Okay, DLW here again with the second to last chapter of this story, and I must say... Well, I can't say, you'll have to read this. Anywho getting back to things, I want to thank all who have read, those who reviewed. This is by far the longest chapter of anything I've currently written, popcorn is advised. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Alpha and Omega. Except for the O/C's, and that one wolf that doesn't belong to the cast, he's an O/C as well.
Also for anyone interested, this music is the best to go with the story at the marked point (watch?v=aGddlz40IwQ).
Alpha and Omega : The Week After
:Chapter 9 My Vexing Ultimatum:
It was early in the morning when Eve had finished her task and was well on her way home with her daughter and pack members. A calm and dim light was soon to show itself for the sun was soon to rise.
"We're almost there Hutch." Lilly whispered. She was concerned more than ever for the safety of her friend, and couldn't continue bearing much of his weight.
As they had been traveling for some time now, Hutch had become less and less coordinated; he needed help quickly, and Candy was in no better shape herself.
"Hutch?" Lilly said in a hushed tone once more. She wasn't upset about being ignored, no, she was fearful for Hutch's silence may have meant more than just his weakened state.
After a moment, Lilly felt Hutch come to a halt. "I'm- alright, Lilly." He said weekly and tried his best to smile despite his state of wellbeing.
'No, you're not.' Lilly thought and managed to force herself to smile. She didn't want to loose another, and they were close to the pack grounds, and more importantly the healers den.
Eve casually trailed behind them. She carried Candy on her back while dragging the suspected killer of one of their pack members in her jaws.
She took notice of the situation unfolding before her. Hutch was wounded badly, but she was sure he would recover; Lilly on the other hand, was showing the care and concern she always did in any given situation.
Without ever noticing that she did, Eve smiled.
Knowing that he had to keep going, Lilly gently nudged Hutch to continue forward while he was still able. He weaved and nearly fell over several times, but thankfully Lilly stood at his side.
It took them several minutes, trudging across the last few hills in their way and having more difficulty with Hutch, but they had finally gotten within sight of the dens.
Lilly was glad that not only had they made it back to where they were needed the most, but were now only a few feet away from getting Hutch the help he so badly needed.
The moment they got close, they could see two figures sitting next to one-another, each with a distinct blue stain on their lips. The two caught sight of the returning band full of wounded wolves and quickly approached.
"Mam!" Reba and Janice shouted from the entrance to the den. They hadn't expected her to return so soon, but both were grateful that she did.
Eve released her grip on the intruders neck, and let him fall harshly to the ground. "The two of you help Hutch, and come back for Candy." She commanded as the two got closer.
"We'll take it from here Lilly." Reba said, running out of the den as she was closely followed by Janice.
Being the first to arrive, Reba stood on the opposite side of Hutch and leaned against him to allow Lilly to back away. The moment Lilly did this, however, Hutch began to lean toward where she last stood.
Lilly, sure that Hutch was about to fall over, quickly rushed to his side, only to have Janice beat her to her spot. She was relieved to say the least, that Hutch was not only in good hands, but that they were all back to the safest place in their territory.
Reba, having taken the time to balance herself to walk with Hutch and Janice to the den, caught sight of the other wolf that Eve had brought with her.
"Who's he?" She asked hastily, she was concerned for Hutch, but couldn't take her eyes off the wounded wolf in case Eve needed assistance in bringing him into the den as well.
Eve took one look at the wolf lying on the ground before her and waved the three of them on.
"He's the one responsible for Ruse's death." She said grimly and placed a paw on his neck. Enraged at her own words, Eve looked Reba in her eyes and allowed her claws to roughly dig into the unconscious wolf's skin "He's going with me."
Reba stood there for a moment in silence, she couldn't believe what she heard, another pack member was gone, and this wolf was responsible.
Though angered by the passing of her friend, she nodded and helped Janice prop Hutch up. The two of them carefully walked on either side of Hutch to lead him in the den.
Realizing that since Hutch was already taken care of, and Candy was on her way to recovery, Lilly found that she had nothing left to do.
Eve understood this as well, and she couldn't have her around when she had to interrogate the intruder. "Lilly," She said calmly "I'm sure Hutch would love a smile."
Lilly quickly thought about this as Reba and Janice both ran out of the den once more to attain Candy. Hutch was wounded from saving her, and she dare not sit by and allow her protector to go without someone cheering him up.
She turned to her mother as the two healers carefully rolled Candy off her back and hoist her onto theirs. Lilly smiled as they ran in and began their treatment on their patients, she soon trailed behind the healers into the den.
Eve regathered her thoughts and looked back down at the wolf that she had defeated. From what Lilly had told her, this wolf was solely responsible for the death of one of hers.
Then there was something else on her mind, and she grit her teeth at the thought. If this wolf were at all responsible for the death of one of hers, and causing harm to others, what would become of their pack if he weren't found alone.
Eve silently growled to herself and subconsciously snapped at the air. In her mind she was angered at the notion, and her blood boiled at the hope of a battle.
As angry as she could be, she was interrupted by the noise of flapping wings encircling her. She pushed her anger aside and looked up to see the two that had helped her spot Lilly.
"That was just splendid madam." She heard Paddy call to her from above.
Marcel and Paddy quickly descended towards her from a nearby tree and landed just shy of the wolf she took as prey.
Forgetting her rampage, Eve calmly smiled at the two and removed her claws from her victim. "Thank you two for your help." She said gracefully.
As the two approached, she went quickly to work in rolling the stranger over to carry him on her back. Though she'd rather drag him across the ground as he deserved, she wanted him to be fit enough to talk when she needed him to.
Paddy waddled next to Eve and began to speak "Yes, well we were wondering if you knew where k-"
"Paddy-" He was interrupted by Marcel, who quickly took over the conversation.
"Mademoiselle," He addressed Eve formally and bowed "We were wondering if you could tell us where miss 'Kate' is."
At the mention of her name, Eve immediately froze."Kate?" She said weakly.
She trembled at the thought of her child, now lost and long gone from their presence. Even the simple mention of her name nearly brought a tear to Eve's eyes.
Marcel and Paddy, not knowing what was going on, looked on questioningly. They didn't want to get on Eve's bad side after seeing her take down her foe with ease.
Surely, they thought, that something was amiss with Kate, but if so, then what about Humphrey as well?
Paddy was about to question what could be so important that even Eve wouldn't tell him. But before he could do so, Marcel raised his feathers to block him from speaking even a word, he knew something was wrong.
Eve, after hearing the sound of one of the birds about to speak, remembered that she wasn't alone. She didn't have that kind of time to set her mind on her tragedies now, and she wouldn't let them see her break down.
Shaking her head and clearing her mind she reached down and picked up her suspect. She didn't exactly want to carry him on her back as the thought of him taking the life of one of her own disgusted her to no end, but she had to keep talking to the two as well.
Eve hoisted the wolf onto her back and motioned for Marcel and Paddy to follow her.
"I'll explain on the way." She said uneasily.
The den wasn't far, and the two birds had been there before, but dared not go in out of fear of the other wolves.
They nodded to each other silently and took off closely following Eve. There was something that they needed to understand, as well as a story they had themselves.
I•I
Not far away, the trio followed the trail to help Winston find their dear friend. Each of them moved at their own pace across through the darkened woods. Thankfully though, they knew sunrise was on the horizon.
They hadn't been able to travel but so far as they were tired from having been up all night, their friends safety was more important then their own rest.
"Guys, wait up." Mooch called to them for the umpteenth time. He had been slower than the others, and being restless was taking its toll on him more than anyone.
Salty, who had been heading the group, turned back to face Mooch. He had been eager to help the situation, but at the same time he was upset that they hadn't gotten far.
Sighing out of frustration, Salty turned back around to face the uneven path before them. "Mooch," Salty called back to him agitatedly "Humphrey's in trouble!"
Mooch understood this well, but he still wasn't used to all of the running around that they did. He stood there for a moment to catch his breath and hoped that Shakey would at least back him up on this one.
Shakey, however, was too lost in thought to pay attention to the whole situation. He was focused more on what was going on in their pack and trying to piece all of the evidence he had together.
"There's too much going on to say that it was an ordinary attack, but why now?" Shakey muttered under his breath as he narrowly avoided stepping on a few stray rocks, "It can't all be coincidence, but what was their motive, why would anyone want to take over a pack that barely has enough food to sustain itself?"
To him, none of this made any sense, but he understood well enough that getting to talk with Winston again would help move their case to the top of the list.
Mooch, having felt as though his momentary rest was good enough, stood on all fours once more and continued on. He took a few steps before he picked up a familiar scent.
"Guys, do you smell that?" He asked, turning his head towards hill close to one of the hunting grounds.
Salty turned back to sniff at the air and caught nothing while Shakey absentmindedly began to wander off of the path that they had trailed.
Salty glowered at Mooch and shook his head. "Mooch there's nothing there." He said matter-of-factly.
Hearing Salty's skepticism, Mooch rechecked what he had sniffed out earlier, but this time he knew he was right. He ignored Salty's demeanor and walked up towards the hill to scan the area.
Upon reaching the top, Mooch called Salty over and pointed towards where he knew his assumption was correct. Salty begrudgingly walked forward, he didn't want to keep waiting for Humphrey to get help, but he was curious as to what it was.
As he walked up, he could hear something moving from just beyond the hill. He knew Mooch had found something, and it didn't sound like the clicking of hooves either.
He peered over the hill and caught a glimpse of something he never thought to see. From what he could vaguely make out, it was a red wolf carrying with him a grey wolf on his back and a silver-ish object in his mouth.
"Who is that?" Salty asked, befuddled as to who this mysterious character was.
"Whoever he is, he has Humphrey." Mooch stated.
