Chapter Two: The Love Of The Lost Soul

The Omega sat near a small lake, staring into his own reflection, asking for answers that no one could provide. He spoke aloud, as if some sort of blessing magic would speak back to him, guiding him through the next steps he must take, but alas there was none. Hours went by as Humphrey sat in this secluded location. No one passed, no one knew, no one cared. For what could they care? He was an Omega, and the highest and most respected Alphas in the Jasper Territory were just trampled to death. What would anyone care for a useless Omega at this time? Nevertheless, the Omega sat.

Back within the area of the main dens, the young Alphas worked. Neither one spoke to the other, nor ever looked their way, but they still expressed their emotions to themselves. Every so often, there would be a grunt or growl from the male, and a quick sob or yelp from the female. Neither responded to the other, but both could not stop thinking of the events from only a few days ago. They had done their job and brought the packs together during the harsh food shortage, but what was there to do now? Neither liked each other, and both had formed a relationship with another wolf. Beyond that fact, they had both already confessed their love for the "anothers" and those "anothers" were both Omegas. Both wolves pondered in isolation, but came to the same conclusion: there would be nothing but chaos if the Alphas gave up now. It was one thing if the old pack leaders had chosen to break the ancient rule, but the chains between the new bondage of the packs had been formed during anarchy, and so the iron links forming that chain were as such. What would have been sealed by steel was dangling by a hair. Anything that could be even remotely strange or outlandish could very well cause civil war in the new Central Pack. Kate and Garth were mere pups compared to the legacy Winston and Tony had left behind, and in turn they had to make a difficult decision, but it was the only one that could allow for peace. They had to publicly give up on their declarations of love, and hold up the ancient law: Alphas and Omegas do not mix.

Morning had become day, day had become evening, and evening had become night. Time had moved so slow, yet so fast. Kate tended to the daily hunts, and Garth to the reorganization of the pack, and the Alphas were not with Omegas. Days would turn into weeks, and the cycle continued. Many of the "new" wolves moving into the territory of the former Western Pack had quickly become accustomed to the new and much more plentiful surroundings of the land. The old packs were neighbors, but the land was much different between them. The East Pack's land had become overridden by brush and other foliage, and could no longer support the grazing caribou, but the misfortune that had hit the East had completely skipped the West, placing almost all of the Caribou into the wide fields of the latter. The reorganization of the packs was difficult due to it's large size, but all had found a home within the territory, all but one.

Kate had been very busy as the new Alpha-Leader, but had began to settle, keeping her mind clear by working until she practically collapsed. Humphrey though laid at the other side of the spectrum. Unlike an Alpha, an Omega didn't have any "real" jobs within the pack to attend to besides keeping everyone happy, and there were enough other wolves to do that. Humphrey had begun to quit. Weeks went by, and he was slowly-but-surely losing the happy-go-lucky Omega that he was. He had stopped speaking to his friends, then he stopped speaking to himself. He had stopped eating with the rest of the pack, then he stopped eating in general. He had stopped dreaming and started having nightmares, then he stopped having anything. He no longer spoke, ate, or slept. He had completely isolated himself from the pack, from the one he loved. But he did not quit because he lost Kate, it was because he knew that something wasn't right. He had always known deep inside that he would never be with Kate, but now it didn't seem right in the slightest. Someone, or more likely something, was out to get him, or maybe this was how it was supposed to be. Either way, he sat alone, staring into his own eyes through the rippling reflection of the glassy water. 'What was he to do' he thought to himself as the blue of his eyes danced with the gray silver of his fur. No words escape his lips, but only thoughts through his mind. The sun glistened across the water as the day went on, turning golden as did the sky; becoming such a brilliant and vibrant yellow until it finally reached the same shade of amber of Kates glorious gateways to the soul, then faded into the night. Only when the last drop of sun had left and the waters were still did Humphrey stand and leave. The day-star had said good-night to the land and had left the raw beauty of the pale moon take over, and take over it did. The lunar cycle had run around again and had bought itself back to almost a perfect replica of the night Humphrey and Kate had broken sacred law and howled at the moon together. For Humphrey, he thought that was the moment that seemingly promised his relationship with Kate. Now it only serves as a cruel reminder of what had been lost.

Many of thoughts rushed in and out of Humphrey's mind as he slowly strolled back to the small den where he often slept. It was far from the rest of the dens where the pack's center was located, but it proved quite for im when he wanted to be alone, which came often on nights like this. He used to live in the grassy areas near the pack center with his Omega friends when he was younger, but it eventually came time when he wanted to leave. The den was cold, but proved well during the harsh winter nights where the pure-white snow would blanket and kill the grass that housed those who weren't completely necessary in the pack. All Alphas had dens as did any wolf that could hunt or "repopulate", but no male Omegas got that luxury unless they were willing to leave the safety of the pack and search one out on their own, which is exactly what Humphrey did. In fact, it was so strange for an Omega to have a den, that nobody ever knew about Humphrey little home. He kept it such a well kept secret that not even his closest friends knew about it, though it was easy when no one ever wondered where he had gone. Despite this, though his gloomy drag he uncaringly walked directly through the pack center as it was the shortest distance between him and his secret den. This was the first time he had heard the voice of other wolves in a few days, that it almost seemed foreign to him. Through the fog in his head he noticed the loads of new faces in the pack, noticing that it was surprisingly busy for after dark. He gave a slight chuckle when he realized that there seemed to be space for all the new hunting wolves, but not for the Omegas that had already lived there. It seemed so strange to him that all of these new wolves were so comfortable in this new environment. That he…

"How are you all so fine with this!" he shouted aloud, drawing the attention of every wolf in the area, which happened to be the overwhelming majority of the pack. He did not mean to shout, he did not even fully realize where he was, but something inside he just compelled him to do so - maybe the full week of isolation?

The first of the other wolves to speak was a auburn-furred she-wolf that seemed familiar to Humphrey, but he could not quite put his paw on it. "You're one to speak considering what you have done!" Humphrey looked up to find this wolfess standing upon a small rock structure that lifted her about a meter above the ground. "Don't you see..." she said gesturing to the crowed of wolves that began forming somewhat of a circle around the conflict, "...he is the reason Tony is dead as well as Winston!"

A quiet, "what?" escaped from Humphrey's mouth.

"This is the stupid coyote that Winston's daughter fell for!" She stopped and took a moment to growl in the general direction of the Alpha Den where both Kate and Garth would be. "This mut that stands before you is the cause for both of their deaths! He is a murderer!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Humphrey noticed movement atop the Alpha Den's entrance in the form of a golden reflection of moonlight. He did not even have to turn his attention to know that Kate was there. Not even Kate's mother, Eve's fur glisten like that. There was no more time for him to stand and argue, it would only get worse if Kate came over to see him like this.

Thank you for reading and supporting my writing.

As always, read for your own enjoyment.

-Hikers123