Bitter Winter

Chapter 1

Sliding out of the scratchy covers, the coldest feeling in my damp corner of the cellar is in the pit of my stomach where the dread is settled. I'd always been more in tune with the am than most - I've felt the am of the universe flow through me, guiding me on my path since I was a cub. The am was my constant reminder of how insignificant I am; thick swirls hovered around important alphas like Damen, and his son Connor, and a thin, translucent ribbon flowed through me. I hate them more than any abuse they can inflict because the am does not care how shitty they are - it still clings to them in thick clouds and ensured that their lack of understanding does not translate to a lack of power. Without understanding, the am executes their will, and I am jealous. All I am allowed is an understanding - which will do me no good when they finally confirm that no one in the pack is mated to me, and I am found to be too shitty of an Omega to be a communal sex slave. Not that that's much better than the Bitter Winter anyway.

I grit my teeth, and draw the ceremonial robes around my pale, frigid shoulders. Soon, they would be all I had left. The day dragged on - they can not understand the am, and the elders will inevitably spend hours on a ceremony just to find out what I already know - I am of no use. I allow myself to block out the world, waiting for the beating that will come once I am left unclaimed.

With the metallic taste of blood still in my mouth, I resolve to wait for the sellers to pick me up, or die. There is no use running now. I have no pack, no mate, no power over the am, and no way to fight them once they catch up to me. The train is going to be my fate, and I knew it well. I just wish that in the next life I'll be born into a body that will give me importance - or, if I dare to dream it, a world where your body doesn't dictate who you are.

I don't even struggle as they haul me off into the irons, resigned to my fate. The workers joked to each other cheerfully that I am already resigned before meeting my owner - maybe my submission will net them higher price. Time blurs as I slowly journey to the train that will take me to the markets in the Black City, the workers smiling and laughing with each other as though they aren't capturing and selling sex slaves. The Bitter Winter was created by us, and we gave it its power. Every last worker and every last pack is a tacit participant in the dystopian function of this place. I will not be the first, and I will not be the last. The world continues to turn, and the am continues to flow, and the workers continue to laugh. I wish that I could change it, but the Bitter Winter yields to no one. Especially not me.

I think about how easy it would be to have my life be different, when I was eight and Connor was eleven. How we played together and he hadn't let the let our bigger classmates pick on me. If this were a story, he would have been mated to me and there would have been a dramatic scene where he begged my forgiveness yesterday, but life just isn't like that. He's a nasty person, and sometimes nasty people aren't things to be fixed or helped - the universe does not care about good and evil and righting wrongs. Still, I can't help but think about the only thing I knew that gave me hope.

"Cubs, settle down. That means you too, Jack. I see you poking Connor with your pencil", Elder Thorn chided. "Today we'll be learning about your whole life, and how it will play out. The sacred cycle of mating is important to every Were; none of you will escape it, and none of you are above it. Even you, Connor."

"But Elder Thorn, what if I want to pick my own!" Connor cried indignantly.

"You will want to pick your mate, Connor. You will meet them and they will be your other half, your weakness, your strength, and most of all, your partner. We are not like the others, who spend entire lives chasing a mate and getting to know each candidate. Some of us are blessed to be shown the one we are meant to be with, and spend the rest of our lives learning about how they complete us, and enjoying the company of our soul mate. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with a mate." Elder Thorn opined.

"S-so how does it work", I nearly whispered, as meek as usual.

"When you first touch your mate, after you are both of mating age, your mark will glow and your bond is created. Within just a day's time, the submissive partner will become bedridden and weak. During this time, the dominant partner will nest, and bring their submissive partner into the nest to rest. Neither will move from the other's side, and they will learn each other's true nature. It's like a human courting process, but intensive." Elder Thorn smiled.

Shelby raised her hand, and asked, "What's a dominant and what's a sum-sumbissive?"

Elder Thorn chuckled and replied, "The dominant is the higher ranking wolf, and the submissive is the lower ranking wolf. Even for betas mated to other betas, they can be higher or lower rank, and the stronger dominant will always protect their weaker submissive."

"Like a knight in shining armor!" Anna-Maria beamed. "I love knights, I can't wait for mine."

Elder Thorn laughed again and continued, "Yes, like a knight in shining armor. When all seems lost, your mate will rescue you. Anyway, when they wake up, from their three days of rest, the pair will mate for the first time. During the mating, the dominant will scent the submissive's soul-spot, and mark them with a bite. After this, a number of changes will occur. Your eyes will shift color to a mix of both of your rank-color, your mark will appear, and you will feel your partner's soul through your bond. From then on, nothing will come between you two, until death."