Salty looked at the figure a moment longer before he felt something bump into his side. He looked down to see what it was but was surprised to see Shakey standing there and mumbling something.
"You okay, Shakey?" Salty asked out of confusion.
"Huh?" Shakey, having been snapped out of his thoughts, turned to see the others staring at him as if he had two heads.
Shakey quickly abandoned his thoughts on the matter and searched for an excuse to his dilemma. "Y-yeah," He replied nervously and scratched one of his ears with his forepaw "I'm just... thinking."
The others shook their heads at the statement, he was never good at diverting a conversation.
Salty glanced back towards the wolf continuing to run while carrying Humphrey, but that's when he noticed that this situation was familiar somehow.
"Does anyone, remember that guy?" Salty asked. For the life of him he couldn't remember the name of the wolf barreling towards them.
Salty eyed the wolf carrying Humphrey on his back and a pup in his jaws and thought for a moment. He hadn't seen the pup before, and the wolf's name was right at the tip of his tongue.
Shakey examined the wolf, and was thankful that the first specs of light were on the horizon.
He knew the wolf from several days ago when he had brought Humphrey to the healers den, and he was sure that it was the same one. The red markings and even his stride were what he remembered the most.
"From what I remember it's Garth." He said confidently.
The others looked on and it started to click with them as well. The wolf that they knew from before was no enemy, he was there to help, and they in turn could help as well.
"You think he needs help?" Mooch asked, but by the time he had finished his question, he saw both Salty and Shakey trotting down the hill.
Not wanting to be left behind again, Mooch soon found himself slowly catching up.
Salty, believing more and more that this was the same wolf that had helped Humphrey before, confidently walked down the hill to address him.
"Garth!" He called out, stopping the red wolf dead in his tracks.
The moment Garth heard someone calling his name, he gently lowered Rei to the ground and prepared himself for anything. He knew he wasn't back in the safe areas of the western territories yet, and he had to be ready to defend the lives that he carried at any cost.
He shot his head up and looked around to see three figures approaching him. As he was carrying Humphrey he couldn't use any fighting position that would jeopardize his health any more, but something about the three seemed familiar.
He was grateful that light was beginning to shine in the valley, and that they had called his name; walking closer to him were three wolves that he had seen several days ago, he barely remembered them as he ran past them to get Humphrey to safety.
The three smiled and continued at their pace towards him, and he sighed in relief.
"It's just you three." He said calmly, he didn't know much at all about these three, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to understand them.
Taking a moment to study each of them he could tell that they were a very odd group indeed. The smallest one was fidgety and mumbling something to himself, the tallest one had longer fangs and was eyeing Humphrey cautiously, and the last one was rather heavy-set compared to many wolves in his own pack.
Despite their differences they seemed to get along and were half smiling at the wolf he carried on his back. He had no doubts that they were all omegas, and he no longer had any questions that they were all Humphrey's friends.
"What happened to Humphrey?" Salty inquired, breaking Garth's stern concentration and causing him to turn to the wolf he was carrying.
Humphrey was still breathing slightly , but Garth understood there was something seriously wrong. He had felt something trickle onto his back and mat his fur, and from what he could tell it was blood.
Garth knew Humphrey's friends were concerned for him, but he didn't have time to lose.
He shook his head and turned to the trio to see if they would help. "I'll explain later," He assured them, and pointed towards where they had come from "But right now I need help getting back."
The three knew the area well enough to guide Garth directly to the pack's main grounds, and they weren't too far away.
They turned back to voice their cooperation, but it was then that Shakey's eyes fell on something that he had overlooked.
Laying just before Garth was the pup that had curled himself into a ball, its fur was a brilliant silver color, and it was fast asleep.
The three sat in awe at the spectacle, they hadn't seen a wolf with fur like this before, not even Lilly.
"Who's he?" Mooch asked.
Garth stood there for a moment pondering whether he should tell them who he is or not, but the more he thought, the more time he wasted.
"His name's Rei." He stated, he was about to pick the pup back up again, but felt Humphrey shift to imbalance them.
Not wanting Humphrey to fall, he turned to the three out of panic. "Can one of you carry him?" He asked.
The three looked at each other, they had to elect one of their own to take up the task. Within just a second, Shakey shook his head as if to say 'no', he knew he couldn't carry the pup. Now with just Mooch and Salty left each of them pointed and shrugged their shoulders until one finally spoke up.
"I can carry him for you." Mooch volunteered.
Garth nodded and watched as Salty and Shakey helped Mooch to lift the sleeping pup onto his shoulders.
"Come on lil' buddy." Salty said aloud as he lifted Rei by his neck lightly with his fangs and placed him on Mooch's shoulders.
Shakey helped by ensuring that he didn't fall and that Mooch would't be impeded by the way Rei lay asleep.
Having secured the pup, the three turned to Garth and waited for what he needed next.
"Thank you," Garth said, and he was thankful, but he was running out of time "Now what's the fastest way back?"
Hearing him ask for the fastest way back, Salty tilted his head just a bit farther than where they had come from "Follow us, it's not far at all."
Garth acknowledged his direction and, with the three still by his side, strode forward through the pack grounds.
He had a mission to carry out and was determined not to fail at any cost, he had to make Lilly happy, and she would be waiting for him when he got there.
He this whole time thought about her, and what his father was talking about.
'Don't leave her behind.' These words ran through Garth's mind far faster than his own current pace. He knew his dad was hiding something, and he would soon confront him to find out what it was.
He had never had this many problems in consulting his dad before. He figured that with the packs on the verge of war, it would put him on edge, but wasn't so sure now. Kate was gone, and it was because of a stampede.
With all of this on his mind, there were still matters unaccounted for. He was a witness to the remains of one of the western pack alphas, and the wolf that had attacked Humphrey was after Rei.
Everything started to make sense to him, and he could only come up with one answer 'The stampede may have not been a coincidence.'
He had been so deep in this thought that he didn't notice a voice being raised at him.
"Garth?" One of the three called again, finally able to catch his attention.
"Huh?" Garth stood there gawking for a moment before he realized he was at the foothill leading to the den area, somewhere in-between his thoughts and his rush he had just followed wherever his legs carried him.
"We're here." Salty spoke. He had called Garth several times and was starting to get frustrated.
Mooch and Shakey looked at Garth questioningly, he carried Humphrey around, but he needed help long before they found him.
"We need to get him to the Reba and Janice, they'll know what to do." Shakey spoke out.
Garth understood where he was and began to head in the direction that he had last seen the healers den until he heard his name being called once more, but it was a much different voice.
"Garth!" He hard being called to him, but this voice was being carried from above him somewhere. He looked up to see who it was and was surprised to say the least.
His eyes landed solely on Eve who stood upon a rock overlooking the area. She seemed upset at something and just next to her stood two smaller figures, from what he could tell, they were birds.
"Mam?" Garth exclaimed, he hadn't expected her, but was for the first time glad to see her.
As Eve glanced over him, she cringed at the sight of Humphrey laying motionless on his back. But just as she had gotten a good sense of the situation, Garth began to turn as if to run away.
"Where are you going?" She shouted unintentionally.
Garth froze and swallowed a fear that he had lodged in his mind about what Eve would think if she believed that he was the one to cause Humphrey's injuries.
"Humphrey's been hurt by a lone wolf, he needs help, now!" Upon saying this he not only mentally snapped at himself for having an unreasonable fear, but he also heard several gasps originating from the group of Omegas trailing him.
Eve looked at him sternly and was on the verge of bearing her teeth. From the time that she had caught her suspect, another wolf had attacked.
"Bring him to my den." She commanded and retreated back to her abode.
Garth nodded in cooperation and proceeded to walk up to the den with Eve, but he heard light taps of footsteps following behind him. He turned to see the three walking towards him, they didn't want to leave without Humphrey.
Garth knew that they should be with him, but at the same time, he didn't want Eve to be upset. He had to think of something to ease them away, but there was also something that he had to take care of.
He turned to face the three knowing full well what he had to say. As he was about to speak, however, he felt a twinge of guilt upon seeing their demeanor change. They were no longer the three happy and up beat Omegas that had helped him get back, here and now they were a family hoping the best for their brother.
Garth didn't know of Humphrey's well being at the time, but he had to continue forward.
"Could you three do me a favor?" He said grimly.
The three immediately perked their ears up to listen at what he said, for each of them were willing to help in any way possible.
Seeing them perk up, Garth had stopped feeling as though he were alienated from them.
"Please take Rei to the healers den," He pleaded with them "Some of our alphas should be there."
The three were baffled about his request, they wanted to help Humphrey, but now they were sent to run an errand again.
"But what about Humphrey?" Salty protested, he couldn't stand not knowing what was going on.
"Eve's the best healer around, he'll be fine." Shakey replied hopefully.
"Yeah, if anyone can help Humphrey now, it's her."Mooch added.
Hearing the others state this, Salty rolled his eyes. He was upset that the others didn't understand his point, but they were right as Eve wouldn't let them near him for now.
Garth, after seeing them in agreement, continued with his instruction. "If Rei doesn't see someone he's familiar with he'll start to panic," He said worriedly "He's been through a lot and he's like family to us."
He turned to walk up the incline towards Eve's den but had one last thing to say. "Besides, you all could use a rest, I'll let you know what happens with Humphrey." He added with a smile.
The others, aside from Mooch turned to face Rei and took this into consideration. Garth had carried both him and Humphrey here, and now Humphrey was going to get the help he so desperately needed.
They watched as Garth disappeared behind the rock that was Eve's den, and then they themselves began a slow pace towards the healers den.
Without the others noticing, Salty had taken a moment to look back. He silently faced towards the den and smiled. "Thank you, Garth." He whispered, and just before the others could find that he was lagging behind, he quickly caught up.
