Omega and Alpha
By Commentaholic
A/N: Yeah, not much to say. Probably gonna have more to say next update. Just in a hurry right now.
Chapter One: Trouble in Jasper Park
Winter faded into Spring, the cold weather and heaps of snow melting away to reveal shoots of green grass pushing their way up through the hard ground.
"Come on, Lilly!"
"Okay, okay...". Lilly said, following after the cheerfully bounding Kate. Kate and Lilly, Humphrey's white-furred sister, had grown close in Humphrey's absence, ever since that fateful bear incident. As they were both Omegas, they spent much time together, goofing off and playing around in general. In a way, Lilly was the sister that Kate had never had.
"Kate?" Lilly asked nervously. The golden-furred Omega had disappeared when Lilly had stopped to brush the fur out of her eyes. "Where are you?"
"Gotcha!" came a shout from the left as Kate tackled Lilly, jumping out from a cluster of bushes. The two laughed as they tumbled down a grassy incline.
Kate got up from the tangle of white and gold limbs, looking down into the valley. A trio of caribou stood there calmly, grazing the short grass. A cool breeze ruffled the taller grass near the edge of the rocky depression. At least, Kate thought it was the wind.
Lilly came up beside Kate, curious at what had captured her friend's attention. "Ah, noticed Humphrey's first hunt, huh?"
"What?" Kate's head whipped around to look at Lilly, "Humphrey's back?"
Lilly nodded, shaking her hair out of her eyes again. Kate had often insisted that Lilly looked better when her eyes were not hidden behind the long white fur, but it was so hard keeping it out of the way. "They got back this morning. Mom's taking him and two others on their first hunt, to make sure it goes well. She is not going to let what happened to her first hunt happen to Humphrey's."
"And what happened to hers?"
"She wouldn't say, but it must've been bad," Lilly replied.
Kate returned her gaze to the valley below. Now that she looked closely, she noticed that the grass rustled in a very distinct pattern. A flash of gray fur appeared between clumps as a gray wolf darted behind a cluster of rocks.
Kate spotted Humphrey's head poke out from behind the boulder. Whispers hidden in the wind went between the hunt group.
Then Lilly gasped in surprise, poked Kate, and drew attention to two more wolves entering the valley from the east pass. "Eastern Pack wolves..." Kate whispered.
"Hey Kate, Lilly! What's up?" came Salty's loud voice from behind them.
"Shhhh!" Kate hissed, pointing at the new arrivals in the valley below.
"Uh-oh..." Salty murmured.
Down below, the Western hunt group seemed to come to the same realization.
Humphrey's ears perked up as he caught wind of a foreign scent. "Eastern wolves... What are they doing here?" he wondered.
Beside him, Adria, Humphrey's mother snarled. By entering the valley, the eastern wolves had trespassed into Western Pack territory. This was a blatant disregard for pack law, and as the mate of the Alpha Male, Adria couldn't let this slide.
"Humphrey, Brandon! Go with Hutch and circle left. Lexi, you're with me," Adria whispered to the others.
The hunt group nodded and split up to place both the caribou and the eastern wolves in the claws of a pincer formation. Adria knew that Hutch would keep Humphrey safe if it came down to a fight with the intruders, and Adria was sure that she could keep Lexi safe, too. She wouldn't lose any Alphas today.
Adria was about to give the signal to jump the caribou, but the two eastern wolves beat her to the punch. They pounced forward, snarling loudly, spooking the caribou, which began running away from the deadly wolves.
The caribou trampled past Adria and Lexi, a stray hoof knocking the younger female off of her paws. Adria quickly checked Lexi for injuries before setting off in pursuit of the caribou and the two groups of wolves that chased them. She easily caught up to the others as the eastern wolves, who had a head start, rounded a bend in the valley floor.
There came the sound of frightened whimpers shortly before the two eastern wolves came tearing around the corner towards the western hunt group. Behind them was a massive stampeding horde of caribou. The western wolves quickly reversed direction after skidding to a stop, bounding back along the valley, making their way to the edges where they would be safe.
Adria saw Humphrey pull the two eastern wolves behind a fallen log and nodded in approval. No matter the problems between packs, Humphrey knew that no wolf should die needlessly. It was just part of his nature.
Adria began checking that everyone was safe, but then her blood froze in her veins. Lexi!
She bounded towards the fallen wolf, who was only just beginning to stand, Lexi shaking her head to clear away the dizziness.
She tackled Lexi, grabbing the younger wolf up, hurling her towards the log where Humphrey and the two eastern wolves were sheltered from the caribou herd's thundering hooves. Humphrey snagged one of Lexi's flailing limbs and pulled her down beside him before turning to help his mother into the shelter as well, but Adria wasn't there.
All that Humphrey could see was the cloud of dust raised by the stampede.
A/N: See first author's note.