"Oof, and I thought my placement was bad," Atlantis says, holding back a laugh.

"Let me see that paper," Gray demands, moving around Milo to rip the paper off the door. He scans over it several times, even flips it over, before his shoulders slump down as his frown deepens. "It definitely says our names on here. Let me call Jaden real quick," he says, pulling out his phone as he walks a few feet away.

This can NOT be happening. Me and Gray. Roommates. For two weeks. As in, living in this small cabin, together, for TWO WEEKS. Thank goddess we're not sharing a room together, but still, roommates! I know we've been getting along well enough over the past few months, but it's not like we've been talking every single day. Now that might be the case and I don't know if that will end up being a good thing, or make things worse. Gray joins back with our group after barking at his phone, and we all awkwardly wait until Jaden pulls up next to us on a snowmobile.

"Hey Gray! Check out this sweet ride Beryl let me borrow. Isn't it a beauty," Jaden says, with a wide shit-eating grin as she pats the vehicle.

"Jaden, mind explaining why me and Eli are sharing a cabin together," Gray says, shoving the paper towards her.

"Did I do that? Oh, silly me, you know sometimes things tend to slip from my mind. I totally forgot about your years-long feud and soulmate pairing with Eli. My bad," she says practically oozing sarcasm.

"Jaden!"

"What! You should have known that this was going to happen when you let me do room assignments. If anything, seeing you pissed off now is a reward for me having to sort 500-something teens into cabin arrangements that accommodate their needs. The hours of sleep that I sacrificed for this can never be returned," she says with an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh, please. We both know that you're too much of a night owl to have been going to bed at normal hours," Gray says, crossing his arms.

"On the weekends, not weekdays."

"Hate to interrupt, not really though, but can you just call this little joke off and give us our real cabin numbers," I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Yeah... about that. You see, it was just going to be a joke at first. I even had two different versions of the room assignments typed up. However, someone assigned Luke to do the checking and sending of our documents to the Crystal Moon pack, and Luke sent the wrong document to them. So yeah, now you're stuck together."

"Of course, that's what happened," I groan out.

Jaden shrugs. "For what it's worth, at least I put Vic with you guys instead of Luke like I originally thought up."

"Oh goddess, now I have a headache just thinking about that!"

"Sorry dude. On the bright side, I managed to grab all of you guys' luggage and bring it here to make up for this," she says, gesturing to the bags tied to a sled connected to the snowmobile.

"Thanks," Victor says, him and Gray swiftly unloading the bags and placing them by the cabin entrance. I'd help, but I'm too busy wrapping my head around the reality that I living in right now.

"Well, see you guys later!" Jaden calls out as she speeds away.

"Welp, I'm heading back to my cabin. Catch you later at the Winter Solstice festival," Atlantis says, jogging away.

"Traitor!" I shout after her, which only makes her bark out a laugh as she leaves.

The remaining four of us just stand there awkwardly for a moment, until Milo lets out a groan. "This is too weird, let's just go inside and check things out before we all freeze to death out here. Goddess knows I'm cold," he says grabbing the key hanging on a nail next to the door. Opening the door, he goes inside while the rest of us follow behind hesitantly with our belongings.

The cozy cabin is practically made from only wood and thick logs; the kitchen and bathrooms being the exceptions with their smooth stone floors and brass appliances. The intricate craftmanship displays itself inside too, with the wooden furniture and banisters carved into more nature-inspired shapes. A giant stone fireplace stands imbedded into a wall in the den, with comfy couches and chairs surrounding it. Tons of pillows and blankets rest on the furniture too, much to Milo's delight. At least we don't have to worry about freezing at night.

Like Jaden said, there are four bedrooms. Two upstairs and two downstairs, with a connected bathroom between the rooms. Milo makes the offer that me and him take the upstairs rooms while Gray and Victor stay downstairs, which we all immediately agree to. Not wanting to stand around in the awkward atmosphere any longer, I head up to my room to unpack. Closing my door behind me, I let out a deep sigh as I toss my luggage onto the queen-sized bed. Might as well get everything put away while I still have the motivation to do so.

