Omega and Alpha
By Commentaholic
A/N: As some of you might have noticed, this adventure is definitely not going to go the same path as the movie.
Yes, I got the last chapter from Kate's hunt, BUT, of course, it would be the same, despite Kate and Humphrey's swap. We're going off of the assumption that nothing has changed except their ranks (and the introduction of Adria, of course, as well as a couple OC's).
Chapter Two: The Passing
The thunder of the caribou herd's hooves filled Humphrey's ears as he watched, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Mom...?" Humphrey whimpered, the word almost lost, even to his own ears, in the uproar.
"Mom?" he repeated, not wanting to believe it. Surely she would come darting out from the hazy dust cloud, no worse for the wear. Adria was the Head Alpha's mate for more than just her looks, of course. Surely she could handle a lousy caribou stampede. That's what Humphrey wanted to believe.
But seconds went by without any sign of Adria. The caribou herd began to thin, and then the last few stragglers disappeared around the next bend in the valley. The dust began to clear.
"No!" gasped Lilly, darting away from Kate's side, streaking down the rocky incline towards the valley floor.
Humphrey, too, was searching. The moment the last caribou had gotten clear of Humphrey's path, he had sprinted into the dust cloud. He heard Hutch let out a howl, a long mournful one.
Humphrey followed the sound, the howl of sorrow, the howl of death. He had only heard it once before: the day that Kate's father had been ambushed and killed by humans. The howl then had been for Kate's father, now it was for Adria.
Hutch's howl was now echoing off the stony cliffs, sending a message to the distant Western Pack.
Tears welled up in Humphrey's eyes as the haze before him dissipated enough for him to see her. Hutch standing beside Adria's broken body, face upraised and throat issuing forth the sad song of an Alpha's passing.
Her silver-gray fur was now torn where the caribou's sharp hooves had kicked and stomped onto her fallen form, exposed skin battered and bruised. The howling ceased as Humphrey approached, the answering howl having been heard in the distance.
Humphrey nudged her limp form with his snout, hoping against hope that perhaps she was only knocked out, but there was no response.
He felt Lilly brush past him to collapse on their mother's body, sobbing. He also felt Hutch and the others try to pull him away, but he shook them off.
He heard words, words meant to soothe his sorrows, to ease his pain. Kate's kind voice, however, sounded like it was a million miles away.
For now, there was only the howl.
Humphrey sat, straightening his back. He threw his head back, his sorrowful howl more heartfelt than a thousand death knells. All present could feel his pain. As he howled, memories flashed before his eyes, punctuated as they were by his tears.
His parents laughed as a 2-month old Humphrey struggled back to his feet. He gritted his teeth as he hunkered down again before springing towards his father again. This time, Winston let his eager son tackle him. The pack leader allowed himself to fall backwards, his son sprawled atop him, the small wolf looking very satisfied with his accomplishment. Winston and his son rolled around playfully on the cave floor as Adria and Lilly, Humphrey's white-furred and more timid sister, looked on, laughing.
Humphrey heard his father's mournful howl join his own as the rest of the pack arrived. Hutch, who had been Adria's brother, also howled with them, this time as a personal obligation and not as duty. Lilly just sat beside her mother's broken form, tears streaming from her beautiful lavender-colored eyes.
The last few green leaves of autumn faded away into the red and brown collage of dead leaves. The cold breeze that hinted at winter's inevitable arrival blew across the hilltop from which Adria and Humphrey surveyed the territory. Winston was still at the dens, retrieving the last few Alpha candidates to the meeting place where they would say their final farewells before setting out until spring.
"Humphrey, you know that we wouldn't blame you for staying behind, right?" Adria said, worry creeping into her voice.
Beside her, Humphrey nodded. His wounds had only recently closed, and his broken legs still pained him. "Yes, I know. But I'm going anyway."
His mother nodded in approval at his courage and determination, turning her gaze once more into the valley that was beginning to take on a grayish hue under the colorless clouds above. A snowflake drifted down, the first of many, to land on Humphrey's nose, existing for a moment before his body heat melted the crystalline ice.
The chorus was joined by the rest of the pack. Adria had been a much-loved member by all. She had never discriminated between Alphas and Omegas, helping those who needed help regardless of status. Whether the pack would ever truly recover from this loss was an uncertain fact.
Humphrey inhaled deeply as he leapt atop a fallen log, taking in the familiar scent of Jasper Park. It had been too long since he had smelled the rich scent of home, but now the familiar peaks located in the Western territory were coming into view. Alpha school had been tough. He had needed to be tougher. He had grown bigger and stronger, confident that he could now fulfill his goal. It was a goal that he had carried within him since before he could remember:
Protect the pack.
Not just because it was his duty as the next pack leader, but because he wanted to keep everyone safe. No one would be lost on his watch, he was certain of it. He flexed the muscles of his once-broken legs. They had healed without trouble, despite the tough trials he had endured. If anything, they had become even stronger than anyone had hoped. He smiled to himself, only half-hearing his mother assembling the hunt group, now he could protect everyone.
He had failed.
No longer able to hold his composure, Humphrey's voice failed him as he broke down in tears, eyes shut, unwilling to look at his mother's body. He had failed her when she had needed him the most.
Beyond her limp form, amid his emotional turmoil, he caught the scent of the Eastern wolves. He dug his claws into the ground, carving deep furrows.
"It's your fault," he growled. His eyes snapped open, glaring hatefully at the two intruders who had caused all of his pain.
"Humphrey," his father murmured, "let's just go home. There's been enough loss of life today."
"No!" Humphrey yelled, the fur on his back raising in anger, his sharp fangs bared in rage. "They did this!"
Hutch tried to restrain him, but Humphrey just shouldered him aside as he lunged toward the two brown-furred wolves. He was so focused on tearing the two wolves apart that he hadn't noticed the golden-furred blur that was Kate hit him broadside, sending both wolves tumbling to the ground.
Humphrey rolled to his feet, vision still dark with bloodlust.
"Humphrey, no!" Kate cried out, jumping back in his path, trying to take him in her arms to hold him away from the Eastern wolves. "She wouldn't want this!"
Though Humphrey knew that he could easily toss Kate aside and resume his attack, he didn't. Deep down, hidden amid the swirling vortex of his confused emotions, he knew she was right. His mother would never advocate revenge.
Kate breathed a sigh of relief as Humphrey's tense form relaxed in her arms, his body quivering along with his sobs.
Winston looked on with relief as Humphrey's anger and hatred faded, at least for the moment. He knew that this would not be the end of the trouble that had begun here today. He knew how his son felt. He had lost his mate, and as much as he wanted to tear the two wolves responsible limb from limb... he had to remember the impact it could have on their already strained relations with the Eastern Pack.
Turning his gaze to the two Eastern wolves who looked shaken at what they had caused, and rightly so, he muttered, "I think you two had better leave before we change our minds."
The two Eastern wolves nodded and took off as if the devil himself was after them.
Stepping up to Kate, who was still embracing the shaking Humphrey, Winston whispered in her ear a word of thanks. She just nodded and continued to comfort Humphrey. Though the sorrow would not be over soon, not by a long shot.
Winston ordered Hutch and Brandon to carry Adria back to the dens. It was a terrible thing that the onset of spring was marred by such an event as the Head Alpha Female's funeral.
Before Winston headed home, however, he had one more order of business. Tony had some explaining to do.
A/N: Gah... depressing, but it had to be done. And now Humphrey's pissed, so that doesn't sound good for the Eastern wolves...
Tony definitely has some explaining to do... And there's a little Kate and Humphrey emotional stuff! Well, we'll see how that all works out.
-=Commentaholic=-