Chapter 1: The Nightmare
Humphrey was running as fast as his legs could carry him. I have to find Kate, I have to find Kate, Humphrey kept telling himself in his mind. She's gonna get herself killed, I just know it.
Humphrey ran up a long hill, and was starting to get tired. The pounding rain wasn't helping much either, as Humphrey slipped back down the hill,. He panted heavily, his aching chest called for him to rest, but he daren't stop, for fear that it might cost Kate her life. Humphrey sprinted back up the hill.
At the top of the hill, Humphrey stopped and looked across the long field in front of him, and managed to make out a figure in the distance. It's Kate! Humphrey thought in relief. Thank God I found her or…BANG! Humphrey's thought was interrupted by a loud shot that ripped through the air. Humphrey's relief soon turned to fear as he saw the figure of Kate fall to the ground. Humphrey sprinted across the field to where Kate was. Humphrey saw her, laying backside down with a pool of blood seeping out from underneath her, she had her paw held over her stomach.
"Kate! No!" Humphrey cried as he fell to Kate's side, panting heavily. "What happened?" Humphrey asked, concerned.
"Hunter…shot me. I managed to bite his hand…scare him away."
"Where are you hurt?" Humphrey asked.
"My…stomach." Kate weakly managed to say.
Humphrey lifted up Kate's paw which was covering her stomach and saw a massive gunshot wound, blood leaking out of it.
"Let me get help." Humphrey told her.
"No…it's too late for that now. I won't make it." Kate told him.
"I can't just let you die like this!" Humphrey said, feeling completely helpless.
"There's nothing you can do. Humphrey, you were right, I shouldn't have come out here, it was a stupid thing to do. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, don't ever be sorry. You haven't done anything wrong." Humphrey told her, as he held her paw in his paws.
Kate coughed. "Humphrey...I love you."
"I love you too." Humphrey declared. "Kate, please don't go. I need you. I can't live without you."
"Humphrey…Goodbye…" Kate said, and with that, Kate had died. Humphrey let her paw fall to the ground, and cried uncontrollably into her fur.
Humphrey awoke with a gasp. He quickly looked around, and saw the familiar surroundings of his and Kate's den. Humphrey looked to his side, and saw Kate curled up in a ball, sleeping peacefully. It was just a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare. Humphrey thought. That felt so real though. Humphrey put his paw to his eyes, he had indeed been crying. Yeah... very real. Humphrey thought. After a few minutes, Humphrey managed to calm down, and tried to get back to sleep.
Chapter 2: There's A Hunter About
Humphrey couldn't sleep that night. That graphic image of Kate dying was burned into his mind, and he just couldn't shake it off. It seemed so real. Humphrey kept thinking. Humphrey looked over at Kate, who was waking up, she yawned and stretched out.
"Morning Humphrey." Kate greeted him.
"Morning Kate." Humphrey greeted back.
"It's rare that you're up this early, normally it's me who wakes you up." Kate said.
Should I tell her about that nightmare? Nah, it might upset her. I don't want to do that.
"Well, I had a bad dream." Humphrey told her.
"What happened?" Kate asked.
"Well," Humphrey began, trying to make something up, "I dreamt that Balto hypnotised you again and made you rip my head off." Humphrey lied. That sounded…good. Humphrey thought.
"Oh Humphrey, that Balto business is behind us now. You don't need to worry about that happening again." Kate told him.
I hope not, Humphrey shuddered at the thought of what Balto could do if he came back.
"You're right, I've been worrying too much, the whole thing just shook me up a little bit." Humphrey said.
"Oh you poor thing." Kate said sympathetically. She hugged him, and Humphrey smiled for the first time today.
"Thanks Kate, it helps." Humphrey told the truth this time. Some love from Kate was always enough to cheer him up whenever he was feeling down.
"So Kate, what are you doing today?" Humphrey asked.
"Nothing much, just this Alpha meeting I have to go to this morning." Kate said.
"Mind if I tag along?" Humphrey asked.
"Not at all. I could use the company." Kate said. "You ready to go now?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, let's go." Humphrey said.
Humphrey and Kate walked out of their den, the glowing sun disoriented Humphrey for a second, him having being staring at the dark most of the night. Humphrey turned to Kate.
"Kate, you know I love you more than anything else right?"
"Of course Humphrey, and I feel exactly the same way." Kate told him.
For some reason Humphrey felt he had to let Kate know that. That nightmare's starting to have an effect on me. Come on it was only just a nightmare, it's not like Kate's really going to die or anything like that. I'm just being stupid. Everything's going to be fine. Humphrey tried to reassure himself.
As Humphrey and Kate came into the field where the meeting was being held, they could see Kate's father, Winston, talking to several other Alpha wolves.
"Looks like we're a little late." Kate said.
"Looks like it." Humphrey said.
"…there has also been a reporting of a hunter in the area…" Winston was saying to the Alpha wolves.
Humphrey eyes widened at the word "hunter". He remembered back to the nightmare.
"Hunter…shot me." Humphrey remembered Kate saying in that vivid nightmare.
"I would like to remind you all not to approach this hunter, as they are extremely dangerous." Winston told the wolves.
No, no, no. It's just a coincidence, a big coincidence. Humphrey thought worriedly.
Humphrey heard Kate scoff. "I could take on a hunter any day, I'm not scared of them." Kate declared to no one in particular.
"Well I don't know Kate, hunters are quite dangerous, so I think it's best to just stay out of their way." Humphrey told her.
"Oh come on Humphrey, they can't do anything to the top Alpha in the pack." Kate cockily said, pointing to herself.
Did that nightmare mean something? Humphrey asked himself. Is it something that's actually going to happen?
"Well I guess you could take a hunter on, but I wouldn't go out attacking one if I were you." Humphrey cautioned her.
"Oh Humphrey, I wouldn't do anything like that. I'm just saying I could defend myself from one, if the eventuality arose." Kate told him.
Thank God, Humphrey thought. Maybe this nightmare won't come true after all. But Humphrey still felt very uncertain, maybe I'll stay with Kate for a while so she doesn't make any rash decisions.
Chapter 3: Deja Vu
"Humphrey…Goodbye…"
Humphrey awoke again. He'd been having the same nightmare for a few nights now, and it was really getting to him. What does that nightmare mean? Could Kate actually...die?
"Humphrey."
Humphrey turned to see Kate looking at him.
"Kate? What are you doing up?" Humphrey asked.
"You were talking in your sleep." Kate said. "It woke me up."
"Oh, sorry." Humphrey said apologetically.
"No, no, it's okay." Kate said. "Humphrey, what were you dreaming about?" Kate asked.
"Oh, nothing important." Humphrey lied.
"Don't lie to me Humphrey. It sounded really horrible. What was it about?" Kate asked.
Looks like I have to tell her now, Humphrey thought.
"Well," Humphrey began, "I had this nightmare where, I found you lying in the middle of a field, you had been shot by a hunter, and you said you shouldn't have gone out there, and I was right, and you were wrong about something. And then you, died." Humphrey finished.
Kate looked shocked. "Is this the first time this nightmare has happened? Kate asked.
"Yeah." Humphrey lied.
"Well maybe it's linked to the whole hunter thing that's been going on lately, maybe the thought about the hunter being around just got its way into your dreams. It's probably nothing to worry about." Kate told him.
Nothing to worry about? You have to be kidding me. Humphrey thought.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Humphrey falsely agreed.
"Hey, cheer up Humphrey, you've not been acting like your usual self lately." Kate said.
Kate was right, Humphrey hadn't been his usual self lately. He never cracked any jokes, and just spent the days quietly watching Kate everywhere she went, making sure she didn't get into any trouble.
"I don't know what's gotten into me, I've just been feeling a little down lately." Humphrey said.
"Why don't you get some sleep, maybe that'll help." Kate suggested.
"Yeah." Humphrey said. He closed his eyes. "Goodnight Kate." Humphrey said.
"Goodnight Humphrey" Kate said.
"I love you." Humphrey said.
"I love you too." Kate said.
Humphrey finally managed to fall asleep, where exactly the same grisly scene presented itself yet again.
Chapter 4: Knight In Shining Armor
Chapter Four: Knight In Shining Armour
Humphrey was beginning to get tired of it now. Every time he slept, he suffered that grisly nightmare. Humphrey awoke, and looked around like he always did. Only this time, where Kate would usually be sleeping, there was an empty space.
"Kate?" Humphrey called. "Kate, where are you?" Humphrey shouted as he walked out of their den. He saw Kate, just a few metres away from the den talking to a brown wolf who he recognised as Garth. Humphrey ran over to them. "Kate, what's going on?" Humphrey asked.
"You mean you don't know?" Garth asked.
"No Garth, opposed to what you may think, I can't read minds." Humphrey replied in annoyance. Humphrey never really took much of a liking to Garth, Humphrey found him to be full of himself, and a show-off. Humphrey found it difficult to believe that Kate was originally supposed to actually marry him. Lucky for Humphrey that fell through.
"Well, that hunter was sighted nearby your den, you're very lucky I managed to scare him away, otherwise you and Kate would have ended up dead." Garth informed him.
"My knight in shining armor." Humphrey remarked. Kate laughed.
"That's more like the Humphrey I know." Kate said, pleased to see that Humphrey had appeared to be back to his old, happy, care-free self. But Humphrey was far from happy and care-free at the moment. Even though Humphrey was cracking a joke at the incident that had just happened, deep down he was grateful that Garth had stepped in and stopped those hunters from killing them both.
Thinking about it…me and Kate could have died if it weren't for Garth. Thanks Garth. Humphrey silently thanked him. I owe you one, well, half of one.
"Where'd the hunter go?" Humphrey asked Garth.
"I'm not sure, he's still somewhere in the area though." Garth informed him.
Humphrey remembered the nightmare again. If they're still around, then that nightmare could still become a reality. Humphrey thought fearfully.
"Thanks for the extremely specific information, "Barf"." Humphrey called Garth by his little nickname he had made up for him.
"You know I don't like it when you call me that. It makes me very angry." Garth said threateningly.
"Oh I'm really scared, Kate, protect me from the big, mean Alpha." Humphrey said, cowering behind Kate, pretending to be scared of Garth.
"I don't have time for this, I'll see you round Kate." Garth said, and he walked off.
"Yeah, see you later, "Barf"!" Humphrey called after him. No matter how troubled Humphrey was, he could always find time to make fun of Garth.
"Maybe you were a little too harsh on him Humphrey." Kate said.
"Oh come on Kate, it's Garth, he wouldn't get upset if his own mate got shot." Humphrey said.
BANG! A loud shot ripped through the air. Humphrey yelped in fright.
"Where'd that come from?" Humphrey asked.
Kate tried to determine where the noise came from. "It sounded like it came from…" Kate realised something horrible, "Lilly and Garth's den." Kate finished. She sprinted off.
"Kate, wait for me!" Humphrey called after her. He ran off to catch up with her.
Humphrey had a very bad feeling about this.
Chapter 5: Hunter Attack
When Humphrey and Kate arrived at Lilly and Garth's den, they could already tell what had happened. "Oh no." Kate cried as she saw Garth stood over the body of Kate's younger sister Lilly, who was unconscious. The side of Lilly's body, normally covered with snow-white fur had been dyed red with blood. Garth saw Kate approaching. "Is she dead?" Kate asked, looking extremely concerned.
"No." Garth replied. "She hasn't been hit anywhere serious, the bullet cut through her side. She'll be alright."
Humphrey joined Kate by her side. "Oh my God. Let me guess…hunter, right?" Humphrey asked Garth.
"Yes. He just took off when I showed up, looks like he remembered me from earlier." Garth told him. "I'll kill him for this." Garth said coldly.
"Not if I get to him first." Kate said vengefully.
"Kate, you shouldn't go up against that hunter. Something bad is gonna happen." Humphrey told her.
"Shut up Humphrey. I could take on a whole of group of hunters right now." Kate said.
Humphrey finally knew for certain, the nightmare was turning into a reality. She's going to go out there, and get herself killed.
"You can't! It's too dangerous!" Humphrey tried to convince her.
"I can take care of myself Humphrey! I don't need you!" Kate shouted at him.
That comment stung. But Humphrey knew deep down she didn't mean it, she was angry, and Humphrey couldn't blame her, given the circumstances.
"You know you don't mean that." Humphrey said.
"I know what exactly what I mean, and I know exactly what I'm going to do! I'm going to kill that hunter!" Kate shouted.
"You can't!" Humphrey argued.
"And why not?" Kate asked, challenging him.
"Because I know for a fact that if you go out there, you're going to get yourself killed!" Humphrey said.
Kate didn't listen, and turned away from Humphrey and started walking away from him.
"How do you think I'd feel if you died?" Humphrey asked. Kate turned around and faced him.
"Humphrey, I'm not going to die! Get that through your thick skull!" Kate shouted at him.
"How do you know?" Humphrey was shouting now.
"Watch me." And with that, Kate sprinted off in search of the hunters.
She's dead, she's going to die. And there's nothing I can do about it. Humphrey thought helplessly. Garth approached Humphrey.
"She needs you." Garth said, and for once, Garth had said something that made sense to him.
"More than you know." Humphrey said.
"Not that much." Garth replied.
Humphrey smiled, and took off in search of Kate, and as he sprinted across fields and through the forest, he knew one thing, Kate was going to die.
But not today. Humphrey thought.
Chapter 6: Reality
The weather had taken a turn for the worse, grey clouds had formed in the sky, and rain started to pound the ground, just like in Humphrey's nightmare. Humphrey approached the field that he recognised too well from his nightmare. I have to find Kate. I have to find Kate, Humphrey kept telling himself, just like in the nightmare. She's gonna get herself killed, I just know it. I have to get there before it happens. Humphrey thought. Humphrey ran up the hill, although this time, he was careful, and didn't slip down the hill, giving him precious time to save Kate from her demise. He'd learnt a lot from his nightmare.
Humphrey didn't stop at the top of the hill like in his nightmare, and kept sprinting across the long field. His chest ached horribly. I'm not cut out for this. Humphrey thought tiredly.
He could see Kate's figure in the distance, he saw the figure of a hunter, aiming his shotgun at Kate, he saw Kate getting ready to pounce and attack the hunter, Humphrey finally reached Kate and jumped into the air, and pushed Kate out of the way while she was in midair. The shotgun fired, and Humphrey fell to the ground, unconscious, he had got hit instead of Kate.
Kate landed on the ground, and saw Humphrey lying backside down with a pool of blood seeping out from underneath him. Her eyes widened in shock, she attacked the hunter, and bit down on his hand as hard as she could, the hunter screamed in pain and dropped his shotgun, he then turned and ran away, clutching his hand.
Kate immediately came to Humphrey's side, and stared in disbelief at Humphrey's motionless body. He…saved me. If it weren't for Humphrey I would have died. Kate realised.
"Humphrey!" Kate cried, shaking him. "Come on Humphrey, wake up! You were right. I shouldn't have come out here. It was a stupid thing to do. I'm sorry." Kate apologised. "Please Humphrey, I need you!" Kate declared.
This is all my fault. If only I'd listened to him, he'd be alive. Kate thought. She looked at Humphrey, she let out a sob, and started crying uncontrollably into his fur, heartbroken.
"It's not fair! It's not fair!" Kate repeated, as she continued to cry into Humphrey's fur.
Kate had no idea how long she cried for. But she finally stopped, and after one long last look at Humphrey's body, Kate walked away, her tail brushed past Humphrey's nose as she walked away.
"Kate…that tickles."
Kate's eyes widened in disbelief, and she turned around. She saw Humphrey, eyes open, staring at her.
"Hey." Humphrey greeted her.
"Humphrey…you're…you're…alive!" Kate screamed with delight. Kate ran back to his side.
"Are you okay?" Kate asked.
"I've felt better." Humphrey replied.
"I thought I'd lost you." Kate told him.
"I've thought the same thing about you a few times now." Humphrey told her.
"Humphrey, I'm sorry for saying I didn't need you. I didn't mean it. Of course I need you." Kate said.
"I know you didn't mean it, I can't blame you either, you were in a rage, what with Lilly being attacked and all." Humphrey said.
"Oh my God, Lilly!" Kate said. "I almost forgot about her."
"Let's go check on her then." Humphrey said.
"Are you sure?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, you know I'm fine." Humphrey told her.
"Can you get up? You look pretty hurt." Kate asked, looking at the pool of blood around Humphrey's body.
"I'll try." Humphrey said. Humphrey rolled over slowly, and tried to get up with difficulty. Kate saw a massive wound across the middle of his back, blood all around it.
"Looks like it only cut through you." Kate observed.
"Yeah." Humphrey said, wincing slightly in pain. "Wow, those hunters really have lousy aims." Humphrey said with a smile.
Kate laughed. "You look a little more cheery." Kate observed.
"Well, there's a reason for that." Humphrey told her.
"What?" Kate asked.
"It's a bit of a long story." Humphrey said.
"How about you tell it to me on the way back?" Kate suggested.
"Okay." Humphrey said.
They started walking, and Humphrey told her the whole story about his nightmare.
Chapter 7: Peace At Last
Humphrey and Kate had reached Lilly and Garth's den. Humphrey had just finished explaining to Kate the story behind his nightmare.
"So that's why you were so fixed on stopping me from going up against the hunter." Kate said.
"Yep, sounds pretty far fetched doesn't it?" Humphrey asked.
"A little bit, but all dreams have a meaning don't they? Perhaps the meaning of yours was to save me from being killed by the hunter." Kate said.
"Maybe it was." Humphrey agreed. It made sense to him, that's for sure, after what he'd been through.
Humphrey and Kate entered Lilly and Garth's den. A concerned Garth was looking over Lilly, who was curled up in a ball, no longer unconscious.
"Are you sure there's nothing you need?" Garth asked her.
"Yes Garth, I'm fine, for the fifth time." Lilly told him.
"Okay, but anything you need you just ask me." Garth told her.
"I know Garth, you've told me that about five times too." Lilly said. Lilly noticed Humphrey and Kate coming into the den.
"Hi Kate!" Lilly greeted her.
"Hi Lilly, how are you?" Kate asked.
As Lilly and Kate talked, Humphrey turned to Garth.
"Well, well, well, who knew? Garth has a sweet side." Humphrey said.
"Humphrey, one more joke out of you and I'll..." Garth stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Humphrey's wound on his back. "What happened to you?" Garth asked.
"I'd say it's pretty obvious." Humphrey replied.
"You were shot by a hunter, weren't you?" Garth asked.
"Well done Garth!" Humphrey clapped his paws together. "Your psychic abilities never fail to amaze me!" Humphrey said sarcastically. Humphrey turned to Lily. "Hey Lily, how you holding up?" Humphrey asked.
"Hi Humphrey, I'm okay, just a bit sore. I should be fine in a day or two. What happened to you though?" Lilly asked.
"Pretty much the same as you, shot by a hunter, what are the odds?" Humphrey joked. Humphrey winced in pain.
"Looks painful." Lilly observed.
"Yeah, it is, just a little bit." Humphrey said.
"Is it?" Garth asked, looking genuinely concerned.
"Yes." Humphrey replied.
"I'm sure it'll be fine in a few days." Garth assured him, then he slapped Humphrey hard on his back. Humphrey screamed in agony.
"What was that for?" Humphrey asked, still recovering from the pain.
"For being annoying." Garth replied.
"I'll kill you Garth!" Humphrey threatened.
"I'd like to see you try." Garth replied.
Humphrey growled at Garth.
"Oh leave him alone Garth." Lilly said.
"Thank you Lilly." Humphrey said. "Well, I should be going now, because I feel like my back is going to explode. So that tells me I should be getting some rest. I'll see you round Lilly, oh and Garth?" Humphrey said.
"What?" Garth asked.
"I hate you." Humphrey said with a smile.
"I know." Garth said.
"You coming Kate?" Humphrey asked as he walked out of the den.
"Yeah." Kate turned to Lilly. "I'll come see you tomorrow Lilly." Kate told her.
"Okay. See you tomorrow then." Lilly said.
"Bye."
Humphrey and Kate had exited the den. "Lilly seems okay." Humphrey said.
"Yeah, I'm more worried about you though." Kate said, as she stared at Humphrey's wound.
"Oh I'm fine. This thing will be gone in a few days." Humphrey pointed to his wound.
"I hope so." Kate said. "Hopefully you'll get a good night's sleep too."
"I doubt it, I have a bad feeling I'll have another nightmare just as horrifying as the last one." Humphrey said.
"You're not staying very optimistic." Kate said.
"Well it's hard to stay optimistic, I've had a lot of stress the last few days. You almost kill me after getting hypnotised by some freak, then you almost get killed by a hunter, and I take the bullet. Who knows what's next?" Humphrey said.
"You know it always works out in the end." Kate said.
"I guess so." Humphrey said. "Perhaps things will start looking up." Humphrey said optimistically.
Later that night, Humphrey slept snuggled up close to Kate, when he had another dream.
He and Kate ran through a field on a warm day, the sun shone in the bright blue sky. They playfully chased each other through the field.
"You'll never catch me Humphrey!" Kate shouted playfully.
"Oh really?" Humphrey teased.
Humphrey pounced at Kate and he landed right on top of her. They both laughed and gazed into each other's eyes.
"I love you Kate." Humphrey said.
"I love you too Humphrey." Kate said.
They nuzzled each other's noses, and for the first time in a long while, Humphrey slept with a smile on his face.
Monday 21 March 2011
Friday 18 March 2011
Humphrey Commits Suicide
When Humphrey got home, he told Kate the bad news.
“Oh Humphrey!”
“It’s horrible isn’t it.”
“Yeah!”
“Alright, Ima go hang in the garage.”
“Alright.”
Humphrey grabbed a pistol on his way out. He went to the garage, hesitated, and said prayer to God for forgiveness right before he put the barrel to his mouth.
“God, I have mass depression, please forgive me for committing suicide.”
Humphrey pulled the trigger. Kate heard the shot.
“What the hell? That sounded close!”
Kate went to the garage.
“Oh my God! Humphrey! No!”
Kate got on her knees to Humphrey.
“Humphrey, why did you have to go!? The murderer wasn’t smart to leave his gun here.”
“Oh Humphrey!”
“It’s horrible isn’t it.”
“Yeah!”
“Alright, Ima go hang in the garage.”
“Alright.”
Humphrey grabbed a pistol on his way out. He went to the garage, hesitated, and said prayer to God for forgiveness right before he put the barrel to his mouth.
“God, I have mass depression, please forgive me for committing suicide.”
Humphrey pulled the trigger. Kate heard the shot.
“What the hell? That sounded close!”
Kate went to the garage.
“Oh my God! Humphrey! No!”
Kate got on her knees to Humphrey.
“Humphrey, why did you have to go!? The murderer wasn’t smart to leave his gun here.”
Alpha And Omega: A Second Chance (2nd Part Of Death And Rebirth)
Chapter: 1
Two wolf pups were sleeping in a medium-sized cave, the golden furred one curled around the gray one in a protective manner. The gray wolf shifted in his sleep and the gold-furred wolf stood up beside him.
She shook the gray wolf's shoulder, "Humphrey, wake up."
Humphrey slowly opened his eyes, "Mm, good morning, Kate." He stood up and stretched his legs.
"Good morning, Humphrey. Did you have a good nap?" Kate asked him.
Humphrey nodded, "Yeah, it feels good to relax in the middle of the day. Why are you here, though, is something wrong?"
Kate shook her head, "No, I just wanted to see if you wanted to play. I had a bad dream, so I couldn't get back to sleep."
Humphrey sat down, "What was the dream about? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but it helps to get it off your chest."
Kate suddenly gave Humphrey a hug and started to cry softly, "It was awful. You and dad just died right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it."
Humphrey patted her back as she cried into his shoulder, "It's okay, I'm still here. I know your dad is old, but he's not going anywhere for a long time." he pulled her away from him, "Let's go see your baby sister, I heard that she opened her eyes finally. Who knows, she might turn out to be an Alpha."
Kate stopped crying and nodded, 'Maybe Lily will become an Alpha. Then the crisis may be averted, but it will take some interference for it to work right.' Kate thought to herself. "I hope so." she said to Humphrey...
Humphrey and Kate padded into the Alpha den, seeing a snow-white wolf pup suckling at Eve's belly. Eve moved one of her front paws towards them, but Kate immediately took up a defensive stance in front of Humphrey.
Humphrey tried to look around Kate, "Hey, I can't see." he protested.
