Charis
I stared in horror when we arrived at the parking lot.
Three large buses sat waiting for us, their engines rumbling ominously.
A camping trip. We were going on an actual camping trip.
Who on earth goes on a camping trip as an orientation exercise? I wondered desperately.
This wasn’t what I’d signed up for when I’d forged those docunts and cut my hair off.
A day of tests, maybe so physical challenges—not an overnight wilderness adventure where I’d have to sleep in close quarters with other students.
I felt my wolf stir, probably in distress, and for the first ti since I discovered that I would never be able to communicate with my wolf, except to feel and know it was there, I felt scared.
There was no one whose opinion I could seek.
I turned to Rhett, who was standing next to with that infuriating smile plastered on his face as he scrolled through his phone.
"How long will we be gone?" I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.
Rhett glanced up from his phone, still grinning. "Usually, they keep us out for one night. We’ll return to the academy by evening tomorrow."
I felt my stomach drop. An entire night. Sleeping arrangents. Shared facilities. I’ve gone camping twice, and I know that there is almost no privacy. There was no way I could maintain my disguise for that long without soone discovering the truth.
"Can soone sit this out?" I asked quickly. "Like, if they have a dical condition or sothing?"
Rhett’s eyebrows shot up. "Why would you want to sit it out? This is one of the fun parts of orientation."
"You know I’m not so good with people and crowds..."
"Don’t worry," he tapped my shoulders, "You’ll enjoy it, honest. We get to run at night in our wolf forms, but they never allow us to do so within the academy. Plus, this might be the last ti you go for a run until graduation."
"I... I didn’t pack for a trip. Maybe I missed the mo," I said with an awkward laugh. "I didn’t even co with camping gear or anything like that."
Rhett scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. "You don’t need to worry about that. They’ll provide us with clothes and basic essentials upon arrival. The academy provides everything—sleeping bags, camping tents, even toiletries. They want to see how we can adapt to each other. Nothing serious and all formalities."
Of course they did. Because apparently my life wasn’t complicated enough already.
While we waited for the buses to be serviced and checked, another vehicle arrived in the parking lot. This one was a sleek luxury bus, much nicer than the one we had. Along the side was an elegant script that spelt out ’Ebonvale Academy.’
"Looks like we won’t be the only ones going camping this year," Rhett whistled. Then, he muttered sothing about ’checking on soone’ before he disappeared in the direction where the Ebonvale girls were slowly alighting.
Now left alone, I felt my nervousness skyrocketing. My mind was racing through desperate scenarios. How was I supposed to change my clothes? Where would I sleep? What if soone noticed I didn’t use the bathroom facilities the sa way the other boys did?
Or now that the girls were here, I could beco a girl for the duration of the trip and...
No, I stopped the thought instantly, that wouldn’t do.
An idea flashed into my mind—a desperate, probably stupid idea, but still an idea. I needed to find Rhett and borrow his phone to call Slater. During my flight from ho, I hadn’t bothered to bring my phone. I’d left it back at Crestborne because I didn’t want to be tracked to wherever I was going. And now I regret it.
Pushing through the crowd of chattering students, I searched for Rhett, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as if he’d completely disappeared.
Finally, I spotted a familiar figure underneath one of the large trees near the parking area. It was Kael.
He stood alone, with dark sunglasses covering his eyes, just...standing there, doing nothing, which was sohow more unnerving than if he’d been busy with coordinator duties.
Taking a deep breath, I approached him.
"Hi, Kael," I began nervously. "I know I’m beginning to annoy you now —"
"It’s good that you know you’re annoying," he interrupted in a flat tone.
I winced but continued. "I have no choice. Right now, I need to call my brother Slater and inform him about this camping trip. Can I borrow your phone?"
He didn’t say a word, and it was difficult to know what he was thinking since his eyes were still covered with sunglasses, but I knew he was staring at .
Finally, he shook his head. "No."
"Please," I begged. "It’s really important. I need to make one quick call —"
But Kael was already walking away, leaving standing there feeling completely helpless.
I rocked back on my heels, feeling the panic rising in my chest. What was I supposed to do now? I would be trapped for the next two days with no way to contact Slater.
As I turned to head back toward the campus to try to find him, Professor Martinez’s voice crackled through a gaphone.
"When I call your na and your partner’s na, you answer and board Bus One," the professor announced.
My heart sank. We were dividing into smaller groups. More intimate settings. Even worse for maintaining my disguise.
"First partnership: Eamon Riggs and Kael Winters."
Of course. Of course, my na was called first, and I was still partnered with the cold Kael.
With no other choice, I climbed onto the bus and took a window seat, hoping Kael would sit sowhere else. I was near tears now, anxiety was clawing at my throat as the reality of my situation dawned on .
I kept looking around for Rhett, hoping he might appear at the last minute and lend his phone or at least offer moral support. But even after Professor Martinez finished calling out all the students’ nas—including Rhett’s—he never showed up.
Where was he? Had sothing happened? Or had he decided the camping trip wasn’t worth his ti?
As Kael boarded the bus and slid into the seat next to , I realised I was truly on my own.
This was going to be the longest two days of my life.
***
The journey from the academy to the campsite stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
Two full hours of Kael sitting beside in complete silence, those dark sunglasses never leaving his face, creating an impenetrable barrier between us.
I tried several tis to start a conversation, asking about the campsite, wondering aloud about the activities we’d be doing, even comnting on the changing scenery outside the window.
But Kael might as well have been a statue for all the response I got. He stared straight ahead, occasionally checking his phone, but never once acknowledged my presence.
But the ti we finally arrived, my nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
The bus slowed as we approached a massive iron gate bearing elegant script that read ’Ravenshore Campsite.’ We spent another ten minutes there for security checks before we were finally allowed to drive in.
As we drove past the entrance, I felt my jaw drop despite my anxiety.
This looked nothing like the shabby campsites my old school in Crestborne Pack had taken students to during sumr breaks. This wasn’t even a campsite in any traditional sense—it was like a small village, a complete miniature world tucked away in the forest.
There were paved pathways around beautifully landscaped areas. I could see what looked like a dining hall, a recreational centre, even what appeared to be a small dical facility.
The ’camping tents’ visible in the distance weren’t the saggy canvas structures I’d been dreading, but rather sophisticated structures that looked more like tiny houses than temporary shelters.
As our bus pulled up in front of our tent, I realised our accommodations were even better than I’d hoped. The tent assigned to and Kael looked like a mini-house indeed—sturdy walls, proper windows, and what appeared to be actual plumbing connections.
"Partners will rest for two hours," Professor Martinez announced as the first batch of students ca down from the bus. "After that, we will et at the central square for your first activity briefing. Your supplies and change of clothes are waiting in your accommodations."
As soon as we entered our assigned tent, I spotted two large duffel bags near the entrance, each clearly labelled with our nas. I grabbed the one marked ’E.Riggs’ and began to go through its contents—there were several changes of clothes, toiletries, even a warm jacket for the evening chill.
Behind , I heard movent and glanced over to see Kael heading to one corner of the tent, where a sleeping bag was already laid out.
Without any warning or acknowledgent of my presence, he removed his shirt.
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