It was the first day of spring, and Kate was leading her friends down a hill for the millionth time. During the winter, the three omegas had mastered the art of log sledding, and were now practicing on a new and larger hill.
"This is a real good one, Kate!" Kandu yelled as the three of them dodged a rock in sync. Kate smiled and laughed as they gained even more speed. Once they reached a relatively clear area, she called back to Hutch.
"Ready to catch some wind, guys?" She yelled over the wind. They nodded and Hutch stood up on his back legs, acting as a sail for the log. The larger of the two males cheered as he felt the wind in his fur.
"This is great!" He cried. The log quickly approached a more wooded area, so he had to go back down.
"Hey save some air time for the rest of us!" Kandu called.
"Hey don't hate cause of skills!" He smirked. Kate laughed and shook her head at how silly her friends were. She looked back ahead to see a ramp-like rock.
"Get ready you guys!" She said to get their attention. Immediately the boys looked ahead and gripped the side of the log. Once the log went over the rock it was launched in the air, sending the three of them flying through the air. The omega boys laughed and howled, and while Kate enjoyed it she had to keep her eyes on where they were going. Soon the log landed hard on the ground and continued speeding down the hill.
"Kate! We have to do this hill again!" Hutch yelled.
"Yeah! This one's the best!" Kandu agreed. Kate laughed and looked back at them.
"We should try and do some tricks on that jump next time!" She yelled, not paying attention to the hill in front of them. Sadly, the one time she wasn't paying attention was when there was a huge rock. It was Kandu who noticed first.
"Uh, guys? I think we this would be a good time to start practicing!" He yelled. Kate and Hutch looked at him confused.
"Practice what?" Kate asked.
"The brakes!" Kandu screamed, followed by Hutch. Kate looked ahead and saw the giant rock. Unfortunately they were too late and couldn't react, and they crashed right into the rock. The three wolves went flying into the air, screaming until they landed near the edge of a ridge leading into the valley. Kate slowly sat up, her side aching a little from the hard landing. Being an omega, she often got injured. It was nothing major, but it added up.
Hutch and Kandu groaned and looked up at the area around them.
"Jeez what was that?" Kandu asked. Kate stood up and walked over to the edge of the cliff, looking down into the valley.
"Looks like we slammed into spring, boys." The two males joined her at the edge. The whole valley was covered in bright grass and pretty flowers. The valley looked full of life. Kat looked down at the tall grass that was at the edges of the valley and spotted a familiar grey and black body.
"Woah." She whispered. It was him! Humphrey was back! Humphrey was stalking towards a caribou, so Kate figured this was his first hunt. As she continued to watch him, she noticed how… attractive he looked. He had gotten bigger, of course they all had. But he looked much more muscular, but still a little lanky like how she remembered him. She sighed quietly while she watched him, unfortunately catching the attention of her friends.
"Hey hey hey, what do you think you're doing?" Hutch asked her accusingly. Kate shrugged.
"Nothing. Just watching the hunt." The boys gave her a look that told her that they weren't buying it.
"Kate, he's an alpha. And you're an omega." Kandu reminded her. Her ears flattened against her head in disappointment briefly. She recovered quickly and put on a fake smile.
"Guys, guys I know! I know. Trust me, I'm over him. Now come on, let's watch the hunt." She insisted, going back to watch the hunt.
Kate saw a few other wolves flanking Humphrey, and recognized them as his other friends, Salty, Shakey and Mooch. They were getting closer and closer to the caribou.
"Looks like we're gonna be eating tonight boys." Kate said smugly.
"It's about time." Kandu said, coming up next her.
"Yeah, we haven't had a good meal in ages." Hutch agreed, sitting on her other side. Kate sighed. This was true, and as the omega leader of her pack she was very worried for her fellow omegas. They always ate after the alphas picked off whatever scraps they could find, so omegas and pups never got to eat much. Kate herself had been giving her meals to omega pups so they wouldn't starve, but this meant that she hadn't eaten anything in almost a week.
