The moon hung high in the sky, casting its pale light across the darkened forest. Ethan stood alone, his breath coming in shallow gasps as the wind howled through the trees. His heart hammered in his chest, a steady rhythm that matched the growing tension in the air. He could feel it, the change, creeping up from deep within him.
His skin burned, and with each passing second, the pain intensified. His bones cracked and shifted, his muscles twitching uncontrollably as if they were being torn apart and reformed. His hands twisted into claws, the nails elongating, hardening into deadly points. He gasped, but the sound that escaped him was no longer human— it was a low, guttural growl, as though something darker was taking control.
His face contorted, his jaw distending, teeth sharpening into fangs that glinted in the moonlight. His vision blurred, the world around him becoming more vivid, more intense, as his senses heightened to a terrifying degree. The scent of the forest, the rustle of leaves, the pulse of every living creature nearby—all of it overwhelmed him.
With a final, painful wrench, his body snapped into its new form. He stood there, now a creature of nightmare, fur bristling along his back, muscles rippling with untamed power. His human consciousness was dim, overshadowed by the primal hunger that now dominated his thoughts.
A howl tore from his throat, raw and uncontainable, as the full moon bathed him in its light. Ethan was gone, replaced by something older, wilder, something that only the night could understand.
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