| DECEMBER |

December slammed a fist into the heavy punching bag. His knuckles collided with the thick leather, and a jolt of pain ricocheted up his forearm.

"Shit!" He snapped his hand back and shook out the wave of shock spiderwebbing through his bones. He'd timed his hit wrong. Again.

Panting, he gripped the swinging bag between both hands and steadied it in front of him. He rested his forehead on the warm surface as his heart pounded against his ribs. Sweat dripped from his nose and chin.

It had always been his habit to wake up early for training. That way, he got the gym to himself. No one else was around to see him struggling with stupid shit like this. Even though there was still a day before school started and almost no one was back on campus yet, he'd kept the habit up all summer.

Staying here while most of his classmates were gone sometimes got lonely, but he had nowhere else to go. He wasn't really alone, either. He had his dog. Besides, it was easier for him to focus with no one else around. He'd been preparing for this tournament his entire life. Now, it was only a few months away, and he could not afford any distractions.

December released the bag as he rolled out his neck and stretched his arms. His muscles ached, and his entire body shook from his workout. It was time to call it a morning.

"Iris." He held his left hand to his side, palm facing out. The sound of claws clicking against the polished wood floor echoed through the gym. He smiled when the familiar brush of his dog's cool, wet nose tickled his skin. The tension in his back and shoulders relaxed as he ran his fingers through her fur.

Iris pawed at his leg lightly. He rubbed her between the ears, and her tongue licked the side of his hand. "Let's get out of here," he said.

A few footsteps and clicks of nail against polished wood later, they reached the door. A breath of cool morning air hit December as he slipped out of the small campus gym. He held the door for Iris before letting it slam shut, the sound echoing hollowly around them.

In the distance, crickets chirped. The last few cicadas of the dying summer croaked and whined. Other than that, the morning was silent.

December pictured in his mind where they were and where his dorm was. Then, he visualized the small trail on the side of the gym that led back to the woods.

For a moment, December considered shifting to his wolf form and going for a run with Iris. He wanted to feel the cool rush of the early autumn air through his fur and hear the crunch of leaves beneath his paws. Most of all, he wanted to watch the trees pass by—running in a body he was comfortable in—but he knew he needed to train his human form more than the wolf. He needed to learn.

"This is a stupid idea, I know," he told Iris as he snapped the leash around her collar. He rarely ran in human form, but practice was the only way. He scratched her neck gently, her soft fur warm between his fingers. "Up for a run?"

Without a second's hesitation, she took off, leading the way by the leash.

The jog around the gym was easy. The ground was smooth and firm beneath the soles of December's shoes. He placed each step carefully as Iris led them down the hill, across the soccer field, and to the entrance to Welwick Woods, the forest that surrounded Cypress Pass Academy.

A large waist-high rock blocked the gap in the damaged metal fence that divided campus and the woods. December climbed over it, allowing himself to slide the small drop to the ground on the other side. He didn't even need to wait a second for Iris to tug at the leash again. The gap between the fence and the rock was just wide enough for the black lab to squeeze through.

Pine needles and deciduous leaves crunched beneath their feet as they jogged along the twists and turns of the path. The ground sloped in a slight descent, leading further into the depths of the forest.

Iris pulled at the leash, her feet padding away ahead of him. He knew she wanted to go faster. She was used to running with him in his wolf form, where he had to wait for her to catch up every few minutes, not the other way around.

"Fine," he said. "You win." December picked up his pace. His lungs burned as he pulled cold air into them.

What am I doing? This is stupid. Just shift.

The urge to let his body morph into something stronger and more comfortable tugged at his mind. His limbs tingled with the itch to let his bones snap and pop, but December resisted, pushing his legs to go faster instead.

Suddenly, the toe of his sneaker dug beneath something hard and firm, like something had slithered out of the ground and grabbed him. His heart leapt into his throat.

"Shit!" He flew forward as his feet kicked out from under him. He threw his arms up, landing on his elbows. A shock of pain surged through his arms, and his skin stung as the rough dirt and stones scraped against him.

His body shook as he panted, his hands clenching into fists around the dirt and weeds in front of him. He tensed his jaw and ground his teeth.

