3. The Law of the Ancient Packs

Humphrey ran for his life. The forest fire chased him as he fled to the valley. Everything around him caught fire; trees, shrubbery, animals, the ground, even stone and water. He darted through the trees, the fire quickly gaining on him. He could feel its intense heat on his rear as he sprinted. The tips of his fur began to catch fire, his grey pelt turning a charcoal black.

He panicked, fearing a similar outcome of his last nightmare. When he finally made it to the bottom of the valley, he could see the bloody corpses of thousands of caribou, the scent of rot and decay stinging his nostrils. Bloody puncture wounds dotted the caribou, bits of flesh and bone torn from whatever made them. Strange objects lay scattered around the valley floor, things he'd never seen before.

The objects were, however, the last of his worries. If he didn't escape the fire, it would engulf him in its searing tendrils. The ground split and fractured, caving in on itself until there were only large columns left for him to leap upon to the other end of the valley, a deep maw opening up beneath him. At its pit, lava glowed. Humphrey landed upon the next column, staring down into the lava. He'd never seen it before, but he supposed it was no different than the fire that was relentlessly chasing him.

He continued to run, jumping from each new, precarious column. Pieces of rock and stone fell from the tops, some columns collapsing as he leapt upon them. He reached one, and it began to totter forward. He saw the next column as his tipped downward. He timed it right, leaping from the column to the next. He sank his claws into the top of the column, frantically climbing on top.

Suddenly, he noticed the fire approach him. He tensed his muscles, closing his eyes. The fire engulfed him and everything around him. However, it did nothing to affect him. He opened his eyes, seeing a large, black bridge linking his column and another, larger one together. All he could see around him was an endless expanse of lava; it was as though he was amidst an ocean of fire. He took a deep breath, but he was only met with the hot, dense air. He shook his head and began to cautiously cross the bridge to the other column.

Another wolf stood upon the other column; its crimson eyes glared down on him. Humphrey halted, his legs refusing to respond. He stared at the wolf in fear as it leaped from its perch down to the bridge below. It walked up to him. The wolf was massive, its black fur matted and unkempt. Long, curved claws protruded from its paws, the tips clicking on the stone. Its tail tip moved ever so slightly, a deep, foreboding growl emitting from deep within its throat.

Its ears lowered and it pulled back its lips to expose long, yellowing fangs. Humphrey was shaking uncontrollably, his body half lowered to the stone bridge. The wolf looked down at Humphrey. It smirked at him before whirling around and walking back to the other column. It stopped halfway and looked back at Humphrey. It wanted him to follow. He took a shaky breath, stole himself for a moment, and forced himself to walk forward.

The wolf led him around a large stone walkway spiraling around the column until they reached its jagged peak. Humphrey looked around, but all he could see was the lava ocean. Dark clouds rained ash from the sky, red lightning flashing periodically. Humphrey was about to ask what they were doing up there when, as if in response, columns rose from the lava, leading the way across the ocean. Lava fell from the columns, but the molten material still stayed on the tops. The wolf leaped from their large column to the next, the lava disappearing. It looked back at him expectantly.

Humphrey jumped after him, the two repeating this process for many more columns. Slowly, the landscape changed, the earth rising from the molten ocean and reforming into the river that used to mark the Eastern and Western territories. The sky was a dark red, the trees of the Eastern pack's former territory silhouetted against the fog within their territory. Humphrey walked to the riverbank, then back at the large wolf.

He was gone. Humphrey looked back across to the river, and then leaped back as he saw the wolf staring at him from the other side. Nothing was making sense to him. The wolf was leading him, no doubt, but why here? What could they do here? There wasn't anything living in the East anymore; they nearly fought a war just because of that fact!

"You must learn the truth," it growled. Humphrey knew that voice, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it. It snarled and leaped at him, claws unsheathed and fangs wide. The last thing Humphrey saw were the fangs closing in around him. He felt intense pain as its claws sank into his shoulder and his world went back.

Humphrey's eyes shot open and he looked around him. He was back in his den; Kate was nestled beside him, sound asleep. He turned to look at her, watching the steady rise and fall of her flank. He breathed a sigh of relief, resting his head on his paws. He stared out of the mouth of the small cave at the slowly waning moon. He was always disappointed to see the moon waning; he loved full moons, though he couldn't place his claw on just why he did so much. He nuzzled Kate and then lied back next to her.

The next morning, Kate was out patrolling the borders, so Humphrey used his downtime-which was all the time-to explore. Of course, being the adventurous wolf that he was, he'd seen most of the territory already, but he always liked to walk around and enjoy the world around him. He padded through the forest, the serenity clearing his already muddled conscience.

