A December evening settled over northern Eugene, soft and heavy at the same time. Moisture seeped into the wood of the porch, and the city lights below flickered through a thin layer of fog hanging over the valley. Inside Kidd's house, there was calm; logs from their own mill burned in the fireplace, and warmth spread beneath the high ceiling, reflecting in the large windows where the dark silhouettes of trees stood against the night.
Kidd was finishing a review of the Santa Clara work schedule when a car pulled into the driveway. He glanced toward the window without tension; visits like this were common, especially when another generation was coming of age in families with wolf blood. A first transformation was rarely a surprise—more often it was a stage people had been preparing for over years.
He opened the door before they had a chance to knock.
"Good evening, Kidd," Miguel Webber greeted him, removing his cap. Rosa stood beside him, arms wrapped around her own forearms as if the chill of the driveway were stronger than usual.
"Come in." Kidd stepped aside to let them enter. "What's going on?"
They sat at the kitchen table. Rosa looked at her husband, as if signaling him to speak first.
"It's Thiago," Miguel began. "We think his first transformation is close. He's more restless, sleeping worse, hearing things we don't hear. You know how it is."
Kidd nodded, his calm genuine.
"Seventeen's a good age. Sometimes it comes earlier, sometimes later. The body decides on its own."
Rosa exhaled, though the tension in her shoulders didn't fully disappear.
"It's just happening so fast. Last month he was still… a boy. Now he looks at the forest like something is calling him."
Kidd rested his hands on the countertop.
"That's normal. The call begins before the shift. The body prepares itself, the wolf wakes gradually. It's not something that spirals out of control."
Miguel hesitated for a moment.
"We'd like him to spend the next full moon with the pack. For you to be there with him. You and the others."
Kidd lifted his gaze and remained silent for a moment before nodding without hesitation.
"Of course. A first full moon should happen in a controlled environment. We'll be in the forest, as usual. Levi and Zane will help, the twins too. He won't be alone."
Rosa looked at him with gratitude that was almost tangible.
"Thank you."
Kidd leaned back more comfortably in his chair.
"There's no reason to panic. Every one of us has gone through it. It hurts, it can be chaotic, but it's part of the order of things. Thiago is strong. He'll manage."
Miguel nodded, visibly reassured.
"We knew you'd say that. We just… wanted to be sure."
"And you did the right thing coming here," Kidd replied. "It's better to talk too early than too late."
When the Webbers finally left, taking some of their worry with them, Kidd closed the door and returned to the living room. For a moment, he stood by the window, looking toward the dark forest.
First transformations were part of pack life. A natural transition from boy to wolf. There was nothing unusual about it, nothing that required alarm.
And yet, somewhere deep beneath his skin, he felt a faint, barely noticeable tension.
Not fear.
More a sense that something this winter might begin sooner than it should.
The full moon arrived cold and bright, spilling silver light between the tree trunks like a thin layer of ice. The forest near Kidd's house was where the pack had gathered for years—a wide clearing surrounded by tall Douglas firs, with soft ground cover and a natural slope that allowed them to control the space. A stream ran nearby, its quiet murmur blending with the breath of the night.
They arrived in several cars, engines cutting off almost in unison. The cold air filled their lungs with sharp freshness. The twins got out first, followed by Thiago.
The boy was tall for his age, not yet fully settled into his body. He stood with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, looking around with a mix of tension and excitement. Being with the pack was something natural to him, something he had longed for since childhood. But now that the moment was truly here, uncertainty flickered in his eyes.
"You breathing?" Colton asked half-jokingly, clapping him on the back.
"I'm trying," Thiago replied with a nervous smile.
Kidd stepped closer, his presence immediately stabilizing the space around the boy.
"Come," he said calmly. "Let's walk a bit."
They moved a few meters away from the others, though still within sight. The moon hung high, bright and merciless, its light settling on Thiago's shoulders like a thin layer of frost.
"Listen to me carefully," Kidd began, stopping in front of him. "The first shift is painful. Your bones will break and knit back together. Your muscles will stretch like someone's trying to tear them from your body. It won't be pleasant."
Thiago swallowed but didn't look away.
"Don't fight it. Your body knows what to do. The wolf does too. The worst thing you can do is try to stop it. Focus on your breathing. On one fixed point. On the ground beneath your feet. We're here. We won't let anything happen to you."
"And if I lose control?"
"You'll lose your balance. You'll be disoriented. You might even try to bite anything that moves," Kidd added with a faint shadow of a smile. "That's normal. Give yourself time and don't panic."
"Yeah, unless you end up like Christian and break two legs before you even stand up," Carter called out, leaning against a tree.
Christian snorted."That was a tactical stumble."
"That was a spectacular stumble," Colton corrected.
The tension loosened for a moment, laughter spreading between the trees like a warm current. Thiago breathed a little deeper.
Off to the side, Zane was speaking quietly with Levi.
"You think Crystal will agree to a spring date?" he asked, trying to sound casual, though tension threaded his voice.
Levi looked at him with amusement."If she doesn't agree to spring, you'll take her sooner anyway. Lovesick mutt."
Zane nudged him with his elbow."Careful, or I'll remind you how you used to sit outside Byra's house like a stray dog."
Levi only smiled, not denying it.
The air began to change.
At first almost imperceptibly — as if the silence thickened, as if the world held its breath. The moon climbed higher, and in each of them stirred that familiar tension, that primal pull impossible to mistake for anything else.
