I yawned as I looked in the mirror. My scruffy bedhead ebony black hair stood wild like it was feral. Rubbing the Sleep out of my warm brownie colored eyes as my mourning ritual began. Washing my face and doing the best to curb any bruising from accidentally smacking myself in my sleep again. In the pack known as Bloodspire, there were 3 main ranks, and each rank had its own system for your placement. Starting with alphas, they were practically lycans, giant wolves that could stand on their hind paws if they so chose. Usually, the most aggressive and possessive type. Lycans were always designated a home with plenty of space in the yard to run free and claim as their territory. It kept disputes to a minimum, since one could pull survey records and prove it was their territory. Then, Betas, the normal werewolf. While not provided with as great housing as the Alphas, Betas still could at least get a guaranteed job and work up to getting a house as great as or greater than an Alpha. The system was designed this way so an alpha couldn't order a beta to fork over their house and property. Then, Omegas were practically dog hybrids. Instead of being able to shift into a wolf form, they could instead change into a dog species. While this was a major downside, there was an upside. For some godforsaken reason, Betas and Alphas absolutely adored omegas. An unclaimed omega had to be careful since the pack adopted the human's cat distribution system. This was an excuse for any alpha or beta to simply kidnap or take the omega in question home.
In these ranks, there were many contributors to where you placed on the sub-ranking system. One of which was genetics. Besides the fact that your Wolf or dog shifting type could cause your rank to fluctuate, you could, in fact, blame your parents for part of the rank. Purebloods were rare, especially among omegas. This wasn't because of some stupid rules about breeding, but because one's bloodline was closely examined before even being able to claim someone. After our elders discovered what happened with pugs and bulldogs in the human world, they were desperate to ensure we did not repeat those mistakes. Normally, people with similar ranks would mate unless they had genetic relations with each other. If there were a choice between an alpha, a beta, and an omega. Unless you had genetic relations to a mate of the same rank, it was considered taboo to choose ranks outside of your own. For example, say the mate of one of your genetic ancestors was an omega, but your family so far was filled with nothing but alphas, and yet you came out as an omega. Which is why the elders closely examined genetic relations. If you had a genetic anomaly, then it was documented and potentially traced to check if it could have either come from being passed down by each generation or if you were the descendant of what the elders now call Same Family Marriage. Apparently, some sickos believed in bloodline purity and made family members court, marry, and mate other family members.
My parents were luckily enough both omegas, which meant I was a dog hybrid. Honestly, seeing how intense some seasons were for alphas and betas. I was really glad I was an omega. Since heat and rut seasons weren't a problem. Unlike alphas and betas, who needed to have intimacy, omegas could survive a season on familial, romantic, or love that didn't necessarily have to be physical. Ironically, though, an omega's dog hybrid was entirely based on the person themselves instead of genetics. Not to mention some omegas actually got to leave for the human world. I wanted to become a Therapy Dog hybrid ever since that one time my parents took me to shadow various dog hybrids. Granted, the dog hybrid I was shadowing was a Caretaker hired by the hospital to look after the long-term kids whose parents weren't around anymore. These could range from humans to various humanoid species that all had different needs that needed to be met. For example, Merfolk needed dogs that could not only swim but also help carry them to water. Anyway, I still can recall that day vividly
My parents had dropped me off at the entrance and left so they could beat traffic to make it back for taco Tuesday lunch at the pack house. The Caretaker's name was Karen, and she was a Border Collie hybrid. She needed some help looking after the kids and was surprised when my 6'10" self showed up as the dog hybrid shadowing her. There were so many kids it was hard to keep track of them. Luckily, apparently, I was a giant to the kids, which also unfortunately meant I was the new climbing gym until the kids moved onto the next thing. So many questions were asked, and so little time was there to answer. Luckily, the kids actually had a Make-A-Wish coming today, so everyone got dressed up. The Theme was superheroes, and it was so much fun to help those kids design masks out of paper plates and crayons. The caretaker stepped out for a moment to handle a lot of paperwork for a new incoming long-term kid. It would only take five minutes maximum. It was slow but noticeable when several kids started to have breakdowns when Karen wasn't around. Soon, the whole group was slowly going into a mass panic attack. One child's panic attack would trigger the next, which would fuel the previous kid's panic attack. So I did the one thing I thought would help calm them down. I shifted into my dog form, which was a sort of mix between a Pekingese, A Chow Chow, and a Saint Bernard. Standing close to them, they slowly began petting. It was so special in a sense. being the reason that these kids were calming down from spiraling into a panic attack that could have been potentially harmful, if not fatal. It inspired me to be a Therapy dog. To be there for people who have no one and to be the reason they can power through, if not bounce back from bad situations. Luckily for me, a Dog hybrid's fur doesn't shed like normal dogs do.