Of course you are

Or a nightmare

Yeah, yet

Mmmm... nope

...I don't know... I quite enjoy being a pessimist

Fine! I'll try to be more positive and open minded and whatever

😊

But the minute he starts something with me I go negative again

Finishing up the unpacking I collapse onto my bed, ready to nap the rest of this exhausting day away. At least, that was the plan, until Milo burst through my door and belly-flops onto the bed in the empty space next to me.

"Whatcha doin'?" he says, fixing his glasses before resting his chin on his crossed arms.

"Sleeping," I say closing my eyes again.

"Why?"

" Because today has taken all of my energy away, and I wish to fall unconscious in order to gain it back."

"But we still have to go celebrate the Winter Solstice at the festival," Milo argues.

"Too tired to deal with social interactions right now."

"But you'll miss out on friendship fun times."

"I'll see you guys again tomorrow."

"The moon goddess will be pissed off if you don't participate."

"I feel like she already hates me since she set me and Gray up together."

"You're so dramatic."

"Says the second most dramatic person in our friend group."

"Come to the festival!" Milo whines, shaking me as his frustration grows. But I refuse to give in as I keep my eyes closed and pretend to fall asleep. Letting out fake exaggerated snores that get a giggle out of him. We lay in peaceful silence for ten more minutes before Milo sits ups sighing.

"Fine~. I guess I'll go hang out with our friends aaallll alone," he pouts.

"Have fun."

"Yeah, I just don't know how we'll be able to eat all that tasty food Beryl was telling us about."

"..."

"Just tables upon booths of free food throughout the whole area, and enough apple cider to drown in. All warm and topped with cinnamon..."

"I know what you're doing," I say, sitting up to glare at him.

"Is it working," Milo asks with a mischievous grin.

"...maybe."

"Good enough for me! Grab your jacket and meet us downstairs," he says, quickly jumping up and rushing out of my room.

"Wait, hold up! What do you mean by us?"

*****

Never thought that I would be spending Winter Solstice with just my friends and Gray's crew, in a different pack no less, but this year has been full of surprises. It's not too bad though. Mainly because when Luke saw that Gray was with us he noped right out of hanging out with us. So, that's one less headache for me.

Which leaves our group consisting of me, Gray, Atlantis, Milo, Beth, Malachite, Victor, Conner, and Jaden. Beth joining the group last with her hand intertwined with Malachite's. Milo gushed over how cute they looked together and the both of them thank him with warm smiles. I'm glad that things worked out great for them while they talked earlier, because it would suck if I got kicked from this pack for beating up their alpha.

We all browse around the circular town center taking in the detailed decorations; vibrant with blues, greens, and purples. Tapestries regaling pack stories hung up on tall lampposts, fairy lights strung around them and nearby buildings, and paper streamers fluttering with the chilly night breeze. Glittering crystals decorate the trees and booths in the surrounding area, reflecting the glowing lights into a rainbow of colors. Music fills the night air as a live band plays on the white gazebo at the center of it all. Their music spreading throughout pack grounds with the help of multiple speakers. Inviting a few joyful pack members to dance along to the tunes, with what I'm guessing are traditional dances.

And the food! Milo wasn't kidding when he said that there would be lots of mouthwatering food here. Glazed meats spin on rotisseries, grand fruit trays surrounding a chocolate fountain, fish sizzling in friers, and fresh pastries filling heated display cases. I practically moan as my nose is filled with these amazing smells.

I rush towards the first booth we come across, much to the amusement of our group, but I'm too hungry to care. It's only through this intense hunger that I realize I haven't eaten anything since the sandwiches from this morning. Which just won't do! So, I ask for one of the turkey legs that the merchant has, and chow down once it's in my hands.