Once Garth had gotten into the den, he had noticed Eve towering over a completely unconscious wolf. He had no idea of what was going on, but didn't want to disturb her in case he was hurt.
Equally intriguing to him were the two birds that he had seen at the ledge by Eve just moments ago. He remembered that Can-do spoke of Eve getting help from birds, but he was still skeptical.
"Bring him over here." Eve stated with caution, never once moving away or showing any signs that she was about to leave her current patient.
Quickly complying with Eve's wishes, Garth walked over to her and carefully began to slide Humphrey off of his back. The moment he had let Humphrey onto the ground he could hear Eve mumbling something and turn to him.
Garth didn't want to get in her way and quickly stepped aside as she took her place. He looked on to see Eve grimace at the sight and slowly her eyes met with his.
"Garth, I just want you to stand on guard outside," Eve told him and tilted her head towards Humphrey "Let nobody in here for now and if you see Winston, or your father, tell them to come immediately."
She had no choice but to leave him at guard, she couldn't let her defenses down and it would cause too much panic if one of her own knew about what was going on.
Garth didn't waste time in acknowledging her command. He turned and carefully walked outside to stand on guard. Eve was going to work on Humphrey, and it was only now that he understood what the omegas meant from her being a healer.
There was still one question on his mind that he had to know. "Mam, where's Lilly?" He asked nervously.
He waited a moment before he heard a her drag something across the floor followed by high pitched whine. "She's in the healers den helping Hutch." Eve yelled.
Garth was relieved once more the Lilly was okay, he didn't want to bother Eve with any more of his questions, and he doubted that he could stand in the same area as she went about her work.
When he had finally gotten outside, the sun was beginning its slow rise over the horizon. He was glad to have helped, but at the same time he was worried. He had hoped his father was alright, and he had a promise to keep to Lilly.
I•I
"How you holdin' up Tony?" Winston asked as he carefully stepped down from an incline of roots made up from trees on his turf.
The two head alphas, having defeated taken down their enemy with coordination and cunning, were now just a few minutes away from home to regroup and talk about their next course of action.
"The kid bit me good, but I'll manage." Tony replied, as he hobbled behind Winston from his recent injury.
Winston nodded in silence. He thought the whole situation was odd, and couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't fully prepared for whatever was going on. Even the wolf he carried had covered himself in berry juice to mask his scent.
"Any clue on why he attacked?" Winston asked and tilted his head to the unconscious wolf he carried on his back.
Tony took one look at the wolf and growled. He hadn't had anyone, let a lone a younger wolf, give him this kind of trouble in a long time. Inwardly he wanted to tear the wolf limb from limb, however luckily, or unfortunately, Winston was there to stop him.
"No," Tony replied, and thought back to their conversation earlier "But he said he needed a white wolf."
At the mention of this information, Winston perked his ears up.
'White wolf,' He thought to himself 'I was right to send Eve, there's no way Hutch could handle this situation alone.'
While he thought, he heard Tony continue his speech, but he himself wasn't interested after what was just said.
"I mean why he was so intent on taking you down?" Winston called out after Tony had finished going off about how to deal with this intruder, he didn't catch any of it, but was sure to play along when the time came.
"No idea." Tony replied. Though he said this, he knew it wasn't exactly true as the intruder knew several long forgotten names that he carried.
Winston didn't know what to think as they trudged on, but he was thankful that they were close enough to their home to talk things through.
There was so much on his mind that he nearly felt dizzy from thinking. Everything that happened recently was beginning to tie together in his mind, and he didn't like where the answer was leading him.
Just before he could try to deduce his answer, he heard Tony call to him once more.
"Winston how far away are we now?" Tony shouted, he was getting agitated about the intruder and wanted to deal with him as soon as possible.
Winston shook his head and partially ignored Tony while looking around. Judging where he was carefully he moved at a quicker pace, almost letting the captured wolf fall while not bothering to acknowledge Tony.
Tony, noticing that Winston wasn't paying attention to him, was on the verge of yelling until a familiar site came into view. They were passing by a small and enclosed clearing with a bald spot in the middle of it where dirt had been dug up earlier.
Upon realizing where they were, Tony immediately stopped talking. He knew where he was and only now understood why Winston had quickened his stride.
Tony turned away out of shame that he caused this, he couldn't bare to look at Kate's grave any longer, he was at fault for the tragedy.
Just ahead of him he could still see Winston walking away under shadows forming under dense trees. Winston and his pack had, for the second time in a matter of days, saved his life. Tony once again thought of how he had harmed so many from his irrational plan.
Though he walked away from the grave and the clearing knowing that moping would get him nothing, he still felt as though he would always be remembered in this pack as nothing more than a traitor.
Still trailing behind, he heard and saw Winston talking to someone further ahead. They had gotten onto their territory, but Tony almost didn't notice it. He felt as though he hadn't been here in years, but it had only been hours, he was beginning to feel tired.
Winston had gotten ahead of Tony and was now at the base of his den walking up the incline. Just before he made it to the top, he saw a figure emerging from there with a deep look of concern.
"Sir?" Garth nearly shouted from his sudden appearance. The last time he saw Winston was with his father, and he nearly panicked from seeing a half red wolf being carried around like he did with Humphrey.
Winston, seeing the need to calm the young Alpha, held his paw up and motioned him to slow down. After getting Garth to finally stay stable, Winston pointed down the hill where Tony was beginning to emerge from behind one of the many small dens.
"Dad!" Garth shouted. He was relieved that Tony was still alive, he was happy that he still had his family with him.
Tony heard Garth calling to him as he peered up the hill.
Thankful that his son was safe, Tony had one member left to account for. "Where's Rei?" He asked out of sheer concern.
Garth looked towards his father. He was glad that he had run into Winston when he did, he couldn't imagine what would have become of Tony if he hadn't.
"He's fine," Garth replied, trying to hide the fact that he was overwhelmed with concern "I got Humphrey's friends to take him to the healers den."
Tony, glad that everyone in his family was alright, sighed deeply in relief. He had half expected to loose someone again before the day was done, but now he could be at ease.
Winston, however, couldn't join Tony in his momentary relaxation. Though he didn't want to break the father and son moment, he had something important to do.
"Where'd you take Humphrey?" He called towards Garth. He was about to just walk towards the healers den, but could tell from Garth saying that the pup went there alone, he could be wrong.
Garth turned to face Winston and gestured inside the den, he knew that he of all wolves would want to see Humphrey personally. "He's inside with Eve," He replied "I think she wants to see you two."
Winston nodded and, while still carrying the intruder, boldly walked inside to see how his family was.
Tony soon enough walked up the hill and was now silently met by his son. The two exchanged glances and Tony motioned for Garth to come inside with them.
Garth shook his head at the notion. "She told me to stand guard." He said uneasily.
Tony nodded and proceeded in. He had no say in the matter if Eve didn't want him in, and he wouldn't dare challenge the maddened mother out of fear of her fury.
He walked with caution onto the darkened area seeing Winston place his captive wolf down next to another unconscious wolf. Eve was tending to a wolf near the back of the den which he believed was Humphrey.
The most intriguing thing to him here were two birds silently waddling out of the den. The smaller yellow one of them motioned towards where Tony had just come from while the larger fowl shook his head in disgust. As they took off, Tony realized that hadn't seen them before but if they were still alive near Eve there had to be a reason.
Once he was far enough into the den, he came face to face with Winston.
"Tony," Winston said calmly "Have a seat."
Tony didn't want to cause trouble in their den, and quickly complied. He sat near one of the walls next to the entrance and prepared himself for what was to come next.
Winston, after having secured the wolf he was carrying, strode over to Tony and sat near him. It was him Tony and Eve now, and it was high time that they talked.
With so much to sort through Winston had to decide on where to start, and he knew Tony wouldn't like it. "Who was the pup with Garth?" He questioned.
The moment his question came, Tony felt less at ease. He didn't want to say anything, but he couldn't avoid the question all the same. "H-he's..." Tony stammered.
Winston couldn't afford having this question avoided, and fearing Tony would just dismiss it he waved his paw in 'hurry up' motion. "Go on." He commanded.
Seeing no way out of the situation, Tony admitted defeat and decided to speak truthfully on the matter. "He came to us a few weeks back," He answered "His name's Rei."
Winston wasn't surprised, he knew something was wrong with the situation, and bringing in an outsider could mean that you're bringing their problems into your home.
Winston had another question on his mind, and pointed towards the wolf he carried here "Any idea of why he attacked?"
"He was after him." Tony stated, he didn't feel right in not telling Winston everything now, it had nearly cost him his life before.
'So the two are connected, but what about the other one?' Winston thought. He was analyzing the situation to his best ability to understand the root of the problem.
He opened his mouth to continue his investigation when he suddenly heard a shrill cry make its way towards him.
"Winston!" Eve shouted, startling both him and Tony.
"Yes, dear?" Winston answered her quickly, he could tell by the way she shook her head and paced slowly that everything wasn't as good as it seemed. She had a fair amount of blood covering her muzzle and paws and she walked like she had been running for hours on end.
By the time she had reached Winston, she felt herself nearly break down. She clenched something in her teeth and when she stood before him, she set it down.
Winston looked at the object carefully, and upon thoroughly inspecting it he found it to be some kind of thick branch. It was covered in blood and appeared to be broken off at both ends.
"What is this?" He asked, curious as to what relation this object had to her dismay.
Eve shifted her gaze towards Tony and continued "I removed it, from Humphrey."
From the somber tone of his voice, Winston understood everything in that moment. "Is it... that bad?" He asked, hesitantly.
He had hoped he was wrong, that what ever was happening wouldn't progress further, but Eve's silence told him more than he needed to know.
"Eve?" He questioned again, only this time he nearly felt his voice become hoarse.
