It was almost dawn when they lay exhausted and bloodstained after their meal of the day, an adult deer. They used to split the hunt every time, after all, it was not worth the waste. Whenever they fed, they needed to lie down for a while, to process the information a little. It was always interesting to realize that they were not humans at that stage, that they were animals, and that no matter how hard they tried, they would remain so, at least for a few hours, for a few days, or nights, sometimes afternoons. They were figuring out how to deal with it because they didn't have much basis for it, the truth is that they knew almost nothing about that condition and avoided having to deal with it, they just hadn't been able to process the stages yet. Jack used to turn first than Kurt; it had always been that way. If Jack felt strange, he knew what it was, and Kurt knew that it would soon be his turn. Because of this, Kurt often ended up seeing the beginning of the process, which always haunted him: seeing what was happening to Jack and knowing that the same thing would soon happen to him.

The next day, the sun's rays penetrated the woods. To a normal person, it was just another day, just another ray of sunshine, but to the boys, it was beautiful. The way they learned to see some things were simply beautiful. Moreover, it was the moment when they came back to themselves. They had never seen the regression of the transformation, they always woke up human, and usually at different times. Jack, just as he was the first to change, was the first to wake up too. The routine was to wake up, and notice the level of dried blood in his body, if it were too much, he would have to clean himself first, if not, he would have to go back to the car - when unforeseen things like that happened - and get dressed in new clothes, then get the other clothes and take them to Kurt. It was no different this time. Jack, finding his friend already regaining consciousness, threw the clean clothes in his direction and asked if everything had gone well with the transformation, to which Kurt confirmed that he had at least managed to remove all his clothes before screaming in pain. Jack was frequently not so lucky.

“I wish I could understand when it starts and when it ends, I didn't want to always have to run off not knowing how long I have until I become a wolf,” Jack said. Apparently, he had more trouble coping than he wanted to. “Let's be honest, the whole thing is horrible. I spend the full day afraid to feel this because if I feel something, I have to run away as fast as possible, and because if I do, it's probably because you're almost at your limit too,” he blurted out, getting up from the floor, fully dressed in his new clothes. “Anyway, have you noticed any worsening?” he asked. Before he could answer, he noticed that Kurt already understood that there was something wrong with him, so he continued. “I've been having trouble controlling certain things. Occasionally, I do wolf things, even though I'm human,” he confessed.

“I understand, sometimes I wake up with my sheet all torn and bitten, it's really weird,” Kurt agreed, confirming that he went through some situations similar to his friend's.

“I growl,” Jack said, avoiding looking at his friend, “It's happened that I've just been taking a shower and started growling. Sometimes in a conversation, I feel and need to get away from people, and sometimes when I sleep I know I'm making the sound. I also have this thing about tears, and I've seen them around my house during the day. And the car…”

“It stinks like hell, I know. It's animal smell, our smell, especially yours,” Kurt confirmed as they got into the car. “We need to fix this.”

The rest of the way followed with the two of them in silence. Kurt then parked the car on the second floor of the residential building's parking lot. The company was directly connected to a residential building. You could say that they lived at work in a way. The apartment of the two had a difference of two hallways. Still in the car, just after it had already parked, the two got out of the car. “Well, here we are. Home sweet home,” Kurt debauched. “Remember to clean up that vomit you left for yourself. I could send it to the car wash, but you can't get around that strong smell,” Kurt finished with a laugh. Jack grinned sarcastically, dismissing his companion's mockery. Finally, they reached the elevator and went up to the floor where they lived. Fortunately, at that time, you could hardly see anyone in the area, which made it much easier not to have to deal with embarrassing situations. Once in their apartments, they took care of what they needed to do since they still needed to help decorate the party in the morning, and try to find an excuse not to attend.

Jack liked Cassie, the most coveted woman in the sectors, and she was his target too. He had never dared to ask her out, mainly because she was engaged, but he was interested. The attraction he felt for her intensified even more when she turned for the first time. It wasn't normal to feel everything I felt. Sometimes it felt like he couldn't hold it in. He had had some sex dreams about her at times, but it helped that he woke up with a bed and a house full of hair and scratches. He thought that if he could do all that just by sleeping, maybe he should keep his distance from her, but he couldn't, she was constantly present in his life and thoughts. Not only that, but he would have to devour her at some point.

At the company, a giant shipment of decorations, sounds, drinks, and food had arrived. It was going to be a big get-together between the two companies at their official merger, as well as a celebration of new employees that would be joining the team in the coming days. Everyone needed to help a little in the organization, especially those who lived nearby, as most of them did.

