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LYKOS Second Skin Chapter 22 (10:12 AM)

It was fascinating just what the human spirit could adapt to over time, proving that context was king. For many the doctor's office was an imposition, an intimidating visit that one was in a hurry to get through and put behind them. The idea of a series of tests was daunting for most, but for those that craved answers, that were driven to see things through, context truly was king. For Luke Miller, Futurza had become the new normal. It was a lot more pleasant than life had been before coming here, and he'd been learning so much.

Luke sat in a low back chair in the center of the exam room, a splash of color in contrast to the sterile white walls and neutral grey floor. Despite spending so much time indoors, he had retained his sun kissed tan that brought out the freckles across his nose and shoulders. His red bandanna still remained around his head, keeping his blond hair the way he liked it. His hazel eyes fluttered shut as he chose to spend the time thinking about his pack in a mild sort of meditation.

The only other occupant in the room was one of the scientists, Hank. Luke preferred the other members of the team, ones that actually talked to him during the experiments. It had been from them that he'd learned what the various wireless sensors recorded. Hank brought out a tray covered with very small silver disks, selecting them one by one to place at strategic points along Luke's skull. Luke felt the discs adhere to the back of his head, recording signals of his brain's processing of visual signals. Then came points just behind his ears where the skull was thicker, acting as a control. Some were placed above his temples to test brainwaves, two more on the top of his scalp as electrical ground and reference, then a few more to monitor other signals. When the last one was placed, all of the minuscule discs flashed blue for a moment before falling dormant once more.

"There you go, almost finished." Hank said, setting the tray aside. He pulled out a small tablet and opened the software, registering the signal with the system and ensuring it was catalogued correctly.

"Subject one-zero-one-two." Luke said without having to be asked. Hank smiled at the efficiency and added the number, bringing up Luke's profile.

"You'll be part of the primary study today. Please take your pack down to green level before nine thirty. The experiment is set to start at ten, sharp." Hank said. Luke gave a nod, rising to his full height - well over six and a half feet now. His eyes darted over to the reflective surface of one of the sample refrigerators. He'd grown so much in just a few months, and he knew it was all thanks to his pack. Luke excused himself from the exam room, following the labyrinth of halls back to the dorms.

The twenty-year-old passed by a few other test subjects on the way. Some were bigger, some were smaller. Some were thick, some were lean, and on all of them there was the smell of uncertainty, of curiosity, of the same drive to find an answer that he had - although Luke was wondering, at least a little, if his drive to know, his urge to find a cure... was weakening. Luke glanced around almost as if he feared someone could interpret his thoughts, but he knew that was technology still a bit too advanced for Futurza.

Luke kept walking, though he smiled as he passed a trio of wolves that were waiting outside one of the snack rooms with their vouchers. A young woman with silky brunette hair gave Luke an appraising gaze, appreciating his mustache and goatee, then she realized her brother was doing just the same. She elbowed him and elicited an over-dramatic cough played off for emphasis. Luke smiled at the two but kept going. He had enough action from his own pack.

As he reached his destination, Luke's hand paused a centimeter from actually grasping the door handle. On the other side of the barrier was his newfound family, his pack. It had happened so gradually. They had been omegas and he had been a Beta, but in their time together they had all elevated. He'd become their Alpha, their leader, and they'd grown stronger as a result. They'd thrived, they'd flourished, and the condition they had come to cure no longer felt like a curse... but how could he admit that to anyone here? After all the experiments, all the work? What would they say?

With a slight sigh, Luke shrugged it off and opened the door, returning to the room that had been more of a home to him than his parents' house had turned out. The scent of the pack was strong in such a confined space, no doubt amplified by the fact that Enzo and Ian were arm wrestling. They'd both been growing like weeds. Enzo's fast metabolism had made it easy for him to bulk out his arms and pack on a healthy set of pecs, but Ian had caught up. Despite being a darkwolf, his transformations had gotten a little less rough on their last few outings.

"Thank god you're back. Maybe you can talk some sense into them." Milo said from where he sat on the counter in the back of the room, letting his long legs bounce against the fixtures. While they had all grown, Milo was perhaps the starkest change. His blue and purple hair now stretched past his shoulder blades and the cute scene kid now nearly stood taller than his Alpha. Enzo growled, a hint of fangs peeking out from behind his lips.

"I don't think this is the best time for sparring. We're going back down to the arboretum. We've only got a half hour to get there." Luke said. Enzo's head turned at that, his eyes wide. Ian slammed his arm down to the table, though there was a rather uncomfortable pop coming from inside Enzo's arm.

"Fuck, man!" Enzo cursed, hissing. Ian blanched as white as a sheet. Enzo cradled his arm for a moment, closing his eyes, breathing in and out. Ever so slowly, he eased his arm back and the pain seemed to decrease more and more.

"I'm so sorry, I... I didn't mean to." Ian whispered. Enzo nodded.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have gotten distracted. It'll be fine in a minute. I'm a fast healer." Enzo replied. Ian nodded, though he still looked a bit shaken. Luke moved over and rested a hand gently on Enzo's good shoulder, then one on Ian's, trying to give them both strength and stability.

"What's the test?" Milo asked, slipping off of the counter. Luke looked up at that.

"I think they're going to turn it on, for real this time." He said softly. The three looked at him with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

"Really? And they want us to be there?" Enzo asked, testing his newly healed arm. Ian watched him use it, hoping there was no lasting damage.

"Well, who can blame them? We've got some of the best scores on the endurance tests. We're young, we're healthy." Luke smiled. Ian and Enzo looked reassured at that, but Milo was watching his Alpha, considering.

"How do you feel about it?" Milo asked, turning his concerns into words. Luke looked up at that, realizing that while Futurza might not have been able to read his mind, his pack might have been able to. Luke shifted his weight from foot to foot as he debated his answer.

"When I first came here, I wanted to figure out how to be normal, how to get a cure like everyone else. I guess as the weeks went by, I started to realize that being a werewolf wasn't bad, at least not when I'm with you guys. I think I'll be okay as long as I have you all." Luke said. Milo smiled at that, though it was Ian who reached up, clapping a hand onto Luke's shoulder.

"No matter what happens, we're going to stick together. When this is all over, let's move in together." Ian said. Enzo looked at Ian and nodded.

"Yeah, exactly." Enzo said with a grin.

"Count me in." Milo said. Luke grinned, patting Ian's arm.

