"Because it won't be too fun then."
Kael said it plainly, with no effort to make himself sound threatening. That was what made it worse. He was not bragging in the way young climbers sometimes did when fear needed a loud mask. He was not trying to intimidate them either. He simply answered the question as if the reason should have been obvious.
The young man's expression changed.
The amusement left him first. Then the curiosity sharpened into wariness. His red eyes moved across Kael's stance, his gauntlets, the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the absence of wounds after being chased through a forest by six transformed werewolves. Around the clearing, the wolves lowered their bodies slightly. Their claws dug deeper into the soil. The hunt had been fun until the prey admitted he had been holding back to preserve it.
"You think you're that strong?" the young man asked.
"I believe I am, yes."
