02.The day after

Eden woke up like every day with the first rays of the sun and his eyes opened to the ceiling of his bedroom. Despite the darkness still present, he could easily make out the smooth stone texture above him and even the slightest roughness. The advantage of being a surnatural creature with overdeveloped senses.

The teenager straightened up and stretched for a long time to dispel the fatigue from his body. He wiggled his way out of the covers of his nest[1] and put his feet on the floor of his small personal space. The omega spent a few minutes arranging his nest following rules and criteria only he knew, and walked away once everything is done. Eden strode towards the entrance of his cave and stopped behind the brown curtain that protected him from prying eyes.

It might sound strange to many even among the werewolves, but Bloodhood was a traditional pack. This meant that the members of his pack live in a cave.

To be fair, the place where they lived was more of a town hewn in the rock than a mere cave. There was enough space to house the few hundred members of the most powerful pack in the area. Everything was organized and thought out so that the members could live following their time and with their values.

Modernity had its place, although it bowed to the restrictions and rules of the pack. Also, electricity and even some household appliances were used to improve everyone's daily life. These conveniences rubbed shoulders with the harshness of a way of life that the Alpha, Silver Bloodhood, wanted to be as close as possible to that of the very early werewolves.

The meat of animals that were hunted on the estate was kept in refrigerators and freezers were only enough to provide the needs of the pack. No television or recreational device had made its way through the maze of corridors and more or less large interconnected caves.

Running water was only available for the toilets and instead of modern showers several hot baths were available and supplied by natural sources. It allowed the members to socialize during this moment which was also a moment of relaxation, especially for submissives werewolves[2] as omegas. Everything that came from modern society had to be natural and environmentally friendly. Bloodhood Pack allowed nothing that disrupted or harmed the land they harbor and provided them with whatever was necessary for their survival.

Cultivating the land wasn't allowed so as not to exhaust the soil. Only hunting and picking were allowed to never take more than necessary, but also to perpetuate social ties, roles, and hierarchy within the pack.

Another important point, for security reasons and even if the link [3] was the preferred means of communication between the packmates, the members of Bloodhood had the right to own a cell phone. However, for dominants [4] and middle ranks [5], the device was mostly out of reach due to the many chores and obligations that keep them busy throughout the day.

The Omega walked as quietly as possible and pushed the curtain aside before sticking his head out into the hallway. A few whispered voices testified that several dominants were ready to take their turn on duty and start their day.

Eden loosened the belt of the shorts he had slept with and shifted before getting rid of the garment which he threw into the woven basket inside his room. He smoothed down his golden fur. His fluffy tail wrapped around his right leg, a habit he had since birth that betrayed his stress and earned him teasing from his parents and friends. When he was sure that the way was cleared, he snuck out of his room.

He walked past his parents' room before taking the long hallway that gathered the rooms of the unmated omegas. He quickly emerged into the meals room, which he walked through without even stopping. He was approaching the exit when a voice called out to him.

"I thought you would have skipped your hunt, today."

He turned around to face the voice's owner, and a smile spread across his face. A female omega in her early forties with a white fur dotted with cherry red spots on the bust looked over him with fondness.

"I wanted to catch my breakfast today, just to avoid the meal room later"

"Eden," she reprimanded softly.

"I know, Mom, it's just ..."

He was holding his arm in embarrassment, and the female werewolf understood everything he dared not say. She sighed and smiled again.

"OK. But only because I know how difficult it was for you yesterday. "

His face suddenly lit up and a broad smile appeared on his face. His tail, smooth and silky, no longer wrapped around his leg and swayed side to side behind him in a loose, graceful motion. His canines bit into the flesh of his full lips, and the female omega melted at his expression of intense joy.

"I said okay, but…" Snow Bloodhood as she dragged her last word. "Dante!"

"Yes, Luna!" The beta replied immediately, emerging from his hiding spot a few steps away. The two omegas refrained from laughing, biting their lips.

"I would like you to go with Eden. I allow you to go near the river northwest of the cave, no further, am I clear? "

"Crystal clear, Luna", yelped the teenager.

Without waiting any longer, the beta grabbed his friend's wrist, his face as serious as if on some momentous mission. The two werewolves trotted along and reached the icy stream of water in barely a quarter of an hour. A fine dew covered the vegetation and a part of the orange circle of light was still hidden behind the horizon.

The omega was the first to enter the water. He moved against the current, positioning himself in a passage deep enough for the water to reach above his knees. Eden remained motionless for a moment, waiting for a prey. And he didn't have to wait long.

Most of the rivers and lakes in their area were rich in fish. All of the water points in the area were meeting places for many of the animals that lived in Bloodhood's territory.

