Chapter three everyone.

Chapter 3. Scarred for Life

-Kate-

As I walked towards the middle of the valley, the rest of the clan followed me at a distance. My family behind me, then the rest. From the other side, Garth and his pack had adapted a similar formation. Today was the day everyone had awaited, the merging of the packs that would benefit everyone. Nonetheless, my gut continued to pain me. Each step closer to Garth, the intensity of my rumbling belly increased. Eventually we met at the centre of the valley. Tony walked past us and sat down next to my dad. My fiancée grinned at me uncomfortably.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"Good." he said, absent-minded.

He stared right past me. Something was troubling him as well, which I found surprising. During the moonlight howl he had been so determined to impress me, yet now he seemed hesitative.

"Are you okay?"

"You bet! No problems on this end! Ready to go-go-go!" he answered strangely loud.

He too acted so weird regarding this marriage. No-one in my direct vicinity had shown any sign of being truly content about this marriage. Even my mother seemed to have her doubts. Well, everyone except for my dad and Tony that is.

"So are you gonna start this thing or me?" Garth asked insecurely.

Not exactly a romantic proposition, but it had to do.

"Let's start together."

As we performed the marital rituals, the doubts kept roiling in my stomach. I refused to listen to them. I had no choice. Whatever stupid feelings my subconscious tried to exert, I had to marry this guy, for all our sakes. The last thing to make the bonding definitive was rubbing noses. I closed my eyes and leant forward. Suddenly I saw Humphrey's face. He smiled at me, cute as always and his smile calmed my noisy inner feelings. When he winked, it struck me. The unnerving sense was finally clear as a bell. I loved him too. I couldn't be without him and trying to pretend otherwise would only cause more heartache than I already suffered now. I opened my eyes. To my shock I saw Garth's nose almost touch mine. Immediately I backed away and for the first time since Humphrey had told me he loved me, my unruly gut feeling subsided.

"Kate? What are you doing?"

"I… I-eh…"

I glanced back at my parents. Their panicky faces were equally curious as to why I pulled away at the last instant.

"I… can't."

"You can't! Yeahea!" Garth cheered.

I gave him a surprised look. Apparently I wasn't the only one with second thoughts about our bonding. I heard my dad snarl at Tony and he showed up next to me.

"Kate, Kate. Why can't you marry Garth?"

"Because…I…"

I looked at him and his disappointed eyes stung me like needles, yet I knew I was doing the right thing. As everyone waited for me to explain myself, I laughed and knew I had no trump card left but the truth.

"I fell in love with an omega…"

My confession made my mom faint at the spot. My dad's sarcastic glare was normally the most daunting feature I could encounter, however I was not ashamed this time. I thought of Humphrey's cute smile and I knew I loved him more than anything.

"An alpha in love with an omega. That's against pack-law!" Tony laughed disapprovingly.

"Dad." Garth spoke, "I also am in love with an omega."

As if our shock wasn't real enough that he too broke wolf custom, it was Lilly whom he approached. That's why she was so down all that time, I was marrying the one she loved.

"What have you done to my son, Winston?!" Tony exclaimed furiously.

"An omega and an alpha? An alpha and an omega?" my dad mumbled with a befuddled look.

"This is madness. This isn't our custom. This isn't our way." Tony preached. "TAKE THE VALLEY!"

I looked around and saw how the other pack charged at my own and an intense battle commenced. I watched fur being torn, paws getting bitten, wolves being tackled. Amidst this chaos I saw my dad and Tony facing off. As I had been carried away by the moment, I had all but thought of the consequences of my actions. All of this was my fault and I didn't know how to fix it. A flock of birds soared over my head and a rumbling noise echoed through the valley. A huge group of caribous was galloping straight towards us.

"Stampede!" I cried as loud as I could.

My dad was the only one that heard me and in turn he alerted Tony. They both commanded the packs to scatter to the sides, the only place you could be safe. I followed the group and pushed Candu along with me on the way. Everyone moved up the hills as fast as they could. When I reached the top I looked down to see whether everyone had made it. To my horror I witnessed my dad and Tony caught in front of the large herd.

"We have to help them!" I called out.

