Sammie crouched beside the stream, watching her reflection ripple in the clear water. Her red hair hung loose around her freckled face. She wanted to master the transformation—to finally control the beast that lived inside her. The Enchanted Forest held the secrets she needed. She stood and brushed dirt from her overalls. The changes came without warning now. One moment she was herself, the next she was something wild and dangerous. She needed to find a pattern, a way to predict when the beast would rise. The town square held her answer. An elegant sundial stood on a stone pedestal, its surface covered in strange markings. Sammie traced the engravings with her fingertips. The symbols matched the moon phases she'd seen in old books. She pulled out her notebook and copied them down. If she could track the cycles, maybe she could prepare for each transformation. The sundial's shadow pointed west. Three days until the next moon. Three days to get ready. Deep in the forest, Sammie found what she'd been searching for. A hidden sanctuary sat between two ancient oaks, surrounded by thick moss and climbing vines. No one came here. She cleared fallen branches from the entrance and stepped inside. The space was perfect—walls of solid stone, a dirt floor, and room to move. She threw a punch at the air, then another. Her fists felt weak compared to what they became when the beast took over. She needed to understand that strength, to feel it in her human body first. But practice wasn't enough. She needed somewhere secure for when the transformation came. Sammie spent the next two days building an impenetrable secret room deeper in the sanctuary. She dragged heavy logs and stacked stones until the walls stood thick and strong. Iron bars crossed the single window. A bolt locked from the outside. When the beast emerged, these walls would hold. She would transform here, over and over, until she learned to stay in control. The room was ready. Now she just had to be ready too.