>>Mael
I didn't see my group mates throughout the morning. Killian, Eli, and Calix weren't there in the room when the teacher woke us all up and neither did I see any one of them in the toilet area but as we assembled for the morning headcount I saw them at the entrance hall.
A wave of relief rushed over me when I saw them for some reason and I rushed over to their side. Although Eli had scared the shit out of me yesterday he had gone back to normal now.
He smirked like he usually does and there was no sign of those wrath pheromones anymore. I had no idea why he was angry yesterday, did I piss him off somehow? I didn't have the slightest idea but his behavior yesterday was very odd. He's annoyed the hell out of me in many places but I've never been afraid of him like this. I've been pissed, humiliated, and belittled but I was never terrified.
...
It made me rethink how he bullies me. He's never done something that made me feel afraid before but yesterday he was rough for the first time...
My hands moved toward my knees as I recalled how they ended up scraping yesterday.
"Something wrong?' Killian asked
!!!
I flinched and looked at him, "Oh no!" I waved my hands in denial, "It's nothing."
He wrapped his arm around my neck casually, "Is that so?" The hall had started to fill with students.
His actions made me freeze, "Yea...." Why is he being so friendly? This is suspicious but then again, there are times when he simply doesn't care about his actions.
As everyone assembled the teacher came and took our attendance then briefed what we were supposed to do.
"You'll be working in groups again." He started, "The teams will be the same as your original ones. The groups of four will be going to the mountains to select the ingredients for lunch and dinner."
"What?" Angela, a female Alpha spoke, "Why?"
"Yea!" Wendy, a friend of hers peered in, "Why?!"
"Because you won't be getting food otherwise." Mr. Owen smirked as the eyes popped out of our skulls after hearing that which led to an outburst of protests, "You all will be cooking for yourselves today."
"What!?" All the elite class Alphas didn't like the idea.
"That's just insane!"
"Why do we need to cook for ourselves!?"
"This is going to be troublesome." Eli shook his head.
"Yea, because you can't cook shit." Killian laughed at him as he let my neck go.
Pssh! Rich kids, I shook my head, I doubt any of them have ever stepped their foot in the kitchen.
"Mind you, you can't even boil water." Eli taunted him back.
Eli and Killian made fun of each other but for some reason, Calix didn't say anything. He was oddly quiet and that made me uneasy. I hope his being quiet has got nothing to do with me! Yesterday too, he went to sleep without a word.
Could it be? He's angry that I didn't shift yesterday? We fell down the cliff because of me...
I felt dejected but I didn't dare to go and ask him myself.
What if I was right?
That would mean he doesn't want anything to do with me...
I felt a hole in my feelings as I felt sort of lonely.
I pursed my lips as I looked down at my feet in misery.
I hope that's not the case...
"The forest is all yours!" Mr. Owen pointed at the table with a bunch of papers, "There's the map." He smiled, not listening to any of the protests, "You may all leave." The protests continued though so he made another statement, "The tests here on this trip will affect your final grade."
And suddenly there was pin-drop silence.
"Good," Mr.Owen opened the door, "Best of luck on your adventure!"
***
I was happy that we could keep our original group. It felt safer here but the fact that Calix wasn't talking and I had a weird interaction with Eli had the whole vibe of the group a little awkward.
Killian was the one with the map and he took us toward the river.
"We should be able to find some apples and guavas here." He kept messing with the map, flipping it around and turning it upside down, "But oh well, it's not like I know." He looked at us with pursed lips, "Or maybe we might find some berries too."
"We can hunt as well." Eli added, "Because we'll be making the food anyway."
Killian crumples the map, "That's a good idea." And he threw that away.
"Hey!" I picked up the paper, "We might still need this!"
"You can keep it then." Killian stripped out of his clothes, "I'd rather hunt."
My eyes grew wide and I immediately looked away.
"I'm all in for that idea." I heard Eli take off his clothes too and then the third one joined in. Listening to them take their clothes off behind me made me feel shy.
"Hey!" Killian poked me from behind, "Aren't you shifting?"
"Someone needs to look for other ingredients." I replied as I kept my eyes on the river, "I'll be that person." I moved further toward the edge to move away from him.
Then I felt someone's arm around me, "If you shift, your nose will help you find those ingredients better." Eli rested his chin on my shoulder and looked at me with sly, haughty eyes. I knew he was stark naked behind me and it made me stiff.
"I'm fine," I told him.
"Really?" His hands moved towards my jacket, "There's a river in front of you, you can catch some fish with your claws." He began to unzip it and I panicked. In the state where an alarm blared in my head, I slapped his arm away as I pushed against him but the sudden impact made me lose my balance and I fell into the river butt flat in the pebbly area.
"Hey!" Calix finally spoke up, "Stop it!" He stepped towards Eli to defend me and I looked up at them again, "Let him be."
Calix!
My heart warmed at his actions because him coming to my defense meant he wasn't mad at me, but right after my heart skipped a beat at the view in front of me.
I was really thankful for his words and all! But they need to either hurry up and shift or wear their clothes back! Just why are they standing there butt-naked???! Don't they feel ashamed facing off each other with their third leg dangling in the open?!!
"Fine," Eli raised his hands in the air, "I was just teasing him."
"I'm going ahead." Killian shifted first and ran off ahead, probably because he didn't want to be a part of any argument.
"You better not try anything again." Calix shifted and glared at Eli once more but Eli didn't respond to him, he just kept a blank face on.
I closed my eyes as I stood up from the river, thanking God that at least two of them shifted.
"I'll look for the fruits." Calix mind-linked us and then went forward while I stepped out of the water.
"Aren't you shifting?" I shyly looked at Eli's legs because I couldn't bring myself to look above them. It was making me feel things I shouldn't be. Not in broad daylight.
"I will." He was watching Calix and only after he disappeared from sight did he look back at me and I immediately turned away.
But then I felt his stare on me. Quite an intense one at that. It made me feel funny.
"W-what?" I stiffened.
He took a few steps closer to me, "You little pervert~" He whispered into my ear making my eyes go wide.
"What!? I turned my head to look at his face.
He smirked, it was quite a naughty one, "I can see the outline of your panties." He snickered while shivers went down my spine.
!!!!!
I instantly covered my back with my hands, only then realizing that my pants were sticking to my ass like glue and because I wear female panties, anyone who sees it will think I'm a pervert!
My face flushed red as Eli laughed.
"I love your choice." He made fun of me and finally shifted, "I'd love to see what color it is too." My face burned at the comment while he ran off.