"You bastard," James growled.

"You are not the Fenrir," the man stated.

Strolling forward, James cocked back his arm and slapped the man as hard as he could. The force behind the attack caused a wave of pressure that shattered the nearby furniture and broke whatever Qi was holding Jamie down.

Gasping for air, Jamie wiped the tears from her eyes before crouching by his side. "Thank you, brother…"

Snarling, James turned his attention to the man imprinted in the wall. Dust and debris were falling around him as the man pulled himself from the rubble.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he spit out a mouthful of blood. His albino skin was covered in gray dust as he brushed himself off.

"You are a cultivator," he stated.

James didn't answer as he stepped forward and approached the man. "You touched my sister. I'll make your death as slow as I can."

James felt Zenaria enter the room and pull Jamie out. He was about to yell at her for disobeying him, but he realized Jamie felt weak and needed the help.

His anger burned brighter as he stopped before the albino.

Spitting out another mouthful of blood, the man laughed. "Do you honestly think you can kill me?"

James kept his soul contained as he nodded. Instead of saying anything, he lifted his fists and face off against the man. The albino copied him a moment later.

"You haven't even asked my name."

"I don't care," James countered. "In a moment you are going to be dead."

Snapping out a punch, the man connected with James's chin, rocking his head back, but failing to move him more than an inch.

Recovering, James slammed his palm into the man's chest, breaking ribs before backhanding him and sending him into the far wall. Without pause, he raced after the man and slammed his knee into his prone body.

The albino coughed up more blood as James grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the ground. The stone under them broke and spider web cracks ran up the wall and across the floor.

Stepping on the back of his head, James growled. "You deserve a slow death for touching her."

Pushing against him, the man grasped at James's leg but failed to do more than scratch his skin.

With a flicker of his soul, James latched onto the man and broke through his defenses. His nascent soul started to flow into James at a slow enough rate that the man could only scream in pain as his very essence was pulled from him.

Stomping down, James crushed the man's face, breaking bone, but failing to kill him. The screaming continued as James let him up, only to kick him in the side and send him into another wall.

Walking casually, James felt his anger growing. The sight of Jamie, helpless on the couch enraged him like nothing before. The screams of the man were music to his ear as James kept the flow steady and slow, ripping the soul apart.

Kneeling next to the man, James grabbed his neck and slammed him into the floor. "You are nothing but an insect to be crushed beneath my boot. You humans are all the same. Power hungry, pathetic creatures, that feast on others. Today is the day the boot comes down, and it's coming slowly. I'm going to break your body and your soul until you beg for death."

Grabbing the man's hand, James squeezed until he could feel bones breaking. Once it was mangled, he moved to the wrist, and then the forearm. The man screamed until his blood speckled the ground.

***

Amber felt the surge of soul energy from the other side of the city. Snapping her attention to the demi-human district, she spread her soul as much as she could. Waves of pressure were washing over the district and Amber felt her heart start to race.

James!

Her soul touched on Luna and Mender, and both of them felt the same. Together, they all started rushing through the city, shoving people out of the way as they merged onto the same street. A moment later, Linda and the Elson brothers found them.

"What's happening?" Luna asked.

Amber shook her head as people scrambled to get out of the way. "I don't know."

"Move faster!" Mender ordered.

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Amber picked up her pace as they approached the compound they could feel James in. When they arrived, they found devastation and destruction. Corpses filled the grounds as splinters of wood and metal stuck out of bodies.

"Oh shit…" Amber mumbled.

Luna didn't slow as she rushed inside and Amber quickly followed.

"He's below us!" Linda yelled.

It wasn't hard to locate James's soul as they navigated the upper floor. A moment later, they were racing down stairs where they felt Jamie shivering in pain and fear. Mender raced past all of them as they heard screams of agony fill the stairwell.

Reaching the bottom, they found a kitsune holding Jamie tight, covering her naked body as best she could. Amber's soul was flooded with anger as she took in her friend, but it was nothing compared to Mender.

The man walked up to his sister and grabbed the kitsune's throat and started to squeeze. "What did you do to her?"

Jamie quickly grabbed her brother's arm. "She saved me!"

Only a small sliver of anger shifted from Mender toward the source of the screaming. Letting the kitsune go, he walked into the room and Amber followed. Covering her mouth, she gasped at the destruction.

James was kneeling next to a shattered man with bones sticking out at odd angles. Mender didn't hesitate to walk up to James. "Can I heal him so you can break him again?"

James looked up with eyes that glowed gold. The air around him shimmered and vibrated with pressure as he shook his head. "No. His soul is nearly gone."

Before James could stop him, Mender kicked the unknown man in the face, crushing his skull the rest of the way.