Either way it goes, I had to get ready for the day. I had already moved everything except essentials into my new house, a few towns over in Mythos Pass. A weird street that seemed to never end. Only have an added word to describe where in town you were. I bid my parents goodbye as they got ready for work. Mom and Dad worked for the same lycan couple next door. I had suspicions that they were trying to adopt them to assimilate our tiny house into their territory. While alphas couldn't demand you to fork over your property, if you were adopted or brought into the family. Then they could claim you and the property as part of the family rights. It was a weird document that I no longer had to deal with since Blood Spire was too far away from Mythos Pass. I made sure I had everything as I took a bus there. Mythos Pass was weird, as they had a rule of absolutely no cars. The only transport around and into Mythos Pass was buses. Even then, Mythos has both its own buses and train system. Trains could be either the underground shuttles or the overland scenic view sites that stopped at various parts of Mythos Pass, which was naturally blocked by Reserves. While Mythos Pass wasn't part of the reserve, everyone in town absolutely adored those giant pieces of wilderness. Hunting was frowned upon, even though everyone in town owned some form of firearm. I had chosen Mythos Pass cause driving gave me far too much anxiety, and I loved trains. Train tickets in Mythos Pass were a dollar, which is what sold me on the town.
The bus had several stops that all had their own gimmick. Firstly was the tech-heavy city that, upon seeing everyone outside the bus wearing masks, I decided not to disembark. Everything looked shiny and bright, but you couldn't really hide the trash or the fact that people were being mistreated. The next town seemed nice, but smelled suspiciously of blood. Even though there was a town fair, which I had never been to a fair before, I decided against leaving the bus. After all, the inhabitants of the town seemed a bit stiff, and I'm pretty certain that the pale looks on them had nothing to do with them getting enough sunlight. The rest of the locations were a blur as I took a nap, eventually waking up in Mythos Pass. Luckily, my house was on the starting section of it, so I could get off the bus and walk there easily.
The house was clearly designed for someone with disabilities, regarding the ramp and the various add-ons around the house. All the doors were barn doors, and the bathroom had special fixtures designed specifically for people with issues. Making sure everything was in place and hooked up was my first task. The living room was essentially going to be ground zero for any entertainment, and it needed to be up to par with my standards. Every game system, off-brand game system, a big old wide screen TV, along with a VCR, DVD, streaming stick, and even a Fire TV Stick. It took forever to program, but I did it and added an antenna so I could get cable. Now I didn't need to pay for any TV providers since all the streaming services offered were cheaper combined than the constantly increasing cost of a TV provider. I set up my Router on the entertainment center along with a radio. The radio was for emergencies, but also so I could listen to local radio stations if I needed some sort of background noise as I did stuff. Once I confirmed everything was programmed and set correctly, I moved my black aircraft leather couch and recliners into position. It took forever to set it all up, including the DVD, VCR, Video game, Board game, bookshelf, and rack. Once that was done, I moved onto the kitchen. I wrote down groceries as I set up my collection of appliances and spices. I also moved in my folding 3-piece rolling table that had its own storage compartment for its own folding chairs that matched the wood coloring of the table itself. Once the kitchen was done and I made sure everything else was in place, I checked my grocery list and added in some other essentials that I would need. Such as Toothbrushes, toothpaste, maybe an extra brush, but it was generally either hygiene or cleaning supplies.
