After almost over an hour of the arts and crafts challenge, everyone in our team just ended up celebrating our surprising success. To be honest, none of us expected that we would win this much.Our table was a riot of colors and creativity. My bracelet was simple but proportional, with a clean finish and subtle color transitions actually won second place. I was proud of it, even more so when Professor Thorne himself complimented the craftsmanship. But what truly caught everyone’s attention was Ethan’s tie-dye shirt. Deep greens, silver hues, and perfectly balanced wolf motifs. He took home the champion title, of course. And honestly, there was nothing that aloof Alpha couldn’t do.“That tie-dye shirt looked like it was made by a literal professional,” Lily uttered beside me as we walked deeper into the forest. “I swear, there’s nothing Ethan Blackstone can’t pull off, girl.”I just chuckled at her while brushing a leaf from my shoulder. “He’s good, I’ll give him that. But…” I paused w
Fifteen minutes had never flown by so fast. Just as Lily and I were finally catching our breath under the shade of an old tree, the call came for all students to gather at the river for our next challenge. I stretched my arms overhead while faintly feeling the pressure in my shoulders from the earlier basecamp building, but I wasn't complaining. My legs was aching already and my hands were scraped from handling too many branches, but I still felt alive. I actually had never experienced anything like this before. Last year during summer break, I was just in our tiny bakery back in the province while I was kneading dough with flour-covered hands and helped my parents shape pan de sal before sunrise. And while I had always found joy in those simple routines, this being here, surrounded by laughter and trees that stretched endlessly into the sky, it was actually something else entirely.The river sparkled as we lined up near the banks. Professor Thorne stepped onto a rock platform and be
The sun had already climbed higher in the sky, warming our skin as we wiped off the last traces of effort from building our basecamp. After over an hour of hammering, tying, lifting, and designing, our team was finally done.Ethan was standing at the front while examining the camp's structure one last time with his arms crossed. Althea was also beside him while holding a sketch of our layout and nodding as they discussed the placement of the storage tarp. The two of them were calm and completely in sync.I stood a little to the side while brushing off some bark and dirt from my hands."They're really good at this," I muttered to Lily who had just plopped down beside me on the grass.She followed my gaze and smirked. "You mean Ethan and Althea?""Yeah," I replied while crossing my arms loosely over my chest. "They make a great team. Kinda perfect for each other, don't you think?"Lily raised a brow. "Didn't you say before that they're not actually mates?"I nodded. "That's what I hear
The stick in my hand felt like a sword while my grip was tightening as I glared at him. My heart was thudding so loudly I was sure he could hear it. Every instinct I had screamed Run, but I just stood my ground. There was no way this was really Ethan. He was never this relaxed, this smug, and that smile was too shady and too amused."Don't come any closer," I warned while adjusting my posture just like Tyler taught me during our defense drills. "I'm not afraid to defend myself."To my surprise, the Ethan-copy just laughed.Like, actually laughed. A deep, amused laugh that made me surprised. It was the first time I had ever heard Ethan laugh like that.I raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell are you laughing?"He rubbed the back of his neck while still chuckling. "You should've seen your face, omega,” he uttered while trying to catch his breath. "You were about to whack me with a branch like I was some kind of shapeshifter."I frowned while still skeptical. "Because I thought you were."His
The walk down to the lake was nothing short of magical. The morning mist was still clinging to the surface of the water and sunlight rippled through the canopy above. Everyone was excited while laughing and stretching as they arrived at the lakeside for the first challenge of the summer camp. We will be building the best camp zone.Our faculty members stood in front of us with clipboards and color-coded flags."You'll be divided into teams of ten," Professor Thorne announced. "Each group will be assigned a color. You'll have the next few hours to design and build your base camp. Creativity and teamwork are the keys to winning."I held my breath as they began announcing names.Please let Lily be in my team.When I heard "Green Team, Sarah, Lily, Althea, Ethan..." I nearly jumped with joy. Lily grinned and high-fived me."Dream team, girl,” she whispered.Tyler, on the other hand, ended up in the red team, and I saw the flash of disappointment in his eyes from a distance. But as the tea
I had just barely finished unpacking when I realized that I wasn't going to be sharing a room with any of the council members. Each camp cabin was assigned by section and while I was a little bummed at first, my mood lifted the instant I found out Lily would be one of my roommates.It was like the universe threw me a bone.Around 6:50 in the morning, everyone had already arrived and the campsite was already full of energy and sleep-deprived students dragging their bags and half-laughing at the cold morning air. Lily and I walked toward our assigned cabin while giddy as usual as we whispered about who our other two roommates might be."I hope we get someone chill, girl,” Lily uttered while hugging her pillow to her chest. "Like, maybe someone who snores a little but is nice enough to share snacks."I faintly laughed. "As long as it's not—"We both stopped when we pushed the door open.It was Regina and Ashley.I felt my stomach wrenched for a few seconds while I stood frozen in the doo