Chapter 140. The Only Woman

“Your focus wavers too easily,” Gavriel said softly. “You can’t let your opponent see that.”

Althea looked up at him, her cheeks warm. “I wasn’t… wavering.”

His eyes glinted. “No?”

The tension between them deepened. Then Gavriel slowly stepped back, exhaling through his nose as if trying to steady himself.

“You still remember more than I thought,” he said.

She smiled faintly, catching her breath. “Maybe Amon taught me well.”

For a moment, he just looked at her—something unreadable flickering in his gaze. Then he turned toward the edge of the grounds, where the trees swayed in the afternoon wind.

“That’s enough practice,” he said, his tone soft but commanding. “Now, come. You’ll see what a real run feels like.”

Before she could ask what he meant, his eyes began to glow faintly. In the next instant, his body started to change—bones cracking and reshaping, muscles stretching as fur rippled across his skin.

Within moments,