Chapter 9
Hey guys, I know long time no see huh. I'm sorry it took me almost half a year to just upload another chapter. I know I said to some of you that I would try and upload a lot more over the summer. But I guess I didn't find enough motivation to do so.
That is something that I am hoping to change come the next few weeks though. And I hope you guys will come to enjoy the stuff that comes from the endless void known as my head.
Anyways, onto reviews.
If you wish to skip them, scroll down to this cute little face
•~•
From 'bikerboy'
'wow so humphrey has amniesa and nobody notices that hes gone wow but this is still great and hope you update and i didnt like how kiera is so mean to him even after saving her life but hope it gets better in the future.'
Yeah, that was pretty cruel of his pack. At least Kate hasn't given up on him. Kierra is pretty cruel to him even though he saved her life. I guess it's because she's the alpha of her pack. But hey, I guess we can never tell for sure right now. Maybe we will find out in the future.
From 'FanofHumpheryAndBalto'
'Yup. I would totally love to see more of this. I love the details, and the love itself, and how well the emotions are expressed and detailed.
Good job.
Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to future chapters. Until then,
See ya in the '
Thanks! I put a lot of effort into the detail and emotion of the story and it makes me so happy to see that you appreciate it.
From 'Lo-Ki'
'Man... I already dislike Kiera. Hopefully she will learn to lighten up.'
I agree, she is a little mean to Humphrey/Grey. Hopefully She'll see that shouting doesn't always make things better.
From 'Guest'
'Absolutely amazing. Can't wait for more!'
Why thank you! You flatter me too much. I hope this chapter was worth the wait for you.
From 'soulwolfie'
'this story is great keep up the good work because it looks like this story will pull together and be one of the better ones out there :) I too enjoy these moments for the exact same thing that you do keep writing and do it because you enjoy it because it just makes the story all the better :D'
I don't know if it'll be on of the better ones but I do hope it will hit at least 10,000 views. It's amazing to to hear that you believe it will be one of the better stories out there. But first I have to actually finish the story.
From 'Guest'
'Perfect as always. Can't wait for more.'
Thanks so much for saying that my work is perfect. I know that it's no where near perfect but it is nice to hear that someone thinks so.
From 'FanOfHumphreyAndBalto'
'It's starting to get juicy! Can't wait for more!
Keep up the good work and c ya in the next...'
It sure is getting juicy! Juicier than a juicey juice on a summer day. I know that made no sense. Being high on 5 hour energy drinks may be the cause or just that I can't joke around to save my life.
From 'Kellylad13'
'I'm liking this so far, great story. Continue :)'
Thank you so much! You have no idea how much it means to me when it's coming from a writer as talented as you. I hope you do enjoy this next chapter!
From 'Guest'
'can't wait to see next chapter'
Well wait no more! Straight from my iPhone, I bring you the next chapter!
From 'FanOfHumphreyAndBalto'
'Awesome chapter! Cool to see what "Grey"'s new job is. I Can't wait to see some action from these twins. Until then, see ya in the next...'
Yep, I didn't think that Humphrey would have able to fulfill the role of a regular alpha so I put him as a scout. Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy.
From 'bikerboy'
'i know that i've been reading this for a while but i was a little bit confused, was it all a flashback?, not really sure but i'll see you in chapter 9.'
Yeah, the last part was a flash back. Sorry about the confusion. It was a rushed chapter. But hopefully this makes up for it.
From 'Guest'
'Great job as always. Glad to see you updating'
Thanks! I hope you'll forgive me for another late update.
From 'Guest'
'This chapter is too long and I don't get it.'
I do apologize for the last chapter, it wasn't that great of one.
From 'Guest'
'Please update'
Your wish Is my command.
•~•
(No ones POV)
-Creed-
Over the past next few weeks, the harsh snowstorms that once restricted everyone from venturing outside gradually became the water source for many of the newly planted seedlings. These seedlings, with time and patience, would then grow to be tall, and healthy trees that in which would become a mother to a new generation of seedlings.
