winter of orphic love | ot7 poly |

Prologue

The spring sun shines brightly between the budding leaves of the oak trees. The bright blue sky is painted with brushstrokes of white clouds, feathering away with the occasional breeze. The gentle wind carries the scent of distant lilac bushes and wet river stones. Every breath I take smells of nature and life.

I kneel down beside a large rock, studying the shadow underneath it in hopes of finding a cluster of mushrooms. Recently, I've taken a fascination with mushrooms. I just like to look at them. Something about their bulbous shape and varying shades of gray and white invoke a deep curiosity within me. I am careful not to touch the mushrooms I find, but they're quite interesting.

My nature study book has a section about mushrooms. They talk about all their different uses and how to tell if one is poisonous. My favorite mushroom is the red and white-spotted kind. I haven't seen one, but I hope to soon.

"Charlotte?"

I glance over my shoulder, still kneeling close to the rock. I search through the crooked trees and leaning branches and finally locate the origin of the voice.

I brighten, "Joon!"

Namjoon steps out of the treeline with a shy expression. He wears a pair of dark sweatpants and a loose-fitting t-shirt that appears to be two sizes too big for him. His brown hair is hidden underneath a baseball hat. "I didn't realize you left the house," he adds, looking over at me.

I smile with false innocence. "Neither does my parents."

Namjoon's face flickers with worry. "That's dangerous," he comments, "they said that Luke's pack is nearby. It's not safe to be alone."

I suppress a sigh and push myself to my feet. "I'm twelve years old, I can take care of myself," I reply. I start walking deeper into the forest, keeping my hopes high around finding those red mushrooms before nightfall. "Besides, the border patrols have been out all day. We're in the heart of our territory, I'm perfectly safe here."

Namjoon follows me and he makes no attempt to do it quietly. In the corner of my eye, I watch him stumble around before he regains his balance again. He jogs up the path of flattened grass I am following and comes to my side. "But it isn't," he argues, now walking at my pace, "Alpha Samuel said we aren't supposed to go out alone anymore, he said it at the meeting."

I slow my walk and my gaze lingers on a moss-covered tree. I reach over and lightly run my hand against its soft, furry surface for a beat. "I wasn't at the meeting," I remind him gently, "I'm not allowed to go, remember?"

Namjoon stops walking and grimaces with guilt.

My eyes soften and I immediately feel terrible for treating him dismissively. It isn't his fault the Alpha is paranoid of an attack. He's just following the rules, after all. Rules that keep us safe. "I'm sorry," I apologize, "I didn't mean it like that. I was just..."

He shakes his head, "No it's alright. I'm sorry, I almost forgot..."

I'm not a werewolf.

My mom is a born werewolf, a pureblood, but my dad was bitten and turned into one. Statistically, I had an equal chance of becoming a werewolf or remaining human. Usually, young werewolves transform between the ages of nine and eleven or show early signs of being a werewolf. I displayed none of those signs, and my twelfth birthday was two weeks ago.

Since my family is part of the pack, I am allowed to remain in the pack for as long as I choose. When I become an adult, I can choose to leave the pack for human society or remain here. I am not sure what I will choose, but I don't have to worry about it until later. There are plenty of human-werewolf children who still live with the pack so I wouldn't be alone.