Don't shift. You don't always need to shift.

He breathed out heavily through his nose, but before he could calm himself enough to get to his feet, Iris tugged at the leash around his wrist. December pulled back as her shrill bark struck through the air, followed by a whimper.

"Iris, shush. No barking!"

A cold gasp of wind rushed through the woods, and the trees moaned.

Iris tugged at the leash again, releasing a low, throaty growl.

December's heart skipped a beat as a chill rushed through him. The hair on the back of his neck prickled. If he wasn't in his human form right now, all his hackles would be on end.

The sound of bushes crinkling and twigs snapping echoed in the distance. They weren't alone. Someone—or something—was in the woods with them.

December didn't waste another second.

In a heartbeat, his arms snapped back, and his elbows contorted as the bones cracked and reformed themselves in new positions. Pain shuddered through his skull, his face morphing and his jaws stretching. A sharp shock jolted through his entire body like electricity, and a tingling sensation prickled his skin as fur grew over him. With a shudder, he shrugged the last of the pain off, along with the shredded fabric of his clothes, and shook his tail out behind him.

December blinked, and the darkness faded to color as the world came alive in his vision. Pine trees towered around him, reaching toward the sky like tiny, pointy fingers. Above, the stars died as morning broke. The crescent moon flickered behind a passing cloud. It too faded in the cool blue glow of the early rays of sunlight.

December's hackles rose from his shoulders to the base of his tail as he bared his teeth into a snarl. Something wasn't right.

His ears twitched, listening for where he'd heard the rustling movement through the woods. His sharp eyes darted between the trunks of the pines, but there was nothing but more trees and brambles as far as he could see.

He closed his eyes, taking in the scent around him—cool pine and the earthy rot of mushrooms and mold. The academy stuck out like a peninsula from the Cypress Pass Packlands, far removed from the rest of their territory. Could it have been a rogue wolf or a wolf from one of the neighboring packs invading?

But, even if the wolf hadn't marked, December would have picked up their scent. His senses had always been naturally stronger than most werewolves, and he spent so much time in his wolf form he'd honed them even more.

If it isn't another wolf, what is it?

He glanced at Iris. The black lab's hackles were up, and her tail was tucked between her legs. Her tongue stretched from her mouth as she panted and shivered. A glob of drool hung from her jowls for a second before releasing and dripping into the dirt. Her warm brown eyes caught his.

Iris wasn't a nervous dog. Whatever she had seen had shaken her.

What did you see, Iris?

December knew she couldn't hear his thoughts, even when he was in his wolf form, but sometimes, it felt like she could. Either way, it always comforted him to think to her.

He listened to the woods for another minute, but only the chirping of crickets and the call of a few lone birds waking up filled the cool September air. A breath of wind rushed through December's dark gray fur. The trees moaned as they bent and bowed in the breeze.

A chill slid up his spine.

Let's get out of here.

He stayed in his wolf form this time, leading Iris as the two ran the mile out of the woods and back to Cypress Pass Academy. He leapt over the boulder blocking the entrance to campus, glancing over his shoulder once to make sure Iris was still following behind. The boarding school was small, so it was only another few hundred yards past the gym before they reached the boys' dorm.

With another snap and crack of bones, December shifted back to his human form. He rolled his shoulders out, letting the joints sink into place before punching in the code. The lock clicked with a ding, and he pushed open the door to the dorm.

December took the stairs two at a time up to the kitchen and common area. All the rooms were stratified out from there. He needed to shower, find some clothes because of his unplanned shift, and eat.

He paused at the top of the steps, the sound of running water freezing him in place.

"Hello," he called, the chill from the strange encounter in the woods rushing over him once again. "Somebody here?"

"December?" a familiar voice asked.

December released a heavy breath, the tension receding from his body.

"Nate," December said as he paced into the room. "I didn't realize you were back already."

Iris brushed against December's leg as she rushed past him. The soft sound of her lapping at the water he'd set out in the kitchen last night filled the room.

"I just got back this morning," Nate said. "I didn't see you here when I got in."

December leaned up against the counter. "I was just out for a run."

"Naked?" Nate asked.