The verdant forests surrounded most of the area in which provided refuge from the cruel and mysterious humans. The ones who constantly cut down the homes of innocent animals in order to house their own kind without a worry for the wildlife. When they weren't focusing on their own greedy intentions, they were out busy ruining the earth around them.
Selfish and arrogant bastards.
That's what Kiera had called them at least. However, that was the least of his worries currently right now.
Grey, now sore and brutally exhausted from the merciless Alpha training, felt like his back had snapped into two in an instant. He slumped on the floor after being thrown into the tree for the third time in only a matter of four minutes.
His fur was mixed with sweat, blood, dirt, and saliva from all the times he had been tossed around like a rag doll. Pain coursed through him constantly, regardless of what he attempted, even if it was only filling his lungs with oxygen.
He slumped on the floor cringing and gritting his teeth and waited for another blow to come and make him suffer some more. His tattered form hung low to the floor hoping to ease some of the inevitable pain to come.
Sadly this method didn't work to well as he felt his neck being grabbed by two powerful pairs of teeth before he was felt as if he was flung into the air.
He then hit the floor with a large grunt and he felt one of his feet twist the wrong way.
He groaned in pain, too stunned to even think of a way to get out of this. His heart pace was raising higher and higher every time these two wolves would continue to beat him into the ground.
After a good ten more minutes of this brutal activity, the two wolves began to grow tiresome of this game. Soon after the merciless pounding began to subside, the male of the two higher alphas began to speak.
"So Grey, I hope this means you've learned your lesson on sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?" A monotone voice said in a growl. This muscular voice usually belongs to a muscular guy so it should be no surprise that it belonged to the 2nd in command, James. His crimson fur covered his upper body while a lighter grey covered his lower.
Grey was always disgusted by him, he always had this vibe of dominance to him. Like he could do anything he wanted to regardless if it was beating up on a scout.
"Maybe... Maybe you shouldn't pick on Creed and Reems. They didn't do anything to you."
And where James was, his companion, Shade, was destined to follow. "What, those two pups? They shouldn't have cut in line at the feeding grounds! They knew what would happen." She said with the usual calm voice. It was like the fact that she had just brutally injured him was no big deal. Just another day of picking on the weak.
"And due to your 'noble' attempt to stand up for them, here you are. Beaten, bruised, and bloody. Doesn't seem like it was worth it." James added.
Grey chuckled which earned him a low growl from both of the two alphas.
"What, you think this is funny?" James asked as he brought his paw up, and threw it at grey in attempt to nail him right across the face. Grey raised his head fast enough to dodge two of his lethal claws, but the last claw caught on his jaw. The bigger alpha then pulled back his paw tearing off a large amount of skin.
Even though he managed to dodge most of the strike, the pain that filled his jawline was excruciating.
Grey's throat became raspy and his breath was short. His mind seemed be everywhere at once yet he couldn't focus on anything.
"That's enough James." Shade said, once she laid her eyes upon Grey's bloody jawline. "I hope we don't have to this again Grey, it'd be a shame to see such talent go to waste."
With Shades final words, the two towering alphas left him there, writhing in pain and struggling to just breathe. The sound of their paws treading through the mud was the only sound he could hear. The quiet forest around him tormented his frail mind, bring him close to verge of insanity.
The cold floor and wet blood that dripped from his chin was all that Grey could feel, nothing else. Grey, in a matter of moments began to grow very tired while experiencing the calm and serene environment around him. Grey's eyes began to get heavy.
Creed watched him from a distance still saddened at the condition that Shade and James had put Grey into.
After a few more seconds, she was sure the two alphas were finally gone she rose from her position and ran over to Grey's side. Inspecting the wounds that covered her friends body.
Grey raised his head only to see his fellow scout, Creed, above him checking his wounds and other injuries. He laid his head down, trusting the smaller alpha with himself.
Even though Grey took quite the beating, he thankfully didn't have any broken bones. The worst wound he had obtained from the two larger alphas was the large gash under his chin. Creed smiled relieved that he didn't sustain anything that would cripple him.
