Chapter 11 – The Uneasy Night
The afternoon sun dipped low, filtering in fractured beams through the forest canopy. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the mossy ground, shifting as though the trees themselves were watching. The trio moved quietly along the trail, each step heavier than the last, the earlier excitement of the "exam" already fading into a creeping unease.
Alex's hand brushed absently over her serpent mark, a low heat rising beneath her skin. Something about the forest pressed against her senses, subtle but insistent. She kept her eyes forward, jaw tight, trying to ignore the pull.
Anna walked slightly behind, her fingers brushing the spot beneath her right collarbone where the wolf mark pulsed faintly. A quiet thrum resonated under her skin, like a heartbeat echoing in the earth. She said nothing, didn't look at Alex or Raymond, but her green eyes flickered at the movement in the treeline—something there, something just beyond sight.
Raymond shifted his pack, trying to lighten the mood. "So… we're alive, huh? No tree-eating monsters yet," he muttered, half-smile faltering as a twig snapped somewhere just off the path.
Alex shot him a look. "Shh."
The trio fell silent. The forest seemed to lean closer, listening. A faint rustle in the branches, a sudden chill in the air, made the hairs on the back of their necks rise.
When they finally reached the edge of the camp, the cabins came into view, bathed in the soft glow of lanterns. Students gathered around small fires, laughing, comparing notes, but the trio lingered in the shadows. They weren't alone, and they knew it.
Claire appeared beside them without a sound, her pack slung over one shoulder, expression unreadable. "The forest notices everything you don't," she said quietly, eyes scanning the tree line. "And it doesn't forget."
Alex swallowed. "You mean…"
Claire shook her head, faintly, almost a smile tugging at her lips. "Not yet. Just… pay attention."
Anna's gaze remained fixed on the treeline, her fingers tightening over the wolf mark, pulsing faintly in rhythm with her heartbeat. The mark was quiet, subtle, but alive. It whispered warnings she didn't yet understand.
Raymond glanced between them, sensing the tension but unable to read it fully. "You two are acting weird. What is it?"
Alex only shook her head. "Nothing. Just… tired, I guess."
The wind picked up, stirring the lantern flames, sending dancing shadows across the forest floor. Leaves rustled with a sound too deliberate to be natural. Anna stiffened, pulse quickening, wolf-mark vibrating beneath her skin.
Alex noticed but said nothing, only a small crease forming between her brows. Something had shifted, and she couldn't yet name it. Raymond glanced at her, then at Anna, shrugging uneasily.
The three of them settled into the cabin, the quiet weight of the forest pressing against the thin wooden walls. Outside, the forest breathed in and out, watching, patient.
And somewhere deep in the shadows, unseen, the forest waited.
Anna's eyes flickered toward the window, green shimmering faintly in the dim light. A storm had begun to stir—one they couldn't see yet, but one they would all feel.
And for tonight, that was enough.