My friends agreed, yet all we could do was run along on the edge of the cliff. I didn't know how long the two leaders would be able to outrun the thousand hooves that chased them. As I ran up front, Hutch was shortly behind me.

"What do we do Kate?"

"Help them!"

"But how?"

I didn't know either. In blind panic I was sprinting at my fastest, hoping to catch up with them. The longer we ran however, the greater the distance between them and us seemed to become. Then a steep cliff surprised me and before Hutch could grab me, I lost my balance and slid down the rocky wall. I scuffed my thigh on a sharp stone and landed flat on my stomach, forcing all the air out of my lungs. I couldn't get up, I could only gasp for oxygen. Then, the catastrophe unfolded.

Tony's paw lost its grip and he tripped, stumbling into the sand. My dad's good nature prevented him from leaving the other wolf behind and he also halted. It was already too late. Tony got trampled by the vast amount of caribou hooves, however this didn't stop my dad from trying to reach him. Growling and waving his paws he tried to protect his congener, yet eventually he too sustained a blow to the head and fell backwards on the ground. Seeing it happen, my breath halted and I winced to protect myself from seeing the gruesome scene.

"Kate, are you alright?"

Hutch and the others had reached my position at the bottom of the cliff. He inspected the wound on my side, but I pushed him away and pointed at what I had just seen. I didn't want them to help me, they had to help my dad. The caribou had moved on and as the cloud of dust they left in their wake settled, the bruised bodies of Tony and my dad were uncovered. When I got up, the scratch seared like a flame.

"Dad!" I yelled, walking over to him as fast as I could.

Garth showed up as well and headed for his own father. I nudged my dad's cheek, but he didn't respond. The tears rolled down my nose. One of them fell onto his face, causing him to regain conscientiousness. He respired with sheer difficulty.

"Dad!"

"Kate." he said weakly.

"Dad… I'm so sorry."

He shook his head as best he could.

"Don't be. I'm sure Humphrey will make you happy."

"How did you -.."

He laughed and coughed at the same time. I smiled through my tears. He always seemed to know everything about me.

"Eve…" he said.

"I am here Winston."

I was surprised that she was already standing behind me, I hadn't heard her coming at all. I moved back to give them privacy. My mom cried as she rubbed his nose for the last time. Then, my dad exhaled and he became quiet. My mom began to howl and others joined in. I sought Lilly and found here cuddling up to Garth, whose expression indicated that Tony too had succumbed to his wounds. Both the packs were left leaderless by the loss of both alpha males. After a couple of minutes, the howling seized and all of the wolves silently retreated to their dens. In the end only me, my mom, Garth and Lilly remained. I watched my sister and my former wedding partner seek comfort with one another and suddenly I wondered why Humphrey wasn't here. I thought of asking, but decided it wouldn't be appropriate.

"Mom." I whispered.

She did not respond to me. Quietly she gazed at my dad. She didn't cry anymore, yet I wondered if this was a good thing. Maybe she blamed me for his death. I started weeping again. She had every right to, it was my fault. If I had married Garth, none of this would've happened. I needed Humphrey now more than ever. I wanted the feeling of his protection over me as I had felt during our journey. I felt a paw on my shoulder and looked up. It was my mom's.

"It's not your fault, Katie." she said.

"It is!" I replied, wiping away my tears even though they were immediately replaced.

My dad was dead because of me. The feeling of guilt weighed even heavier than neglecting Humphrey had done. My mom shook her head and pointed at my sister as she walked over to us. She kissed my dad's head. In the back Garth gave us a slow nod and my mom returned the respectful gesture. Lilly gave us a sad smile and together they walked away from us.

"If you had married Garth, Lilly would've never forgiven you and you yourself would never have been happy either." my mom continued. "All your father ever wanted was for both of you to be happy. You've already granted his wish for Lilly, now it is your turn."

Her words worked better than any sedative ever could. I hugged her and noticed that her tears moisturized my hair. I believe mine did the same with her, but neither of us cared.

"Go on. Find him." she smiled once I let her go.

Before I walked away I turned back to her.

"But what about you?"

"I'll stay with your dad a little while longer."

End of chapter 3.