The next day, I woke up to find Reena standing a few steps away, watching the sunrise in silence.
"Are you ready?" she asked, turning to look at me.
I knew exactly what she meant. I nodded.
This was the first day of my training.
"I'm not going to be soft on you. I warned you—you have to be strong."
"Yeah, I know," I replied, rolling my eyes but smiling at her.
She smirked. "Good. I don't want you dying on me."
Without another word, she took off—running as fast as she could. I tried my best to keep up with her, pushing myself beyond what my body could handle. But it didn't take long before my lungs burned and my legs trembled.
Eventually, I collapsed on the ground, gasping.
Reena loped back and stared down at me. "Weak."
I rolled my eyes. "Just you wait."
Forcing myself up again, I tried to overtake her—but it was useless. I was no match for her strength, her speed, her agility… her stamina. My body simply couldn't keep up.
"You need to build your stamina," she said, sitting on the ground beside me. "Run all day."
"What?! We're not going to train for self-defense or martial arts?"
"You're a fool." She raised a brow at me. "You can't even handle the basics. How ambitious."
My eyes widened. "Hey!"
My pride took a hit—hard.
Reena scoffed. "Don't be prideful. You won't survive a single Lycan if you let your ego get in the way of your goal."
Her words silenced me. Because she was right.
I wasn't anywhere near their level.
If I didn't push myself now… I'd die before I even got the chance to face them.
So I quietly follow her order.
A Week Later...
It had been a full week of nothing but running until my lungs burned, hunting whatever small animals Lena chased toward me, and lifting anything she pointed at—rocks, fallen logs, even uprooted stumps.
Push-ups until my arms shook.
Squats until my legs gave out.
Endless sprints with a wolf twice my size snapping at my heels.
Basic.
Brutal, but basic.
I kept waiting for the real training to start—the kind that would actually prepare me for Lycans.
But every day felt the same.
Wake up sore.
Run.
Lift.
Hunt.
Collapse.
Repeat.
I was beginning to think Reena was just torturing me for her amusement.
Her wolf eyes always glowed with something between annoyance and mild entertainment every time I failed.
Not much progress.
Or maybe I just couldn't see it yet.
I sighed one morning, wiping sweat from my forehead as I pushed a boulder across the dirt.
"This again…" I muttered.
Reena's wolf form watched me from the shade, her massive head resting on her paws. She huffed, almost like she was laughing at my misery.
"I thought you said real training was coming," I said breathlessly.
She didn't respond—not that she could—but her tail flicked lazily.
I shoved the boulder one last time and dropped to the ground, panting.
Another pointless day, I thought.
But I never expect when she turned her head, her eyes glowed a sharp, intelligent gold.
Are you ready?
She didn't speak, but the message pressed into my spine.
I nodded, swallowing hard.
A low growl answered—approval, but with an edge.
This was my first real training.
With Reena in her permanent wolf form, there would be no hesitation, no holding back, no mercy.
She stepped forward, muscles rippling beneath her fur.
Then she sprinted.
I barely reacted in time. She lunged past me in a blur, wind tearing at my shirt as her massive body shot by. I spun around, heart hammering.
"Seriously—already?!"
She roared—a deep, guttural sound that shook my ribs—and charged again.
I dove aside. Her claws tore into the ground where I had been, leaving deep grooves. If she had hit me, my chest would've been split open.
I scrambled to my feet, adrenaline flooding my veins.
"Okay… okay… don't die. Don't die. DON'T—"
She came again.
I rolled, barely. Her jaws snapped inches from my leg.
Her fangs glinted in the sun—long, curved, deadly.
She wasn't pretending.
She wasn't playing.
This was exactly what she promised:
She wouldn't be soft on me.
I tried to run, but she was faster—so much faster.
Within seconds she circled me, her massive body weaving between trees with impossible grace.
"Reena—slow down—!"
She didn't.
She lunged again, aiming low this time.
Her shoulder slammed into me, sending me flying into a tree.
My breath exploded out of my lungs.
I gasped, vision spinning.
She approached slowly now, predatory steps silent on the forest floor.
Her head lowered, ears forward, eyes fixed on me.
She was testing me.
Get up.
The message pulsed through her stare.
I forced myself to stand. "Okay… okay. Round two."
She growled—deep approval—and attacked again.
This time I was ready.
Sort of.
When she sprung, I ducked under her body and rolled behind a fallen log.
She hit the ground and spun instantly, claws shredding leaves as she pivoted to face me.
She pounced over the log.
I slid under it, dirt smearing my face, heart pounding in my ears as her claws raked the wood above me. Splinters flew.
I scrambled backward.
She landed and prowled toward me, tail low, eyes sharp.
Her breath hit my face—hot and wild.
Then she nudged me.
…Huh?
She nudged me again.
Harder.
Move.
That's when I understood.
This wasn't just a fight.
It was survival training.
If I couldn't dodge her now, I'd never dodge a real Lycan.
I pushed myself up and ran.
She gave me a five-second head start.
Then I heard it—
the thunder of paws tearing through leaves behind me.
She was hunting me.
I zigzagged between trees.
I stumbled over roots.
Branches slashed my arms as I forced myself deeper into the forest.
But no matter how fast I ran, she closed the distance like a shadow stretching across the ground.
I felt her breath behind me.
I dove behind a boulder.
She crashed into it, shaking the stone with her weight.
I rolled away just as her claws scraped around the edge, inches from my face.
She howled—short, sharp, commanding.
UP.
I scrambled onto the boulder.
She leapt onto it after me in one fluid motion.
"Lena! Wait—!"
She swiped.
I blocked with both arms.
A mistake.
Her strength sent me flying off the rock.
I hit the ground hard, coughing blood.
But I stood.
Barely.
"Is… that all you got?"
I wheezed, knowing full well it wasn't.
Her ears perked.
Her eyes sharpened.
Then—
she charged.
But instead of running, I stayed still.
At the very last second, I dropped flat and swept a leg at her paws, throwing her off balance for half a heartbeat.
Half a heartbeat was all I got.
But it was enough.
When she recovered, she didn't attack.
She stood tall, staring at me.
Breathing steady.
Tail lifted.
Head high.
A wolf's sign of acknowledgment.
Respect.
My chest heaved, but I couldn't help it—I smiled.
"Am I… improving?"
She stepped forward and pressed her forehead gently against mine.
A soft, rumbling growl vibrated through me.
Yes.
Then she nudged my side again—
hard.
"Don't tell me we're still not done—"
She lowered into a crouch.
Muscles tensed.
Eyes sharp.
Her tail flicked once.
Continue.
My heart dropped.
"…you've got to be kidding—"
After she pounced, Lena suddenly froze mid-movement.
Her ears perked, her muscles tensed, and her eyes narrowed toward the deeper part of the forest.
She couldn't continue the attack—
because she sensed something dangerous hidden in the shadows beyond the trees.
Lena's ears shot up.
Her entire posture changed instantly.
From relaxed wolf…
to alert predator.
She stood, muscles tense, eyes locked on something deep in the forest.
"Reena…? What is it?"
She growled. Low. Cold. Serious.
The air shifted.
The forest suddenly felt wrong—too quiet, too still.
Even the wind held its breath.
Lena stepped in front of me, placing herself between me and the trees, her fur bristling along her spine.
My heart hammered.
This wasn't part of the routine.
I swallowed.
"Reena… what's happening?"
She didn't look back.
Her growl deepened, vibrating through the soil.
And then I felt it—
something heavy in the air.
A presence.
A predator's gaze.
Not hers.
Something else.