Chapter 4: Starting Over
The days passed by at their usual pace, the routine was the same for every wolf in the United Pack; live and serve the pack. However like a looming shadow mating season was fast approaching and preparations were already being made on behalf of the leaders to make sure that the season would pass with no issues. Alpha duties were rearranged and altered so that every alpha female could take it easy with a light work load. Heat got its name for a reason and if it was not relieved then females would need to take control of their body temperature. As odd as it seems this was normal for females who had already experienced the sensation of heat, the precautions were already known and they had no trouble controlling something that took over their body like a virus. A virus of fertility and lust you could say.
All young females were educated about what was to come, whether it was from parents, friends, or even the pack meeting that was recently held for all females. To any outsider you would think that the wolves of the pack were preparing to battle some epidemic, but here everything was safe and normal in wolf culture. Females already with mates were considered the lucky ones, for they could use the time with their special one and turn it into something romantic and special. They didn't need to do the things single females did as much, like cooling themselves off with water or going about everything in a smooth and easy way. Overheating was a problem when it came to a females in heat, it could lead to passing out, sickness or even death in extreme cases. This was why alpha duties were practically halted for females. Allowing all the alpha males to work in order to compensate for the lack of wolves, but they still got their time off during this time. For the pack already had a large number of alphas, and food was plentiful.
The season was a time of love, and a chance to make dreams come true, such as dreams of starting a family and experiencing the joys and challenges of it. As odd as all this was, it just happened, nothing could stop it and surely it was spoken of across the pack. However for being so known, when it came down to it everything was kept private among couples and singles. Like a secret that everyone knows about yet is never discussed. While the season was regarded as a romantic time, there were still parts of it that weren't so great. Heat had a bad side to it, for it put out an intoxicating aura that would drive any male crazy with lust. This was just nature's way of making sure that wolves would reproduce at the right time, even if it was right or not in their culture. However this didn't mean that wolves accepted it, they were picky for good reason since that kind contact is only reserved for lovers. Unfortunately with lust meant that females could be taken advantage of by those with sinister ideals. Rape was just something that happened, whether deliberate or from getting too carried away, it was one of the highest crimes next to death punishable by law, and right now was the time of highest risk.
This was why the United Pack organized it so that the males were kept busy while the females rested. Additionally omegas kept look out for any sign of trouble to break up and report to the alphas. Surprisingly this system proved to be very effective and efficient over the years through past generations of leaders. This was a short dozen or so days where the normal routine was turned on its side and changed to something bizarre. Amazing to think that all this happens over mating season; private, romantic, and just plain unusual to those who are only experiencing it for the first time. Yet at the same time it was just another yearly cycle that is just a part of being a wolf. With all this love and temptation in the air it's amazing to think that anyone would pick this time to make friends, for it could lead it to somewhere else not welcomed. The time was to be spent with that one you love or are interested in romantically, not to rebuild a friendly bond that once was.
However this did not stop Kate from proposing the idea to her once puppyhood companion, Humphrey. She wasn't entirely sure that what she was doing was right but at the same time she was confident she could make it work out. As hesitant as he was to accept, let alone think about it, Humphrey approved of it for the sake of regaining what was lost in the past. The plan was set, and now it has begun. A day ago the season had started for Kate and just like she stated, she moved into Humphrey's den until the heat faded off in the next several days. However no one really knew that she was staying with an omega, and with the current season it could be against the old pack law to do so. She didn't care though, he was her last resort and she was thankful that he even accepted it, taking on a challenge of temptation with the reward of friendship. The only wolves that did know of her whereabouts were her sister Lilly, and Garth. Kate felt like they were the only ones who would understand her reasoning for it, and surprisingly they both did. As for her parents, all they expected was that she was with another alpha female. Oddly enough they didn't challenge her to tell them who it was; perhaps they felt she could make her own choices? Whatever it was, things were to go smoothly in her mind for her first season, and maybe by the next season she could learn to love the wolf she was stuck with and have a family. Like the destiny that was forced upon her.
However that was the future and right now it was about her and Humphrey. By the first night together there was an apparent awkwardness hovering in the den, neither of them knew what to talk about. Kate tried to make conversation, which worked, but only for a short while. Humphrey meanwhile was going through a whole wave of thoughts and feelings, and it wasn't entirely due to Kate's presence in relation to his past experiences. Rather it was the fact that he was smelling heat for the first time, and while it wasn't strong he defiantly could detect its scent and its mind controlling ways. It almost made him feel dirty in a way, sitting here with a supposedly aroused alpha female beside him, yet it was replaced when he remembered why she was here. Thankfully for him it would never become over powering with the way Kate left every few hours to wash and cool off in the nearby stream. At any rate the smell was going to play with his mind, and he was going to have to get used to it if this reunion with her was going to work out. He was amused to realize that his friends were right about how strong the scent was, it was nothing like he smelled before. Sweet in a way, but defiantly held strength in naughty intentions, making him fully understand how wolves could get carried away with it.
