He didn’t want to unleash fully and give into his Beast Mind, but he knew that transforming back was all about letting that animal urge go wild. Letting the thoughts flow and take flight. Imagining doing the things that a beast could do. He went wild with it, a sinister smirk on his face, his bloodshot eyes becoming more intense as he let the wild animal flow through him.

The thought of engaging Mr. B in battle, and besting him. The thought of pouncing on Vincent and once again maintaining his place as the supreme beast, then ripping Vincent’s throat out for good measure. And the thought of pushing Mizuki up against the wall, ripping her clothes free, breasts pressed against the wall, gripping the skin of her hips, and taking her. Nothing would stop him from doing these things. He knew deep down it was wrong, but it felt so right, and was necessary for the training, so he embraced it with a giant grin.

“Here we go,” he growled as he felt his body change and transform. And it was different this time. There was no forcing it, no synthetic moonlight, no mist, just him. His muscles grew along with his body and fur and snout and teeth and all strength and power – his power. And the pain was amazing, because he was willing it, so he just smiled through it all, his bloodshot eyes and powerful form embracing the hurt because he knew it meant he was alive. And there was no better time to be alive than right now, in his true werewolf form.

He stood, proud and powerful, pure muscles and speed and strength, ready to unleash and break through anything that stood in his way. Whether it was a teacher, another being, or even Vincent, he’d tear them all down. He was unstoppable. And so, he leaned back and let out a mighty howl.

In that moment, though, he felt it – a sudden, rushing feeling. An unleashing of fury, like a knife being pulled from a deep wound that gushed blood, unable to be stopped. He pushed and punched forward, clawing to break free. The Beast Mind, his Beast Mind. He tensed, focused, and willed with all he had, thinking about the warmth of his mother’s love, and his true nature, pushing it down, stopping it from unleashing. He made a deal with it that, in time, he would let it run free, embrace the furious, beastly nature, and go berserk. But not now. So, it calmed and stepped back. He stood strong and true and powerful, his chest pushed out, shoulders back, eyes forward, snout and claws ready to strike. He felt wild and free and alive like no other. He growled with defiance, and then leaned back and let out another drawn-out howl.

“This is awesome,” he belted out in his beastly baritone while chuckling.

He never wanted to transform back. This was it. This was him. In this form, he could stop bad things from happening, take care of those that he was once too powerless to take care of. And as he felt the Beast Mind wanting to step forward again, he willed it back, then realized he had done it, he had completed the Transformation at Will.

The voice of Mr. B brought him back, though.

“You have one final step, son. You need to transform back to your human form. Do that, and you’ll have mastered the Transformation at Will.”

“You got this,” Vincent said in the background with a triumphant hoot.

For some reason, this sent a chill down his spine. Not because he disliked Vincent, but because he saw Vincent as a rival. And for some reason, deep down inside, he believed that they were kin, even if that thought was quick and fleeting, it had flickered. He was also annoyed that he had to do this final step. He was so enthralled with having mastered it, he totally forgot about this final step. But if he wanted to maintain control, well, as best of control as he could at this point, he had to transform back, even if it felt amazing to be in this form.

He concentrated, his body tensing as he willed the thought of that human child that was him in that warm memory with his mother pushing him on the swing. A sudden rush of power pushed against him, like lifting weights that were a bit too heavy, slowly coming down on his shaking body. He yelled out, an audible cry escaping his lips, as his body snapped and twisted and contorted back into shape, breaking and reforming and becoming smaller. The whole time he fought against the unbearable weight until he was back in his human form, teetering on the spot.

His vision blurry, his body weak, his skin sweaty, he staggered there with a stupid grin. Like a kid getting kissed on his first date, or like a person who’d drunk too much – the former he wanted to experience, the latter he had. Then, fell on all fours and vomited, falling to his side, and passing out.

He had done it, though, and Mr. B pulled him from the chamber, leaning him against the wall in the computer room. They hovered over him and he blinked, muttering something incoherently as he found his voice and chugged water from a bottle that Mr. B handed him. He drained the sucker, then let out a thirst-quenching noise, wiping his mouth, and crushing the bottle in his hands.

“I did it,” he said with a smirk. “I freaking did it.”

“Okay,” Mr. B said, standing with hands on hips. “Let’s get one more thing over with.

.           .           .

And they were both outside, transformed into their werewolf forms, facing each other down.

