Competition

Tim’s head pounded. Oh no, the pain! He slammed his hands against his temples, trying to pin it back.

In a failed attempt to hold it back, he whacked his skull against the table. It didn’t stop.

“No,” he howled. “No!”

Lacey, sitting across the table from him, raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh boy, here we go again. Do you need something?”

“I’ve got this,” Tim said, shoving his chair from the table. He clutched at his head, groaning and bending over.

Lacey picked her nails with a switchblade, her nose wrinkling. She glanced over at Tim and rolled her eyes.

He banged against the wall and moaned. Lacey finally lost her humor and stood up. She grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him towards the front door.

“Jeebus, just quit fighting it already. No one’s impressed by how long you can hold out,” she said.

“Noooo,” he groaned, “I can last as long as you can.”

“Dude, no one can last as long as I can.” She shoved him outside into the view of the moon.

His headache dulled as the change gripped him. His skin rippled as his bones shifted and his wolf insisted on the change. His shout of agony turned into a howl of triumph.

He glanced back at the house, where Lacey still hid and he curled his lip in frustration. She had such control of her change, the moon didn’t own her. But he’d keep practicing, he’d get it figured out.

In the meantime though, he was gonna enjoy the hell out of this full moon.