Donavan clears out the entire training area so that he can personally train him with no distractions. Also, to avoid anyone getting killed by his power.

"First things first. "Donovan stares at Fenrir with anticipation. "I want to see how strong your magical abilities are right now. We need you to become as strong as a dragon knight before their armies reach the city."

"A dragon knight?" Fenrir raises an eyebrow. "How the fuck am I going to get that strong is such a short time?"

Donavan punches Fenrir in the stomach, he stands over him as he falls to the ground wincing and groaning in pain. "With discipline and raw talent. I don't think you understand how rare and powerful flame magic is."

"I need to control it first." Fenrir grits his teeth as he forces himself onto his feet. "If I don't, I'll end up killing you."

"I doubt that," Donavon smirks at his ignorance. "I used to be a dragon knight." He takes time to see the reaction on Fenrir's curious face. "I'm here so you won't have to hold back. Unleash your full power and worry about control later."

"What about-" Donavan punches Fenrir in the same spot. Fenrir is slower to get up, and when he does, Donavon punches him for a third time.

"Anger is your source of power." Donavan smiles. He recalls the fun times of being a drill instructor. Punishing soldiers for their weakness. Having fun by beating them up. "Pain is just weakness leaving the body. You have to push through and kill your target. On the battlefield, it's kill or be killed."

"I know that," Fenrir says through his clenched teeth. His snout crinkles as he bares his fangs. "You humans are all the same." A dark invisible aura surrounds Fenrir as he stands up again.

"Yes, that's it." Donavan nearly jumps up and down with joy. "That pride of yours will go far in battle. But you need to keep a level he-." His words are cut off by the fiery inferno that cultivates around Fenrir's body. An assortment of yellow and red highlights ragging like a violent storm. The air pressure in the room increases as his magical aura grows.

The rock beneath Fenrir's feet begins to glow red, the hot air making it hard for Donavan to breathe, forcing him to back away from the chaos. He takes a closer look at Fenrir's new power. Inspecting its uncontrolled chaotic nature. The power emanating from his body frightens him. A power like this should only be reserved for a select few that are chosen by the gods. "That's enough." Donovan yells.

Fenrir uses all his might to extinguish the flames. He surprises Donovan and mostly himself when the flames obey his command. Fenrir stares at his body as the flames dissipate, wondering why he wasn't able to do this the first time. Reminiscing on things that don't matter anymore won't get him anywhere. He shakes his head. 'I can't keep blaming myself for something that was out of my control. But I still need to apologize to them.'

Donovan claps his hands together to congratulate Fenrir on a job well done. Praising him for a performance of a lifetime. "I have something that I prepared for this occasion," Donovan says as he approaches Fenrir. "A gift. No none human creature should possess power like that." Donovan's tone changes. "THOSE FLAMES." He yells. "Those types of flames are only bestowed upon those the goddess of destruction finds worthy."

"What are you talking about?" Fenrir asks as Donovan takes a few steps closer.

"The guiding light. Flames that shine in the darkest depths of limbo." Donovan reaches behind his shirt to pull out a pendant. The pendant is in the shape of a sun, round, and circular with extruding sunbeams. The center has a carving of their God. The fire Goddess, Kentra.

Donavan holds out the pendant, sticking it in Fenrir's face to look at. "Tell me, Kentra. Why have you chosen this abomination as your servant?" Donavan lets his hand fall to the side. "She must have made a mistake. I was supposed to be her chosen disciple."

Donavan reaches into one of his pockets and takes out a mysterious-looking glass sphere. He holds it up to Fenrir and starts chanting in a forgotten language. After he's done speaking, Fenrir's magical aura starts to be observed by the sphere.

A swirling array of light leaves Fenrir and is consumed by the sphere, draining his energy in the process. Fenrir falls to the ground, his legs feel too heavy to stand.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Two hours later...

Thomas stands over Fenrir's bed. His bed being placed in the same room as his siblings. He wonders if he made the right decision to bring them here. 'What was I thinking? I was so concerned about my debt that I put these children in danger.'

Nikki opens the door and lets herself in. Seeing Thomas like this almost puts a smile on her face, but then she sees the condition the wolf pups are in and changes her tune. She turns to him. "It's not your fa.."

"Of course it is." He snaps back. "I only thought of my own self-interests. Now look at them. On the brink of death. I never wanted this to happen."

"There's nothing you could have done." Nikki tries to comfort Thomas, but he knows there is something he could have done.

Thomas sneaks past her and heads out the door. His mind focused on a single objective. Once he reaches Donavan's door, there is a guard standing out front. The guard notices his advancement and holds out his hand to stop him. "No one is allowed to see him at the moment. Especially you."

Thomas ignores the guards' orders and pulls out a dagger. "Step aside." Thomas raises his voice. "Or I'll kill you."

The guard laughs at his feeble attempt at a threat. "We both know you can't. Put the knife down before you accidentally stab yourself."

Thomas doesn't budge. His eyes grow more fierce the longer he stares at the guard. He wonders if the guard knows what Donavan did to a child. 'Of course he does. This bastard doesn't care who gets hurt. He only cares about himself.'