Slowly, the employees began to arrive, some already dressed for the party. For some reason, the winning poll had been a mask; everyone should wear a mask and dress in plainer clothes. Jack and Kurt agreed, except for the masks, since they didn't plan to stay that long.

Cassie looked stunning, wearing a slightly tight white dress. Her blonde hair was loose and flowing, she looked beautiful. Whenever he could, Jack looked at her, but even though she was coveted by everyone, he didn't want them to know that he included himself in that. He thought that Kurt suspected it, but he had never told them or mentioned it yet. It was like a secret he could possess just for himself, although he really wanted her to know because he just couldn't stop thinking about her.

Cassie's perfume was strong. Both partners had a keen sense of smell even as humans, so they couldn't disguise the sweet smell they smelled coming from her. Kurt, unlike Jack, felt no walk for the woman, as he felt there was something more exciting in the future in store for him.

Finally, a while later, more and more people were arriving. With this, the time for the constant transformations was getting closer and closer.

Music was already starting to play to cheer everyone up. The Lightning employees were already mingling more with those from New Shadow. Some of them even greeted Jack and Kurt and congratulated them on the excellent work they were doing. Almost all the employees wore simple masks, some even more provocative. Some others didn't wear any at all. You could tell that besides the duo, others were not so keen on staying for the get-together. Not everyone liked the rival company, there was a certain hatred in some parts, especially against a certain sector that had a bad reputation for publishing dubious articles. This sector had about twelve members, rightly called “The Twelve”. Jack didn't like them, and Kurt was indifferent, but if he had to have an opinion, he would say he didn't like them either. Few NS members liked that section. They were all together and almost matched. They laughed a lot and seemed almost drunk, even though the party had just started.

It was almost 6 pm when the courtyard was completely packed and had turned into a huge dance floor. Jack was still cleaning up a few small things from the place, as was Kurt. They were in the living room and felt nothing abnormal, apparently, they were not going to transform that day. Transformations used to happen around 6 pm, but not every day. There were days when they just didn't change, but there was no rule for that, it just didn't happen. Everything indicated that they were safe this time, they could enjoy a peaceful day after all.

Kurt, at the party, was chatting in the corner with a girl from one of the farthest sectors of the NS, her name was Kaya. The two of them had talked before and Kurt was truly interested in her because she was also into photography, plus her not having a boyfriend cleared the way for him; he just needed a more open opportunity and this was the appropriate time for it. Although he was trying to talk properly, and coming out with phrases of sheer embarrassment, like saying that their names were super cool because they started with the same letter, the woman seemed to think it was funny. If all went well, they would be having sex in a nearby bathroom.

When he had convinced himself that he wouldn't be transformed that night, Jack realized that mingling might not be so bad, deep down he thought like Kurt, he wanted to enjoy life. He considered asking Cassie to dance or something, but her sweet-smelling perfume was slightly distant, so he concluded that maybe she was unreachable.

He walked down the corridors, which miraculously weren't filled with couples making out until he passed the storage room and realized that his two co-workers were at the famous “finally”. Following the corridor, he passed by a room that was ajar, unlike all the others that were completely closed and closed. Jack wasn't that curious about trivial things, but he couldn't help overhearing the conversation going on inside. Peeking discreetly through the open doorway, he could see about a dozen men, all dressed in black and none wearing a decent mask.

“Are you convinced this will work? Is it reliable?” one of the men asked, curious. You could tell in salt's voice that he was slightly out of sorts.

“He said it was when he offered it to me. It will only make a little smoke with a bad smell. After that, we'll go in and finish it off, it'll be fun to blow up that team”, replied the other, holding up some little black balls that looked very much like bladders.

Jack knew that this was the famous rival group, thirsty for trouble and problematic things. He was not surprised to find them drunk, but he was intrigued by the situation in question. It was quite common for them to make pranks around, some lighter and some heavier, especially since most of the bully boys came from that sector. Jack knew that fire and smoke of dubious content was not a good idea, especially if it was accompanied by an alcoholic beverage that he had no idea where it came from. The smell permeated the room and even the corridor, his keen sense of smell was irritated by how strong it was. Through the doorway, he could see several full and empty bottles. He thought about intervening but realized that it would be a mistake because the boys were too many, and he couldn't guarantee himself against too many people, mainly because he lived with the fear of changing in front of someone, even if it had never happened. He also considered setting off the fire alarm and preventing something from happening, but that would ruin everyone's party. It would be very difficult to accuse the newcomers because that plan was absurd even for their level. He would not be able to prove it.