"Sheesh, you mind taking a few pauses to breath while you're devouring the poor bird?" Gray chuckles out. I proceed to kindly flip him off as I make my way to the next booth, finishing up the turkey leg.

For the next two hours we all stop by many booths, filling our stomachs with sliced pork sandwiches, cheesy breadsticks, mini apple pies, butter cookies, and of course apple cider. Milo and I push our bottomless stomachs to their limits while Malachite points out some dishes that are native to only this pack, since they're family recipes that are a secret and consist of ingredients grown in the mountains.

It's honestly really cool, and kind of makes me wish that our pack had something like that. While we are the biggest and most progressive (at least on paper) pack in the area, we don't have any traditions that are centuries old or anything. Maybe those traditions were lost over the decades of making progress our priority? I don't know, I didn't pay enough attention in history classes. Which is made even more evident when he talks about the origins of the Winter Solstice holiday, and has more details on it then I remember.

"Legend has it," Malachite starts as we're all seated at a picnic table together. "Waaay back in the day, when everyone lived in small tribes instead of packs, people used to not be able to shift into wolf form. They just really admired wolves and lived in harmony with nature. That was until a terrible, ice age-like winter struck the world. Many people perished in the freezing temperatures, and hunting for food was growing to be more and more difficult.

"So, the Moon Goddess saved up a ton of her power and on the Winter Solstice (the Longest Night of the year) she blessed her people with the power to shift so that they could stay warm and hunt better. However, in doing this she lost a lot of power and a few hours of night time to be able to be out. That's why during the warmer months she's out less, to recharge; and during colder months she's out more, to watch over her pups and keep them safe. Thus, during the Winter Solstice, werewolves celebrate and give praise to the Moon Goddess as a sort of appreciation and display of love for her sacrifice."

"You guys definitely have a more detailed version of the story then we do," Atlantis says.

"I guess it comes with the territory of being one of the more 'old school' packs in the area," Malachite chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Though we do still try to have progress in some things. Like back decades ago when you guys started treating omegas and gammas more equally, we fought hard to do the same."

"Well, you guys definitely transitioned more smoothly than us. There's still some ... prejudices that we're still tackling to change, but we're getting there," Gray says, running a hand through his hair.

"I have faith in your pack. If you can pioneer the idea, then you can definitely see it through to the end. You have a big pack, so change is bound to be slower for you. Plus, it's better than what the southern and western packs are doing," Malachite says with a shrug.

"What are the southern and western packs like?" I ask. We don't usually learn about other packs besides some basic things, like names and important events/battles involving them. The most I've been exposed to them is through tournaments, so I never really knew what they're day to day life is like. Though to be fair, my team was more focused on those tournaments and the last-minute prep for them then walking around and exploring the area.

"They're definitely more ...divided than us, when it comes to sub-genders," Malachite begins to explain.

"They're sexist," Jaden states bluntly.

"Jaden," Gray says, frowning at her.

"What! They're sexist, plain and simple, and we shouldn't be sugar coating it either. What if he ever visits those areas? The culture shock would be startling at the least," she points out.

"Um, so yeah, they are sexist," Malachite continues. "They believe that if you're a gamma or omega you are inferior, nothing more than an object to be used. With betas and deltas barely being treated with respect most of the time. The south and south-west are notorious for sticking to these status roles, while also being very traditional in their practices and architecture. Meanwhile the west and north-west, like you guys, are more technologically advanced. With the west having the infrastructure of a bustling urban city, and the north-west sharing your structure of a suburban town."

"Wow, I never knew how different other packs where from us," I say, furrowing my brows a bit. It's sickening to think that those packs could be even worse than us with how they treat omegas and gammas. Maybe I should have been paying more attention to these packs when I went to tournaments.