Once he had his list, he used a magnet to pin it to the door for when he headed out next time. Next, he inspected his house. Everything seemed great, but he was looking for upgrades he could potentially add. In Style, his house looked like a Vacation and Victorian Mixture household. The Victorian House had a Lovely Wrap-around porch that was big enough that he could fit a queen-sized bedframe between the wall and the porch railing. He figured he could add some netting to create a bug-free porch, granted it meant adding a sliding gate to his ramp. He spotted a lovely alcove for his inflatable Hot Tub or Inflatable Pool. He used some wood glue and some of his favorite wooden crates to create a sort of outdoor shelving unit. He used the weight of the items he stored outside to keep the boxes pressed together. These items were either the inflatable pool, the inflatable hot tub, the Air compressor, or some other inflatables he collected from when Blood Spire had tried to have a cheap fun day by buying inflatable bouncy castles and other things. It was cut short when they realized the kids' sharp fingernails and claws were piercing the inflatables. Still, He patched them and kept them. Once he had that set, he added some extra addons to the porch. Such as setting up an outdoor cooking area on the back part of the wrap-around porch and making sure the outdoor living area was all set. He got distracted and mowed the lawn, set up a small garden for some flowers, he added his hanging herb garden near the back door, which connected to the kitchen. He began assembling his trampoline and making sure it was staked to the ground. He paused on any other outdoor upgrades as he went inside and noticed his kitchen counters didn't have any tile backsplash. Luckily, he still had some very lovely Sandstone peel-and-stick tile backsplash from when his parents renovated their kitchen. After that, he made sure the Lazy Susan Shelfing unit that contained the extra appliances that weren't needed in everyday use was still good before closing that shelfing unit. After making sure the fridge and 4 different standing freezers were all on the surge-protected power cord and that the microwave was on its own surge protector converter. He looked around his kitchen and made sure the magnets on his fridge were set up just right. The Meat Freezer was red and he had adorned it with stickers of various meats and a list of what cuts, meat, as well as when he got it and what shelf it was on. Next to it was the Blue freezer for instant food, such as TV dinners, and various quick-fix meals or snacks. Next to it was the vegetable freezer, which was set up like the meat freezer but for vegetables. Then there was the normal white freezer for Dessert and various items. The entire lower drawer was nothing but the package ice packs that were used to keep items cool in transport. After checking everything and adding a film over the windows that prevented people from looking in, he added the blackout curtains just as an extra measure of safety. After that was setting up the actual security system to be able to not only look around my house, but also the outside as well. I also added a sign on my fence to say "beware of dog" and another that said "smile, you're on camera!".
Once all the actual work on the house renovations was done, he stared at the list on the door. Sighing, he grabbed the list and headed out with a little red wagon to be able to carry all his groceries since the store was just less than a mile walk away. He made sure to attach his rolling cooler, which he put ice packs in. Everything seemed quiet, but he assumed it was cause everyone would likely be at work. He went through the motions of shopping as he bought stuff on his list. Trying to resist Market temptation when he saw a few items he wanted. After all, what Werewolf omega didn't want a fluffy plushie to cuddle with? Eventually, he added nesting material to his cart. which meant blankets, pillows, plushies, and various soft items he found at the store. Once he was done shopping and had paid for the items. He started his trek back to his place. Though everything seemed normal, he noticed some humans wearing what he assumed was cosplay as he spotted his neighbor, who had scales, as she was feeding geese at the park. He assumed she was vegan, given that she was feeding the geese a herb salad. Though it looked like she had also added some insects. It made him wonder if Insects counted as meat. After all, Honey wasn't apparently vegan since it was a byproduct of a creature. It reminded him of an old short horror story. In that old story, a family had invited their vegan relatives to a Thanksgiving dinner. Apparently, which radiation from a nuclear power plant had affected a local turkey farm, releasing giant turkey overlords. The Turkey overlords, much like humans, decided to go for the vegan-fed and clearly free-roaming humans instead of the humans inside the house eating turkey. After all, what sentient being would choose to eat humans, clearly in fancy coup veruses the wild humans sprinting up the hill. He mentally chuckled as he recalled that and other short, funny horror stories. Either way, he resumed his hike back home and put up groceries, starting with perishables. Once he was done, he checked his calendar. He still had a week before he had to go to work. Meaning he had time to situate himself in his town. After looking at his map, he figured the best thing to do tomorrow is to begin mapping routes to his workplace and locating potential shortcuts. Right now, however, he planned to take a nap and go greet his neighbors once they were home. Normally, one would take over a baked good or food; however, given how high the chance of food allergies there was. It was safer to introduce, scope out potential allergies, and bring a more personalized gift later for them.
So far, he has planned to visit 5 houses. There was an aquatic-themed cottage with a privacy fence twice the size he was; however, he could smell the pool if he stood next to the fence. He knocked and waited. The very lovely baby blue door opened to reveal his neighbor, whom he saw at the park earlier that day. She wore very baggy clothes, but they had sea themes.
He started the conversation, "Hi, I'm your next-door neighbor. The name's Heath!"
Her voice had a very musical sort of linger as she spoke, "Nice to meet you, the name's Sarah."
He happily shook her hand, unaware his tail and ears were exposed, and wagging, which caused her to giggle. She seemed busy as she went back inside. As he moved onto the next house. The Other house on his side of the street had a very dark color scheme. He figured they probably had heating problems since the color would cause heat to pool inside the house. However, the Mediterranean-style house had a sort of Gothic Emo vibe. Not the cringey phase but a genuine style choice. He rang the doorbell and waited.
