Eugene was visibly sweating as Nat and Shannon walked up. Whether that was due to them confronting him or the wolves surrounding him was up for debate. As it was, he was shifting his gaze back and forth between the two groups, nervously backing up towards is horse. It was clear that they had bonded, as the occasional glances to another and the changes in body language betrayed the hidden mental communication between them. If it was not for them having bonded with animals and knowing what some of the more basic abilities were, they probably would not have known. As it was, it seemed they were trying to figure their way out of this predicament. Not wanting them to have a chance to create a bullshit alibi, Nat decided to be a bit more confrontational. "I asked, what fucking reason do you have for following us out here Eugene?"

Eugene visibly jumped at the words, his eyes locking onto Nat before his visage turned into a scowl. "I had a feeling you were hiding something, and sure enough you were! Should have put you down when we had the chance!" after yelling that out, he spat towards Nat, Shannon, and the three canines that had shifted to do workouts. Instantly every canine became more threatening, growling in unison and moving a step closer. All of Eugene's pomp and fire died out instantly, causing him to once again don a frightened face.

Shannon kept a solid hold of Nat's left arm, keeping her from moving both of her hands up to her face. "And why, oh why do you feel as though we need to be 'put down'?" She asked after sighing heavily.

"Because you have these freaking monsters! Wolves are bad enough, but these mutated versions show how far you have fallen. For the safety of everyone you and your monster loving kind needs to be eliminated!" Eugene almost screamed out. Before she could retort any of what he said, he took an axe off the saddle bag and ran forward at her. Quickly separating herself from Shannon, Nat ran forward to meet him head on. She had no intentions of killing him, seeing as he still showed up as having green energy inside of him. The man was just misinformed, and was acting under a personal bias. Flowing the energy out through her body, she boosted her speed and reaction times as the two neared each other. As he moved to swing wide with the axe, she quickly stepped into the swing, making the reach of the weapon betray him. However, he did not stop the swing once this happened and gave it even more momentum, aiming for her neck. Not wanting to take a chance, she leaned backwards, doing a limbo underneath the weapon as it swung through the space she had just occupied. As it passed where she was, she grabbed the handle of the weapon and yanked back from the way it came. This threw Eugene off balance, landing him on his back and losing his grip on the weapon. Nat just tossed it to the side before gently placing the heel of her boot to his throat.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Listen up and listen well, I am no lover of monsters, nor am I a threat to people who mean no harm. I am a vet, first and foremost, and wolves are for the most part misunderstood. Too many people have demonized them over the years, and I am so tired of it. Now, I am going to let you run off back to your friends and family, and you better damn well never show your face around us again. For if you do, I am going to end you with my own claws!" As Natalie delivered her ultimatum, she shifted in front of him. While it was far easier and less intensive than it had been in the past, the drain that shifting took was still massive. While the man had been brave before, when faced with a seven-foot-tall werewolf, he was quite quick to fold. He scrambled backwards before climbing up on his horse and riding it back south, screaming in fear. Nat felt quite satisfied with herself, before her enhanced sense of smell picked up the man's urine.

She quickly shifted back, and immediately felt drowsy from the drain. She had barely been in that form for ten seconds before her reserves neared empty. It was definitely a step in the right direction, but it would be a while before she could stay shifted like the canines did. She tried to walk back to where their campsite was back up, but stumbled and almost fell over. Before she could, Shannon and Kali had caught each of her arms, holding her up as they all made their way back to their tent. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack howled, celebrating their Alpha's victory and strength. As they set her down beside the fire, Kali was dragged away to dance in celebration by Maia, while Shannon just sat down beside her partner. Gratefully, Nat leaned over and rested her head on her lover's shoulder, enjoying the company.

That was, until Shannon opened her mouth. "I would give that fight a four out of ten. Sure, you won and laid him out quickly, but if his form had been any better or had he been stronger it would have been you on the ground instead. But don't worry, fighting skills were already planned for when you got your stamina to an acceptable level." Nat was unwilling to move her head, but she already knew what look Shannon had on her face. The demon trainer was smiling, full of plans on how to better improve her lover's survivability. While Nat agreed that this would be a good thing, she knew that she would resent every moment of training for the months to come. She had seen Shannon act as a tough as nails instructor for the past few days, and believed that it would not end at any point soon. Regardless, both spent the next couple hours just sitting by the fire, not speaking or moving. They just enjoyed sitting next to one another as they watched the stars come out together before they disappeared off to bed for the night, lulled to sleep by the sounds of celebrating canines.