Eventually they decided to just start with what they had been up to for the past two months, a suitable topic. Kate began with her story and Humphrey was very surprised to hear that she hadn't been enjoying her new life so well. He always thought that marrying Garth was what she wanted, that uniting the packs was just half the reason, but what she told said otherwise. The truth from her was that they didn't love each other, and that they were struggling to even make it work out between them. They were friendly to one another but other than that there was nothing more, just two alphas put together with no bond. Humphrey couldn't believe it as he sat there in darkness on their first night together; she was in her own mess of problems as he was. Kate didn't bother holding details; she already accepted that this was the way her life was meant to be even if it wasn't right in her mind. She grew up in alpha school learning that an alpha does things for the good of their pack, and this was exactly what she did. The more she told her story the more Humphrey felt empathy towards her, his idea of her living the dream life was all a lie. He wasn't the only one thrown into depression from the uniting, and that was something they now had in common.
No longer could he say that he felt anger towards her, as if the knowledge of her current life was enough for him to forgive the fact that she played his heart. None of them won from this, which now made them even. Humphrey was broken over the harsh reality of not being able to be with Kate, while she was torn apart with her new life. The conversation continued until it was Humphrey's turn to share what was new with him, which he realized was a problem. He couldn't just state that because of her his life was turned to misery, that wouldn't be right on his behalf. She had shared enough problems to deal with at the present, and this was to be a pleasant experience for them both at his den. Not a chance to get even or set things straight, after all he still wanted to be her friend when this was over, and maybe sometime in the future he could really tell her the truth. His mind quickly turned into a panic as he attempted to find a reason to explain everything he had been doing with his friends. That's when the idea of finding his family kicked in, which was something he already planned to use if anyone acquainted with Kate ever asked him about his sudden mood swing. Luckily nobody ever did other than his friends and other omegas.
Things switched as Kate listened to what Humphrey had to say, the two of them just laid there on the floor of the den while looking around the cave, occasionally exchanging glances. However what she expected to be typical omega adventures and experiences coming from him turned out to be much more serious. She had always thought Humphrey lived the carefree life, like any regular omega in the pack. Never did they have the worries and responsibilities alphas had, and in a way she was jealous about it. Yet her life was already laid out, her parents wanted her to be an alpha and that's what she did. But she didn't regret it; the thrill of a hunt was more than enough to make her enjoy it, even if some days were hard. Humphrey however had his own new problems like she did, but to her, his were worse. Family was important to her, the ones that accepted you for who you were even if you never saw eye to eye all the time. She always knew Humphrey wasn't born into this pack; his lack of parents was more than enough to make it obvious, but not knowing where you came from was horrible to think about.
Humphrey told her that he began to think more about his parents after the uniting, wanting to know where they were and why he was in Jasper. He talked about his omega brothers and how they came up with this big scheme to help him feel better, which was working. Kate simply listened as he continued, going on about his new love for nature and how it has helped him get out of the pit he was in. At the end she was relieved to learn that he was out of that depression, someone like him shouldn't be tied down like that, no one did. It made her wonder about how to get out of her own problems, or at least manage them. Perhaps she could even get some tips out of Humphrey, something she could ask him when they ran out of topics for conversation. As his story ended they both continued to talk for a short time until rest overcame them. The first half day was over, but several more were on the way.
The next day arrived quickly and at the present it was getting late into the morning. Humphrey was alone in his den waiting for Kate to return from her routine trip to the river. They haven't even been doing this for a full day yet and it was already becoming an interesting experience. This was already a worthwhile decision for Humphrey, because he learned that Kate wasn't doing well in life. As cruel of a thought it sounded it was something new they shared in common, and he couldn't wait to tell his friends what he's learned. Surely the next time he got together with them they would be asking him tons of questions. At the same time he wanted to know how Salty and Shakey were dealing with the smell of heat around them, because they were doing the same thing as him technically. Curious to see if it was affecting them in the same way as he was, because to say that he wasn't getting bad thoughts in his head would be a lie. As much as he pushed away the temptations and thoughts, they still slipped into his mind; at least the smell wasn't getting any stronger to force him beyond that. Not much later of lounging in the den Kate returned from her bath; however she also brought food with her.
"I'm back" She called with a piece of caribou in her jaws before dropping it in the middle of the den. "I figured you must be as hungry as I am so I grabbed this on the way back."
"Thanks, I was getting a little hungry" Humphrey replied, walking up to where she placed it.
