Awareness.

Arson's expectant gaze dimmed with disappointment. "You... how can you be fine with doing nothing?"

Kristensen sighed, shaking her head. Maybe she'd given Arson some wrong perception that she cared about the world? She turned towards Mel and Trudy. "Since the Alpha's symbol isn't here, should we continue or go back?"

"We don't know if they'll return. Let's leave." Trudy said thoughtfully.

Kristensen, Mel, and Trudy ignored Arson. They returned to the concealed passage they emerged from.

"How can you be so heartless?!" Arson shouted, watching them leave.

"What exactly do you think we can do other than getting ourselves killed? Report? To whom?" Mel shouted back. "Issac is out of the picture. Do you think Tate or Winnie will do? Who's to say they're not in on it? If you want to play hero... by all means, be my guest, but leave me out of it."

Mel was out of breath by the end of her speech. She snorted and left resolutely, and Trudy followed.

"You also think I'm being foolish?" Said Arson to Kristensen after a while, a wry smile on her face.

She didn't immediately respond. She only watched Arson quietly. Kristensen didn't think Arson was so stupid not to understand the gravity of the situation.

By her overwhelmed and guilt tripping, Kristensen believed she somehow wanted to save herself through those recruits but, her timing couldn't be more wrong.

"Frankly, yes." Replied Kristensen.

Arson threw her a look and laughed at herself. Her eyes clouded with heavy sadness. "If it were me in that situation, I would hope someone wouldn't turn a blind eye."

Arson then followed Mel and Trudy, leaving Kristensen confused.

She thought, if by it were her then it meant someone had already saved her since she were in The Camp. Kristensen was curious but only mildly, to her - there were more important things at hand.

They could barely guarantee their own safety, and the threat of their first transformation was still looming over their heads. Where could they find the extra energy to play hero?

Kristensen shook her head and went back, too. If it were her, she would never hope to be saved, she thought. It would be better if she saved herself or accepted her fate.

The trip back to their dormitory was silent, the dynamic of their group had changed, and Kristensen couldn't tell whether the change was for the better or worse.

As soon as they entered their house, Arson locked herself in her room. Mel snorted. "Idiot."

Kristensen looked at the closed door and sighed. Maybe it was for the better...

"What did you mean by it's impossible for those two to take the Alpha's symbol?" Asked Kristensen as she turned towards Mel and Trudy.

They forgot all about Arson's tantrum.

"Like it's name, it's a special mark of an alpha... unless they're blood related, it's impossible to take it away even with the alpha's permission." Trudy explained.

Kristensen's eyes narrowed as she took in the information. She was more puzzled, so why did the Alpha's symbol turn up at such a remote place?

"Then... why did you want to see it? What's so special about it?" Kristensen asked, getting more confused.

Trudy didn't respond.

"Well?" Urged Kristensen.

Mel's gaze turned solemn as she watched Trudy, as though she'd guessed something. "Can't be. You're wrong. Those people were caught."

Kristensen's eyes shifted between Mel and Trudy, questioning.

"I hope I am. I really hope it's not what I think." Replied Trudy, her tone heavy.

"Will someone fill me in?" Kristensen said impatiently.

Mel shared a glance with Trudy before deciding to share her suspicions.

"Long time ago, some heretic wolves formed a pack made of betas and omegas. They believed if they sacrificed themselves through some rituals to an Alpha's symbol, the wolf with the alpha's symbol would be able to inherit the power of the alpha. Regardless of whether they were an alpha or not."

Trudy interjected, "You can imagine how many people they killed."

Mel continued, "It's stupid, really, but I don't know if they succeeded or not. The council hunted them down, and they were killed. This is why all of this is bizarre and really unsettling."

Kristensen absorbed the information, her mind racing with the implications. The masked figure, the missing recruits, Leah and Isaac, maybe Tate, and Winnie - all connected through the Alpha's symbol.

What about Drew? Did she have a clue of what was going on?

If it were as Mel and Trudy suspected, then they couldn't simply act like they didn't know. Who could they tell?

How many people were they going to take before it was enough?

The questions led to more questions, and Kristensen was beyond frustrated.

It would've been better if she didn't know. There was also Trudy's earlier reaction when she told her about the Alpha's symbol...

"Trudy, is there something else? Why did you want to see the Alpha's symbol that badly? It wasn't just for this." Said Kristensen.

Trudy hesitated, her gaze shifting as if wrestling with a difficult decision. "I... my house's alpha is missing, so the elders sent many of us to different places to look. I thought, maybe..."

A heavy silence enveloped the room as Kristensen processed the revelation. The significance of an Alpha's symbol in Crandale was evident to her before, and with Trudy's information, it made her truly understand how significant it was.

She had to get her hands on that Alpha's symbol. Her eyes narrowed as she thought... how?

"We're way in over our heads. If it were any other place, but here, we'd be able to investigate or report." Mel broke the silence.

Trudy and Kristensen nodded in agreement. What blocked them from doing anything was hardly that they were reluctant but that there was no authorative figure they could turn to.