Donavan opens the door to his room as he's asking what all the ruckus is. "Oh, Thomas. I have something to show you."

"So do I." Thomas spits at his feet. "This dagger in your chest. How could you do that to Fenrir?"

"Come on in." Donavan opens the door all the way. Despite the guards' protest, Donavan keeps insisting that everything will be fine. Thomas can only hope that his ignorance is genuine.

After inviting Thomas in, he tells him to sit down so he can explain everything. Thomas does as he says with great hesitation, pondering if he even should hear what he has to say. "Fine, but you have one minute."

Donavan gives him a smirk. He extends his hand out and releases the same flames as Fenrir had. Thomas jumps out of his seat in astonishment, watching the flames as it flickers violently in his palm. "How is this possible?"

"It doesn't matter. What's important is that we can control this power. If you haven't noticed, there is an army on its way here. These flames of Kentra will be our savior."

"You've gone mad." Thomas points out.

"No. We have to do things we're not proud of to survive. Fenrir almost killed his brother and sister. We can't trust him to fight. He'll end up killing everyone on both sides."

Thomas snickers at his remark. "That's why you wanted to train him to control his power in the first place."

"You'd really send a twelve-year-old child onto a battlefield." Thomas sighs in defeat, knowing Donavan is right. "That's what I thought."

"Then why did you tell him you would train him in the first place?"

Donavan takes a deep breath and turns his gaze to the wall. "I wanted to see his power up close. I had already planned on taking his power, and seeing that he carried the flames of Kentra, I couldn't resist keeping it for myself."

"Can we win with this power?" Thomas asks still wondering if all this was worth it.

Donavan shakes his head. "I don't think so. However, Luna and Skoll might have similar abilities. If we could harvest those, our chances of winning are guaranteed."

Thomas grinds his teeth. "Fine, just don't hurt them."

"I will if I have to," Donavan says with an emotional expression. "We can't afford to lose. We can overthrow the government at the same time kill two birds with one stone. If we do that, your wife and daughter will be free."

Thomas perks up when he mentions his family. This had been the reason he joined in the first place. He had always thrown out his morals to accomplish this one goal, so why is he wavering now? Could he have become too attached to these three children?

"I'm not giving you time to think k about this." Donavan tries to push him out the door once again. "We're going to go through with this with or without you. If you get in our way, I'll have no choice but to kill you."

"Hold on." Thomas says as he pushes back. "I'll help you, but we have to do it my way." His eyes stare back into Donavan's with fierce intensity.

"Fine." Donovan relents. "But when the Atrayan armies get here, I'll have no choice but to take over if you haven't gained any progress."

"Deal." Thomas shakes his hand. "I won't fail."

Thomas runs back down the corridor and quickly enters the room where the three wolves are resting. Slamming the door open, he walks up to Fenrir and tries to wake him up. He shakes him and slaps. Fenrir opens his eyes and punches Thomas in the face.

"Fuck, that hurt." Thomas says backing up a few feet.

"Don't wake me up while I'm sleeping," Fenrir responds. "What's so important that you had to slap me?"

Thomas opens his mouth but quickly shuts it again. He wants to find the right words to explain the situation they all find themselves in. Thomas explains everything Donavan said to him. Fenrir rubs his hands through the fur on his head as he thinks of a plan. He looks over at Skoll and Luna who are still covered in bandages.

"There's one way to speed up the healing process," Fenrir explains. "There is one problem though."

"What is it?" Thomas asks. "How do we speed it up?"

Fenrir closes his eyes and opens them again, giving Thomas a stern look. "Human flesh."

"Wait. What?" Thomas is taken aback by this revelation. He blinks a few times before his brain can think of anything to say. "I'm not going to ask how, but I am curious how you know that."

"Don't worry." Fenrir tries to reassure him. "We haven't killed anyone. Our mother would let us bite her if we ever broke a bone. We mainly eat animal flesh, but we found out from her that eating human flesh is far superior."

"So, we don't need to kill anyone? I just need to offer some of my flesh to them." Thomas walks over to Skoll and looks at Fenrir for approval. After seeing Fenrir nod his head, Thomas removes the bandages around Skoll's muzzle, opens his mouth, and places his forearm in the jaws of the wolf. He pushes down on his lower jaw, causing the wolf's teeth to break his skin. "Fuck. That hurts."

Fenrir walks over and pushes against Skoll's jaw even harder. "He's going to need more than that." Thomas lets out a short shriek but quickly forces himself to bear the pain.

Nikki walks into the room, and she takes a step back when she sees what's happening. Thomas tries to explain. But she waives his words away, she may not understand how or why it works, but she knows what's happening. "I'll do the same for Luna." Nikki says as she strolls over to her and unwraps her bandages to stick her arm in her mouth.

"Nikki. Why?" Thomas asks.

"I don't want to see them suffer longer than they need to." She quickly responds. "And since I like them more than you, I should be the one who helps the most."