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."