Kurt was kissing Kaya when he noticed a sudden movement near him. As he turned around, he noticed a tired Jack after running over. “We need to talk,” he said, forcing his friend away from the confused girl. Kurt didn't like being interrupted, after all, it had been a while since he had had any kind of fun. “I saw the twelve of them planning to throw smoke at the party, set it on fire I don't know where, and they drank. I don't know what to do, but I think some shit will happen,” he told.

“Leave it to the security guys, tell someone, I don't know. Let me enjoy my moment, okay? This doesn't always happen,” Kurt said, already getting ready to return to the girl. Jack informed him that he hadn't found anyone to warn, but thought maybe they could do something.

Kurt made eye contact, still angry, and continued to deny it, returning to Kaya's side. Frustrated, Jack decided to go back to the room, hoping that the men were still there, a good portion of them were, and apparently all the dangerous material as well. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he couldn't just stand by. “What are you guys doing here? The party is outside,” he warned, entering the room. To his surprise, the boys didn't seem to mind, in fact, it was as if they knew he was going there. They walked away a little, staggering, indicating once again that they were too drunk to even walk. One of the boys said they knew Jack would go there, and asked what he would do about it. The newcomer was puzzled and confused by the situation. The other than just threw something at him, which Jack caught without any difficulty. It was nothing less than a piece of cloth from a set that had been stolen from his car a few days earlier during a transformation when they encountered a black wolf. Jack and Kurt were gray. “Was it you guys?”, he asked.

“Actually, no. The guy who gave it to us said he stole it from you and your photographer friend. Where is he anyway? We were waiting for you two,” said the same boy, not at all concerned. “We're all half drunk here and slightly stoned,” he said, laughing, followed by his companions. “We were told that if we hit you and Kurt we'd see something amazing, I don't know what that means, but I'm too crazy to care. We're all rivals, there's a party going on, and the cameras are out because the security people are too stupid. We don't give a shit about anything today, Jack,” he said. “We're in the mood to cause, and I'm in such a mood to beat you up, you've written about us, haven't you? We love it, but they gave us all this, they paid for everything, how am I going to turn down the chance to beat up writer Jack, right?” the other debauched.

One moment all the men were laughing, the next one of them grabbed Jack by the side and another did the same, while the boy who kept talking, whose name was Brian, started throwing punches. Jack barely knew what was happening, but surely, someone from the outside had planned it all. He didn't have enough time to process it all. At that moment, he felt pain. It had been a while since he had been beaten, but not long enough to forget how to defend himself. With an abrupt gesture, he let go of one of the boys and punched him, making him stagger. Turning around, he did the same to the other, while the other boys approached, as well as Brian. There were about eight men against Jack, and while he was punching two of them, he was being hurt by four others. He was at a complete disadvantage and didn't know what to do apart from trying to defend himself and attack. Just then, during the clash, the others tripped over the material and a thick cloud of gray smoke filled the room, causing everyone to cough slowly but Jack. He didn't feel like coughing, he felt like vomiting, and this could only mean one thing to him: animal danger. The pain in his stomach had gone from external to internal, and something about that smoke and that situation was suspicious. He was still taking blows when he fell to the floor, almost beginning his agonizing process when the other missing members entered the room, as did Kurt shortly thereafter, but not before they heard the sound of the fire alarm.

As Kurt was kissing, he noticed the boys mentioned by Jack in the middle of the party, acting suspiciously. For a second, he thought he smelled smoke and thought it might be his imagination, but noticing that the boys immediately headed down the hall, he decided something was up and followed them. The smell of smoke bothered him, and then he knew that he had to get rid of it. He set off the alarm and ran towards the smell, which was when he found all the others on top of Jack, who was almost hidden by the smoke. As soon as they noticed the presence, they made their second victim, they now started attacking Kurt. They were out of their minds. There was no one to see what was happening because at that moment everyone was running out of the area.

The strong smell of smoke knocked out half of the boys still in the room. Brian was still trying to beat Jack when Kurt managed to push him away. “Jack, don't change,” he said, trying to cover his breath so as not to be bothered by the smell anymore, even though it was practically no use. Jack was slumped on the floor and that's when a new smell entered the air, actually, not so new. Kurt couldn't tell exactly when the wolf appeared in the room because of the smoke, but he felt his body shaking and when Jack turned toward him and growled, he knew that the wolf hadn't changed. He attempted to stop the wolf from coming closer, but he didn't have the strength to move, he was paralyzed, but when he realized that Jack was trying to attack him, he had to move. The black wolf went towards Jack, who was already a wolf. Kurt didn't have a very vivid memory of what Jack was like when he reached the stage of pure wolf instinct, but that scene made him realize that he had nothing of conscience there, and seconds later he realized that he wouldn't have.