Luna checked her watch again.
10:15 PM.
The small ticking sound felt louder than it should have inside the stone chamber. The room itself was quiet except for the faint echo of Adam's breathing and the distant whisper of wind brushing against the outside walls of the academy.
The moonlight filtering through the narrow window above them painted long silver lines across the floor.
Full moonlight.
Strong.
Unforgiving.
Luna lowered her wrist slowly, her now amber eyes drifting back toward Adam.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
It was strange, the atmosphere between them. Almost calm in a way that didn't match the tension simmering beneath the surface of the room. Adam leaned back slightly trying to stretch in the kneeling posture that was slowly starting to feel uncomfortable. His arms were secured at the wrists, thick metal restraints bolted into the stone floor and walls to prevent movement.
Even Kneeling there like that, restrained and vulnerable, he looked… relaxed.
Or at least he was pretending to be.
Adam wiped a bead of sweat from his temple and gave a crooked grin.
"Well," he muttered, shifting slightly on the floor, "this is awkward."
Luna remained seated across from him on the wooden crate she had dragged into the room not to long ago. Her posture was straight, composed, her hands resting calmly on her knees as she watched him.
Observing.
Always observing.
Adam exhaled slowly, tilting his head back for a moment before letting it fall forward again.
"…okay," he said quietly, his voice carrying a strained humor. "I'm not gonna lie. I feel kinda warm."
He paused.
Then corrected himself.
"No," he added, shaking his head slightly, "scratch that."
His fingers flexed uselessly against the restraints as another bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.
"I feel really hot."
His brow furrowed.
"Like… really hot."
Luna didn't move.
Her eyes remained locked on him, steady and focused.
Adam shifted again on the floor, the metal chains clinking softly.
"It's weird," he continued, his voice tightening slightly as he tried to laugh it off. "Feels like my blood's… boiling or something."
The attempt at humor came out weaker than before.
Luna said nothing.
She simply watched.
Every movement.
Every breath.
Every subtle change.
Her expression remained calm, almost detached. Anyone looking at her in that moment might have assumed she felt nothing at all.
But inside her mind, things were far less simple.
Her gaze drifted slowly across Adam's body.
The moonlight caught the sheen of sweat across his dark skin, making it glisten faintly. His tank top clung tightly to his chest now, damp with heat, outlining the firm shape of his torso beneath the fabric.
The muscles along his arms flexed unconsciously as he shifted against the restraints.
Even restrained like this, there was something powerful about him.
Something intense.
Luna's eyes lingered for a moment longer than they should have.
Her gaze moved upward.
His face looked different now.
Tighter.
Focused.
Thin dreadlocks clung slightly to his forehead where sweat had begun to gather, and his jaw flexed as he tried to maintain composure.
Why am I staring?
The thought surfaced quickly in her mind.
Sharp.
Annoyed.
She looked away for a moment, forcing her attention toward the wall beside him.
It's just the moon.
That was the obvious explanation.
The full moon amplified instincts. Heightened senses. Heightened emotions.
Heightened… urges.
She had experienced it before, right?
Everyone in their world had.
Still…
Her eyes drifted back toward him again before she could stop herself.
Adam exhaled sharply.
"…okay," he said slowly, his voice quieter now. "This is starting to hurt."
Luna's gaze sharpened immediately.
Adam shifted again in the chair, twisting slightly as if trying to stretch muscles that suddenly refused to cooperate.
"It's like… itchiness," he muttered.
His brow furrowed deeper.
"But everywhere."
He tugged lightly against the chains.
Metal scraped against metal.
"My skin feels weird," he added, his voice tightening as he tried to reach one shoulder with his bound hands. "Like goosebumps or something."
He flexed his fingers again.
Harder this time.
The chains rattled.
"…Luna," he said slowly, glancing toward her again. "Any chance you could loosen these a little?"
She didn't respond.
Adam gave a strained chuckle.
"Just one hand maybe?"
He tugged again.
"My back is killing me."
Another pull on the restraints.
"I swear I won't run."
His voice carried a hint of desperation now.
"I just need to scratch something."
Luna finally spoke.
Quiet.
Steady.
"I'm sorry."
Adam blinked.
Her amber eyes remained calm.
"Seem's it's begun."
The words settled heavily in the room.
Adam stared at her for a moment.
Then the discomfort surged again.
He sucked in a sharp breath and suddenly yanked harder against the chains.
Metal clanged violently against the floor bolts.
"Okay," he muttered through clenched teeth, trying to laugh again. "That's… not great."
His shoulders tensed.
His muscles flexed visibly beneath the thin fabric of his shirt.
Luna leaned forward slightly.
Something had changed.
At first it was subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
Steam.
Thin wisps of heat began rising faintly from Adam's skin as his body temperature climbed.
