Hestia House Book One

Falling into bed, Arynn sighed and stared at her cell phone. She had 6 hours before she had to be back to kitchen duty in the pack house, but she was beyond tired and unable to sleep. Her mind ran through her day, but it didn't bring her any closer to sleep. 'Let me take over for a while. Then at least mentally you will be able to rest. We don't have to shift,' whispered Ash, her wolf. "That's ok. I can do some reading or writing. At least after the breakfast duties I will be off for two days." Shoving herself up again, Arynn sat against her black ash headboard and flipped on her lamp. Her college level art history book was waiting for her on the nightstand, so she started the next chapter on Picasso. Her heart briefly ached over thoughts of actual college courses before thoughts of Picasso distracted her. Arynn Wren was a part of Pack Loneclaw, located in a temperate area in the US. Winters could have some blizzards, but the summers weren't obsessively hot. Led by Alpha Sean, Pack Loneclaw stayed away from any nearby humans and nearby packs. But that didn't stop Alpha Sean from picking fights with nearby packs to expand his territory, while also culling any would-be challengers. He was a onyx black wolf who ruled his pack with an iron fist, and kept everyone in line by the color of their fur. Black was alpha level, followed by dark brown, medium to light brown, mixed color, then grays were Omegas. Alpha Sean had decreed that any white wolf was an abomination worthy of death, leading many of the pack to look further down on the grays, which were closer to being white. But Arynn would rather be spit and hit upon by members of her pack, than to reveal her true wolf. Her family's largest and deadliest secret was harboring her, a white wolf blessed by the Moon Goddess with the ability to change the color of her fur during her shift. And so at 5:30 the next morning, a sleepy and dissatisfied white wolf put on her sneakers and walked out of her family home to start breakfast for the pack. Breakfast was the only meal Pack Loneclaw normally shared. After eating, Alpha Sean normally led the group in a history of the packs lesson, followed by any division of responsibilities and news. Omegas weren't allowed to eat until after this, and most days there were barely enough scraps left for the dozen Omegas to each have a bite. Luna Kristin held a tight guard on the kitchen food rations, holding pantry checks up to 3 times a day, so there wasn't an opportunity to sneak food. She also ran the school for pups ages two to ten, assisted by the Beta's wife. She taught them reading, history, and basic math. They were only allowed to leave the pack house to go to the fenced play area twice a day. Ages eleven to sixteen were taught by the Beta and Delta, and their courses were fighting, tactics, and various jobs around the pack lands. When a pup reached age sixteen, they were allowed to rejoin their family house and followed their parents to their respective jobs until their first shift at age eighteen. Every wolf's shift was celebrated in the pack house with food, and was followed with a job designation from Alpha Sean based on their fur color. Arynn had shifted while most of the pack had been away for a harvest trip, and had panicked when she discovered her wolf, Ash, was white. Thankfully her shift was earlier than her 18th birthday by a week, so she was able to learn of her unique gift before the rest of the pack found out, and she chose her gray fur to stay as far from sight as possible. She was assigned to the kitchens in the pack house, and felt lucky to be given the breakfast shift. She was able to work and clean up before lunch, then escape to her house. The last time they had an Omega, he had tried to escape before being assigned, and was severely punished. He still walked with a limp a year later. Breakfast shift was running smoothly this September morning. There was a slight chill in the early morning air, but Arynn didn’t mind as today’s menu called for a lot of baking. The biscuits and scones on the menu called for a soft hand, and she enjoyed the finesse it required, especially when so many in her pack were enthralled with power and strength. Compliments on the delicacy of her baking were as close to being noticed as she liked. As she was prepping the last batch of biscuits for the oven, Lucinda, one of her kitchen companions scalded herself with sausage gravy. Arynn immediately jumped to help as Kaylin went for the first aid kit. Werewolf wounds heal quickly, but for an underfed Omega, it still took long enough for the pain to linger and potentially scar. By the time Kaylin and Arynn had finished with the bandages, they had 5 minutes left before they needed to serve breakfast. As they were gathering the trays of food, Arynn realized that half of the baked goods were still in the oven and were now burned beyond edibility. Which meant that one of her worst nightmares was about to become a reality. Alpha Sean was going to call her out in front of the entire pack for punishment. The timid Omegas started with the head table for food, spreading the lack of baked goods as far as they could. But the last few tables, containing lower gammas and unranked wolves, received none. Whispers slowly spread around the room, until Alpha Sean’s piercing gaze scanned the dining room, taking in tables with less food, then narrowing in on Arynn. The Luna had complimented her enough on her baking that it wasn’t hard to know where the blame was to fall for the shortage of food. Sean’s voice was a deathly whisper as he called her out in front of the entire pack. “Arynn. Why did you short our pack food for breakfast?” “It wasn’t intentional sir. I let myself be distracted and forgot about half of the baked goods,” she responded, her voice wavering. She could feel her parent’s stares as she stepped forward to separate herself from the other Omegas. The last thing she wanted was for Lucinda and Kaylin to be implemented as well. Breakfast shift would be difficult enough now that she was going to be punished. “Very well. Your punishment is to be 10 lashes, administered by Beta Woodrow directly after we finish eating. And you are to eat nothing. You know what to do.” His tone was dismissive, already turning to his mate even as he waved her away. She wouldn’t run and he knew it. Her family would receive double the lashes if she tried. Nodding her head as affirmation, she turned and walked quickly to a small room off the front hall. Lucinda has followed her, staying only long enough to mumble her apologies for the accident, before scampering back to finish cleaning the tables. Arynn softly shut the door behind her, biting back a scream of frustration. Some days she wondered why it pained her to even think of begging for mercy or change to her situation, and today was going to be one of those days. As she changed into an open back shirt and pulled her wavy auburn hair into a high bun, she mentally started listing things she could distract herself with during the lashes. Beta Woodrow had a deft hand for whips, and he could be one of the more vicious wolves toward the Omegas. Ash mentally gave her strength, ready to be a buffer for the upcoming pain. As she knelt in front of the changing room door, head bowed, each member of the pack passed her to create a circle outside for her whipping. Some reached down and gently touched her head, showing their support, even if they couldn’t change the outcome. Others passed without acknowledging her at all. And others yet kicked her bent knees as they passed, relishing the pain they inflicted. Finally, the Alpha and Luna came to stand in front of her, with the Beta at their side. She rose slowly, head still bowed in deference to them, then they all marched outside, into the circle. The Alpha and Luna walked in front of her, while Beta Woodrow walked behind her, holding his whip. Once they reached the circle, Arynn passed between the two leaders of her pack and walked to the whipping post in the middle. Beta Woodrow followed her, and she could almost see a hint of apology in her eyes as he tied her hands to the post. “If I could make this any easier, you know I would.” His whisper was barely audible to her, so she knew he was sincere. She faintly nodded her head in recognition, and a small smirk brought the side of Woodrow’s mouth up. Alpha Sean started his speech on crimes against the pack, punishments, and commitment to the pack, and was halfway through it when several bright red SUVs roared up the pack house drive. They came to skidding stops, and several well dressed men disembarked, gathering around one man who was slightly taller than the rest. His blond tousled hair was complemented by his dark tan and navy blue dress shirt. He removed his sunglasses and started scanning the crowd as Alpha Sean stepped forward to confront him, only to stop when he saw Arynn. His guttural growl caused her wolf to come forward as they locked eyes and each said at the same time, “Mate.”