Eden's eye, sharpened by years of practice, caught the brief reflection of sunlight on the scales of a trout. His senses awakened, and his ears began to move to pick up the slightest noise, no matter how slight. He narrowed his eyes as if to focus better and spotted the exact position where a fish had entrenched himself. Dante watched his packmate lick his lips in anticipation.

Hands already submerged in water to limit the chances of his prey's flight, Eden deployed his claws when he felt the slippery contact with the scales of the fish. They pierced through the body of the animal and Eden straightened up, proud and satisfied to brandish his first catch. Dante waved back to his friend who seemed to enjoy this moment. The beta, seeing that the omega was doing very well without him, fell backward, his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes.

Eden shook him almost an hour later. The sun was now far above the horizon line and beside his side, he saw a small pile of fish, freshly caught and cleaned.

The omega motioned for his friend to dig in as he bit into the orange-rose pulpit. His eyes twinkled and Dante pursed his lips to suppress the smile that formed on his mouth as his friend's tail wagged furiously behind him.

They returned to the cave shortly after and made their way to the dining hall where several dominants were seated around the long, chipped stone table. Seated according to their rank, the werewolves present was sharing the morning meal. Dominants at the highest ranks were seated closest to the Alpha and his mate, the Luna. The omegas, on the other hand, huddled together at the end of the table, chatting with each other without interfering with the Doms.

Eden hated this hierarchy within the werewolves. Mainly because he was thought of as weak because of his omega status even though he wasn't at all. When they entered the meals room, conversations died down almost immediately.

The sudden silence caught the attention of the Alpha who looked up at his son. The young man met the gaze of the werewolf with the deep black fur dotted with golden spots on the chest. The color was the same as Eden's coat, and the boy would have been proud of this heritage if he had not been born omega.

He quickened his pace, and almost ran to reach the hallway that led to his room.

Back in his safe place, Eden could finally breathe again. He heard Dante announce from behind the curtain that he would be waiting in the hall in about thirty minutes. A hand placed on his chest to calm his breathing, and Eden began his pep talk.

"It's going to be okay, it's only a normal day. After all, this isn't the first time you've been in public after being rejected. You're going to get over it and face it the best you can as always. " He chuckled nervously and walked over to the wooden cabinet.

The Omega opened the door and rummaged through the different shelves for an outfit that would boost his mood not up to par and, his choice made, he got his clothes neatly folded on the edge of the dresser. He grabbed the basket with his bath belongings before heading to the hot pool he knew was the least crowded at this time of day.

Once he reached the place, he quickly washed his bony and rinced before stepping without hesitation into the water. The temperature of the water soothed him immediately. He soaked for a few minutes, letting his thoughts drift, before returning to the edge where his things were. He climbed to sit up and grabbed the soap before lathering it between his paws. He gently rubbed his face and neck and continued with the rest of his body, enjoying covering it with foam and rubbing each portion of his fur, to the tip of his tail.

Once finished, Eden dived into the water for a last appeasing effect. When he came out, several omegas were going in. He pulled himself up out of the water and grabbed his bath basket, then scowled to remove most of the water. When he heard the muffled laughter, he ran over to the exit.

Eden went back to his room and dried himself thoroughly with a towel. Satisfied, he shifted to his human form and put on some boxers before getting dressed. He put on an emerald green long-sleeved sweatshirt and a black sleeveless hoodie with black jeans.

When he stood in front of the mirror to check his reflection, he met the gaze of a teenager with honey eyes. He liked his eyes which sometimes took on an amber hue when he let himself be carried away by his emotions because they were the same as his father's. A few drops of water escaped from the cherub blond curls that framed his face. Although fall was already there, the temperatures were still pleasant, so he decided to let his hair air dry and went to join Dante.

When he arrived at the main entrance, Dante was in the midst of a discussion with a girl dressed in raw jeans with frayed hems topping black Timberland boots. A light grey hoodie swallowed her body and her forms. Eden grinned when he saw the ponytail with the bright red strands of hair waving to the rhythm of the teenager's discussion.

"Hello, Cherry!"

"Yo!" Replied the female omega, reaching out to exchange her special greeting with Eden. She smiled with all her teeth before grabbing her friend by the neck and heading to the school bus pick-up point. Eden looked out at Dante from the corner of his eyes. The beta's cheeks were back to their usual color, and Eden scoffed inwardly.

The three high school students arrived near the bus pick-up point and the discussions that had been going well until then stopped abruptly. He felt more than he noticed the looks slipping over him. The whispers and chuckles made him more and more uncomfortable and he lowered his head to the floor.

"That's over twenty rejections."

"That's a given! Nobody wants an omega with a fur that isn't white."

"On top of that, you can't even say he's a real omega, he's never had his heats."

"I heard because of that the Alpha lineage will die out."

Eden lowered the hood over his face. He shoved his hands in his pockets and repeated his pep talk to himself once more. It'll be OK. It was not the first time.