So they omegas were pretty excited about a good, fresh dinner. But their hopes were shattered when they noticed two different figures moving through the grass.
"Oh no." Kate mumbled. "Eastern wolves."
Humphrey was finally back from alpha school, his hard work had paid off. He was very excited to be back in his home territory, and that he was an official alpha. He was also excited to be home, because that meant he could see Kate. He had missed her so much while he was away, and was eager to get this hunt finished so he could go find her.
But right now he had to focus on the hunt, so he could hopefully end the rough patch the pack had been having with food. He was getting closer to the caribou, and he was so ready to pounce when he smelled other wolves. He carefully raised his head a little over the grass, and spot the enemy wolves.
"Guys," he whispered to his group, "we have company." The eastern wolves jumped the gun and leapt at the caribou, who was in turn spooked again by Humphrey and his friends. The caribou ran down the valley, the eastern wolves following close behind. Humphrey shook his head and growled a little, before taking off himself. They were behind, but when they came to a corner the eastern wolves were running in the other direction, tails between their legs. Humphrey and his friends stopped, confused as to why they were running until they heard the thundering sound from behind them. They turned around, and were met with the sight of stampeding caribou. Immediately they took off, heading to the sides of the valley.
Kate looked down the valley and saw the caribou herself. She was immediately worried for her friend, but was relieved when she saw they were getting to safety. She remembered that sometimes Humphrey could get a little reckless, which worried her.
Humphrey used some of his moves from alpha school to get out of the valley, which impressed the onlooking omegas. When he arrived at the top, he looked out over the valley, and saw the two eastern wolves were getting boxed in by the caribou. He heaved a huge sigh of annoyance and leapt off of his perch. He had to help them, even though he could care less about them. It was the alpha thing to do. He ran along a lower ridge on the wall of the valley to get ahead of the stampede. If he did this just right, he could get him and the others behind a rock for protection. As he was running he spotted a few wolves on the higher ridge watching the events. And as he got even closer he noticed the familiar gold fur he knew so well. And then he saw her face. She looked amazing! She had grown… well, they all did, but still! Kate looked incredible. It took all his willpower to not stop and see her, but he had a mission. So a casual hello would have to due.
"Kate!" He yelled ahead, getting her attention. Kate perked up and saw him racing towards them.
"Humphrey!" She called back happily. Humphrey smiled and ran past them. When he got to the right spot he jumped, running and jumping down the wall of the valley until he was able to jump on to the eastern wolves. He jumped and dragged them with him behind a rock. They all ducked down to avoid stray hooves.
The stampede lasted a few more minutes before the caribou finally stopped. Dust surrounded them as Humphrey stood up, giving his fur a shake. Immediately he was surrounded by his friends who were checking on him.
"Are you okay?" Salty, one of his oldest friends asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Once he said that, the three boys turned to the eastern wolves.
"You idiots! That was our kill." Shakey yelled. The eastern wolves growled at him and soon the rest of Humphrey's group. Humphrey didn't like to fight unless it was absolutely necessary, when they all started to fight he was trying to break it up.
"Guys! Guys come on! This dumb stop!" He yelled over the growling.
Kate looked at her friends and gave them a smirk.
"Okay boys, duty calls." The boys nodded and they made their way down the hill. When they got close enough but still had a height advantage, Kate called out.
"Hey!" They all stopped and looked up at her. "Great. Now that I have your attention." The omegas slid down the hill, landing in front of Humphrey.
"Hi." She said cheerfully. Humphrey's tail started to wag slightly.
"Hey." He responded. While they weren't paying attention, the others went back to fighting. Kate looked over, shook her head, then looked back at Humphrey.
"This will only take a second." She looked at her friends and gave them a nod. Immediately the boys went to work. They took a few steps back, and then ran up to them, leaping and landing on the alphas. Humphrey tried his best not to laugh out loud, and resorted to a small chuckle. Kate smiled and approached the whimpering alphas.
