An unseen force pulled my braid harshly, forcing me up onto my tiptoes. If I extended as far as possible with my calves, I could slightly relieve some of the pressure. I gripped the hair and engaged some of my core strength.

“Ow!” I said as she held me up in front of her with her power. The weight bar stayed firmly embedded in the ceiling, which meant she held us both with her magical iron strength.

“Fool!” she screamed in my face, her eyes were inky black orbs fastened to me. “Your job is to always accompany me and be punctual!”

“Yeah?” I said, laughing and trying not to writhe in pain. “Who gives a fuck, April? You’re nobody!”

Hey, if she wanted me to resist, I would resist, but I thought my scalp might peel off like a grape skin at some point. Did that happen? Or did it just slough off with your face? Images flitted through my mind of the bloody, gory wreck this could turn into—

My curse raged behind my will. I could feel it wanting to escape, wanting to make short work of the Witch with her accursed energy. It took all my willpower and imagining the song in my mind to hold it at bay.

The magical bonds tossed me up against a wall, then released me. “Ow, fuck!” I said, as my shoulder impacted hard against the brick surface. High Valley Saints was printed in huge letters across the wall in black and yellow, with a picture of our emblem, two crossed swords against a shield.

I think a bit of the curse sort of escaped a little. I could feel my shoulders hunching, my jaw dropping open as I looked at my attacker. I opened my hands, wanting to feel claws, as I leaped across the space and tackled her.

I rolled her onto the ground and held her there, ready to rip out her throat with my—

The weight bar came clanging down to the floor. Startled, flinched.

“Seth, come back to me,” she patted my cheek softly, looking into my eyes.

Azure eyes, looking up. Eyes I’d fallen in love with. April’s Eyes.

Wait. What just happened?—

I glanced around and saw the fear on people’s faces. I looked down at my arms and could see the shredded fabric of my shirt and the bunched muscles of my curse trying to escape, but it was fading slowly. I panted harshly, feeling her body under me, warm and writhing and…

I blinked and stood up.

Everyone regarded me with fear in their eyes.

Great.

I’d shown just enough of my curse to make everyone afraid of me.

Just great. Dad was gonna be pissed.

She’s a child throwing a tantrum.

I pulled April up. After she got on her feet, I swatted her behind sharply.

“Ow!” she squealed. “Did you just…”

“Be glad that is all I ‘just.’” My curse-filled voice echoed off the walls of the weight room.

She whispered then, and if I wasn’t filled with my curse, I wouldn’t have heard it. “I still need to punish you.”

Fuck. Closing my eyes, I turned around.

“Whatever the fuck it is, get it over with. I need to calm down and change my clothes…they’re all shredded.” I looked at my shirt, which had split in several different places. I grabbed the front and pulled it off my body like a male stripper.

Look, I’m a werewolf. And I work out. So my chest is…chiseled. And it’s pretty hairy. It’s not something I’m proud of, but yes, women seem to like it.

“And then I will attend you. Jesus fucking Christ.”

She wiped a tear away. I don’t know if it was because I hurt her or because she was glad I was helping her. At that moment, I didn’t care.
“For your punishment,” she said in a somewhat but not quite shaky voice.

I felt that strange tingly feeling again. This time I could see the magic building up inside her and flowing into my body. It was strange.
I expected it to come out of her hand, but it was like the energy slid up from the ground somehow; it didn’t spray out in front of her.

The magical energy slid up my body, and my body hair all fell away. It was like a snowfall, only with dark hair instead of flakes. In short order, my skin, arms, and, I assume, all my other body parts were slick and smooth as the day I was born.

Clothing materialized from somewhere. I was no longer wearing my jeans and not much else. A Gothic black dress wrapped itself around me, not unlike the one April was wearing.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Oh, and—“

I felt pulled up again, but this time only a short distance, and settled back down onto—

“Heels?” I said, stumbling a little. “Really?”

“Mhmm,” she said, and she was blushing. I rolled my eyes.

Her eyes faded to black again. “Now, go attend to yourself and meet me in the quad in fifteen minutes!”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

She and her entourage left the room, whispering and gossiping. Some of the girls cast glances back at me with what I’d like to think was newfound appreciation but was probably fear.

I shrugged my shoulders, then went to the back of the room where some cushioned benches had been arranged. I plopped down into one, exhausted.

“You okay, man?” Jeff said, approaching with Mitzy. Both of their eyes were wide with shock and/or fear. The rest of my team had gone back to their workout.

“Yeah, shit. That almost got away from me.”

“Dude!” Jeff said. “You were like….Holy shit, man, how close were you to changing?”

“Close,” Mitzy said, taking my hand in hers and sitting beside me.

“I’m guessing everyone knows this is all just theater now,” I said, yawning. I’d expended a lot of energy.

“Yeah,” Mitzy squeezed my hand. “You had her, though, Seth. I think you surprised her with that move. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast; it was…well--”

“Supernatural?”

“Yeah.”

“And that was just the smallest fraction of the curse that leaked through. Ugh, I have to be careful.”

“You can’t let her get you into a position where you go full feral, Seth. Have you ever considered that may be her ultimate goal here?”

“What, to turn me into an animal? Couldn’t she have done that like Bruce, or Becky?”

“Not sure it works like that on a Were. She may be trying to trigger your curse on purpose, though, so she can eliminate you as a threat.”

“The elimination would have been her when I ripped her throat out. Not the best plan if that’s what she’s trying to do.”

“By now, someone has told someone and the school administration will be gunning for you.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Which means they’ll be calling my father.”

“I’m sorry, Seth.”

I sighed, nodding. “Me too.”

Standing up was a bit of a chore. It was like trying to balance on a bicycle again, if the bicycle only had one point of contact on each foot. “How the fuck do women walk in these?” I said, nearly turning my ankle. “Ow, fuck!”

“Those are low heels, at least.” Mitzy grinned. “Getting some newfound appreciation for how the other side yet, Seth?”

I rolled my eyes, looking into the gym mirror. The black dress had a corset laced up the back that cinched my middle. It looked stupid with my male but hairless chest. I held up the skirt a bit.

“Twirl!” Jeff said.

“Fuck off,” I said.

“You okay?” Mitzy said.

“Yeah, all under control now.”

She linked my left arm in hers, and Jeff linked my right. We walked out of the weight room. It helped me to stay steady on my feet.

I think I was going to need it.