"Nothing would make me happier, but we better hurry up. We don't want to be late to the biggest experiment yet. We don't want anyone else nabbing our spot." Luke said. The others nodded in agreement, getting up to get ready. Luke watched them all with pride, wondering if the hardship in his life had been necessary to make their bond feel even more special. He looked at them changing clothes before he caught his own reflection in the mirror hanging by the bunk beds. Even with his bandanna and his thick hair, he could see just the tiniest glint of the wireless sensors on his scalp peeking out, a reminder that Futurza was still there to learn the secrets of the werewolves.

**** The dining room of the Iona household had been quiet since dawn. The sun had risen in the east, painting the sky in shades of salmon and hot pink that eventually gave way to a pale blue. The semantics of assisting with the transportation of so many werewolves had been a herculean task made bearable only by help from Keepers like Ren. Little by little, the werewolves were leaving the area. Some were headed back home, others had found new packs to run with during their captivity, and others were trying to drop off the grid... but Marco wasn't done with Houston yet.

Haku sat on the other side of the table from his son, just as they had so many mornings when he'd been growing up... before everything changed. Haku sat with both hands on his coffee mug, holding onto it like the idea of coffee itself would give him stability. He looked at his son, seeing how similar he was and how different. He felt foolish, not just for everything recently, but all the way back to Marco's first trip back to Hawaii... He'd already looked so different, and they had gone to a Futurza Luau of all things.

"I didn't know..." Haku whispered. Marco looked up at that. Haku looked at the contours of his son's face, from his defined forehead to his thick, luxurious beard. His hair seemed to have more volume to it, having lost some of the silkiness he'd gotten from his father. He looked away for a moment, feeling a mix of confusion and shame.

"It's not your fault, dad. I didn't... exactly tell you anything. I didn't know how to." Marco said softly. Haku grimaced and sipped from his cup.

"I should have done a better job to let you know you could come to me about anything." Haku said. Marco's brow furrowed.

"It isn't that, I mean, it's nothing you did or didn't do. I know I'm lucky." Marco said, "I just barely came to grips with it myself. I'm still figuring... me out. You never gave me any warning signs, I just... was afraid, that..." Marco hesitated, looking at his dad, taking a breath, "I'm so different from what I pictured myself becoming, I didn't want you to be disappointed or love me any less."

"Son, I-" Haku was interrupted as Marco shook his head.

"Before you say that, I have to tell you everything." Marco said, biting his bottom lip a little like he had as an eleven-year-old when he'd lost his bike in the ocean. He met eyes with his father and braced himself, "I'm a werewolf. I'm an Alpha, the leader of a pack... and I'm gay." Marco said, taking another breath, "I... I'm not just gay, I have... I mean, the pack is this whole other thing. We're connected in ways I can't really describe... It's complex, but we make it work." Marco said. He didn't look exactly relieved by the revelation, though he felt less pressured. He looked at his father, almost feeling too weak to accept whatever response he came up with. Haku, however, surprised him with a bit of a smile.

"Maybe... in a strange way, I'm lucky." Haku shrugged, "I mean, I'm glad you finally told me. It took me a few years to tell your mother that I experimented back in college." Haku said. Marco's face took on a look of terror.

"Dad!" Marco gasped. Haku shook his head in turn.

"I gave you your time to speak son, don't deny me mine." Haku said with a light grin, "But like I said, I've gotten to know a lot of werewolves at work. It helped me to think of things in a different way. I mean, before the eclipse, everyone you saw was so disconnected and isolated. Always on their phones, on their computers, doing the bare minimum. With the wolves..." he paused, "With werewolves, there's a biological connection. There's this need to be together, to connect. It's almost a weakness of humanity that we've lost that. I think... I can understand it better having seen it up close."

"Dad..." Marco said softly, his eyes getting a bit wet around the edges. Haku tried to smile, but his face looked pained as the thoughts filling his mind swarmed in.

"I can't even begin to find the words to apologize for what you had to go through... The idea that it was connected to Futurza, that we found out by hacking in, I just..." Haku closed his eyes, setting his coffee down as he lowered his head. Marco reached over, resting a large hand on his father's.

"It wasn't anything you could see. They kept the secret just like the werewolves did..." Marco said, although his face tightened with a bit of a realization. He looked back at his dad, eyes widening, "When did you start working on that project... That one that worked with hormones and adrenaline?"

"A few years back, you were sixteen, why?" Haku asked.

"Didn't mom say your more recent work at Futurza was with blood?" Marco asked. Haku looked as if he was energized and deflated all at the same time.

"It was a natural extension of my work, taking what I'd been assigned back then to the next level." Haku said, following where his son was leading. Marco looked scandalized.

"They knew. They knew about werewolves before the eclipse... They were ready. That's why they beat everyone else to the punch. That's why they had connections with the hunters. They knew and they were waiting. When this happened, they jumped at the chance..." Marco said in shock.

"If they're that good and that prepared, what do we do next? They kidnapped all those werewolves before. They have all those werewolves now." Haku said. Marco looked grim as he weighed the options.

"There's no telling what their game plan is, not from the outside. We can't just hide, and we can't abandon all those werewolves that went there for help. They were lured in with the promise of a cure, and now they're at the center of a conspiracy that started before the secret of the wolves even got out. We can't leave them there." Marco said. Haku looked at his son, bewildered and in awe at the same time.

"I... I want to try and help, we used my credentials before, but I don't know what I can do. It's an entire company." Haku said. Marco nodded softly.

"I know... The stakes are huge. We're in danger if we do nothing, even more danger if we try anything... But you raised me to be a good person, to do the right thing. What I've learned since then is that sometimes all it takes is having one good person in a bad place at the right time. If we go in there and we save one person, that's more than if we do nothing. What if we save five? Ten? What if we convince a scientist to stop experimenting on werewolves? Whatever we do, it'll be worthwhile." Marco said with confidence. Haku sniffled a little as he leaned across the table and gave his son an awkward hug. Marco felt the edge of the table pressing into his stomach, but he didn't care. He hugged his father, heaving a sigh of relief. There were no more secrets, nothing to hide...

"We have to tell your mother, get her somewhere safe." Haku said. Though he nearly jumped out of his chair as Cira cleared her throat from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Telling me is always a smart move, but getting me somewhere safe? I'm not a pretty little thing to be tucked away in a box with newspaper wrapped around me. Have you forgotten that we just used tour busses to bust some kidnapped kids out of an underground prison? We're in deep, my love..." Cira said. Marco grinned a bit at that.

"The last thing I want to do is put any of you at harm, but I have a feeling that if I'm going in, this is going to be a family thing." Marco said. Cira nodded, moving over to take her seat.