Without wanting to look directly into his eyes, Eve walked towards the den entrance. "I only managed to reduce the bleeding, for now." She called back to them and then focused on what she had to do next.
"Garth." She spoke calmly, gaining his attention and breaking his focus away from guarding.
He had been sitting outside for a while now, and wasn't well aware of what was going on. But Eve had called him to do something more, and he couldn't refuse.
"Y-yes mam?" He replied. He noticed the blood covering her muzzle and, in his fear, took a single step back. Though he knew the blood was from her patients, he didn't want to be next in line.
"Garth, go and get his friends" She said calmly "But make sure Lilly stays there."
Though he didn't understand why she requested this, he quickly turned and jogged away. He would bring the three here, but he would also have a chance to see Lilly.
I•I
The three had made it to the healers den just minutes after they had spoken with Garth. They did as they were instructed and carefully brought the pup with them.
They were exhausted from their trek, but were glad to help.
Salty, being at the head of the group, didn't see anyone standing at the entrance of the den. It was an unusual occurrence, but one he understood when there are a lot of injured wolves.
Getting to the mouth of the den he heard several voices coming from inside and he continued forward.
The others stayed behind in case there wasn't room or if there was an Alpha in the den that would just shoo them away as they weren't injured.
Salty didn't notice he was the only one walking but didn't care to think otherwise. "Hello, anyone?" He asked as he peered inside.
He saw several wolves lying asleep on the floor, but not many that he knew of, but he remembered Garth told him that several of his pack members were there.
Just moments after Salty asked, he saw a tan figure nimbly step over the sleeping wolves as carefully as possible. When hen the wolf made it's way closer, Salty began to smile.
"Oh, hey Salty." Janice greeted him. She had been busy helping assess Hutches wounds when she heard him.
"Hey." Salty nervously replied. He had nothing else but that one line for just about everything.
Janice walked up to him to further chat when she noticed Shakey and Mooch standing a few feet away smirking.
Immediately she sighed in frustration. "What are you three doing here?" She asked.
"We're here to drop off this little guy." Mooch answered and tilted turned to show the pup resting on his back.
Janice was about to ask if Mooch meant that they were dropping Shakey off, but when she saw the brilliant silver colored wolf resting on his shoulders, she knew what they meant.
"Wow..." Janice beamed, she hadn't seen anything like it, and immediately dashed out towards him.
"Who's he?" She said excitedly, while staring at the pup from only a few inches away.
The Salty looked at Shakey, but he seemed preoccupied in thinking about something to answer.
"I don't know, Garth's, cousin or something." Salty speculated, he didn't know but Garth said that they were practically family.
"Aww..."Janice didn't really care to listen to what he was saying and just stood there admiring him for a moment longer.
Mooch, feeling as though this time for a display was over, turned around to face Janice; much to his amazement, Janice began to walk around him at the same pace.
When he stopped moving, Janice stopped as well, but at least he was now facing away from the den. "Garth wanted us to bring him here with the other Eastern wolves." Mooch exclaimed.
Janice's eyes grew wide in excitement, she had been through a lot in the past few days, but now she was able to take up the task of puppy-sitting.
"Come on in." She exclaimed happily and walked towards the den.
Shakey and Mooch both questioned the sudden outburst from Janice but continued forward anyway. Upon entering they saw nearly a dozen wolves resting about randomly across the floor.
"You can put him over there," Janice pointed towards where several of the wolves were in the den "They're from Tony's pack."
As Mooch was the only one able to carry him at the time, he walked over to the small pile of wolves to place the pup down.
While he was doing this, Shakey took a moment to notice who else was here. He skimmed past Janice and Salty helping ease the pup down and was shocked to see several members of his pack here.
"Hutch, Lilly, Candy?" He blurted out of confusion, and at the mention of Candy, Mooch swerved his head, nearly hitting Salty in the process. He never would have thought to see the three here, Hutch and Candy were a mess with bruises, while he couldn't tell what was going on with Lilly.
Almost immediately after he shouted, he felt a pair of paws gently rest on his muzzle. He turned to see Reba nervously smile and shake her head.
"Keep it down, they're asleep." She pointed out.
Realizing his faux-pas, Shakey grinned, he tried to say 'sorry' but all that came out were muffled words.
Reba understood what he was trying to say and promptly released him from her grip, she sat next to him in case he had some questions about the patients.
"Are they okay?" He had a lot of questions but he couldn't expect them all to be answered here and now.
"Yeah." She replied, she understood that she couldn't tell them anything too serious or profound, but she knew they'd be alright.
Hearing this put Shakey's thoughts at ease, but he remembered someone prior to this that was hurt as well "What happened to Can-do?"
"Nothin." He heard a voice shout to him.
Shakey quickly turned to see the wolf in question leaning against a wall. His motions seemed hindered and his voice was scratchy, but over all he was awake now.
"Can-do," Reba whispered, she was on the verge of shouting but she had to ensure everyone stayed asleep "I told you to stay down and rest."
Can-do ignored her wishes and tried to stand on whatever legs could carry him for his task "Hutch is down, I have to-"
He was cut off by Reba pushing him against the wall and sliding him down onto the ground. Luckily for him he slid onto his unbroken leg. He growled in pain and tried to protest, but soon found himself too weak to even put up any kind of fight.
Reba, having taken control of the situation, leaned down to whisper something the others couldn't possibly hear. "Try that again and I'll tell Eve."
Can-do didn't even try to argue against that, he just had to wait for his leg to heal before he could do anything more.
Shakey was a bit amazed at the spectacle, he hadn't expected her to do anything like this.
Reba on the other hand, was glad that Can-do would listen to her and soon enough found herself staring at Shakey once more. He was half in a daze that creeped her out.
"What?" She questioned, hoping that she he was okay. But after seeing Shakey dismiss her question by grinning and shake his head, she quickly resigned herself to go somewhere else.
Seeing Janice here with their friends, she was going to sit just outside, she needed fresh air and there was no better time than this that she could have a moment to herself.
She made her way out when she noticed that just beyond the den stood a tall figure. Curious as to who he was she moved closer to get her answer, and when she was only a few feet away she cheerfully smiled.
Garth sat there for a moment, questioning why Eve would intentionally ask for only Humphrey's friends to come and Lilly to stay, in his mind it was an odd request.
His silence was soon broken by a wolf slowly strolling out of the den to meet him with a wide grin.
"Hey Garth." Reba greeted, she hadn't forgotten what he did to help their pack.
Garth smiled at the gesture and tried to remember her name as well. "Rena, was it?" He spoke confidently.
She shook her head "It's Reba..."
"Sorry." He apologized.
He soon found himself nearly forgetting why he came here until Humphrey's friend, the small and grey one, silently approached.
Seeing one friend, he had to inform the other two, but he didn't know exactly where they were easily, their scent was all over the area and he didn't have much time.
"Hey, uh..." He began, he had never learned any of their names because he was in a rush, and now he silently scolded himself for never asking.
Shakey sighed, in his haste he had forgotten to tell Garth his name. "It's Shakey." He answered.
Garth needed to tell the three what Eve wanted from them, but another question hit him first "Is Rei here?"
"Rei?" Reba questioned, believing it to be the name of one of the wolves that were brought in from Tony's pack.
Shakey turned from Garth to catch Reba up on the matter "He's a silver furred pup."
"Pup?" At the mention of the word, Reba began to smile wider and wider.
Remembering what Janice did, Shakey took a step away and continued "He's inside, Janice won't leave him alone."
When he finished saying this, Reba took off into the den leaving Shakey and Garth behind in a trail of dust she kicked up.
Still baffled by how that worked, Shakey refocused his attention to Garth. "How's Humphrey?"
Garth never got the gravity of the situation down so he couldn't say. "I don't know," He stated and began to walk towards where Reba had run to "But Eve wants you three see her though."
After hearing this, Shakey dashed passed Garth to get to the others, he nearly caused the Alpha to fall in the process.
Garth, however, walked in unfazed by the outburst. He was finally invited in, sort of, and he wanted to check on Lilly and Rei.
When he got in he was greeted with the smell of medicine and a myriad of smiles. Unlike before, he noticed that the den was nearly packed with sleeping wolves.
"Garth, there you are." Mooch greeted him, he was busy helping Janice place Rei near the alphas and watch him curl into a ball to keep himself warm.
The moment he saw the two do this, Reba practically jumped over to the two to see the pup for herself.
He was glad that he had them to watch over Rei, it made his work much easier.
He glanced around the room seeing to see that, not only was Rei with members from his pack, but Lilly and Hutch were resting in the back as well.
Curious as to why Lilly was here, he began to walk towards them. After he took a few steps, Salty came into view, he looked to be on the verge of saying something but was interrupted by a surprisingly high pitched voice.
"Guys, we've got to go, Eve wants to see us." Shakey called out to the others causing Reba to shush him once more from a distance, and the other two to step over the sleeping wolves as fast as possible.
Salty abandoned his long winded speech and quickly strode up to Garth. He didn't even waste time thinking up what to say and just said the first thing that came to mind. "Thanks for helping Humphrey." He acknowledged with a smile and dashed passed him.
Mooch, being the last in line, ran as quickly as his tired legs could carry him. He was still lagging behind the others as far as speed, but he was as excited as them to see their friend.
Glad that he could help, Garth focussed his attention towards Rei. He was fast asleep with Janice and Reba hovering over him. He thought it was kind of odd, but he understood that Rei needed someone to watch over him.
"How is he?" He asked unwittingly.
Still occupied with her newest patient, Janice didn't even catch what he was saying. Reba, however, only barely payed attention.
"The pup's okay, just a bit tired." Reba answered. She had been sitting idly swishing her tail against the floor and admiring the pup with diligence.