"You have no idea how lucky you are." Creed told Grey who returned her sentence with a chuckle.
"Am I now?" He asked her trying to maintain the best joking tone he could. But it was nothing more than a raspy whisper, "You sure do look like you've been through a bigger beating."
Creed smiled and playfully nudged him with her paw, "Hey, you know you didn't have to stand up for us. You are aware that Reems and I are the fastest in the pack right? I doubt they could have kept up with us."
"Yeah, I'm aware. Still, I'd hate to see that lovely white coat of yours to get sweaty." He teased her making sure to emphasize the word 'lovely'.
He in which was rewarded with another playful nudge to the stomach but a bit more powerful than the last. The force caused Grey to groan in pain from the sudden pressure. "Oh shut Romeo, you're going to end up killing yourself over me if you keep this up." She informed him.
"I'd say it's totally worth it." Grey continued to tease her. Resulting in a small blush from the female above him.
"Careful, keep this up and I might just have to inform Reems about your petty attempts to hit on me." She threatened.
"Aw, come on Creed. Don't be so harsh." Grey whined. "I was trying to dull out my pain through your beautiful looks."
Creed turned away trying to conceal her increasing blush, knowing that it would only encourage him.
"Oh god." She whispered.
Grey grinned knowing he had made her blush. But his evanescent victory was brought to a sudden halt with the familiar voice that sent chills up his spine.
"Are we interrupting something here Grey?" Reems asked, making Grey almost jump out of his skin.
Reems walked on the right side of Creed. They were both pushed aside however by Flake as she didn't waste a breath, taking Grey's pulse and covering his punctures with some sap from a nearby pine tree.
In a matter of moments, Grey felt the aching pain that covered his body start to die down. His raspy gasps for return to normal deep breaths and most of his bleeding stopped.
Flake sighed in relief, thankful that he wasn't too badly injured.
"God Grey, you gave me a heart attack!" She told him. "Next time you decide to play the hero, please make sure you can actually fend for yourself."
Grey smiled as he slowly rose from the floor, sitting up feeling the soreness in his legs from trying to get away from the two jerks of the pack. But the bumps and bruises weren't enough to hold back his humorous personality.
"Where's the fun in that?" He questioned with a smile on his face.
Flake sighed. "Why do you have to act like everything's a joke. It's really starting to bug me how you take nothing seriously. You could have broken a bone. Do you know what Kierra would do if one of her few scouts had been crippled in an attempt to save wolves who could have easily saved themselves."
Grey cringed at the thought. There certainly would be a lot of shouting, and a lot of beatings, and especially a lot of running regardless if he was temporarily crippled or not.
"Come on Flake, go easy on him. He was only trying to protect us." Said Reems catching Grey off guard. He expected Creed to pitch in before Reems even thought of it.
Flake turned towards the two siblings before scanning over Grey again. Finally she shook her head. "Fine, I'm going back to my den. If you ever do something like this again Grey you'll have to patch yourself up because I'm not going to fix up a wolf who goes and gets himself injured."
Flake rose up and began to return the way she came shaking her head and mumbling things to herself.
Creed followed after saying, "I should probably go after her, I haven't heard her be this pissed since her boyfriend broke up with her."
With her and Flake gone, it left Grey and Reems alone in an awkward silence. Grey didn't know wether or not to thank him for standing up for him. He was insanely protective over her sister, to the point if any male who looked at her in a creepy sort of way he would shoot them a terrifying glare that could make the fur stand up on anybody's skin.
"Look Reems, thanks for-"
"Save it Grey." He interrupted with a tone that few would joke around with. Especially Grey. "The only reason I didn't tear you apart was because; A. Flake was there. B. You were already injured. And C. Because you did save Creed and I back there."
Grey sighed, relieved that he wasn't on the floor for the second time today.
"Now let's go back, I don't know about you but I didn't get a chance to eat yet and I'm starving." Reems said, standing up and started on the path back to the feeding grounds. Grey followed in his footsteps, stretching his sore legs and quickly followed along.
