After an unknown number of hours had passed, Valentina finally decided that he had suffered enough for the time being and allowed him to take a rest.
Instantly, Lucian collapsed onto the rough ground, landing on his back among the cold dirt.
He was still wearing nothing but his boxers. His entire body was stained with blood, some fresh and some dried—the remnants of wounds that had already regenerated, leaving behind patches of leaked blood.
"Haa… haa… haa…"
His chest rose and fell heavily, each breath deeper than the last, strangely echoing within the weird, enormous jungle that remained eerily quiet.
At least now.
There had been a few moments during the training when the silence was broken by monstrous growls, strange and horrifying cries echoing from somewhere deep within the forest.
Every single one of them carried enough primal danger to send chills crawling across his skin just from the sound alone.
Yet each time one of those noises rang out—
