20 The day of the contest

"An Omega went missing tonight. They are now close to 21 missing Omegas in the academy. Yet, none of the teachers know what's happening."

In order not to answer his question, I decided to skip past it.

"21? Are you certain?" Ray gasped.

"Hmm." I strode over to Sky, who was still lying on the bed. "You have to be careful, Ray. I heard from a source that they are after red-haired Omegas." I gave him a pointed look, "don't stay out at night. And you need to be careful. I won't be here until we complete the test. Don't forget to lock the doors. Double-check the locks every night before you sleep."

"I will." Ray nodded before a smile graced his face. "Are you by chance worried about me, Brys?"

I scoffed. "How can I be worried about you? I have better things to do that don't involve that." I stared hard at Sky, who was still sleeping. "Has it been long since he slept?"

"No."

"Then, I will sleep with you tonight. We need to give him enough time for his bones to recover."

"It would have been better had he gone to the infirmary. This way, the healers would —"

"And risk his ego?" I scoffed. "You need to know how much they value their image.

How many Alphas and Betas have ever gone there?" I took a spare pillow from my closet and strode over to Ray's bed.

"None." He shrugged, "I guess it's the Omegas that frequent the infirmary because we don't heal as fast as they do."

"That's it."

I placed my pillow on the bed. "Come on, it's time to sleep. I need to wake early because of that damned competition."

Ray strode over and lay on the bed next to me. "You reck of Orange. I believed the scent of your pheromones is strawberry?"

"It is." I forced a smile. "I might have eaten a bitter orange, pineapple."

"Hey! Don't call me by my scent." He pursed his lips, with his eyes narrowed to slits.

"I can call you anything I want, Pineapple." I turned my back to him, "It's time to sleep."

"Do you know Sky's scent?" Ray whispered, so low that it wouldn't have caught it if not for our advanced senses.

"You can ask him about it," I shrugged. "Betas don't excrete pheromones the same way we do. The only ones who get to smell their pheromones are those they mark."

"I bet it will smell good," he murmured.

His words made me furrow my brows.

Could it be that Ray is crushing on Sky?

But that doesn't seem..... believable.

Not only are they opposites, but Sky doesn't seem like a romantic. And Ray is a headstrong Omega.

"Do you like him?" I whispered.

But I never got the answer to that question. Ray was already sound asleep.

I stayed awake half of the night, thinking of how things will go.

Though I don't miss Earth that much because there was nothing there for me aside from the few friends I have over there. Yet, I feel a bit homesick.

I don't know how long I stayed awake until I fell asleep.

*****

"Rise and shine, sunshine!" Ray yelled so loud it seemed he was in the process of deafening me.

"Hey!"

I sat up in bed, still feeling groggy from sleep.

"You need to get your lazy, sleepy arse out of bed. The students from Howl Academy are here! You need to get up Asap!"

I rubbed a finger on my right eye. "Where is Sky?" I turned to check if he was still lying on my bed, but he wasn't.

The bed he was lying on, has been made.

"He returned to his room to get ready for the competition. He was the one who asked me not to wake you until it's a bit late." Ray plopped down on his bed with a pout. "I will miss you, Brys."

"Says the boy who's happy to have me out of the room, so he can have the entire place to himself?" I slowly got down from the bed and stretched my taut muscles.

"That doesn't mean that I won't miss you, Brys. You are the only friend I have here," he sighed.

"I will be back before you know it." I strode over to where he was and ruffled his hair. "I will also miss you."

He sighed, "I arranged your clothes for you while you were still sleeping. You only need to have your bath, and get dressed in those pairs of clothes I brought out for you." He pointed towards the table on his side.

"Black?"

I turned to face him.

He shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

I sighed. "Guess I will just wear it because I'm just too lazy to choose another." I strode into the bathroom, still yawning. "Get some snacks for me. I don't think I will survive long enough to walk to the cafeteria." I banged the door shut, knowing he will do what I asked.

****

We stood side by side as the teachers gave instructions on how to survive.

The 12 students from Howl Academy stood opposite us.

True to what the teachers discussed last night, none of the Omegas has red hair.

I locked eyes with one of the Alphas, who has been staring at me nonstop since I arrived here.

I don't understand why I feel this way, but his stare made me uncomfortable. It felt like something was crawling up my arms with the way he kept on staring at me.

His grey eyes never left me until the teachers concluded the talk. He looked like those dummies who bully others in school, to feel good about himself.

I only gave him a long glare before I focused on the teacher.

We are to retrieve three of the things they buried. The more you retrieve, the higher your mark is. And we are to stay in the forest for three days unless you were lucky enough to find yours within a day or two.

Aside from that, should you leave the forest before the end of the three days allocated to us, you automatically lose your marks.

"Are you ready?"

The sports teacher asked as he glanced into our faces, one after the other.

"Yes!"

The others replied while I stared at him without saying a word.

Compared to all these werewolves, I'm a human who happened to be in the body of a werewolf, who's yet to undergo a change. I doubt I will be able to last for a day.

And this was precisely what I told the teacher, but she claimed I can do it.

"Make me proud, love!" Ray yelled from the crowd of students.

I waved at him, and he returned the wave.

"Now, it's time to start the contest. The essence of this competition is to teach you how to survive when caught in a difficult situation." The sports teacher concluded before he stepped back, and three other teachers stepped forward.

"There are a total of 24 tracks." One of the teachers spoke. "You can choose any you like. I will start from the Omegas." He gestured to us.

I picked the first track while the others chose the one they felt more inclined towards.

We stood in front of our chosen path until the Alphas and Betas chose.

Sky selected the second track, which is next to mine, while Storm chose the fourth track.

"At the blow of the whistle, the contest starts. Good luck everyone, we will meet at the finish line."

One of the teachers said before they blew the whistle.

"Good luck," Sky whispered to me before he entered his track.

"I'm vouching for you, Brys!" Ray yelled.

I grinned before I entered the forest path I chose.

Even if I won't get anything from this, I only pray for my survival.

With my backpack slung on my back, I took off, for only God knows where.