-Kate-
She had sat and waited for winter to finally pass by with a sense of anticipation that drove her insane for the past 6 weeks. She spent most of winter stuck with seasonal chores and the winter chores took the most effort as well as the most time.
About 3 months ago, her life had gone through quite a large bump in the road.
Having the rest of your life be assigned to a random stranger wasn't very easy to sit with. Then being kidnapped from your home and transferred across the country border wasn't quite a walk in the park to return from either. Finally, losing one of your close friends because of a misunderstanding only to find that you have strong feelings for said friend.
Kate had tried so hard not to let the loss of her dear friend, Humphrey, distract her from her duties as an alpha. It was an experience at first, she had grown used to seeing the silly omega at the end of the every day. He had always relieved her of her stress with a dumb joke or playful moments where they would tease each other.
As the time went on winter began to fall over the pack, and with the help of her family and friends, Kate slowly began to heal and recover. By the time winter was over, Kate was ready for the spring season as well for the long awaited search for her lost friend to begin.
Now that winter had passed on, the harsh snowstorms had dissipated and the scarce livestock was starting to replenish by the new generation of caribou. These were the limitations that restricted her pack from starting the search earlier.
She had pleaded to her father in attempt to convince him to over look the dangers of the winter. However, her father didn't give in.
Kate dipped her head down so that her head was just above the lakes surface and started to drink from the lakes ice cold water. The morning sun reflected its light off the scattered ice shards that littered the lakes surface in which provided a nice illumination.
Kate withdrew her head from the water and sat on the moistened soil starring up at the color patterned sky. Her mind danced around different subjects that filled her aching head.
Many of the pack members stated that going out on a search for a lost omega was foolish, especially right after winter season. However, they didn't have the power or the authority to stop her from organizing a search party.
Regardless of what other people thought, she was going to find him.
No matter the cost.
"You know, chances are we're just going to come back empty handed." Stated a gentle voice. Kate jumped but turned her head to see who had started her. Only to turn her head back down to the wet soil underneath her.
"For the twentieth time today, i really could care less. All i care about right now is making sure we've at least tried to find him." She stated again for what seemed like the twentieth time today.
Hutch approached Kates side, stopping only about two feet away from the shore of the lake and sat himself beside her taking some time to enjoy the beauty of the new Spring season. It was funny, no matter how hard he tried, her determination would not waver. Her loyalty to her lost friend was admirable. Regardless of if it was wise to search the wilderness or not, she had her mind made up. This attribute of hers was one that stuck out to him. She was a good friend. She was willing to risk her life for another's return.
"I really dont know why I keep trying to convince you." He sighed defeated, staring at the ground as if bowing down to her. "I should know first hand that once your mind is set on something, theres no changing it."
Kate turned her head to face Hutch. "Then why do you and everybody else try to stop me?" She asked with a somewhat annoyed tone. She was sick and tired of hearing that her idea were foolish. Humphrey was a part of the pack, yet everyone acted as if it was a false cause.
He lifted his head gazing out to the horizon trying not return Kate's gaze in fear of offending her.
"Kate... you know the dangers of the wilderness at the beginning of spring. I understand you've waited the entire winter season for this chance, but its just not wise." He stated in another attempt to derive her from the mistake she was about to make.
Kate returned her head to where it was before calmly with a smile. She knew he was just watching out for her. He had always been protective of her, like a big brother. Ever since her father assigned him as her guardian, he always made sure that he was by her side when she was alone. Every step she took, he was there to ensure that she was safe.
"If anything were to happen to you out there, the pack would be in ruin. Its not worth risking the future of the pack on some omega." He stated with a firm voice.
Kate grit her teeth and her body tensed at hearing that. She was tired of that line. She had heard it from almost every single pack member of the pack.
He wasn't a coyote.
Of course they didn't understand how much he meant to her. If she had announced that she had feeling for Humphrey before the search started, there would have been no way that she would have been able to go. The only wolves she could trust with her secret was her father and sister.
Hutch saw her reaction and cringed knowing he had struck a nerve. He hung his head low, "Kate, I'm sorry I raised my voice towards you. I shouldn't have."
