I'm very touched by all of your positive reviews and I thank you all for your support. You have made me a little nervous though. Now I have the fear that I might not live up to the quality of my first chapter. But rest assured. I'll do my utmost best to keep it up.

Chapter 2. Emotional Hardship

-Humphrey-

I awoke from a restless sleep. Surprising as it may sound, it was not the partying of the others that had kept me from sleeping. It was an entirely different cause, one which I knew would give me insomnia for a long time still. Kate and me howling to the moon. It had been the only thing on my mind throughout the cold night. However, as depressing as it was to me, there was no denying that moment was nothing but a memory. Here she was an alpha and I an omega, and alphas and omegas don't couple in our clan. Back then it felt so real, like we were meant for each other, like we shared more than just our howl. I was a fool. The day I had feared the most, Kate's wedding, was today and there was nothing I could do about. I wasn't even sure I would have the strength to witness it.

"Humphrey!"

My friends showed up in the entrance of my cave. They smiled and welcomed me back. Although I was glad to see them again, I realized with a slight sense of guilt that being with Kate during the entire trip had me completely forget about them.

"Dude, where were you yesterday?" Salty asked.

"I was tired." I answered evasively.

"Good job bringing her home." Shakey said, slapping my shoulder.

He reminded me of the brief moment in the train when I thought about not waking her up. The short-lived idea of not coming back. The idea of running away, together. I pulled myself together just in time to spare my friends the sight of seeing me cry. I faked a laugh, though nobody joined me, making it kind of awkward.

"Anyways, thanks to you, Kate can marry Garth!" he continued.

"Yea… thanks to me…" I said sadly.

"Why are you so down? Don't you think it's great that the packs unite?" Salty asked.

"Oh sure, it's the perfect solution." I said sarcastically, although they didn't seem to notice.

"It sure is! We get meat, the fighting stops and Kate gets the wolf of her dreams. Everybody wins!" Moonch said cheerfully.

All this talk of Kate marrying someone else had me worked up beyond restraint. Once more the wall proved a good outlet for my built up anger. Or was it disappointment? Either way, I punched it again, raising the suspicious of my friends.

"What's wrong Humphrey?"

I only stared at the rocky wall I had stomped and did not answer them.

"I think it's best if I go." I said eventually.

"Yea, we all do. The wedding will start soon." My big friend said.

"No. I mean go go. As in leave this place go."

"What? But you just got back?" Salty replied indignantly.

"I don't care. I can't stand this anymore."

My friend was about to ask what, but I rudely interrupted him.

"EVERYTHING!"

As I walked away, I could feel their eyes in my back. They knew what was bothering me, I was certain of it, yet they did their best to evade discussing the matter. I didn't blame them. After all they couldn't fix my broken heart either. As good as my friends were and as much as I liked hanging out with them, I needed to be alone. I needed to leave Jasper. Leave home and friends… leave Kate.

-Kate-

Last night's celebrations had cheered me up more than I had anticipated. Everyone had thanked me for uniting the two clans and all the girls had congratulated me with Garth. My dad boasted he had never been prouder of his daughter and my mom had raked up all stories of her own marriage with my dad. Still I had had trouble sleeping tonight. Every sound had awoken me and I felt all but rested this morning. I sat outside now and Lilly brushed my tail with a pinecone.

Something inside of me protested against the wedding. It annoyed me. In my head it was evident that I had done the right thing in choosing Garth. I am supposed to do this, as daughter of the pack's leader. Humphrey should know that I had no choice. The more I gave thought to him, the stronger the feeling in my gut nagged. I looked how all the wolves gathered in the valley.

"Wow, it's a big crowd." I said.

"Yea. Good times." she replied emotionless.

I hoped that I was able to blame my internal struggle on stage fright. It didn't work, and Lilly's indifferent answer wasn't helping either. She was never this sombre, what was wrong with her today? Now that I recollected, I couldn't remember seeing her yesterday at the party. I guess she did something with the other omegas. Perhaps if she could tell me what Garth was like, then maybe I could tame my subconscious and decide whether I had made the right choice.

"So I heard you and Garth spend some time together." I asked.

Suddenly she pulled hard and the scuffing pinecone hurt my tail.

"Aw! Lilly?" I sparked.

She apologized. Whatever it had happened yesterday, it had her daydreaming now.

"I'm sure he's perfect marrying material?" I convinced myself.

"Well, if you like that sort of thing. Big, brawny and perfect." she sighed.

