The calendar didn't lie. Full moon: tonight.
Alex hadn't paid much attention to lunar phases before, but now, he couldn't ignore it. Not with the way his body buzzed with electric anticipation, like a live wire vibrating under his skin. The moment the sun dipped below the horizon, he felt it—the pull.
It started subtle. A tightening in his chest. A throbbing in his temples. Then came the heat, radiating from his spine outward. Muscles tensed. Joints ached. His fingers twitched involuntarily. His reflection in the mirror stared back with wide, glassy eyes, pupils dilating unnaturally in the low light.
He tried to sleep. That lasted all of thirty minutes.
At 11:48 p.m., Alex sat upright in bed, drenched in sweat. His sheets were torn, twisted like he'd wrestled them in his sleep. His heart raced like a predator giving chase. He stumbled out of bed, gripping the edge of his desk for balance.
Then came the crack.
His knuckles popped, one by one. Bones stretched. Muscles shifted. He fell to his knees, clutching his sides as pain bloomed across his back. It wasn't the pain of injury—it was transformation. Like every molecule of his body remembered what it once was and was forcing itself back into place.
And then—his reflection changed.
His eyes flashed gold. Not hazel. Not green. Bright, luminous gold.
His teeth sharpened.
His fingernails grew into blackened claws.
And his scream—it wasn't human.
He backed away from the mirror, panting, gripping the bedpost as if it would stop the change. His skin rippled. Veins glowed faintly beneath the surface. Fur pushed at his pores but didn't break through. He wasn't turning into a wolf—he was something else. In between.
A shifter.
Neither fully beast nor fully boy.
His bedroom pulsed with power. The lightbulb above him shattered. The walls seemed to breathe with him.
And then—it stopped.
Silence.
The glow faded. The claws receded. His heartbeat slowed. Alex collapsed to the floor, chest heaving, soaked in sweat and fear and something else—exhilaration.
For a moment, there was clarity.
This wasn't a curse. It was power. Wild, untamed, dangerous power. But it was his.
Outside his window, the full moon glowed white-hot in the sky, like an eye watching him, judging him.
Somewhere deep in the forest, a howl rose.
Not just one—several.
Alex crawled to the window, heart thudding.
The call had gone out.
And he—whatever he was now—had answered.
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Chapter 4: Alpha Instincts?