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...