Continuation.

The cafeteria buzzed with a mix of laughter and murmurs as Maria's attempt to assert dominance failed - comically miserable. Trudy and Kristensen sat there unfazed, both their eyes on Mel.

Mel, visibly flustered, tried to salvage the situation. "We're all on the same side here. Don't misunderstand."

"Yeah. I'm sure she didn't mean it. Kris, Maria's just like that. Don't mind." Arson echoed.

Kristensen leaned back, crossing her arms. "Mel, you might want to put a tight leash on your... friend. She's embarrassing the both of you."

The laughter around them escalated, and Maria sat down with a scowl. The recruits resumed their meal, and Kristensen threw Mel a look. She had to be on alert against that one.

They had two classes in total, one in the morning where they were separated according to their classes and one in the afternoon where they were grouped together - physical training.

Kristensen and Arson happened to be in the same group led by Isaac. They arrived at the training grounds, surprisingly all sorts of tools spread everywhere.

"I'm going to hate this one." Said Arson, wrinkling her nose.

Kristensen couldn't help but agree. She was not enthusiastic about fitness.

"Queue up." Isaac called from the front after everyone arrived. "I know what you all must be thinking. Why do you need to be fit when you're a wolf. You won't get ill or die easy."

The recruits shouted yes uniformly.

"Because your first transformation is hell, and many of you will die." Replied Isaac coldly.

A hush silence fell before the recruits erupted. It was beyond anyone's imagination that they were in danger of dying...

"Resent it or not, the risk of you dying are there whether you come here or not." Isaac let out a sardonic smile. "What do you think it takes the human body to change into a wolf? This isn't a movie."

At that point, Kristensen was numb. The blows kept coming. They knew how to torture people. If it were up to her, she'd rather they gave her the information all at once to mentally prepare.

They were sadists, all of them.

The recruits kept quiet. It was evident that whatever morale they'd gained at the cafeteria was mercilessly crushed. The prospect of death, no matter how slim, was simply achilles heel.

"You're saying we're going to die?" Someone asked.

"No, I'm saying I'm giving you a fifty-fifty chance of survival. Well, most of you don't have a chance to begin with."

The statement didn't ease the tension at all. Kristensen cursed Isaac in her heart. What a shitty instructor, didn't anybody tell him false hope was better than none?

Arson grabbed Kristensen's hand, her eyes filling with tears, and she wasn't the only one. Some were already crying.

Kristensen's eyes turned cold, her aura surging. She snapped. "Anything else you want to add, Isaac?"

Isaac's gaze met Kristensen's, unfazed by the rising tension. "Survival depends on more than just your aptitude. It's about adaptability, resourcefulness, and, above all, mental fortitude. If you can't handle the truth, you're dead meat."

The recruits could only grit their teeth, and seemingly, they had no other choice.

"If you think you'd be better off taking a chance out there, be my guest. It's not compulsory to be here. The door's right there."

Surprisingly, a few recruits did leave while others hesitated. Arson and Kristensen exchanged glances...

The tension on the training grounds reached an all-time low, and many recruits were shaken.

Everyone begrudgingly started the routine, running laps, lifting weights, having their bodies tested to the absolute limits, and only taking short breaks in between.

Kristensen found herself chaneling all the ups and downs of the day into the exercises, pushing herself beyond the physical limits she thought she had. It didn't help that Isaac seemed to take sick pleasure out of torturing them and that no matter how hard they trained, after a while, their energy would be restored back to its best state - being a wolf was a disadvantage there.

"Where do they find these demons?! My parents didn't tell me about this. Damn, I'm exhausted... don't be fooled by how I look."

People glanced around the training grounds and shared miserable laughter. The recruits silently agreed with the statement that their instructors were all demons.

The grueling training lasted till the sun dipped below the horizon, Kristensen couldn't count the number of the times she'd been at the brink of falling apart with exhaustion, yet her body brimming with vigor.

The contrast, along with Isaac's relentlessness, broke a wall in her subconsciously. It heightened her sight, the shift brought a new brim of energy, she felt a different kind of change similar to when she had awakened.

"Today was just an introduction. The coming days will be a lot harder." Said Isaac. However, at that point, the recruits were too exhausted to voice their objections. They simply hauled their exhausted selves back.

Kristensen walked alongside Arson, their steps synchronized in silent understanding.

In the quiet corridors, Kristensen broke the silence. "Mel... she's not giving you a hard time, right?"

Arson nodded, her eyes clouded.

"Is she?" Asked Kristensen.

"What could she possibly do?" Arson responded weakly, "I can handle it."

Kristensen looked at Arson's determined face and stopped asking. Everyone's journey was their own, she thought. She had a lot to do still... caring about others was a foolish thing she wouldn't do.