"The way I see it, if Haku's credentials had been found out, if they'd mopped up that prison, if they'd done anything to figure out what happened, we wouldn't be sitting here like this. They're distracted. They're focused on something else, something that makes this whole thing seem like nothing. I don't think I'm going to like whatever that is." Cira said, her accent coming out a bit more. Marco nodded.

"We got out of the secret base, but their biggest secrets are being hidden in plain sight. All those wolves, all those scientists? Whatever they are doing, it's at the tower." Marco agreed.

"Then I better get ready for work. I feel like it's going to be a long day." Haku said before finishing his coffee.

**** The elevator descended, floor by floor, heading from the height of the technologically advanced tower into the depths of its foundation. Every level they dropped, Luke could feel it getting closer... He could feel it in his heart, his lungs, his blood. His adrenaline was pumping, and it felt infectious... though he wasn't sure how much it was. His shrewd eyes surveyed his pack, moving from Enzo to Ian and to Milo. They'd been sent to the arboretum a few times, they'd indulged in their carnal instincts, but this time was different. This wasn't just another test, this wasn't recreation. This was it; this was the day...

Luke had to look away for a moment, not for any particular reason other than a flare up of his own cognitive dissonance. He had come to Futurza for a cure, but that wasn't what he wanted anymore. He'd been stewing on that idea since they had put the scanners onto him, realizing how far he'd come. It wasn't just that he didn't mind being a werewolf anymore. He actually loved it... and he wanted more. He was tired of having to look human all the time. He was tired of only letting the beast out for special occasions. He actually hungered to feel his skeleton shift and change and warp in his skin. He wanted to feel his teeth too sharp to contain. He hungered to have his teeth sharp and his claws long.

Luke inhaled and exhaled, his heart thumping in his chest, feeling hair bristling across his chest, his cheeks, and the backs of his hands. He felt his ears pushing slowly upwards, the round edges taking on points, his fingers aching as the nail beds deepened and thickened. The wolf was trying to get out, and he wanted it to. He wanted to give in. He huffed a little harder, feeling his tailbone ache, then his toes. He shuddered, sweat beading across his brow, though he nearly jumped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

Enzo met eyes with his Alpha, both of theirs a brilliant golden hue. More hair was sprouting across Enzo's face. Ian was rubbing his arms as they swelled larger, feeling a creaking in his bones, a shifting inside of him as the wolf stirred. Even Milo was swaying from side to side, his elfin features looking a bit harsher as his brow bones swelled.

"It's getting stronger already, isn't it?" Milo asked. Luke nodded before he leaned over to kiss Milo's cheek. He shuddered and inhaled, his shirt tightening as his chest expanded, his nipples hardening like diamonds.

"I... I don't know what to do." Ian admitted, looking at the rest of his pack a bit anxiously, "It doesn't seem right, does it? It isn't anywhere near a full moon, but they're doing it here, they're doing it now, they're doing it underground. What does it mean?" Ian asked. Luke reached over to rub his shoulder to reassure him.

"We'll do what we have to when the time comes, but what does it mean? For us? It means we can be who we were meant to be, who we really are. You don't have to be afraid of who you are. You don't have to be a direwolf if you don't want to. You can embrace your beast; you can be big and tough and you all at the same time. You're part of our pack." Luke said, his conviction seeming to reach Ian despite the fact that he was still hanging his head a bit in shame at what he was.

Without another word being spoken, the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors rumbled open. No matter how many times they took that journey, it still felt like they were emerging in another world. What smelled like fresh, natural air wafted into the elevator. A forest stretched out beyond them with many of the building supports masked as ancient trees. Only a few of the columns remained uncamouflaged, disappearing into the canopy of branches above. Luke took a step out, his pack following suit. They had left their shoes behind, their toes feeling the give of the bark dust and soil beneath them.

The hairs started to stand up on Luke's arms as he walked, feeling the cool nip to the air, hearing the slight shifting of a few animals that had been released into the arboretum. It felt so real, and yet it wasn't. It was a mask, an illusion, just like they were. It was a place that had been transformed from what humanity expected into something more primordial... and nothing in that place epitomized that fact more than the moon hanging in the artificial sky, rising from the horizon, growing brighter with every moment.

Luke came to a stop, looking up at the orb with his golden eyes, feeling it washing over him. He could tell it wasn't real... They were underground, and the moon was just a bit too blue... But he didn't care. He could feel its call growing. This was HIS moon; this was the moon that would wake his beast and let him be who he really wanted to be. It was speaking to him like words carrying on the wind. He wasn't a human anymore. He wasn't the Luke Miller that had lived such a pathetic life. He was a werewolf with a pack, and he was ready to embrace that fate. He threw his head back, feeling his hair brush the nape of his neck as he opened his mouth and let out a howl.

**** The car door slammed as Haku got out, moving around the side and the back, waiting to cross. He felt the gusts of wind as the cars zipped past before the lights changed and an opportunity presented itself. He started to cross, though he heard the passenger side door open behind him. Marco stepped out, rising up to his full height, feeling a little bit silly. He'd put on one of his dad's button up shirts, a navy-blue number. He'd pulled his hair back into a ponytail, he'd cleaned up the shoes he'd gotten from the local werewolves... He hadn't dressed up that nice since his college interviews.

Haku led the way, crossing the plaza with Marco right behind. He tried to keep his face calm and passive, looking normal. It was distracting thinking about Cira working with his son's pack, making the connections, trying to help get the pieces in place. He moved up the steps, approaching the tower he'd called his home away from home since moving to Houston. He looked up slowly at the massive structure, the glass shrine to science coated with the metallic honeycomb of hexagons protecting it like some kind of shield... protecting the secrets inside.

Haku opened the door and stepped inside, moving over to the security checkpoint. He pulled his badge out to make it visible and brought his hand down onto the fingerprint reader before looking up at the guard.

"Good morning Sal... This is my son, Marco. I wanted to show him around the office a little, give him an idea of what I do." Haku said. The guard looked up at Haku, then at Marco's chest, then up to his face, eyebrows rising a bit.

"You're certainly a big boy... You must have fed him well Haku." The guard grinned. Haku chuckled and Marco forced a smile, although something seemed off to Haku as he looked around. The foyer to the building was generally packed with people... Water dribbled down the glass partitions in the fountains, the potted plants sat idly by, but there were very few people going to and fro.

