Suddenly A Succubus

Chapter 64.4

Nick had doubled over, his face nearly touching the ground as his breath intensified. The curvature of his spine was jagged and exaggerated; the bones themselves had started to shift. Another crack shook his body as the back of his rib cage pulled back, forcing Nick’s chest to grow and jut forward. His spine began to lengthen, not in one smooth motion, but with a series of stiff, jagged twitches side to side. As the growths reached his neck, they seemed to pull his head back and up, revealing a look of extreme pain.His gasps of pain grew more aggressive, sounding more like animalistic growls with each passing second. Another twisted convulsion pushed him forward, onto all fours, and his legs seized up next. The musculature just underneath his skin began to swell, growing larger with each horrid breaking of bone. He kicked his legs out in an attempt to steady himself, which revealed that his heels were inching higher with each fracture. Their restructuring matched the rest of his legs, which grew more and more digitigrade with each passing second.

Nick slammed a palm against the concrete, and Chloé saw that his arms were growing just as fast as his feet. Rippling muscle doubled in size time and time again, and his nails burst outward as they became fearsome, blackened claws. Amidst the cacophonous chorus of breaking bones and shifting proportions, more mundane snaps soon joined in. His increased size destroyed the first layer of restraints, leaving the second layer taut as they fought to hold him still.

Thick, light brown fur burst from his back and legs, spreading like wildfire as it sought to encompass his entire body. When it reached his low back, it sprouted much further out than it should have, clinging onto the thick extension now affixed to the base of his spine. A long, heavy tail suddenly fell to the ground, briefly scattering the blankets beneath him as it started twitching from side to side. The hair atop his head grew longer and more coarse before it started clinging to his neck, eventually joining with the rest of the fur. As the fur began reaching for his jaw, the bones in his face began to shatter and realign themselves. His head grew larger, his ears now sharper and higher on his skull. The many tears of pain that clung to his face disappeared beneath the forest of fur, and his pained expression vanished as his nose and mouth forced themselves further forward.

The tip of his nose turned black, rejecting the spreading fur, while his teeth grew thicker and more pointed. Nick’s pained gasps became screams of agony as he lost the fight against the curse, but within seconds those screams became a powerful, all-consuming howl.

Tessa stepped backwards in fear, and Chloé grabbed her shoulder in hopes of comforting her.

The horrible sounds of Nick’s transformation continued to echo around the chamber, though it wasn’t long before the shifting slowed and they were replaced by heavy, monstrous grunting. Nick’s body had swollen to impossible sizes, and in the last seconds of his change, the second layer of leather restraints snapped as well. They joined the other restraints amidst the pile of blankets, leaving only the thick, metal shackles affixed to Nick’s arms, legs, and neck. Even those shackles seemed pushed to their absolute limits, revealing that everyone’s estimates for how big Nick would grow had been horribly inaccurate.

Still situated on all fours, Nick’s body shuddered as he began to take his first, deep breaths as a full-fledged werewolf. With a single, animalistic grunt, his head flicked towards Tessa and he opened his eyes. While still his usual deep green, they now glowed with unnatural, sinister magic. These were not the eyes of their treasured friend; they held only the intense, predatory gaze of a beast.

Nick’s massive, pawed feet dug into the concrete underneath him and he kicked forward, attempting to lunge at Tessa and Chloé. His movement was halted immediately as the chains tightened, holding him in place. He began snapping and snarling, flailing wildly against his restraints, and the metal bases bolted to the concrete began creaking and shaking from the force of his fury. Locked in place, his attention shifted away from the girls and towards the chains themselves. He moved one powerful leg underneath him, then the other, before rising to his full height.

He was significantly bigger than Tadghán had been, likely standing close to nine feet tall. Every part of his body shook with power and fury, and once he’d risen to his feet, he began pushing his new body to its absolute limit as he bucked wildly against his restraints. The intense clanging of the chains highlighted just how powerful he was, and it wasn’t long before the metal bases began to twitch and shift, slowly but surely losing their grip.