"Everyone, get a hold of yourselves. You guys are professionals. Even the caribou think so." She motioned to a few caribou who were on a ridge, laughing at them.
"See, see what I mean?" She asked as the western alphas also gave some small laughs. The eastern wolves however, didn't look as pleased.
"How can you fool around when both our packs just lost another meal." The female growled at Kate.
"Well if you kept out of our territory, we wouldn't have two starving packs." Kate challenged. The female let out a large growl and lunged at Kate so fast that nobody had time to react. The female's claws left small opening on her sides, not enough to kill her, and she was about to bite down on her throat but she was pushed off violently. Humphrey stood in front of Kate, snarling viciously at them. The two eastern alphas growled right back at him when a voice interrupted them all.
"Western pack!" Lars. "Get back to the den." Humphrey's friends started walking back, their heads bowed. The eastern alphas however, were still sending Kate their glares.
"You two." Lars spoke the the eastern wolves. "Go home." They turned to Kate and Humphrey, and let out a few more growls.
"Now!" They whimpered and scurried away. Lars then returned his attention to the omegas.
"Omegas, good work." Kate, Kandu and Hutch smiled and wagged their tails. The omega males began to walk to the western territory, and Kate was about to walk after them but a certain alpha stopped her.
"Take it easy." He said, helping her slowly sit up.
"I'm fine, Humphrey. It's just some scratches." She assured him. Humphrey turned his head towards the east and stared after the eastern wolves.
"Yeah but it could have been much worse." Kate sighed and gave him a nudge.
"Everyone's fine. We should head back." Humphrey turned back to her and gave a nod, following behind her closely.
"I'm sorry they ruined your hunt." Kate told him.
"It's fine. It was probably my fault." Kate stopped and turned to him.
"Don't say that. You did everything right, from what I could see. They were the ones in our territory!" She exclaimed, in an attempt to cheer him up. Humphrey gave a small laugh and looked at the ground.
"Yeah." They continued walking and Humphrey sped up to be by her side.
"You'll go see my mom? Just to get checked out?" He asked worriedly.
"Humphrey I'm okay."
"But-" He was cut off by his father.
"Humphrey, we have to get back to the den." The young adults stared up at him, both wishing that their time together wouldn't have to end. Humphrey didn't want to leave her, there was so much had had to say to her.
"Coming dad!" He called up to him.
"I'll uh, see you later." Kate spoke quietly, before breaking into a small jog. Humphrey watched her go until she disappeared, a painful aching in his chest.
When Humphrey and Lars returned to the main denning area, they were met with their fellow wolves fighting over bones and scraps of meat. They walked forlornly up the small hill to their den where Anya, Lars' wife and the pack's healer, waited for them. She gave Humphrey a big smile when he approached her, but his disappointed face told her everything. He continued on to the den, Lars stopping to talk to Anya.
"A few eastern wolves ruined Humphrey's hunt." Anya sighed and gave a very small growl, trying to stay level-headed.
"But luckily the omegas were there to settle everyone down." Anya gave a relieved sigh. Humphrey heard what his father had said, and instantly remembered Kate. He came back outside.
"Mom, did Kate come and see you? She got hurt, and I just wanted to know if she was-"
"I know she is hurt. But she didn't come to see me." Anya said, walking into the den. Humphrey perked up at this and followed her.
"But that girl attacked her! She should at least get looked at!"
"She doesn't need to see me. She knows that she is fine."
"How?" He asked as he sat down, Anya going to get tonight's dinner.
"Humphrey, she has been training to take my place as healer. She knows what she's doing." Humphrey's shoulders relaxed, and Anya brought out their dinner. Bones. Nothing but bones.
"We have to fix this. My pack should not be eating like this." Lars growled. Humphrey bowed his head.
"I'm sorry dad." Lars gave his son a comforting look.
"It's not your fault, Humphrey. They shouldn't have been in our territory in the first place." At that moment Lily walked into the den, panting from running.