“Now, I want a good, clean fight, you two,” Mr. B said with emphasis toward Alacard. “No drawing blood, no biting, none of that. Just another round of pin the werewolf. Got it?”

They both nodded.

“Acknowledge that you heard me, both of you!”

“Got it,” Vincent said.

“Yeah, yeah, old man, we got it,” Alacard said with a shrug, then leaned forward, a low growl emanating from his snout. “Now, let’s get to it.”

Vincent felt his nerves and anticipation rise at the thought of wrestling Alacard in this state.

They transformed and rushed one another, hands clasping together, eyes narrowing, and fingers squeezing. They pushed back from one another, and Alacard lashed out, throwing some punches, and a claw. Vincent stepped back, barely dodging it, his eyes wide at the sharp claws that came inches from slicing him.

“Hey,” he said, anger flashing. “He said no drawing blood.”

Alacard moved forward and elbowed him back with a mighty grunt. “Yeah, I know, chump. Caught you off guard, didn’t it?”        

Vincent leaned back slightly from the strike, then whipped forward and punched Alacard.

“Hey,” he snarled, moving forward on Vincent with another strike.

Vincent smile as he ducked into him, using his forward momentum as leverage to throw Alacard over his shoulder and onto the ground, pinning him for three seconds, Alacard unable to break free as Vincent held him steady.

“That’s three seconds, son,” Mr. B said. “Vincent wins.”

As Vincent let up, Alacard elbowed him hard, making Vincent stumble backward and fall on his butt, shaking his head as his vision got blurry from getting knocked right on the nose.

Alacard’s strikes were something else now that he had mastered his Transformation at Will. Alacard jumped to his feet.

“Let’s go again,” he snarled. “You cheated.”

“No,” Mr. B said, stepping forward. “Both of you transform back.
Vincent did as he was told, feeling a weakness and drain on his body from being in his werewolf form, just as him and Mr. B had discussed the other day.

Alacard, on the other hand, stood at the ready, looking like he wanted to pounce on Vincent. His predatory eyes hungry as he stalked forward and made Vincent shiver from the sight as if Alacard wanted to devour him.

“Change back, Alacard,” Mr. B insisted.

“Why would I want to change back? This is amazing.” And it was amazing. He could put Vincent in his place. Vincent had bested him, and that enraged Alacard. Made him think of his father, and his uncle, and the things that they had done. Things he had tried to stop but was unable to as he was too weak. But now? Now he could take anyone on, and he was going to start with Vincent, and even Mr. B if he intervened.

Mr. B stepped forward, intensity and anger in his voice. “Change back now, dammit!”

Alacard turned from Vincent, which made his heart drop as he was frozen in fear from that hungry beast that was Alacard staring him down.

“Make me,” Alacard said before feeling his body shudder, his legs grow weak, and teetering on the edge. Then he fell forward and blacked out.

He was leaned up against a tree when he came to, Vincent and Mr. B leaning over him. Mr. B tapped his cheek lightly asking if he was okay.

Alacard slapped his hand away.

“I’m f-fine, teach,” he said through slurred speech, willing his legs and body to move to no avail, his vision slowly gaining clarity with each blink. “W-what happened?”

“You passed out, son,” Mr. B said. “You of all people should know that the werewolf transformation drains and weakens your body rapidly at first. You need to pace yourself from now on.”

Alacard let out a growl but it just came out as a grunt.

“The only pace I’m gonna keep is the one you two suckers will follow.”

He was trying to act tough, to be strong, but his head just lulled forward, a little drool falling out the side of his mouth.

“What?” he stammered, having trouble picking his head up as his feeling came back.

“While I’m proud you mastered the Transformation at Will,” Mr. B said. “You need to take your time and be careful with your transformations from now on, all right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he growled, his voice coming back to normal as he glared at them.

“I got it. I need to be responsible with this new power, and all that crap.”

He stood on shaky legs, using the tree as leverage to keep himself upright, looking like he was going to fall forward. Mr. B moved into action, but Alacard pushed him away with dark eyes.

“I said, I’m fine,” he snarled, still teetering some but staying steady before sauntering off while muttering, “I’m gonna take a long shower. Don’t wait up for me.”

“This is going to be an interesting year,” Mr. B said, rubbing a hand through his hair as they watched Alacard go.

Vincent nodded, looking down at his hand as he clenched it into a fist. “It sure is,” he said with determination.

.           .           .