A few days had passed since Jaune Arc had come to live with Preto Hele-Nui and his training had kicked up a notch.
The two werewolves stand across from one another in the man's backyard. Jaune is wearing a loose sleeveless green shirt and dark gray athletic shorts, Preto on the other hand is shirtless wearing black shorts.
Neither of them are wearing shoes, letting the dirt of the ground scap against their soles.
"So, what's all this about?" Jaune asks.
"Your ability to shift at will is progressing well but you still have problems when you become too emotional." Preto explains before shifting, "For the next hour or so we're going to spar and you're going to keep your external features hidden."
Jaune slowly nods, he takes a moment to shift keeping the warmth of his powers from touching his nails, canines, eyes, and ears but before finishing Preto moves, barely more than a blur.
The boy feels a fist striking his stomach, knocking the air out of him.
Falling to his knees, Jaune looks up with confusion only to have a foot plant itself against his cheek, kicking him across the backyard. Groaning, he grits his teeth and forces himself onto his knees, "What the fuck!" He screams at the man, the fire filling the empty spaces he left.
"What?" Preto asks, "You gotta learn Jaune and me taking it easy on you won't help." He runs towards the boy, visibly slower than before.
Roaring in fury, Jaune swipes his right hand at his mentor only for them to avoid the attack by flipping over him.
The next thing he knows he's kicked in the back of his head and is eating dirt. Pushing himself up, the boy punches the ground three times, each one more powerful than the last.
"Remember what I told you Jaune, keep your Anchor in the forefront of your mind, imagine yourself wielding Crocea Mors–"
"RAGH!" Jaune rushes the man who takes a step to the side, avoiding the presumed tackle. He quickly twists around and rears his arm back, swiping down with his claws.
Preto leans back, avoiding the attack like you avoid a fly.
The boy takes another swipe with his right arm only for the other to lean away again, he twists his palms around and tries for another swipe.
The older werewolf bends backwards and kicks out, the boy's feet leave the ground, his eyes almost popping out his skull.
Jaune bounces off the ground; once, twice, thrice before finally stopping. He moans in pain, "Ugghh!"
"That could have gone better." Preto sighs, "You're attacking with no intelligence, just fury and that's how you're going to get yourself killed."
Grunting, the younger of the two struggles to his feet.
"You have to remain in control no matter the circumstances, you also have to remember that you're no longer human, every single facet of yourself is enhanced, you can do things you couldn't possibly imagine before."
Jaune gives a small nod.
"You are more than human, you are more than superhuman. The way you moved lacked all the grace of our species, all of the uniqueness of our biology; You. Are. A. Werewolf. Act like it."
"Again." The boy's eyes burned, rage clear in his gaze though it was only his eyes that revealed his true nature, the rest of him remained the same, "Let's go again."
Preto smiles and nods.
Derek Emerald and his girlfriend Rebecca Salmon sit knee to knee with one another, his large hands gripping her hips as her arms are wrapped around his neck, their lips molding against each other.
Derek's eyes are closed tightly as he pushes for a deeper kiss, his tongue demanding entrance into her mouth.
Rebecca caves in and opens her mouth, their tongues wrestling for dominance.
His hands slide off her hips and towards her sides, he pulls her onto his lap, grinding his hips into her core.
"Hmm!?" She moans in surprise before melting into his arms, their bodies pushing against one another. Her fingers dig through his hair, she pulls back and kisses up his jawline before she takes his earlobe between her lips and nibbles it.
Derek rears back, "Don't!" He yells. "Don't fucking‐" The boy's nostrils flare. "Don't bite me."
Rebecca pulls a face as she climbs off him and drops beside him, her arms crossing over her chest, "Really Derek, you're afraid of a little love bite?"
The bully stands up with a scowl, "I know you don't believe me alright? You don't think I know I sound fucking crazy?!" He forcefully pokes the side of his head. "Trust me I know! I KNOW! But I know what I saw, his jaw un-fucking-hinged! He had fangs! He was going to bite my fucking head off!"
The girl closes her eyes and stands up, "You're right, you do sound fucking crazy." She grabs her purse from off the round coffee table in front of her and slings it on her shoulder before walking to the door beside the couch. "Call me when you grow a brain."
Rebecca swings the door open and leaves, slamming it behind her.