Ensuring that Rei was alright, he turned to his own alphas. They were covered in sores from having fought against a wolf, but he still didn't know their condition.
"What about them, are they okay?" He questioned.
Leaning down to nuzzle Rei on his ear and causing him to twitch, Reba continued "Minor injuries here and there, but they'll all be fine by tomorrow."
Garth was glad that not only was Rei okay, but his own as well. Deciding to see how Lilly was, he began to pace in her direction until he felt something brush against his leg.
Fearing that he may have stepped on someone, he tilted his head to see who it may be. He nearly jumped back from a pair of large staring back at him from a figure he could barely recognize on the ground.
"Garth, right?" Can-do spoke.
Garth was silent as he believed he had seen this wolf before. It took him a moment to think as he tried to put the name to the face.
"Can...do?" He asked a bit unsure he got the name correct. But soon enough he received a nod of approval.
He noticed that Can-do was covered in more scars than before, and now had a leaf wrapping covering his leg.
"What happened to you?" He asked out of curiosity.
"Nothing!" Can-do sapped back furiously.
Feeling as though he were getting nowhere, Garth turned to walk away until he felt another tap on his leg.
"What?" Garth huffed in annoyance.
"Wait." Can-do pleaded. He tried to at least sit up, but his attempt failed miserably. Resigning himself for now, he tilted his head up to ask his question.
"Do you know anything about the lone wolf attacking?" He inquired.
Garth sat to think about this. He had helped his dad to get Rei and Humphrey away from the lone wolf, but he had no idea of what was going on here.
"Not much, why?" he replied.
Can-do pointed further to the back of the den causing Garth to instinctively trace his eyes there as well. "Lilly told us that some wolf attacked them." He said somberly.
"What?" Garth yelled at the mention of the incident.
Can-do nodded and continued "She said that she was looking for you when she and Hutch were attacked by a wolf that was trying to kidnap Candy. She told us that Eve and a few birds helped her."
When he had heard all of this, Garth felt himself slump over. He couldn't believe it, he had left Lilly alone for only a few hours and she was attacked.
He felt his fathers words scream and echo in his head. 'Is this what you meant dad?' He thought.
As he faced where Lilly lay fast asleep, he absentmindedly began to walk over. He didn't know what to say from his actions, he wanted the best for everyone, but he had left Lilly behind.
Finally reaching her after leaving Can-do behind and walking past the preoccupied wolves, Garth found himself standing over her in near silence.
He felt terrible, he was supposed to be there for her but he wasn't. He was supposed to set an example of a leader, and yet he had let her down.
"Dad was right, I shouldn't have left you" He whispered.
He lifted his eyes slightly to see Hutch lying on the ground with several bruises and scrapes worse than what he had seen on Can-do.
He had begun to feel even more upset than before. Hutch had done all he could to protect his own, and now here he was slowly recovering from the attack.
"Thank you, Hutch" He whispered silently. He was forever grateful for what he had done, he saved Lilly.
Even now when he was there with her he felt more at ease, but he knew he couldn't stay. He was sent to get Humphrey's friends, and he would eventually have to return to help.
He was close enough to run to Lilly if she needed, but he still felt as though it weren't good enough.
Reluctantly, he still had to leave. He turned to face Lilly once more and noticed her fur covering her eyes again.
He eased himself down and, as carefully as he could without waking her, nuzzled her fur away so she could at least see her unhindered when she awoke.
Weakly smiling at his work, Garth began to turn away, but not before taking one last glance at her. "I'll be back Lilly." He vowed.
Once done here for now, he made his way to the exit but stopped as he heard a slight squeak of a voice carry its way to him.
The voice was very familiar to him, and without hesitation he looked in the corner where he had seen Rei. Janice and Reba had finally left to either stand watch or mix medicines, so he could see the pup twitching slightly.
Garth walked over to him, figuring he had a few minutes left before Eve would drag him back, and tried to figure out what was going on.
From just a foot or so away, Garth realized that Rei was mumbling something while running in his sleep. He hadn't seen a wolf do either of these before, but was more so worried that Rei was in some kind of nightmare.
Believing this to be the case, Garth leaned forward to see what he could do.
"G-garth." Rei cried out "You can't, please, don't go."
Garth stood there completely dumbfounded. The apparent nightmare was about him, but he didn't know what it was.
He had little time left so he did only what he could. He lightly pat the pup on his head to reassure him though he was already asleep. "Don't worry Rei, I'll be back." He said confidently.
He turned to leave but quickly remembered Eve's last point to keep Lilly there. He himself couldn't take up the task, but there were two working healers here that he could rely on.
"Reba." He called, and soon enough the wolf emerged from a separate part of the den. She passed by Rei and immediately abandoned her call.
Not really having time for watching this again, Garth went along with his request "Can you make sure Lilly stays here?"
Reba hadn't been paying much attention, she was too busy admiring the pup to notice what Garth was saying fully. "Sure." She called back completely oblivious to the question.
Confident that the task would be done, Garth quickly made his way out of the den. Now that his time here was at an end, he had to move quickly to get back to what the leaders needed.
I•I
Several minutes had passed at the leaders den, and Tony and Winston were now in a heated argument.
"Tony!" Winston shouted, he couldn't believe his ears at such an idea.
"Winston it's either one or the other," Tony suggested "He either dies slowly, or quickly."
After stating this, Tony pointed towards Humphrey, and Winston reluctantly looked towards the back of the den where Eve sat quietly watching him.
Though she was able to help him for a while Humphrey's was breathing was slowly becoming more labored. He had several leaves covering a patch of fur on his chest from which Eve had barely been able to remove the bloodied stick from before.
Upon his head sat a fresh patch of leaves whose sole purpose was to cover deep gashes and bite marks sustained from recent fights. Even after assessing them, Eve couldn't tell how deep they ran, but from what she had already experienced from Humphrey's behavior, she could guess that it was traumatic.
Humphrey felt slightly cold to the touch, and was every now and then twitching from what they believed was the pain he was experiencing.
Witnessing all of this, Winston understood Tony's point. But it wasn't in him to comply with this decision, Humphrey was one of his own.
He quickly turned to Tony to refute his side of the argument. "And you mean to take his life then?" He objected.
Tony took one look at Humphrey and immediately heard a slew of growls from Eve, she wouldn't have any of his decision as well.
Gaining sense about their dilemma, Tony dismissed the idea and waved his paws. "It's not my responsibility." He declared.
Winston heard Eve stop growling after this, but he still had to put the idea aside. He could only think of one way to get Tony to agree.
Taking a deep breath he asked him "And you would take the life of our mentor's son?"
"What?" Tony snapped back, the question to him was so foreign that he sat in a stupor before Winston bitterly nodded.
He thought it what he was hearing was impossible, but after he mentally ran through previous events, everything seemed to fall in place. Tony was both enraged and saddened from having understood this, he couldn't believe his own suggestion anymore.
Tony shifted uneasily, he hadn't been more so worried about any foreign wolf than now, and sitting before him dying was someone that had rescued him from certain death. It was then that Tony realized that his idea was selfish, it was brutish, it was as if he were killing Kate with his own fangs.
"Why didn't you tell me before!" Tony retorted.
Winston knew Tony was right, it was dangerous for something like this to be hidden amongst their pack, but he didn't have a choice.
He turned away and shifted uneasily, there was nothing he could do or say that could turn the tides of this argument. "He said not to." He weakly replied.
"And this is what happened!" Tony yelled even louder than before. He got a quick snap from Eve from afar, but in his rant he didn't really much care that she may attack.
Sneering at the thought of this occurrence Tony continued "He sent me the kid, and didn't even bother to show up."
"The pup?" Winston questioned. Now things were starting to come to light, but he had to know "Why'd he send him?"
Tony himself didn't have the answer, he shook his head in disgust. He hadn't ever felt so left in the dark about a situation before, but that's how things had to be sometimes, he just wanted to understand why.
Winston was about to speak once more to resolve the issue when he saw three figures standing at the mouth of the den.
"H-hello, Winston, sir?" One of them said shakily.
Winston knew all too well who it was, and quickly picked himself up. He hated being the bearer of bad news, but it was his responsibility as the pack leader to inform those closest of what was going on.
He paced by Tony and walked towards them. Winston first noted that each of the three grinned widely in anticipation for seeing Humphrey, and as such put on as best of a smile as he could, though he hated what he was about to do.
"Salty, Shakey, Mooch, you three can come in." He addressed them and walked back inside.
The three nearly crashed into each-other as they each wanted their chance to cheer Humphrey up after he had been patched up.
Winston glanced back at them thought. He hadn't intentionally done this, nor had he meant to give them a glowering gaze in response, but nonetheless the three stood side by side with each of them nervously grinning and awaiting their chance to speak.
Shakey was the first to break his eyes away from Winston, and when he did so he became more nervous than before. Sitting by one of the walls and staring at him intently was a wolf he had barely seen before, the Eastern pack leader Tony.
Not wanting to focus there in case he was seen as a threat, Shakey averted his eyes, and much to his amazement saw two wolves lying unconscious on the floor. Both of them were a deep tan color, but one of them was red in many spots, he hadn't seen a pattern like this before, but he soon found himself more so eager to talk to Humphrey and then leave.
After greeting them and inviting them in, Winston motioned for them to stand just a few feet in front of him.
"Have a seat." He told them calmly to which they hastily complied.
Having all three here, and having watched them from the time they were pups, Winston nearly choked at the thought of how each of them would react.
"Now, I know you three are Humphrey's closest friends," With a heavy sigh, and having Eve stand in the way of their view, Winston continued "Therefore you deserve to know what's going on."
Suddenly, just as Winston predicted, one by one each of their smiles began to disappear.
Though none of them knew for certain what was going on, Salty was the first one to speak.
"Uh," He shook his head in confusion "Is he okay?"