Eve gave her daughter an odd look, which was answered with a silent threat. "Well, have you come to see the newest Alpha?" Winston asked, walking up between Kate and Humphrey.
Humphrey nodded, "Yeah... I mean, yes sir. I heard that she finally opened her eyes this morning."
Winston laughed, "No need to be so formal, Humphrey. I certainly hope that she displays the traits of an Alpha, we need more of those in the pack."
Kate smiled at Humphrey, "Humphrey, let's go. I thought of an awesome game we could play." Humphrey's face brightened at the thought of games, and he followed Kate out of the den.
Eve lowered her voice as she spoke to Winston, "I think that Kate would make a fine Alpha. I was raising my paw to tell them to be quiet when they entered; but Kate stepped between Humphrey and I, she even barred her teeth at me."
Winston's eyes grew wide, "She must have taken that dream more seriously than I thought. She dreamed that Humphrey was bleeding out in front of her; apparently, I had already died in this particular dream. I think that she loves him, even if neither of them realize it yet. She couldn't protect him in her dream, so she feels as if she has to in the waking world." Winston sighed, "What about that deal I made with Tony? If Lily doesn't have what it takes to be an Alpha, Kate will have to marry his son."
Eve gave him one of her trademark creepy smiles, "Don't let Kate hear you say that, she'll rip the fur off your body and use it to line her nest."
Winston gave a nervous chuckle, "I know, she would not be happy with me if I told her she might have to get married to somebody she doesn't even know. If Humphrey ever has feelings for her, I would hate to be the one to decide whether or not she had to marry Garth or not. If I made the wrong decision, I would have the eternal hatred of at least two wolves."...
Kate led Humphrey to the highest point in the territory, except for Howling Rock, and instructed him to get a large piece of bark. She positioned the bark so that it would fall off of the rock they were standing on and got in, "Come on, Humphrey. This is going to be fun, get in."
Humphrey warily sat down in the log, and Kate pushed them off the rock and down the hill. Humphrey screamed in terror the whole way down, Kate, however, was laughing the entire way. Kate turned the log left and right to avoid trees and rocks in their path, but when she saw a huge rock in their path, she grabbed Humphrey and pulled him into a tight hug.
The log hit the rock and shattered, sending Kate and Humphrey flying through the air. They landed with Kate underneath Humphrey. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his nose was touching Kate's. He quickly got off of her in embarrassment, "Wow, Kate, that was fun."
Kate stood up beside him, "Did you think I was lying to you?" she asked.
"No, but I would have sworn you were crazy, we could have died up there."
Kate silenced Humphrey by putting her tail over his mouth, "I wouldn't have let you get hurt," she said, "I won't ever let anything hurt you, Humphrey. That's a promise." Kate nuzzled Humphrey's shoulder as she spoke.
Humphrey blushed, but he didn't know why. 'What is this weird feeling?' he thought to himself.
Kate nudged him out of his thoughts, "Come on, it's time to go back."...
When Kate and Humphrey got back to the Alpha den, Eve and Winston were speaking in low voices. "Mom, dad, I'm back." Kate called.
Immediately the talking ceased, Winston turned to Humphrey, "Thank you for escorting her home, but we need to have a family meeting."
"Oh, okay. Bye, Kate, see you in the morning." Humphrey called as he went back to his den.
After Humphrey had left, Kate turned to her parents, "So, what's going on?"
Winston took a deep breath, "The Eastern Pack is running out of food. Tony, their pack-leader wants us to unite the East and the West, but to do that, we need a marriage between one of my daughters and his son."
Kate responded quickly and adamantly, "I won't do it. There is only one wolf I will ever think about marrying, and it is not that Easterner, Garth. Lily will have to go to Alpha school, because I will not leave Humphrey alone again."
Eve looked at Kate oddly, "What do you mean again? How did you know about Garth, we never said his name around you."
Kate knew that she was caught, "It is a very long story. To give you the shortened version, I have already lived the life of an Alpha. I sacrificed my life to protect dad and Tony from a stampede of caribou. I was resurrected by the Alpha's warrior spirit so that I could live with my mate again, but in the end, I had to watch him bleed to death while I was giving birth to his pups. I will never go back to the life of an Alpha, I sacrificed too much just to sacrifice again."
Kate sat down, finished with her story when they heard a voice say "What?"
Humphrey ran back into the den and skidded to a halt beside Kate. "I can't believe you!" he yelled at Winston and Eve, "You would force your daughter to marry someone when she just told you she is in love with somebody else? That's the lowest thing I've ever heard of."
Eve stared straight into Humphrey's eyes, "Were you eavesdropping on our family conversation?" she asked in a voice that promised pain.
Humphrey just glared at her, "Yeah, I was. A good thing I was, too. I can't believe that after the story she just told you," Humphrey looked at Kate, "which was very beautiful, you'll have to give me the details later." He turned back towards her parents, "You would still force her down a path she doesn't want to take!"
Kate rested a paw on his shoulder, "Calm down, Humphrey. I would never marry Garth, as I said, there is only one wolf for me."
Humphrey seemed to relax a little, "Oh yeah, that reminds me, who is that wolf you love? I'd really like to meet him."
Kate's jaw dropped at this statement, Winston slapped a paw to his forehead, and Eve began to giggle girlishly. "Humphrey, honey, you already know who it is." Eve told him, "You've known him since the day you were born."
Humphrey thought about it for a second, "Oh, you mean Hutch! No, that can't be right. He's an Alpha, and Kate's an Omega, that's against the rules." He began to scratch his head, "Don't tell me, I know this one."
Kate stood there for almost five minutes as Humphrey named off every male in the pack, disregarding them for different reasons. "Okay, Humphrey, are there any more wolves in the pack?" she asked.
"Not that I can think of, just your dad and I." Kate waved her paw in little circles, urging him to get the point. Humphrey's eyes widened, he looked at Winston and back at Kate, "Oh, that's just nasty!" he exclaimed, "Kate, are you serious, your dad?"
Kate slapped her paw to her forehead, "No, Humphrey, it's not my dad. Who else is there?"
Humphrey looked slightly annoyed, "I already told you, just me and your dad. Oh, I get it now. You're in love with a lone wolf!"
Kate was so annoyed by Humphrey's thickness, she was ready to slap him, "No, Humphrey, I'm not in love with a lone wolf. There is only one wolf left on the list, what is that wolf's name?"
Humphrey took a step back as realization hit him, "What, me? Seriously, you're in love with me?" he began to back away from Kate like she was going to hit him.
"Humphrey, come back." Kate said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I love you, Humphrey."
Humphrey stopped dead in his tracks, his best friend had just told him that she was in love with him. He looked back and forth between Kate and her parents, confusion raging through his mind. 'Kate is in love with me? I know that we're best friends, but I never thought about her in that kind of a way. Come to think of it, I really like her, but...'
Kate pushed Humphrey's shoulder with her paw, "Are you okay?" she asked.
Humphrey jolted back to awareness, "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I think I'll go take a nap now." He stretched, acting if the conversation never happened. He turned to walk back to his den, but as soon as he got out of the Alpha den, he collapsed.
Chapter: 2
Humphrey slowly opened his eyes to see a wall of golden-brown fur in his face. He sniffed and realized that it was Kate, despite himself, he smiled. He stood up a little too fast, and was rewarded with a sharp pain inside of his skull. He groaned in pain, waking Kate.
She was on her paws in an instant, "You're okay!" she exclaimed as she nuzzled his fur.
Humphrey took a step away from her, "What happened to me? All I remember is listening in on your family conversation, you didn't seem to like the direction it was taking. Then I woke up here."
Kate rested her head on top of his, "Well, you kinda got caught eavesdropping. When you tried to run away, you hit your head on a rock." she lied. 'The truth might only make him faint again, I don't want that to happen.'
Humphrey's eyes brightened, "Wait, it's coming back to me now. You were arguing with your parents about getting married, I rushed in and yelled at them. And then you said..." he paused.
"I said that I love you." Kate finished, licking his cheek.
Humphrey pulled away from her, "Kate, I'm really confused. A few days ago, you just changed. You started spending every minute with me, before you spent it all with your dad. I know you had a bad dream, but I'm not dying. And the day I see your dad die will be the day I fight an army of Southern wolves." Humphrey gave a small chuckle, but was interrupted by Kate, who had begun to cry.
"That's the point!" she screamed at him, "You did fight an army of Southern wolves, right after dad died." She began to cry uncontrollably into his fur.
Humphrey did the only thing he thought would be right, he patted her back while saying, "It's alright..."
She finally stopped sobbing and whispered, "You were going to be a father." Kate felt Humphrey stiffen and then go slightly limp in her grasp, she pulled him upright and shook him back to reality.
"A father, how could I be a father?" he was in a panic.
"It is a really long story," Kate told him, "I think I'll start with the stampede..." Humphrey laid down as Kate told him the story what happened to them (all details can be found in Alpha and Omega: Death and Rebirth). Occasionally he would ask a question, but for the most part, he was silent. Eve and Winston were listening to Kate as well, having come running at the sound of their daughter's crying. "Garth brought you back to the cave, but he got there too late. You promised me that you would be okay, right before you died." she took a deep breath to keep herself from crying again, "Then I fell asleep, and woke up like this. I left you alone last time, Humphrey, I won't do it again."
Humphrey stared at her in silent shock, 'She did all that, for me? She really does love me, but I fought a pack of Southern wolves for her... I guess I loved her too. No, not loved, but love.' Humphrey nuzzled her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I love you, too Kate."
Kate nuzzled him back as her parents put a paw on each of her shoulders. "We never knew that you went through so much, Kate. We're sorry, you don't have to get married if you don't want to."
Kate looked at her parents, "Thanks, that means a lot to me. I bet that Lily would love to marry Garth, but they should meet a long time before they are set to marry. It would give them some time to get used to the idea of being with each other."
Winston removed his paw from her shoulder, "Your sister is not even a month old, and you are talking about her getting married?"
"I'm barely over a year and you were talking about marrying me off, too." Kate countered.
Eve narrowed her eyes, "We do not want a war with the Eastern Pack, no matter their reasons for starting one. If we didn't offer them a chance for peace, many wolves would die needlessly."
Kate headed for the exit, with Humphrey close behind. "I understand why you wanted peace, but a forced marriage is not the answer. You should give them the chance to fall in love on their own, that's what happened when I was set to marry Garth. Lily didn't even spend a week with Garth before they fell in love with each other, I say that we give them a few months and see where that leads."
Winston contemplated this for a while, "Very well, once Lily is weaned, I will speak to Tony about her spending time with Garth. But," he added, with a dark smile on his face, "it will be your responsibility to look after them while they are playing. Kate especially, because she is your sister, but bring Humphrey with you, just in case."
Humphrey stood up, "Hey, why do I have to look after them?"
"Because I told you to, that's why!" Winston yelled, "Besides, it only makes sense for the older couple to 'mentor' the younger. Don't you agree, Kate?"
Kate stifled a fit of laughter at Humphrey's position, "I guess so, dad. Come on, dear, let's go get something to eat."
"Hey, I'm not a dear anything. Oh right, food, coming!" he called after her. Humphrey dashed out of the den, but was tackled by Kate when he rounded the corner.
"Typical Humphrey, always thinking with your stomach. You almost got yourself killed doing that, so I'm going to break you of that habit. Over the next couple of months, until Lily is weaned, I am going to turn you into an Alpha in everything but rank. In fact, I'm going to ask my dad if we can go to Alpha School with Lily, Hutch, and Candu."
Humphrey started to panic, "No no no, there is no way you are getting me to go to Alpha School. I wouldn't even make it through the welcome workout, you know that. There is absoluteley nothing you can say or do that will make me go to Alpha School."...
Winston looked at his daughter and Humphrey, "You two want to go to Alpha School?' he asked, "Kate, I can understand, but Humphrey too?"
"Of course, dad! Humphrey has always wanted to go to Alpha School, haven't you dear?" Humphrey opened his mouth to speak, but shut it instantly when Kate placed a paw on his shoulder. He just nodded.
Winston hadn't missed the flinch when Kate touched his shoulder, "Very well, Humphrey, I will consider it. You may go now, Kate, can I speak with you?" Humphrey practically sprinted out of the den, Kate watched him go with longing in her eyes.
"Okay, what did you do to him?" Winston asked his daughter.
She gave him the most innocent look he had ever seen, "What do you mean?"
"Did you hurt Humphrey before he agreed to go to Alpha School with you?"
"No, well, nothing physical anyway. I made him think I was going to drop him over the waterfall, the expression on his face was absolutely adorable." As Kate sighed at the memory, Winston made a mental note to keep Kate away from Eve...
Chapter: 3
Kate prodded Humphrey's flank with a paw until he stood up.
He stretched and yawned, relieving his sore muscles, "So, Kate, let me guess. More training followed by lunch and then an upstream swim in the river?"
Kate shook her head, "Nope, we get the day off until lunch."
Humphrey looked confused, "Why?" he asked.
Kate shrugged, "I don't know, dad told me to tell you that we had the day off. What do you want to do first?" Kate asked, trying to hide a smile.
Humphrey thought about it for a second before shrugging his shoulders as well, "Why don't you pick something for us to do?"
"No, I picked last time, it's your turn." Kate argued.
Humphrey sat down in thought, 'Log-sledding has gotten boring, it's too cold to swim, I'm not good enough yet to go hunting, so what are we going to do?'
"I guess we could play tag with the others." he offered.
Kate jumped to her paws, "Okay, you go get Lily and Garth. I'll go and get the Omegas, we'll meet by the feeding grounds." Kate scampered off, leaving Humphrey to wonder why she was in such an unusually good mood.
Kate reached the den that was shared by Salty, Shakey, and Mooch, and called out to them. They padded out of the den and stared at her, "Okay boys, we all know what today is. There is something very special planned for later, but you can't let Humphrey find out. I don't think that he even knows what today is, so this works to our advantage. Try not to remind him, I don't want him thinking about it all day."
Humphrey's friends nodded at her, all knowing what she meant by that. Kate continued, "Now, come on, Humphrey wants to get all of us together for a game of tag." The three Omegas pumped their paws in the air and followed Kate to the feeding grounds..
Humphrey ran to the Alpha den to see if Garth and Lily wanted to play. Lily had weaned a few week earlier, so Garth was allowed to come play with her. They became fast friends, Garth taught Lily how to stalk prey, and Lily was still trying to teach Garth about having fun.
"Lily, Garth, are you there?" he called.
Two large wolf pups rushed out of the den and tackled Humphrey to the ground. "Hi, Uncle Humphrey!" Lily squeaked.
Garth spoke in a very triumphant voice, "Looks like we beat you again, Humphrey."
Humphrey grinned at him, "Oh, yeah?" Humphrey rolled over, trapping the two younger wolves underneath him.
Garth tried to bite Humphrey's tail, but he bit Lily's instead, making her scream. Humphrey immediately got off of the two smaller wolves. Lily turned on Garth and jumped on his back, Garth rolled over and they began to wrestle. Garth forced Lily onto her back, "Hah, pinned ya." he exclaimed.
Humphrey "accidentally" pushed Garth over with his tail so that Lily could pin him to the ground, "Aha," she cried, "now look who's pinned! Thanks, Uncle Humphrey."
Humphrey laughed, "Alright, you two. Who wants to come play tag with me, my friends, and Kate?"
Both of them jumped up and called out, "We do!"
"Humphrey," Eve's voice rang out from the den, "make sure they are back before lunch-time."
"Don't worry, I will." Humphrey called back. Humphrey turned back towards Garth and Lily to see that they were already heading for the feeding grounds. Humphrey sighed good-naturedly and ran after them, wondering why Eve wanted them back so early... Kate was waiting in a low spot in the feeding grounds when she heard the telltale yips of laughter that signaled the arrival of Lily and Garth. She saw them dash into the dip and race towards her, Humphrey jogging behind them. The two pups stopped in front of Kate as Humphrey stopped at the edge, looking around. "Kate, where are the guys?"
Kate shrugged, trying to hide a smirk, when the three Omegas jumped at Humphrey from behind, crying, "Wolfpile!" Humphrey's eyes grew wide as he saw his three friends fly at him, he stepped to the side and watched them fall into a heap in front of him. Kate quietly stomped her paw in frustration, but Humphrey saw her.
"Oh," he said as he approached her, "you told them to do this, did you?"
Kate took a couple of steps back, "And what if I did?" she retorted, smiling.
Humphrey grinned at her, "Then it is your turn, get her!" he yelled.
Lily and Garth jumped on Kate's back from behind, knocking her to the ground. Humphrey padded triumphantly towards his pinned girlfriend, "I guess my team is better than your team, Kate."
Kate gave him a look that said, 'I love you too much to be mad at you.' and she said, "How about we have a game of hide-and-seek, with teams. The last team to have somebody found wins, and the losers have to admit that the winners are the better team."
Humphrey turned to the pups, "Does that sound fun to you guys?"
They both nodded their heads and Garth turned toward Lily, "Follow me," he whispered, "I know the perfect hiding place." Kate looked them all over, "Okay, so it's me, Salty, Shakey, and Mooch versus Humphrey, Lily, and Garth."
Humphrey interrupted "Eve wants them back before lunch-time, so we can't stay out too long."
Kate nodded, "I know, there is something my dad wants to show us after lunch, so we'll have to do this game quick."
Humphrey raised a paw, "Wait, who's it?" he asked.
"You and," Kate paused, "me, I guess."
"Is there hunter-interference?" Humphrey asked.
Kate sighed, "No, Humphrey. You can't get in the other hunter's way."
Humphrey sighed in defeat, "Alright. Ready, set, HIDE!" he yelled.
Humphrey and Kate covered each other's eyes and counted to twenty-five. When they reached the count, they both ran off, yelling, "Ready or not, here we come!"...
Humphrey, Salty, Shakey, Mooch, and Kate were all searching for Lily and Garth. It was almost lunch-time, and they all knew that if those two weren't back in the Alpha den soon, Eve would kill them. They had jumped into a river, effectively erasing their scents, and that's how Kate and Humphrey had lost them.
Kate nudged his shoulder, "They're not going to be found unless they want to be, but they know that they needed to be back before lunch-time. Let's go back to the den."
Humphrey hung his head in defeat and followed Kate back to the den. When they got there, Humphrey called out to Eve, "We're back."when Eve padded out, he continued, "Lily and Garth got away from us, I'm sorry."
Eve just smiled at him and calmly walked back into the den. A new voice rang triumphantly throughout the den, "I was right! I told you they would never find us here." Garth strutted out of the den, with Lily to his right side.
Humphrey turned towards Kate with a smile on his face, "Whose team is better?" he asked in a mocking tone.
Kate looked as if she was about to hit him, but she kissed his cheek instead. "Boys, you know what to do. Get him back here in an hour, okay?" she commanded.
The three Omegas nodded and carried Humphrey to the creek, where they began to thoroughly wash him down. "Ah, what are you guys doing?" Humphrey asked.
Mooch shrugged, "Kate's orders. She told us that she wanted you to be squeaky clean for lunch today."
After they had made Humphrey look presentable, he turned towards them, "Wait, tonight's not the Moonlight Howl. Why does Kate want me to get all spiffy for lunch?"
His friends looked at him, "Sorry buddy," Salty said, "we can't tell you. It's a surprise." Then they ran off, leaving Humphrey with a confused expression...
Kate was pacing back and forth, "Come on, Humphrey. At this rate, we're going to be late." she muttered to herself.
"Late for what?" Humphrey asked from behind her.
Kate whipped around, "There you are!" she exclaimed, "Come on, we've got to hurry or we'll be late." she dashed off without waiting for a reply.
Humphrey tried to follow Kate's scent, but he couldn't catch up to her, he looked up to see her waiting for him at the base of Howling Rock. Humphrey stopped beside her to catch his breath, once he had recovered, they slowly began to ascend the small mountain. When they reached the peak, Humphrey was welcomed by the sight of the all of his friends, Kate's family, and Garth.
"Kate, what is this?" Humphrey asked.
"It's your birthday, remember?" Kate kissed him softly on the cheek, earning howls from Humphrey's friends.
Winston stood in front of Humphrey, "I have good news, better news, and then bad news. The good news is that you and Kate will be sharing a den while you are at Alpha School, just be careful, Eve will be watching. The better news is that Garth will be coming with us on a sort-of 'apprentice' trip, and you will be his mentor, Humphrey. The bad news, which isn't all that bad, is that we leave for Alpha School at sunrise tomorrow."
Humphrey stood straighter, "I'm ready for anything, sir. I think of Garth as my little brother, it would be an honor to teach him."
Winston nodded and walked off, Humphrey turned to Kate, "Did you plan all of this?" When Kate nodded, he continued, "Not surprising, did you ask your dad for us to have the same den at Alpha School, too?"
Kate nodded again and Garth ran up to Humphrey, "Yeah, I get to go to Alpha School with you guys! I asked my dad if I could come with you, and now I get to. Are you really going to be my teacher, Humphrey?"
"Not just me," Humphrey replied, "Kate will teach you, Winston will help teach you, and I'm sure that Hutch would love to help you."
Garth's eyes lit up, and he pressed himself against Humphrey's flank, acting like a shadow. Humphrey, Kate, and Garth celebrated all throughout the afternoon, turning in only after night had fallen. Kate walked Humphrey back to his den, "I'll be here before my dad comes to get us. Trust me, Alpha School may seem hard, but you will be forever grateful because you went. Goodnight Humphrey, I love you. I hope you had a happy birthday."
Humphrey laid down in his den, "I love you too, Kate." he called before falling asleep...
Two wolf pups were sleeping in a medium-sized cave, the golden furred one curled around the gray one in a protective manner. The gray wolf shifted in his sleep and the gold-furred wolf stood up beside him.
She shook the gray wolf's shoulder, "Humphrey, wake up."
Humphrey slowly opened his eyes, "Mm, good morning, Kate." He stood up and stretched his legs.
"Good morning, Humphrey. Did you have a good nap?" Kate asked him.
Humphrey nodded, "Yeah, it feels good to relax in the middle of the day. Why are you here, though, is something wrong?"
Kate shook her head, "No, I just wanted to see if you wanted to play. I had a bad dream, so I couldn't get back to sleep."
Humphrey sat down, "What was the dream about? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but it helps to get it off your chest."
Kate suddenly gave Humphrey a hug and started to cry softly, "It was awful. You and dad just died right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it."
Humphrey patted her back as she cried into his shoulder, "It's okay, I'm still here. I know your dad is old, but he's not going anywhere for a long time." he pulled her away from him, "Let's go see your baby sister, I heard that she opened her eyes finally. Who knows, she might turn out to be an Alpha."
Kate stopped crying and nodded, 'Maybe Lily will become an Alpha. Then the crisis may be averted, but it will take some interference for it to work right.' Kate thought to herself. "I hope so." she said to Humphrey...
Humphrey and Kate padded into the Alpha den, seeing a snow-white wolf pup suckling at Eve's belly. Eve moved one of her front paws towards them, but Kate immediately took up a defensive stance in front of Humphrey.
Humphrey tried to look around Kate, "Hey, I can't see." he protested.
Eve gave her daughter an odd look, which was answered with a silent threat. "Well, have you come to see the newest Alpha?" Winston asked, walking up between Kate and Humphrey.
Humphrey nodded, "Yeah... I mean, yes sir. I heard that she finally opened her eyes this morning."
Winston laughed, "No need to be so formal, Humphrey. I certainly hope that she displays the traits of an Alpha, we need more of those in the pack."
Kate smiled at Humphrey, "Humphrey, let's go. I thought of an awesome game we could play." Humphrey's face brightened at the thought of games, and he followed Kate out of the den.
Eve lowered her voice as she spoke to Winston, "I think that Kate would make a fine Alpha. I was raising my paw to tell them to be quiet when they entered; but Kate stepped between Humphrey and I, she even barred her teeth at me."
Winston's eyes grew wide, "She must have taken that dream more seriously than I thought. She dreamed that Humphrey was bleeding out in front of her; apparently, I had already died in this particular dream. I think that she loves him, even if neither of them realize it yet. She couldn't protect him in her dream, so she feels as if she has to in the waking world." Winston sighed, "What about that deal I made with Tony? If Lily doesn't have what it takes to be an Alpha, Kate will have to marry his son."
Eve gave him one of her trademark creepy smiles, "Don't let Kate hear you say that, she'll rip the fur off your body and use it to line her nest."
