Here's the next, and longest chapter thus far! Enjoy!
"Winston, why were you out so early this morning?" Eve asked her mate as he gnawed on a caribou bone.
The ex-Alpha sighed and let the bone fall out of his paws. "Eve, please. I do not want to talk about it. Not with Kate and Humphrey's marriage due in a few minutes."
"Winston, I really think you need to talk about this with someone." Eve sat down across from him. "If not me, then someone else."
"No one else understands Eve. No one else has ever understood the pain I went through." Winston growled.
"Talk to Tony about it. He lost his mate during a caribou hunt; he suffered a loss like you did."
"Losing your mate and losing your brother are two different situations. In my situation, Cyrus was not my mate. I grew up with him, and that made the pain more difficult to deal with."
Eve lowered her head and sighed. "Winston, if you're not going to talk about this, then don't say anything about it. Sitting there and just beating yourself up is not going to fix your problem; it will only make it worse."
"Don't tell me how to handle it. Tony already tried that this morning. And yes Eve, I know this will not fix it. You have already told me a million times that I cannot turn back time; Cyrus is gone, I know, but I can prevent Kate and Humphrey from facing his fate."
"I know Winston; you will tell them to head south."
"…And how did you know about that?"
"I've heard you talking to yourself."
Everybody knows about my business, no matter what I do… "Yes Eve, that is exactly what I'm going to do; the Northern Pack has not left that frozen wasteland since they were banished there." Winston sighed and stood up on his aged legs. "It will work out perfectly, I just know it…"
The combined West and Eastern Packs gathered around the center of the pass, Humphrey and Kate standing on the flat rock where Lilly and Garth married. With the bath she took earlier, Kate looked nice and clean, with the purple flower set nicely in her fur.
"Wow, I can't believe Humphrey, the Omega of all Omegas, is going to be an Alpha…" Mooch said with a sigh.
"Well guys, let's just be happy for him, and hope he doesn't forget about us when he hooks on the ol' ball and chain…" Salty said with his paws crossed under his head.
"Well, here we are." Humphrey said smiling nervously. "I still feel a little embarrassed about what happened earlier this morning."
Kate smiled and set her paw on the side of his muzzle. "Really Humphrey, it's alright. Lilly and I didn't know."
Humphrey lowered his head slightly and took in a deep breath. He could barely comprehend what was happening at this moment; he was about to marry Kate; she would be his mate…and it made him excited in so many aspects. However, for some reason he could not get his mind off Lilly who sat next to Garth on the left side of them. When he looked at her she would look back at him and smile, and he would just smile back for a second before turning his attention back to Kate.
Winston sighed. "Okay now you two; you may start whenever you are ready."
Both Humphrey and Kate swallowed at the same time. To begin the ritual, Humphrey and Kate circled each other slowly, not taking their eyes off each other. This was all of course required, for each mate to get closer to one another and to show their commitment. As they circled around Humphrey stuck his muzzle into Kate's tail and took a whiff of her scent.
"Humphrey, that's not one of the moves." Kate said in surprise and amusement.
"Just do what I do Kate. This will prove to your parents that we love each other, and they can accept me more." He flicked his tail towards her.
Kate nodded and sniffed his tail. His scent was a little different from hers; her bath gave her a nice fresh watery smell, but Humphrey smelled all musky and earthy, like a normal wolf like him would. The closer to the tail's base she smelled however the stronger this smell was. Kate blushed like mad when she figured out what was producing this strong odor and she moved back to the end of the tail. Humphrey on the other hand kept his muzzle towards her hind end, his eyes transfixed on the area exposed slightly to his eyes. He could not help himself; he moved down there and took a small sniff.
"Humphrey!" Kate squeaked in surprise. "Not in front of the pack!"
Humphrey smiled slyly at her. "Sorry Alpha dear, I couldn't help myself." Little did he know that Winston, and even Eve, were giving him a stare that could burn through the back of his skull.
When they finished with this part if the ceremony, the two wolves smelled each other's muzzles, sniffing the sides and the front and breathing in the other's breath. Kate smiled and he smiled back. She felt anxiety with the entire pack watching them do this, especially after that move Humphrey made. Now she feared that he would try to make another move on her, but she knew that Humphrey knew better; nevertheless, the thought that he would try to mount her in front of the pack made her fearful.
Humphrey licked the front of his muzzle and lightly sniffed the corner of Kate's. She closed her eyes halfway and made a small sighing noise before sniffing him back. In a loving fashion the two rubbed their heads together as the next phase was about to commence. Humphrey smelled her ear before gently nibbling on it making Kate giggle softly. He smiled and moved the soft sensitive skin through his teeth, rubbing the pointed tip with his tongue.
"H-Humphrey…that's not p-part of the ceremony…" she objected unable to keep herself from moaning softly.
"It's not? I could have sworn it was…," he said pretending not to know as to what she was referring.
As Lilly watched this, her body started to get warm on the inside. As much as she tried to, she could not get that image from earlier out of her head. The sight of Humphrey's wolfhood was so new to her; the rigid shape, the deep red color… Lilly licked her muzzle unconsciously and transfixed her gaze on the soon-to-be-Alpha.
"Lilly, are you alright?" Garth's voice entered her mind and snapped her out of her trance.
"Huh? Oh, yeah…I-I'm fine Garth." she said, trying not to sound like she was thinking of something of which she should not be thinking. "I just can't believe Kat's getting married too."
Garth smiled and nodded. "I know I'm happy for her. Humphrey sounds like he would be a very good mate for her."
"Y-Yeah, he would…" Lilly simply responded shifting on her paws.
