Chapter Nine – The First Night
The forest camp wasn't what most of the students expected.
Wooden cabins stood in clusters, rough but sturdy, their lanterns casting orange halos in the twilight. It wasn't luxury—far from it—but it wasn't tents and mud either. The air smelled of pine and smoke, threaded with the restless chatter of dozens of students unloading bags.
Anna and Alex found themselves assigned to the same cabin. Its interior was simple: two bunks, bare walls, and a single lantern swaying gently from a hook. The wood creaked under their steps, carrying the echoes of countless others who had stayed here before them.
Alex flopped onto her bunk, hands behind her head. "Better than I thought. No rats in sight—yet."
Anna gave a small smile, setting her bag neatly under the bed. "Don't jinx it."
Outside, Raymond was dragged into a boys' cabin two doors down. His voice could be heard even from there—complaining loudly about sharing with three strangers who snored like they'd been training all day.
Later, when the camp settled into a tense kind of quiet, Raymond slipped out, hands in his pockets, and headed toward the girls' cabin. Alex had already cracked the door, expecting him.
"Took you long enough," she whispered.
"Had to wait for snore-squad to pass out," Raymond muttered.
Anna was sitting cross-legged on her bunk, hugging her knees. She glanced up at him, her expression unreadable but her eyes soft, like she wasn't surprised he'd come.
The three of them sat together in the dim cabin, lantern light flickering shadows against the walls. Silence stretched—not heavy, but filled with the awareness that tomorrow would not be ordinary.
Alex finally broke it. "So… are we ready? Ready for whatever they're about to throw at us tomorrow?"
Raymond scoffed. "Ready to get eaten alive? Sure."
Anna's gaze drifted toward the window, where the forest loomed dark and endless. Her hand brushed the spot just below her collarbone, where the wolf mark pulsed faintly, quiet but alive. She didn't answer.
None of them really did.
The night pressed closer, heavy with the sense of being watched.
And outside, unseen, the forest stirred.