Chapter 65: The Treehouse

Aina

Aina’s lungs felt like they were bursting with shattered glass. Her legs gave out the second her boots hit a clearing surrounded by looming trees, and she sank straight onto her knees into the damp moss. Her chest heaved violently, producing nothing but dry, ragged gasps that refused to carry actual oxygen to her pounding blood.

Beside her, Ally collapsed onto her hands and knees, her chest rising and falling in harsh, jagged breaths as sweat plastered dark strands of hair to her pale forehead.

With trembling, frantic fingers, Aina reached deep into her pants pocket. She pulled out a small, metallic cylinder, an object entirely alien to the wolfish world, yet her absolute lifeline. She brought it to her trembling lips and pressed down hard.

Puff. One.

She held her breath desperately, counting the agonizing seconds in her head before letting it out.

Puff. Two. Puff. Three. Puff. Four. Puff. Five. Puff. Six.

Gradually, the invisible iron band suffocating her windpipe loosened, allowing cool night air to flood back into her starving lungs. Aina slumped against the trunk of a pine, letting her head drop back as she slipped the metallic cylinder safely back into her pocket.

Ally wiped her brow, staring at Aina with wide, thoroughly bewildered eyes. "Oh," Ally panted, her voice still raspy from the sprint. "What is that... that metallic thingy?" Aina patted her coat pocket gently, a small, tired sigh escaping her lips. "Oh... an inhaler."

Ally tilted her head, her dark eyebrows knitting together in deep confusion. "What is that?"z

"It gives me air so I can breathe," Aina whispered softly, pulling her knees up to her chest to shield herself from the crisp forest draft.

Ally let out a low, breathless whistle, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Wow... cool. I should get one of those."

Aina let out a small, weak chuckle, her heart slowly easing its frantic rhythm. "Oh, yeah... yeah, maybe. I guess."

She leaned her head against the rough bark of the pine tree, her dark eyes wandering up into the dense canopy above them to escape Ally’s curious gaze. But as her eyes swept through the thick, shadow-draped branches, something massive and structured caught her attention.

Aina blinked, leaning forward to stare up into the leaves. "Hold up... where are we?"

Ally looked up, a sudden look of fierce pride lighting up her tired face. "This is my casa," she declared, pointing a thumb up toward the tree. "My home. It’s where I usually come to avoid the mess... you know, to avoid the chaos, especially at night. Because, yes... I take my bullying standing up. I take it every single day. But I just need to sleep sometimes, Aina. And sometimes... Sophia drags it all the way to my dorm bed."

Aina stared in genuine awe. Nestled high in the strong, sprawling boughs of an colossal old oak tree was a remarkably sturdy, handmade wooden structure.

"Oh my gosh..." Aina breathed, turning to look at the rogue girl in utter disbelief. "You built this by yourself?"

"Yep!" Ally grinned, puffing out her chest as she walked over to the base of the oak where a narrow, sturdy rope-and-wood ladder hung down. "I built it wood piece by wood piece, all by myself during my first year in this wretched academy."

Ally placed a foot on the lowest rung and began to climb with ease. Aina stepped up to the base, looking nervously up the height of the ladder as it creaked under Ally’s weight. "Are you sure it’s safe?"

Ally paused mid-climb, leaning back to peer down at her through the dark leaves. "Of course it’s safe! I’ve used it for a very, very long time, like, for an entire year now and it has never once broken down on me. Are you coming up or what?"

Aina glanced back over her shoulder into the dark, eerie depths of the Moonside forest, shuddering at the faint, distant sounds of wild creatures and shrieking students looking for blood.

"Of course," Aina muttered, grabbing hold of the wooden rungs and beginning her climb. "I’d rather be up there than down here where I’ll probably be found by one of those horrid little children... or be eaten alive by some wild animal."

Ally burst out laughing from above her as they both scaled the final rungs and scrambled onto a wide, sturdy wooden porch platform. Ally pushed open a low wooden door, stepping inside first and gesturing proudly for Aina to enter. Aina crouched slightly, stepping into the small space, and her breath caught in her throat.

It was a small, cozy little cabin tucked entirely into the heart of the tree. It was nothing grand or extravagant like the towering marble halls of the academy or the pristine, oppressive rooms of the Whitelock Pack house. There were no gilded chandeliers or expensive drapes.

Instead, it held a small, charming reading nook positioned right beside a hand-cut window frame that looked out over the forest. A small, thick mattress sat tucked into the corner, layered with mismatched, cozy blankets. In the center lay a flat wooden crate acting as a tiny coffee table, surrounded by plush, colorful floor cushions that served as seats.

