Daphne pulled back her fist and struck again, landing punch after punch at the swinging bag. Her chest moved up and down furiously with the exertion and her mouth was open as she tried to breathe in as much air as she could.

Her mind was a mess of fogging thoughts and flashing frustration that no amount of training seemed to take away.

She let out a roaring scream and punched again. She thought she felt her bones quake from the strength behind it, but she didn't care. Nothing a little magic couldn't fix.

"If you're looking to dig a hole through that, you might want to change gloves — οr actually wear a pair." The voice was distinct enough that she didn't need to look over, even though her peripheral vision did well enough to recognize his figure.

"You're late," she clipped. She hadn't even heard the door to the gym open.

Zack lifted his shoulders into a shrug and threw his bag at the floor by the door, leaning back against the wall. With a sniff, he scrunched up his face at the coppery scent of her blood and said: "Marcus wanted to talk. He had... questions."

Daphne took a shuddering breath and continued her onslaught at the bag. "The one thing we didn't want happening, the one thing we both agreed on, was to not let him see her yet. We couldn't know if it was safe, and now he's seen her. That's a hell of a thorn in my side, Beta," she snarled.

Zack huffed. "You think that was intentional?—"

"He's your Alpha, isn't he?"

He punched the wall to his right. "And she's Val! You think I'd jeopardize her like that? Yes, he is my Alpha. Yes, I am loyal to the pack; and that extends to her. More so than anyone. I'd rather die than let something happen to her again and you damn well know it!"

Her eyes flashed. "Then how did this happen?"

Zack's lip curled back as he leaned his head to the wall, taking deep breaths to calm himself. She saw a spark of yellow in his eyes. "He wasn't supposed to be there. We were supposed to meet later on but he arrived earlier and he decided a show might jolt them into training harder. Or something. Don't ask me of his reasoning, you know he doesn't tend to share."

She halted the bag and glared, though all her previous fire diminished; at least toward him. Her fury was swirling down on one particular face. "And now he's seen her."

"He has."

"Did you see any weird reaction out of him? Surprise, maybe?"

"He was his normal, grin-ny self," he breathed out, "though I think Val might have deflated him a little." A small smile. Daphne raised a brow. "She wouldn't submit. Kind of pushed his wolf into the surface."

She huffed out a laugh, putting a little more of her weight over the bag. His eyes fell to her bloodied knuckles for a moment before bouncing back. "That sounds like her," she sighed. "And her wolf... Zack, what are we going to do about that?"

Zack pursed his lips and gave her a solemn look. "She won't talk to me about it. We barely talk about her at all lately, and it usually ends after a snarky remark or two. I don't want to push her, that might have the exact opposite result, but... " he sighed, "I don't know what to do."

"I heard her again earlier. She tried to keep her voice down so I knew she didn't want me inside, but... She's trying to get out. And if Val can't control her until the next full moon... I doubt she'll survive it. My spell did enough damage, a rampant wolf didn't bring much help to the table." She groaned and picked back her pace, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Zack hesitated. "What happened with the spell wasn't your fault, Daph. It might be the only reason she's still here in the first place — alive." It seemed like he couldn't press this enough.

Alive. She was alive. But for how long?