“Chloé, it’s not going to hold!” Tessa screamed. She backed up even further, eyes wide as she stared at Nick’s monstrous body.

Racing forward, Chloé hoped she might be able to distract Nick from breaking free. She pulled herself together and appeared in front of his face, then shouted, “Hey! Up here!”

With incredible speed, Nick swiped at Chloé. The chains clattered loudly as he shifted position, but his thick claws passed harmlessly through her. Nick’s head tilted in confusion before he tried again, then a third time. He took a deep breath and snarled at her, their eyes meeting as he calmed down slightly. Moments passed as they studied each other, and for a moment Chloé thought her distraction might be enough.

Unfortunately, the curse proved smarter than she hoped. Unable to knock Chloé from the air, he returned his focus to bucking at his restraints. His efforts loosened the metal bases even further, and Chloé turned to look at Tessa again.

“He’s too strong, Tess! You need to run while you have a chance!” Chloé yelled.

Scrambling to her feet, Tessa nodded and began sprinting towards the elevator. As she pressed the button, Chloé looked back at Nick and started to fear there wouldn’t be enough time for Tessa to escape.

Panic set in. She looked back at Tessa, still nervously waiting for the elevator, then she heard the first of the metal bases rip out of the floor. Nick roared with twisted glee as his freedom inched closer, then he turned his attention to the next set of chains. Chloé stared at her friend, terrified that she might not be able to protect everyone tonight, when she unexpectedly remembered her conversation with Vee just before she left.

Chloé clenched her fists.

Winding back, Chloé raced towards Nick and punched the side of his snout. She knew she wouldn’t be able to harm him—she’d barely managed to hurt Coven Head Gautier until her shout power manifested—but she hoped it would be enough to guarantee Tessa’s safety.

Nick flinched as she hit him, pausing more out of surprise than anything else. He swiped at her again, but when his claws passed harmlessly through her, he immediately turned his attention back towards the restraints. Chloé attacked again, then a third time, hoping to continue distracting him, but he’d clearly learned that she wasn’t a threat. She looked behind her and saw Tessa still waiting, then remembered just how long the elevator took to reach these chambers.

Each second felt like an eternity. Chloé imagined what terrible things might happen if Nick got to Tessa, or anyone else, and her body shook. It shook with rage at this curse, anger at her own inability to keep her friends safe, and she felt the connection between herself and the surrounding world thin. She wanted desperately to give in, to scream and shout until Nick stopped fighting back, but she knew that wasn’t an option. Even Amara had barely managed to subdue Tadghán for an entire night, and Nick was clearly stronger.

Clenching her fists, just barely restraining herself from releasing an ear-piercing shriek, Chloé threw another punch. The space around her body vibrated with unusual intensity as she moved, and when her fist collided with Nick’s face, a small shockwave of planar force rippled out from the impact.

Nick growled savagely as he recoiled from the attack, and Chloé briefly glanced at her own fist in stunned surprise. Whatever had just happened, it felt exactly like unleashing her fury through a scream, but smaller.

Reinvigorated by this discovery, Chloé raced forward and threw another punch, this time aiming for Nick’s legs. This second attack warped space in the exact same way, buckling and folding it in on itself before rippling out in a burst of energy. The strike threw Nick off balance, and while he managed to catch himself before falling over completely, his focus finally shifted away from the chains holding him down.

Chloé continued her assault, picking new angles to attack from every time as she tried to keep Nick distracted. Every strike spurred Nick to retaliate, and each time his body passed harmlessly through hers. She knew she wasn’t hurting him in the slightest, but after a few more moments of chaos, a quick glance towards the hallway confirmed that Tessa had safely evacuated.

Despite all the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Chloé stopped attacking as soon as she saw this. Nick was going to escape, no doubt about it, and she needed to conserve her energy.

In a matter of minutes, a werewolf would be loose on campus.