Differences Aside, ✔

Chapter One

Gyabo was huge, the largest city from the northern continents. Our city was split into two, divided by a gate. The gate was pretty easy to use, you couldn't see it. It was similar to glass in that way. Connected to the gate are scanners, to cross through you need an authorised pass that would be granted to you from The Gate Office. Only the guards were entitled to free passes that could be used at any time during their employment as a guard. For everyone else, it would cost an unreasonably large sum of money to buy a pass, and it could only be used once.

 Humans rarely crossed into the Wolves side of Gyabo, just as most wolves didn't come into our side for any reasons other than work. Lower-ranking wolves were usually tasked as guards to 'keep us safe'. The store that I bought our food from was right next to the gates, I would usually find myself being caught in the beauty of it all. 

The wolves had built their empire up a mountain, their houses and businesses having the best view of the ocean that lay along the east side of the city. However, we weren't entitled to that same luxury, living at the foot of the mountain, our homes leading out into the woods that were west of the city. Their buildings and houses were beautiful. A light grey and white covered most of the buildings, but from what I could see and what I had heard, the streets weren't absent from colour.

The one thing, however, that I was sure about the wolves side of the gate was that the Castle was the most beautiful piece of architecture that I had ever seen. It was at the very top of the mountain, large walls that protected it already impenetrable borders. Turrets that seemed to touch the clouds extended out from the main part of the castle, each turret was covered in curved windows, as was the rest of the building. The castle was occupied by the Royal Family. The Royal family had been in power since the birth of werewolves, the myths and legends of their power being spread amongst us humans. The current Alpha King had taken over only a year or so ago, and as expected, he had made no changes to the humans living conditions. Instead, he chose to lower wages, forcing us to work longer and harsher hours then we had before.

Alpha King Lancester was credited with being one of the harshest yet, the wolves applauded his control over us, praised for his treatment towards us.

I felt a prick in my finger,I looked down to see a few droplets of blood. I was sitting at our tiny dining table, desperately trying to sew together the holes in Elijah's mining uniform. I looked over at the broken straps of Isaiah's uniform, When you worked in the mines, you were issued with two uniforms, made in the thinnest material possible. 

That's when I heard it, a high pitched scream from outside. I dropped the needle and shirt occupying my hands and rushed to peek out through the gaps in the window. It was a girl, she would be around my age, dressed in the uniform that showed she worked in one of the mass-production factories, which one, I didn't know. She was being dragged by the arm by a guard, the was thrashing around desperately trying to free herself from his hard grip,

"PLEASE! PLEASE LET ME GO!" She sobbed, her voice sending the street quiet, "SOMEONE HELP ME! HE'S TAKING ME! HE'S TAKING ME AWAY!" 

"Please stop screaming mate," The guard begged her, "I promise I won't hurt you!" 

I sighed, my heart aching for her. Even if I could help the girl, it would be suicide to do so. She was his mate, the one thing more precious to the wolves than life itself.

Mates were the real reason werewolves had revealed themselves to the humans. Mates were soulmates. I was told in my classes that once you found your mate, life was suddenly given meaning, a meaning that wasn't there before. The wolves found that their soulmates were human, and more wolves began to lose their mates because of this. After a wolf is rejected by their mate, they no longer have a purpose. They no longer have a soul. This increased Rogue numbers, pack deaths and soon enough, the Alpha's decided it would be more beneficial to them if all the humans knew of them, and had been raised in a way that they knew a mate was a blessing, not a curse.