They couldn't trust that Winnie or Tate were clean, and the alpha house that The Camp fell under its jurisdiction had never sent representatives. They were confined.

"For now, let's turn our focus into overcoming the full moon and our first transformation. I think it'll be easier to gather information after that." Kristensen concluded.

Trudy and Mel agreed that there wasn't much they could do.

The following days followed a somewhat skewed routine. They heard rumors of recruits going missing frequently, which earned them a reproachful glare from Arson.

As the full moon approached, the atmosphere at The Camp became increasingly charged.

The uncertainty of their first transformation loomed over their heads, overshadowing the mystery they had uncovered.

Kristensen, Mel, Trudy, and Arson found themselves practicing, training even in their sleep. The mental and physical strain on them increased day after day.

On the eve of the full moon, the group gathered in their shared space, a mix of anticipation and anxiety lingering in the air.

"Tomorrow is the day." Kristensen spoke, breaking the uneasy silence. "Let's just focus on getting through tomorrow."

Arson scoffed, a bitter expression on her face. It was the first time since that night they gathered together.

"You and Trudy have a higher chance of not making it through than us. I don't get why you all called me here." Said Arson.

Kristensen met Arson's gaze, a steely determination in her eyes. "Then leave. Didn't you want to save those recruits?"

"Omegas, this is all they can do. Pathetic..." Trudy added, the disdain in her voice overflowing.

Mel chimed in, her tone pragmatic. "Don't group us as omegas. I'd never play some damsel in distress."

Kristensen met Trudy's gaze, and they chuckled knowingly. They couldn't imagine Mel being a damsel in distress.

"I want to turn into a beautiful black wolf." Kristensen mused, intrigue shrouding her eyes.

"Black? Why black?" Mel replied. "I think white is pretty cool."

Trudy smiled, shaking her head. "Both of you are going to be sorely disappointed. White and black wolves are rare. You'll turn brown."

"Not brown..." Mel and Kristensen exclaimed at the same time. They chuckled.

Arson abruptly stood, an awkward expression on her face. "I...I'm going to sleep."

They watched her leave.

"Do you think Leah and Isaac are going to be there?" Trudy asked after seeing Arson's door shut.

"Definitely. Amidst the chaos, they'll probably take everyone. It'll explain why we'd only ever heard about this place but never seen anyone from here." Replied Mel.

Kristensen looked up at their ceiling, her mind drifting to the life she'd been taken from. Although her life wasn't glamorous, she liked the predictability of it.

"What's it like where you're from?" She asked the two.

A part of her yearned for a place where she'd get to know her roots but some other part, the one where her parents let her down countlessly, wouldn't mind going back to Alba, a place she knew.

Mel and Trudy's gazes turned thoughtful.

"I'm from Trouwel, the capital of Crandale. It's good there if you're from an alpha house that's important but... I guess Crandale as a whole is like that." Said Mel after some thought.

Trudy nodded in agreement. "But... where are you from? I meant to ask you. You..."

Kristensen laughed. She'd been wondering when they'd ask that question.

"I'm from Alba." She replied slowly.

"Alba... Where's that?"

"The human city." Kristensen explained.

Mel and Trudy exchanged glances and then turned to Kristensen with their eyes widened in disbelief.

"The... the human city?" They asked at the same time.

Kristensen sighed. It was still hard for her to wrap her head around, let alone them. Sometimes, she wondered if she was dreaming.

Maybe if she had a cat or a fish, she would fight hard to get back, but there was only an empty apartment waiting for her.

"How did you end up here?" Trudy asked.

Wasn't that the question... how did she end up here?

She could only shake her head. She didn't know, but she was going to find out even if it were the last thing she did.

The excitement the next morning was palpable as recruits made their way to the hall. The last time they gathered there was when they tested their classes. They gathered for yet another challenge.

The full moon...

Winnie and Tate stood at the center, casting their solemn gazes over the recruits. The number had decreased dramatically, Kristensen lamented.

Leah had been busy, she thought.

"Tonight is the full moon. There's nothing to say. If you make it, congratulations, and if you don't, tough luck." Winnie's cold voice echoed.

Kristensen snorted. She might as well have said nothing, she thought. The motivational speech did the opposite.

"We're going to give you keys to the chambers you'll use for your change. Use the chains, trust me, or you'll kill yourself from the pain before being unable to transform can."

Kristensen didn't wait for Winnie to finish her speech. She grabbed her key and left. It was better to get familiar with the chamber than listen to Winnie's nonsense.

She leisurely walked through the facility. Surprisingly, it was her first time truly taking in the layout of the place.

The Camp. Funny, the people in charge of it had diverted from its initial mission and turned it into a farm. The recruits were animals they picked to kill. She wondered what the founder of the place would think if they knew.

"Are you lost?" Came from behind her.

The face that greeted her was one she would never forget and never thought she would see again.

"O... Ocean." Kristensen crooked out. "What are you doing here?"