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Designations

A lpha: Larger, faster, and with better senses, they make up about a quarter of the population. Their barks and pheromones can influence people. Male alphas have knots, female alphas have locks. Their scent has a distinctive note that marks them as alpha. Female alphas can carry children.

Beta: They make up over half of the population and are your average ordinary people. Like the other designations, they can have kids, join or form packs, and an alpha can mate with them.

Gamma: Essentially, Gammas are ‘failed’ omegas. While sometimes a genetic switch is thrown, halting development, most of the time it’s environmental. Something is so dangerous in their environment that the body declares it unsafe to become an omega and halts a genetic process. Gammas can have many omega traits, but it varies from person to person. Gammas rarely respond to barks, pheromones, or danger the way omegas do. Common causes of gammas are war, famine, extreme poverty, and asshole parents.

Delta: They have a lot of alpha characteristics–especially in regard to size, speed, and senses. They make excellent soldiers and security, especially because they are bark-proof. They’re rarer than the ‘big three’ designations (alpha/beta/omega.)

Kappa: The life of the party, they’re usually adrenaline junkies with poor decision-making skills. They’re an extremely rare designation.

Tau: Not a designation but a medical term referring to someone who lost their bonded scent match, also known soulbroke and shadow .

Omega: Omegas are usually smaller than the other designations and tend to be nurturers and caregivers. They’re the most physically compatible with alphas, so they’re often sought after as mates, even though they make up less than ten percent of the population. They can and do partner with other designations. Omegas have the same rights as everyone else. Omega males are very good at making kids. Omegas have an extra element to their scent that marks them as such. They also produce slick and perfume when aroused.

Sports

Boner: When one hockey player scores three goals in a single PHL game. Fans toss bones onto the ice in celebration.

EBUG: Emergency Backup Goalie. Amateur goalies who play during a hockey game if both of a team’s goalies can no longer play. The home team is responsible for providing an EBUG who can then step in for either team. A lot of PHL EBUGs are goalies for their collegiate teams and are part of goalie development programs offered by many PHL teams.

Fútbol: Soccer/football. A sport popular worldwide, especially among betas.

IATS: The International Association of Team Sports is the world-wide governing body overseeing team sports such as fútbol, ice hockey, and rugby.

ICIS: International Coalition of Ice Sports is the worldwide governing body for sports such as figure skating, speed skating, skate smash, and curling.

MASO: Mates and Significant Others. A term that encompasses the mates, packmates, spouses, girlfriend, boyfriends, partners, and significant others of professional athletes in team sports.

PHL: The Professional Hockey League. It governs four conferences and eight divisions, totaling thirty-two ice hockey teams spanning four countries.

PSSL: The Professional Skate Smash League. It governs four conferences and eight divisions, totaling thirty-two skate smash teams spanning four countries.

Skate Smash: A contact ice sport where five players from each team skate around the ice trying to gain points. Ten two-minute successions comprised each period, with a thirty-second rest between each succession. They also have dance battles where they perform synchronized routines as a team.

Other Terms

Alpha-Blockers: A type of medication that dulls alpha senses and instincts. It’s most commonly prescribed to violent alphas, young alphas who aren’t in full control, and criminals. There’s a huge stigma on them, so many who should take them don’t.

Dead-Match: Two people who would have been scent matches had they not stayed beta.

Defender League: A popular superhero franchise with movies and comics.

Fried Lace: Funnel cake.

Game Buddy : A personal video game device that can also be hooked up to your TV.

Go-goKart: A popular car racing video game, often played on a Game Buddy.

Hydrogel: Electrolyte gel in a squeezy pouch.

Insta-Chat: Communication app where people send short video/photo messages to each other.

Location Finder: A location sharing app.

Mega-push : Drug that can ‘push’ a beta with specific genetic markers over to an omega. It is mostly used for trafficking.

Musify: A social music streaming app where users can both listen to music and create and share their own playlists.

Scent-Match: Soulmate. That perfect match between two people–usually an alpha and omega. They usually know it by smell. Scent-matches are rare and plenty of people have happy and long relationships without being scent-matches. Sometimes scent-matches dream of each other, but that’s mostly in books and movies. A scent match can be ‘lopsided’ when it’s not alpha/omega.

Shadow (soulbroke): Someone who has lost their bonded scent match.

Spiral: Dangerous drop in omega hormones which can result in unconsciousness, irrational behavior, and/or hospitalization. Often a trauma response.

Ultra-bullet: Super-fast train that can turn an hours-long drive into moments.