035

Evelyn

There’s something eerie about a full moon, even when you’re used to it.

Maybe it’s the stillness that comes before it rises, like the world itself is holding its breath. Or maybe it’s the way the air thickens, almost humming with something ancient. Something wild. Something dangerous.

I stood by the window of my room, arms crossed tightly over my chest, eyes fixed on the silver glow bleeding into the clouds. My reflection stared back at me from the glass, calm, still, too calm. That was the part that unsettled me. I should’ve been pacing, sweating, trembling like every other wolf in this house. The moon was rising, and with it, every part of me should have been preparing to shift. But instead… nothing. No heat beneath my skin. No restlessness in my bones. Just silence.

It wasn’t natural.

Every once a month, like clockwork, when the moon reached its apex, it took control. It didn’t matter who you were, alpha, beta, omega, if you weren’t strong enough to keep your mind tethered,