Birds flew from branch to branch, some to their nests to attend to their young. Young creatures that were born from the previous spring were scurrying about under the watchful eyes of their parents. Humphrey smiled at the sight; briefly wondering what if would be like to be a father. He and Kate would eventually-have given that Eve never found out-mate and become parents, though he never truly put much thought into it.

Although he was all for the idea when learning of their purpose in Sawtooth, he was, in truth, incredibly respectful of his mate and females in general. He didn't think of Kate as an object, but as his mate, best friend, and equal. Of course, they weren't completely equal; as an Omega of the Western Pack, Humphrey was never taught the crucial survival skills that the Alphas were taught from a young age. It didn't, however, stop him from wondering what their pups would be like. He knew Kate would be an amazing, caring, loving mother. The thought brought a smile to his face, and he continued walking forward through the trees.

As he walked, he could hear voices through the trees. He knew that he shouldn't be spying on others, but his curiosity got the better of him and he stealthily crept through the underbrush towards the source of the noise. As he neared he could hear their voices get louder. They were in some sort of argument, and Humphrey was keen on figuring out why they were arguing.

"-is simply not needed!" One of them argued. Humphrey made out the voice to be Winston's.

"I know it's not your exact customs," replied another. This was Tony. "But every wolf must play his or her part. You are the only known wolves to keep your Omegas from performing their duties and don't want my wolves becoming soft like yours!"

"Need I remind you, Tony," a female growled. Eve. "That your son is the mate of one of our 'soft' Omegas." Humphrey could finally see them; Winston, Eve, Tony, Hutch, Garth, and Lily sat in a small clearing. Tony guiltily turned his gaze to Lily.

"My apologies, young'un," he said. "I-"

"It's alright, Tony," Lily replied. She smiled, seemingly unfazed by the indirect insult to her. Garth glared at his father, then returned his attention to the group.

"Who says that we must halt any customs?" Hutch questioned. "You can keep yours and we can keep ours."

"I think what he means," Lily spoke up. "Is that we're all one pack and should agree on the same customs and traditions."

"She's right," Garth agreed. "If there's a large division between the wolves of the New Pack, then that could lead to hostilities from within. The last thing we need right now is to start any more fighting." Tony nodded in gruff agreement, even Hutch seeing the sense in the matter-whatever it was.

"I'm not so sure about this," Winston said, looking down at the ground. "Some of our Omegas aren't fit for such a drastic change. They've never had the experience that your Omegas have."

"Exactly why our Alphas can help them in this matter," Tony pointed out. "We never put our Omegas through any kind of Alpha Schooling, but we did have them taught the skills that Omegas truly need!"

Humphrey tried to make sense of the matter, not fully understanding what they were talking about. All he had gathered from their conversation was that they were talking about the Omegas. Something about them not being 'fit' for change, and that they were 'soft.' At least Garth didn't make any coyote jokes, Humphrey thought. He listened for a while more before crawling back.

They didn't seem to have come to any conclusion as to what they were talking about, nor how to proceed with it. If it was still under debate, however, it seemed that life would remain the same as it always had. He walked back to the cliffs where he could overlook the valley. He lay down, watching the moving shapes of wolves and caribou below.

Humphrey spotted the slender, tawny form of Kate moving amongst three brown-furred wolves. His ears perked up and his tail began to wag slightly. He smiled as he watched his mate carefully as she casually walked along the outskirts of the caribou herd. The large, lumbering beasts watched her warily for a while until they figured she wasn't a threat. He'd seen her use this tactic many times in the past; the caribou were dumb creatures, easily tricked. Kate made herself seem as though she was just passing through, when in truth, she was patrolling the border of the herd, scenting out the caribou that she would take down.

Selection of prey was crucial in moments like this; Pack Law forbade wolves from taking out any healthy caribou save for in times of extreme desperation. The old, sick, injured, and weak caribou were the targets that the wolves sought; if they picked out the healthy caribou then the rest of the herd would become sick and die out from the inside out. Humphrey began to suspect that was the reason that the caribou had disappeared from the East.

She trotted around, her tongue lolling out, her tail swishing back and forth. The caribou may have not seen her as much of a threat after she did this for a prolonged period, but they were always wary of any predatory animals near their herd. He saw jaws slightly close, barely parted. She lifted her head upward, scenting for her intended prey.

There it was; an old female with a limp. It resided in the outer left of the herd, grazing alone. Her eyes narrowed as she stalked the creature. The other wolves in her party closed in from the other side. She pressed her belly to the ground, hiding in the tall grass. The rest of the herd did not seem fazed by her sudden disappearance, but the old female was becoming nervous. Humphrey could tell in the way she moved, her head turning so her eyes could scan the grass cautiously. The wolves stopped moving, flattening themselves completely.