The air around him shimmered slightly.
Luna's gaze lowered toward his chest.
Beneath the soaked fabric of his tank top, something glowed faintly.
At first it looked like a trick of the light.
But then the glow intensified.
Soft.
Reddish orange.
The intricate tattoo across his chest pulsed faintly beneath the fabric like a slow-burning ember.
Luna's eyes narrowed slightly.
Adam groaned under his breath.
"Okay…" he muttered, his voice strained. "Now my chest feels weird too."
His muscles suddenly rippled violently beneath the fabric.
The movement wasn't voluntary.
It looked like something shifting beneath his skin.
Adam jerked forward slightly.
"What the hell—"
He suddenly stopped speaking.
His body froze.
Then he tried to stand.
He planted his feet firmly against the stone floor and pushed upward with his legs, trying to rise despite the restraints.
For a brief moment it looked like he might succeed.
Then his balance faltered.
His leg twisted awkwardly beneath him.
And he collapsed back down with a heavy thud against the stone ground.
Adam blinked in confusion.
"…what?"
He looked down at his legs.
Slowly.
Carefully.
"…okay," he said quietly, his voice carrying a strange mixture of curiosity and unease.
"That's new."
Luna followed his gaze.
His foot was changing.
Not dramatically.
Not all at once.
But the shape was shifting.
His toes had begun to stretch slightly forward, elongating gradually as the bones adjusted beneath the skin. His heel lifted subtly off the ground as the structure of his foot began to alter.
Adam stared at it.
"…uh," he muttered.
The prickling sensation returned tenfold.
His entire body jerked slightly as a wave of discomfort rolled through him.
And then the fur began to grow.
At first it was barely visible.
Short.
Dark.
Fine strands pushing slowly through the pores of his skin.
Steam rose more visibly from his body now as the transformation accelerated.
Adam inhaled sharply.
"Okay," he muttered quickly, his voice rising slightly as he tried to keep talking through the pain. "Okay okay okay…"
Talking helped.
It gave him something to focus on.
Something to hold onto.
"Still manageable," he said through clenched teeth.
Then he winced.
"…kind of."
Luna watched silently.
But she wasn't unaffected.
The full moon burned inside her blood as well.
Her own instincts stirred beneath the surface, the familiar heat of transformation whispering along her nerves.
But her years of experience meant she could fight it back.
Force it down.
Her attention remained fixed on Adam.
Adam rubbed his head awkwardly against his shoulder as another wave of pain surged upward.
"Wow," he muttered breathlessly.
"Okay."
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
"My head really hurts."
Luna noticed it too.
His voice.
It had begun to change.
Just slightly.
Lower.
Rougher.
Adam lifted his head again, breathing harder now.
"I think I'm getting a headache," he said.
The words came out strained.
Luna could already see why.
The bones of his face were beginning to shift.
It started around his jaw.
The structure elongated gradually, pushing forward as the muscles along his cheeks tightened painfully. His ear sockets lifted higher along the sides of his head as the transformation slowly reshaped his skull.
Adam groaned softly.
"Okay," he muttered, his speech beginning to slur slightly.
"That's… uncomfortable."
The pressure inside his skull continued building.
His brow creased deeply.
"…is this... because of what you said... I didn't eat enough?"
The question came out awkwardly.
Almost slurred.
And after that…
He couldn't speak anymore.
His jaw shifted again.
The words died in his throat.
Luna remained silent.
Watching.
Adam's shoulders suddenly jerked violently.
A loud crack echoed through the chamber.
His clavicle stretched outward as the bones of his upper torso began to restructure. His spine followed immediately after, vertebrae popping and lengthening one by one as his entire frame began to expand.
Adam screamed.
But the scream broke halfway through.
It twisted into a deep guttural growl.
His teeth clenched instinctively against the pain.
And then something unexpected happened.
His fangs grew.
Sharp.
Sudden.
One of them pierced into the inside of his own lip when his jaw snapped shut reflexively.
Blood touched his tongue.
The taste startled him.
His body continued to expand slowly.
Muscle layered upon muscle as his frame grew larger, broader, heavier within the restraints.
The tank top he wore began to strain visibly against the expanding mass of his torso.
Threads stretched.
Fabric groaned.
Then finally tore.
The cloth split open down the middle with a sharp ripping sound.
Moonlight spilled across his chest.
And there it was.
The tattoo.
Intricate.
Ancient.
Etched across his dark skin in patterns that twisted and curved with unnatural precision.
And now…
It glowed.
A faint reddish orange light pulsed beneath the surface like burning embers buried beneath flesh.
Luna stared.
The glow intensified slightly.
Adam's body trembled violently as the transformation continued.
And the room filled with the sound of cracking bone and deepening growls.