They began eating after splitting it in two, shortly after Kate decided to ask the obvious question she had on her mind since she started staying here. "So, how are you handling the smell?" She asked, looking at him.
At first Humphrey was confused but then remembered what she meant "Oh, that." He said realizing and received a nod from her afterword. "Well to say it doesn't affect me is a lie, I'm surprised that the rumors I've heard about it are actually true so far." He laughed a little at the end.
She lightly laughed as well "It's not going to become a problem is it?" She asked.
"If it stays like this, I can manage." He replied casually.
"Good to hear, though I feel a little bad you have to deal with it." She stated.
He shook his head "Don't be, if I can make it through this then I'm sure I can get through anything." He replied with a smile. "But I will say that you leaving every few hours has helped."
"Yeah it helps me as well; you have no idea what it is like to feel what I feel right now. It's like I'm always lying out under the hot sun." She admitted.
"I don't want to know" Humphrey replied while raising one of his fore paws, as much as he was curious he voted against it.
She laughed "Fair enough, at least this current breeze airs things out." She said referring to the draft that rushed in from the entrance of the den. It was a windy day today, and Kate hoped it would stay like this for the remainder of the season.
"Yes, it does." He agreed. It was nice that she already knew all these tricks to keeping the scent down, which she stated earlier that she learned from her mother. Surely she had some other things then just sitting in water, but he didn't feel like learning about it. The more he could keep heat and things related to it off his mind the better, having never experienced it before he wanted to be as cautious as possible. For fear that getting to much in his mind would alter his image of Kate from one of a friend to one of lust and desire. He didn't exactly know much but that wasn't going to change, perhaps he could avoid the sensations it gave better if he knew all about it, but he was not going to risk it.
There was a short pause as they finished their meal before Kate had something else come to her mind. "I was thinking about what you said regarding your parents" She began "Have you ever thought of going to look for them?"
"I have" Humphrey answered. "The thing is I have no idea where they could be, no one here knows anything about where they went after I was left here."
"Not even my father?" She suggested.
"Well he's told me about what they looked like and their names, but he stated that they never talked about where they were headed, just that I would be better off living here." He replied.
Once the previous winter was beginning to warm up Winston took the time to explain what happened to his parents. He was too young to remember when it all actually happened, but now thanks to that talk it helped him fill a big hole in his life. Yet most of it was still a mystery, his lie to Kate that his depression was because of his parents isn't too far off from reality. Did he want to find them? Sure he did, but at the same time what if they didn't accept him? These were things he thought about, why else would he be left here if his parents did care for him. Obviously the fact he was better off wasn't true, for if he was then why haven't they visited him in his two years of life? None of it made sense, and perhaps it never will, which is the reason it brought him sadness. There could be a whole family out there that he would never know about, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters even. Did they even care or was he the runt left to be forgotten? It made him sick to think they would do that, but he knew it was possible. This was why the things he learns from getting over Kate he also used when it came to his origins. It wasn't as big a problem as Kate was, but it was similar at the least.
"I have my theories, but not all of them are great." He continued. "Perhaps what they told Winston was true, that they wanted me to be safe. However I find it hard to believe when they have never come to visit." He got up and began to pace around the den, not sure if Kate was following along or not. He didn't plan to go deep with it but for some reason he just kept talking.
However she was paying close attention to what the grey wolf before her said, understanding the kind of emotional pain he was in. She thought about what it would be like to never know her parents and sister, wolves she deeply cared about for they were her family, the ones she could trust and speak with. Never knowing them where would she be? Probably having to manage for herself and sharing the feelings Humphrey currently had, a gap in your own life story. That changed her view on him slightly; he had grown up all by himself. Learned how to be a wolf from experience and friends, not passed down from the ones that brought him into this world. As a pup she would have never comprehended this when they were friends, but now she realized it. She felt bad for him, thinking of a way she could help but there was nothing she could do. She held no place in this problem other than being a bystander trying to comfort and understand.
"-Perhaps I was just some accident or wasn't liked by them..." She heard him continue, realizing that while in her thoughts she had missed some of what he said.
"What?!" She blurted out, rising to her paws. "Don't you ever think you're some kind of accident Humphrey! You are a great wolf and an important omega to our pack, you should be proud of that."
Humphrey nearly backed up in surprise at how fast she confronted him; the shocked look on his face took a few moments to wear off. "I appreciate it Kate, but I don't see myself as that at all." He replied, having no intentions of making his talk sound upsetting. Simply he was listing the reasons he thought his parents left him. He has already accepted that his parents were not going to be coming around anytime soon, let alone ever.
"I just hate it when wolves think their worthless. If its one thing alpha school taught me is that all wolves deserve to live so long as their innocent." She explained, starting to pace around like Humphrey previously had. For some reason what he spoke just set something off in her, whether it was him or the fact she just stated.