Winston gave a nervous chuckle, "I know, she would not be happy with me if I told her she might have to get married to somebody she doesn't even know. If Humphrey ever has feelings for her, I would hate to be the one to decide whether or not she had to marry Garth or not. If I made the wrong decision, I would have the eternal hatred of at least two wolves."...
Kate led Humphrey to the highest point in the territory, except for Howling Rock, and instructed him to get a large piece of bark. She positioned the bark so that it would fall off of the rock they were standing on and got in, "Come on, Humphrey. This is going to be fun, get in."
Humphrey warily sat down in the log, and Kate pushed them off the rock and down the hill. Humphrey screamed in terror the whole way down, Kate, however, was laughing the entire way. Kate turned the log left and right to avoid trees and rocks in their path, but when she saw a huge rock in their path, she grabbed Humphrey and pulled him into a tight hug.
The log hit the rock and shattered, sending Kate and Humphrey flying through the air. They landed with Kate underneath Humphrey. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his nose was touching Kate's. He quickly got off of her in embarrassment, "Wow, Kate, that was fun."
Kate stood up beside him, "Did you think I was lying to you?" she asked.
"No, but I would have sworn you were crazy, we could have died up there."
Kate silenced Humphrey by putting her tail over his mouth, "I wouldn't have let you get hurt," she said, "I won't ever let anything hurt you, Humphrey. That's a promise." Kate nuzzled Humphrey's shoulder as she spoke.
Humphrey blushed, but he didn't know why. 'What is this weird feeling?' he thought to himself.
Kate nudged him out of his thoughts, "Come on, it's time to go back."...
When Kate and Humphrey got back to the Alpha den, Eve and Winston were speaking in low voices. "Mom, dad, I'm back." Kate called.
Immediately the talking ceased, Winston turned to Humphrey, "Thank you for escorting her home, but we need to have a family meeting."
"Oh, okay. Bye, Kate, see you in the morning." Humphrey called as he went back to his den.
After Humphrey had left, Kate turned to her parents, "So, what's going on?"
Winston took a deep breath, "The Eastern Pack is running out of food. Tony, their pack-leader wants us to unite the East and the West, but to do that, we need a marriage between one of my daughters and his son."
Kate responded quickly and adamantly, "I won't do it. There is only one wolf I will ever think about marrying, and it is not that Easterner, Garth. Lily will have to go to Alpha school, because I will not leave Humphrey alone again."
Eve looked at Kate oddly, "What do you mean again? How did you know about Garth, we never said his name around you."
Kate knew that she was caught, "It is a very long story. To give you the shortened version, I have already lived the life of an Alpha. I sacrificed my life to protect dad and Tony from a stampede of caribou. I was resurrected by the Alpha's warrior spirit so that I could live with my mate again, but in the end, I had to watch him bleed to death while I was giving birth to his pups. I will never go back to the life of an Alpha, I sacrificed too much just to sacrifice again."
Kate sat down, finished with her story when they heard a voice say "What?"
Humphrey ran back into the den and skidded to a halt beside Kate. "I can't believe you!" he yelled at Winston and Eve, "You would force your daughter to marry someone when she just told you she is in love with somebody else? That's the lowest thing I've ever heard of."
Eve stared straight into Humphrey's eyes, "Were you eavesdropping on our family conversation?" she asked in a voice that promised pain.
Humphrey just glared at her, "Yeah, I was. A good thing I was, too. I can't believe that after the story she just told you," Humphrey looked at Kate, "which was very beautiful, you'll have to give me the details later." He turned back towards her parents, "You would still force her down a path she doesn't want to take!"
Kate rested a paw on his shoulder, "Calm down, Humphrey. I would never marry Garth, as I said, there is only one wolf for me."
Humphrey seemed to relax a little, "Oh yeah, that reminds me, who is that wolf you love? I'd really like to meet him."
Kate's jaw dropped at this statement, Winston slapped a paw to his forehead, and Eve began to giggle girlishly. "Humphrey, honey, you already know who it is." Eve told him, "You've known him since the day you were born."
Humphrey thought about it for a second, "Oh, you mean Hutch! No, that can't be right. He's an Alpha, and Kate's an Omega, that's against the rules." He began to scratch his head, "Don't tell me, I know this one."
Kate stood there for almost five minutes as Humphrey named off every male in the pack, disregarding them for different reasons. "Okay, Humphrey, are there any more wolves in the pack?" she asked.
"Not that I can think of, just your dad and I." Kate waved her paw in little circles, urging him to get the point. Humphrey's eyes widened, he looked at Winston and back at Kate, "Oh, that's just nasty!" he exclaimed, "Kate, are you serious, your dad?"
Kate slapped her paw to her forehead, "No, Humphrey, it's not my dad. Who else is there?"
Humphrey looked slightly annoyed, "I already told you, just me and your dad. Oh, I get it now. You're in love with a lone wolf!"
Kate was so annoyed by Humphrey's thickness, she was ready to slap him, "No, Humphrey, I'm not in love with a lone wolf. There is only one wolf left on the list, what is that wolf's name?"
Humphrey took a step back as realization hit him, "What, me? Seriously, you're in love with me?" he began to back away from Kate like she was going to hit him.
"Humphrey, come back." Kate said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I love you, Humphrey."
Humphrey stopped dead in his tracks, his best friend had just told him that she was in love with him. He looked back and forth between Kate and her parents, confusion raging through his mind. 'Kate is in love with me? I know that we're best friends, but I never thought about her in that kind of a way. Come to think of it, I really like her, but...'
Kate pushed Humphrey's shoulder with her paw, "Are you okay?" she asked.
Humphrey jolted back to awareness, "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I think I'll go take a nap now." He stretched, acting if the conversation never happened. He turned to walk back to his den, but as soon as he got out of the Alpha den, he collapsed.
Chapter: 2
Humphrey slowly opened his eyes to see a wall of golden-brown fur in his face. He sniffed and realized that it was Kate, despite himself, he smiled. He stood up a little too fast, and was rewarded with a sharp pain inside of his skull. He groaned in pain, waking Kate.
She was on her paws in an instant, "You're okay!" she exclaimed as she nuzzled his fur.
Humphrey took a step away from her, "What happened to me? All I remember is listening in on your family conversation, you didn't seem to like the direction it was taking. Then I woke up here."
Kate rested her head on top of his, "Well, you kinda got caught eavesdropping. When you tried to run away, you hit your head on a rock." she lied. 'The truth might only make him faint again, I don't want that to happen.'
Humphrey's eyes brightened, "Wait, it's coming back to me now. You were arguing with your parents about getting married, I rushed in and yelled at them. And then you said..." he paused.
"I said that I love you." Kate finished, licking his cheek.
Humphrey pulled away from her, "Kate, I'm really confused. A few days ago, you just changed. You started spending every minute with me, before you spent it all with your dad. I know you had a bad dream, but I'm not dying. And the day I see your dad die will be the day I fight an army of Southern wolves." Humphrey gave a small chuckle, but was interrupted by Kate, who had begun to cry.
"That's the point!" she screamed at him, "You did fight an army of Southern wolves, right after dad died." She began to cry uncontrollably into his fur.
Humphrey did the only thing he thought would be right, he patted her back while saying, "It's alright..."
She finally stopped sobbing and whispered, "You were going to be a father." Kate felt Humphrey stiffen and then go slightly limp in her grasp, she pulled him upright and shook him back to reality.
"A father, how could I be a father?" he was in a panic.
"It is a really long story," Kate told him, "I think I'll start with the stampede..." Humphrey laid down as Kate told him the story what happened to them (all details can be found in Alpha and Omega: Death and Rebirth). Occasionally he would ask a question, but for the most part, he was silent. Eve and Winston were listening to Kate as well, having come running at the sound of their daughter's crying. "Garth brought you back to the cave, but he got there too late. You promised me that you would be okay, right before you died." she took a deep breath to keep herself from crying again, "Then I fell asleep, and woke up like this. I left you alone last time, Humphrey, I won't do it again."
Humphrey stared at her in silent shock, 'She did all that, for me? She really does love me, but I fought a pack of Southern wolves for her... I guess I loved her too. No, not loved, but love.' Humphrey nuzzled her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I love you, too Kate."
Kate nuzzled him back as her parents put a paw on each of her shoulders. "We never knew that you went through so much, Kate. We're sorry, you don't have to get married if you don't want to."
Kate looked at her parents, "Thanks, that means a lot to me. I bet that Lily would love to marry Garth, but they should meet a long time before they are set to marry. It would give them some time to get used to the idea of being with each other."
Winston removed his paw from her shoulder, "Your sister is not even a month old, and you are talking about her getting married?"
"I'm barely over a year and you were talking about marrying me off, too." Kate countered.
Eve narrowed her eyes, "We do not want a war with the Eastern Pack, no matter their reasons for starting one. If we didn't offer them a chance for peace, many wolves would die needlessly."
Kate headed for the exit, with Humphrey close behind. "I understand why you wanted peace, but a forced marriage is not the answer. You should give them the chance to fall in love on their own, that's what happened when I was set to marry Garth. Lily didn't even spend a week with Garth before they fell in love with each other, I say that we give them a few months and see where that leads."
Winston contemplated this for a while, "Very well, once Lily is weaned, I will speak to Tony about her spending time with Garth. But," he added, with a dark smile on his face, "it will be your responsibility to look after them while they are playing. Kate especially, because she is your sister, but bring Humphrey with you, just in case."
Humphrey stood up, "Hey, why do I have to look after them?"
"Because I told you to, that's why!" Winston yelled, "Besides, it only makes sense for the older couple to 'mentor' the younger. Don't you agree, Kate?"
Kate stifled a fit of laughter at Humphrey's position, "I guess so, dad. Come on, dear, let's go get something to eat."
"Hey, I'm not a dear anything. Oh right, food, coming!" he called after her. Humphrey dashed out of the den, but was tackled by Kate when he rounded the corner.
"Typical Humphrey, always thinking with your stomach. You almost got yourself killed doing that, so I'm going to break you of that habit. Over the next couple of months, until Lily is weaned, I am going to turn you into an Alpha in everything but rank. In fact, I'm going to ask my dad if we can go to Alpha School with Lily, Hutch, and Candu."
Humphrey started to panic, "No no no, there is no way you are getting me to go to Alpha School. I wouldn't even make it through the welcome workout, you know that. There is absoluteley nothing you can say or do that will make me go to Alpha School."...
Winston looked at his daughter and Humphrey, "You two want to go to Alpha School?' he asked, "Kate, I can understand, but Humphrey too?"
"Of course, dad! Humphrey has always wanted to go to Alpha School, haven't you dear?" Humphrey opened his mouth to speak, but shut it instantly when Kate placed a paw on his shoulder. He just nodded.
Winston hadn't missed the flinch when Kate touched his shoulder, "Very well, Humphrey, I will consider it. You may go now, Kate, can I speak with you?" Humphrey practically sprinted out of the den, Kate watched him go with longing in her eyes.
"Okay, what did you do to him?" Winston asked his daughter.
She gave him the most innocent look he had ever seen, "What do you mean?"
"Did you hurt Humphrey before he agreed to go to Alpha School with you?"
"No, well, nothing physical anyway. I made him think I was going to drop him over the waterfall, the expression on his face was absolutely adorable." As Kate sighed at the memory, Winston made a mental note to keep Kate away from Eve...
Chapter: 3
Kate prodded Humphrey's flank with a paw until he stood up.
He stretched and yawned, relieving his sore muscles, "So, Kate, let me guess. More training followed by lunch and then an upstream swim in the river?"
Kate shook her head, "Nope, we get the day off until lunch."
Humphrey looked confused, "Why?" he asked.
Kate shrugged, "I don't know, dad told me to tell you that we had the day off. What do you want to do first?" Kate asked, trying to hide a smile.
Humphrey thought about it for a second before shrugging his shoulders as well, "Why don't you pick something for us to do?"
"No, I picked last time, it's your turn." Kate argued.
Humphrey sat down in thought, 'Log-sledding has gotten boring, it's too cold to swim, I'm not good enough yet to go hunting, so what are we going to do?'
"I guess we could play tag with the others." he offered.
Kate jumped to her paws, "Okay, you go get Lily and Garth. I'll go and get the Omegas, we'll meet by the feeding grounds." Kate scampered off, leaving Humphrey to wonder why she was in such an unusually good mood.
Kate reached the den that was shared by Salty, Shakey, and Mooch, and called out to them. They padded out of the den and stared at her, "Okay boys, we all know what today is. There is something very special planned for later, but you can't let Humphrey find out. I don't think that he even knows what today is, so this works to our advantage. Try not to remind him, I don't want him thinking about it all day."
Humphrey's friends nodded at her, all knowing what she meant by that. Kate continued, "Now, come on, Humphrey wants to get all of us together for a game of tag." The three Omegas pumped their paws in the air and followed Kate to the feeding grounds..
Humphrey ran to the Alpha den to see if Garth and Lily wanted to play. Lily had weaned a few week earlier, so Garth was allowed to come play with her. They became fast friends, Garth taught Lily how to stalk prey, and Lily was still trying to teach Garth about having fun.
"Lily, Garth, are you there?" he called.
Two large wolf pups rushed out of the den and tackled Humphrey to the ground. "Hi, Uncle Humphrey!" Lily squeaked.
Garth spoke in a very triumphant voice, "Looks like we beat you again, Humphrey."
Humphrey grinned at him, "Oh, yeah?" Humphrey rolled over, trapping the two younger wolves underneath him.
Garth tried to bite Humphrey's tail, but he bit Lily's instead, making her scream. Humphrey immediately got off of the two smaller wolves. Lily turned on Garth and jumped on his back, Garth rolled over and they began to wrestle. Garth forced Lily onto her back, "Hah, pinned ya." he exclaimed.
Humphrey "accidentally" pushed Garth over with his tail so that Lily could pin him to the ground, "Aha," she cried, "now look who's pinned! Thanks, Uncle Humphrey."
Humphrey laughed, "Alright, you two. Who wants to come play tag with me, my friends, and Kate?"
Both of them jumped up and called out, "We do!"
"Humphrey," Eve's voice rang out from the den, "make sure they are back before lunch-time."
"Don't worry, I will." Humphrey called back. Humphrey turned back towards Garth and Lily to see that they were already heading for the feeding grounds. Humphrey sighed good-naturedly and ran after them, wondering why Eve wanted them back so early... Kate was waiting in a low spot in the feeding grounds when she heard the telltale yips of laughter that signaled the arrival of Lily and Garth. She saw them dash into the dip and race towards her, Humphrey jogging behind them. The two pups stopped in front of Kate as Humphrey stopped at the edge, looking around. "Kate, where are the guys?"
Kate shrugged, trying to hide a smirk, when the three Omegas jumped at Humphrey from behind, crying, "Wolfpile!" Humphrey's eyes grew wide as he saw his three friends fly at him, he stepped to the side and watched them fall into a heap in front of him. Kate quietly stomped her paw in frustration, but Humphrey saw her.
"Oh," he said as he approached her, "you told them to do this, did you?"
Kate took a couple of steps back, "And what if I did?" she retorted, smiling.
Humphrey grinned at her, "Then it is your turn, get her!" he yelled.
Lily and Garth jumped on Kate's back from behind, knocking her to the ground. Humphrey padded triumphantly towards his pinned girlfriend, "I guess my team is better than your team, Kate."
Kate gave him a look that said, 'I love you too much to be mad at you.' and she said, "How about we have a game of hide-and-seek, with teams. The last team to have somebody found wins, and the losers have to admit that the winners are the better team."
Humphrey turned to the pups, "Does that sound fun to you guys?"
They both nodded their heads and Garth turned toward Lily, "Follow me," he whispered, "I know the perfect hiding place." Kate looked them all over, "Okay, so it's me, Salty, Shakey, and Mooch versus Humphrey, Lily, and Garth."
Humphrey interrupted "Eve wants them back before lunch-time, so we can't stay out too long."
Kate nodded, "I know, there is something my dad wants to show us after lunch, so we'll have to do this game quick."
Humphrey raised a paw, "Wait, who's it?" he asked.
"You and," Kate paused, "me, I guess."
"Is there hunter-interference?" Humphrey asked.
Kate sighed, "No, Humphrey. You can't get in the other hunter's way."
Humphrey sighed in defeat, "Alright. Ready, set, HIDE!" he yelled.
Humphrey and Kate covered each other's eyes and counted to twenty-five. When they reached the count, they both ran off, yelling, "Ready or not, here we come!"...
Humphrey, Salty, Shakey, Mooch, and Kate were all searching for Lily and Garth. It was almost lunch-time, and they all knew that if those two weren't back in the Alpha den soon, Eve would kill them. They had jumped into a river, effectively erasing their scents, and that's how Kate and Humphrey had lost them.
Kate nudged his shoulder, "They're not going to be found unless they want to be, but they know that they needed to be back before lunch-time. Let's go back to the den."
Humphrey hung his head in defeat and followed Kate back to the den. When they got there, Humphrey called out to Eve, "We're back."when Eve padded out, he continued, "Lily and Garth got away from us, I'm sorry."
Eve just smiled at him and calmly walked back into the den. A new voice rang triumphantly throughout the den, "I was right! I told you they would never find us here." Garth strutted out of the den, with Lily to his right side.
Humphrey turned towards Kate with a smile on his face, "Whose team is better?" he asked in a mocking tone.
Kate looked as if she was about to hit him, but she kissed his cheek instead. "Boys, you know what to do. Get him back here in an hour, okay?" she commanded.
The three Omegas nodded and carried Humphrey to the creek, where they began to thoroughly wash him down. "Ah, what are you guys doing?" Humphrey asked.
Mooch shrugged, "Kate's orders. She told us that she wanted you to be squeaky clean for lunch today."
After they had made Humphrey look presentable, he turned towards them, "Wait, tonight's not the Moonlight Howl. Why does Kate want me to get all spiffy for lunch?"
His friends looked at him, "Sorry buddy," Salty said, "we can't tell you. It's a surprise." Then they ran off, leaving Humphrey with a confused expression...
Kate was pacing back and forth, "Come on, Humphrey. At this rate, we're going to be late." she muttered to herself.
"Late for what?" Humphrey asked from behind her.
Kate whipped around, "There you are!" she exclaimed, "Come on, we've got to hurry or we'll be late." she dashed off without waiting for a reply.
Humphrey tried to follow Kate's scent, but he couldn't catch up to her, he looked up to see her waiting for him at the base of Howling Rock. Humphrey stopped beside her to catch his breath, once he had recovered, they slowly began to ascend the small mountain. When they reached the peak, Humphrey was welcomed by the sight of the all of his friends, Kate's family, and Garth.
"Kate, what is this?" Humphrey asked.
"It's your birthday, remember?" Kate kissed him softly on the cheek, earning howls from Humphrey's friends.
Winston stood in front of Humphrey, "I have good news, better news, and then bad news. The good news is that you and Kate will be sharing a den while you are at Alpha School, just be careful, Eve will be watching. The better news is that Garth will be coming with us on a sort-of 'apprentice' trip, and you will be his mentor, Humphrey. The bad news, which isn't all that bad, is that we leave for Alpha School at sunrise tomorrow."
Humphrey stood straighter, "I'm ready for anything, sir. I think of Garth as my little brother, it would be an honor to teach him."
Winston nodded and walked off, Humphrey turned to Kate, "Did you plan all of this?" When Kate nodded, he continued, "Not surprising, did you ask your dad for us to have the same den at Alpha School, too?"
Kate nodded again and Garth ran up to Humphrey, "Yeah, I get to go to Alpha School with you guys! I asked my dad if I could come with you, and now I get to. Are you really going to be my teacher, Humphrey?"
"Not just me," Humphrey replied, "Kate will teach you, Winston will help teach you, and I'm sure that Hutch would love to help you."
Garth's eyes lit up, and he pressed himself against Humphrey's flank, acting like a shadow. Humphrey, Kate, and Garth celebrated all throughout the afternoon, turning in only after night had fallen. Kate walked Humphrey back to his den, "I'll be here before my dad comes to get us. Trust me, Alpha School may seem hard, but you will be forever grateful because you went. Goodnight Humphrey, I love you. I hope you had a happy birthday."
Humphrey laid down in his den, "I love you too, Kate." he called before falling asleep...
Sunday 13 March 2011
Alpha And Omega: Death And Rebirth
Chapter 1: Death And Decisions
"No, no, no, NOO! You can't die! I love you," wailed Humphrey as he wept over Kate's body.
Winston padded up to him, "Humphrey, she's dead, there's nothing we can do."
Humphrey looked at his pack leader, only to see his own sadness reflected in Winston's eyes.
"No, she can't be dead, she can't be dead, no," he cried. Humphrey then looked over at Tony, "This is your fault! If you weren't so greedy, Kate would still be alive! You old fool, Kate gave her life to save yours, and you don't even have the respect to mourn her."
Tony flinched away from the cold fire in Humphrey's gaze. "Tony, I think you should take your pack home before mine does something drastic," Winston whispered to his old friend.
Tony nodded, "Eastern pack, we're going home!" Howls of protest rose from the eastern wolves throats, but a powerful look from Tony sent them on their way.
"Humphrey, it's no use. Come on buddy, let's go home," Salty nudged Humphrey's shoulder as he spoke.
"No, there's nothing for me there. I'm never going back there again. I'm going to leave Jasper, and hopefully my pain far behind." Humphrey growled as he stood up. "But first, I am going to bury her, it is the least I can do for her."
Late that night, after finishing Kate's grave, Humphrey left Jasper Park, vowing to never return to the place that had taken away the one he had loved….
The old wolf woke from a horrible dream to see that it had invaded the real world; HE was standing in the cave next to him. "So," asked the old wolf, "have you come to kill me?"
"For her," was the only thing the old wolf heard before he felt razor-sharp teeth tear into his throat.
The old wolf made no noise as he bled out on the floor of his den; but as his killer walked out of the cave, he managed to choke out, "I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused." The next morning wailing could be heard on the eastern side of the river, Tony was dead.
Chapter 2: Questions To Be Answered
"No, no, no, NOO! You can't die! I love you," wailed Humphrey as he wept over Kate's body.
Winston padded up to him, "Humphrey, she's dead, there's nothing we can do."
Humphrey looked at his pack leader, only to see his own sadness reflected in Winston's eyes.
"No, she can't be dead, she can't be dead, no," he cried. Humphrey then looked over at Tony, "This is your fault! If you weren't so greedy, Kate would still be alive! You old fool, Kate gave her life to save yours, and you don't even have the respect to mourn her."
Tony flinched away from the cold fire in Humphrey's gaze. "Tony, I think you should take your pack home before mine does something drastic," Winston whispered to his old friend.
Tony nodded, "Eastern pack, we're going home!" Howls of protest rose from the eastern wolves throats, but a powerful look from Tony sent them on their way.
"Humphrey, it's no use. Come on buddy, let's go home," Salty nudged Humphrey's shoulder as he spoke.
"No, there's nothing for me there. I'm never going back there again. I'm going to leave Jasper, and hopefully my pain far behind." Humphrey growled as he stood up. "But first, I am going to bury her, it is the least I can do for her."
Late that night, after finishing Kate's grave, Humphrey left Jasper Park, vowing to never return to the place that had taken away the one he had loved….
The old wolf woke from a horrible dream to see that it had invaded the real world; HE was standing in the cave next to him. "So," asked the old wolf, "have you come to kill me?"
"For her," was the only thing the old wolf heard before he felt razor-sharp teeth tear into his throat.
The old wolf made no noise as he bled out on the floor of his den; but as his killer walked out of the cave, he managed to choke out, "I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused." The next morning wailing could be heard on the eastern side of the river, Tony was dead.
Chapter 2: Questions To Be Answered
Winston awoke to the familiar leader's summoning howl. He immediately realized that it didn't belong to Tony. Nevertheless, Winston answered the call and proceeded to the river where he usually met with his old friend.
When Winston arrived at the river, he was greeted by the sight of the entire eastern pack. "What is the meaning of this? Where is Tony?" demanded Winston.
"Tony was found dead this morning, he was killed in his den," explained one of the senior alpha wolves.
Even after Tony's exploits had caused the death of his daughter three years ago, Winston still felt a pang of sadness at the news of his old friend's demise. "Well, where is Garth, isn't he the pack leader now?"
"Garth left less than a month after 'the Incident', we never found any trace of him" explained the same senior alpha.
"Well," sighed Winston, "now I know why Lily left around the same time, I just pray that they are safe."…
"Come on, Lily, we're almost there," Garth called to his mate.
