wednesday, this one was like 3k long, also, there are some leftovers of the raw in this chapter since the AI was leaving out details, i decided to keep some of the rare in so the details dont get left behind.