Wolf Transformation Intro.

There was a buzz in the cafeteria the following morning when Kristensen arrived at the cafeteria, and she'd gotten up late.

"What's the noise about?" Kristensen asked Trudy as she sat down.

Trudy shrugged and pointed her eyes at Mel. "Some people from their class are missing... they don't know what happened or if they left."

"Only that?" Replied Kristensen, bewildered.

"Apperantly, Maria is one of those missing."

Kristensen stopped asking. Her heart was that small. Maria had acted up in front of her previously, and she simply couldn't bring herself to care about her - she was that petty.

It didn't escape her notice that amongst the recruits, a lot seemed fearful... as though they knew what was going on.

Trudy nodded her head at her as well but didn't continue. As she thought, she wasn't the only one to notice.

"Kris..." Arson's cautious voice called out. "How about you..."

Kristensen's chuckle interrupted Arson, and she shook her head at her. "What do you think I can possibly do? I don't know her that well. Even if I did, who would I go to and say what?"

Arson's eyes dimmed, looking a little lost. Before they could continue, other recruits started filling out, indicating it was time for their first lesson of the day.

"Don't worry too much, you saw other recruits leaving yesterday. Maybe she did, too..." Kristensen left those parting words.

She didn't believe them herself, but Arson - the lamb - she couldn't ignore her puppy eyes at all. How troublesome she thought. Arson made her act out of character.

Trudy threw Kristensen a teasing look as they left the cafeteria, which she replied to with a sheepish smile.

"You're in trouble." The duo laughed.

They arrived at their class, Drew already there, and the recruits still as the calm sea. The duo calmly took their seats - with tattered breath.

"Is that all of you, or is there royalty we're still waiting on?" Drew's cold voice swept through the room.

She went and closed the door. Drew placed ruby stones the size of a closed fist on the door floor. It was only then that the recruits noticed the whole room and the ruby stones placed.

When the last stone closed the square, the ruby stones shone. A red veil extended upward from the floor until it touched the ceiling.

At first, the recruits were puzzled, not understanding why she did that, but they didn't wait for long...

A growl from the back of the room had the whole group look back. Someone had fallen down on all fours, and the sound of heavy breathing made the recruits subconsciously move away from him.

"Already? And you were flaunting being alphas yesterday." Drew's disdaining voice pulled the recruits from their shock.

No one reacted for a while. They were somewhat paralyzed.

"Today's lesson, I will let you feel the brunt of a full moon. Of course, this isn't a one millionth of what the real full moon will do, but I'll let you get a taste." Said Drew callously.

As the realization sank in, Kristensen gaze on Drew heated before looking towards Trudy. Their eyes reflected apprehension, and they smiled mirthlessly.

The atmosphere became tense, the recruits on edge as they watched the recruit on all fours.

Without further explanation, Drew tossed the stone at the center of the ceiling, and it manipulated the red veil, the color deepening.

The effects of that action were immediate on the recruit on all fours, his body contorted in a painful metamorphosis, and his agonized groans filled the air.

The recruits observed, and the sound of bones breaking intensified the heaviness in the room.

Drew's expression remained impassive, her eyes fixed on the struggling recruit. "This is just the beginning, just the power when the full moon has just unveiled, and if any of you can't handle it - like him - you won't last the night."

The tension in the room escalated with each passing moment. Kristensen couldn't help but feel a knot tighten in her stomach.

"Stop. Please stop. You've made your point." A girl close to the recruit cried out.

"Made my point? Whatever made you think I'd waste my time and these precious, more valuable than your pathetic lives, high grade moonstones just to make a point?" Drew asked with a mocking smile.

She tossed another stone at the ceiling, her eyes filled with amusement.

The veil shimmered - the color deepening yet again, and other recruits fell on all fours as well. The previous recruit passed out, but his body didn't stop shattered, yet it didn't seem he was close to turning at all.

"What you should do is still yourself and endure, endure the pressure till you can't anymore. Fight it out, think of your lifeline until the moonlight becomes nourishment instead of a burden."

Kristensen couldn't bother with what was happening in the room then. A subtle pressure loomed over her. If it weren't for her carefulness, she would've missed it.

Amidst all the tension, Kristensen sat down on the floor in a meditation position and closed her eyes. In her mind, she thought back to the awakening room, back when it felt she'd fallen into a red sea and sinking, countless needles stabbing her.

Breathe... breathe. She chanted in her head. In, out, and feel the breath. All her focus was on keeping herself calm. She left the happenings in the room at the back of her mind.

Drew's attention was drawn to her, and she cocked an eyebrow, a glint of suspicion flashing through her eyes and murmured. "Little assistant... how surprising. Don't disappoint me, or else the game won't be fun."

The remaining recruits followed Kristensen's example and sat down.