Kate sighed upon hearing his apology, relaxing her body. All this talking wasn't worth it. She knew he would keep trying and trying to change her mind but she wouldn't have it. It was just distracting her from her task at hand.
"Hutch, I understand your worries. You were instructed to protect me from the dangers of this world until I was made pack alpha. The last few months with you by my side have been so much fun. You have done an amazing job Hutch. You've been my friend and you've helped through some pretty tight situations in the past. And I understand that you're still trying to protect me from the world, but my mind is made up. And you should know out of everyone in this pack that once my mind is made up, there is no turning back." She told him with a gentle and caring voice, turning her head towards him and smiling.
Hutch returned her gaze for a bit, then for a second he returned her genuine smile with one of his own.
Hutch then tore his head away and clenched his jaw.
"I know I can't... it's just that I haven't done a great job at protecting you like you said. You seem to forget Kate, you were abducted by some humans. And it happened when you were alone. My responsibility was to be with you whenever you were alone and i had neglected it for some girl. If I had been there, I could've saved you from them!" He stated while gritting his teeth feeling guilt overtake his body.
Kate was shocked from the sudden change of his tone. Hutch had always been a calm soul. She could insult him or beat on him time and time again, but he would always be the one to maintain a brimming smile. Experiencing that sudden outbreak scared Kate enough to have her stand back.
"Hutch... I didn-" she started but Hutch continued.
"I thought I would never see you again kate." He said gazing into her eyes with his own. "You were taken from the pack so suddenly that most of us didn't know what to do. With failing to maintain the responsibility of watching over you, every one blamed me for your disappearance. The burden of failure rested upon my shoulders as did the entire packs disgust. I ended up going through three full days searching for any trace of you, without getting one ounce of rest. And the thing is that the energy that fueled me to keep searching wasn't the stress of failing my responsibility, nor was it the pressure of failing the pack." He paused and returned his gaze to the floor catching his breath.
Kate stood there in awe at the scene, trying to figure out what to say or what to do. Sure it shocked her that Hutch shouted at her for the first time in his life, but to see him start to break down in front of her, it hurt her heart.
Hutch took a deep breath, wiped some tears out of his eyes, and returned his gaze back to Kate.
Kate dared not to look away or act in a way that would further upset the friend in front of her.
"The energy to keep me going for those three solid days..." His breathing slowed and his tone started to lower down to something near to a whisper. He dropped his head to the floor for the final time.
"It was the fear of losing the one wolf that I actually had feelings for." He admitted in a hushed tone.
Kate stood there trying her hardest not to drop her drop, she was unable to take in everything that had just happened in only a few mere seconds. First he was calm and composed, being his old self, next he was speaking to her with and angry and hurt tone that she had never heard from him before. Then he starts to have tears glaze his eyes, and confessed that he loved her!
'Why now?!' Kate screamed in her head, 'Why was now the perfect time to have Hutch spill this out so suddenly then rely on me to pick up all the peaces and somehow not hurt him in the process of things.'
Kate's thoughts were interrupted when Hutch cleared his throat and began to speak again.
"When you finally returned home unscathed, I was so relieved. It was like a boulder was lifted off my back. I had tried to get you alone and confess my feelings to you before you were married, but everyone was so obsessed with you the following day that I couldn't. After I heard the wedding was off because of an omegas disappearance, I was so glad. I didn't want to lose you to some Eastern Pack show off. And now youre so determined to go back out into the wilderness and risk your life all over again for this omega... You have no idea how much that makes me want to kidnap you."
Kate was too distracted by the alphas self pity to be angered by the suggestion that left Hutches mouth.
Hutch then smiled gaining back his composure. "But I know you wouldn't let me do that, regardless of how I approached you about it."
Hutch stood up from his spot and began to return to the way he came.
"I came initially to tell you that your search party is ready to leave by dawn tomorrow morning. I do hope you find your lost friend."
And with that said, he vanished into the large amount of vegetation. Leaving a stunned Kate alone with her own thoughts to keep her company.