Derek grits his teeth, his hands clenching tightly, he screams as he kicks the coffee table, the leg shattering as he does, "Fuck!"
As the girl walks away from her boyfriend's house, she harshly grips her purse with both hands, "Brothers above, when did my boyfriend become such a pussy?" She mutters.
Her strides are long and angry, how did Jaune fucking Arc, the biggest loser in all of Orleans, put the fear of the gods into Derek? How did he trick him?
Used some cheap plastic fangs, claws, and contracts? Growled like a dog? How could her boyfriend be so stupid to fall for something like that?!
She shakes her head and stops her stride, she closes her eyes, taking a deep calming breath.
When Jaune comes back from his little hidey hole, she's going to show Derek what a little bitch he'd been acting for being afraid of the blonde noodle.
She continues her walk home, her thoughts consumed by all the things she's going to do to Jaune when he comes only to suddenly feel a shiver run down her spine.
As if she's being watched, like when a boy tries to sneak glances at her.
Rebecca looks around as she walks but she sees no one around her, she's completely alone.
She increases pace.
The girl's eyes continue to flicker around her, her chest tightening as her breathing comes out faster. She starts running, taking out her scroll from her purse as she does.
Someone is following her. She can feel it, why is someone following her?
Oh who is she kidding, she knows exactly why she's being followed; she's a hot sixteen year old girl, completely alone, she knows what the person following her wants.
Tears gather at the thought of what might happen to her.
Rebecca opens her scroll, her hands shaking as she does. She needs to call for help. Now.
"THuMP!"
She drops her scroll in surprise and turns around, "a..a..gh.." The girl stumbles away before tripping over her feet, her voice leaving her as she stares at the incomprehensible thing in front of her. "A..g..gh.."
A beast of epic proportions with sinister ruby red eyes stares at her. It towers over her at close to six feet with large bulging muscles the size of boulders, disgusting long limbs, and a wide back. Its extremities were as big as plates and almost human-ish with pitch black claws that were like knives.
The beast's putrid gray skin looked rough like sandpaper with only thin dirty blonde fur covering their head like a lion's mane, its face was almost a caricature of a person's with its mouth jutted out and its rows of fangs that seemed too big for its mouth.
It almost looked like a wolf.
"..no…no… no!" Rebecca cries as she twists around and tries to stand up and run away at the same time, before she knows it she's pushed down, her back screaming in protest and the monster's hot breath washed over her ear, "Ple– AGGGGHHH!"
The beast sinks its teeth into her bicep.
The pressure on her back disappears and her body starts culvusing with white foam frosts at her mouth. Her skin pales and her veins swell, turning into a toxic black color, blood explodes from her nose, ears, and eyes.
Rebecca's body suddenly stills, the light in her eyes dims and she dies.
Alone and afraid.
Preto leans against his chair with a lit cigarette resting between his lips. He sighs through his nose and feels a slight burn as the smoke leaves his nostrils. His eyes watch the rise and fall of Jaune's chest as he sleeps on the couch.
He feels the light of the shattered moon illuminating his face and closes his eyes. A peace settles in him.
"Vrrr!Vrr!" Preto feels his scroll vibrate in his pocket and fishes it out and opens it, he raises his eyebrow.
Standing up from his seat, he walks to the door and quietly opens it before walking out. He closes the door behind him and answers, "Vermelho, I haven't heard from you in a while."
"And whose fault is that, moon wolf?" A deep rich voice questions back.
Preto rolls his eyes, "I've been busy." He hears a sigh from his scroll.
"I know, have you found the rogue wolf?"
Gritting his teeth, "No, they're being careful, to my knowledge they've only bitten one person since becoming an Alpha."
"Did they survive?"
Preto hums in affirmation.
"Did they manage to kill anyone before you put them down?"
The man laughs, "No, he hasn't. In fact the boy didn't need to be put down at all, he had an unusual amount of control, despite losing control twice, managed to pull himself back."
"...What?" Vermelho mutters in shock, "But a newly turned werewolf needs an Alpha to regain control of their facilities, without one their stuck in a bloodlusted state."
Preto blinks unimpressed, "I know, you didn't need to tell me. The boy, Jaune, seems to be an exception, I think it's because of his mother."
"His mother?"
"Yeah, his mother is a Huntress with a compulsion Semblance. She's been using it on her children since they were small. Jaune has been fighting against it, finding loopholes in her orders, which seems to have strengthened his mind, giving him an unusually strong sense of self."
