The path narrowed, winding as the sun climbed slowly through the canopy. Cicadas sang, birds too, but the only sound that mattered was Kael’s footsteps… and the tired dragging behind him. Werebitch, naked, with the leash tight around her neck and a dark look in her eyes.

  They walked in silence for a long while. In the end, she was the one who broke it.

  “I thought that… was your house,” she said bitterly.

  Kael ughed without turning. “That stinking shack? No. It belonged to an old hunter who hired me to kick your ass. He let me use it as a base.”

  Werebitch frowned. “Then where the fuck do you live?”

  “Far.”

  She scoffed. “How far?”

  Kael suddenly stopped and yanked the leash hard. He lifted her off the ground like a bag, letting her dangle in front of him.

  “Shut up,” he said. “And if you want to talk… end your sentences with a woof.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No.”

  She stared at him, eyes bzing, teeth clenched.

  “I’m a werewolf, not some fucking—”

  “—Don’t care.” His words cut like bdes. “Got it?”

  Then he dropped her. Heavy and naked in the dust of the trail.

  They were silent for a while. She just followed, head down, body aching, rage and humiliation boiling under her skin.

  After almost an hour of walking, with the sun starting to burn her skin, and her hands and feet raw with pain, Werebitch exhaled sharply.

  “Can we… stop?”

  Kael didn’t respond.

  She knew. Knew that wasn’t enough.

  She clenched her teeth. Her limbs trembled. Her belly still swollen, her muscles on fire.

  Another kilometer.

  Then, exhausted, she mumbled under her breath, eyes fixed on the ground:

  “…can we stop, woof?”

  Kael turned, a smug little smirk on his face.

  “Good girl.”

  He gave her a pat between the ears, brushing the furry wolf tips that twitched with irritation. Then nodded and sat on a rock.

  “Rest up, Werebitch. You’ve earned it.”

  After a short pause—just enough to catch her breath and let her sore muscles rex—Kael stood again.

  “Time to move,” he said, stretching.

  She looked up at him, the leash hanging loosely from her throat.

  “Already?”

  “You’ve rested enough. Move that ass.”

  They started walking again, Werebitch once more on all fours behind him, her breasts swaying with each step, her tail twitching.

  After a while, Kael sighed. Holding the leash was tiring.

  “That’s enough. You go ahead.”

  “What?!” Werebitch protested, slowing down.

  “You heard me. Lead. Be a good little pet and keep the pace.”

  She pressed her lips tight. “You walk too fast… I can’t keep up.”

  Kael slowed down, his steps more rexed. Without a word, he simply let her pass him.

  As she walked ahead, ass in the air and tail high, Kael nded a sharp sp on her cheek, making her whole body jolt.

  “There we go. That’s how you do it. You’ve got a hell of an ass, Werebitch.”

  She blushed hard, ears flicking down, a shiver running down her spine.

  But then Kael’s voice came again, sharp as ever.

  “You strut pretty good for a bitch.”

  The blush turned to fury. She growled through clenched teeth without turning back. But she didn’t say a word. She knew it would only make it worse.

  “The view from back here is breathtaking,” Kael added with a smug grin.

  They walked for hours, the forest growing darker, damper, and quieter.

  When night fell completely, they stopped in a small clearing, surrounded by rocks and skeletal trees.

  “Camp,” Kael said.

  He pulled her up and dragged her with him to gather wood. Even though she was dead tired, she followed limping, the leash tugging at her neck whenever she slowed down.

  After a while, they returned with a small bundle of dry branches. Kael arranged them in a circle, then sat down, with Werebitch beside him—crouched like a dog at her master’s side.

  With a sharp gesture and whispered words in an arcane tongue, the air shivered.

  A circle of blue fire lit up around the wood, and the fme came alive, crackling as if it had always been there.

  Werebitch’s golden eyes widened.

  “…what was… that?” she murmured, entranced.

  Kael gave her a gnce.

  “Magic. Beginner stuff. For a guy who blew the Demon King’s ass sky-high… it’s the bare minimum.”

  She said nothing, the fire dancing in her wolfish eyes, reflecting the light.

  For a moment, she seemed almost calm. Almost… tamed.