"My protection might also be the thing that kills her." She threw him a sideways glance, breath hitching. "Her shift won't be as fluid as the rest, we know as much. And even with a normal shift, there are several cases where the pups die. Enough to cause warrant. What if I took away one death, only to replace it with another?" Her voice cracked, just a little.

~~~~~

Zack hummed, watching her through hooded lids. "She'll survive." At the look she gave him, he straightened his pose and pushed off the wall. "One thing I know about her is that she's strong enough to pull through it; you made sure of that." Her smile was tight-lipped and didn't reach her eyes, but it was hopeful — oh, so hopeful. "Too bad stubbornness came along with the rest of the package." He chuckled, but she gave him a smile wicked enough to stiffen his muscles, reflexively waiting for a blow that never came.

When her fist connected with the bag that last time, he was left watching her breathe heavily through the gaping hole the size of a football in the middle. Sand seeped down in a heap at her feet and more was scattered around the room, blown away by the force.

He brought his fingers on his shoulder and pretended to brush off residual sand, cocking a brow and eyeing the blood on her knuckles. There were no open wounds there. He knew, even as he insisted on her wearing the gloves, that she kept pumping her power to heal them; but he drawled all the same, "My point exactly."

She laughed, and with a flick of her fingers the bag was back to normal. She made a show of stretching her hands at eye-level to inspect her 'wounds' and grinned.

"Show Off," he grumbled with an over-exasperated roll of his eyes.

"I like to show off when I'm right." He couldn't stop the smile on his face as he heard her laugh again. Her eyes had a simmering green tint that slowly faded away, and for the first time in a long, long while, he saw her shoulders sag and her features soften. She finally relaxed a little.

*****

Zack ducked, barely dodging a fist to his jaw. He danced around another to his ribs and jumped back, beaming; panting. Using his thumb to wipe the blood off his lips, he grinned wildly. "Your reflexes are better today."

"Couldn't tell," Val managed through her breathing. And while he knew it was meant to come out as sarcasm, it sounded more like a snarl. She put pressure on her shoulder, where his fangs had left an imprint, and he leaned back on his waist while the blood clotted and the wound started to heal. He felt slightly bad for that one, but, to his defense, she was about to rip out his ear at the time.

She lunged for him again and he leaped out of the way with a sharp intake of breath. Her claws nicked his arm before wrapping around his wrist. "Shift," she growled, eyes flashing that strikingly bright yellow of hers.

Zack broke her hold on his hand and immediately tore into his shift, shredding his shorts in the process. He cursed, but it came out wrong in that form. A combination between a sneeze and a cough.

Holding back wasn't an option with her. Somehow she knew when he did, and her wolf would push back tenfold. He stopped doing that the moment he saw her arm brake and twist in an awkward angle, fueled by a force shift. Daphne barely made it in time to put her to sleep; and Zack had held on to her, pushing the bone back in place to heal over. He hated himself when she screamed, but they both knew that was the only way to keep her alive.

He was grateful for her never holding that against him, and his wolf had grown all the more protective of her because of it.

Three weeks after the last full moon, only a week before her shift, her wolf became more violent — fought longer to get out. The three days that followed were bloody; enough to use wolfsbane whenever it got out of hand.

They had three more days to prepare her, and maybe a few more to discuss how they were going to talk to her after.

It all came down to her surviving that shift first. And she would.

She would survive this if he had to pull that wolf out himself.

Zack lashed out at her side with his claws but Val twisted away, bringing her elbow up at the last second. He tried to dodge, but his momentum was driving him forward. The bone of his jaw trembled when she connected, and for a second, he thought the force of it might have broken it.

Snarling, he tested the bone by opening and closing his mouth, relieved to find it working and intact — sort of. A low rumble pulled his gaze to her crouching down, waiting.

Tongue flicking out to lick his teeth, Zack leaped at her. She barreled out of the way and clasped her arms around his middle, pulling him back with her before throwing him to the side. He yelped, swallowing down the rising temper.

A low whistle came from somewhere up. Erik was grinning along with the rest of their group, looking down at them from the top of the stairs. Their laughs and encouragement echoed around the gym.

Zack pulled back his lip and growled, glaring up at them; daring them to come down there and join in. They had politely refused the offer earlier, smiling dumbly and using exhaustion to steer out the extra training, even though they had been joining them for weeks already.

Erik cleared his throat and tilted his head to the side, confirming exactly how much he — really — didn't want to come down there.

He couldn't blame them. Her skills had grown tremendously in the course since their first practice. Daphne had done well laying down the foundation, and Val had been picking up on all the training she'd lost. Fast.

Mostly though, he tried to keep them apart to keep their wolves from surfacing, something he knew they were considering as well. She wasn't an easy opponent, and that could easily end up bloody. A challenge was as good a reason as any for their wolves to push out, and having to keep under control more than one already brought him a headache.

Val snarled and lunged, eyes flashing brighter. Zack dodged down her claws and brought his paws to her chest, jumping and hurling them both down to the mattressed floor. His jaws were locked down on her throat before she had the chance to move.

A rumble vibrated through his chest, followed by a small, proud purr. She had managed to hold off for a lot longer than usual, and her reactions had sped. His wolf was excited to see her grow.

But instead of stilling and surrendering the fight, Val shook violently from under him. Zack barely had the time to pull back before she snarled and put her hands on his chest to push him off. She pushed him on his hind legs, but he managed to fall back down on her; terrified, frantically looking at the blood oozing from her throat.

He could taste it in his mouth.

Some of it had trickled down his chin.

He sagged with relief. He had cut deep enough for the blood to scare him into oblivion, but it wasn't fatal.

Val writhed from underneath him, and she freed her left shoulder, punching at the side of his head. He yelped.

Erik and Damian were there the next second, pinning down her arms as he shifted back. Alex and Samantha were busy with her legs and middle while Ian passed him the syringe with the wolfsbane. Val brought a knee up, throwing the needle a few feet away.

A crack had his gaze falling back to her right shoulder, where it had deformed at an upward angle.

He scrambled for the needle as she screamed, lashing out at everyone around her.

His hands wrapped around it and he stuck it into her thigh before her jaw had the chance to close around Damian's arm. She convulsed, body trembling with pain and pent-up adrenaline.

Zack pushed her shoulder back in place; she gasped. She wasn't fighting anymore, just trying to get away. Her eyes were still ablaze with the presence of her wolf.

She grunted, hands trying to find purchase on the floor, trying to drag herself away.

"Any second now..." he whispered. The hands holding her let go, and she shrank into a fetal position. A twisted hand pushed desperately at a point just below her elbow. Something moved there.

It was taking too long. Too long—

Something cracked in her chest. Her body straightened.

Zack pulled her in, gently feeling for her ribs. She was whizzing, hands grabbing at him. Claws. Squeezing. Blood pooled in-between her fingers and he bit back the sound in his throat. She whimpered.

There was nothing he could do. She should have been asleep by now. The dosage—

Was it not enough? It worked before, why wasn't it...

Tears streamed down her eyes when he looked down, dampening the hair at her temples, and — she was pleading. Couldn't form the words, but the pain was there. In the furrowing of her brows, in the hollowness of her eyes and the small sounds that left her mouth—

He squeezed her shoulders.

Any second now...

Her lids finally lowered, too heavy for her eyes to keep open. Her gaze darted at his bloodied shoulder before her head lolled back. Her voice was croaked and dry. "I... sorry..."

The silence that followed was deafening. They didn't know what to do — how to act.

She was getting worse.

His stomach knotted.