There clearly lived a family, but he was greeted by the Miniature woman who seemed backed by her husband, who was so tall that the door frame hid his face. They clearly were busy in some regards, given that their children were being babysat in the living room with headphones on.
He started to speak only to get the door in the face as they apologized. Apparently, the family had a genetic allergy to the sun, and they'd come meet him at his home later. Which made him sad as he noted to potentially look into something that could allow them to be out during the day. So he began to cross the street to the condo, where he met Cassandra, who was Mythos Pass's version of the Crazy Cat Lady, but instead of cats, she hoarded plants. He happily delivered Bertha to her. His pet potted aloe vera plant that he saved from dying at a store during winter a few years ago. She seemed thrilled since the giant aloe vera could clearly germinate in other empty pots. Next to Cassandra was Denise. Denise's house was a bunker where he collected automobiles. Couldn't blame the man for his hobby, considering several betas would be jealous of Denise's collection. Since the old man also had the first car and had it in perfect working order. He warned me about Alex, who was the person in the rainbow sparkle house, which was a Southwestern-style Prairie house. They were of a neutral gender and were very antisocial. After noticing the "no trespassing" sign, he decided against visiting Alex since it might be seen as aggressive.
He returned to his house and turned a spare bedroom into his soft nesting room so he could help relax his dog side. Afterwards, he began looking into local Orchiectomy surgeons. Since his own father had a certain cancer that sterilized him. Heath decided to get his member removed and have his "Magical Seeds" donated to a local sperm donation center. He didn't find himself intimately attracted to people, and that cancer his father had scared him. He took no chances and wanted to simply remove the potential issue, since as someone whose Ace, it didn't hit his relationships at all if he had any. Which reminded him as he hung a flag that had black, gray, white, and a purple stripe on his bedroom wall. He made sure his room for his "Performance" life, which was separate from his real life, was ready and hidden in the basement. While being a Therapy Dog was his life goal, it didn't always pay the bills. So he did drag in his free time when he needed money. He made sure the door was locked as he checked over the house. He felt like keeping it simple as he boiled two eggs. Once the eggs were done, he poured the boiling water into his ramen as he washed his boiled eggs in the sink. He added the eggshells to the compost box and added the boiled eggs to his ramen and then began eating it as he booted up his favorite medical anime. At the very least, he could have had a small amount of me time before his late-night neighbors showed up. which he enjoyed by eating ramen and binge-watching the medical anime until it was done. Then he cleaned up and made sure the house was ready for hosting guests.
The Doorbell rang as soon as the sun had set completely. Heath greeted the couple. The tall man was apparently Gerald, the miniature woman was Susie, their daughter was Paprika, and their son was Pepper. The children were eyeing the Play places in my backyard that had been installed before I had even bought the house.
"You're free to go play on the playground if y'all want," Heath said as the children zoomed onto the play place. I had a nice small talk with the parents. Mentally noting that I could add a sort of netted gazebo to cover the playground for the kids and add a covered walkway so they could come play on the playground during the day. Guess Tomorrow's plans of mapping pathways to work were going to be put on hold until after I get it finished. They were gone before I knew it. So come morning, I got to work adding the netted gazebo and covered pathway to the Gothic neighbors' back porch. They were confused until I explained the purpose of my build. Once it was done, the kids were playing on the playground. It filled me with happiness to see their smiles on their faces. Especially when I added a shaded and protected pathway so they could come into the house and play in the entertainment center. It kinda made me the designated babysitter come sunset, so the parents could have alone time. especially when the kids found out I would let them binge shows so long as they did stretches between each episode or commercial break. I got to show them how to build a pillow fort, even! I still looked into ways to help the family be able to come out into daylight without triggering their allergy. Eventually, I ordered them all special body suits that they could see through, but sunlight couldn't touch them. It made me happy seeing them out and about during the day, even joining Sarah for feeding the geese. Eventually, I got around to mapping my way to work. It was a lot simpler than I thought. As a Werewolf, even if I am an omega, I have a speed and stamina boost. So I can walk to work in 5 minutes. Once everything was set, I went to sleep as I could hear the gothic family having what sounded like the first real Family movie night after a long day. The kids were barely able to keep their eyes open as Gerald and Susie were whispering about how great a day everything had been. So i drifted off to sleep with the sighs of content the vibe of happiness at a miracle made happen.