Luckily, Kate was upwind of the caribou, her scent carried off from the valley. The other wolves' scents were carried away as they were not close enough to the caribou to scent them. After many heartbeats, the caribou returned to its grazing. Kate slunk forward, keeping her body close to the ground. Two of the wolves split up and the four formed a triangle around the caribou. Their eyes met; a silent signal passing between them. This was the part that Humphrey found the most thrilling: the hunt had begun.

The lone brown wolf sprang into action, racing for the caribou. It turned to meet him, causing him to slightly divert his course and slow to a trot as though he had never intended to attack the caribou at all. As he did this the other two leaped. The caribou whirled around, its nostrils flaring, its eyes glaring at them in warning. Despite the wolves' strength in numbers, the caribou could easily gut them with its deadly antlers.

The three surrounded the caribou, but it held its ground. The hunt wasn't going according to plan; an animal that stood its ground increased its chances for survival, but an animal that tried to escape drastically decreased those chances. Kate continued stay in hiding as the other three took care of the caribou. They began to run around it, barking and growling at it. It confused the caribou and it turned around at random, unable to figure out where to look first. Finally, it made the ultimatum and began to run.

Success! The wolves ran it away from the herd, its limp slowing it down a bit. Kate crouched, slowly trotting along the edge of the valley as the caribou ran. The other wolves began to fall behind, as the caribou picked up speed, though they still pursued it. Kate quickened her pace to match that of the caribou, staying in the tall grass to hide herself. The caribou was no longer relying on its sense of smell and hearing, but rather its sense of sight. This was a critical error in its judgment, one that would quickly seal the caribou's fate.

It continued to run, oblivious that Kate was running alongside it. When the moment was right, she sprang, sinking her claws into its haunches and biting down on its injured hind leg. The caribou bucked and kicked in a vain attempt to shake her off, but Kate held tightly. She began to bite and tear into its soft flank, drawing blood until its tan hide began to turn dark. The caribou panicked and tried run off, but its hoof tripped on a small outcropping, sending it sprawling. Kate leapt off to avoid being crushed underneath the massive creature.

She immediately sprang into action, leaping for its neck. She bit down on its throat, tearing the Life Blood from it. Vessels and veins burst as her deadly fangs tore through its throat, blood pouring into the ground. Crimson flecked her muzzle, her tongue swiftly cleaning off what she could. She placed a paw on its flank and watched as its breath ceased to come. The other three wolves came and began to tear into its belly, ripping off meat and limbs to carry with them to the rest of the pack.

Humphrey stood and howled his congratulations to Kate. Her ears pricked and she looked at the cliff to see him. She grinned and returned the howl. Humphrey loved the sound of her voice; they weren't singing as much as they were simply communicating right now, but he found her howl just as mesmerizing as ever.

He smiled and watched her tear off a bloody chunk of the caribou's rib cage, the meat still attached to it. Parts of the succulent intestines caught on the ribs and trailed with her. She ran up the grass trail to meet him. She stopped halfway up and howled to her companions, ordering them to take the kill back to the New Pack Den. They howled their compliments and obeyed.

Humphrey ran up to meet her, happy to see his mate. He assumed that he would help her carry the large piece of caribou back to the den. His mouth watered from the scent of the creature, though he knew that the Alphas-out of respect for the kill-were always the first to take their share of food.

"Hey, Kate!" Humphrey greeted. She placed them on the ground and smiled.

"Hi, Humphrey," she replied happily. She nuzzled him and he returned. "So, what did you think?"

"That was amazing!" He exclaimed. "The way you took down that caribou-I mean…just…well, I mean…wow!" She giggled at his statement and pushed the kill between the two.

"We don't get to eat often enough together," she explained. "Come on, let's dig in!" She definitely did not need to tell him twice. He thanked her and they began to tear into the meat. They shared the intestines and dug into the sweet-tasting meat. When they finished eating the kill, the two began to wash themselves, cleaning the blood from their fur. Kate noticed blood on Humphrey's ear and licked it for him. His ears flattened and his paws shuffled in embarrassment, eliciting a laugh from Kate at Humphrey's reaction.

The two buried the remains and walked back to the Pack Den. They shared no words on their journey back, simply relishing in the company of each other. Their tails met at one point and they stopped to look. They smiled at each other and wrapped their tails around each other, intertwining them.