Thiago went rigid.
"It's starting," he whispered.
Kidd nodded."Good. Breathe."
One by one, without hurry, the wolves began to shift. Bones cracked, muscles slid beneath skin, bodies bent in a controlled, practiced rhythm. Fur spread like shadow across flesh, and human silhouettes gave way to powerful wolf forms.
Thiago watched with wide eyes, both terrified and awed.
Then it hit him.
He dropped to his knees with a guttural groan that tore through the night. His fingers dug into the earth, nails splitting and lengthening into claws. His spine arched unnaturally, and a scream ripped from his throat that was no longer entirely human.
Colton let out a small whine of sympathy, ears flattening.
"Oh man…"
Christian bumped his shoulder."Don't look like it's your first time seeing this."
Thiago's shift was violent, less fluid than the older wolves'. His body fought its own weight, bones snapping into place with brutal clarity beneath his skin. Kidd, Zane, and Levi stood still, watching every detail. Their wolves were alert, ready to intervene, but they did not move yet.
Finally, the boy lifted his head.
The wolf stood on unsteady legs, fur uneven, breath heavy and ragged. For a moment, it looked as if he were regaining balance.
And then something changed.
A shadow flickered in his eyes, as if someone had dimmed the light from within. His muscles tightened abruptly, and a low, unnatural growl tore from his muzzle.
Before anyone could react, Thiago lunged at Kidd.
He was the strongest. The closest. The natural target.
Kidd didn't step back. He took the impact on his shoulder, the young wolf's paws striking his chest. In the same second, Zane and Levi were at his sides, Colton and Christian leaping from behind, forcing Thiago to the ground.
Snow and earth scattered beneath their weight.
"Enough!" Kidd growled, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.
Thiago snapped blindly, eyes wide yet empty of recognition. There was no youthful confusion in his movements — only blind, aggressive fury.
Kidd leaned lower, ignoring the teeth that nearly grazed his face.
"Thiago. Do you hear me? It's me. Breathe."
The wolf answered with another violent thrash.
For a split second, something resolved in Kidd's eyes.
He bent and bit.
Not deep, not brutal — just enough to break the skin at the back of Thiago's neck and let his own blood spill, to cut through the frenzy with the dominance of an alpha.
Thiago froze.
He jerked as if struck by lightning, then his body began to contract. Bones shortened, fur receded beneath skin. Seconds later, a naked, trembling boy lay on the ground, gasping.
The pack stepped back, still on alert.
"Is that normal?" Carter asked, already back in human form, running a hand through his hair.
"I don't know, damn it," Zane muttered. "I've never seen anything like that."
Levi narrowed his eyes, watching Thiago.
"It happens. A wolf is a wolf. Reactions vary. No reason to panic."
"The kid looks intact," Christian noted.
Colton grimaced."I don't know, if you ask me…"
"But no one did," Christian cut him off. "Shut up, Colton."
Thiago tried to push himself up on shaking elbows.
Kidd crouched beside him.
"I think that's enough for tonight," he said more calmly. "I'm taking you home with me. You'll be safe."
He looked at Zane and Carter.
"You in?"
"Of course," Zane answered without hesitation.
Carter shrugged."No problem. I didn't have any plans anyway."
After a brief exchange of looks, the rest of the pack decided to stay and hunt, to bleed off the tension still hanging in the air.
Kidd, Thiago, Carter, and Zane got into the car and drove toward the alpha's house.
Once there, Thiago was completely shaken, wrapped in a blanket on the couch.
"I tried to attack the alpha," he said quietly, as if only now grasping the weight of it.
Zane snorted.
"Who hasn't?"
Carter grinned and suddenly lunged at Kidd in mock attack.
The alpha reacted instinctively. In one smooth movement he grabbed Carter by the back of the neck, twisted into a hold, and steered him a few steps toward the door.
"Hey! No, I was joking! Let me go!" Carter protested. "My dignity is suffering! This is not funny!"
When Kidd finally released him, Carter straightened his clothes in exaggerated offense.
"Don't do that in public! If my future wife sees that, I'll be single for the rest of my life!"
Thiago let out a tired laugh, and the tension in the room eased slightly.
Only Kidd, standing by the fireplace with his arms crossed, still felt something beneath his skin that refused to settle.
This hadn't been a normal first-shift frenzy.
And he knew it.
The atmosphere in the living room noticeably relaxed. Kidd returned with a bottle of water and handed it to Thiago.
"Listen to me carefully now," he said more quietly. "What happened doesn't make you weak or disobedient. A first shift can spiral out of control. Instinct looks for the strongest point in the space. It's natural that you lunged at me."
Thiago looked at him uncertainly.
"But… I couldn't feel you. Any of you. It was like you disappeared. There was only… noise."
Kidd exchanged a brief glance with Zane.
"It will pass," he answered firmly, though a thin line of focus appeared in his eyes. "Your body needs time to synchronize. You're staying here tonight. Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll see how you feel."
Carter dropped into an armchair, still pretending to be offended.
"And I thought I was dramatic during my first full moon."
"You were dramatic for the first two years," Zane corrected him.
Thiago let out a quiet snort of laughter, and the tension in his face finally began to ease.
Kidd watched him closely from where he stood slightly apart. Outside, the wind moved through the trees, and the house creaked softly in response.
The young wolf looked calmer now.
And yet something about his behavior moments earlier wouldn't let Kidd rest.
Not the attack.
What he had seen in Thiago's eyes just before it.