Awakening I.

It didn't matter if they were mistaken or not, Tate continued giving instructions.

Isaac fiddled with a pendant on his hand, a smooth stone, and the mist parted a pathway to the pool's edge.

"Ready when you are." Isaac said to Tate, who looked impatient.

Tate gestured for the girls to follow, and they obediently went through the path. As Kristensen stood at the edge of the pool, looking at the moon brightening little by little, her disbelief transformed into an innate rejection.

The pool represented what Tate said was true, didn't it? Kristensen's eyes narrowed deep in thought.

"Arson, you're up." Tate declared.

Arson hesitated for a moment, exchanging an uncertain glance with Kristensen. With a reassuring nod to Arson, Kristensen stepped forward, cast a glance at that pool, fully lit with the moon's reflection shimmering on the surface.

"You said this isn't compulsory, so can we choose to leave without awakening?" Kristensen asked, unfazed.

The other girls quietly looked at Tate, too, seemingly wondering the same thing. Tate let out a string of cusses as she strode towards Kristensen.

Tate stopped in front of her, "Exactly where the hell are you from? Didn't your parents give you the speech?"

Kristensen raised her eyebrows unbothered at Tate's roar, her stance unchanged.

"The speech?"

"The speech. I'm sorry to tell you, but you're not human... blah blah blah. That speech." She spewed at Kristensen.

Tate took a deep breath and signaled to Isaac.

"Arson, I won't ask again. Go."

Arson threw Kristensen one last look, then stepped forward. She descended the steps into the pool slowly till finally disappearing, the mist enveloping the previously calm pool.

They waited, waited, and waited. Nothing came from the mist, remained still. The girls looked at one another with fear in their eyes, but Isaac and Tate focused solemnly, not letting their eyes drift anywhere else.

A couple of moments later, a painful groan came from inside the mist, followed by a scream, the thickness hindered their sights, and the sounds made the girls retreat a couple of steps from the edge of the pool.

"She..." Someone from the group murmured.

"She's fine. You didn't think awakening would be like taking a bath, right?" Tate scoffed.

The sounds continued to pierce through from the mist, sometimes a loud scream and other times a soft whimper. The sounds settled after a while. The silence that followed had everyone entirely focused on the pool.

The mist slowly dissipated, revealing Arson standing there, her whole person enveloped in a blue hue. She glowed, her bearing altered, and her eyes shone the color of the hue she was enveloped in.

The girls gasped while Tate nodded approvingly, seemingly satisfied with the outcome. "Not bad, not bad at all. Welcome to the camp, Arson."

Kristensen gaze met Arson's that was filled with a mixture of awe and uncertainty, her fists clenched at her side. A part of her hoped all the awakening nonsense would be just that, nonsense, but Arson's transformation killed that hope.

It was real. She was really not... human.

"Who's next?" Tate's voice cut through the lingering tension. The group exchanged nervous glances, and the next girl stepped up.

As the ritual repeated, Kristensen's skepticism deepened. The whole process wasn't as vivid as when Arson was in the pool, and the outcome too didn't have the same effect. Some successfully awakened while others didn't, and in all of them, none received the same approval that Arson did from Tate and Isaac.

"Trudy, you're up." Tate said after the sixth girl came out of the pool, skipping Kristensen.

A sly smile playing on Isaac's face, he said, "You skipped one."

Kristensen took a step back charitably, her reluctance palpable.

"I'm not in a hurry. Take your time, all the time you need." She emphasized with a wave of her hands.

Tate snorted but didn't respond. She only urged Trudy to go through.

Trudy hesitated at the edge of the pool, her eyes nervously flickering between Tate, Isaac, and the water below.

"I don't understand why you're all apprehensive. What you're about to gain, that power... and the chances of you dying during the awakening are so rare... you'd have to be extremely unlucky." Tate exclaimed, her face distorted with anger.

Trudy took a deep breath and descended into the pool, disappearing into the mist.

Moments after Trudy went in, a strange phenomenon happened. The mist thickened, and the moonlight brightened. The light was blinding. Immediately, painful groans came from the mist, more intense than when Arson was going through it.

Kristensen observed intently, her hands clenched tightly into fists that her nails pierced her skin.

"It can't be..." Tate murmured. Isaac stepped closer to the pool, fiddled with his pendant again.

"Should we stop?" Isaac asked Tate with a rare serious expression on his face, his face never leaving the pool.

"No. We can't, and we can't be sure it's an Alpha's awakening. They didn't say we shouldn't let any awaken either." Tate gloomily replied.

A roar from the pool cut short their conversation, and the mist slowly parted, revealing Trudy.

Trudy's transformation vastly differed from Arson's. The contrast was as big as night and day. Kristensen found herself resonating with Trudy's more raw and forceful red hue, the aura so oppressive, it took hardened willpower to look at her.

Tate's reaction was noticeably different this time. A curt nod without approval but fear.

"Congratulations on your awakening, Trudy. The camp welcomes you." Tate stated, her discomfort evident.

Trudy, visibly ecstatic, took a step to return to her position, and that step made the pressure in the room so dense that everyone except Kristensen, Tate, and Isaac went down on their knees.

"Sorry." Trudy said sheepishly and retracted her foot.

Tate and Isaac didn't bother with her. Their burning eyes were on Kristensen, wanting to pry her secrets open with their eyes.

"What?" Kristensen asked, her eyes going on guard.