It was small. It was humble. But the moment Aina stepped onto the smooth floorboards, a wave of pure warmth washed over her. You could feel the heart, the love, and the absolute labor built into every single inch of this sanctuary...no home.

"It’s... it’s amazing, Ally," Aina said softly, her eyes glistening as she looked around the sanctuary. "It really is."

Ally beamed, her face flushing slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Thank you. We can sit here and just wait... wait until we can come up with some sort of plan on how we are going to deal with Sophia."

Aina groaned softly, sliding down onto one of the soft floor cushions beside the small table. "Oh, again with the Sophia thing... Ally, you didn’t have to stand up for me back there. I have no idea why you did that. And now... it’s okay. I can handle this matter by myself. I really don’t want to drag you into my mess."

Ally threw her head back and let out a bright, boisterous laugh. "I am already into it, dude! I’m already in it up to my neck! After what I just did to Sophia back there? Oh, I’m sure she wants my head on a spike far more than she wants yours at the moment!"

Aina stared at her for a second before a genuine, loud laugh burst from her own throat. "These Moonside students are absolutely crazy."

"Indeed they are!" Ally agreed wholeheartedly, grinning from ear to ear. She gestured toward the cozy reading nook near the window. "Go on, sit in the reading nook! I have some snacks saved up."

Aina’s ears perked up instantly at the word snacks. Interested, she scrambled over to the reading nook, settling into the pile of soft pillows as Ally crouched down by a small wooden storage chest tucked into the corner.

Ally pulled out a small, sealed wooden box, opening the latch to reveal a hidden stash. She pulled out a crinkly, colorful packet of salty potato chips and a few small wrapped pastries, proudly strutting over and dumping them onto the low table.

"I snuck them in at the beginning of the year so that I’d always have something to eat," Ally explained, ripping open the packet of chips and tossing one into her mouth with a contented sigh. "I mean, sure, I love all the grand meals in the main dining hall at Moonside, but sometimes... sometimes you just want to be a total junk freak, you know?"

Aina reached out, timidly picking up a potato chip and taking a tiny, crispy bite. "Yeah... I know."

I don’t actually know that much, Aina admitted to herself in the quiet solitude of her mind, chewing slowly on the salty crisp. I haven’t had that much junk food in my entire life.

Back at the Whitelock Pack house, junk food was a myth, a luxury as distant as the moon. The only junk food that ever existed on the pack grounds was the secret stash her half-brother Travis kept locked away in his private room, a room Aina was strictly forbidden from ever stepping foot into.

The rest of the house was an absolute desert of greasy treats. Her biological mother had been severely bulimic, constantly monitoring every calorie that entered the house. Her sister was perpetually trapped on an endless, strict diet. And her stepmother? Well, her stepmother simply turned her nose up at anything remotely greasy or processed, declaring it unfit for consumption.

Her father was never home long enough to buy anything fun, let alone snacks. And as for her other brother... well, he was just plain weird.

So no, Aina didn’t know much about being a junk freak. But as the salty flavor melted on her tongue, she decided she liked it very much.

The two girls sat together in the warm, quiet glow of the treehouse, munching through the packet of chips as the sheer weight of physical exhaustion began to settle heavily over their aching bones.

Ally wiped her hands on her trousers, leaning back against her cushion, her expression growing serious once more. "Okay... we need to come up with a real plan. Something that actually makes sense, because now... we are completely in this together."

Aina looked down at her hands, running a finger over the fabric of her skirt. "We are indeed." She paused, taking a quiet breath. "Actually... I do have a plan."

Ally perked up. "Oh yeah? What is it?"

"I’m going to wait it out," Aina said softly, her dark eyes reflecting the starlight outside. "I’ll wait for the Headmaster... Headmaster Roiner to come back. Once he returns to the academy, he will put an absolute end to all of this madness."

Ally stared at her for a long, silent second. Then, a loud, wheezing laugh burst from her lips. She covered her mouth, practically doubling over on her cushion.

"Headmaster Roiner?!" Ally wheezed out, wiping a tear from her eye. "Dude, he is the enabler of all of this! If you’re sitting here waiting for the Headmaster to come floating in and save you... let me tell you right now, that is not going to happen! The royal princes will not listen to that vampire. I don’t even think the Headmaster holds any real power in this school when it comes to the royals! You need a much better plan than that."

Aina opened her mouth, a sharp impulse rising in her chest to tell Ally to defend herself and mate say that Headmaster Roiner was powerful, he was probably the only person who could control the dark chaos brewing in the school at the moment. But she bit her tongue hard, swallowing the words back down.