"Kate I didn't intend it to mean that." He reasoned again.
"Wherever your parents are I'm sure they still love you, and if they don't then they never deserve to know you. You shouldn't let it bring you down, instead embrace it." She continued, ignoring what he argued.
Humphrey was amazed to hear something like that from her; a wolf who he once hated was actually arguing that he was a great wolf. What she spoke he may already know, but the meaning was still there. A smile appeared on his face as he stood there in disbelief, perhaps this really was a new start for them. "Thank you Kate, that.. is great to hear." He replied slowly. "I have embraced it, thanks to the help of my friends coaching like I told you last night."
"No need to thank me, it's now that I realize we both have our problems to deal with." She said, returning the smile.
For a moment he felt that feeling of friendship returning between them. Only the second day in and it was already returning like nothing had changed. "Yes it appears we do." He agreed with a nod of his head.
There was a short moment of silence. "Perhaps you could teach me some tips about accepting things for what they are." Kate suggested; not sure if he would bother to accept.
"I don't see why not, we still got plenty of time." He replied, kind of glad she was interested in learning about the lessons his friends taught him.
"Great" She smiled.
"So now what?" He asked, seeing that was over and done with.
She hummed to herself as she thought of what to talk about, but nothing came to mind. It was mid-day and she thought about going to visit her sister, as long as Humphrey couldn't think of anything else. "Well I got nothing, you?" She responded.
"After all that, I got nothing either." He replied. Once again there they sat with nothing to speak about, at least now there was no awkwardness behind it. That's when Humphrey's omega side kicked in, if there was nothing for omegas to talk about then the next best thing was fun and games. That is if Kate was interested in playing them, he wasn't sure why she wouldn't but alphas were alphas. "How about a game?" He asked.
"Sure I guess; what did you have in mind?" She replied, hoping that it wasn't too strenuous for her current condition.
"I like to call it spot the object" He replied, before getting up and walking to the entrance of the den while motioning for her to follow him.
She got up and followed him. "This isn't anything physically demanding is it?" She asked.
For a second there Humphrey almost replied with an ironic joke that an alpha just asked that kind of question, but then he remembered why she said that. "Not at all" He responded sitting back down, facing the forest view before his den. "You just sit right here and admire the view."
She sat down near his side and raised an eye brow while giving him a look. 'How could this be a game' She wondered. "That's it?" She asked.
He couldn't help but laugh at her question. "No of course not!" He answered looking back at her for a moment. "Basically one of us picks an object we see and the other tries to guess it from one basic hint."
She felt kind of silly asking that but she still laughed with him. "Ah I see, you go first then." She replied.
Humphrey smiled to himself before looking around for something rather easy to guess, considering it was her first time playing. Their game started and Kate found herself enjoying it more then she anticipated; round after round went by as time sped up with the difficulty ever increasing. It was nice to be doing something most alphas never did, and that was games. Luckily for Kate that trip to Idaho with this omega helped her remember to have fun every now and then. Only she regrets to say that once her and Humphrey split she forgot this fact again. Humphrey may never see it but he did have an impact on her, not in a romantic way but rather a friendly reminder way. That having fun was just as important in life as serving your pack. She found it interesting how she fell out of touch with him, sure she thought about him every now and then but she never paid him a visit until a few days ago. Perhaps it was merely because she was too caught up with herself between alpha duties and her problems. Either way she kind of regretted it, thinking that she was to blame for breaking their friendship when it wasn't entirely true.
Humphrey meanwhile was enjoying the game they were playing, finding it interesting to have someone other than his omega buddies to challenge. As the day went on he concluded that today was a success, he was learning more about Kate and she was learning more about him. The feeling of friendship was back in his opinion, but there was still work to do, yet at this point it all felt so casual. Going from topic to topic and there was still much to talk about; additionally he could also teach her some games they could play in their down time. He was making the most of this, even if it was never going to end up with them being a couple. It wasn't ever going to be about that no matter how well things were going, and at the same time he did still remember their past. As much as he didn't want to, he did, and it served to quickly remove any thoughts that drifted into his mind when he became aware of her heat. It was like a double edged sword, one side to never develop feelings of romance for her, and the other to remove any temptations. He couldn't wait to see the expressions on his friend's faces when he told them how well everything was going right now, who he planned to go visit tomorrow during some down time, because he had his own questions to ask them as he was sure they already had some for him.
A/N: Story is starting to pick up pace here, Humphrey is thinking the friendship is back but there's still more left to be said. Glad to see people are enjoying it so far, hopefully that will continue as the story continues on. Why do I say that? Well let's just say there's going to be a bit of a bump in the road soon… -ChriZ