"Sal, did I miss a memo? Where is everyone?" Haku asked, stepping through the gate when his fingerprint cleared. Sal was busy pulling out a laminated visitor badge for Marco, making sure the lanyard wasn't tangled.

"The director is set to launch some big project, division one clearance only. Might be the perfect time to show the kid around your office, less eyes to look over your shoulder with them at their big shindig." Sal grinned. Haku forced a smile of his own.

"I think you're right about that Sal... Thanks again." Haku said, moving toward the elevator. Marco pulled the visitor badge over his head, lifting his ponytail to get it to fit more comfortably before he followed his father. By the time he'd caught up, the elevator doors were already opening. Haku stepped in and Marco followed, the two turning to face back outward. Sal turned and smiled at them. The guard could see the family resemblance... Cinnamon toned skin, long hair, but he wondered what Haku's wife looked like to produce such a robust heir. He smiled to himself and turned his attention back to the crossword puzzle in front of him.

"A seven-letter word for a city in the Pelo... Peloponn... Peloponnese region." Sal murmured, trying to use the letters he'd already figured out from other words. He adjusted his glasses a little, contemplating before a small smile crossed his lips. "Arcadia..." He said with triumph, scribbling down his answer.

****

A wall of screens displayed the activities of those in the arboretum, switching from point to point to show off anything that might be relevant. Five packs and a handful of individuals had been released into the underground environment, though few eyes were focused on the test subjects quite yet. Focus was being directed to other aspects of the control room, from a bank of sophisticated equipment that ran along the main observation window to other controls on one wall, and even to the director herself. Naomi looked at a few of the displays, her face growing a touch more concerned.

"I thought we were supposed to be ready to start at ten..." Naomi said softly. One of the scientists looked up at her with a bit of mounting trepidation.

"Two of the capacitors are taking longer to charge than we anticipated. It shouldn't be more than ten, twelve minutes at most..." he replied. Naomi gave a slight nod, accepting the answer. She had no other choice. After all, the timing of the test wasn't nearly as important as testing it at full power. She looked over at Chad who was already approaching, sensing her mood change.

"We need to buy a little time?" Chad asked. Naomi grimaced.

"What would you suggest?" she asked. Chad looked around briefly at the gathered scientists and staffers in the room. He shrugged a little.

A unifying speech might be in order." Chad offered. Naomi looked both disappointed and almost affronted, but as usual she could see the wisdom in her friend's observations. Her team had been given their individual guidance, their own objectives, but they were about to reach a culminating point in work that had started well before she was ever born. The answers they found could serve as warning to generations to come. Naomi checked the clock once more to see if there was any way of getting out of it before she accepted her fate.

Stepping to the center of the room, several of the workers looked up. A few more sensed the growing quiet. Naomi looked around at her employees. She had always kept them at arm's length. Part of the reason had been security, trying to avoid sabotage or a risk to her own life... but part of it had also been in her nature. She had been forced to inherit an air of suspicion, of doubt, of constant lingering panic. But these people were not threats. They had been the ones to try and help her reach her goal, to answer the questions her grandfather had asked, to put her plans into action. She owed them a morsel of recognition, and the veil of secrecy had been draped over everyone for far too long.

"For months now, we have been working to chip away at a mystery that defies description." Naomi began. The last few scientists that had not been paying looked up at that. Naomi paused, meeting eyes with them before continuing, "Every test we know of, every procedure we can devise seems to be unable to crack the secrets of the werewolves. Despite that fact, we have learned more in a few months than any human has in decades." Naomi said.

The scientists seemed a bit relieved by the turn of the speech, especially as Naomi took a few steps around the room. It was the most open they had seen her, and it helped to give the moment a special gravitas. It didn't feel like yet another impossible feat. There was something about the day that felt truly special. Chad watched Naomi move, eager to see where her speech was going and fascinated by the fact that she was stepping out of her comfort zone.

"We learned about the different breeds of werewolves. We learned their strengths and weaknesses. We learned that they influence one another, for better and worse. They can lift each other up, or they can drag each other down. That push and pull isn't just limited to one another, though... That push and pull was our first warning, nature's first attempt to let us know that these beasts were out there, hiding in plain sight. The legends stretch back centuries. Almost every society on Earth has its own legend about the wolves and what they can do... and it was a lunar event that showed the world once and for all that werewolves exist." Naomi said.

"Capacitors at ninety nine percent." One of the lead researchers said softly so just Naomi could hear. She nodded, looking back out to her captive audience. Making a speech had been the last thing from her mind when she had started, but now that she was on a roll there was something cathartic about it, something liberating. It was a more potent feeling than any amount of therapy had ever been.

"Futurza may have started out as a pharmaceutical company, but we extended into bio-tech and tech and innovation in general. We are guardians of the people... and the one thing the people have needed all this time is the truth. The werewolves have been hidden from us even as they corrupt more members to their cause, subvert our justice system and take the lives of the ones we care about... But that ends today." Naomi said most seriously, "Each of you has done impressive work for Futurza these last few months, and much of it has led up to this moment."

Most of the gathered scientists hung onto her word with bated breath, unable to turn away. What had seemed like disconnected experiments and series of failures now seemed like part of a larger whole. The fact that so many of their experiments lacked any answers no longer stung quite so much. Even without being to define the exact nature of what they were studying, they had been learning about it by defining the edges and boundaries of the complex phenomena.

"Sitting beneath us is one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology ever assembled, harnessing natural laws of gravity, light, electromagnetism... everything we know about the moon itself." Naomi continued, "We will show the world what they have hidden from us. We will show the world who these werewolves really are." Naomi said. A soft chirping sounded from the console behind her and a smile crept across Naomi's lips. It might not have been ready at exactly ten o'clock, but the experiment had found a way to be right on time. "Let the moon shine." Naomi said.

Those responsible for the main console went to work, adjusting dials and pressing buttons. Systems began to work in sequence, then in tandem. A display showed excessive amounts of power being routed through generators, mechanisms and lenses. From below the observation window, a bright light began to spill outward, washing out across the forest below. As the light grew, Naomi couldn't help but gaze out across the personification of the mystery that had been saddled around her shoulders since she had been old enough to bear it... They were shedding light on a dark secret and the truth would be revealed at last.

**** The forest had been still and quiet for days, at least apart from the occasional howl by one of the visitors. That had been an interruption Andrew Poulson had grown to ignore. The forest had been a prison for him, a sentence enacted for the crime of misfortune and sheer bad luck. His clothes had grown tattered and his body had continued to change. He'd never been quite so fit, and certainly never that rugged. His face was framed by a bushy blonde beard and his hair had grown down to his shoulders. His jacket no longer fit over his arms; his pants had been torn off at the knees. He was an animal.... Although he was an animal that had tried to find ways to keep extensive notes. Some small part of him hoped that it was all some misunderstanding, that a compassionate scientist would let him out...