They had left Jasper Park almost three years ago; Lily, to escape the memories of her sister and Garth, to leave his father's sins far behind. Now, the two were climbing a mountain on their trek south, exploring as much land as they could. "Garth, slow down, I can't run that fast!" Lily cried as she again tripped over a snow-hidden log.
"Shh, I think I hear fighting up ahead, keep your head down, I'll go check it out." Garth hissed as he pushed Lily into the snow.
Garth quickly ascended the rest of the mountain only to see three bears fighting a gray wolf.
Just as Garth was about to step in and help the gray fighter, the gray wolf dashed past two of the bears, tearing open their throats with his claws. The last bear tried to flee, but the gray wolf jumped onto his back and bit down deep into the bear's spine. The bear gave one last roar before it fell on its side and lay still.
Then Garth saw the face of the wolf, "We all thought you were dead, how are you alive?" Garth asked, jumping from the shadows.
"Let them continue thinking that, I no longer concern myself with them," growled the gray wolf.
"Will you let HIM think you are dead too?"
The gray wolf did not answer, just padded away into the night.
Chapter 3: Rebirth
When Winston arrived at the river, he was greeted by the sight of the entire eastern pack. "What is the meaning of this? Where is Tony?" demanded Winston.
"Tony was found dead this morning, he was killed in his den," explained one of the senior alpha wolves.
Even after Tony's exploits had caused the death of his daughter three years ago, Winston still felt a pang of sadness at the news of his old friend's demise. "Well, where is Garth, isn't he the pack leader now?"
"Garth left less than a month after 'the Incident', we never found any trace of him" explained the same senior alpha.
"Well," sighed Winston, "now I know why Lily left around the same time, I just pray that they are safe."…
"Come on, Lily, we're almost there," Garth called to his mate.
They had left Jasper Park almost three years ago; Lily, to escape the memories of her sister and Garth, to leave his father's sins far behind. Now, the two were climbing a mountain on their trek south, exploring as much land as they could. "Garth, slow down, I can't run that fast!" Lily cried as she again tripped over a snow-hidden log.
"Shh, I think I hear fighting up ahead, keep your head down, I'll go check it out." Garth hissed as he pushed Lily into the snow.
Garth quickly ascended the rest of the mountain only to see three bears fighting a gray wolf.
Just as Garth was about to step in and help the gray fighter, the gray wolf dashed past two of the bears, tearing open their throats with his claws. The last bear tried to flee, but the gray wolf jumped onto his back and bit down deep into the bear's spine. The bear gave one last roar before it fell on its side and lay still.
Then Garth saw the face of the wolf, "We all thought you were dead, how are you alive?" Garth asked, jumping from the shadows.
"Let them continue thinking that, I no longer concern myself with them," growled the gray wolf.
"Will you let HIM think you are dead too?"
The gray wolf did not answer, just padded away into the night.
Chapter 3: Rebirth
"Who was it, Garth?" Lily asked as she bounded up to sit beside him.
"I'm not sure, but it looked like…like…HER."
… After the stampede, Kate awoke to an all-consuming blackness. "Humphrey, where are you?" she cried.
Her last memory was of Humphrey covering her body with his own to protect her before she felt a sharp pain at the base of her skull and woke up here. "I hope he's okay, he must have loved me just like I loved him," thought Kate.
"He did love you, more that you or anybody else will ever know. In fact, Humphrey is waiting for you to come back to him." A bright light appeared from the direction the voice was emanating from.
"Who are you, how do you know about Humphrey, is he okay?" Kate asked in a rapid series of questions.
A powerful gray she-wolf walked out of the light and approached Kate, "I am the warrior spirit of all the alpha wolves of the world. I know everything about every alpha all across the earth; and don't worry, Humphrey is grief-stricken, but he will survive." the old she-wolf explained.
"Why am I here? Where are the packs? What happened to me?" Kate was on the verge of tears at this point.
"My dear, I am so very sorry, but you were killed in the caribou stampede. Humphrey tried to shield you, but he was too late, you were dead the moment you were struck in the head." The old wolf sat down as she spoke.
"Well, I can't stay here forever; I have to help my pack. I need to be with Humphrey, he'll never forgive the eastern pack… what if he tries to attack them on his own?" Kate was howling with frustration and sadness.
By the time she had finished, the old wolf had come closer to her. "Young one, you have a truly noble heart. I may be able to help you after all. Although you will look different, I can give you new life. In two and a half years as seen by the living, the ritual will be complete and you will have my earthly form. After I give you my earthly form, I will not be able to help you locate your lost love, but I wish you the best of luck on your journey."
As the she-wolf padded off, a bright light enveloped Kate and she once again fell into a long sleep…
Almost three years after she died, Kate was reborn.
"Humphrey, I'm coming."
Chapter 4: Of Hunting And Discovery
"I'm not sure, but it looked like…like…HER."
… After the stampede, Kate awoke to an all-consuming blackness. "Humphrey, where are you?" she cried.
Her last memory was of Humphrey covering her body with his own to protect her before she felt a sharp pain at the base of her skull and woke up here. "I hope he's okay, he must have loved me just like I loved him," thought Kate.
"He did love you, more that you or anybody else will ever know. In fact, Humphrey is waiting for you to come back to him." A bright light appeared from the direction the voice was emanating from.
"Who are you, how do you know about Humphrey, is he okay?" Kate asked in a rapid series of questions.
A powerful gray she-wolf walked out of the light and approached Kate, "I am the warrior spirit of all the alpha wolves of the world. I know everything about every alpha all across the earth; and don't worry, Humphrey is grief-stricken, but he will survive." the old she-wolf explained.
"Why am I here? Where are the packs? What happened to me?" Kate was on the verge of tears at this point.
"My dear, I am so very sorry, but you were killed in the caribou stampede. Humphrey tried to shield you, but he was too late, you were dead the moment you were struck in the head." The old wolf sat down as she spoke.
"Well, I can't stay here forever; I have to help my pack. I need to be with Humphrey, he'll never forgive the eastern pack… what if he tries to attack them on his own?" Kate was howling with frustration and sadness.
By the time she had finished, the old wolf had come closer to her. "Young one, you have a truly noble heart. I may be able to help you after all. Although you will look different, I can give you new life. In two and a half years as seen by the living, the ritual will be complete and you will have my earthly form. After I give you my earthly form, I will not be able to help you locate your lost love, but I wish you the best of luck on your journey."
As the she-wolf padded off, a bright light enveloped Kate and she once again fell into a long sleep…
Almost three years after she died, Kate was reborn.
"Humphrey, I'm coming."
Chapter 4: Of Hunting And Discovery
Winston returned to his den with a heavy heart, first his daughters had left, and now his oldest friend had been killed in his sleep. Winston decided that he would do something he had not done since the Incident, he would visit his daughter's grave.
He told himself that he was going to seek guidance instead of dwell on the past; but when he saw what had become of the mound of dirt and stone, his pain and sadness was replaced by rage. "Who dares defile my daughter's grave?" he growled.
"The grave was not defiled, Winston, Kate has been given a precious gift by the warrior spirit. She came to me in a dream and told me herself." Eve said, trying to soothe her mate's temper.
"Who came, Kate or the spirit? If Kate is not in the grave, then where is she?" demanded Winston, his hopes flaring for the first time in years.
"I'm not sure," Eve sounded thoroughly confused, "it looked like the spirit, but it spoke with Kate's voice."
"Find our two finest trackers, and bring them to me. I have a special mission for them."…
"Trepex, your job is to find Humphrey. Whatever the cost, I want him home immediately. Lumira, go to Kate's grave. Find a scent that does not belong to myself or Eve and find whoever it belongs to. You will then bring whoever it is here." Winston barked out the orders quickly.
The two wolves in front of him nodded their heads and raced off…
Humphrey left his small den and began to hunt in his small, secluded area of the forest in which he lived. As he was sneaking up behind a large rabbit, a familiar scent hit his nostrils.
He immediately recognized the scent and raised his head above the grass, scaring away his prey. Humphrey disregarded the rabbit and turned towards the direction of the scent. He raced towards it; as he ran, he couldn't believe what he was doing. 'She is dead, what am I doing?' he thought as the scent got stronger.
He slowed to a fast walk until he reached a small, shady clearing. Standing in the middle of the clearing was a shape he would recognize anywhere. The body was in shadows, but the scent made it unmistakable.
He crept into the clearing without making a sound.
He then called out in a soft voice, "Kate?"
Chapter 5: Lovers Reunited
He told himself that he was going to seek guidance instead of dwell on the past; but when he saw what had become of the mound of dirt and stone, his pain and sadness was replaced by rage. "Who dares defile my daughter's grave?" he growled.
"The grave was not defiled, Winston, Kate has been given a precious gift by the warrior spirit. She came to me in a dream and told me herself." Eve said, trying to soothe her mate's temper.
"Who came, Kate or the spirit? If Kate is not in the grave, then where is she?" demanded Winston, his hopes flaring for the first time in years.
"I'm not sure," Eve sounded thoroughly confused, "it looked like the spirit, but it spoke with Kate's voice."
"Find our two finest trackers, and bring them to me. I have a special mission for them."…
"Trepex, your job is to find Humphrey. Whatever the cost, I want him home immediately. Lumira, go to Kate's grave. Find a scent that does not belong to myself or Eve and find whoever it belongs to. You will then bring whoever it is here." Winston barked out the orders quickly.
The two wolves in front of him nodded their heads and raced off…
Humphrey left his small den and began to hunt in his small, secluded area of the forest in which he lived. As he was sneaking up behind a large rabbit, a familiar scent hit his nostrils.
He immediately recognized the scent and raised his head above the grass, scaring away his prey. Humphrey disregarded the rabbit and turned towards the direction of the scent. He raced towards it; as he ran, he couldn't believe what he was doing. 'She is dead, what am I doing?' he thought as the scent got stronger.
He slowed to a fast walk until he reached a small, shady clearing. Standing in the middle of the clearing was a shape he would recognize anywhere. The body was in shadows, but the scent made it unmistakable.
He crept into the clearing without making a sound.
He then called out in a soft voice, "Kate?"
Chapter 5: Lovers Reunited
The lithe shape in front of him turned at his calling, "Humphrey?" it called in a hopeful voice.
Even her voice was still the same, "I thought you were dead, I buried you. I… oh, Kate!" Humphrey then rushed towards the shadowy shape.
As he finally saw what she looked like, he stopped in his tracks. "What happened to you, Kate?"
"You were right Humphrey; I was dead for over two years. The warrior spirit of the alpha wolves gave me her earthly form so that I could be with you again." Kate explained as she rubbed her nose against his.
"I may look different now, but my love for you remains strong. I have traveled from beyond death's door to see you, and now we are together once more." Kate wagged her tail as Humphrey pressed his pelt against hers.
"I don't care what you look like, I'm just glad that you're alive. I won't let anything hurt you ever again." Humphrey promised Kate as he led the way back to his den, "Come on, I'll get you something to eat." Humphrey ran back to his cave happier even than when Kate had howled at the moon with him…
Trepex was still heading south after over a month of full-speed travel when he came across two unknown wolf-scents. When he saw them, he howled with delight. "Garth, Lily! I can't believe I found you." He cried as he raced toward them.
"Trepex, how have you been? What are you doing here?" Lily asked when he stopped.
"Winston sent me to find Humphrey and bring him home. Have you seen him?"
"No," replied Garth, "Has something happened back home?"
"Much has happened since the Incident. Let me give you the whole story."…
Kate suddenly awoke in the den, breathing heavily. 'This is very bad, we must get back to Jasper now,' she thought. "Humphrey, Humphrey, you need to wake up." Kate nudged him until he stood up beside her.
"What's wrong, Kate? Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine, but I just received a vision from the warrior spirit. We need to go back to Jasper Park immediately. If we don't everyone we know will die." Kate whispered.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" asked Humphrey as he padded out of the cave with Kate following.
'I have to tell him'…
Chapter 6: A Different Path To Follow
"What do you mean 'there's a catch'? I thought you gave me your earthly form so that I could be with Humphrey again." Kate growled at the spirit.
"I did give it to you, but your true form is still in the realm of the dead. Until you die or find a willing sacrifice, you will slowly lose speed, stamina, and strength to the point where you can no longer move. However, once you find a valid sacrifice, you will get your original body back." the spirit explained. "Death is missing an inhabitant; somebody must take your place. Once the sacrifice is chosen, they can never return to the world of the living," warned the old wolf.
"I understand. How long will it be before the degradation begins?" Kate asked.
"You will begin to feel its effects in just over a year."
"Isn't there any way that I could spend more than a year without feeling the effects?"
The spirit thought for a moment, "Yes, I believe there is. I will speak with Death and see what can be done."
The next day, the spirit came back to sit with Kate in the world of her dreams. "Death has chosen a person to take; with his death, you will have an extra five years before the degradation sets in," the spirit told Kate.
"Thank you, I will make the best of it while I can." Kate stood up and began to leave, but the spirit stopped her.
"If you do not find a sacrifice before the degradation completely sets in, you will never be able to see the one you love again. I'm sorry but even I cannot circumvent the laws of death."
"But there is only one that I can think of that would give their life for mine, Humphrey. If he gives up his life to keep me alive, his life would have been wasted. I can't live without him." Kate argued.
"There must be something, anything else that will work. Why must this be so difficult? Why can't we all just go back to the way things were?" Kate mumbled to herself.
"Calm down, my dear. You made a deal with Death; he does not give up that which he has very easily. If you are willing to risk everything for this Humphrey, then there may just be a way to help you. I must warn you, it has never been successfully done before"…
Chapter 7: Finding Friends Along The Way
Humphrey and Kate raced up the valley, heading north. They left almost a week ago from their den in the woods, and were on a straight path to Jasper Park. They were almost to the place where they would get on the train to Jasper when they heard two familiar voices.
"Kate," Humphrey whispered, "do you hear that?" When she nodded, Humphrey said, "We should surprise them, don't you think?"
Kate smiled; this was the Humphrey she fell in love with. "Let's do it, follow me."
Garth and Lily were standing underneath a large oak tree when Kate and Humphrey jumped on their backs. "Intruders, in our territory? What should we do with them?" Kate asked in a deep voice.
Humphrey, who was pinning Garth to the ground, growled, "Maybe we should kill them."
Lily began to scream and struggle against the weight keeping her down. Kate and Humphrey looked at each other and laughed.
"So, Barf, what brings you and Lily all the way out here?" Humphrey asked as he lifted himself off Garth.
"Humphrey, is that you?" Lily asked in a hushed voice. Humphrey nodded.
"Who is this wolf with you? You seem pretty close," Garth commented with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, we are. She is my mate; I'm surprised that you don't recognize her." Humphrey answered.
"Recognize her," Garth tilted his head, "why would we recognize her? I don't remember seeing her any… wait; she was the one that killed the three bears on the mountain!" Garth exclaimed.
"You never told me about the three bears, were they the same ones we met on our first journey?" Humphrey asked his mate.
"Yes, they were. They tried to attack me; they must have thought I was weak because I was on my own. I have received much strength from the warrior spirit, though, and I killed them easily." Kate explained.
"Were you hurt?" Humphrey asked, sounding anxious.
"No, they never laid a claw on me." Kate reassured her mate, nuzzling his fur.
"I saw the fight," Garth interrupted the moment, "I have seen only one wolf with alpha-skills like that. Can it really be you, Kate?"
"Yes, it is. I have returned. We must return to Jasper. If we do not, the packs will all perish."
Chapter 8: Secrets Revealed
Even her voice was still the same, "I thought you were dead, I buried you. I… oh, Kate!" Humphrey then rushed towards the shadowy shape.
As he finally saw what she looked like, he stopped in his tracks. "What happened to you, Kate?"
"You were right Humphrey; I was dead for over two years. The warrior spirit of the alpha wolves gave me her earthly form so that I could be with you again." Kate explained as she rubbed her nose against his.
"I may look different now, but my love for you remains strong. I have traveled from beyond death's door to see you, and now we are together once more." Kate wagged her tail as Humphrey pressed his pelt against hers.
"I don't care what you look like, I'm just glad that you're alive. I won't let anything hurt you ever again." Humphrey promised Kate as he led the way back to his den, "Come on, I'll get you something to eat." Humphrey ran back to his cave happier even than when Kate had howled at the moon with him…
Trepex was still heading south after over a month of full-speed travel when he came across two unknown wolf-scents. When he saw them, he howled with delight. "Garth, Lily! I can't believe I found you." He cried as he raced toward them.
"Trepex, how have you been? What are you doing here?" Lily asked when he stopped.
"Winston sent me to find Humphrey and bring him home. Have you seen him?"
"No," replied Garth, "Has something happened back home?"
"Much has happened since the Incident. Let me give you the whole story."…
Kate suddenly awoke in the den, breathing heavily. 'This is very bad, we must get back to Jasper now,' she thought. "Humphrey, Humphrey, you need to wake up." Kate nudged him until he stood up beside her.
"What's wrong, Kate? Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine, but I just received a vision from the warrior spirit. We need to go back to Jasper Park immediately. If we don't everyone we know will die." Kate whispered.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" asked Humphrey as he padded out of the cave with Kate following.
'I have to tell him'…
Chapter 6: A Different Path To Follow
"What do you mean 'there's a catch'? I thought you gave me your earthly form so that I could be with Humphrey again." Kate growled at the spirit.
"I did give it to you, but your true form is still in the realm of the dead. Until you die or find a willing sacrifice, you will slowly lose speed, stamina, and strength to the point where you can no longer move. However, once you find a valid sacrifice, you will get your original body back." the spirit explained. "Death is missing an inhabitant; somebody must take your place. Once the sacrifice is chosen, they can never return to the world of the living," warned the old wolf.
"I understand. How long will it be before the degradation begins?" Kate asked.
"You will begin to feel its effects in just over a year."
"Isn't there any way that I could spend more than a year without feeling the effects?"
The spirit thought for a moment, "Yes, I believe there is. I will speak with Death and see what can be done."
The next day, the spirit came back to sit with Kate in the world of her dreams. "Death has chosen a person to take; with his death, you will have an extra five years before the degradation sets in," the spirit told Kate.
"Thank you, I will make the best of it while I can." Kate stood up and began to leave, but the spirit stopped her.
"If you do not find a sacrifice before the degradation completely sets in, you will never be able to see the one you love again. I'm sorry but even I cannot circumvent the laws of death."
"But there is only one that I can think of that would give their life for mine, Humphrey. If he gives up his life to keep me alive, his life would have been wasted. I can't live without him." Kate argued.
"There must be something, anything else that will work. Why must this be so difficult? Why can't we all just go back to the way things were?" Kate mumbled to herself.
"Calm down, my dear. You made a deal with Death; he does not give up that which he has very easily. If you are willing to risk everything for this Humphrey, then there may just be a way to help you. I must warn you, it has never been successfully done before"…
Chapter 7: Finding Friends Along The Way
Humphrey and Kate raced up the valley, heading north. They left almost a week ago from their den in the woods, and were on a straight path to Jasper Park. They were almost to the place where they would get on the train to Jasper when they heard two familiar voices.
"Kate," Humphrey whispered, "do you hear that?" When she nodded, Humphrey said, "We should surprise them, don't you think?"
Kate smiled; this was the Humphrey she fell in love with. "Let's do it, follow me."
Garth and Lily were standing underneath a large oak tree when Kate and Humphrey jumped on their backs. "Intruders, in our territory? What should we do with them?" Kate asked in a deep voice.
Humphrey, who was pinning Garth to the ground, growled, "Maybe we should kill them."
Lily began to scream and struggle against the weight keeping her down. Kate and Humphrey looked at each other and laughed.
"So, Barf, what brings you and Lily all the way out here?" Humphrey asked as he lifted himself off Garth.
"Humphrey, is that you?" Lily asked in a hushed voice. Humphrey nodded.
"Who is this wolf with you? You seem pretty close," Garth commented with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, we are. She is my mate; I'm surprised that you don't recognize her." Humphrey answered.
"Recognize her," Garth tilted his head, "why would we recognize her? I don't remember seeing her any… wait; she was the one that killed the three bears on the mountain!" Garth exclaimed.
"You never told me about the three bears, were they the same ones we met on our first journey?" Humphrey asked his mate.
"Yes, they were. They tried to attack me; they must have thought I was weak because I was on my own. I have received much strength from the warrior spirit, though, and I killed them easily." Kate explained.
"Were you hurt?" Humphrey asked, sounding anxious.
"No, they never laid a claw on me." Kate reassured her mate, nuzzling his fur.
"I saw the fight," Garth interrupted the moment, "I have seen only one wolf with alpha-skills like that. Can it really be you, Kate?"
"Yes, it is. I have returned. We must return to Jasper. If we do not, the packs will all perish."
Chapter 8: Secrets Revealed
"Lily, I need to speak with you." Kate called from the back of the group.
"Yes, what is it, Kate?" Lily asked when she fell back to talk with her sister.
"There's something I need to tell Humphrey, but I'm not sure how to do it." Kate admitted.
"Well," Lily urged, "what is it?"
Kate stumbled a bit as she spoke, "There's something happening to me that could become a big problem later on. I know that you probably know less about this kinda thing than I do." Kate whispered something in Lily's ear.
Lily's eyes widened as she fixed her sister with a strange look. "Well, you're right. I don't know how to handle something like that, but maybe mom will. She has been around the mountain a few times."
"Come on, girls! We're gonna miss the train if you stand there gossiping." Garth called over his shoulder.
"We're not gossiping!" Lily protested, "Kate was telling me..." Kate quickly cupped a paw over Lily's mouth to shut her up before she said something stupid.
"Whatever you do, I have to be the one that tells Humphrey. I don't want to see his reaction if he thinks that I don't think he can handle it." Kate pleaded with her younger sister.
"Do you think he's ready for this?" Lily queried.
"No, at least not yet. I just came back to him, what would happen if he knew what I was going through. No, I will tell him when I am ready." Kate decided.
Lily nodded and sped up to pad beside Garth. Kate still hung back a little from the others, 'What am I going to do now?'...
one month later...
Garth, who was scouting ahead, came sprinting back to Kate, Humphrey, and Lily. "I can see Howling Rock!" he exclaimed.
"We're almost home!" cried Lily and Kate in one voice.
Humphrey looked lovingly at Kate and then back at Garth, but he did a double-take on Kate. 'What is with her? She looks really preoccupied, I wonder if I can help.'
Humphrey went off and caught the first caribou that any of them had seen in months. "Kate, don't you want any?" Humphrey asked his mate, nudging her with his snout.
"No thanks, Humphrey. I'm already getting too fat from all this food you and Garth have been bringing in. Where did you learn how to hunt so well?" Kate asked, eager to change the subject.
"I kinda taught myself, whenever I left. I knew that if I was gonna live on my own, I would have to learn how to hunt." Humphrey told her, "why are you so interested in my hunting skills if you aren't even going to eat any?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "Is there something that you want to tell me, Kate?"
Garth and Lily, who had been listening intently from the beginning, began to snicker and then howl with laughter.
Humphrey took a step forward. Kate instinctively took a step back before holding her ground. "Yes, there is." Kate answered.
She shuffled her paws, not quite sure how she should begin explaining this to her mate. "Let me guess, you need to use the bathroom?" Humphrey joked.
"Would you shut up, this is important! I'm trying to figure out how to explain that I am going to..." Kate realized what she was about to say and stopped herself.
"You're going to... what Kate? Look, I'm sorry, but you haven't been yourself lately. I'm just worried about you, I love you." Humphrey nuzzled her.
"I love you too, Humphrey. Something is happening to me, and I just don't know how to deal with it; but as long as you are with me, I know that we will all be okay." Kate sighed.
"Don't you worry, Garth and I will keep you and Lily safe, no matter what happens." Humphrey promised.
"Lily wasn't who I was talking about. I meant you, me, and three other wolves." Kate thought that not even Humphrey could miss this one.
"Well, who are the three that are going to travel with us?" Humphrey asked, tipping his head to one side.
Lily and Garth were both laughing so hard, they were in tears by this point. "What are they laughing at?"
"They already know, because they pay attention and are not as thick-headed as you are!" Kate yelled with a brilliant gleam in her eyes.
"Humphrey, my love. I'm... I am... pregnant!" She squealed.
Humphrey's jaw dropped.
So many thoughts went through his head at once: 'I'm going to be a father? I don't know anything about raising pups! I can't believe Kate told Garth before me.'
Faced with all of these thoughts, he did what any omega would do in this situation, he fainted.
