The pain was a burning echo in my muscles, a reminder of the transformation that had torn my body apart. I felt the fur covering me recede, leaving my human skin exposed, trembling, naked against the cold floor of the break room. The window shattered by Serena’s escape let in a freezing draft that made my skin prickle. My eyelids felt heavy, darkness licking at the edges of my vision as exhaustion consumed me. Clarisa was silent, drained, her presence a faint murmur in my mind. I tried to move, but my limbs felt like lead, each breath a struggle.
Then, the door creaked open, and a familiar figure burst into the room.
It was Caleb.
His eyes, full of concern, found me instantly. He rushed to me, his white coat billowing, and knelt at my side, tearing a sheet from a nearby pile to cover my
