INICIAR SESIÓNIf it was your last chance to experience dorm life, would you react like Sophia did?
Johanis’ POVExactly one week after Family Week ended in a sticky, starry, pinecone-confession kind of blur, the forest no longer smelled like roasted tubers and whipped cream. It smelled like dirt. Like sweat. Like someone’s boot got too close to a dead squirrel and forgot to mention it.We were no longer rolling in pies and glitter.We were training.“NO, NO, NO—YOU CAN’T JUST YEET YOURSELF INTO DANGER AND HOPE IT WORKS OUT!” Uncle Rio bellowed, his voice echoing across the ridge like thunder on espresso.Lily groaned into the moss, face-down. “But what if I believe in the power of surprise?”“Nope. Surprise is not a strategy. Surprise is a byproduct of a good plan,” he snapped, striding forward with his usual chaotic grace. His boots were caked in dirt, his long-sleeved shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing wiry forearms and several bite scars he claimed were “character builders.” He blew the whistle around his neck for emphasis, which made Lily whimper dramatically.“Dead ag
Johanis’ POVThe next morning rose bright and golden, like the sun itself had decided the final day of Family Week should be wrapped in soft light and the smell of something sweet and savory.By the time I made it down from the sleeping lodges, the field had already transformed. Long tables stood under the trees, lined with mismatched quilts and steaming trays of food. Cocoa with marshmallows floated beside roasted tubers, berry cakes, garlic bread, and some kind of blue pudding that was definitely Uncle Rio’s doing. Colorful banners with family names flapped overhead, and the scent of baked apple pies drifted over everything like some kind of festive curse.Lily was already barefoot, running in loose circles with leaves stuck in her hair and glitter on her nose. “WAKE UP, WAKE UP, THE FEAST AWAITS! THE FINAL TRIAL APPROACHES!”“Lily..” Mama called, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun, “.. darling, if this ‘final trial’ involves any insects, so help me—”“No insects! Just honor!
Johanis’ POVEvening fell soft and slow, the way it always did in the hills of the Midnight Pack. The lanterns had taken on a softer glow, gold and pale blue swaying from high tree limbs. Somewhere near the river, someone played a flute—probably uncle Rio, who only remembered how to play after eating three berry cakes. The last family game before dinner was called Thread and Bond.Sounds elegant. In reality, it was chaos dressed up in sentiment. Pairs were given one long cloth ribbon and had to braid it together while doing a three-legged race through a winding trail. A test of cooperation. Balance. And, most importantly, not yeeting your partner into the bushes.“I can’t feel my leg anymore,” Brinn muttered as his mother dragged him down the hill at what could only be described as breakneck ‘mom speed.’Lily and Papa made it halfway before she got bored, floated ten feet into the air, and started narrating like a war historian. “AND HERE WE SEE THE FIERCE ALPHA, STRUGGLING WITH HIS
Johanis' POV A month passed like a blink—blurring with laughter, training, half-mended bruises, and more than one incident involving Lily, a stolen pie, and a possum. And before we knew it, the week we both dreaded and looked forward to had arrived.Family Week.The pack was chaos.Decorations were everywhere—ribbons tied to trees, paper lanterns floating in enchanted rhythm, and long tables set under the stars where families sat in little clusters, sharing food and stories. There were games. Contests. Competitions. And prizes that ranged from jars of honey to handmade cloaks to, for some reason, a giant spoon engraved with “Most Dramatic Sneeze.”Sari’s mother had won that one last year. He still hasn't recovered about that fact.“I swear,” Brinn muttered as we walked past the long scoreboard near the main firepit, “...if my parents sign me up for ‘Couples Archery’ again I will renounce my surname and live in the trees.”“Does it count as ‘couples’ if it’s your mom and dad?” Aya ask
Johanis' POVBy the time we reached the old smokehouse, our clothes were stained with forest dust and our lungs hurt from laughing too much. Brinn had leaves sticking out of his hair like antlers. Sari’s knees were scraped—again—and Lily had a pinecone in each pocket and a victorious grin like she’d just stolen the moon.Aya walked beside me, arms folded behind her head, humming like she hadn’t just chased half of us through every corner of the forest. Her braid was wild now, one side of her tunic smudged with something suspiciously purple. Probably berry guts. Again.The smokehouse stood quiet ahead of us, its weather-worn wood slanted just enough to look uninviting. Smoke didn't curl from the chimney. The windows were dark. The door was cracked open.Which immediately made all five of us stop.“Uhhh guys? Is it just me,” Brinn said slowly, “...or is that door usually shut?”“It’s always shut,” I replied. “Locked too.”Sari narrowed his eyes. “Maybe someone’s inside?”“Maybe it’s hau
Johanis' POVBy the time we crashed through the trees into our so-called secret place, which is “our” smokehouse. We were outside of said haven when Aya was already halfway through a rant about my lack of commitment to “ambush follow-through,” and I was halfway through reminding her that she literally tripped over her own foot during the last round of tag.“I tripped because you didn’t warn me the log was slick!” she snapped, flinging her arms in dramatic emphasis.“I thought your wolf instincts would pick up the obvious mossy death trap,” I replied, also flinging my arms. “Sorry for overestimating your superior reflexes.”“My reflexes are fine! You just have zero peripheral awareness!”“Oh really? That is really rich coming from someone who mistook a hornet’s nest for a squirrel.”“One time!” she barked. “It happened one time, and might I remind you I got stung in the face!”“Exactly!”Across the small clearing, Lily didn’t even glance up from where she sat cross-legged in the grass,