"Humphrey!" Kate screamed, she just managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
Seeing this, Garth and Lily began to laugh harder and harder until they couldn't breathe.
Lily was the first to regain her composure, "Garth, I'm pregnant too."
Garth immediately stopped laughing, "Seriously?" he asked.
When Lily nodded, Garth immediately followed Humphrey into the safety of unconsciousness.
Chapter 9: Returning Home
When Humphrey finally woke up, he noticed that Kate was laying right beside him. "I still can't believe it, I am going to be a father!" he exclaimed.
Humphrey flinched as he saw Kate shift in her sleep from his outburst. Humphrey crept quietly out of the cave and almost collided with Garth.
"Humphrey, can you believe it? We are going to be dads!" Garth almost shouted.
Humphrey nodded with a large grin on his face, but suddenly absolute terror gripped his heart like a claw made of solid ice. "Oh my god." he whispered.
"What, what's wrong with you?"
"Eve is going to kill us." Humphrey replied in a terrified voice.
Garth's eyes grew large and round in fear before he again fainted...
one hour later
"Oh no, Garth!" Lily cried as she rushed out of her den to see Garth passed out at Humphrey's paws.
"Lily, what happened?" Kate asked as she too darted out of her den.
"I just realized," Humphrey explained, "and told Garth that your mother is going to KILL us when she finds out that we got you two pregnant!"
The two she-wolfs looked at each other for a moment before beginning to chuckle.
"Hey, it's not funny! Your mother is going to rip Garth and I to pieces for this. How do you expect us to help raise pups if our bodies are scattered all over the territory?" Humphrey argued, but to no avail...
later that morning
"If we hurry, we should be able to make it to the Howling Rock before the moonlight howl. Phew, what an entrance that would make, eh?" Garth asked, breaking into a full run.
The others soon followed, happy to be heading home, happy to be together, happy to be alive...
At Howling Rock, there was almost absolute silence. Every wolf was there, but nobody had it in their heart to howl that night.
Tonight was the four-year anniversary of Kate's death.
Winston got up from beside Eve and began to head back to his den when he heard a howl that lifted his heart to the skies, Lily!
Another howl joined in with hers, Garth!
Soon they appeared almost at the peak of Howling Rock. Winston began to run towards them; but he stopped and starred at the peak of the mountain, just as every other wolf was doing.
Two gray wolves stood side-by-side at the summit of the mountain.
As one, they howled with so much passion and love that it brought tears to every eye in the valley.
Humphrey had returned home; and somehow, so had Kate.
Chapter 10: The Begining Of The End
When Kate and Humphrey finished their howl, the rest of the valley burst into song. The tension and grief was washed away by relief and happiness.
Winston darted up the mountainside astonishingly fast for a wolf of his age. "Humphrey, Lily, Kate, Garth, it is so good to see all of you again. Did Trepex or Lumira find you?" he asked.
"Trepex found Garth and I, but we never saw Lumira." Lily answered.
Winston narrowed his eyes, this was not a good sign. "So you never saw Lumira, but you saw Trepex for a short time?" Winston asked, checking to make sure he was right. "This is very bad, they haven't come back yet. I believe that something may have happened to them."
Winston turned to Eve, who had come to sit beside her daughters, " All that matters now is that you are all home."
Kate and Lily exchanged glances and took their mother away for a private conversation.
Winston shot a questioning look at the males, but they turned their heads shamefully away.
Winston showed the smallest hint of a smile, "So, it looks like I am going to be a grandfather, am I?" he asked the two wolves in front of him. They both nodded their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.
Winston laughed, loud and hearty. "What are you afraid of? Did you really think I didn't know this was going to happen? I was a young male once myself you know." Winston stood between the two wolves, a paw on each of their shoulders. "Let's hope that Eve isn't angry with you two, 'cause if she is you are on your own."
They heard a loud growl, followed by the sight of Eve hurtling towards them, killer intent in her eyes. Humphrey and Garth looked at each other; both ready to defend themselves, when their mates leaped forward and tackled Eve to the ground.
" As long as I live, no harm shall ever come to Humphrey." Kate growled into her mother's ear.
"And I wont let you hurt Garth either, no matter what." Lily exclaimed.
"Come on girls, let your mother up." Winston ordered, "Eve, be nice to the boys. If Kate and Lily are willing to have their pups, then I will allow it. I must warn you though, if either of you two hurt my daughters in any way, you will answer to me." Winston said gravely.
"On that note, good luck with your pups, because you're going to need it." Eve said cheerfully, a complete turnaround from her earlier actions.
Humphrey looked at Kate and Lily, "How does your dad put up with her mood swings?"
... later that night...
"Kate, Kate you must open your eyes."
Kate's eyes fluttered open and she jumped up on her paws. "What's wrong? Why have you brought me here? Kate asked, recognizing her surroundings as the lair of the alpha warrior spirit.
"I have discussed your proposition with the other spirits, and we have reached a consensus. We will give you another chance, but" the spirit warned, "you will not be an Alpha anymore. If this works correctly, you will be an Omega forever." the spirit explained.
"I don't care about my rank. Maybe if I become an Omega, none of this will ever happen" Kate mused.
"Perhaps, but remember, you will be the only one that will recall anything of this time-line." The spirit began to glow with a bright light, "Your wish shall be fulfilled when you are reaching your end and the beginning of others. The council wants to show you that you have to suffer for what you want."
Kate nodded as the spirit faded away into the darkness...
These last three months had gone by in a relative calm. Winston had been acting a bit strange, but Humphrey attributed it to nervousness about becoming a grandfather.
"Humphrey, Kate!" Eve screamed their names as they returned from a walk around the territory. "Winston is in his den, he needs to see you both now!"
Humphrey was about to race to the den when he looked at his heavy-bred mate. There was no way that she could keep up with him if he ran, "Kate can't run, we will be there as soon as we can."
Eve nodded at him, eyes betraying fear for the first time Humphrey could remember.
"Get there quickly, Winston is very ill, I can't do anything for him. He's going to die!" Eve began to cry on the spot, Humphrey let her lean on his shoulder as they slowly made their way to Winston's den.
"He tried to hide it from me for so long, but I could tell that something was wrong. He didn't want the pack to get worried about him, so he kept it a secret." Eve explained as they got closer to the den.
When they got inside, Kate immediately laid down and began to pant heavily.
"Kate, what's wrong? Did we go too fast for you?" Humphrey asked worriedly.
"No," she replied, "we got here just in time." She was interrupted by an odd spasm.
"It's time, the pups are coming NOW!"
Chapter 11: Ending And New Begining
"Now?" Humphrey asked, fear making his voice squeak, "What do you mean, now?"
"What do you think I mean by now?" Kate growled at her mate, "I mean right now!" Kate whimpered as another spasm racked her body.
"Humphrey, go speak to Winston. I will handle things here." Eve spoke calmly as to not frighten him any more than he already was.
Humphrey nodded and padded over to Winston, "Oh, my god. Not now, this can't be happening now."
"Calm down, Humphrey." Winston soothed, "Kate is a strong girl, she'll pull through. By the end of the day, you will be a father; and Kate will become the leader of the packs."
Humphrey's head shot up at this comment, "No, you can't die now. This is when Kate will need you the most. You have to be here to help her with the pups!"
"Humphrey, promise me that you will protect Kate and the pups with your life. You know what it is like to lose the one you love, but losing your pup is much worse than that. Promise me that you will protect them, my son." Winston begged.
"I will never let any harm come to them, dad." Humphrey swore with tears in his eyes.
Winston nodded, closed his eyes one last time, and passed peacefully into the next world.
Humphrey then rushed over to Kate's side, trying to help Eve in any way he could. Kate screamed as more spasms racked her body over and over again, making Humphrey feel scared and useless. Humphrey had just stepped out of the den to get some fresh air when Hutch skidded to a stop beside him.
"Humphrey, sir, there is a band of southern wolves headed straight for us. What are your orders?"
Humphrey growled with anger, "I will take our five best fighters and stop them, you stay here with the rest of the wolves and protect Kate at all costs. Tell Eve where I've gone." Hutch nodded and raced off to gather all of the pack to defend the main den...
Humphrey, Garth, and four other wolves raced to the place where Hutch's patrol party was being attacked. Humphrey's rage had continued to build until he felt nothing but blood-lust for the ones who would harm his mate and pups. His rage was such that he had run so far ahead of his patrol, they could no longer see or hear him. He leapt into the clearing and crashed into a southern wolf so hard, that it was slammed into a tree with back-breaking force. As all the wolves in the clearing froze in fear of the waves of murderous intent rolling off of Humphrey, he turned toward the southern pack, "Who wants to die next?"
The patrol party, sensing their safety, fled back to the main territory. The rest of Humphrey's patrol was still far behind him when all of the southern wolves jumped at him as one. For a moment, he was covered by a mass of fur and flesh; but he broke free and started slashing the wolves with a deadly rhythm. Humphrey had taken their numbers down to half of what they originally were before he was taken down by three southern wolves that had snuck up behind him. Noticing that he was weak now, the rest of the wolves began to close in on him; but Garth and the rest of the war patrol stopped them in their tracks. Candou helped Humphrey escape the three wolves that had ambushed him before joining the Garth looked back at Humphrey, all he saw was a bloody mass of gray fur lying on the ground. Garth ran over to him, placed Humphrey on his back, and began to run back to Eve's den...
Kate was still whimpering in agony as Garth returned to the den, carrying a heap of bloody fur. Eve snapped her head up at the scent of blood.
"What happened? Who is that, Garth?" Kate managed to whisper.
"Kate, I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him, he just ran ahead of all of us. When we got there, he was buried under three southern wolves and surrounded by the bodies of twenty more." Garth explained.
Kate gasped, "Humphrey!" she tried to get up, but screamed at the pain.
"Kate, you must stay still. If you don't, you could kill yourself. Don't worry about Humphrey, he'll be fine." Eve tried to calm her daughter's racing mind, but only made it worse.
"What do you mean, 'Don't worry about Humphrey'? He is dying because I wasn't there to help him!" Kate shrieked.
"Kate... Eve is right, I'll be... fine. I'm just a little... tired is all." Humphrey stood up and began to limp towards his mate. He rubbed his nose against her muzzle before he fell to the ground, never to rise again.
"Nooo!" Kate screamed as she saw him die right before her eyes. She screamed again when the first pup began to emerge from her belly. Blood pumped from her body as Eve pulled the pup out of Kate's body.
"Garth, get me something to stop this bleeding. If we don't stop it soon, she might not make it." Eve ordered.
"It doesn't matter anymore, he's gone." Kate whispered solemnly.
"Just a little longer my dear, and all the pain will be washed away." the warrior spirit spoke to Kate in her mind.
Kate took a deep breath and pushed with all her might. When she opened her eyes, there were three small wolves lying beside her. Kate smiled as the world around her went dark.
"Kate, don't you dare close your eyes!" her mother ordered.
She did not heed her mother's orders this time and slowly began to pass into the void, following her beloved to the very Gates of Death...
A paw grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. It was the warrior spirit, "Kate, my dear, you have braved the ultimate sacrifices. You have proved to the council that you are worthy of their blessing."Kate made an attempt to smile at the kind spirit, but it came out as more of a scowl.
"I know that you are hurting, but soon you will be reunited with all those that you have lost."
A deep, booming voice joined in with the warrior spirit's, "It is time for you to go back, back to the beginning."
A white light enveloped Kate as she lay down to sleep. Her dreams were filled with visions of Humphrey bleeding out in front of her and of her father wasting away before her very eyes.
"Kate," they said in unison "we are so proud of you. We love you more than we could ever put into words."
Kate ran towards them, screaming their names, as they began to fade away...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EPILOGUE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Humphrey...dad, wait. Don't leave me, WAIT!" a young, golden-brown she-wolf squealed as she awoke.
Panting heavily, she looked around the den, she was still alone. She was about to start crying again when she heard a voice.
"Kate, are you alright? I heard you scream." Winston called as he padded in through the entrance to the den.
Kate threw herself at her father and began to cry, he was still alive. "It was awful dad, I had this dream where you and Humphrey left me all alone. There was nobody else, and I was so scared."
Winston patted her on the back, "It's okay, honey. I'm not going anywhere and Humphrey is probably still asleep. If you are so worried about him, go see if he wants to play with you." Winston urged.
Kate nodded and raced off towards the Omega den to see if Humphrey was awake. 'I could never be happier than right now, they are both still alive.' Kate thought as she pushed herself into the den where the Omega wolves lived. She spotted Humphrey sleeping at the back of the cave and crept over to stand next to him. Kate looked lovingly at the sleeping pup. "Sleep well, my love. I will be here when you wake up, just as you always were for me," she whispered into his ear. Kate then curled herself around his sleeping form as best she could, swearing that she would protect him from anything that would try to take him away from her again.
Winston and Eve were watching from the entrance to the den, "Well, Winston, I think that our little girl has made her decision." Eve commented, still watching the two sleeping pups.
"Yes, it would seem that she has. I think that she truly loves him, even if she doesn't know it yet." Both of the Alphas starred at their daughter as she slept beside Humphrey and smiled.
This was the beginning of love to their eyes, but to Kate's, it was what was always meant to be...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yes, what is it, Kate?" Lily asked when she fell back to talk with her sister.
"There's something I need to tell Humphrey, but I'm not sure how to do it." Kate admitted.
"Well," Lily urged, "what is it?"
Kate stumbled a bit as she spoke, "There's something happening to me that could become a big problem later on. I know that you probably know less about this kinda thing than I do." Kate whispered something in Lily's ear.
Lily's eyes widened as she fixed her sister with a strange look. "Well, you're right. I don't know how to handle something like that, but maybe mom will. She has been around the mountain a few times."
"Come on, girls! We're gonna miss the train if you stand there gossiping." Garth called over his shoulder.
"We're not gossiping!" Lily protested, "Kate was telling me..." Kate quickly cupped a paw over Lily's mouth to shut her up before she said something stupid.
"Whatever you do, I have to be the one that tells Humphrey. I don't want to see his reaction if he thinks that I don't think he can handle it." Kate pleaded with her younger sister.
"Do you think he's ready for this?" Lily queried.
"No, at least not yet. I just came back to him, what would happen if he knew what I was going through. No, I will tell him when I am ready." Kate decided.
Lily nodded and sped up to pad beside Garth. Kate still hung back a little from the others, 'What am I going to do now?'...
one month later...
Garth, who was scouting ahead, came sprinting back to Kate, Humphrey, and Lily. "I can see Howling Rock!" he exclaimed.
"We're almost home!" cried Lily and Kate in one voice.
Humphrey looked lovingly at Kate and then back at Garth, but he did a double-take on Kate. 'What is with her? She looks really preoccupied, I wonder if I can help.'
Humphrey went off and caught the first caribou that any of them had seen in months. "Kate, don't you want any?" Humphrey asked his mate, nudging her with his snout.
"No thanks, Humphrey. I'm already getting too fat from all this food you and Garth have been bringing in. Where did you learn how to hunt so well?" Kate asked, eager to change the subject.
"I kinda taught myself, whenever I left. I knew that if I was gonna live on my own, I would have to learn how to hunt." Humphrey told her, "why are you so interested in my hunting skills if you aren't even going to eat any?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "Is there something that you want to tell me, Kate?"
Garth and Lily, who had been listening intently from the beginning, began to snicker and then howl with laughter.
Humphrey took a step forward. Kate instinctively took a step back before holding her ground. "Yes, there is." Kate answered.
She shuffled her paws, not quite sure how she should begin explaining this to her mate. "Let me guess, you need to use the bathroom?" Humphrey joked.
"Would you shut up, this is important! I'm trying to figure out how to explain that I am going to..." Kate realized what she was about to say and stopped herself.
"You're going to... what Kate? Look, I'm sorry, but you haven't been yourself lately. I'm just worried about you, I love you." Humphrey nuzzled her.
"I love you too, Humphrey. Something is happening to me, and I just don't know how to deal with it; but as long as you are with me, I know that we will all be okay." Kate sighed.
"Don't you worry, Garth and I will keep you and Lily safe, no matter what happens." Humphrey promised.
"Lily wasn't who I was talking about. I meant you, me, and three other wolves." Kate thought that not even Humphrey could miss this one.
"Well, who are the three that are going to travel with us?" Humphrey asked, tipping his head to one side.
Lily and Garth were both laughing so hard, they were in tears by this point. "What are they laughing at?"
"They already know, because they pay attention and are not as thick-headed as you are!" Kate yelled with a brilliant gleam in her eyes.
"Humphrey, my love. I'm... I am... pregnant!" She squealed.
Humphrey's jaw dropped.
So many thoughts went through his head at once: 'I'm going to be a father? I don't know anything about raising pups! I can't believe Kate told Garth before me.'
Faced with all of these thoughts, he did what any omega would do in this situation, he fainted.
"Humphrey!" Kate screamed, she just managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
Seeing this, Garth and Lily began to laugh harder and harder until they couldn't breathe.
Lily was the first to regain her composure, "Garth, I'm pregnant too."
Garth immediately stopped laughing, "Seriously?" he asked.
When Lily nodded, Garth immediately followed Humphrey into the safety of unconsciousness.
Chapter 9: Returning Home
When Humphrey finally woke up, he noticed that Kate was laying right beside him. "I still can't believe it, I am going to be a father!" he exclaimed.
Humphrey flinched as he saw Kate shift in her sleep from his outburst. Humphrey crept quietly out of the cave and almost collided with Garth.
"Humphrey, can you believe it? We are going to be dads!" Garth almost shouted.
Humphrey nodded with a large grin on his face, but suddenly absolute terror gripped his heart like a claw made of solid ice. "Oh my god." he whispered.
"What, what's wrong with you?"
"Eve is going to kill us." Humphrey replied in a terrified voice.
Garth's eyes grew large and round in fear before he again fainted...
one hour later
"Oh no, Garth!" Lily cried as she rushed out of her den to see Garth passed out at Humphrey's paws.
"Lily, what happened?" Kate asked as she too darted out of her den.
"I just realized," Humphrey explained, "and told Garth that your mother is going to KILL us when she finds out that we got you two pregnant!"
The two she-wolfs looked at each other for a moment before beginning to chuckle.
"Hey, it's not funny! Your mother is going to rip Garth and I to pieces for this. How do you expect us to help raise pups if our bodies are scattered all over the territory?" Humphrey argued, but to no avail...
later that morning
"If we hurry, we should be able to make it to the Howling Rock before the moonlight howl. Phew, what an entrance that would make, eh?" Garth asked, breaking into a full run.
The others soon followed, happy to be heading home, happy to be together, happy to be alive...
At Howling Rock, there was almost absolute silence. Every wolf was there, but nobody had it in their heart to howl that night.
Tonight was the four-year anniversary of Kate's death.
Winston got up from beside Eve and began to head back to his den when he heard a howl that lifted his heart to the skies, Lily!
Another howl joined in with hers, Garth!
Soon they appeared almost at the peak of Howling Rock. Winston began to run towards them; but he stopped and starred at the peak of the mountain, just as every other wolf was doing.
Two gray wolves stood side-by-side at the summit of the mountain.
As one, they howled with so much passion and love that it brought tears to every eye in the valley.
Humphrey had returned home; and somehow, so had Kate.
Chapter 10: The Begining Of The End
When Kate and Humphrey finished their howl, the rest of the valley burst into song. The tension and grief was washed away by relief and happiness.
Winston darted up the mountainside astonishingly fast for a wolf of his age. "Humphrey, Lily, Kate, Garth, it is so good to see all of you again. Did Trepex or Lumira find you?" he asked.
"Trepex found Garth and I, but we never saw Lumira." Lily answered.
Winston narrowed his eyes, this was not a good sign. "So you never saw Lumira, but you saw Trepex for a short time?" Winston asked, checking to make sure he was right. "This is very bad, they haven't come back yet. I believe that something may have happened to them."
Winston turned to Eve, who had come to sit beside her daughters, " All that matters now is that you are all home."
Kate and Lily exchanged glances and took their mother away for a private conversation.
Winston shot a questioning look at the males, but they turned their heads shamefully away.
Winston showed the smallest hint of a smile, "So, it looks like I am going to be a grandfather, am I?" he asked the two wolves in front of him. They both nodded their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.
Winston laughed, loud and hearty. "What are you afraid of? Did you really think I didn't know this was going to happen? I was a young male once myself you know." Winston stood between the two wolves, a paw on each of their shoulders. "Let's hope that Eve isn't angry with you two, 'cause if she is you are on your own."
They heard a loud growl, followed by the sight of Eve hurtling towards them, killer intent in her eyes. Humphrey and Garth looked at each other; both ready to defend themselves, when their mates leaped forward and tackled Eve to the ground.
" As long as I live, no harm shall ever come to Humphrey." Kate growled into her mother's ear.
"And I wont let you hurt Garth either, no matter what." Lily exclaimed.
"Come on girls, let your mother up." Winston ordered, "Eve, be nice to the boys. If Kate and Lily are willing to have their pups, then I will allow it. I must warn you though, if either of you two hurt my daughters in any way, you will answer to me." Winston said gravely.
"On that note, good luck with your pups, because you're going to need it." Eve said cheerfully, a complete turnaround from her earlier actions.
Humphrey looked at Kate and Lily, "How does your dad put up with her mood swings?"
... later that night...
"Kate, Kate you must open your eyes."
Kate's eyes fluttered open and she jumped up on her paws. "What's wrong? Why have you brought me here? Kate asked, recognizing her surroundings as the lair of the alpha warrior spirit.
"I have discussed your proposition with the other spirits, and we have reached a consensus. We will give you another chance, but" the spirit warned, "you will not be an Alpha anymore. If this works correctly, you will be an Omega forever." the spirit explained.
"I don't care about my rank. Maybe if I become an Omega, none of this will ever happen" Kate mused.
"Perhaps, but remember, you will be the only one that will recall anything of this time-line." The spirit began to glow with a bright light, "Your wish shall be fulfilled when you are reaching your end and the beginning of others. The council wants to show you that you have to suffer for what you want."
Kate nodded as the spirit faded away into the darkness...
These last three months had gone by in a relative calm. Winston had been acting a bit strange, but Humphrey attributed it to nervousness about becoming a grandfather.
"Humphrey, Kate!" Eve screamed their names as they returned from a walk around the territory. "Winston is in his den, he needs to see you both now!"
Humphrey was about to race to the den when he looked at his heavy-bred mate. There was no way that she could keep up with him if he ran, "Kate can't run, we will be there as soon as we can."
Eve nodded at him, eyes betraying fear for the first time Humphrey could remember.
"Get there quickly, Winston is very ill, I can't do anything for him. He's going to die!" Eve began to cry on the spot, Humphrey let her lean on his shoulder as they slowly made their way to Winston's den.
"He tried to hide it from me for so long, but I could tell that something was wrong. He didn't want the pack to get worried about him, so he kept it a secret." Eve explained as they got closer to the den.
When they got inside, Kate immediately laid down and began to pant heavily.
"Kate, what's wrong? Did we go too fast for you?" Humphrey asked worriedly.
"No," she replied, "we got here just in time." She was interrupted by an odd spasm.
"It's time, the pups are coming NOW!"
Chapter 11: Ending And New Begining
"Now?" Humphrey asked, fear making his voice squeak, "What do you mean, now?"
"What do you think I mean by now?" Kate growled at her mate, "I mean right now!" Kate whimpered as another spasm racked her body.
"Humphrey, go speak to Winston. I will handle things here." Eve spoke calmly as to not frighten him any more than he already was.
Humphrey nodded and padded over to Winston, "Oh, my god. Not now, this can't be happening now."
"Calm down, Humphrey." Winston soothed, "Kate is a strong girl, she'll pull through. By the end of the day, you will be a father; and Kate will become the leader of the packs."
Humphrey's head shot up at this comment, "No, you can't die now. This is when Kate will need you the most. You have to be here to help her with the pups!"
"Humphrey, promise me that you will protect Kate and the pups with your life. You know what it is like to lose the one you love, but losing your pup is much worse than that. Promise me that you will protect them, my son." Winston begged.
"I will never let any harm come to them, dad." Humphrey swore with tears in his eyes.
Winston nodded, closed his eyes one last time, and passed peacefully into the next world.
Humphrey then rushed over to Kate's side, trying to help Eve in any way he could. Kate screamed as more spasms racked her body over and over again, making Humphrey feel scared and useless. Humphrey had just stepped out of the den to get some fresh air when Hutch skidded to a stop beside him.