"How easy do you think it is?" Drew taunted and threw the remaining stones on her hand at the ceiling.

The red stones formed a crescent moon, and the veil they cast glowed. From the ground up, different shades of red could be seen till they converged to gray at the crescent.

The air thickened with too much power, and some recruits that had held on couldn't anymore. Agonized groans and labored breaths became speech, the sounds gripping some recruits from their focus.

Recruit after recruit fell, unable to endure the power of the stimulated moonlight.

"Not all of you are hopeless." Said Drew, a thoughtful look on her face.

Beats of sweat started dripping off Kristensen's forehead, her whole being taut. She felt as though she was drowning, without anything to hold on to. She was suffocating...

Drew's watchful gaze lingered on her, an unspoken challenge between them.

The recruits fell until only Trudy and Kristensen were left writhing on the floor. The pain they were in was unimaginable, beyond what the other recruits had gone through.

Drew paced between the two, her eyes puzzled as they went back and forth. "Well, Ocean, you might have more than one pub."

Kristensen finally surfaced from the pool in her head and became aware of her surroundings. As it happened in the awakening room, a surge of energy coursed through her, awashing the painful, exhausting aftereffects of what she had just gone through.

Her senses had underwent a tremendous change. She could pinpoint without opening her eyes, who was conscious, and where they were.

To her surprise, Kristensen found that besides herself, only Trudy was still holding on, and she was about to fail. She contemplated for a while and decided not to risk it. It wasn't time for her to stand out.

Remembering what that recruit had done before losing consciousness, Kristensen imitated the actions flawlessly to the point of playing dead.

Trudy was left the last one standing.

Drew didn't wait for Trudy to faint. She broke the pattern immediately.

"You can all wake up now." Drew declared.

The recruits arose one after the other, and Kristensen, unsuspiciously, arose in the middle with the others.

She surveyed the room and met Trudy's questioning gaze, and she answered with a shake of her head.

"How'd you like your first taste of being a wolf? Still think it's better if you're an alpha, beta, or omega?" Asked Drew with a slight smile. "Don't answer that. We should leave some things for tomorrow."

Silence lingered long after Drew's departure.

"We... we died, didn't we?" Someone broke the silence with wonder in their voice.

Kristensen laughed, causing the recruits to turn to her.

"No, not yet. We still might, though. It's too early to tell." She replied, unfazed by all the attention.

Many sighed. If only they thought...

Somehow, she was able to endure while others couldn't push through. Not only her, Trudy lasted more than all the others, and she would've outlasted Trudy. Her processes differed from everyone, and it was dangerous.

The first time, she could play it off, and not many would take notice, but if it kept going that way with all the uncertainty lingering at The Camp, Kristensen's eyes narrowed deep in thought, then she would draw unwanted attention towards herself.

Luckily, she'd gotten away with it thus far, but how long would that luck last?

Kristensen knew she couldn't find out why she seemed different before truly stepping into Crandale. The only thing she could do was hide and bide her time.

She let out a long sigh. Patience...

"Let's go." Trudy flicked her forehead.

"What?"

"Lunch. Let's go."

The duo left class, and only the two did.

Ocean's golden eyes bore into Drew's, pining her where she stood. "You're sure?"

Drew tried to avert her gaze, but she was held in place by an invisible hand.

"I watched the whole thing, didn't I? She's not the one. Actually, another recruit - Trudy - she withstood the stimulation than all of them." Drew snapped, a hint of displeasure in her voice.

Ocean went to the window, his gaze piercing through the whole The Camp to locate Kristensen.

Through his gaze, Ocean scanned Kristensen from head to toe and didn't miss her aura - crimson silver, the color suspiciously like the red veil casted by ruby moonstones Drew had used.

"You failed." Responded Ocean coldly. His eyes didn't leave Kristensen, and genuine interest started to take shape in them. "Found you."

"Yes." Drew's crystal blue eyes glinted with indignation, her fists tightly clenched at her side.

"You can leave, I'll take it from here."

"Your... your majesty!" Exclaimed Drew.

"Leave."

Trudy and Kristensen met with Mel, Arson, and the girls from the previous day at the cafeteria, wholly unaware she had entered someone's line of sight.

"You're late. Physical training is canceled today." Arson informed the duo as soon as they sat down.

"Why?" Trudy asked.

"Our... our class made a request for... for the missing people and..."

"Are you guys stupid?" Trudy growled. "You think you've lived enough, perhaps?"

Kristensen's held Arson hand and faced Trudy. "Stop."

"What? If they want to die, let them. Don't implicate us. Do you guys have any idea what it means to miss one second of training?" Trudy said as she stood, her tone sharp.

"Trudy!" Kristensen replied in an equally sharp voice.

The entire cafeteria fell silent.

The duo faced one another, sparks flying between the two.