When the silence became too much for either of them to handle, they began to play games out in the forest. Had circumstances been different, the sight of an Alpha playing Tag, Race, Hunter and Hunted, and Hide and Seek would have been an odd sight for any sane wolf to see. The two laughed and played together from noon to sunset when they heard Winston's gathering howl. The two looked at each other, confused expressions on their face. Winston rarely called for a Pack Meeting save for when great problems had occurred.

The two raced back to the Pack Den to see the other wolves of the New Pack gathering in the main clearing. From their chatter and facial expressions, Kate and Humphrey could tell that clearly no one really knew what was going on. Winston, Eve, Hutch, Tony, Garth, and Lily sat on top of the Leader Rock, the overhang above the Pack Leader Den. Winston once again howled to silence conversation and all of the wolves looked up to watch him. He took a nervous breath, looking back at his companions as though to ask if he should continue. Eve nodded and he looked back to address the crowd of wolves.

"For over a moon now," he began. "We have been discussing ways to seal the rift between the former Western and Eastern Packs by combining traditions and customs and dropping others. We are still working on the full details of everything that is to be, but we have come to two similar agreements. From this moment on, Tony, Eve and I will be resigning and passing the claw to Garth and Lily. I expect that you will all treat them with the respect that you have treated us these past years and accept them as your new, formal leaders."

All of the wolves began to howl and cheer for their new leaders, Garth and Lily looking slightly flushed and embarrassed by the whole ordeal and transition to the role of Leader Wolves. When the crowd had settled down, Winston continued.

"We have also come to another, more difficult agreement. In terms of traditional pack law, Alpha and Omegas are to supplement each other in all aspects," he proclaimed. "This includes hunting, fighting, and following Pack Laws that wolves of the Western Pack have not followed closely. These ancient codes were set in place and will now be strictly enforced.

"All Omega wolves are to receive personal training from and Alpha every day for the next moon to learn the skills of survival, hunting, fighting, and traditional punishment of the Ancient Packs. These Laws will be strictly enforced and Alphas will monitor everyone's actions. This will be a very difficult transition, but our pack will turn out for the better due to these transitions."

There were many howls and snarls of protest from the crowd when he finished. Even the Alphas were shocked by the choice. Both packs had settled into the customs of the Western wolves over the past three moons, and to have to make this change was ridiculous!

"We can't train Omegas!" One yelled.

"Why do we need to know how to fight?" Another called.

"We're not fit for Alpha School!" Screamed another.

"SILENCE!" Tony snarled.

"Look!" Garth said, stepping forward. "It was a difficult decision for us to make, but we are going to be a better pack for it; we will be stronger, more fit, and have far better chances of survival than we would in other situations! We won't send any Omegas to Alpha School; we'll simply be doing light training for a moon and that will be it!"

"What about the punishment system you were talking about?" A young wolf called.

"That will be explained in due time," Lily explained. "For now, everyone can just enjoy the rest of their evening and everything will be further explained in the morning!" With that, the meeting was over. Humphrey finally understood the conversation he'd heard earlier, though he wasn't particularly happy with the whole ordeal. He had to agree with the points that other wolves made; he wasn't in the physical condition to do the things that Alphas could. He was, of course, fit, but there was no way he would be able to pull off the elaborate tricks that Kate did on a daily basis. And how would wolves like Salty, Shakey, Mooch, Reeba, Janice, and other Omegas cope with the changes?

"Well," Kate commented as they padded back to their den. "That's quite a way to assert their position on the first day."

"Yeah," Humphrey replied glumly. "No kidding." Kate smiled and nudged him on the shoulder.

"Well, I hope you don't mind me being your trainer," she said. "This will also give us an excuse to spend more time with each other." He smiled; he hadn't thought of it that way, but now that there was way for them to spend time with each other, the Omega training seemed like a perfect idea. For a moment, Humphrey's thoughts were drawn back to what the dark wolf said in his dream.

"You must discover the truth." Was this the truth that he had to figure out? It would definitely make sense; he was taken to the border of the Eastern territory, and unlike the West, the East had used the ancient customs that they were now applying to the New Pack. It must be the truth that the wolf was talking about. After all, he didn't want to think of what would happen if he was wrong.

**A/N: There's Chapter 3, guys! I hope you enjoyed it, I put a lot of time and thought into the hunting segment and as to make it a large part of the chapter and to describe how real wolves hunt. I'd also like to formally thank Alexander, (Anonymous), FunLovingKate, and imjustlikehumphrey for leaving reviews on this story this far! Thanks for that! This is actually really fun to write this story; it gives me a chance to be more creative than the war stories I developed in the Call of Duty Fan Fiction section of the site. Until next time!**

**-The Dishonored Wolf**