Dropping the body, James stood and summoned a towel. Pouring water over his hands, he washed them of the blood that was tainting him. Amber hurried to his side to help.

"Pull in your soul, my love," Amber said as soothingly as she could.

Luna was there a moment later, holding his face. "Come back to us, James. Jamie is fine. She's safe."

Blinking a few times, James's golden eyes returned to gray and he slumped. Luna barely caught him as the soul pressure flooding the district was cut off. Thankfully, it didn't reach the sect or they would already have cultivators on them.

Luna propped his arm over her shoulder and started walking him out of the room. Amber took in the damage one last time before following. Mender rushed up to his sister and started pulling out clothes for her as everyone huddled together.

Once they were in the hall, James let Luna go. "Thank you, Zenaria."

Everyone turned to the kitsune who was still holding Jamie. Amber looked the woman up and down before stepping forward and grabbing her chin. "You're the shadow."

Zenaria nodded. "Y-yes."

James rubbed Zenaria's ears making everyone turn to him with mixed expressions. Amber found it humorous before Mender pulled Jamie to him and helped her get dressed.

"We have a lot to accomplish," James said softly. "I need to go back to the tavern and lay low. Amber, take over here and take charge of the district. Find those that reported to…whatever his name was and secure them or kill them."

Amber nodded right away. "Yes, Master."

Turning to Jamie, James said, "you are to rest for the rest of the day. You can stay with Bunny in the restaurant. Mender likely won't leave your side."

Mender held his sister. "Damn right, I'm not leaving her!"

Jamie relaxed against her brother as they started walking toward the stairs. Luna stepped up next to Amber. "I'll stay here with Amber, or at least close enough in case she needs me. I'm strong enough if any cultivators come."

James nodded. "Don't interfere with her aura. She's going to need it."

Linda held up her hand.

"Yes?" James asked.

"What about the rest of us?" Lind voiced.

James regarded the Elson brothers and Linda for a moment. "I want you on guard. You will be the muscle as needed. Linda, find a vantage point so you can keep an eye on Amber. You have the best accuracy if needed. Bronson, keep this facility secure and search the other rooms. I want to know all of the secrets that his man had."

"Yes, Master," Bronson grumbled before touching each brother and sending them to the different doors in the complex. As for himself, he headed up the stairs to stand guard.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, James let out a slow breath. "Zenaria, you are coming with me so we can talk about what you saw."

The kitsune stepped up to his side and rested her hand on his arm, making Amber chuckle. The woman was filled with fear, and yet she wanted James to comfort her.

"I have work to do," Amber stated. "Get back and keep control of your soul, my love."

James nodded and started up the stairs. Turning to Luna, Amber nodded. They had ground to cover and people to find.

***

James stopped by the inn long enough to bathe and clean up. Jamie made sure Bunny didn't question anything but it was clear Bunny wasn't going to leave her side after taking one look at her.

As for Zenaria, she sat next to James in the tavern after he was clean and dressed. His old scraps of clothes had been thrown away.

The new notification he had received concerned him.

New Soul Skill: Familial Bonds

As he read it over and over, he struggled to understand what it did exactly. He also didn't have the time to look into it too much as Zenaria kept poking him.

"What did you do to those people, James?" she asked as Grace handed over ales and took her seat.

James lowered his voice. "I did what I wanted to explain to you before Jamie sent a signal for help. We feast on the souls of our targets. That's what I did."

Grace took his hand. "Is Jamie okay?"

Studying the skunk for a moment, he didn't see any traces of fear in her eyes, nor reluctance for being close to him. In fact, she genuinely seemed concerned for his sister.

"I made it to her in time," he said after a moment. "It was close though." Turning to Zenaria, he smiled. "Thank you again, Zenaria. I wasn't thinking clearly when I entered that room. Thank you for getting Jamie out of there."

Zenaria rested her hand on his. "She's not really your sister, is she?"

"No," he admitted. "We aren't related by blood, but that doesn't stop her from being my sister. I like that my family is growing."

Swallowing hard, Zenaria radiated nervousness.

"What is it?" he asked.

"W-would you protect me like that if I was your sister?" the kitsune asked softly.

Taking her hand, he nodded. "I would. You're family. And no one touches my family." Something in him clicked into place as he spoke he words. Something that he was going to have to look into.

As if the world was taken from her shoulders, Zenaria relaxed. "Can we discuss that more after I get back? I have to report to Tian."

"We can. I'll be right here."

Getting up, Zenaria hugged him before slipping into the shadows. Left alone with Grace, he took a deep breath. "The rabbit hole only gets deeper."

Smirking, Grace moved around the table to sit next to him. "It's a good thing skunks can dig."

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