The months following Simon's fifteenth birthday were a blur of escalating intensity. While the other teenagers in the Moonlight Pack were starting to notice girls and sneak off to the lake for parties, Simon was experiencing a transformation that felt less like a natural progression and more like a slow-burning fever.
As he reached sixteen, the "Weight of the Crown" became a physical sensation. His muscles thickened, his height surged to over six feet, and his senses sharpened to a point that was almost painful. He could hear the heartbeat of a squirrel three miles away; he could smell the rain before the clouds even formed. But with the power came a temper that simmered just beneath the surface, a wildness that even Alpha Michael found difficult to tame.
"Breathe, Simon," Michael commanded, standing in the center of the training ring. "Control the beast, or the beast will control the Alpha."
Simon was crouched in the dirt, his fingers clawing at the earth. His turquoise eyes were blown wide, the pupils oscillating between slits and circles. "It's too hot, Dad," he growled, his voice cracking with an unnatural resonance. "It feels like my blood is boiling."
"That's the shift trying to break through," Michael said, circling him warily. "Your first transformation is only weeks away. Your wolf is clawing to get out. You have to give him a path, or he'll tear you apart from the inside."
Simon roared, a sound that started as a wolf's howl but ended with a strange, vibrating hum that rattled the windows of the nearby pack house. He launched himself at his father, a blur of speed and raw aggression.
Michael shifted his weight, catching Simon's shoulder and using his momentum to flip the boy into the dirt. But Simon didn't stay down. He twisted in mid-air with a grace that shouldn't have been possible for a wolf-shifter, landing on his feet like a cat or a dragon.
"Did you see that?" Stella called out from the sidelines. She was leaning against a wooden post, her eyes sharp as she watched her son. She wasn't holding a megaphone this time; her expression was uncharacteristically grave. "He didn't move like a wolf, Michael. He moved like something else."
Michael nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. "I saw it."
Simon stood panting, his skin steaming in the cool morning air. The restlessness was no longer a dull ache; it was a rhythmic pulsing in his marrow. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. Underneath his fingernails, the skin looked bruised a deep, shimmering blue-black that flickered whenever he got angry.
"I need to go to the lake," Simon rasped.
"The lake?" Michael asked, frowning. "We have three more hours of combat drills."
"I need the water," Simon insisted, his voice dropping an octave. "Please."
Stella walked over, placing a hand on Michael's arm. "Let him go, Michael. He's been running hot for days. If he doesn't cool down, he's going to ignite."
The Moonlight Lake was a vast, crystalline body of water that sat at the heart of their territory. It was said to be bottomless, fed by ancient underground springs. For Simon, it was the only place where the "fever" receded.
He stripped off his shirt and boots, diving into the freezing water without hesitation. Most wolves hated being submerged, it dampened their senses and made their fur heavy, but as Simon sank beneath the surface, he felt a profound sense of peace.
He opened his eyes underwater. Usually, the world below was a blur, but for Simon, it was as clear as day. He watched the light filter through the ripples, the fish darting between the reeds. He stayed under for one minute... then two... then five.
He wasn't holding his breath. He didn't feel the need to. It was as if his body was absorbing oxygen directly from the water itself. His skin, normally tanned and rugged, began to take on a faint, iridescent sheen in the dim light.
'This is home,' a voice whispered in the back of his mind. It wasn't the voice of his wolf. This voice was deeper, cooler, like the crushing weight of the deep ocean.
He pushed off the sandy bottom, shooting toward the surface like a torpedo. He breached the water and hauled himself onto a flat rock, gasping as the air hit his lungs again. The peace was gone instantly, replaced by the burning heat of the sun.
"You were under for a long time, Simon."
Simon jumped, turning to see a figure standing on the shore. It was the King's mother, Sofia, his grandmother. She was a woman of great mystery, often spending her days in the Dragon Nest but visiting the Moonlight Pack to oversee Simon's progress.
"Grandmother," Simon said, bowing his head.
Sofia walked toward the water's edge, her eyes fixed on Simon's chest. A faint, metallic shimmer was still visible on his skin before it faded back into his pores.
"The blood is waking up," she said, her voice like dry leaves. "The Lagoon calls to you, the Dragon burns within you, and the Wolf seeks to lead you. It is a heavy burden for a boy of sixteen."
"Why am I like this?" Simon asked, his voice trembling. "None of the other kids have to hide in the lake just to keep from screaming."
"Because you are the bridge, Simon," Sofia replied, reaching out to touch his wet hair. "The four kingdoms have been divided by fear for too long. You are the only one who carries the DNA of the Land, the Sea, and the Sky. But before you can unite the world, you must survive yourself."
She leaned in, her eyes piercing his. "Your first shift is coming, Simon. It will be more painful than your father's. It will be a battle of three natures fighting for one body. You must remember the girl in your dreams. She is the anchor. She is the only one who can keep you from being lost in the storm."
Simon froze. "How do you know about the girl?"
Sofia smiled enigmatically, turning to walk back toward the forest. "The Moon Goddess doesn't just give dreams, Simon. She gives maps. Follow the stars, and you will find your way."
That night, the fever reached its breaking point.
Simon was in his room when the first bone snapped. It sounded like a dry branch breaking in a silent forest. He collapsed to the floor, a guttural scream ripping from his throat.
"MICHAEL! STELLA!" he roared, but his voice was already changing, twisting into a terrifying snarl.
His parents burst into the room a second later. Michael took one look at Simon's contorted body and turned to Stella. "Get him to the clearing! Now! The house won't hold him!"
They carried him into the woods, the moon hanging full and heavy in the sky. Simon's skin was stretching, his ribs expanding with sickening cracks. But it wasn't just fur that was emerging.
As Simon hit the grass of the sacred clearing, his body erupted.
"Aaaaaaaahhh!" he screamed, his back arching.
Instead of the usual brown or grey fur of the Moonlight Pack, Simon's coat emerged as a thick, metallic silver-teal. It shimmered like armor under the moonlight. Along his spine, the hair was coarse and sharp, almost like the beginnings of scales.
"Look at his eyes!" Stella cried out, clutching Michael's arm.
Simon's turquoise eyes were no longer human. They were glowing with an intensity that lit up the entire clearing, pupils shifting into vertical slits.
The pain was agonizing. The wolf wanted to run, the dragon wanted to soar, and the mermaid wanted to dive. Simon felt his consciousness fracturing. He was losing himself to the three beasts.
'Wait for me.'
The voice from his dream echoed through the chaos of his mind. The image of the silver-haired girl appeared, the violet eyes, the calm presence.
'Evelyn,' he thought, though he didn't even know her name yet.
With a final, earth-shaking roar, the transformation completed. Standing in the center of the clearing was a beast that defied logic. He was a wolf, but he was massive, larger than any Alpha in history. His fur was a metallic masterpiece of silver and turquoise, and as he exhaled, a faint puff of smoke escaped his maw.
Simon looked at his parents. He saw the shock and the pride in Michael's eyes, and the tears of relief on Stella's face.
He threw his head back and howled. It wasn't just a howl; it was a declaration. The Tribrid Alpha had arrived, and though he was only sixteen, the foundations of the four kingdoms began to tremble.
The "First Shift" was over, but the "Mate Fever" was only just beginning to burn.