The silence that Andrew had grown used to came to an astonishing end with a very loud, very mechanical shudder-thump from somewhere distant. It was loud enough to send some of the birds in the enclosure flying from their branches, fluttering around in concerned chaos. The sound had been a herald of things to come and Andrew's wary eyes were open wide. In a split second he was on his feet, looking around, but already the changes were sweeping in from all directions. The arboretum had simulated the day and night cycle perfectly. It had only been daylight for a few hours, but as Andrew watched, the sunlight faded from the horizon. What little light made it through the canopy dimmed. The distant walls of the arboretum faded from bright blue to indigo, then navy, then midnight. False stars tried their hardest to sparkle, though they were decorative projections with little purpose. Andrew moved out from his enclave of trees, stepping into the open, his golden eyes gleaming as he watched the moon grow brighter and brighter as it rose higher on the wall. He could feel it inside of him, the blue orb reaching out. He twitched a little, feeling the remnants of his clothes growing tighter.

"No, not now..." He whispered with protest. There had always been something unnatural about the arboretum. The moon had always had an unnatural sway, but now? Now it was waking up, or more accurately, it was waking the beast within him up. Andrew stumbled a little, a hand reaching out to brace against the trunk of a tree. He groaned, his teeth gnashing and scraping as they pressed out longer and thicker, pushing into sharp tips. The hair on his face began to grow longer and softer as new hairs pushed out from his cheeks, rising upward.

Andrew's toes wriggled with discomfort and pain as they grew wider, longer, and thicker. The keratin that made up his nails darkened as they pushed outward, curving down, thickening and honing into points. The claws dug into the soil with ease, anchoring his feet as they broadened. Bones and ligaments popped, cartilage crinkled as it reshaped and reformed. Andrew's chest rose and fell with each breath, but every one made him larger than he was before.

A flurry of thoughts crossed his burning, searing mind. He had struggled and strained, pushed himself to the limit. He'd achieved degrees, he'd taken internships, he'd written papers and he'd applied everything he was to answering the questions Futurza had asked... and then with one slip up, one accident, he had been cast aside, thrown down with the lions, treated like a lab rat. A deep, guttural resounding growl began to emanate from Poulson's chest as it expanded outward, his pectorals thickening and his abdomen defining. What was left of his shirt began to rip open, the cooling air kissing at his hard, exposed nipples. His pants were next to go, splitting out, tearing open. A furry sheath emerged, protruding out over pendulous balls, full and aching with virile energy.

Poulson threw his head back, feeling his hair turn into a mane, his face burning as his skull started to reshape. His nose broadened, his nostrils flared, his jaw extended. His sharp, full fangs were growing in longer. It was pain and pleasure at the same time. His back cracked and popped as his shoulders broadened, fur sprouting across them. The fur spiraled down his arms as a clawed paw grabbed onto the last scraps of his clothing, casting them to the ground. He had no need for human trappings, not anymore. He was a powerful beast, an animal, a male...

A soft, glistening gush of precum erupted from his sheath before the pointed tip of the reddened canine flesh emerged. Without any prompting from his hand, inch after inch emerged. The tool throbbed with need, stretching out to twelve inches, then fourteen, then seventeen. It curved up wickedly to its pointed tip, bulging on the sides and then especially at the base as the engorged knot popped out. The entire implement looked deadly, and in his own way Poulson brandished it like a weapon.

Clawed fingers wrapped around the slick meat, giving it a good squeeze as he drew his hand back and forth, feeling how big he was. Even as the rest of his body continued to fill out, he knew that his cock was at the ready to serve its biological imperative. He could make many more werewolves if given the chance... and he could exact his revenge as well.

Poulson's golden eyes began to shift slightly, tinted with the red heat of his rage as he thought about what fate had befallen him... His coworkers had betrayed him, leaving him alone to be cast down into this prison. None of them deserved mercy, least of all the director... She was the one that had spearheaded the project. It was her fault he'd been infected. It was her fault that his life had been derailed... It would have only been fair after all.

Andrew growled a little more as his tail descended from his hips, dropping down to brush the forest floor. His muscles wrapped up around his waist and spine, anchoring his bulkier appendages together. His muzzle filled out, his ears migrated to the top of his head, and yet he remained standing. He was an animal capable of hunting or running, standing like a man or bounding like a beast. He was so much more now. He was a werewolf, and this was his time.

Poulson took a few steps forward before eventually, reluctantly, releasing his cock. He dropped down onto all four paws and started to run, kicking up soil behind him as he headed deeper into the forest, his eyes locked on the glowing moon on the horizon. He could feel its power, and he couldn't resist a second longer.

**** Ian fell onto all fours roughly, snarling and growling. Milo had gasped, his hands covering his mouth. Enzo had moved forward to try and help before freezing, but it was Luke that walked up calmly, reaching out to pet Ian's hair. Ian looked up, his skin writhing and wriggling on his body with an uncertain potential energy. His teeth were coming in sharper than anyone else's, almost serrated on the edges. His fingernails were bloody, his feet sounding like breaking glass as the bones segmented and reshaped before hardening again. Ian let out a pained growl and whimper but looked back up at Luke for direction.

Luke crouched down, leaning in close before his lips pressed to Ian's. Ian's pain softened, his fear melted, and his cock hardened. Luke leaned into the kiss, their beard-rimmed lips tight, the hair meshing. Ian could smell Luke's changes manifesting harder and harder. He could hear his Alpha's skull stretching, his jaw growing. They had been lost in the change as soon as they had set foot in the arboretum, but it was coming so much faster now. Ian's tongue thickened, growing purple, pushing out longer. Luke nipped at it before he kissed Ian again. Ian's lips curled in lust, growling and groaning. His sheath bulged as the thick, distended, fat cock of a wolf began to wriggle its way free, already dribbling its corrupted seed. Ian whimpered more as his face pushed out into a muzzle. For a moment his hearing fell silent, his ears burning and tingling before the sensation shifted. His hair moved out of the way as two pointed, furry ears stretched out from the top of his head.