"Humphrey, sir, there is a band of southern wolves headed straight for us. What are your orders?"
Humphrey growled with anger, "I will take our five best fighters and stop them, you stay here with the rest of the wolves and protect Kate at all costs. Tell Eve where I've gone." Hutch nodded and raced off to gather all of the pack to defend the main den...
Humphrey, Garth, and four other wolves raced to the place where Hutch's patrol party was being attacked. Humphrey's rage had continued to build until he felt nothing but blood-lust for the ones who would harm his mate and pups. His rage was such that he had run so far ahead of his patrol, they could no longer see or hear him. He leapt into the clearing and crashed into a southern wolf so hard, that it was slammed into a tree with back-breaking force. As all the wolves in the clearing froze in fear of the waves of murderous intent rolling off of Humphrey, he turned toward the southern pack, "Who wants to die next?"
The patrol party, sensing their safety, fled back to the main territory. The rest of Humphrey's patrol was still far behind him when all of the southern wolves jumped at him as one. For a moment, he was covered by a mass of fur and flesh; but he broke free and started slashing the wolves with a deadly rhythm. Humphrey had taken their numbers down to half of what they originally were before he was taken down by three southern wolves that had snuck up behind him. Noticing that he was weak now, the rest of the wolves began to close in on him; but Garth and the rest of the war patrol stopped them in their tracks. Candou helped Humphrey escape the three wolves that had ambushed him before joining the Garth looked back at Humphrey, all he saw was a bloody mass of gray fur lying on the ground. Garth ran over to him, placed Humphrey on his back, and began to run back to Eve's den...
Kate was still whimpering in agony as Garth returned to the den, carrying a heap of bloody fur. Eve snapped her head up at the scent of blood.
"What happened? Who is that, Garth?" Kate managed to whisper.
"Kate, I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him, he just ran ahead of all of us. When we got there, he was buried under three southern wolves and surrounded by the bodies of twenty more." Garth explained.
Kate gasped, "Humphrey!" she tried to get up, but screamed at the pain.
"Kate, you must stay still. If you don't, you could kill yourself. Don't worry about Humphrey, he'll be fine." Eve tried to calm her daughter's racing mind, but only made it worse.
"What do you mean, 'Don't worry about Humphrey'? He is dying because I wasn't there to help him!" Kate shrieked.
"Kate... Eve is right, I'll be... fine. I'm just a little... tired is all." Humphrey stood up and began to limp towards his mate. He rubbed his nose against her muzzle before he fell to the ground, never to rise again.
"Nooo!" Kate screamed as she saw him die right before her eyes. She screamed again when the first pup began to emerge from her belly. Blood pumped from her body as Eve pulled the pup out of Kate's body.
"Garth, get me something to stop this bleeding. If we don't stop it soon, she might not make it." Eve ordered.
"It doesn't matter anymore, he's gone." Kate whispered solemnly.
"Just a little longer my dear, and all the pain will be washed away." the warrior spirit spoke to Kate in her mind.
Kate took a deep breath and pushed with all her might. When she opened her eyes, there were three small wolves lying beside her. Kate smiled as the world around her went dark.
"Kate, don't you dare close your eyes!" her mother ordered.
She did not heed her mother's orders this time and slowly began to pass into the void, following her beloved to the very Gates of Death...
A paw grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. It was the warrior spirit, "Kate, my dear, you have braved the ultimate sacrifices. You have proved to the council that you are worthy of their blessing."Kate made an attempt to smile at the kind spirit, but it came out as more of a scowl.
"I know that you are hurting, but soon you will be reunited with all those that you have lost."
A deep, booming voice joined in with the warrior spirit's, "It is time for you to go back, back to the beginning."
A white light enveloped Kate as she lay down to sleep. Her dreams were filled with visions of Humphrey bleeding out in front of her and of her father wasting away before her very eyes.
"Kate," they said in unison "we are so proud of you. We love you more than we could ever put into words."
Kate ran towards them, screaming their names, as they began to fade away...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EPILOGUE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Humphrey...dad, wait. Don't leave me, WAIT!" a young, golden-brown she-wolf squealed as she awoke.
Panting heavily, she looked around the den, she was still alone. She was about to start crying again when she heard a voice.
"Kate, are you alright? I heard you scream." Winston called as he padded in through the entrance to the den.
Kate threw herself at her father and began to cry, he was still alive. "It was awful dad, I had this dream where you and Humphrey left me all alone. There was nobody else, and I was so scared."
Winston patted her on the back, "It's okay, honey. I'm not going anywhere and Humphrey is probably still asleep. If you are so worried about him, go see if he wants to play with you." Winston urged.
Kate nodded and raced off towards the Omega den to see if Humphrey was awake. 'I could never be happier than right now, they are both still alive.' Kate thought as she pushed herself into the den where the Omega wolves lived. She spotted Humphrey sleeping at the back of the cave and crept over to stand next to him. Kate looked lovingly at the sleeping pup. "Sleep well, my love. I will be here when you wake up, just as you always were for me," she whispered into his ear. Kate then curled herself around his sleeping form as best she could, swearing that she would protect him from anything that would try to take him away from her again.
Winston and Eve were watching from the entrance to the den, "Well, Winston, I think that our little girl has made her decision." Eve commented, still watching the two sleeping pups.
"Yes, it would seem that she has. I think that she truly loves him, even if she doesn't know it yet." Both of the Alphas starred at their daughter as she slept beside Humphrey and smiled.
This was the beginning of love to their eyes, but to Kate's, it was what was always meant to be...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday 11 March 2011
Alpha And Omega 2: Love And Rage (Sad Ending)
Chapter 1:
Humphrey padded away from the Alpha den after telling his goodbyes to Kate, feeling sadder than he ever had felt before.
"Humphrey, wait." Kate called after him, "please don't go, I don't want you to." She had tears in her eyes as she begged him to stay.
"Kate, I can't stay here anymore. Every day that I would spend here would be complete torture now." Humphrey replied.
"Why?" Kate asked incredulously, "What could be so bad that you can no longer live here?"
"You wouldn't understand, it's complicated." Humphrey turned to leave.
"I'm listening, Humphrey. You can tell me anything." Kate said.
Humphrey spun to face her, "No, you aren't listening. You never did!" Kate saw tears well up in his eyes as he screamed at her. "Even on the train, you left before I could tell you what I wanted to tell you for years," he stopped to take a shaky breath. "I love you, Kate. I could never stay here and see you with him every day, it would tear me apart from the inside out."
Kate took a step back, "This can't be right. It's against pack law for an Omega to love an Alpha."
"That's why I'm leaving. It's against the law for me to see you, since I love you so." Humphrey turned away from her again, "I hope you are happy with him, if only one of us could be happy, I hope that it's you."He ran from her before she could reply.
Humphrey had almost made it out of the territory when he was stopped by Winston, "What did you say to my daughter?" he asked, "You left her crying, on her wedding day no less!"
"Sir, I am leaving the pack. I confessed that to her, along with the fact that... I love her."
Humphrey fell to the ground and began to cry, "Why did I have to fall for her? Why not another one?"
When Humphrey had finished crying, Winston said "I won't try to stop you from leaving, Humphrey; but at least stay until after the ceremony. Do it for me, a last request before you leave."
"Okay, I will stay. When the ceremony is over, I will probably never come back, though."...
The wedding passed without incident, Humphrey standing at the farthest edge of the group.
Over the course of the ceremony, all of the wolves heard a slight buzzing in their ears; they could not identify the noise so settled for ignoring it. As soon as Garth and Kate rubbed their noses together, the noise intensified and was recognized as a deep, rage-filled growl. All eyes turned towards the source, which was recognized as Humphrey.
Eve rushed over to Humphrey, enraged that he would try to ruin her daughter's wedding day like this. She was prepared to tear him apart as she spun him around to face her; but when she saw the look of cold fury in his eyes, she put her tail between her legs and backed away from him slowly.
"Do not try that again." he ordered the powerful she-wolf, "I am not in the mood for you or anybody else!" his voice dropped to little more than a whisper. "Do you understand me?"
Eve nodded slowly and backed away faster.
Kate watched as Humphrey left Jasper in a fit of rage and thought, 'What happened to him to make him this way?'...
Humphrey had almost reached the train tracks when his journey was interrupted by a wolf that he was not eager to see, it was Kate. "You think that you can act like that and then just leave?" she demanded.
"Kate," Humphrey warned, "I am in a very bad mood right now. I don't want to hurt you, but if you do not get out of my way, I will make you move."
Kate's eyes widened at his statement and then began to fill with tears, "Why are you being this way, did you really think that I wanted to marry Garth? I've got news for you, Humphrey, I wanted this even less than you did. Who is going to be there for me if you leave?"
Humphrey's eyes softened slightly, "Kate, you can't play the guilt card on me anymore. I have received too much pain from emotions, so I am going to leave them here. Remember this though, you will always have my heart." and with that he left.
Kate stood by and watched him pad down the tracks, 'I will have more than that'...
Chapter 2:
Humphrey was waiting by the tracks for the train to show up when he heard leaves rustling behind him. He perked his ears and called out, "Come out, guys. I know that it's you, I can smell you from here." he turned towards his three Omega friends that came slinking out of the bushes. "Just so you know, I'm not going back and you can't come with me."
The Omegas looked nodded their heads, they already knew that he had made up his mind. "Try to cheer up, buddy." Salty said to him, "you know what they say, 'Ti's better to have loved and lost' you'll find another one."
Humphrey allowed contempt to fill his gaze, "Why don't you try it and tell me how it feels? I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my body, torn to pieces, and scattered all over the territory. If any of you want to know that feeling, then be my guest."
Humphrey felt the rumbling of the train before he heard the whistle, "That's my cue." He raced in the direction of the noise. He neatly landed in an open car, he smelled Kate's scent as well as his own. This was the same car that they had rode back to Jasper, the thought brought a sad smile to his lips.
After about an hour of travel, the train slowed to a stop. Humphrey decided to get out and try to find something to eat. He had been hunting for almost an hour when he heard other voices around him. Suddenly he was surrounded by what smelled like to him was a small group from the southern pack, "Ah, a western wolf." one of them stepped towards him. "Do you know the eldest daughter of the western pack leader, the one they call Kate?"
Humphrey turned his head away, "I used to. For your information, she is no longer available for a marriage to unite your pack to hers. She is married to Garth of the Eastern Pack."
The she-wolf in the group saw his reaction, "Aww, look Thorn. I think that this little one knew her very well."
"Why is she so important to you, what do you want with Kate?" Humphrey demanded.
"Food is very scarce in the south, so we are going to drive the Western and Eastern packs out of their territory. We wanted to do this with as little bloodshed as possible, so we were going to kidnap her and use her as a hostage. If you could tell us all that you know about her, then we will be on our merry way. We won't even harm her, in your honor." Thorn answered.
"Hah, if you think it will be that easy, then you are crazy. Kate will kill herself before she is taken as a hostage. Besides, I will not let you go anywhere near her. I will die to protect her, despite what she did to me." Humphrey took a fighting stance, his eyes changing from ice-blue to knew that he could beat them, but not without injuries.
"This Kate girl is a fool. I mean; if I had a male that is willing to lay down his life for me over a hundred miles away, I would hold on to him and never let him go." the she-wolf complimented.
"So, she didn't love you back, huh? That's harsh, but if you stand in our way, you will die." Thorn dropped into a battle stance, along with the rest of the southern wolves. "One Omega against a whole group of Alphas? You don't stand a chance of surviving, you should have spilled it when you had the chance. Now you are going to have your guts spilled all over this place."
Humphrey sighed, "That's everybody's problem," before Thorn could blink, Humphrey had taken hold of Thorn's throat in his jaws and ripped it open. "Underestimating me, because I look like an Omega. I was an Omega, but I have a special power. When I get angry, I unleash my true strength. With that power, I can slay an entire pack of Alpha wolves in one fight." Humphrey explained over the body of Thorn.
The she-wolf that had seemed so kind earlier, suddenly shrieked in rage, "You killed my brother! How dare you!" Humphrey neatly side-stepped her lunge and sent her sprawling with a flick of his tail. She leapt at him again, but this time Humphrey slammed his paw into her chest as she flew by, flinging her into a tree with enough force to crack the trunk.
When Humphrey looked around, the other wolves had left. 'If they really are going to attack the packs, I must stop them.' He sighed, the things he would do for Kate were ridiculous, despite his feelings for her...
Winston stood next to Tony on top of the Alpha den overlooking the camp, "Kate, Garth! Come here." he called.
Garth sped up the hill with Kate following a bit slower. "Good, I want you two to gather the best Alphas that you can find. One of our scouts has heard tale that the Southern Pack is going to try running us off of our land. We want you to go and negotiate a peaceful settlement." Kate and Garth nodded and bounded off...
After more than a week of full speed travel, Kate and her patrol reached the edge of the Southern camp. Kate turned to Garth, "Looks like they're preparing for war, alright." Garth nudged her shoulder and pointed with his snout at a gray wolf sitting rock spire that was situated directly above the camp, "Do you think that's their leader?"
Kate shook her head, "No, their leader is white-furred like Lily. He... look!"
The gray wolf had jumped off of the spire and was hurtling straight towards the middle of the camp. Almost halfway through his fall, the gray wolf's fur was enveloped by a reddish-orange glow; and when it landed, the fur had become the colors of fire.
Kate and Garth both starred at this mysterious wolf that radiated power, while the southern wolves wasted no time in attacking. "That's him!" one wolf cried, "Kill him!" screamed another; but the flaming wolf moved in a blur, tearing throats and ripping bodies in half. Not long after the battle had begun, it was over.
The flaming wolf returned to the spot where it had landed, and released the fiery power. Kate gasped, "Humphrey!" the lone wolf's head snapped towards the direction of the noise, and he began to slowly pad toward the clump of bushes they were hiding in.
Kate jumped out of the bushes and ran to meet him, "Oh, Humphrey, I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so glad that you are alive!"
Garth also padded out from the bushes, "How did an Omega manage to wipe out an entire pack without a single scratch?" he asked with contempt in his voice.
"Can you not see that she is talking right now? If you interrupt her again, I just might teach you the hard way." Humphrey growled. "Don't worry, Kate. I'm fine, it is nice to see you again though. Forgive me, but I must leave, send Winston my regards." Humphrey spoke without any emotion in his voice whatsoever.
Kate looked hurt by his reaction to her words, "I'm sorry for what happened to you, if I would have known..."
"No, don't say another word," Humphrey interrupted her, "I am not angry with you. I could never feel anything but love for you. These wolves wished to kidnap you and use you as a hostage to run the Eastern and Western packs off their land." Humphrey began to walk away, "If Winston asks, I was never here." With that said, he dashed out of the camp and into the moonless night.
Kate starred at the place where he disappeared and felt tears well up in her eyes, "He really did leave his emotions behind. The only one he has left is hate."
Garth shook his head, "Go, bring him back. I know that you love him, even if you don't know it yet." Kate looked at Garth disbelievingly, when he nodded, she ran to the place where Humphrey had disappeared...
"Humphrey, where are you?" Kate called again. She had been following his scent trail for almost three days now. She knew that he knew she was following him, because yesterday she found three dead rabbits covered with his scent, left for her to eat. No matter how fast she ran, he was always far ahead of her. This morning, she had woken with his scent strong and fresh in her nostrils, he had been watching her sleep. 'Was he protecting me, or just looking?' she thought to herself.
Suddenly, she realized that she had lost the scent, she backtracked but it seemed that the scent just stopped at the base of a large tree. Noticing this, Kate began to cry again. She cried for Humphrey, let out all of the sadness that she felt about what he had become...
Humphrey heard sobbing below him and looked down. Kate was sitting at the base of the tree that he was using as a temporary den. He stood up on the branch and leapt to the ground, turning towards Kate he said, "You sure are persistent, no wolf should be able to even keep up with me, let alone overtake me."
Kate stopped crying and just starred at him. "Why have you come all this way? Nothing you can say will make me want to go back to Jasper Park, so don't bother if that's the case."
Kate shook her head, "No, I know when your mind's made up. I have come to bring you home, even if I have to drag you there." she said with utmost confidence.
This actually got a smile from him, "Alright, I will go back with you, but as soon as I know that you are safe, I am leaving."
"Then I will hunt you down again and bring you home, as many times as it takes for you to stay forever." Kate argued.
Humphrey harrumphed good-naturedly, "Well then, let's get you home."
Chapter 3:
Humphrey padded away from the Alpha den after telling his goodbyes to Kate, feeling sadder than he ever had felt before.
"Humphrey, wait." Kate called after him, "please don't go, I don't want you to." She had tears in her eyes as she begged him to stay.
"Kate, I can't stay here anymore. Every day that I would spend here would be complete torture now." Humphrey replied.
"Why?" Kate asked incredulously, "What could be so bad that you can no longer live here?"
"You wouldn't understand, it's complicated." Humphrey turned to leave.
"I'm listening, Humphrey. You can tell me anything." Kate said.
Humphrey spun to face her, "No, you aren't listening. You never did!" Kate saw tears well up in his eyes as he screamed at her. "Even on the train, you left before I could tell you what I wanted to tell you for years," he stopped to take a shaky breath. "I love you, Kate. I could never stay here and see you with him every day, it would tear me apart from the inside out."
Kate took a step back, "This can't be right. It's against pack law for an Omega to love an Alpha."
"That's why I'm leaving. It's against the law for me to see you, since I love you so." Humphrey turned away from her again, "I hope you are happy with him, if only one of us could be happy, I hope that it's you."He ran from her before she could reply.
Humphrey had almost made it out of the territory when he was stopped by Winston, "What did you say to my daughter?" he asked, "You left her crying, on her wedding day no less!"
"Sir, I am leaving the pack. I confessed that to her, along with the fact that... I love her."
Humphrey fell to the ground and began to cry, "Why did I have to fall for her? Why not another one?"
When Humphrey had finished crying, Winston said "I won't try to stop you from leaving, Humphrey; but at least stay until after the ceremony. Do it for me, a last request before you leave."
"Okay, I will stay. When the ceremony is over, I will probably never come back, though."...
The wedding passed without incident, Humphrey standing at the farthest edge of the group.
Over the course of the ceremony, all of the wolves heard a slight buzzing in their ears; they could not identify the noise so settled for ignoring it. As soon as Garth and Kate rubbed their noses together, the noise intensified and was recognized as a deep, rage-filled growl. All eyes turned towards the source, which was recognized as Humphrey.
Eve rushed over to Humphrey, enraged that he would try to ruin her daughter's wedding day like this. She was prepared to tear him apart as she spun him around to face her; but when she saw the look of cold fury in his eyes, she put her tail between her legs and backed away from him slowly.
"Do not try that again." he ordered the powerful she-wolf, "I am not in the mood for you or anybody else!" his voice dropped to little more than a whisper. "Do you understand me?"
Eve nodded slowly and backed away faster.
Kate watched as Humphrey left Jasper in a fit of rage and thought, 'What happened to him to make him this way?'...
Humphrey had almost reached the train tracks when his journey was interrupted by a wolf that he was not eager to see, it was Kate. "You think that you can act like that and then just leave?" she demanded.
"Kate," Humphrey warned, "I am in a very bad mood right now. I don't want to hurt you, but if you do not get out of my way, I will make you move."
Kate's eyes widened at his statement and then began to fill with tears, "Why are you being this way, did you really think that I wanted to marry Garth? I've got news for you, Humphrey, I wanted this even less than you did. Who is going to be there for me if you leave?"
Humphrey's eyes softened slightly, "Kate, you can't play the guilt card on me anymore. I have received too much pain from emotions, so I am going to leave them here. Remember this though, you will always have my heart." and with that he left.
Kate stood by and watched him pad down the tracks, 'I will have more than that'...
Chapter 2:
Humphrey was waiting by the tracks for the train to show up when he heard leaves rustling behind him. He perked his ears and called out, "Come out, guys. I know that it's you, I can smell you from here." he turned towards his three Omega friends that came slinking out of the bushes. "Just so you know, I'm not going back and you can't come with me."
The Omegas looked nodded their heads, they already knew that he had made up his mind. "Try to cheer up, buddy." Salty said to him, "you know what they say, 'Ti's better to have loved and lost' you'll find another one."
Humphrey allowed contempt to fill his gaze, "Why don't you try it and tell me how it feels? I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my body, torn to pieces, and scattered all over the territory. If any of you want to know that feeling, then be my guest."
Humphrey felt the rumbling of the train before he heard the whistle, "That's my cue." He raced in the direction of the noise. He neatly landed in an open car, he smelled Kate's scent as well as his own. This was the same car that they had rode back to Jasper, the thought brought a sad smile to his lips.
After about an hour of travel, the train slowed to a stop. Humphrey decided to get out and try to find something to eat. He had been hunting for almost an hour when he heard other voices around him. Suddenly he was surrounded by what smelled like to him was a small group from the southern pack, "Ah, a western wolf." one of them stepped towards him. "Do you know the eldest daughter of the western pack leader, the one they call Kate?"
Humphrey turned his head away, "I used to. For your information, she is no longer available for a marriage to unite your pack to hers. She is married to Garth of the Eastern Pack."
The she-wolf in the group saw his reaction, "Aww, look Thorn. I think that this little one knew her very well."
"Why is she so important to you, what do you want with Kate?" Humphrey demanded.
"Food is very scarce in the south, so we are going to drive the Western and Eastern packs out of their territory. We wanted to do this with as little bloodshed as possible, so we were going to kidnap her and use her as a hostage. If you could tell us all that you know about her, then we will be on our merry way. We won't even harm her, in your honor." Thorn answered.
"Hah, if you think it will be that easy, then you are crazy. Kate will kill herself before she is taken as a hostage. Besides, I will not let you go anywhere near her. I will die to protect her, despite what she did to me." Humphrey took a fighting stance, his eyes changing from ice-blue to knew that he could beat them, but not without injuries.
"This Kate girl is a fool. I mean; if I had a male that is willing to lay down his life for me over a hundred miles away, I would hold on to him and never let him go." the she-wolf complimented.
"So, she didn't love you back, huh? That's harsh, but if you stand in our way, you will die." Thorn dropped into a battle stance, along with the rest of the southern wolves. "One Omega against a whole group of Alphas? You don't stand a chance of surviving, you should have spilled it when you had the chance. Now you are going to have your guts spilled all over this place."
Humphrey sighed, "That's everybody's problem," before Thorn could blink, Humphrey had taken hold of Thorn's throat in his jaws and ripped it open. "Underestimating me, because I look like an Omega. I was an Omega, but I have a special power. When I get angry, I unleash my true strength. With that power, I can slay an entire pack of Alpha wolves in one fight." Humphrey explained over the body of Thorn.
The she-wolf that had seemed so kind earlier, suddenly shrieked in rage, "You killed my brother! How dare you!" Humphrey neatly side-stepped her lunge and sent her sprawling with a flick of his tail. She leapt at him again, but this time Humphrey slammed his paw into her chest as she flew by, flinging her into a tree with enough force to crack the trunk.
When Humphrey looked around, the other wolves had left. 'If they really are going to attack the packs, I must stop them.' He sighed, the things he would do for Kate were ridiculous, despite his feelings for her...
Winston stood next to Tony on top of the Alpha den overlooking the camp, "Kate, Garth! Come here." he called.
Garth sped up the hill with Kate following a bit slower. "Good, I want you two to gather the best Alphas that you can find. One of our scouts has heard tale that the Southern Pack is going to try running us off of our land. We want you to go and negotiate a peaceful settlement." Kate and Garth nodded and bounded off...
After more than a week of full speed travel, Kate and her patrol reached the edge of the Southern camp. Kate turned to Garth, "Looks like they're preparing for war, alright." Garth nudged her shoulder and pointed with his snout at a gray wolf sitting rock spire that was situated directly above the camp, "Do you think that's their leader?"
Kate shook her head, "No, their leader is white-furred like Lily. He... look!"
The gray wolf had jumped off of the spire and was hurtling straight towards the middle of the camp. Almost halfway through his fall, the gray wolf's fur was enveloped by a reddish-orange glow; and when it landed, the fur had become the colors of fire.
Kate and Garth both starred at this mysterious wolf that radiated power, while the southern wolves wasted no time in attacking. "That's him!" one wolf cried, "Kill him!" screamed another; but the flaming wolf moved in a blur, tearing throats and ripping bodies in half. Not long after the battle had begun, it was over.