"You didn't go down. Everybody went down, but you didn't. Why is that?" Tate's eyes scanned Kristensen from head to toe, then back again.

That had happened? Kristensen wondered. She was sorely focused on Trudy's attractive aura she didn't realize she didn't react as others. Her eyes widened as thought back, but aside from a pull she felt that resonated with her, she hadn't felt pressured. Should she have gone down?

"You didn't either. Why should I?" Kristensen asked bewildered, Isaac let out a few laughs - his gaze on Kristensen intensifying.

"You... you... how could it be the same? I'm a wolf, I've seen my fair share of alphas. What about you?" Tate spit, somehow provoked.

"Oh."

"Oh... oh? That's all you have to say, oh?" Tate's voice rose a couple of volumes.

Kristensen raised her eyebrows but didn't respond. Her attention was solemnly Trudy. It was only her that had successfully piqued Kristensen's interested, she was looking forward to her own awakening now, welding that kind of power - she wouldn't mind even if she grew a tail.

"Okay, okay. Let's continue. We're already late." Isaac said.

Kristensen stepped forward then, her intention clear.

"Not you, you're going last." Snorted Tate and reprimanded, signaling for another girl to go in. Kristensen shrugged, stepping aside.

The unpredictability of the process was present in the air, and not many girls were left, there was only three left, including Kristensen and Mel. Her reluctance was worn out, and curiosity was taking over. She couldn't wait to see how she would turn out.

There was no movement whatsoever after the girl stepped into the pool.

Unexpectedly, the girl didn't awaken, the pool threw her out - bloody. It was the first time the pool had hurt someone, physically buttered them.

Kristensen gaze closed. The bloody cuts all over the girls body were extensive, yet it happened in a matter of seconds. Her hands clenched involuntarily.

Isaac and Tate were on her the moment she was thrown out, their stance enraged.

"Who are you?" They asked at the same time.

The girl shook, shaking her head without saying anything.

"Courting death!" Isaac exclaimed as he grabbed the girl's throat.

"I...I'm not. I didn't." The girl stammered.

Kristensen and the other girls watched the commotion silently, neither scared nor willing to get involved, especially Mel and Kristensen, who hadn't had their turn. There was a hint of annoyance in their faces.

There was a loud clang - Isaac crushed the girl's neck. He threw the girl's body aside like a piece of garbage, not a life lost. Someone in the group shrieked...

"Pathetic. With just her, they dare to play tricks?" Isaac wiped the nonexistent filth on his hands with a cloth and threw it on the girl's body. "We should hurry."

It wasn't the first time they and The Camp were mentioned, Kristensen wondered if those were the people who'd gotten her there?

Tate clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "You're too violent. You go report, I'll finish up here. Take the girls with you."

"Don't even think about shrinking responsibility from this. You did the selection. I won't cover for you." Isaac threw Tate a stern look before turning to leave, gesturing for Arson and the others to follow.

Kristensen, Mel, and Tate were left standing awkwardly, no one breaking the silence.

"Mel, you go. Shit's luck. I deserve better than this job."

Mel threw a look at Kristensen, one that reprimanded and went into the pool. Kristensen was puzzled but didn't put it into mind. She eagerly waited for her turn. Tate snorted and turned away from her.

"Hypocrite." Tate whispered, and Kristensen let out a small smile. So she had been enticed by power... who hadn't before?

Mel's process ended quickly, so quick Tate didn't say anything for a while after she surfaced, only looked at her puzzled.

"You..."

It wasn't only Tate, Kristensen intently watched Mel to find any trace of the hue the other girls had demonstrated but she found none yet... Mel had a subtle change to her.

Did she or did she not?

"What? Am I welcome to the camp or not?" Mel snapped at Tate, her dissatisfaction written all over her face.

"What is with this group?! Wait, you'll get sorted at the camp. I'm not qualified to judge." Tate grumbled, turning to Kristensen with a scowl on her face, "Your turn."

Kristensen didn't need to be told twice, between her apprehension and the desire to gain power similar to Trudy's. She was more than ready to take the plunge.

She went in, and her first thought was that the water wasn't as cold as she thought it would be. It was actually refreshing - comforting. She closed her eyes subconsciously, immersing herself into the homely feeling she received from the pool.

Kristensen was awakened by an acute pain along her spine, the pain was so sharp every muscle in her body tightened as she fought through, she bit her bottom lip it bled, the drop of blood fell into the pool and became a catalyst.

The calm pool became chaotic, and the established moon at the bottom broke into little sparks that flew to Kristensen, covering every inch of her skin - a cocoon.

The cocoon shone bright, Kristensen inside of it would shake, stabilize, and shake. She found herself in a field with the moom shining brightly - her surroundings crimson grey.

The process continued until the light gradually subsided and the little sparks fell into the pool, condensing back into the moon.

Kristensen didn't wake up immediately.

She was facing another dilemma. In the field she found herself, there was a big grey wolf with golden eyes staring intently at her, a teasing glint in its gaze.

"Pub..." The wolf growled. "We'll meet soon."

The teasing glint in the wolf's eyes somehow irritated her and she said briskly, "I'm not a pub."

The wolf laughed, it's long canines bared. It made a scary sight and Kristensen took a couple of steps back. The wolf's laughter didn't stop, it flicked a claw at her. "Go back. I'll tell you when you're not anymore."

Kristensen woke up with a start, looking around and disoriented.

That... a dream or a nightmare?