"That's it, my pup... You're my beast. You can be whatever you want to be. I want you to be mine." Luke whispered. Ian looked up at him with such hope and longing, such need, that the words seemed to cement everything about him. The sickly color drained away from his flesh. His fur grew healthier. His skin no longer tried to tear, but instead it grew. Muscles rearranged, his ass cheeks pulled apart as a new tail grew in and all at once Ian seemed to let go of what was holding him back. His ribs parted, his stomach lengthened, his face pushed out and his humanity was left behind.

Ian had been the first to give in fully to his animal, emerging as a feral dark wolf. He was on all fours, his tail wagging behind him, glistening brightly in the blue moonlight. The changes slowed down, though he continued to pack on pounds as cells divided and new mass formed from the mysterious curse that fed all of their changes. Luke watched Ian fill out with pride before he turned, looking back to Milo and Enzo.

"There you are, my beautiful men... We're so close. Come on, let the wolf out. It's our time to play." Luke whispered, moving over, grabbing onto Enzo's thick black beard as he kissed him forcefully. Enzo moaned into the kiss, his chest doubling and then quadrupling in size in a matter of moments. His nipples darkened and stretched out before a forest of hair covered them, creeping down his flat, firm stomach to blend with the hair ringing his groin. Enzo's ears shifted, and his face did too, even his shoulders.

The group had been through a few transformations before, both at Futurza and in the wild, but none had quite been like this. It was faster, stranger, more tactile. Even Milo couldn't stop himself, gasping as his claws raked down his own chest, nearly breaking the skin. He thrashed as his face contorted and shifted, pushing out into a muzzle. His vision changed; his sense of smell increased. Fur blossomed across his skin, tingling and tickling as it came out, and his long tail pushed out from above his ass as new bones formed one after another.

Luke looked at his pack with pride. Ian was a brute, Enzo was a muscled beast, and Milo had the grace of a wolf that could slip through the night like a shadow or a whisper. They were handsome and strong and perfect and his... He would mate them all until they were content, and then possibly a bit more. He growled with delight, though his pointed ears squirmed as he thought he heard something else... words carrying on the wind.

Milo fell onto all fours, moving over to Ian, licking his fur and then his shaft as he continued to change. The smell of sex was strong in the air. Even Enzo moved over, nuzzling Milo's hip, taking in his pack mate's smell, but Luke was too distracted. He stood on his own two legs, hair blowing in the subtle breeze, hearing the words growing louder and louder.

The Alpha's eyes lifted upwards, searching for the source until they locked onto the supernatural circle lingering on the horizon. The blue moon was looking back at him, into him. He could feel its pull, its draw, its magnetism. It was right there, so close, so strong. Luke's body tried to flinch, but he wouldn't let it. His eyes remained locked on the moon, hearing the words carrying on the wind, speaking directly to him.

"Lycaon... Nyctimus... Demeas..." Luke whispered, feeling the energy washing over him and through him, not sure where the words were coming from. The words kept growing louder, practically shouting. The blue light was so bright it was nearly blinding, but Luke couldn't turn away from any of it. As Luke lost himself in the supernatural spectacle, the gold light drained from his eyes, blanching to silver and then a dull blue that matched the artificial moon.

"Luke?" Enzo asked, looking up from his own transformation, feeling his changes accelerate. He looked up at his Alpha and his glowing blue eyes, sensing something was off, something was different. Luke's hand drifted over to Enzo's head, petting his hair as he shifted. Enzo leaned into the embrace, gasping as his changes sped up. He felt more bones warp, more ligaments stretch.

The tiny sensors that had been placed across Luke's scalp had been transmitting the unusual signals back to the computers, but the feedback was growing more intense by the second. The blue diodes started to flash and flicker, nearly being overwhelmed by the data being transmitted back wirelessly to the receivers placed around the arboretum. Just above the artificial moon, banks of computers struggled to make sense of the incoming data as chaotic brainwaves started to shift into something far more organized, something the computer could recognize as code.

Luke's blue eyes broke contact for a moment, looking at his wolves as they changed and shifted, transforming. He could feel their pain and pleasure, he could feel their power... In a way he felt bad. They couldn't see the beauty piercing the veil like he could. Luke raised his head, looking back at the moon before his eyes refocused - not on the projected image on the surface of the wall, but at the jagged scar of blue light that sat just in front of it, hanging in mid-air.

The zigzag tear was right there, yet it took every ounce of Luke's being to focus on it, as if it did not want to be seen. The humans had missed it every time. The werewolves had too. It was like an eyelash suspended in teardrops, floating at the edge of awareness, but Luke finally saw it, and he could feel it staring back at him, into him, through him... Luke's fangs ground against one another, his swollen brow curled and he let out a furious howl of anguish, pain and suffering as he fell onto his knees, the blue light from the scar unrelenting in its mission.

Luke felt the pain of the tests they had forgotten, the fury of the subjects that had no say. He felt the fear of his oppressors, the loss of those that had passed. He saw glimpses of lives he had never lived. He saw an underground place with metal cages, he saw a place long ago with barbed wire and soldiers. He felt hot and cold, old and young. He felt the weight of everything all at once, and then it all crystallized in a single moment. Luke threw his head back and parted his muzzle, but it wasn't a howl that erupted. It was a rage fueled, resounding, echoing war cry.

Luke's fur bristled as it shifted to shades of silver. His skin paled and looked ghostly, even his claws shifted from black to grey. His pecs grew thicker, his arms bulged, his legs lengthened. His body packed on more and more mass until he far outpaced Ian, growing taller and broader at the same time. As Luke braced a huge paw on the ground and forced himself upright, he shuddered slightly, feeling his purpose solidifying. None of the accidents at Furturza had been coincidence; they had been warnings to the humans that the curse was not to be trifled with. It was not a puzzle to unwrap; it was not a disease to cure. Any effort to do so was folly, and it was time the humans learned that the hard way.

The other werewolves looked up in shock and awe as Luke rose up to his new height, standing taller than any werewolf ever had. His silver fur glistened with sweat and humidity as the breeze blew through it. Gleaming blue eyes scanned the horizon, lifting from the false moon and the tear in reality to the observation window above. Luke took a step, then another, picking up speed. He was about to break into a run when that artificial thump echoed through the arboretum once more. The light from the false moon sputtered before growing much more intense, a wave of light washing outward to fill the arboretum, spreading in every direction at once. This was a light that everyone could see.

**** A soft clatter came from the keyboard as Haku worked his way through the system. It had been a gamble before, logging keystrokes and transmitting them. This was an entirely different, more flagrant attempt to gather information. Haku knew that there was a high risk of being caught if they wandered out of bounds, of everything being linked back. For all he knew, Furturza had a litany of litigious lawyers on standby to defend their dark deeds. One way or another, he knew his job was over at the very least. The only question was if he could do enough in a short amount of time to help those that needed help.

