By dawn, Kimberly found herself curled on her living room couch, and the morning light filtered through the blinds. She had woken up before her alarm, her mind a fog of confusion regarding how she had even arrived there.

  "How did I get here?" she muttered to the empty room.

  "I do not know how you got here either," Dale said, appearing from the kitchen with a cup of coffee. "You were not even here when I came home from work last night. Were you sleepwalking?"

  Kimberly rubbed her temples, trying to catch a fleeting memory of a lake and the smell of wet grass. "I really do not know. Maybe it is the aftereffects of the shot I took".

  "I think you should go back to the doctor," Dale insisted. "Leaving the house to go sleepwalking is not 'feeling great'".

  "I will set up an appointment," Kimberly conceded, though she felt a secret, buzzing energy beneath her skin that felt anything but ill. "Are you coming to Gloria's party later?"

  "No, I am going to continue picking up these overtime hours," Dale said dismissively.

  For the second straight day, Kimberly arrived at the Bayou Mounds Zoo exactly on time. It was a high-stakes morning; the staff was receiving notifications regarding annual raises. Paula and Josh had already emerged from Kellen’s office with smug expressions, leaving Kimberly to take her turn.

  "I am just going to get right down to it, Kim," Kellen said as she sat down. "We appreciate what you do, but after conversations with the staff, you were not recommended for a salary increase".

  Kimberly felt a heat rise in her chest that had nothing to do with the weather. "Can I ask why?"

  "Your inability to show up on time and that enclosure incident," Kellen replied. "We cannot reward recklessness".

  "I'm pointing out a double standard," Kimberly countered, her voice sharper than Kellen expected. "Josh got a raise, even though you sent him home for being intoxicated on the job".

  "We do not discuss other coworkers' salaries," Kellen snapped. "Just continue to get better at showing up on time and not doing anything crazy".

  As Kimberly left the office, the gray wolf reached out through her ears. She heard Paula and Josh whispering from the breakroom across the hall.

  "I am willing to bet she didn't get a raise," Josh chuckled. "Kellen told me the brass wanted to fire her. She is just worthless, man—pure deadweight".

  Kimberly ducked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. The moment the water hit her skin, the lion-like growls erupted in her mind, a thunderous resonance that vanished as quickly as it had arrived.

  On the other side of town, Sheryl Brown was enjoying a rare day of domestic quiet, joined by Derek.

  "How long do you think this peace will last?" Sheryl asked, folding a towel.

  "I do not know," Derek replied, leaning against the doorframe. "It could last forever, if you ask me".

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  "How are you managing your condition?" Sheryl asked seriously.

  "No issues," Derek said. "If I have to, I just show my superhuman side, not the full lion. How about you?"

  "Just the usual full moon stuff," Sheryl admitted, trying to convince herself that the cardiology ward was enough to keep the beast at bay.

  By evening, Kimberly arrived at Gloria’s party, seeking an escape from the bitterness of her workday. Despite the music, games, and the spread of pizza and drinks, she remained in a somber, quiet trance.

  "Kim, are you okay?" Gloria asked, noticing her friend's distant stare.

  "I am fine. I just need some fresh air. “I am burning up," Kimberly said, her skin feeling as though it were beginning to simmer.

  She stepped out the back door into the massive, unfenced backyard. Guided by a primal instinct, she walked deep into the woods and stopped, staring up at the Bayou Mounds night sky.

  The full transformation took hold with a violent convulsion. Her eyes flared into a brilliant, solid blue. Sweat poured from her as her body temperature skyrocketed. Then, the physical restructuring began: her human curves melted away, reformed into slabs of rock-solid muscle.

  Her blue skirt and top shredded into rags as she surged upward. Her fat was incinerated, replaced by a defined six-pack and heavy pectorals. Her feet elongated into a digitigrade posture, and thick gray fur erupted through her skin. She released the lion-like roar as her face shifted, the bone cracking and extending into a powerful wolf-like snout.

  Standing eight feet tall, the muscle-bound Gray Wolf hybrid turned back toward the house. Her friends were still inside, laughing, with no idea that a monster was now standing in the trees.

  After twenty minutes had passed without Kimberly’s return, the lighthearted atmosphere of the party shifted to concern. Leon volunteered to check on her, exiting through the back door and venturing into the dark backyard. Finding no sign of her in the open or the front yard, he used his smartphone's flashlight to navigate into the woods, calling out her name.

  His light caught something unsettling: shredded fragments of blue fabric scattered across the forest floor. "What the hell?" Leon whispered, lifting a piece of the torn clothing. A sudden movement behind him caused him to spin around, but he was too late. The towering, transformed Kimberly surged from the shadows and slashed his throat with a single, brutal swipe of her claws, lifting him off the ground. Leon fell, coughing up blood and clutching his neck, before Kimberly dropped to the earth to finish him off.

  Inside, the remaining guests grew frantic as Leon also failed to return or answer his phone. Just as Gloria reached for her phone to call the police, Leon’s mangled body shattered the living room window and landed on the floor, the left side of his neck torn away. The room erupted in screams of pure terror as Sally and Gloria witnessed the carnage.

  Then, the beast made its entrance. Kimberly stepped through the shattered window frame, her mouth dripping with drool and her heavy, predatory breathing filling the room. Sally attempted to bolt, but Kimberly snatched her into a sleeper hold before a sharp, clawed slash across the neck ended her life. Mark reacted by drawing a 9mm handgun and unloading a full clip into the gray wolf. The rounds did nothing to slow her down; Kimberly lunged forward, drove her claws deep into Mark’s stomach, and hurled him through a kitchen table.

  Gloria and Jeffrey managed to reach the front door, sprinting to Jeffrey’s Mustang and flooring it. Kimberly didn't bother with the door; she tore the entire front entrance of the house off its hinges, dropped to all fours, and pursued them down the street with impossible speed.

  "Jeff, it is running behind us!" Gloria screamed.

  With a massive leap, Kimberly landed on the back of the moving vehicle, her superhuman strength and weight forcing the Mustang to a grinding halt near a dark forest area. She casually ripped the driver's side door off and hauled Jeffrey out, lifting him high with one hand before slamming him onto the hood. As Jeffrey lay unconscious, Kimberly slashed his face repeatedly until she turned her glowing blue eyes toward Gloria, who was trapped inside the car.

  Kimberly circled the damaged vehicle in a predatory 360-degree loop while Gloria sobbed, "Please, please, please, do not kill me". Ignoring the plea, Kimberly moved to the front of the Mustang, lifted the car—with Gloria still inside and Jeffrey's corpse on the hood—and hurled the entire mass into the tree line. The vehicle struck the timber, exploded violently, and caught fire. Kimberly watched the flames for a moment before disappearing into the forest on all fours. The terror of the Gray Wolf had truly begun.

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