~~~~~

Val woke up with a groan, hand rising to her shoulder. She could have sworn it'd been pulled out of its socket.

Glancing around, she noted she was still in the gym. A cold, damp, towel slipped from her forehead when she looked to her left. Alex and the others were sitting down with their backs leaning on the wall, eyes closed. The mattress hissed when she moved, and Alex cracked an eye open.

She grinned. "Wakey wakey."

Heads snapped to her. She saw Zack talking with Daphne at the far opposite corner. They stopped talking and walked over.

Daphne kneeled. "How are you feeling?"

Her voice was soft, but it pounded in her head.

"Pitchy." A hand rubbed at her shoulder and started working the knots in her back when she sat up. She sent a grateful smile to Sam and she returned it in kind.

"It took longer to knock me out this time," she said a bit timidly, ashamed at her utter lack of control.

"Your bodily functions change when you first shift," Zack said, "your temperature rises, your body starts working faster, rapidly burning up energy. Healing, strength, reflexes. In the time between your mid-shift and your first shift, your body adjusts to those functions gradually, almost imperceptibly to you. My guess, and Dereks', is that your bodily functions are changing rapidly to accommodate your shift; to make sure you're ready for it. Which is probably why it took longer for the wolfsbane to knock you out. Your healing is being sped up constantly, and it takes higher doses depending on how fast it'll get once you shift."

"It'd be nicer if my body stopped helping," Val grumbled. She felt for her neck but there was no blood there, just her shirt. They must have helped clean it up. A surge of embarrassment took over her.

Sam pulled her back and popped her head next to hers. "I'm pretty sure you'd die if that happened."

Alex shook her head with a brief smile. "Great help, Sam, do elaborate more about all the gruesome ways she could die of."

"I don't think you're helping either..." Erik pinched in with a tilt of his head, looking for all he was worth like a sad puppy.

Damian scoffed. "She won't die, she's been training with me—" Val bristled at the arrogance in his tone but Ian beat her to the retort.

"If she can handle that torture this will be nothing, then." His eyes were alert, bright, but his body was hunched in relaxation. He sent a sympathetic look her way, which was an improvement to his usual indifference. Sometimes he felt like a ghost, lingering close, but with no solid presence whatsoever.

Erik and Samantha were the only others who struggled to stay still, and while Sam was currently taking her frustrations off at Val's back, Erik resorted to drumming a song rhythm on his legs.

"We might have to up your dosage," Daphne tucked a loose strand behind her ear, looking very apologetic about it.

"It's okay..." Val sighed, already loathing any more of those pulsing headaches she always felt afterward. She brought a knuckle to massage her temple. "I just hope these will stop after I shift."

"So do we," said Damian, and Erik glared sideways at him, but it was only half-hearted. "What?"

And as something settled deep into her chest, her mind, she felt like the sudden quiet was the kind that came before a storm. Like her wolf was giving her a moment's breath to relax only to come back wilder the next.

She knew one thing for sure, she wouldn't allow whatever wild instincts it possessed to hurt her friends, or her family.

She would get strong enough to tame the beast in her mind.