Marco stood a few feet away, looking around the office. It hadn't been quite what he was expecting. He'd had a variety of images of his father over the year... Lab coats, vials, equipment. He was starting to realize how foolish that was. Lab space was different than work space, and while he was sure his father worked in his lab sometimes, it made sense that a lot of the number crunching would be elsewhere. Haku murmured to himself, running into another password block. Haku turned and looked at Marco.

"We still have the credentials from the director's assistant... But there's no reason he'd be accessing the information from here. It'd be a red flag if anyone's looking." Haku warned.

"Every option we have is a risk right now... All we can hope is that most of them are at whatever big event that guard was talking about." Marco said, although as the words left his mouth, a wash of blue light lifted through the floor, passing through the office. Marco reached out to brace himself against the wall as he was suddenly overwhelmed. His eyes stung, the hazel color shifting to amber. Marco's fingernails turned brown and then black, pushing out into claws. Marco's teeth sharpened, his ears pointed, but it was just starting... all of it was starting. Marco's eyes clenched shut and for a moment he could smell the ethereal trees, feel that haze wrapped around him. He remembered his battle with Demeas, traveling to the other side of the portal. He remembered that heightened awareness, of seeing Yom and Udo with their turquoise eyes. He heard the echoes of Nyctimus' words, the memory of Demeas trying to affect the world... The events were behind them, but the feeling remained as living memory.

Marco groaned, his shoes tightening as his feet started to grow and stretch. His face tingled as new hairs pushed out, creeping up his cheeks. His eyebrows grew bushier, his brow bone swelled, his ears had already taken on elfin like points. Haku had turned around and was a bit startled to see his son in distress.

"What is it? What happened?" Haku asked. Marco grunted again, forcing his eyes open. They were so yellow they were almost glowing. His shirt tightened with each breath, the fabric straining. Marco shuddered.

"I don't understand. It feels like a full moon, but it's still morning..." Marco said, panting hard, his mouth getting too full of teeth. His pants began to strain as his legs reshaped. He turned, watching his hand spreading out into a paw. The knuckles popped; the fingers reshaped. His rib cage was pushing outwards. Every part of him was changing. His tailbone ached and throbbed like he had fallen on it wrong, but it was growing as well. The existing bones pushed outward as new ones formed behind them. One by one, little sequential segments formed, meshed in muscle and ligament. The growing rope like appendage snaked up and out of Marco's pants as downy black fuzz covered it. Marco growled more, bearing his fangs as his face started to swell. His lips felt numb as his bottom jaw pushed outward, tugging the rest of his face with it, forming the start of a muzzle.

"That light, that flash... I thought it was glare from outside or the computer... What if that's what their event is?" Haku asked softly. Marco looked up at his father.

"If they found a way to change werewolves at will, to force them into their feral form, there's no hiding. There's no anonymity. They can out anyone and identify them." Marco said, moaning as his shirt started to tear around the collar, his pants sagging down as the fur spilled out of his tail and covered his ass cheeks. Marco blushed heatedly beneath his beard, looking at his father. "I can't... I mean, I don't..." Marco murmured, embarrassed. The idea of his father seeing him changing was bad enough, but in his feral form there was no hiding... anything. He panted harder, sweating as the hair on his face started to shift into fur, creeping across his nose and around his eyes, his eyebrows disappearing into the fuzz. His hair got bigger and thicker; his beard grew into a bushy mane. His nipples were as hard as diamonds.

"I know this has to be strange for you, stranger than I can imagine, but I've been working with werewolves for months. As long as you don't feel you're a danger to me, I promise I won't be weirded out by anything. We just have to get you out of here." Haku said, standing up. Marco shook his head.

"Not just me. All of the werewolves. We didn't get what we came for. We need the smoking gun... If they just turned everyone in this building into a feral wolf, they've got more on their hands than they know what to do with. Use the credentials, get what we need..." Marco said. Haku looked at his shifting son before he nodded and sat back down, entering the stolen codes. He started going deeper, checking for anything illicit, anything that had to do with the moon. Marco grunted, watching the screens in the room flicker, a jagged U-shaped distortion appearing across them for an instant. Once more he heard the echoes of Nyctimus and Demeas, the tug of war between the two sides. Marco turned his amber eyes toward the window, looking at the sunlight, the daylight, the complete lack of a full moon... although there were clouds gathering around the building, creeping outward, blotting out the otherwise clear blue sky. Whatever was happening, Marco could tell it was just the start.

**** The pre-lunch rush was one of the biggest rushes at the Cappa-Cuppo coffee shop. So many of the Houstonians started their day early that ten thirty was the new lunch time. Chance didn't mind, it made for lots of tips. The barista moved around the shop, delivering the coffees to those that waited. He was five foot eleven, twenty-four years old, and his naturally brown hair had been dyed with just enough dark burgundy color to make it mysterious. It hung down on one side of his face, complimenting the patch of hair on his chin and the dangly gold earring hanging from his right ear.

"Thank you." One of the patrons said with a nod as he set their drink down.

"Not a problem Kenneth." Chance replied. He tried to remember all of his regulars' names, though not everyone shared such details. Chance moved around the shop, the brick and mortar facade harkening back to olden days despite the building being far newer. The exterior was stark and clean, matching the Futurza tower next door. He was just glad the interior boasted the stained wood and polished chrome aesthetic of years gone by.

Chance moved back towards the register to ring up the patrons gathering in line, though as he approached it there was a flash of blue light that seemed to sweep through the wall, crossing the restaurant. Chance made it only another step before he nearly stumbled. His heart was racing. His blood was pumping. Chance looked up, catching his own reflection in the stainless-steel appliances. His blue eyes were gone. Amber ones were staring back. Chance's mouth filled with fangs; his ears pushed into points. His eyebrow swelled and his fingernails darkened to pitch black, growing sharp and deadly.

Gasps broke out from the customers, first at the blue flash, and then at the person changing right before them. Chance didn't understand what was happening. The full moon wasn't for days, and never when he had a shift. He blushed, looked around, and then felt the panic settle in. He'd had a hard-enough time working right next to werewolf central. The tower had drawn in lycanthropes from around the world, but now... now he was changing in front of everyone he knew; his boss, his co-workers, his customers... Chance looked around before he dropped his receipt pad and pushed out of the front door into the street.