Her understanding of her new life was clouded with many unanswered questions. The bits of pieces so far pointed to one thing... her parents were wolves too and yet...

The thought made her narrow her eyes with a sharp glint. Not only were they absentee irresponsible shitty parents, they failed at the most, most basic thing for their child living amongst humans - telling her she wasn't.

When she saw them again... Kristensen's fists clenched.

They reached their house, and the fatigue of the day finally settled in. They found Trudy sitting alone in the dark, Arson left without a word, and Kristensen sat with Trudy.

"Long day." Kristensen said.

"And they're saying it's just the beginning."

Trudy and Kristensen shared a glance and let out goofy smiles.

"I'm curious. What was it like facing Drew? I mean, Arson and Mel are omegas. What's so different about her?" Kristensen's eyes drifted far away.

She and that woman, it wasn't going to be that simple. She...

"It was like facing a mirror. You know how when you see people, you can immediately tell what they are but with her..." Trudy's eyes clouded, her voice trailing. "It was like I was facing myself."

They fell silent.

Kristensen looked out the window, the night sky in Crandale was different from that in Alba, the stars were clearer but she couldn't be sure, she thought it was probably because she was always preoccupied in Alba - with Ms. Drew's work.

The irony wasn't lost on her.

"Isaac said many people don't survive their first transformation." Said Kristensen after some time. The shadow of that impending doom still very looming over her head.

Trudy chuckled humorlessly, her eyes deepening. "Not necessarily. You think the children of those alphas - the nobles - are at risk? Only us, defectives, the abandoned face that doom. Law of the world."

It would've been better if Kristensen was unaware...

"What..?"

Trudy shook her head and left Kristensen with parting words. "This is purgatory. We're here, paying for sins of our houses...our ancestors...call it whatever. It's hell."

Kristensen sat alone in the dark, Trudy's words echoing in her head. Funnily enough, it didn't surprise her, and that alone broke her heart. To know, to acknowledge that her parents were capable of doing such a thing.

When last did she see those two people... ten years, fifteen years?

Trudy's piece of information explained a lot, the puzzle that was why she was there, how she was there was taking shape.

Her eyes hardened. "I'm in no hurry. I'll just peel it off skin by skin until we meet again, mom... dad."

On the other side of The Camp, Ocean was having dinner with Drew, his golden eyes on the quartereth as he took a sip of red wine.

"What do you think about this batch?" He asked Drew, his focus on Winnie, Tate, Isaac, and Leah still.

"I don't understand why you called me here. They're all pathetic. I don't see any potential at all." Replied Drew with a whine. "It doesn't help that these four don't take their work seriously."

The said four didn't dare breathe loudly. Winnie and Tate secretly pinched Isaac for all his worth.

"Oh..? What did they do?" Ocean asked in a doting tone, a smile in his eyes as he turned to Drew.

Isaac trembled, short of tears falling from his eyes. His luck was simply terrible... how could he have known his training was watched?

Drew stood leisurely, then flashed towards Isaac and kicked him on the stomach before anyone could react. She looked down at Isaac, bent down on the floor with a sneer. "He told those dards that most of them are going to die during their first turn. Imbecile."

Winnie, Tate, and Leah froze.

"Drew..." Ocean called calmly, and Drew snorted, returning to her seat.

"I have a pub amongst those people. I don't want you to scare her off."

Although Ocean's tone was relaxed, the quartereth felt the air at the ends of their necks stand.

Isaac stood with much struggle...

"I don't care how you ran the camp in the past, and I don't care what instructions your house gave you. Since I'm here, things will go my way. If those old things have an opinion, tell them to come see me."

They nodded repeatedly.

"Why are you explaining so much to them, break their bones, reshape them, then they'll behave." Added Drew with relish.

Ocean shook his head with a chuckle, "Alright, don't scare them."

He stood up, walked to the exit, and paused as he passed Isaac. Ocean threw him a casual glance, but Isaac felt as though a mountain sat on his head. His legs buckled, and he crushed down on his knees, hard.

Ocean retracted his gaze and left. "My cub's seamless transition is your lives guarantee. Isaac... don't make me angry."

Tate and Leah went to help Isaac up only after making sure the duo had left.

Winnie took the jug of wine and downed it, passing it to Tate when she raised her eyebrows at her.

"Isaac, tell us honestly. Who is he?" Winnie probed, lingering fear still apparent on her face.

Tate and Leah turned to Isaac, their gazes obvious. They wanted to know, too...

Isaac didn't respond. He looked in the direction of Kristensen's house. If what he thought was true, he gritted his teeth and stilled himself...

It didn't matter who he was... what mattered was who would get Kristensen.

Isaac's eyes narrowed with determination. The chance he'd been waiting for had finally arrived.