Winston felt these words sting him even more than he could imagine, and regretfully he shook his head "I'm afraid not."
Though Salty still didn't fully understand what was being said, Mooch was beginning to feel as though Winston was trying to give them the news lightly, and Shakey felt himself on the verge of tears.
Regaining his composure, Winston went on "As close of friends you are, it pains me to say this."
Winston opened his mouth to speak, but cold find no words to match what he had set his mind on. It was never easy to tell anyone that they were going to loose someone, especially not when that someone was like family to you as well.
Shakey didn't want to hear what happened next, he wanted to see Humphrey again.
"C-can you tell us what happened?" He pleaded.
Winston himself couldn't speak of the matter, he didn't have the answers to what truly happened. He quickly turned to Eve, and she continued from there.
"He sustained severe injuries." She replied. She stood up and walked toward them, and only now could they see the extent of the damage that was done.
Hearing them gasp in horror at the sight, Eve spited herself for saying what Winston could not.
She waited until they all focussed back toward her and she sat in front of them and with as much of a voice as she could muster hoarsely spoke "He wouldn't make it through noon."
Time itself was at a standstill with all three of the Omegas. What they heard couldn't possibly be true, Humphrey was fine, wasn't he? But the evidence was there, and their leaders wouldn't make a joke of this, each of them knew that Humphrey would be leaving them soon.
Mooch hung his mouth in disbelief. Humphrey, the one that taught them so much, and even kept their group together, wouldn't live to see another day.
Just as he was processing this thought, he felt something flop at his side. He and the whole room turned to see the smallest of the three begin to unashamedly cry.
Shakey, while being the smartest of the group, was also the smallest. He couldn't bear to hear the soon coming loss of the wolf that had taught him how to be confident when you don't fit in anywhere.
"Shakey?" Mooch called to him as he himself felt the world crumbling away.
Eve couldn't stand to see them like this and quickly walked over to console him. She placed a paw on his shoulder, but Shakey quickly backed away.
"No!" He screeched, now with tears running down his muzzle. Not having any form of plan, and just following his instinct to run away from pain, he dashed out of the den before anyone could protest.
"Shakey, wait!" Mooch yelled, and quickly followed behind him.
Having just told them this, Winston felt terrible. Now with just Salty left from the three, he prepared himself for any questions that would arise.
"Can't you help him, is there anyone that can help?" Salty asked desperately, though truthfully he felt just as bad as the others.
"Salty, I'm afraid not." Eve spoke out, feeling that it was her turn to answer.
"I was trained to be a healer by the best," She pointed out "And trust me, I've done all that I'm able to."
Salty was crushed, when she said this. But in spite of that he wanted to know what was next.
"Then what are you gonna do." He fretted.
Eve couldn't answer this, and Tony refused to acknowledge his prior answer. This left Winston at a standoff with himself.
He walked up to Shakey and placed his paw on his shoulder and told him "All we can do, is say goodbye."
When Salty heard what was going on he was furious. Humphrey was the only one in the pack that didn't just turn him away because of his complexion. He was always thankful to have such a friend that could put up with him, but now that friend would be torn away before he had a chance at life.
A rage like he had never felt before bored itself into Salty's mind. "Who did this?" He yelled. Unbeknownst to him, he began to shed several tears.
Winston couldn't tell him, there were too many things to account for, but so few of them started here. Tony started the war, Eve attacked him, the stranger injured him further, and in all of these he could say one or the other, but Winston had to delve deeper.
"Salty." Winston began, but was cut off when Salty stormed out of the room after the others.
"It's not fair!" He yelled over and over again, and without anyone attempting to stop him, he disappeared.
Winston sighed, he knew from the beginning it wouldn't end well, but now there was nothing he could do. He would have gone after them had he not already been busy trying to figure out the best way to solve their dilemma, and time was short.
"Tony, what do you think?" He asked somberly, he was running out of ideas, but he still had to do something.
Tony glanced over to Winston, his mind raced lead him to his prior answer, but the situation had changed. He prepared to take another shot at what they could do when yet another figure showed up at the den.
"Dad, what's going on?" Garth asked, he was confused as to why not one, nor two, but all three Omegas just passed him running and screaming.
He was met by the dumbfounded and fleeting stares of both Tony and Winston, Eve shook her head and refused to look at him. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that the worst had already happened.
"I-is Humphrey?" He barely managed to say, he didn't know him well but he never liked loosing anyone.
"Humphrey, he-," Winston choked back his words and tried again "He won't-"
They heard Humphrey coughing near the back of the den, and Eve quickly rushed over to see what she could do.
Though he was assured Humphrey as still alive, he was concerned about his condition, ha hand't seen many wolves live long in that state.
As Eve got over to Humphrey to continue her work, Garth's eyes drew over to the two unconscious wolves resting on the floor.
One of them had been here by the time he had gotten in, but the other wolf, the one Winston brought in, was beginning to move.
"He's awake." Garth quickly pointed out, for indeed the intruder had begun to stir.
"You!" Tony yelled and slowly approached.
The wolf that they had captured earlier looked much different now, much of his deep red fur had changed to a lighter tan.
Before the wolf could even begin to rise, Tony slammed his paw onto his neck to keep him in place.
There was no form or sign of protest from him, he just lay there bearing his fangs and glancing up towards Tony.
Winston paced over to the two, he wouldn't allow Tony to do as he saw fit on his side of Jasper. He sat next to them and motioned for Tony to release him so he could at least talk.
Tony did so begrudgingly, but not before glaring into the intruders deep crimson eyes. From the look he got back, he could tell that this wolf wanted him gone.
After getting Tony to sit near him, Winston looked down to the one who caused them so much trouble. In his mind he wanted to simply end him, but in his heart he knew he could not. He had always tried to be fair, and even now he wouldn't go against his code.
Just as he started to speak, Tony barged in.
"Who are you?" He yelled.
The wolf sat there in silence, still looking as if he were about to strike, but never once moved to talk.
Now more infuriated by his insubordination, Tony placed both of his forepaws on the arrogant wolf's throat and began to press down. "Answer me or else!" He threatened.
The intruder flailed and struggled to breathe, but he wouldn't go without telling them off. "I'd rather die," he sputtered "Than to answer to a traitor."
Having allowed Tony a moment to unleash his aggression, Winston decided that it was enough. He quickly reached out and grabbed Tony to pull him away so he could talk.
He feared that Tony would try this again, but instead of having him sit by the intruder, he pointed him towards Eve.
Tony got the idea and instead sat next to Garth, he wasn't going anywhere near Eve if he did something wrong.
Gaining the upper-hand in the situation, Winston focused on the young wolf and spoke "I don't know who you are, but if you cooperate, and are honest, you'll be fine."
The wolf looked back at him furiously. "Liar," He whispered "Why should I trust you?"
Sensing the fear and apprehension in the young wolf's tone, Winston tried a different approach. "You're on our territory, we treat others fairly." He said calmly.
The wolf looked around, he was surrounded by what he deemed were alphas, and as such he didn't have much of a choice. But one wolf he locked eyes on didn't set well with him at all.
He pointed towards Tony"If he's not here, then I will."
Much to his dismay, Tony caught this, and a 'don't you dare' glare from Winston. The matter wasn't in his paws any longer, he had to wait it out.
Soon after Winston heard the sporadic breathing from the intruder slowly die down, he could finally ask him what he needed.
"First of all who are you?" Winston asked, he at least needed the name to go on for now.
The wolf flinched at this, he didn't want to tell them his name, but Winston was far more clever than he thought. He told him to be honest and he was at the mercy of their pack. Even if he never made it back, he would tell them his name if only to be remembered.
"It's Galen." He replied hesitantly.
Finally able to understand the name Winston continued "Galen, I thought you said you were alone."
Winston watched as 'Galen' took a much simpler look.
"I am alone." He assured.
"If you're alone, then who's this?" Winston retorted, not wanting to be taken a fool of by a young hotshot, moved closer to him and sat near the other sleeping wolf.
Galen's eyes traced over to them both and, after having seen who it was, he began to growl.
Winston had once again gotten the best of him, there was no coincidence in two attacks at the same time, he was thankful that Eve was there to help. Inwardly he believed the two were connected, but now he had the evidence to prove it, Galen had lied.
He was about to give his reply but didn't expect 'Galen' to continue to growl.
"Hector!" He spat out. His eyes were full of rage, and in him grew a fury that refused to be quelled.
With as much strength as he could muster he tried forcing himself off the ground and make his way towards his unconscious prey.
Winston felt something shift in Galen's attitude, he had gone from willing to cooperate to filled with murderous intent. This he could not allow.
Following the course of events, Winston raised his voice "Don't you dare move."
Galen didn't pay much attention and instead he continued forward.
Just when he was getting ready to make an irrational move that could cost him his life, Garth had tackled him and had quickly seized his throat.
Still too weak to put up a real fight and now being pinned, Galen flailed hopelessly. "Get off of me," He screeched "This is all his fault!"
Garth, however, wouldn't let go, he couldn't risk another life.
Having Garth take care of stopping the attack Winston regathered his thoughts. He noticed that Tony was in a crouching position about to pounce, but he once again motioned for him to stand down.
"Calm yourself." Winston commanded.
With Garth still keeping him firmly in place, Galen did his best to stay calm, he couldn't get out otherwise.
Seeing him calm once more, Winston went on with his interrogation "So you know him then?"
Galen's eyes shot open wide, he felt the seething hatred he had before begin to rise, all he could do was yell "Know him? This... dog, is responsible for my pack's condition."
"Condition?" Winston added.
Galen weakly nodded "He lead rogues into our territory, he's responsible for our pack becoming so small."
He quickly turned to Garth, and though he didn't have the strength to fight back he continued to yell "I'd kill him myself if you weren't on me."