Most of the pedestrians were still walking normally, although a few had stopped when the blue light erupted from the tower. Chance looked one way, then another when he heard a scream. Several people were backing off across the street as a young woman dropped to all fours, panting and groaning as the changes swept over her. Chance saw the fear in their eyes, the doubt. He couldn't take it. He looked down the street before he broke into a sprint - faster by far than any human could manage. With every step, his clothes became tighter. His shirt started to pop buttons, revealing his extremely hairy chest. His arms grew longer, stretching out of his sleeves as hair sprouted on his knuckles and his claws grew in. His ears got fuzzy, pointed, then fully canine, sticking out from his hair. The patch of hair on his chin became a tuft, thick sideburns growing in.

Even Chance's pants were growing tight as his manhood was enveloped in a furry sheath, the protective cocoon nurturing it as it grew longer, thicker, fuller... He could feel it taking on a point, growing red and hard and furious. It wanted to fuck, to be sucked, to be mated. Sweat beaded across his brow as fur covered his face. His claws got longer, curving, taking on sharp points. He nearly doubled over, groaning as his stomach contorted and shifted. His tail sprung out of his pants, a dark brown with a hint of burgundy mixed in. Chance's balls grew fuller and heavier. He was a stud, a pack legend. He could cum more times than all his brothers put together, but this wasn't the full moon. This was public. He had to find a safe space, he had to...

Chance paused, looking up, catching sight of someone he had not expected to see, but always hoped to smell. There was another young man sitting on the edge of a fountain, sketchbook out, drawing away. His caramel skin was complemented by the warm golden rays of the sun. His curly black hair was shaved short on the sides and remained fluffy on top. He had a split mustache on either side of his upper lip, a strip of hair down his chin. He was an illustrator, a guitar player, a singer... Chance had fallen in love with him during open mic night.

Chance felt his primal urges, to run over and bite him, to turn him into the most magnificent wolf ever, to fuck his brains out and make him a soul mate, but Chance couldn't. People were watching, and he'd never told Adal how he felt. He was a monster, he was debating passing the curse on to someone else, debating the possibility of killing him in the process. Tears started to leak from Chance's golden eyes before he turned and ran the other way. At his point he didn't care if he was caught by cops or Futurza or hunters, as long as Adal didn't know it was him. He kept running until he turned a corner and slammed into someone - someone that surprisingly didn't fall down.

Chance skidded back before he looked up, meeting eyes with an unlikely pair. The person he had run into was a werewolf wearing a red letterman's jacket and torn jeans, fur sweeping over his chocolate brown skin, his frizzy hair growing longer and softer as his face pushed out into a muzzle. Standing next to him was another young man, somewhere in his twenties. He looked unphased by the changes to the person next to him.

"Come with me, we need to get you somewhere safe. I've got an obscuring charm up on an alleyway over here." the human said, reaching his hand out to Chance.

"Who are you?" he asked, groaning as his face ached and popped, bones reshaping, his jaw strengthening as his skull pushed outward, taking on a muzzle.

"My name is Ethan, I'm a keeper. Come on." the human said with insistence, taking Chance's paw, pulling him along with them. Conrad sniffed the air, looking for any threats as they got their new ward out of danger.

**** Artyom's face was grim and concerned. He didn't like the idea of Marco being in harm's way, aloe, and without consulting the rest of them. They'd found out last minute at the refuge just before Cira had arrived to pick them up. Yom, Udo, Fletcher and Duncan had piled into Cira's car, taking up every square inch. Fletcher was squeezed between Duncan and Udo in the back. Tensions were high, though Yom seemed to be taking it the hardest.

"I can't believe he didn't tell us." Yom glowered.

"He probably knew that we'd be too much of a spectacle if we all tried to get in." Udo replied.

"It doesn't matter. A pack's strength is in its numbers." Yom replied.

"Maybe so, but Marco's impressive on his own. If you had seen him in that place... He was toying with the scientists at the end, turning their mind games back on them." Duncan said. Cira looked concerned at that. Marco had said so little about his time there. He'd done what he had to, they'd gotten out, but she worried what sort of toll all of these things were having on Marco.

"Artyom, I know you are worried. I feel it too. Both my husband and my son just walked into the headquarters of a company that committed crimes against humanity on innocent children... They went in with just each other and without much of a plan. To be honest, I am terrified. But I also know they are strong. They won't give up. Marco will keep Haku safe, Haku will keep Marco safe, and we'll be there to get them out. What they need most is for you to focus, alright? Can you do that for them?" Cira asked. Yom looked at his future mother in law and nodded obediently.

"Yes ma'am." He replied. Udo smiled warmly at that, glad to see that Cira had such an impact over their most volatile friend.

"Something's wrong..." Fletcher murmured softly, raising his head to look up, "Cira, stop the car." he said with more certainty. Cira looked in the mirror at Fletcher but did as he instructed, slowing to a stop. The light ahead of them was still green, but a car shot out through the intersection, running the red light. Another followed suit, then a third. Yom was shocked, but the reason became clear as they could hear the sound of breaking glass.

Yom leaned forward in the car, turning to see a hulking, dripping, brooding figure of a direwolf that had just been smashed into the side of a car, denting it. Standing a few feet away was a white werewolf, his fur stained with a bit of blood. Humans were running in every direction. The direwolf got back up and charged, grabbing onto the werewolf. The two struggled for a moment before the monster lifted his adversary and tossed him. The white werewolf arched through the air before hitting the sidewalk, rolling a few feet. As he skidded to a stop near the corner, his white fur started to recede. His muscles shrank, his tail retracted. Little by little, he was turning back into a human.

"We have to help him!" Duncan said, reaching for the car door.

"Wait!" Udo said, watching the direwolf. He was bounding across the street, but as he got closer to the crosswalk, his fur started to sizzle, his skin burning. The direwolf yelped and retreated back a few yards until the pain ceased. The direwolf growled and then howled, knowing his target was out of reach. He paced a few times before he turned, running back down the street, heading back toward the biggest building in the area - back towards the Futurza tower. Udo looked at Yom, Yom looked at Fletcher. Fletcher just stared at the building before them.

"It's about to get a lot worse..." he whispered, his eyes turning a vibrant shade of orange as they followed the honeycomb shell of the Futurza building up to the top where a swirling, seething mass of jet black clouds was billowing outward, illuminated briefly by the flash of bright blue lightning. The rest of the pack followed his gaze, feeling a sinking in the pit of their stomachs. They knew Marco was in the tower at the dead center of whatever was going on, and whatever move they took next was going to determine the fate of countless lives.