Dear Opal,

I miss you, and I don't really know how much longer I'll be here. I can't handle being here. I'm going crazy.

There's not a lot going on. Nothing new. Nothing to report.

I've been away from home for way too long. Montana seems almost like a distant memory. It snows here often, but it's not the same. It doesn't smell the same, or feel the same. Not without you.

The people here are in denial about what's happening. They don't really care about what happens to them, or where they end up. They don't look to the future. I'm not shocked, not even a little. They try to forget why they ended up here in the first place.

How is it back home? I'm sure you're still drowning in snow. Don't have too much fun without me. I might be tempted to escape and come back home.

Write back soon, I want to hear from you.

-Keifer

I hold the letter in my hand tightly, the envelope wrinkling while I walk through the camp. My boots stomp in the snow, crunching what remains of the white fluff. I don't make eye contact with anyone. Passerby's wave or try to greet me. I don't want to be seen, so I completely ignore them. I want to be completely inconspicuous.

Technically, I'm not allowed to have contact with anyone besides my family. So, this is risky.

Opal is family to me, and that's all that matters. They don't need to know that, they would never understand, and I would be punished for it. The news would definitely make it back home, and Dad would have to talk to Opal. I can only imagine what he would say to her. He's not exactly good with stuff like that.

I made her promise to never expose our relationship. That was years ago, and she's assured me in letters that she has kept that promise. Opal has no idea why I would ask something like that of her, but the answer is simple.

It's for her own protection. If everyone knew about us, there would be heaps of gossip and pity towards her. She would get rejected just like me. Opal would have to deal with my own mistakes as if they were hers. My parents could retaliate, ensuring that we were kept apart.

There's so many fears I have about what could happen to us. Oblivion, forbidden love, it's too much to bear.

The office is so close, right in my line of vision. The place where I will send the letter, I can practically taste it.

It's early yet, and I finished writing the letter before the sun even rose. It's hard to sleep for me, impossible to focus. So, I busy myself with other things so I can forget where I am. Reading, hiking, swimming. All while in the dark of night. Sometimes I shift, but that's not exactly encouraged here. What is encouraged is discipline and blind hatred of those who aren't as powerful as you. It's a harsh place to live. A difficult place to survive.

If you show weakness, you get pounced on, just like in nature.

I've learned that I'm a predator, learned how powerful lycans really are. We're at the top of the food chain. But here, everyone else is just as powerful. And when groups form, that's when the danger sets in. I've stayed afloat for this long.

It's given me more confidence in myself, but not in a good way. Mixed with my anger issues, it's not a good combination. I often feel invincible. It's not safe.

Spotting a group of young lycans, I start walking faster. I want to get away unscathed, but I don't make it in time. I'm seen.

"Hey, Veiler! Whatcha got there?" Someone howls, the cocky voice leading me to believe it's Gabe's voice that echoes off the trees. I'm correct. He's a spoiled, rich kid that ended up here after accidentally killing a human. He was almost sent to jail for his crime, but since he was underage, they sent him here instead.

Sure, why not put a bunch of delinquents in the same hellish camp. Sounds like a good idea.

The sight of him puts a bad taste in my mouth.

"Nothing." I supply curtly, but no one believes me. They surround me like vultures around a freshly dead animal, ready to scavenge what's left.

Someone tries to snatch the letter from my fingertips, and I resist snarling. Feeling vulnerable, I tuck in under my arm and watch them with calculating eyes.

"Sending a note to your Mommy, huh?" One wonders.

"No, I think Keifer has a girlfriend." Henry quips. They all laugh, and I'm being shoved around by their movement. I growl unhappily, but I answer them nonetheless.

"It's nothing really, just a stupid survey that the Sergeant asked me to fill out. Its not important." I pretend to be amused. I push them aside with my shoulders, but they persist. They follow me as I walk up the steps to the door to the office. Not a single one of them understands boundaries.

Someone grabs the back of my jacket and stops me before I can put my hand on the handle. I whirl around with a glare already fixed on my face. Gabe stands there with a challenging smirk, his jaw slanted to the side while he chuckles.

"Prove it." He offers, which is answered with jeers.

"Prove what?" I demand.

"Prove it's nothing. Why don't you hand it over?" Gabe elaborates, taking a step forward. I become threatened, wanting to deck him. I know I could take him down. The pathetic loser tries to grab my letter again.

Everyone cheers him on, but I dodge the attempt quickly. I narrow my eyes at them all. Some of them my age, some younger or older, all on the same never ending track of misery that I'm on. We're all headed down the same path of destruction.

They want entertainment by any means necessary, and I don't blame them. But they need to be callous and are often closer to hateful than funny. They can only find solace in other people's problems, and tearing them down.

And if I let them get me, then I'll be at the bottom. I can't let that happen. I can't become the outcast again, I just won't let that happen if there's anything I can do to prevent it.

I look up at they're excited faces, and empty stares, then I glance down at my letter. I stare at Opal's name. I run my fingertips over the white paper and press my lips together. I just need to give them what they want.

Forgive me, Opal.

I tear the letter in half, and the noises of their cheers just taunt me to keep going. I tear it again, and again, shredding it into a million little pieces. Every word, every emotion getting thrown away like they never happened.

They flutter down to my feet, and everyone shouts in praise. I get clapped on the shoulder and dragged away from the letter, leaving it forgotten on the office porch, the shreds flowing in the wind. Opal can wait a little while, right? It's not like she's going anywhere.

☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾❂ ☾

If you're reading this, you are brave :)

❤️