"I had an... unplanned shift."

"You wanna put on some clothes, man?"

December went to the sink, got a cup from the cabinet, and filled it with water. He shrugged. "It doesn't bother me that much."

"Did you really stay here all summer?" Nate quickly changed the subject.

December tensed at the question. "Yes," he finally replied.

Nate let out a heavy exhale. "You know, you could have come and stayed at mine. My parents would have been happy to have you—"

"I know," December interrupted. As nice as it might have been to spend the summer with his friend and be taken care of, he hated the idea of being a burden. "It was peaceful here. The solitude made it easy to focus."

December took another sip of water, the memories of what had happened in the woods creeping back to him. He drummed his fingers against the counter. Iris rubbed against his calves, her shoulders quivering as she pressed into him. She was still nervous.

"We were out for a run in the woods." He scratched his dog between the ears. "I think she saw something."

"Saw something?" Nate asked.

December shrugged and ran a hand back through his hair. "I don't know. I heard something moving through the trees. I shifted as soon as I realized she was on edge, but I missed it."

"You think it was a rogue or something? Maybe a wolf from a neighboring pack?"

December shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't pick up any scents."

"Maybe it was just an animal," Nate suggested.

"Iris doesn't get scared of animals." December leaned back against the counter. She never freaked out like that, but maybe Nate was right. December didn't see anything when he shifted. He didn't even smell anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she was just picking up on an unusually large squirrel or a rabid raccoon. Those rodents always made nests and fucked in the campus dumpsters over the summer while the students weren't there to chase them off, breeding more garbage monsters.

He took another drink of his water. "Anyone else back yet?"

"Don't think so," Nate said. "It's only eight in the morning, man. I think a bunch of us were planning to get back this afternoon. My parents just dropped me off early 'cause they have shit to do." He paused. "You coming to the party tonight, right?"

"'Course," December said. "Is that even a question?"

"You think Luca will show up?"

December froze for a moment. Then he shook himself, forcing a smirk. "Not a chance. Besides, I honestly don't care what Luca does."

Luca rarely came to parties. He was too good for it. His father probably didn't approve of the waste of time either, and Luca did whatever his family told him to do.

"You know what, scratch that," December said. "If I pass him, I'll invite him myself."

There was a pause, and December wondered what Nate was doing. He could hear him tapping his fingers on the counter on the other side of the kitchen.

"I still think it's fucking crazy that you have to fight him in human form," Nate said.

December crossed his arms over his chest, trying to rub some of the tenseness from them. "They set the criteria for the tournament when Luca, Aurora, and I were born," he said. "Before the accident. They can't just get rid of one of the tests because I'm . . . incapable."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Iris's nails clicked against the tile floor. She lapped more water from her bowl.

"You're bleeding a lot, you know?" Nate finally said. "Your arms. Did you fall?"

December ran his hands over his forearms. The skin stung, and something sticky and warm clung to his fingertips. He brought his hand to his mouth and licked it. It tasted like blood mixed with dirt.

"No one knew Luca was going to be an idiot when they decided strategy was going to be one of the tests," December finally said. The last thing he wanted to talk about was how he hadn't even been able to go for a run in human form without tripping and injuring himself. "They didn't just get rid of that test to accommodate him."

Nate let out a laugh. "Fair point."

"I'm going to shower," December said. "I'm covered in sweat... and apparently blood, too."

"You should put on some clothes while you're at it."

"I'll do that, just for you." December paused in the doorway to the hall that led to his room. "Usual spot at the firepit for the party tonight?"

"Yup," Nate replied. "See you then?"

December nodded. "Yeah."

A lump hung in his throat as he headed to his room. Getting drunk with the rest of his classmates was all he wanted right now, but he couldn't shake the eerie feeling that had crept over him on his run. The firepit was in Welwick Woods—where Iris had seen... whatever it was she had seen.

It was nothing. Just a squirrel. A raccoon.

Yet the feeling that something bad was about to happen clung to him like dirt clings to an open wound. Hopefully, a shower would wash that feeling away along with the blood and the mud, but December had a bad feeling that it would take more than just hot water to shake what had happened that morning.