"Unbelievable, so I'm guessing you took him under your wing then. It usually takes a Newborn several weeks to control their shifting, how far along is he?"
"I'm already training him in tracking and fighting." Preto smirks at the thought.
"You got a real monster on your hands, don't you?" Vermelho can't keep the awe out of his voice before his breath stutters, "You're not thinking about using him in the fight against the Alpha are you?
"... I am. If Jaune continues at the pace he's going, he'll be indispensable."
"Preto! There's no way the boy will be able to resist his Alpha's call, he'll turn on you!"
"No." Preto says resolutely, "He won't. He's special Vermelho, if I can't find the rogue Alpha before it gains more Betas' than I can't win by myself, I'll need Jaune." He can almost hear the other man's disappointed stare.
"You're as reckless as ever."
"Thank you, oh before I let you go, do you know any control techniques? I've taught him to Anchor himself but…" He lets the sentence hang.
"Hm, I know a few such as a Mantra, the Xiong Pack use the phrase, Three things can never be hidden; The Sun, the moon, and the stars as a self hypnosis. The mantra should have a deep personal connection otherwise I doubt it would work. Another control technique I know of is Emotional Immersion, you focus on an overwhelming emotion and allow it to consume you, drowning everything else out. The last one I can think of at the top of my head is an Anchor Object, instead of using a memory or an image, you use a physical object, something of great significant value to you and keep it on hand."
Preto nods at every word the man says before his eyes widen at the last technique, "Perfect, thanks Dr. Emissario." He hangs up the scroll and takes a deep inhale of his cigarette before flicking it away. "I need that sword."
Bleue Arc can't help but hold her hand against her mouth and nose. In front of her lay the body of a teenage girl that died in what she can only describe as total and complete agony.
Total organ failure, a massive brain aneurysm, some time of rapid decaying of her blood cells causing a autoimmune attack unlike anything sees ever seen.
The only clue she had about what happened was the deep bite on her left bicep that reached all the way to the bone. It shared similarities to a wolf bite, if the wolf was twice its normal size.
Could it be a new type of Grimm?
No, no her parents and other retired Huntsmen consistently patrol the forest, no way could it escape their notice. Not to mention a Grimm wouldn't leave remains, it's simply not in their nature.
Most likely it's a diseased wolf with a new strain of rabies or some other transferable disease.
Bleue needs to inform the sheriff station so they could hunt it down before the animal affected any more people. Her face twists as a terrible thought crosses her mind; Jaune, her baby brother, was in danger, the next town was weeks away so he's probably camping out in the wilderness.
She clutches her heart.
What if there were more wolves? What if Jaune ran into them? What if they infected him? What if they just ripped him apart?!
'Oh gods! I need to tell mom and dad!' She rushes out the morgue and out of the clinic towards her home, a fearful expression clear on her face for all to see.
Her feet pound on the street, her terror fueling her speed. As she reaches her home, she forces her way in, "Mom! Dad!" She calls out. "MOM! DA–"
"What?!"
"Bleue! What's wrong!"
Her parents rush down the stairs, confusion and worry clear in their voices.
Bleue almost trips over her feet as she rushes over to them, "A… a wolf… with… with…"
"Hun?" Noah takes a hold of her shoulders, "Calm down, take a calming breath and tell me what's wrong."
His daughter nods and closes her eyes before taking a deep calming breath. She takes another and one more before she opens her eyes, "A body was brought into the clinic, it looks like she was attacked by a rather large wolf and infected by it, possibly a variant of the rabies virus. The symptoms are… terrifying, it seems it causes total organ failure and a massive brain aneurysm and Jaune… Jaune is out there! He could be in danger!"
Jupiter covers her mouth and Noah grits his teeth, "Call Qrow again, he needs to get here now and… I'm going to search the forest again."
"Nic…" His wife mumbles, "Why would you check the forest? Jaune has been gone for days, he… he wouldn't be there anymore."
Noah presses his lips tightly together and moves back up the stairs without saying anything.
Jupiter falls to her knees, her daughter follows her and hugs her tightly, both of them begin crying, "Jaune, please! please! Be okay." She begs.
"He's going to be okay, mama…" Bleue whispers, "He's going to be okay, dad is going to find him and bring him back, I know he will."