Taking into account all that was said, Winston took back what he had previously thought. Galen wasn't lying per-se but the two had an apparent history.
"So he's wanted in your pack?" Winston surmised.
"Nobody wants him for anything other than his throat in vengeance." Galen responded angrily.
Winston could see it in his eyes, Galen wasn't joking "And if we were to keep him?"
Galen froze, he had a mission to do, and his own personal vendetta was right in front of him. He had failed before, but now that chance was running away from him.
"Do what you want with him, his life doesn't concern me." He spat "It would be a more fitting end than what my pack would do with him."
Winston thought there was something odd about this wolf, and from what Tony had said, he was from the North, and he hadn't been there in a long time.
"And what pack would that be?" He questioned.
Galen sighed regrettably "A small pack to the far North."
"That's impossible," Tony scoffed, he saw the flaw in their argument and joined in "The North doesn't have packs like that, they're larger because there's more prey."
Hearing his voice, Galen clenched his teeth and growled "And if you were their leader they'd all be left for dead!"
Before another fight broke out between them, Winston glowered at Tony long enough to get him to avert his gaze.
Winston was getting tired from the events but he wanted more answers "Why is your pack so small?"
There was a slight pause that caused all but Eve to listen intently, it was soon followed by Galen inexplicably trembling. Each of the wolves thought it was odd that such a question could bring about something so traumatic, but Tony was unfazed.
Galen craned his head upward and fearfully spoke "You Jasper wolves know nothing of hardships. All the packs that made up the northern region have been destroyed. We're all fighting for small plots of land in the Northwestern Territories now."
Curious as to why this event occurred, Tony spoke out "The north's a big place, why don't you all disperse."
Though Galen felt himself about to growl, he saw Winston nod to him silently."To our west is an Alpha that suddenly appeared from nowhere." He answered.
Garth, having released Galen stepped back at this. "How is one wolf a threat to multiple packs?" He questioned.
He received a stern glare from Galen and soon remembered the situation his pack was in. In just a few days, two lone wolves had devastated their pack easily.
"Don't you have counter measures to attack him?" Winston chimed in.
Galen shook his head and continued "He's a ruthless hunter. Every time we've gotten near him to attack, it's like he's seen us coming."
Galen paused and looked Winston directly in his eyes "He won't allow our packs to move further west, and he surrounds himself with vicious company. He's searching for someone, and he's capturing white wolves."
Getting abetter understanding, Winston thought of a quick solution "Then why not come together, or even move east?"
Hearing mention of this, Galen furiously dismissed the idea. "The East is worse." He said ominously.
Tony hadn't heard anything like this before, to him it was impossible. "Why?" He wondered.
Galen largely ignored him, but still the memory was fresh in his mind. "There's... something there." He whispered.
"Like what?" Winston waved his paw around to coax him to continue.
Galen hung his head low at the statement "I don't know, it invades us sometimes. I've seen it once, and whatever it is, it's massive, and it eats everything."
As his voice trailed off, Winston perked his ears up at this.
"Everything?" He proclaimed, to which Galen nodded remorsefully. He didn't know exactly what 'everything' entailed, but he could make a good guess.
"Where did it come from?" Winston pleaded, he wanted more information on this strange beast.
Galen thought for a moment, but he didn't have a solid answer. "I think the Ice-floe, in Nunavut." He guessed.
Only hearing their silence Galen had to finish what his thoughts on the matter were "One hunts us for someone it's looking for. The other eats everything in sight. Not only that, but every day we contend for food, and water. Nobody trusts any pack but their own."
Winston, Tony and Garth all took their time to understood this. Where he had come from was a dangerous place if he were telling the truth, but the fact still remained, he was dangerous as well.
As he was wrapping up with his interrogation, Winston felt a slight tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and he immediately felt his heart sink.
Eve was standing just before him with her eyes staring intently on the ground. She had a few stray tears streaming down her snout and she slowly shook her head.
Winston understood all too well what she was trying to say.
He leaned over to her and nuzzled her ear. "How long?" He grimaced.
Eve couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes, she was partly the cause of all of this. "He'll bleed for hours, there's nothing I can do." She called out hoarsely.
It was then that Garth finally understood the situation. Since Eve had moved away, he managed to finally see what had become of Humphrey.
He was a mess of leaves and dried blood now, there was a deep darkened spot on his rib cage where he had seen an object jutting out of before. He now understood why the three ran out screaming, Humphrey was dying.
Winston turned once more to Galen, he had a few words left for him.
He started off by ensuring he captured his attention and then pointed him towards Humphrey "You do realize that you are responsible for his wounds, correct?"
Galen cringed at the sight of the wolf. He recognized him barely. "I'm sorry, but he was wounded before I found him, I never meant any true harm." He apologized.
From what Winston could tell, he was being honest. Galen had a duty to his pack, but that didn't remove him from his guilt in the matter.
Winston then pointed towards the wolf he had called Hector "You say that this wolf here is useful to you correct?"
Galen chocked back his words and instead nodded in response.
Winston stood up, walked towards Tony and sighed "Then when you've healed, you will take him with you."
"WHAT!" Both Galen and Tony yelled, neither of them expected this kind of answer.
Tony wouldn't take that answer lightly. "Winston, this is crazy, he's responsible for this mess!" He pointed out. "I say we just rip out his throat now and-"
Winston growled louder than either of them thought possible, and Tony promptly hushed his tone. "I will hear no more of this Tony," Winston barked "Violence leads to more bloodshed."
Winston, still furious turned back to Galen. Upon seeing his eyes focused onTony, Winston went on with his deal "I can already see it in your eyes that you have a burning anger in you. From that I can tell that you won't stop until your goal is complete. Therefore, he is yours to do with as you wish."
Galen thought about this, he could escape with his life and take Hectors as well. His vengeance would be sated, for now.
Winston saw through this and walked over to Tony. He motioned for him to lean over so he could whisper something that nobody was aware of.
Tony twitched his ears in shock, clearly remembering some of the former code and nodding in agreement with Winston.
Tony confidently walked over to Galen as Winston had informed him and sat beside him.
Galen raked his claws against the ground in anger that Tony was right there, but he couldn't do anything about it if he were to take up Winston's deal.
Tony, as calmly as he could, spoke reasonably with Galen "You are honor bound, correct?"
"Honor... bound?" Galen repeated. He understood that being honor bound means that you were to be trusted in exchange for something. Seeing where this was going, he grit his teeth and growled at Tony.
"How dare you speak of honor, you know nothing of the word!" He snapped.
Tony ignored the protest and asked once more "Are you honor bound, yes or no?"
Galen hated this, he couldn't escape the question, if he gave up here, then his pack would suffer, and if he were to go back then he would be at the mercy of these wolves.
Having no other choice Galen, with seething hatred, slowly nodded.
Tony acknowledged this and then gave him his sentencing. "Then I hereby charge you with the live return of this 'Hector' to your pack, in exchange for setting you free."
After granting him his freedom and his charge, Tony stood up and walked away. He heard Galen mumble something so he perked his ears up long enough to hear him mention his name and utter the word 'hate' somewhere in-between.
Tony dismissed the thought of turning back and scolding Galen for saying this, for he was bound to keep his word now, and that was worse than anything Tony could say to him.
Tony lightly paced towards Winston to further their conversation, Eve was just talking to Eve about something. Thinking it best to join them about what course they should take next, he sat by them to listen in.
Curious to what was going on, Garth walked over to them. Hearing their chatter, he understood it revolved around Humphrey, and it wasn't good.
"Winston, what do we do." Eve asked quietly, she hadn't planned on this situation, but here it was before her very eyes. She couldn't make any decision without him in the matter, and she didn't like any of the outcomes.
"What happened to him?" He Garth in mistakably, he had wanted to wait for them to take a break but was too focused on the situation to do so.
Eve barely turned her head far enough to reach his eyes. She didn't want him to worry, but the fact still stood that he deserved to know.
"Garth," She began "You may not have known Humphrey for long, but there's something we must share with you."
Garth quivered at the statement, he hadn't liked Humphrey at the start, but from his efforts to save Rei and his own father he had no qualms with him now.
Eve gained Garth's attention once more, and then pointed towards Humphrey. He lay there on his side slowly gasping for breath, and from what they could see from the contorted expressions on his face, he was in some kind of pain.
"He'll be like this for hours until he bleeds out." Eve whispered.
Garth nearly fell back from the response, he hadn't expected anything this sudden. "So what do we do?" He asked in a fit of panic.
Eve calmly looked into his eyes before she closed her own in thought "I'm afraid that there's nothing we're able to do."
Garth didn't know what to feel. Humphrey was responsible for saving their pack, and now he was being told that he couldn't be saved himself.
Feeling a sudden weight fall on his conscious, Garth slumped to the floor just barely able to sit up.
"So we just let him suffer, and then die?" He asked forlornly.
Winston nodded at his answer "I cannot bring myself to find any other answer."
Garth's mind was a mess. 'This shouldn't happen to him, he saved us all! He did nothing to deserve to die like this. There's nothing we can do but ease his pain.'
Realizing his thought, Garth tried to understand it better. 'Humphrey's in pain, and we can't save him. He'll die soon but he'll suffer for a while. The only other option we have is…'
Playing the thought over and over again in his mind, Garth slowly lifted his eyes to the dying wolf. He was in no condition to make it through and he had no form of help anywhere, Garth knew the only other option available.
Without even acknowledging the others presence Garth stood once more. He didn't want this to be the answer, but it was the only thing they could do.
"I-i'll do it." Garth said remorsefully.
Moments after he had said this, each of the leaders began to lift their eyes and focus towards him.
"W-what?" Winston was the first to respond, he didn't understand what Garth meant by the statement.
