**CHAPTER ELEVEN: STORM BEFORE THE SHIFT**
Koda sat on the edge of his bed in the packhouse, his fingers threading through the fabric of the blanket in his lap. His body still ached from the near-transformation, but it wasn't just the physical pain that left him shaken—it was the questions. The sensations. The growing awareness of something deep inside him that didn't feel human.
He hadn't told anyone, not even Tristian, about the thoughts creeping into his mind. About the way his senses sharpened at odd moments, how his bones sometimes felt like they didn't quite belong to him. Or the fact that he'd read enough fantasy novels to start connecting dots that terrified him.
*Werewolves.*
Could that be what was happening to him?
But no one had said anything. Not Tristian. Not the others.
Tristian knocked softly before entering with a tray in hand. "I brought you breakfast. I figured you'd still be sore."
Koda smiled faintly. "You don't have to keep feeding me, you know."
"I want to," Tristian said simply, setting the tray on Koda's lap. "You eating properly is like my new mission."
Koda picked at the scrambled eggs and fruit. "Thanks… for everything."
Tristian sat beside him, close but not crowding. "How are classes going? Anyone bothering you?"
Koda shook his head. "Reed's been nice. The teachers kind of look at me weird now, though."
"Because you vanished and came back looking like a whole new person?" Tristian teased lightly.
Koda chuckled. "Yeah, something like that."
He didn't mention the sensation that came over him in class that day—the way he'd felt someone watching him. Not from the students, but something *else*. Something *darker*.
---
Later that day, while walking home from school with the pack, Koda trailed behind the others. A gust of wind sent a chill down his spine, and when he turned, he thought he saw a figure duck behind a tree.
His heart pounded. He said nothing.
But Tristian noticed the way his posture shifted.
"You okay?"
Koda nodded too quickly. "Just thought I saw something."
Tristian's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Instead, he stepped closer, keeping Koda within arm's reach the rest of the walk.
---
That night, after dinner, Koda sat on the porch with Orion, watching the stars.
"You think monsters are real?" Koda asked.
Orion looked over. "Define monster."
Koda hesitated. "The kind that hides in people. That looks normal until it's not."
Orion smiled faintly. "Some would say we're monsters, too. Depends on the lens."
Koda didn't reply. He kept watching the sky, heart heavy with thoughts he didn't want to voice.
---
Meanwhile, across the woods, Alpha Cade and Luna Mireya stood before an old council stone, the air thick with unease. Reports were coming in from distant territories—rogue activity, signs of organized movement.
"Someone's stirring war," Cade murmured. "And it's not random."
Mireya looked grim. "The balance is shifting. The boy… Koda… he may be more important than we thought."
---
The next morning, Koda found a package at his door. Inside: a worn-out book on folklore and mythic creatures.
There was no name on it.
He opened it anyway.
The chapter he flipped to first was titled: *The Shifted Ones—Wolves of Human Birth.*
A shiver danced down his spine.
In his room, he lay back with the book resting on his chest. Tristian peeked in an hour later with fresh snacks.
"You okay?" Tristian asked.
Koda nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking."
"Too much thinking's dangerous," Tristian said, handing him a cup of hot cocoa.
Koda looked up at him, feeling something fragile but fierce growing between them. "Thanks."
Tristian hesitated. "I'm always here if you need to talk, you know."
Koda smiled softly. "I know."
And for now, he kept his theories—and the ache in his bones—to himself.
The storm was coming.
And Koda was standing right in its eye.