winter of orphic love | ot7 poly |

Chapter 1 Good Morning

There is a thin layer of frost on the brittle grass in the early moments of the morning. I breathe in the cold air and allow it to fill and refresh my lungs. My breath turns to fog and dissipates in the breeze. The horizon of spear-like pine trees is beginning to turn deep shades of green as the sun begins to rise. Sleep clings to my mind like a warm embrace but I know I have to bring myself out of it soon. My eyelids are heavy as I soak in the cold breeze and allow the heat coloring my cheeks to fade.

I lean back into the house, silently closing the front door, and locking it again. I wait for a moment, standing barefoot in the darkness of the living room, and listen to the sound of the boys sleeping in the bedroom.

Namjoon's snores have quieted over the years, yet Jungkook's is becoming louder and louder. Sometimes they will snore in harmony, other nights they will be slightly off-beat and drive everybody crazy. Even so, I am not sure if I could sleep without the sound of their snores and heavy breathing. I've grown so accustomed to it. The sound of them is a comfort to my senses. It reminds me that we're together, and we're safe.

True safety in this new, foreign world is rare to come across. Ever since the fall of the packs, various types of danger have been waiting for us at every turn. Everything from violent storms and strange weather patterns, to threats from nearby packs who are hungry for power, or starving for meat.

It's been four years since Namjoon formed his own pack and over time, we've grown into a larger pack of eight members. I can't believe how fast time has flown since then. It's hard to wrap my head around. It feels as if it were only days ago when we left our pack and families behind.

During the fall, many packs were split or completely disbanded due to in-fighting and territory wars. At the same time, humanity itself was tearing itself apart with war and nature decided to end humans first. The weather was the first sign of disaster, and the entire world fell into chaos. Somewhere in that time, werewolves were revealed to humans but that was the least of their problems.

It took two years for the world to set aside their grief and move on.

The world has changed so much, adapted quickly to the prior events in hopes of rebuilding a new and safer future for everybody. At least, those who favor peace over their desire to rule over others. There are packs who believe they have the right to rule over humans and werewolves alike; they're violent and greedy.

There are good packs out there, somewhere. I know this because Yoongi communicates with some through radio channels and in coded messages. They pass along information to each other like currency. Everything from the whereabouts of dangerous roaming packs to weather alerts is exchanged through complex phrases, masqueraded as random commentary about life or common phrases.

There are also some groups of humans who have proven useful in the world of messages and signals. There is a human colony south of us, and during the summertime, we go down to trade with them. Despite this alliance, there are underlying tensions between us. We never see children on our trips; they always are just barely out of sight, hiding away in their mother's arms or sneaking a peek at us through shattered windows. I can't say that I blame them for being afraid of werewolves. Their first meeting with a pack didn't end well; they had every right to fear them.

My only wish is for those evil packs to finally disband or set their eyes on the greater good. To change their ways and start acting like a real pack, instead of a dysfunctional mess with an immature Alpha with a bad attitude.

But for now, we have to keep ourselves safe and protect the borders of our land with diligence. We will continue repeating our routine and playing our roles because that's how we can move forward. A stable pack is one that can survive.