"Dad! I was on patrol and we spotted some more eastern wolves that were really close to our border." Lars stood up and walked out of the den, a stoic look on his face. This was going to far, he needed to talk to Marcus. Humphrey followed his father out of the den, curious as to where he was going. Lars walked down the hill, and headed east toward their borders. Humphrey stopped at the top of the hill, and watched what would soon be his own pack. They were still fighting over bones and scraps, and his heart broke when he saw a few pups at the side, watching hungrily.
Kate had gotten back to the main denning area a little after Humphrey and Lars did. She had made a stop at her den, and when she arrived to the main area she saw everyone fighting over food. She heard some whimpering and saw a few pups looking at the food hungrily. She herself was starving, and as the omega leader she was entitled to a small amount of food. But she was never one to hog food, so she got the bone that was meant for her from the designated spot, and approached the young pups.
"Here guys." She said, dropping the bone in front of them. "Make sure you guys share." She said with a smile. The pups immediately began to bite at the bone in hopes of reaching the marrow inside. Kate laughed as she watched them, unaware of the eyes that were watching her fondly.
Humphrey smiled at her and her kindness. She was always so selfless. He headed down the hill and made his way over to her, trying to mask his pounding heart with a cool smile.
"Hey." Kate perked up and turned around, smiling when she saw him.
"Hey. What's up?" Humphrey took a seat next her.
"Nothing really." He paused a bit, trying to come up with something else to say to her. "Um, uh…" The young adults' ears perked up when they heard a long howl ring through the territory. It was Lars, calling out the eastern pack leader Marcus. Humphrey stood up and started running towards the howl. He was curious, his father never met with Marcus, so it had to be important. Kate was disappointed at his quick departure, but she quickly decided to follow him. She didn't need to though, she already knew what this was about.
"Humphrey wait up!" She called out quietly. Humphrey started to slow down, and finally stopped and hid in some tall grass. Kate panted as she came up behind him, hiding herself.
"What are you doing?" She whispered.
"I want to know what they're talking about." Humphrey mumbled back, listening closely.
Marcus emerged from the woods, slightly hunched over from old age.
"Lars!" He called out. "It's been a while."
"It has." Lars responded. Marcus jumped over the small stream that separated the two territories, and the two older wolves began to circle each other.
"What's this about, Lars?"
"You know what this is about. Your wolves are ruining our hunts! Crossing our borders without permission!"
"Survival, my friend. It's what we are all trying to do. I won't stand and watch while my pack is starving to death."
"You're not the only one." Lars growled.
"There is an easy fix to this, Lars." Lars' body retracted slightly.
"Marcus, you still can't be serious about this."
"I am just serious as I was all those months ago. Now we both agreed that my son Garth and your omega leader Kate would marry, to unite the parks." As soon as those words left Marcus' mouth, Humphrey felt like the air was just knocked out of him. He couldn't breathe, he felt like he was going to pass out.
"Does it have to be her?" Lars asked. He knew all Kate had done for the pack, it wasn't fair that she had to do this too.
"I won't settle for anyone less. You know that." Humphrey's ears sank, and he turned to look at Kate. She just stared at the ground, not making eye contact. She knew.
"They'll meet each other tonight, at the howl." Marcus stated, before disappearing back into the woods. Lars turned around and looked at the grass.
"You can come out now, you two." Humphrey and Kate crept out of the grass. Humphrey stared in disbelief between his father and his best friend.
"Dad you can't be serious." He finally said, glaring at his father.
"Humphrey-"
"It's not fair! You can't expect her to do something like that!"
"Humphrey!" Kate yelled. Humphrey looked down at her, hoping that she would try to defend herself.
"It's okay. I knew what I was getting into months ago. It's fine." She gave him a small smile, trying to hide her disappointment. She really didn't want to marry this guy, who she had never met before. She had her heart set on someone else but let's face it, would any guy want to have her as a mate? She gave him another reassuring smile, before she headed back to the main area. She had a date to get ready for.