The flaming wolf returned to the spot where it had landed, and released the fiery power. Kate gasped, "Humphrey!" the lone wolf's head snapped towards the direction of the noise, and he began to slowly pad toward the clump of bushes they were hiding in.
Kate jumped out of the bushes and ran to meet him, "Oh, Humphrey, I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so glad that you are alive!"
Garth also padded out from the bushes, "How did an Omega manage to wipe out an entire pack without a single scratch?" he asked with contempt in his voice.
"Can you not see that she is talking right now? If you interrupt her again, I just might teach you the hard way." Humphrey growled. "Don't worry, Kate. I'm fine, it is nice to see you again though. Forgive me, but I must leave, send Winston my regards." Humphrey spoke without any emotion in his voice whatsoever.
Kate looked hurt by his reaction to her words, "I'm sorry for what happened to you, if I would have known..."
"No, don't say another word," Humphrey interrupted her, "I am not angry with you. I could never feel anything but love for you. These wolves wished to kidnap you and use you as a hostage to run the Eastern and Western packs off their land." Humphrey began to walk away, "If Winston asks, I was never here." With that said, he dashed out of the camp and into the moonless night.
Kate starred at the place where he disappeared and felt tears well up in her eyes, "He really did leave his emotions behind. The only one he has left is hate."
Garth shook his head, "Go, bring him back. I know that you love him, even if you don't know it yet." Kate looked at Garth disbelievingly, when he nodded, she ran to the place where Humphrey had disappeared...
"Humphrey, where are you?" Kate called again. She had been following his scent trail for almost three days now. She knew that he knew she was following him, because yesterday she found three dead rabbits covered with his scent, left for her to eat. No matter how fast she ran, he was always far ahead of her. This morning, she had woken with his scent strong and fresh in her nostrils, he had been watching her sleep. 'Was he protecting me, or just looking?' she thought to herself.
Suddenly, she realized that she had lost the scent, she backtracked but it seemed that the scent just stopped at the base of a large tree. Noticing this, Kate began to cry again. She cried for Humphrey, let out all of the sadness that she felt about what he had become...
Humphrey heard sobbing below him and looked down. Kate was sitting at the base of the tree that he was using as a temporary den. He stood up on the branch and leapt to the ground, turning towards Kate he said, "You sure are persistent, no wolf should be able to even keep up with me, let alone overtake me."
Kate stopped crying and just starred at him. "Why have you come all this way? Nothing you can say will make me want to go back to Jasper Park, so don't bother if that's the case."
Kate shook her head, "No, I know when your mind's made up. I have come to bring you home, even if I have to drag you there." she said with utmost confidence.
This actually got a smile from him, "Alright, I will go back with you, but as soon as I know that you are safe, I am leaving."
"Then I will hunt you down again and bring you home, as many times as it takes for you to stay forever." Kate argued.
Humphrey harrumphed good-naturedly, "Well then, let's get you home."
Chapter 3:
Garth finally returned to the Central Pack camp, and immediately rushed to see Winston. "Sir, the patrol has returned. We have some good news and bad news."
Winston gave him an odd look, "Where's my daughter?" "That's the bad news, but first let me tell you this; she is fine, and well protected. Her 'guardian angel' is more than ready to kill to protect her."
As Garth relayed the story of what happened, a young Alpha named Alex stood listening to his recount. 'Oh no, this is bad. Humphrey has found out what his power can really do.' he thought to himself.
Alex padded into the den, "Garth, who was it that destroyed the Southern Pack? Could it have possibly been Humphrey?"
Winston looked at Alex and then back at Garth, "What are you talking about? How could an Omega like Humphrey wipe out an entire pack?"
Alex stepped forward, "Humphrey, my brother, was born with a special power. He can take any emotion and change his body into the primal form of that emotion. For him to use this power, however, he must feel this emotion very strongly. Tell me, was he covered in flames or black as night?"
Garth replied, "He was the color of fire, and when he moved, he seemed to be ablaze with light."
Alex seemed to relax a little bit, "Good, he was feeling anger at that moment. Thank god he still has feelings for Kate or else he might have killed you both. If he ever lets go of his love for her, his fur will become darker than the blackest night and he will grow black wings. If that moment comes, I may be the only one that can stop him from killing all of us."
Winston tried to clear his thoughts, "So, you mean to tell me that you and Humphrey were born with special powers based off of emotion?" Alex nodded, Winston continued, "Why did I never hear of this power? Where did it come from?"
Alex replied, "Our father never told you because he knew that sooner or later, we would be used as tools of war. Our father also had this power. When he was consumed by rage at our mother's death, it took all of Humphrey's and my power combined just to stop him. Humphrey was wise to leave most of his emotions behind, but now all he feels is hate and anger. If anything happens to Kate, he will become a spirit of vengeance. For all eternity, he will hunt down anybody that may have hurt her, however little the offense."
"We must make sure that she stays safe." Winston ordered "If we don't, and if something happens to her, we will all perish before the fires of his rage."...
Kate woke to the sound of snarling and growling, she looked around to see that it was coming from Humphrey. He was still asleep, but he sounded like he was in a fight. As she watched him, unsure of whether to wake him or not, his fur began to darken. Kate gasped, his fur had gone from silver to jet-black in a matter of seconds, and then odd shapes began to form from his shoulders. "Humphrey, wake up!" she screamed.
Immediately, his fur went back to silver and the growths disappeared. He opened his eyes and saw the worried look on her face. He stood up and stood next to Kate, "I'm sorry, it was just a bad dream."
Kate looked at him with fear in her eyes, "Your fur, it changed colors. You started to grow something out of your shoulders." she was at a loss for words.
Hearing this, Humphrey gasped in horror, "It has already started, I have begun the transformation into the beast. If I ever begin to change like that again, you will have to kill me. If I am allowed to run free in that state, I will become a danger to all living things."
Kate starred at Humphrey with wide eyes, "Kill you? I couldn't kill you even if I wanted to. I've seen what you can do with your power, how do you expect me to be able to kill you?"
Humphrey gave an impatient growl, "I don't know! All I do know is that if I do change completely, not even the combined power of the Eastern and Western Packs could slow me down. My father underwent this kind of change, it took all of my and my brother's power to stop him; and he wasn't even halfway transformed."
Kate looked at him sympathetically, "Your brother is Alex, isn't it? He always tried to protect you, and always laughed at your jokes; no matter how corny they were." Humphrey nodded, "Yes, he is. He shares my sense of humor, and my power; although he is better than I am about keeping his emotions in check."
'That's why Alex's fur change colors every day, I thought he colored it with berries. Odd, I never saw Humphrey's fur change until a few days ago. Now seems as good of a time as any to tell him the truth.' "Humphrey, you are going to have to figure out a way to teach someone else how to use this power correctly."
Humphrey shook his head, "This power can't be taught, you have to be born with it. So far, Alex and I are the only wolves that have this power. Unless any of us have pups, the power will die with us." Humphrey realized what he had said and perked up, "Alex is going to have pups?"
Kate smiled but shook her head. "Well then... oh, crap. Are you serious?" Humphrey asked in little more than a whisper.
Kate nodded her head, "You are going to be a father, Humphrey." Humphrey's eyes grew huge and he showed signs of an emotion that he never wanted to experience again, fear. "How can I be a father? How can you be the mother? What did I miss?"
Kate shrugged her shoulders, "Do you really need an instant replay?"
Humphrey shook his head violently, "No, no no no! This can't be happening, you're married to Garth. You can't be carrying my pup, we weren't supposed to mate in the first place. You're an Alpha and I'm an Omega."
Kate shook her head at this last statement, "No, you are a lone wolf. The rules that separated us no longer apply, there is nothing wrong with me loving you. For the record, I never felt anything but annoyance towards Barf."
"You seemed to want to get married to him in a hurry, was that because of the imminent war or my pup?" Humphrey asked.
"Both, I knew that if I didn't marry Garth, it would soon become obvious that I was carrying somebody's pup. I didn't want you to get in trouble because of me; and if Garth and I never married, you might have been killed in the fighting that we both know would have escalated into a full-scale war." Kate explained.
"I can't be a father," Humphrey argued, "I know what it is like to have a father that shows no emotion other than anger. I would not wish that upon anybody else, let alone my own pup."
Kate glared at him, "So, you would leave your own pup without a father? You would leave me without a husband, alone with a newborn?"
"I thought you were married to Garth, if not, then how are the packs still united."
Kate looked away, "After you left, I couldn't finish the ceremony. Garth seemed really happy about it, I realized later that he had fallen in love with Lily while we were away."
Humphrey took a long time before answering, "I see." was all he said.
As she watched, his fur turned from silver to a brilliant white color. The shine was such that she had to look away, not long after his fur had changed, it reverted back to its normal silver sheen. "What emotion was that?" she asked.
"That, Kate, was the emotion of mine that you have always owned. That was the power of love." Humphrey answered...
Chapter 4:
Kate looked at Humphrey with renewed feelings of love, "You started to grow something out of your shoulders again." she stated.
Humphrey looked confused, "I thought I could only grow wings if the emotion was pure rage... maybe love is the opposite power, hmm."
Kate scooted closer to him, "I don't know, but you looked absolutely marvelous in the moonlight with white fur." as she spoke, Kate brushed her tail across Humphrey's head fur.
Humphrey looked at her, "Kate, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. That is what my nightmare was about, some wolf had hurt you, bad. Just the thought of anything happening to you fills me with rage." his fur began to glow with an orange light.
"Calm down, Humphrey, I'm fine. Nobody is ever going to cause me more pain than what I felt when you left."
Humphrey turned his head away from her in shame, "It seems that the sole reason I left my emotions behind has brought them back to me. You truly are amazing, Kate." He lay back down and soon fell asleep.
Kate curled around him and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Humphrey."...
A dark form was sound asleep in the corner of a well-hidden cave when a flickering light appeared, coming straight towards the sleeping creature. The flickering light intensified for a moment, and the dark creature awoke. In a rush he was on his paws, claws out and wings unfurled, ready to combat this intruder. "Who goes there? Show yourself!" he demanded.
A lithe shape padded into the center of the cave, carrying a burning branch for light. "Ah, it is you. Did you feel his power peak? He has begun to transform into his true self." the dark creature commented.
"Yes, I did. He was interrupted in the middle of his transformation, probably by her." the new wolf spoke angrily.
"Yes, it seems that she will get in the way of our plan. If she were to die, however, my son's transformation into the ultimate tool of death will be complete."
The new shape nodded, "Yes, sir, I understand. I will do whatever it takes to remove her from this world."
The old creature nodded, "Go, you of the flaming spirit. Do not rest until she is dead at your paws."
The younger wolf bent down to grab the burning branch, revealing him to be Alex. "Yes, Dalenix. As you say, so it shall be done." Alex picked up the branch and padded out of the den, thinking of a myriad of ways to slaughter Kate before Humphrey's very eyes...
Humphrey turned to Kate as she bounded up the rocks behind him, "Come quickly, the train will be arriving soon."
Kate growled at him, "Quickly, yeah, easy for you to say. You aren't carrying added weight."
Humphrey smiled at her, "It was your idea." Kate blushed, "I wasn't complaining about what happened, just about the relentless pace you're setting."
Humphrey pricked his ears, "Well, if we don't get to the tracks by nightfall, we will have to wait for the next one. Let's go, sitting here won't get you home any faster."
He began to walk away when Kate let out a gasp of fear. Humphrey turned around, feeling a blast of hot air, just to see that Kate wasn't there anymore.
Where she had been standing, there was a flaming patch of grass in the shape of a wolf's paw. Humphrey looked in the direction the paw was pointing and saw more of them, beside one of them was a small spray of blood. When he recognized the scent of the blood, his fur caught fire and he dashed off towards the one who dared hurt Kate...
Kate struggled against her assailant with all her might, but he would not release her. She was being dragged through the forest, away from Humphrey and the train that would take her home. All she saw before she was gripped by the scruff of her neck was a flash of fire and the shape of a powerful wolf bounding towards her. Kate soon heard the pounding of paws behind her and her kidnapper, she could tell it was Humphrey by the growling that followed. Kate felt sharp rocks beneath her before she slowed to a stop. Her attacker dropped her and intensified the light around him, preparing for battle. Humphrey soon burst out onto the cliff face, covered in red flames. When he saw all the small cuts on Kate's body, the red flames turned to an almost black color.
"Who are you, and why have you hurt Kate?"
The new wolf laughed, a dark and evil laugh. "You mean that you don't recognize me, brother?"
"Alex?" Kate asked.
"That is only the name I was given by my master, Dalenix. I was to get as close as possible to you, find your strengths and weaknesses. My ultimate mission was to drive you over the edge, to make you like our father was. It was Dalenix that took over our father's body after we almost killed him, he found me almost a year after we fought our father. He told me that if I could release your inner beast, I could have his power and position when he died."
Humphrey gave his brother a weird look, "What would this Dalenix want with me? If I am so much more powerful, why would he give you the position of leader?" As he spoke, Humphrey slowly positioned himself between Alex and Kate.
"That's none of your concern, and by the look of those black flames around you, I won't have to do much to push your mind into absolute darkness. Once that happens, Dalenix will finally be free again."
Humphrey scoffed and turned towards Kate, whispering so softly that Kate almost missed it, "Kate, if you can still run, I want you to go to the train tracks. Don't slow down until you have gotten on the train, when you get back to Jasper, go tell Winston what has happened. I'll hold him off as long as I can, run when I start fighting with him. You got it?"
Kate slowly nodded her head, Humphrey nuzzled her and turned towards Alex. "Look at what you did to her! She can't even move because of what you've done. I'm going to kill you for this."
Alex glared right back at Humphrey, "It serves her right for stopping your transformation earlier. If she wouldn't have interfered, she could have died peacefully. Because you love her so, I am going to beat you down and kill her slowly. When you hear the one you love scream out in agony as I rip her to pieces, you will inevitably become a creature of darkness."
Humphrey growled at Alex with such intensity, that the earth around them started to move. Humphrey then leapt at Alex while he shouted, "GO, NOW!"
Kate immediately got to her paws and raced towards the sound of the approaching train. Alex, realizing his mistake too late, was bowled over by Humphrey's selfless charge. Alex and Humphrey rolled closer and closer to the edge of the cliff before Alex regained his footing and pushed Humphrey away.
"Tell me, brother. How should I kill her? Perhaps I will rip her stomach open and spill her guts all around you as you change. Or maybe I will tear off her limbs and bathe you in her blood. Which would you prefer, Humphrey?" Alex taunted.
If looks could kill, Alex would explode when faced with the horrific glare Humphrey fixed him with. "Neither you nor your master will harm Kate ever again!" Humphrey shouted at his brother.
Alex just laughed at his statement, "What makes you think that we are alone? We have many wolves on our side, much like the Southern Pack was."
Humphrey starred at Alex, "What do you mean?" "I have under my command, over one-hundred Alphas. They are currently hunting your beloved down with all haste. When they find her, they will take her straight to Dalenix."
Humphrey gasped in horror, "Kate!" he screamed.
He felt a sharp pain at the base of his skull and blacked out. "Never turn your back on an enemy, brother."...
Chapter 5:
Kate ran as fast as her paws would carry her, but before she could see the train tracks, she was stopped by an army of Alphas. She heard Humphrey scream her name, but she was surrounded by the enemy. One of the Alphas stepped forward, an older female.
The old she-wolf spoke, "Come with us, our orders are not to harm you if it can be helped. If you resist, however, we are allowed to use necessary force. I do not want to harm a pregnant wolf, so please, come quietly."
Kate looked back the way she had come, "Humphrey..." she whispered.
The old wolf noticed this, "Not to worry, the master wants your mate in top condition. He will not cause excessive harm to your little Humphrey."
Kate lowered her head and followed the old wolf, praying that Humphrey was all right...
Humphrey awoke in a dark room, he was wrapped in some weird, black chains. He saw Kate lying a few feet in front of him, also wrapped in black chains. As much as he struggled to get free, the chains only got tighter. It was not until he released the power of rage, that they began to loosen; though he was not able to get out of them.
"Stop wasting your time, those chains will not let you free until you release the dark power within yourself." a dark voice boomed throughout the cavern.
"I will never give in to your wishes, Dalenix. I will not embrace the darkness as you have." Humphrey called.
"Would you do it to save her? Would you do it to save your unborn pups? If not for them, then how can I persuade you to join me willingly? I have never entertained the thought of killing my own grandchildren." as he spoke, Dalenix came into Humphrey's view.
He was covered with jet-black fur, he had two wings sprouting from his shoulders like a giant raven, and his tail looked like it was made of black spikes instead of fur.
"I will never join you, willingly or otherwise; but if you touch Kate or my pups, I will rip you into thousands of pieces and scatter them all over the planet." Humphrey growled, as his flames began to grow darker and the chains began to get looser.
"Yes, that's it!" Dalenix commented, "Give in to the darkness, let it flow through your body like a river of power."
As Dalenix took another step towards Kate, Humphrey finally broke free of the chains. He was now covered in fur that was blacker than night and had one jet-black wing, just like one of Dalenix's. "Stay away from Kate. Even if you kill me, I will never allow you to hurt her. I love her, and I will do everything in my power to protect her!" he yelled at his father.
Dalenix watched in surprise as Humphrey's right side went from jet-black to stark-white, and then his expression changed to horror as Humphrey grew a white wing to match the black one on his left side. "So, it seems my plan to change you into a mindless beast capable of massacring thousands has failed. You are too attached to your mate, and so, she must die. There are only two ways to remove the chains surrounding her body, one way is to do what you just did, and the other is to have the one who placed them around her cut them off. Since there is no possibility of either of those things happening, she will slowly be drained of her life's energy until there is nothing left. No matter what you do, my son, she will die. Consider this your punishment for disobeying me, now you will know the pain that I felt." Dalenix's expression softened for a moment, "What is the point of having all this power if you cannot defend the ones you love?"
Humphrey gave his father a hard look, "Release her and you might have the family you always wanted. If she lives, you will become a grandfather."
Dalenix gave his son a look of disbelief, "You would forgive all that I have done if I just release her?" Humphrey nodded. Dalenix padded to stand over Kate. He reached out with a paw, claws extended, and ripped the chains off of her body. Kate let out a gasp and began to breathe heavily.
Humphrey stood over her, moving Dalenix away from her. "Kate, are you okay?" She looked at Humphrey and stood, "I think so, I'm feeling really weak."
"That's no surprise, you two were chained up for over a week." Dalenix replied.
Kate's fur stood on end and she looked ready to tear him to pieces, "You! Humphrey, this is the wolf that chained us up."
Humphrey looked at her, "I know, he is my father. He is also the one that just set you free."
Dalenix turned back towards Kate, but kept his face turned to Humphrey. With one swift motion, he threw Humphrey against the wall of the cave and slammed Kate into the other wall.
"You fool, you really think I would give up that easy?" he laughed as more black chains enveloped Humphrey. "Now you will watch as your beloved enters the next world, along with your pups." Dalenix slowly walked towards Kate as she struggled to stand. She finally lifted herself to her paws right before Dalenix ripped her body open with one swipe.
"Kate!" Humphrey screamed.
He struggled harder to be free of the chains that kept him pinned against the wall. Humphrey began to bleed from struggling against the chains, but he didn't care. Kate was dying, and he couldn't help her. Dalenix, satisfied wit his work, left Kate dying on the floor and his son screaming her name.
Kate drug herself to lay beside Humphrey, he nuzzled her as she began to close her eyes. "Kate, don't leave me. You can't do this to me, no. Kate, please, you're going to be okay. I'll get you out of here, you'll be okay. Kate, look at me." she slowly raised her head.
"Humphrey, looks like this is it." he shook his head. "No, you're going to be okay. You can't die, what about our pups?"
Kate licked his cheek, "We will all be waiting for you on the other side. Goodbye, Humphrey, I love you." Kate lowered her head and closed her eyes for the last time.
A single tear rolled off of Humphrey's muzzle before he screamed in a voice loud enough to shake the mountain.
"KATE!"
Chapter 6:
Dalenix was standing atop the mountain when he felt his son's power skyrocket. "She must have died already, he is very angry now."
He began to laugh but was interrupted by a loud roar, the entire mountain was crumbling underneath him! This was impossible, Humphrey couldn't be this powerful. Yet the mountain continued to fall to pieces, Dalenix spread his wings and flew away from the mountain. When the mountain had finally been reduced to rubble and the dust cleared, Dalenix saw an orb of black and white energy hovering towards him.
The orb slowly fell to the ground, and when it did, the energy dissipated and revealed Humphrey carrying the body of his mate, Kate. Dalenix stood by as Humphrey cried over the body of the only wolf he had ever loved. When he had finished, Humphrey turned to face his father.
"You were right, her death made me release my true power; but," he paused for a moment, "you made a mistake. This mistake will put all of your plans to ruin and cost you your life. You gave me a target!" with that statement, Humphrey's wings began to glow with their respective energies.
"You were the one that gave me this power. You were the one that secured my fate as an Omega." With each statement, Humphrey took a step toward Dalenix. "You were the one that caused the food to run out in the East. You were the one that sent the Southern Pack to capture Kate. And YOU were the one that killed my mate. For what? So that I could be like you?" Humphrey scoffed, "I am nothing like you. Make no mistake, though, I am going to rip you to pieces."
Dalenix closed his eyes and a single tear rolled off of his muzzle, "My son, I have failed you. I wanted you to realize that there are no happy endings, but I didn't want it to end like this. Hurry, you must stop me before the darkness takes over again."
Dalenix grunted as if he was struck, "Stay asleep, you old fool. So, Humphrey, why do you not surrender yourself to the darkness? Why do you cling to your love for her when it has brought you nothing but pain? Give in to the darkness in your heart and all the pain will disappear, and you will receive a new life. You will be the ultimate power in the universe. You will be Sarox, Lupine Lord of Fire."
Humphrey began to laugh, a laugh stricken with grief. "Even if I do give in to the darkness, she will always live in my heart. Laughable, is it not? I left her to escape my emotions, but now that I have truly left her, they have returned with more intensity than ever before."
Dalenix took a step forward, "Forgive me, my son. I know the pain you feel. Please, you must kill me or else the darkness within me will continue to kill others. He will never be satisfied with your sadness, he feels as if he must cause grief everywhere. He believes that all must feel the pain that I have felt, you must stop him." Dalenix began to groan in pain, "Hurry, before he overpowers me!"
Humphrey quickly knocked his father to the ground, placed his paws on his neck, and pushed with all of his might.
Within seconds, Humphrey felt his father struggle harder against his weight, but it was already too late. Dalenix's body stopped thrashing and his heart stopped beating. Humphrey heard a voice inside his head, 'Thank you, Humphrey. I only wish things could have been different.'
Humphrey turned back to the mountain to find his brother's body. 'He may have lied to me, but he was still my only brother.' Once Humphrey found it, he buried Dalenix and Alex beside each other near the ruins of the mountain. Humphrey walked over to Kate's body, picked it up by the scruff of the neck, and flew to Jasper Park...
It was the night after the Full Moonlight Howl, Winston crept out of his den to stare at the sky. Something inside him was telling him that he should watch the sky tonight. He stood there, staring at the sky for hours. Just before dawn, however, he saw a large shadow land on the peak of Howling Rock. It dropped something before raising its head in a requiem howl that reached Winston's ears as clearly as if he was standing next to it.
Eve, Hutch, Candu, and Garth ran to him all asking what they should do. "You four, come with me. We will go to investigate, everyone else will guard the camp in case this is an attack."
Winston climbed the small mountain to see a black and white wolf with wings crying over something on the ground in front of him. The wings were positioned so that Winston could not see what it was, "Who are you, and why are you here?" he demanded of the winged wolf.
The wolf stopped howling and replied, "I couldn't protect her, I am so sorry." he folded his wings to reveal Kate's body.
Eve gasped and ran to Kate, noticing she was dead, she growled at the newcomer. "I will kill you for this."
The wolf lowered his head even farther, "I won't stop you, I have nothing left to live for. My mate and pups are lying dead in front of me, why should I care anymore?"
Winston recognized the voice, "Humphrey, is that you?"
He nodded, "I'm so sorry, sir. Dalenix chained me to a wall and made me watch as he tore her body open. I couldn't save her, but I thought that she should be buried by her family." Humphrey raised his wings and flew off while crying, "Goodbye, Kate, I will never forget you."
Winston turned towards Garth, "Bring Lily up here, we will bury Kate at the top of Howling Rock. Lily should be here for this."...
One-hundred years later...
