The Chosen; Before the Journey

Chapter 1

"Useless mutt" the brown he-wolf snarls and stalks away.
I had found a pile of old bones, and sat gnawing on them. They did nothing to fill the empty pit in my stomach but it distracted me from it. It distracted me from the fact I was just waiting to die.
One moment I'm chewing on the bones, the next I'm on the wet ground, a jaw full of sharp teeth wrapped around my neck.
I don't know who he is, but don't put up a fight when he pushed me to the ground. I was in no condition to object, and I knew by now he only would have beaten me until I submitted.
I didn't know any of the wolves in my pack by name, even though I grew up with them.
I had been a white pup born to the Betas. Only the Alphas were supposed to have pups, so my parents were driven out. Me and my siblings were allowed to stay, but only because the Alphas hadn't had any pups that year. The pack raised us reluctantly, giving us the bare minimum we needed to survive. All of my litter-mates had by now dispersed, leaving me alone to bear the brunt of the pack's anger.
I was quickly established as the Omega, and it showed in everything. My appearance was ragged, my demeanor that of a broken spirit.
I struggled to get to my paws, weak from hunger. My pure white coat was matted and encrusted with mud, and it was plastered to my ribs that showed so much it made you wonder how I was still alive.
I was perfectly capable of hunting, and I did. I would take down a whole deer, or a nice fat rabbit, but only ever got in a few bites before another wolf came along and stole it.
Stumbling forward a few steps I collapse dizzily back into a dirty puddle.
Most of the pack was probably back at the den, a pine with low boughs that offered protection from the rain, but I didn't dare join them. I would probably just be driven away.
A shiver wracks my small frame, the freezing rain drenching me thoroughly. Soon enough though, I become numb to the cold. I hear nothing, darkness swimming at the edges of my vision, and a pleasant warmth spreads through my body. I'm tired, so tired. It would be so nice to take a nap. To just sleep.
I only half realize when my eyes slowly fall shut. I don't resist, and the warm darkness swallows me.
The last thing I see as it closes over me is my namesake, a snowy owl flying across the gray sky overhead.