Chapter 1 - Owen
My paws dug into the soft forest dirt as I padded with my three fellow alphas back to our town of Tyrell. The hidden valley, Maplewood Valley, was peaceful today, with a bright sun overhead, a cool breeze coming down the mountain, and the soft chatter and song of woodland creatures flowing through the air. Our pack lived inside the valley along with several other packs. It wasn’t always an easy co-existence, but right now things were as calm as could be expected.
All of it was so deceptive. My lip curled back from my teeth as I considered what was waiting for us tonight. It was the first day of spring, and our pack would be performing the thanksgiving ceremony to the Goddess for leading us through the winter still healthy and whole.
None of us said it out loud, but we were all thinking it; tonight, our lives were going to change forever.
We made our way back to town, and as we ran through the streets, I eyed the shabby buildings. Our predecessors had struggled a lot with town funds and made significant sacrifices to take care of necessities. Their predecessors had been selfish and wasteful with money. They had built themselves four huge mansions that sprawled at the edge of town, which had now been converted into a hotel, a museum, and two emergency shelters.
These days, the four of us lived together in what had once been a dormitory for the college. When the college closed—no professors left to teach—we’d taken the one building as our own, while the others housed our omega population.
Jace bumped into me, bringing me out of my thoughts. My mouth was still fixed in a silent snarl, and he shook his head at me. I shook myself, too, as we reached the building thathoused former classrooms. It was small and had been converted into a temporary shrine for the Goddess, since the previous shrine was undergoing renovations.
Just last year, the ceiling had collapsed, killing the former priestess. Repairs were costly, though, beyond what we could spare.
I heaved out a sigh as I shifted to human form and we entered the building. “We need more money.”
My fellow alphas, Jace, Killian and Renz, all shot me startled looks. I shrugged once, not bothering to explain everything running through my head. They knew me well enough to know that sometimes my mind fixated on problems that weren’t what needed to be dealt with right away.
“Oh, good! You’re here.” The new priestess nervously flitted around the library when we entered. “We need to talk about the order of proceedings tonight.”
It would be the first time she performed the ritual. Despite knowing she had training, I couldn’t help but let a little doubt in when I saw how flighty she was. But then, starting something new was always difficult. Me and the other three had been raised to be alphas. We’d been best friends since childhood, and we’d always known that we would one day take over the pack’s leadership.
Still, when the former alphas retired, the transition hadn’t been easy. And we’d still had them around for several years afterward to help guide us. It would have been even worse if we’d been thrust into the position without any warning, because they died.
“I will need you four to lead the prayer of thanks,” the priestess said, bobbing her head. “I know that things have beenhard these last few years, but we must find things to be thankful for before we ask for more blessings.”
“Of course,” I agreed. “We have all made lists of the things we will thank the Goddess for.”
The priestess’s hands fluttered again as she smoothed the front of her robe. “Good. Good, then I suppose all that’s left is for the ritual implements to be put into place. The silver bowl is being polished. I will need some extra packets of sodium and potassium for the fires. It will be nice to have the colored flames.”
We moved through the old college, inspecting everything as it was prepared for tonight’s celebration. It all seemed so mundane, but it was necessary all the same. The four of us had been working hard to improve the pack. Our predecessors had started the work, and we were determined to continue it. Policies and infrastructure were just two aspects that needed improvement.
“Will there be room for everyone?” Jace asked when we made our way outside to the old soccer field where the ceremony would be held.
“It’s served us in the past,” Renz answered.
At this, Killian shook his head. “That was before, when the omegas weren’t permitted to join ceremonies.”
The reminder set my teeth on edge again. That was the part I was most dreading about tonight. For the first time in Tyrell, omegas would be part of the thanksgiving ritual. In the past, they were barred from anything to do with the Goddess. It was well known that their ancestors had done terrible things, and that was why they needed to be kept in line and subservient.
Omegas were a nuisance. They were intrinsically liars. Give them an inch, and they’d cut off your head and burn down the forest. That’s what I’d been taught. That’s what I’d seen for myself among the omegas of Tyrell.
It wasn’t just us. All throughout the valley, packs looked at the omegas the same way. We’d been forced to put up with them because wholesale slaughter was not an option, regardless of how evil omegas were at heart. They could be controlled, and so the best thing was to keep them that way.
I fixed the priestess with a frown. “Are you sure that we should allow them to come? What if they cause a disruption?”
The priestess shook her head as my fellow alphas glanced at each other, annoyed that I’d brought it up again. We’d discussed this several times over the last month, but I was overruled every time.
“The priestesses of the other towns have received the same visions as I have. It’s time for the omegas to be embraced by the pack and accepted as full members. You must know by now that the continued hatred toward them has only caused greater harm.”
I scowled at her mild admonishment. I didn’t know any such thing, and I wasn’t happy about it. Why would the Goddess suddenly start demanding that omegas be treated equally now? She’d watched all these years, so what changed?
Or had anything changed? Could this all be an elaborate omega plot?
Renz put his hand on my shoulder. “You saw how things improved for Burgess since their alphas took an omega as their mate.”
“They were told to do so by the Goddess directly,” I grumbled back.