"However, there is still a chance for change with them. Malachite and I have been having discussions with the alphas of the western packs on making better changes for their people, with the east backing us up. If things go well, they can make the switch and help us push more pressure onto the southern packs, since they've been relentlessly stubborn on making any changes," Gray says, nudging my shoulder with his.

I turn towards him a bit shocked, and he just gives me a warm smile. Like he's promising through his gaze to not only change other packs for the better, but our own as well. I can't help but respond to him a small smile of my own, fulling supporting his efforts despite the small nagging voice of doubt in the back of my mind. Our group continues to talk more about the unique differences between our packs; with Jaden buying us some funnel cake fries before running off at some point to go "persuade" a few people out of their money for some of the items she brought with her. However, it's not long until others follow in her suit.

"As much as I enjoy hanging out with you guys, it's already 8 o'clock and I want to take up Malachite's offer of a tour of their pack house before it gets too late," Beth says, twirling a strand of hair around her figure.

"Don't worry girl, we won't stop you from getting your private tour," Milo says, giving them a wink that makes them both blush like crazy.

"Shut up! It's not like that," Beth says, tossing a napkin at him as he laughs his ass off. "Anyways, catch you guys later. Love you, goodnight!" As they both walk off, Atlantis and Conner start to get up as well.

"Where are you two going?" Gray asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Calm down helicopter brother, Conner just wanted to go take some pictures of the festival, and I said that I would walk with him," Atlantis says, rolling her eyes.

"We can all walk with you-" Gray starts, but surprisingly Conner intervenes.

"A-Actually, I think me and Atlantis will be fine on our own. I wouldn't want to drag you all along with me all night, since I'm sure you have your own plans."

"But-"

"Oh my goddess, Gray, let them go have some fun together! If Atlantis can watch over Eli while he's in heat without doing anything, then I'm sure you can let them walk by themselves without your supervision," Milo groans out.

"Dude!" I say, smacking his arm. Why does my business need to be aired out to make a point? But I guess Milo made a solid enough argument because Gray let's out a sigh and nods.

"Fine. Go have fun, but not too much fun."

"Thank you, Mr. Farrell. I'll have your brother back at his cabin before midnight," Atlantis says with a salute, drawing a giggle out of Conner as they leave.

"And then there were four," I say with a chuckle, as I munch on the funnel cake fries.

"Actually, it's just you two now. Come along Vic. There's a dancing contest over there that I plan on crushing the competition in, and I need someone to film me doing it," Milo says, pulling on Victor's arm as he stands up. Victor gives him a surprised but amused look before getting up with Milo.

"Wait! Don't leave us alone!" I say, glaring at my supposed best friend in panic.

"Sorry, not sorry. Have fun you two~" Milo shouts over his shoulder, as he drags poor Victor away with him.

... And then there were two. "I swear my friends are on their betrayal arc or something," I sigh.

"Hey, at least none of them refused to hang out with you at all tonight," Gray says, stealing one of my fries.

"Yeah, but Luke's always an asshole, so did you really expect anything less."

"He's not always an asshole, you just haven't seen the good sides of him."

"There are good sides?"

Gray let's out a chuckle and nods. "For instance, did you know that he has a soft spot for reptiles."

"Is it because he's cold blooded like them."

"No," he says, tossing a fry at me. "He's just fascinated with the scaley creatures. Even has a pet bearded dragon and green anole."

"I'm surprised he didn't have five snakes or something."

"He did have a pet python at one point, buuut after it escaped three times and ate someone's cat, they made him give it up."

"Yikes. Well either way, I'll believe this fabled 'nice side' when I see it. Can't really take your word on this," I say, tossing the now empty paper plate into a nearby trash can.

"That's fair, but you have to at least give him a chance," Gray says sporting his signature smirk.

I roll my eyes. "I'll give him a chance, when he stops being a dick to anyone who isn't an alpha."

Gray frowns. "He isn't-"

"Don't even try to lie about this. Besides the deltas and betas accepted into your little friend circle at school, he's a knothead to everyone else and you know it."