At the top of the mountain known as Howling Rock, there stood an ancient wolf. He had been coming to this very spot every full moon for the last hundred years, but all he ever did was stand there. Nothing really made him stand out, except for the wings that extended from his shoulders. None of the wolves that lived near the rock would climb to the peak while he stood there, but this night there was an exception. A young female, golden-brown in color, dared go up to the old wolf and speak to him. "Why do you always come here at the full moon?"
The old wolf raised his head, "I come to mourn the loss of my mate. She died many years ago, before your great-grandparents were born."
The young she-wolf tipped her head to one side, "You have wings, like a story I once heard. The story was about two lovers, one died and the other was never seen again. Was she the one from the story the elders tell? Was she the one called Kate?"
The old wolf looked at her, "That was her name, yes."
"So then, you must be the one called Humphrey!" she exclaimed.
"Humphrey, I have not gone by that name for many years. My name was once Humphrey, but now it does not matter. I have lived over one-hundred years, and I have never found a wolf that cared enough to know my name. What is yours, little one?"
The little wolf stood up proudly, "My name is Tekax, my dad is the pack-leader."
Humphrey smiled and rubbed the top of her head, "I pray that you find happiness, like I did all those years ago. My time draws near, you must go now."
Tekax nodded and left. Humphrey raised his head and voice in a howl as beautiful as Kate's had once been. As he released all of the emotion he had penned up for one-hundred years, his body began to turn into stone.
When the song ended, there was now a statue of a howling wolf with wings at the top of Howling Rock...
Winston gave him an odd look, "Where's my daughter?" "That's the bad news, but first let me tell you this; she is fine, and well protected. Her 'guardian angel' is more than ready to kill to protect her."
As Garth relayed the story of what happened, a young Alpha named Alex stood listening to his recount. 'Oh no, this is bad. Humphrey has found out what his power can really do.' he thought to himself.
Alex padded into the den, "Garth, who was it that destroyed the Southern Pack? Could it have possibly been Humphrey?"
Winston looked at Alex and then back at Garth, "What are you talking about? How could an Omega like Humphrey wipe out an entire pack?"
Alex stepped forward, "Humphrey, my brother, was born with a special power. He can take any emotion and change his body into the primal form of that emotion. For him to use this power, however, he must feel this emotion very strongly. Tell me, was he covered in flames or black as night?"
Garth replied, "He was the color of fire, and when he moved, he seemed to be ablaze with light."
Alex seemed to relax a little bit, "Good, he was feeling anger at that moment. Thank god he still has feelings for Kate or else he might have killed you both. If he ever lets go of his love for her, his fur will become darker than the blackest night and he will grow black wings. If that moment comes, I may be the only one that can stop him from killing all of us."
Winston tried to clear his thoughts, "So, you mean to tell me that you and Humphrey were born with special powers based off of emotion?" Alex nodded, Winston continued, "Why did I never hear of this power? Where did it come from?"
Alex replied, "Our father never told you because he knew that sooner or later, we would be used as tools of war. Our father also had this power. When he was consumed by rage at our mother's death, it took all of Humphrey's and my power combined just to stop him. Humphrey was wise to leave most of his emotions behind, but now all he feels is hate and anger. If anything happens to Kate, he will become a spirit of vengeance. For all eternity, he will hunt down anybody that may have hurt her, however little the offense."
"We must make sure that she stays safe." Winston ordered "If we don't, and if something happens to her, we will all perish before the fires of his rage."...
Kate woke to the sound of snarling and growling, she looked around to see that it was coming from Humphrey. He was still asleep, but he sounded like he was in a fight. As she watched him, unsure of whether to wake him or not, his fur began to darken. Kate gasped, his fur had gone from silver to jet-black in a matter of seconds, and then odd shapes began to form from his shoulders. "Humphrey, wake up!" she screamed.
Immediately, his fur went back to silver and the growths disappeared. He opened his eyes and saw the worried look on her face. He stood up and stood next to Kate, "I'm sorry, it was just a bad dream."
Kate looked at him with fear in her eyes, "Your fur, it changed colors. You started to grow something out of your shoulders." she was at a loss for words.
Hearing this, Humphrey gasped in horror, "It has already started, I have begun the transformation into the beast. If I ever begin to change like that again, you will have to kill me. If I am allowed to run free in that state, I will become a danger to all living things."
Kate starred at Humphrey with wide eyes, "Kill you? I couldn't kill you even if I wanted to. I've seen what you can do with your power, how do you expect me to be able to kill you?"
Humphrey gave an impatient growl, "I don't know! All I do know is that if I do change completely, not even the combined power of the Eastern and Western Packs could slow me down. My father underwent this kind of change, it took all of my and my brother's power to stop him; and he wasn't even halfway transformed."
Kate looked at him sympathetically, "Your brother is Alex, isn't it? He always tried to protect you, and always laughed at your jokes; no matter how corny they were." Humphrey nodded, "Yes, he is. He shares my sense of humor, and my power; although he is better than I am about keeping his emotions in check."
'That's why Alex's fur change colors every day, I thought he colored it with berries. Odd, I never saw Humphrey's fur change until a few days ago. Now seems as good of a time as any to tell him the truth.' "Humphrey, you are going to have to figure out a way to teach someone else how to use this power correctly."
Humphrey shook his head, "This power can't be taught, you have to be born with it. So far, Alex and I are the only wolves that have this power. Unless any of us have pups, the power will die with us." Humphrey realized what he had said and perked up, "Alex is going to have pups?"
Kate smiled but shook her head. "Well then... oh, crap. Are you serious?" Humphrey asked in little more than a whisper.
Kate nodded her head, "You are going to be a father, Humphrey." Humphrey's eyes grew huge and he showed signs of an emotion that he never wanted to experience again, fear. "How can I be a father? How can you be the mother? What did I miss?"
Kate shrugged her shoulders, "Do you really need an instant replay?"
Humphrey shook his head violently, "No, no no no! This can't be happening, you're married to Garth. You can't be carrying my pup, we weren't supposed to mate in the first place. You're an Alpha and I'm an Omega."
Kate shook her head at this last statement, "No, you are a lone wolf. The rules that separated us no longer apply, there is nothing wrong with me loving you. For the record, I never felt anything but annoyance towards Barf."
"You seemed to want to get married to him in a hurry, was that because of the imminent war or my pup?" Humphrey asked.
"Both, I knew that if I didn't marry Garth, it would soon become obvious that I was carrying somebody's pup. I didn't want you to get in trouble because of me; and if Garth and I never married, you might have been killed in the fighting that we both know would have escalated into a full-scale war." Kate explained.
"I can't be a father," Humphrey argued, "I know what it is like to have a father that shows no emotion other than anger. I would not wish that upon anybody else, let alone my own pup."
Kate glared at him, "So, you would leave your own pup without a father? You would leave me without a husband, alone with a newborn?"
"I thought you were married to Garth, if not, then how are the packs still united."
Kate looked away, "After you left, I couldn't finish the ceremony. Garth seemed really happy about it, I realized later that he had fallen in love with Lily while we were away."
Humphrey took a long time before answering, "I see." was all he said.
As she watched, his fur turned from silver to a brilliant white color. The shine was such that she had to look away, not long after his fur had changed, it reverted back to its normal silver sheen. "What emotion was that?" she asked.
"That, Kate, was the emotion of mine that you have always owned. That was the power of love." Humphrey answered...
Chapter 4:
Kate looked at Humphrey with renewed feelings of love, "You started to grow something out of your shoulders again." she stated.
Humphrey looked confused, "I thought I could only grow wings if the emotion was pure rage... maybe love is the opposite power, hmm."
Kate scooted closer to him, "I don't know, but you looked absolutely marvelous in the moonlight with white fur." as she spoke, Kate brushed her tail across Humphrey's head fur.
Humphrey looked at her, "Kate, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. That is what my nightmare was about, some wolf had hurt you, bad. Just the thought of anything happening to you fills me with rage." his fur began to glow with an orange light.
"Calm down, Humphrey, I'm fine. Nobody is ever going to cause me more pain than what I felt when you left."
Humphrey turned his head away from her in shame, "It seems that the sole reason I left my emotions behind has brought them back to me. You truly are amazing, Kate." He lay back down and soon fell asleep.
Kate curled around him and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Humphrey."...
A dark form was sound asleep in the corner of a well-hidden cave when a flickering light appeared, coming straight towards the sleeping creature. The flickering light intensified for a moment, and the dark creature awoke. In a rush he was on his paws, claws out and wings unfurled, ready to combat this intruder. "Who goes there? Show yourself!" he demanded.
A lithe shape padded into the center of the cave, carrying a burning branch for light. "Ah, it is you. Did you feel his power peak? He has begun to transform into his true self." the dark creature commented.
"Yes, I did. He was interrupted in the middle of his transformation, probably by her." the new wolf spoke angrily.
"Yes, it seems that she will get in the way of our plan. If she were to die, however, my son's transformation into the ultimate tool of death will be complete."
The new shape nodded, "Yes, sir, I understand. I will do whatever it takes to remove her from this world."
The old creature nodded, "Go, you of the flaming spirit. Do not rest until she is dead at your paws."
The younger wolf bent down to grab the burning branch, revealing him to be Alex. "Yes, Dalenix. As you say, so it shall be done." Alex picked up the branch and padded out of the den, thinking of a myriad of ways to slaughter Kate before Humphrey's very eyes...
Humphrey turned to Kate as she bounded up the rocks behind him, "Come quickly, the train will be arriving soon."
Kate growled at him, "Quickly, yeah, easy for you to say. You aren't carrying added weight."
Humphrey smiled at her, "It was your idea." Kate blushed, "I wasn't complaining about what happened, just about the relentless pace you're setting."
Humphrey pricked his ears, "Well, if we don't get to the tracks by nightfall, we will have to wait for the next one. Let's go, sitting here won't get you home any faster."
He began to walk away when Kate let out a gasp of fear. Humphrey turned around, feeling a blast of hot air, just to see that Kate wasn't there anymore.
Where she had been standing, there was a flaming patch of grass in the shape of a wolf's paw. Humphrey looked in the direction the paw was pointing and saw more of them, beside one of them was a small spray of blood. When he recognized the scent of the blood, his fur caught fire and he dashed off towards the one who dared hurt Kate...
Kate struggled against her assailant with all her might, but he would not release her. She was being dragged through the forest, away from Humphrey and the train that would take her home. All she saw before she was gripped by the scruff of her neck was a flash of fire and the shape of a powerful wolf bounding towards her. Kate soon heard the pounding of paws behind her and her kidnapper, she could tell it was Humphrey by the growling that followed. Kate felt sharp rocks beneath her before she slowed to a stop. Her attacker dropped her and intensified the light around him, preparing for battle. Humphrey soon burst out onto the cliff face, covered in red flames. When he saw all the small cuts on Kate's body, the red flames turned to an almost black color.
"Who are you, and why have you hurt Kate?"
The new wolf laughed, a dark and evil laugh. "You mean that you don't recognize me, brother?"
"Alex?" Kate asked.
"That is only the name I was given by my master, Dalenix. I was to get as close as possible to you, find your strengths and weaknesses. My ultimate mission was to drive you over the edge, to make you like our father was. It was Dalenix that took over our father's body after we almost killed him, he found me almost a year after we fought our father. He told me that if I could release your inner beast, I could have his power and position when he died."
Humphrey gave his brother a weird look, "What would this Dalenix want with me? If I am so much more powerful, why would he give you the position of leader?" As he spoke, Humphrey slowly positioned himself between Alex and Kate.
"That's none of your concern, and by the look of those black flames around you, I won't have to do much to push your mind into absolute darkness. Once that happens, Dalenix will finally be free again."
Humphrey scoffed and turned towards Kate, whispering so softly that Kate almost missed it, "Kate, if you can still run, I want you to go to the train tracks. Don't slow down until you have gotten on the train, when you get back to Jasper, go tell Winston what has happened. I'll hold him off as long as I can, run when I start fighting with him. You got it?"
Kate slowly nodded her head, Humphrey nuzzled her and turned towards Alex. "Look at what you did to her! She can't even move because of what you've done. I'm going to kill you for this."
Alex glared right back at Humphrey, "It serves her right for stopping your transformation earlier. If she wouldn't have interfered, she could have died peacefully. Because you love her so, I am going to beat you down and kill her slowly. When you hear the one you love scream out in agony as I rip her to pieces, you will inevitably become a creature of darkness."
Humphrey growled at Alex with such intensity, that the earth around them started to move. Humphrey then leapt at Alex while he shouted, "GO, NOW!"
Kate immediately got to her paws and raced towards the sound of the approaching train. Alex, realizing his mistake too late, was bowled over by Humphrey's selfless charge. Alex and Humphrey rolled closer and closer to the edge of the cliff before Alex regained his footing and pushed Humphrey away.
"Tell me, brother. How should I kill her? Perhaps I will rip her stomach open and spill her guts all around you as you change. Or maybe I will tear off her limbs and bathe you in her blood. Which would you prefer, Humphrey?" Alex taunted.
If looks could kill, Alex would explode when faced with the horrific glare Humphrey fixed him with. "Neither you nor your master will harm Kate ever again!" Humphrey shouted at his brother.
Alex just laughed at his statement, "What makes you think that we are alone? We have many wolves on our side, much like the Southern Pack was."
Humphrey starred at Alex, "What do you mean?" "I have under my command, over one-hundred Alphas. They are currently hunting your beloved down with all haste. When they find her, they will take her straight to Dalenix."
Humphrey gasped in horror, "Kate!" he screamed.
He felt a sharp pain at the base of his skull and blacked out. "Never turn your back on an enemy, brother."...
Chapter 5:
Kate ran as fast as her paws would carry her, but before she could see the train tracks, she was stopped by an army of Alphas. She heard Humphrey scream her name, but she was surrounded by the enemy. One of the Alphas stepped forward, an older female.
The old she-wolf spoke, "Come with us, our orders are not to harm you if it can be helped. If you resist, however, we are allowed to use necessary force. I do not want to harm a pregnant wolf, so please, come quietly."
Kate looked back the way she had come, "Humphrey..." she whispered.
The old wolf noticed this, "Not to worry, the master wants your mate in top condition. He will not cause excessive harm to your little Humphrey."
Kate lowered her head and followed the old wolf, praying that Humphrey was all right...
Humphrey awoke in a dark room, he was wrapped in some weird, black chains. He saw Kate lying a few feet in front of him, also wrapped in black chains. As much as he struggled to get free, the chains only got tighter. It was not until he released the power of rage, that they began to loosen; though he was not able to get out of them.
"Stop wasting your time, those chains will not let you free until you release the dark power within yourself." a dark voice boomed throughout the cavern.
"I will never give in to your wishes, Dalenix. I will not embrace the darkness as you have." Humphrey called.
"Would you do it to save her? Would you do it to save your unborn pups? If not for them, then how can I persuade you to join me willingly? I have never entertained the thought of killing my own grandchildren." as he spoke, Dalenix came into Humphrey's view.
He was covered with jet-black fur, he had two wings sprouting from his shoulders like a giant raven, and his tail looked like it was made of black spikes instead of fur.
"I will never join you, willingly or otherwise; but if you touch Kate or my pups, I will rip you into thousands of pieces and scatter them all over the planet." Humphrey growled, as his flames began to grow darker and the chains began to get looser.
"Yes, that's it!" Dalenix commented, "Give in to the darkness, let it flow through your body like a river of power."
As Dalenix took another step towards Kate, Humphrey finally broke free of the chains. He was now covered in fur that was blacker than night and had one jet-black wing, just like one of Dalenix's. "Stay away from Kate. Even if you kill me, I will never allow you to hurt her. I love her, and I will do everything in my power to protect her!" he yelled at his father.
Dalenix watched in surprise as Humphrey's right side went from jet-black to stark-white, and then his expression changed to horror as Humphrey grew a white wing to match the black one on his left side. "So, it seems my plan to change you into a mindless beast capable of massacring thousands has failed. You are too attached to your mate, and so, she must die. There are only two ways to remove the chains surrounding her body, one way is to do what you just did, and the other is to have the one who placed them around her cut them off. Since there is no possibility of either of those things happening, she will slowly be drained of her life's energy until there is nothing left. No matter what you do, my son, she will die. Consider this your punishment for disobeying me, now you will know the pain that I felt." Dalenix's expression softened for a moment, "What is the point of having all this power if you cannot defend the ones you love?"
Humphrey gave his father a hard look, "Release her and you might have the family you always wanted. If she lives, you will become a grandfather."
Dalenix gave his son a look of disbelief, "You would forgive all that I have done if I just release her?" Humphrey nodded. Dalenix padded to stand over Kate. He reached out with a paw, claws extended, and ripped the chains off of her body. Kate let out a gasp and began to breathe heavily.
Humphrey stood over her, moving Dalenix away from her. "Kate, are you okay?" She looked at Humphrey and stood, "I think so, I'm feeling really weak."
"That's no surprise, you two were chained up for over a week." Dalenix replied.
Kate's fur stood on end and she looked ready to tear him to pieces, "You! Humphrey, this is the wolf that chained us up."
Humphrey looked at her, "I know, he is my father. He is also the one that just set you free."
Dalenix turned back towards Kate, but kept his face turned to Humphrey. With one swift motion, he threw Humphrey against the wall of the cave and slammed Kate into the other wall.
"You fool, you really think I would give up that easy?" he laughed as more black chains enveloped Humphrey. "Now you will watch as your beloved enters the next world, along with your pups." Dalenix slowly walked towards Kate as she struggled to stand. She finally lifted herself to her paws right before Dalenix ripped her body open with one swipe.
"Kate!" Humphrey screamed.
He struggled harder to be free of the chains that kept him pinned against the wall. Humphrey began to bleed from struggling against the chains, but he didn't care. Kate was dying, and he couldn't help her. Dalenix, satisfied wit his work, left Kate dying on the floor and his son screaming her name.
Kate drug herself to lay beside Humphrey, he nuzzled her as she began to close her eyes. "Kate, don't leave me. You can't do this to me, no. Kate, please, you're going to be okay. I'll get you out of here, you'll be okay. Kate, look at me." she slowly raised her head.
"Humphrey, looks like this is it." he shook his head. "No, you're going to be okay. You can't die, what about our pups?"
Kate licked his cheek, "We will all be waiting for you on the other side. Goodbye, Humphrey, I love you." Kate lowered her head and closed her eyes for the last time.
A single tear rolled off of Humphrey's muzzle before he screamed in a voice loud enough to shake the mountain.
"KATE!"
Chapter 6:
Dalenix was standing atop the mountain when he felt his son's power skyrocket. "She must have died already, he is very angry now."
He began to laugh but was interrupted by a loud roar, the entire mountain was crumbling underneath him! This was impossible, Humphrey couldn't be this powerful. Yet the mountain continued to fall to pieces, Dalenix spread his wings and flew away from the mountain. When the mountain had finally been reduced to rubble and the dust cleared, Dalenix saw an orb of black and white energy hovering towards him.
The orb slowly fell to the ground, and when it did, the energy dissipated and revealed Humphrey carrying the body of his mate, Kate. Dalenix stood by as Humphrey cried over the body of the only wolf he had ever loved. When he had finished, Humphrey turned to face his father.
"You were right, her death made me release my true power; but," he paused for a moment, "you made a mistake. This mistake will put all of your plans to ruin and cost you your life. You gave me a target!" with that statement, Humphrey's wings began to glow with their respective energies.
"You were the one that gave me this power. You were the one that secured my fate as an Omega." With each statement, Humphrey took a step toward Dalenix. "You were the one that caused the food to run out in the East. You were the one that sent the Southern Pack to capture Kate. And YOU were the one that killed my mate. For what? So that I could be like you?" Humphrey scoffed, "I am nothing like you. Make no mistake, though, I am going to rip you to pieces."
Dalenix closed his eyes and a single tear rolled off of his muzzle, "My son, I have failed you. I wanted you to realize that there are no happy endings, but I didn't want it to end like this. Hurry, you must stop me before the darkness takes over again."
Dalenix grunted as if he was struck, "Stay asleep, you old fool. So, Humphrey, why do you not surrender yourself to the darkness? Why do you cling to your love for her when it has brought you nothing but pain? Give in to the darkness in your heart and all the pain will disappear, and you will receive a new life. You will be the ultimate power in the universe. You will be Sarox, Lupine Lord of Fire."
Humphrey began to laugh, a laugh stricken with grief. "Even if I do give in to the darkness, she will always live in my heart. Laughable, is it not? I left her to escape my emotions, but now that I have truly left her, they have returned with more intensity than ever before."
Dalenix took a step forward, "Forgive me, my son. I know the pain you feel. Please, you must kill me or else the darkness within me will continue to kill others. He will never be satisfied with your sadness, he feels as if he must cause grief everywhere. He believes that all must feel the pain that I have felt, you must stop him." Dalenix began to groan in pain, "Hurry, before he overpowers me!"
Humphrey quickly knocked his father to the ground, placed his paws on his neck, and pushed with all of his might.
Within seconds, Humphrey felt his father struggle harder against his weight, but it was already too late. Dalenix's body stopped thrashing and his heart stopped beating. Humphrey heard a voice inside his head, 'Thank you, Humphrey. I only wish things could have been different.'
Humphrey turned back to the mountain to find his brother's body. 'He may have lied to me, but he was still my only brother.' Once Humphrey found it, he buried Dalenix and Alex beside each other near the ruins of the mountain. Humphrey walked over to Kate's body, picked it up by the scruff of the neck, and flew to Jasper Park...
It was the night after the Full Moonlight Howl, Winston crept out of his den to stare at the sky. Something inside him was telling him that he should watch the sky tonight. He stood there, staring at the sky for hours. Just before dawn, however, he saw a large shadow land on the peak of Howling Rock. It dropped something before raising its head in a requiem howl that reached Winston's ears as clearly as if he was standing next to it.
Eve, Hutch, Candu, and Garth ran to him all asking what they should do. "You four, come with me. We will go to investigate, everyone else will guard the camp in case this is an attack."
Winston climbed the small mountain to see a black and white wolf with wings crying over something on the ground in front of him. The wings were positioned so that Winston could not see what it was, "Who are you, and why are you here?" he demanded of the winged wolf.
The wolf stopped howling and replied, "I couldn't protect her, I am so sorry." he folded his wings to reveal Kate's body.
Eve gasped and ran to Kate, noticing she was dead, she growled at the newcomer. "I will kill you for this."
The wolf lowered his head even farther, "I won't stop you, I have nothing left to live for. My mate and pups are lying dead in front of me, why should I care anymore?"
Winston recognized the voice, "Humphrey, is that you?"
He nodded, "I'm so sorry, sir. Dalenix chained me to a wall and made me watch as he tore her body open. I couldn't save her, but I thought that she should be buried by her family." Humphrey raised his wings and flew off while crying, "Goodbye, Kate, I will never forget you."
Winston turned towards Garth, "Bring Lily up here, we will bury Kate at the top of Howling Rock. Lily should be here for this."...
One-hundred years later...
At the top of the mountain known as Howling Rock, there stood an ancient wolf. He had been coming to this very spot every full moon for the last hundred years, but all he ever did was stand there. Nothing really made him stand out, except for the wings that extended from his shoulders. None of the wolves that lived near the rock would climb to the peak while he stood there, but this night there was an exception. A young female, golden-brown in color, dared go up to the old wolf and speak to him. "Why do you always come here at the full moon?"
The old wolf raised his head, "I come to mourn the loss of my mate. She died many years ago, before your great-grandparents were born."
The young she-wolf tipped her head to one side, "You have wings, like a story I once heard. The story was about two lovers, one died and the other was never seen again. Was she the one from the story the elders tell? Was she the one called Kate?"
The old wolf looked at her, "That was her name, yes."
"So then, you must be the one called Humphrey!" she exclaimed.
"Humphrey, I have not gone by that name for many years. My name was once Humphrey, but now it does not matter. I have lived over one-hundred years, and I have never found a wolf that cared enough to know my name. What is yours, little one?"
The little wolf stood up proudly, "My name is Tekax, my dad is the pack-leader."
Humphrey smiled and rubbed the top of her head, "I pray that you find happiness, like I did all those years ago. My time draws near, you must go now."
Tekax nodded and left. Humphrey raised his head and voice in a howl as beautiful as Kate's had once been. As he released all of the emotion he had penned up for one-hundred years, his body began to turn into stone.
When the song ended, there was now a statue of a howling wolf with wings at the top of Howling Rock...
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