Although I didn't quite see Garth that way, I'm glad see pointed out that he was indeed a good-looking wolf. But there was something in the way she said it that made me suspicious. I couldn't place it. Then I noticed something else.

"Lilly, you're wearing your fur back!" I said smiling.

"Sorry, I know."

She immediately rubbed over her head. Again she responded so non-Lilly-like, what was the matter with her? Before I could ask however, she went inside the den.

"But… I liked it…" I spoke more or less to myself as she was already gone.

A stone fell next to me on the ground and gave me a fright. I followed the trajectory of the unexpected projectile with my eyes and came across a goose and a duck.

"Marcel, Paddy!"

I hugged them both.

"I'm so happy to see you two."

"Well, we flew in to see that you made it home." the duck replied.

"And what do we find? Voila! You're getting married!" Marcel exclaimed.

They both exchanged an awkward smile. I had a feeling there was something they left unspoken, but my curiosity as to how they found out took control of me.

"Yea, I'm getting married. Who told you?"

They repeated their previous action, sharing a look of mixed feelings. What was the matter with everyone. They all acted so strange as if nobody was truly happy with the unison of the clans. Even my own stomach had turned on me since I had made that decision.

"Well?"

"Your former travelling companion." Paddy said softly.

"Humphrey?"

Saying his name out loud felt like a knife piercing my chest. Clearly the confession of his feelings towards me had scarred me in the only place I had hoped it hadn't. I shook my head. No-no-no! I must marry Garth, it is my duty. I wasn't sure how it looked from the outside, yet my avian frieds probably took notion of my confusion as Marcel attempted to change the subject.

"Well, I'm sure that the other guy is one lucky wolf."

Paddy slapped his friend against the shoulder and gave me an apologetic smile.

"I mean, are you looking forward to the wedding-.."

Again the goose got smacked.

"I mean… your fur looks nice."

I watched the scene with a raised eyebrow. This was odd, even for them. Then they both chuckled insecurely. Once again I was too late to ask what was going on. This time my dad showed up to take me to the valley. He gave my friends a look of mistrust and they quickly flew away, wishing me the best.

"Were you just talking to a goose?"

"And a duck, yea." I sniggered.

-Humphrey-

In the distance I saw Kate and her father walk down the cliff. She smiled, probably because she was about to marry the alpha of her dreams. She had completely forgotten me since we got home. Not that I had spoken to her since we were back, but I had already expressed my love to her. I didn't want to be pushy. Somehow I had the faint hope that she would readdress this topic herself, however it was like we had never even had that conversation. In the crowd on the other side of the valley I recognized him. The guy that was about to steal that which was most dear to me. The tears streamed down my face.

I couldn't watch it, I simply couldn't. When I turned around, Marcel and Paddy stood behind me and saw my grief. I didn't know how long they had been standing there, yet I cared little for finding it out. The looks on their faces betrayed that they were equally disappointed that things hadn't worked out between me and Kate. Marcel opened his beak to say something, yet shut it without making a sound. It was probably an attempt to cheer me up, but just as me, he didn't know how to do so.

"When is the next train leaving?"

After a brief moment of hesitation Paddy told me when and where I had to be. I was happy to hear I would be able to catch a ride very soon. I thanked them and said goodbye.

"Are you sure you want to go?"

"Yes. I really need to get away from here, get away from her."

"I understand." Marcel nodded with a sad face.

"Well, maybe our paths cross again." Paddy said.

"I'm sure they do. Thanks guys."

"Au revoir, my friend."

As I ran down the hill, I caught sight of the train in the corner of my eye. The closer I came to intersecting its path, the more I began to trust Paddy's calculations. When I was no more than twenty metres away, however the locomotive was already in front of me. His estimation had a slight margin of error. I slowed down a little to make sure I would hit the correct wagon. No. He simply hadn't accounted for my inexpressible urge to run away. Suddenly I saw me and Kate sitting in the opening. It was only a brief mirage, but strong enough to assure me that departure was the right choice. If I were to stay, my feelings for her would never allow me to witness her pairing with Barth. I grinned. Calling him that would never cease to feel justified.

I leaped and felt a shock going through my body as my paws touched the fast-moving wooden floor. I sat down and stared at the cliffs of the valley that distanced themselves from me. Once more my eyes watered. I left behind my childhood and all of its memories, my pack that had sustained me my entire life, my friends who had always been there for me. Still, all of those things paled to insignificance in comparison to what I would surely miss the most about Jasper.

"Goodbye Kate." I whispered.

End of chapter 2.