After a few more of these affectionate actions including a few more ear licks from Humphrey, which made Winston growl, they took their original starting positions. Both were nervous and unsure of who should go first, they went at the same time, slowly edging their muzzles closer and closer together. While they had done this before, it was not an official nose rub; this one would mark them as mates.
Kate felt her pulse racing. Her heat beat faster and harder like it was going to break through her chest, leap into her throat, whatever. Humphrey felt the same exact way, but the heat was spreading all over his body in two particular places. Hours seemed to fly right on by before their black noses made contact. Kate was the first to make a small movement before Humphrey joined her, and they did the necessary nose rub.
And with that, they were now mates.
Winston sighed as if he was growing impatient and could not wait to get this over with, but he smiled regardless.
"It is done. Kate and Humphrey, you are now mates, united together." He said standing beside them.
As part of the ceremony, the rest of the pack raised their heads and howled, to show that two lives, body and soul, had become one. Kate blushed and lowered her head a little. Humphrey kissed the top of her head softly, which made her blush harder.
"I love you Kate. I love you, and nothing can change that. I promise you I will be a good mate." He said, nuzzling her head.
Kate breathed deeply and nuzzled him back. "I love you Humphrey. I promise to you I will be a good mate and mother to your pups…"
Humphrey smiled at the thought of making pups with her. He licked the top of her muzzle, which made Kate close her eyes and let out a small sigh. Lilly shook and whined slightly as she watched this too. Within minutes, the howling ceased.
"Now everyone set up a feast for our newest Alpha Male and Female. We will have a celebration to celebrate their bonding." Winston said and the rest of the pack went off, to make preparations. "Humphrey, follow me. I'd like to talk to you."
"Dad, please." Kate protested. "We just got married."
"I'm not going to scare him honey," the old wolf said with a smile. "I just want to give him the same talk I gave Garth."
Kate sighed. "Okay father. Just don't take too long. I want to spend some time with my mate before we head out."
Winston sighed and nodded in affirmation. "Don't worry Kate. I won't take long with him. Now follow me Humphrey."
The grey wolf swallowed nervously wondering about what it was Winston wanted to talk to him. As he passed by his three Omega friends, they gave him wide toothy smiles that said "Good job".
"Um…So uh Winston, sir, what did you want to talk about?" Humphrey said with discomfort in his voice as they made their way toward the stream. He had never been alone with someone like Winston before, a wolf as powerful as him, and as old; but he was not going to say that aloud.
A raspy sigh came out of Winston's muzzle. "Humphrey, you are now mates with my oldest daughter. Unlike with Garth and Lilly, you, the male, were the Omega."
"Yes sir," Humphrey said while nodding. "Is there something wrong with me being the Omega? Because I know…Eve is still a little…mad at me?"
Winston chuckled. "No no, she's accepted the fact that you and Kate love each other." They came to a stop in front of the stream took a short drink of the water. "But that's not what I want to talk to you about."
"Then what is it, sir?"
"You and Kate will be heading out into the world soon, to start your own life together." Winston looked up at the sky, watching the small birds fly across the blue firmament.
"I promise you Winston, I will take very good care of her." Humphrey assured his mate's father.
"I know you will Humphrey. I know you will," he said, sighing once more. "But I want to discuss a few things with you. First off, you will be hunting with Kate to help support each other, and a possible litter of pups."
Humphrey swallowed. "Sir, I uh…I don't have much experience in hunting, but I will do my hardest to support her and our family.
"Good boy…" he smiled. "That's what I wanted to hear from you. I guess you're not fully a slacking, fun loving Omega after all. You've really matured after all the events that transpired over the past few days."
"T-Thank you sir…" Humphrey said. It actually felt nice getting these compliments from his father-in-law. He was expecting Winston to be mean to him…
"Now, I want to talk about you, reproducing with my daughter."
Humphrey's face turned red beneath his grey fur. "Winston sir, I don't think that's very um…appropriate to talk about…"
"She's my daughter, and technically you are my son. It's family business." Winston growled. "Have you ever seen a female in heat?"
"Not seen, no, but I have heard about it." Humphrey replied.
"Believe me boy, when Kate goes into heat, you have to be prepared. Don't let the lusty exterior of her heat-drive body fool you; if you're too rough, you could hurt her."
"Hurt her? I…I would never think of doing it sir…" Humphrey swallowed.
"Good…good. And finally, when it comes to raising pups, just remember that puppyhood is the most crucial time in a wolf's life. Play with them, hunt with them, spend as much time with them as you possibly can, otherwise you could have a strained relationship."
Humphrey nodded. "Um...t-thanks for the talk Winston. Is that all you wanted?"
Winston sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that was all. Just remember what I told you, and you will have a successful marriage with Kate."
Humphrey took a deep breath. "I need a few minutes to think this over…tell Kate I'll be back in a few minutes."
Winston nodded and pat Humphrey on his shoulder before leaving him by the stream. Humphrey took a nice long drink of the stream, thinking about all he was told. Boy, it sounded simple by the way he put it, but he knew better; marriage was going to be difficult.
"Lilly, why aren't you at the celebration?" Winston said to his youngest daughter as he saw her walking in the opposite direction.
"I just wanted to talk to Humphrey, and congratulate him on his new life with Kate," she said, her face flushing softly.
Winston looked at her before nodding in affirmation. "Okay sweetheart, don't take too long though," he kissed her on the side of the muzzle. "We have a lot planned for the new couple.
Lilly nodded and Winston continued on his way. She looked back and watched her father until he disappeared out of sight. She sighed and smiled. Now Humphrey was alone, no one else around.
Hope you liked this chapter! Next one has a special surprise, so fasten your seatbelts! XP
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