Garth turned to face the three, he was barely able to make his stand, but he couldn't bear the thought much longer.
"I'll do it, I'll end his suffering." Garth replied.
Winston's eyes grew as wide as the other two, he would have never thought to hear these words from the young leader.
"Garth, no you can't!" He insisted.
"There's nothing we can do!" Garth yelled. He had partly closed his eyes and felt a single tear begin to form "We don't have any healers that can fix this, he would suffer for hours."
Winston tried his best to refute the point "I know, but he-"
"He doesn't deserve that, but we can't ease his pain, we can only end it." Garth interrupted him once more.
Tony and Eve looked on dejectedly, neither of them wanted this answer as well, but both felt as Garth did now.
Winston hung his head low, he never thought this day would come by so viciously. With a tear running down to his cheek, he lifted his eyes to meet Garth.
Trembling like he hadn't before, and with a sorrow lingering in his heart like none he had known he had only one thing left to ask "Why would you volunteer to do something like this?"
Garth could feel the pained response, but instead he turned to his father. "Remember what you told me?" He questioned.
Tony looked at him and thought back to the lessons he had taught him, and there was only one that he could think of that would be used here.
Garth looked his father dead in his eyes and said "You told me that one day I'll have to make a choice that only a leader could make."
Tony tore his eyes away fro Garth for he understood this well. It was the most important thing he had told him about being a leader, that not every decision you make will be easy, that many would make you question your role.
Garth, feeling the same, glanced back towards Humphrey to finnish his point "As much as I don't want to let him suffer, I can't ignore it, it's something that nobody should have to go through."
All three of the leaders sat in a grim silence, Garth was right, Humphrey would either suffer because of their mistakes, or be put down without having to endure the pain for so long.
As much as it pained all of them, they could find no other answer, they had refused to take his life. Where they had lacked in their decision, Garth had volunteered for their answer.
Winston sat there in silence, he had lost so much over the course of just a few days that this was too much for him to bear, he didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Kate, and the feeling ate at him ever since he knew the truth.
With a heavy heart and feeling tired from fighting the inevitable, Winston stood up and walked over to Garth. His mind was town in two, but he had to at least have one more chance.
Just as he passed by Garth, he stopped turned his eyes to meet the soon to be executioner.
Not having any form of response, and with a tear running down to the den floor, Winston meekly spoke "Then just give me a moment with him."
I•I
A high pitched sneeze ran thorough the healers den. Its noise and pitch echoed off the dry cavern-like walls and back towards the source.
Having felt something tickle the tip of her nose and hearing the sneeze, Lilly jolted awake. She had been asleep for a while now and could no longer force herself to rest.
She stood up and began to stretch, and as she did so the memories of what had happened before flooded back to her. The first thing she noticed was that she was in their packs healers den, and she was there because Hutch was hurt.
Having thought of him, Lilly looked around only to find out that it was his tail that was tickling her nose.
"Hutch?" Lilly questioned, the last thing she remembered was him being bandaged from his fight with the lone wolf.
She turned to see a wolf cautiously approach her. Realizing who it was from the faint tone of tan in her fur and a distinctive blue smile, she felt relieved.
"Reba!" She stated confidently.
Reba smiled and walked continued to walk forward over several still sleeping patrons. "Hey Lilly." She warmly answered.
Lilly smiled back but several things worried her. From what she had been through before she came here, she recalled not only Hutch, but Candy also having been brought here for treatment.
"Are Hutch and Candy okay?" She asked worriedly.
Reba, having reached her over the literal pile of wolves in her way, sat near her to calm her mind of the matter.
She turned to them and told Lilly what was going on "Hutch, he'll be better in no time, Candy I thought was worse, but she just has some minor bruises."
Hearing that all of them were okay, Lilly skimmed across the den. She didn't have to worry about Candy or Hutch, but the others in the den still needed help. While she was going over who was there, a silver furred pup caught her eye.
Amazed at the sight, Lilly walked up to the sleeping pup, she hadn't seen this little one in her pack before.
"Who's pup is this?" Lilly snickered, she hadn't seen a pup with that kind of fur color before and was curious as to where he came from.
Reba quickly turned to Rei. He was till sound asleep despite her best efforts to wake him and get him to say that she's 'auntie Reba'.
"Oh, that's uh," She stammered "Garth's cousin or something."
Hearing mention of his name, Lilly's ears perked up. She had wanted to see Garth since she went with Hutch, and now was her chance.
"Do you know where Garth is?" She asked.
Reba stood silently trying to think There was something she heard Garth tell her, but for the life of her she couldn't remember.
She shrugged her shoulders "He's with your mom and Humphrey I heard."
"Okay, thanks." Lilly responded and began to walk outside. She heard a small whimper and turned to see who it was. She believed that it was Candy for the sound was too light to be coming from Hutch.
But neither wolf seemed to be in distress, it seemed odd to her but she looked once more. Her eyes fell on the pup she had walked by, he was twitching in his sleep and shivering slightly.
Concerned for his well being and thinking he was having some sort of nightmare, Lilly walked up to him.
"Garth, why..." The pup cried in his sleep, to which Lilly was amazed.
'He's still asleep?' She thought, she hadn't heard of someone talking in their sleep before.
Sure that he was having a nightmare, Lilly quickly leaned down to rub his head, it's what she remembered her mother saying that she did when this sort of thing happened.
She smoothly and gently ran her paws across the terrified pup's ears and soon he stopped whimpering.
Lilly smiled at the knowledge that her simple method worked. She rose back to her feet but saw the pup shift slightly.
He slowly re-positioned himself and curled himself into a tight ball. Just before he was done and tried to fall back into a deep slumber, he weakly opened his eyes and yawned.
Lilly watched s a flash of silver met her own lavender eyes. The pup she had just before her fell back to the ground fast asleep, completely oblivious to her existence.
Lilly shook her head at what just occurred, she had to see Garth and now that she was awake and free, she could do so.
She turned back and slowly walked out of the den, but something felt strange. Judging by where she was and knowing that her home was very close by, she began to trot back to her family.
Just as she gotten a few feet away from the den, she saw two wolves walking silently by her. She recognized them as Mooch and Shakey, but they looked different, like they had just witnessed something terrible.
She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she noticed that Shakey was the slower of the two. She didn't know where Salty was, but could guess that he wasn't far behind.
'I hope they're okay.' Lilly whispered to herself and continued towards wherever Garth was waiting for her.
I•I
Humphrey had been walking around for a while now. It was pitch black wherever he was and he had been thinking about too many things to count.
He had no idea of where he was, nor where his friends and family were. This place he was in, it had nothing, nothing that he could hope for and nothing that he could stand to see.
After having walked for so long, Humphrey felt tired, he just wanted to go home, he wanted his pack back, he wanted...
He remembered the golden wolf from before, but he couldn't remember her name at all. He knew she was important to him in some way, she was there in parts of his memories, but he still didn't know what it was about her that made him press on.
"What was her name?" He yelled to himself, with a single tear beginning to form.
He desperately wanted to know, he had to, he had nothing left, and even here it was the only thing that gave him the strength to stand.
Just them, seemingly out of nowhere, he felt a gentle breeze.
Being here, he had never felt this kind of phenomenon before. It was warm and slow, and it carried with it a familiar scent.
Looking in the direction the breeze came from, Humphrey was amazed when he had seen the speck of light appear before him again.
Feeling strengthened, he stood up and began running out towards it as quickly as his legs could carry him.
"Who are you?" He shouted.
(The best time for the suggested music is about now...)
For the first time, the speck stood still and he was able to run nearer to it. As he ran something about where he was began to change, he could see several figures begin to form, two of which he knew well.
He felt himself becoming slower and a dull pain forced itself into his head and chest, it was hard for him to think of much ad it was also becoming hard to breathe. He felt himself becoming tired and now he was lying on his side somewhere.
The speck of light continued to dance and shed it's warming glow as he tried to figure out where he was. He couldn't move, but he could hear voices.
'Humphrey.' He heard being called to him.
He tried to move his head to see who it was, but he could barely tilt his head, he was too weak to move anywhere.
The voice itself seemed familiar, it was strong, bold, confident, and yet somehow broken. He heard the tone it was and could only think of one he knew well, it was the voice of Winston.
Winston sat above Humphrey as Eve lay her head on his shoulder. The two didn't want this to happen, but as they looked down, they knew that it wasn't for the better, but it would end the suffering he endured.
Humphrey didn't know why he was here and why Winston was talking to him, but he always tried his best to listen to his elder.
'Humphrey.' He heard Winston say again, only this time he could feel him tremble.
Soon after, Humphrey felt a gentle weight fall to his side. Barely able to see what it was, he could feel that it was warm and felt vaguely familiar. He was glad for the warmth, for his body had become colder, and it was getting harder to breathe.
Winston tried to choke back his tears, but he could no longer find the strength to do so.
'You were like the son I never had.' He cried out and nearly fell limp over Humphrey's already broken body.
Humphrey didn't know what to say, he felt honored to be held in such a regard. He wanted to stand up and tell Winston that he was like a father to him, but instead of doing this he felt a sharp sting on his side.
He heard a small cry from another voice, one that he feared above many others, it was that of Eve. He was beginning to get worried that she would attack him again, but that fear was quickly replaced by something hidden in her voice, she sounded as though she were in despair.
'Humphrey,' She began hesitantly 'You've been in our family ever since you were a pup I'm glad to have met you.'
He had never expected her to say something like this, that she was thankful that he was a part of their family.
Just as Eve had finished, he heard another voice. It was unfamiliar, and though deep, it sounded as though whomever this was had been through a lot.
'You may not know me,' The figure said grimly 'But you saved my life and helped my family. Thank you, Humphrey.'
Humphrey tried to think back on who it may be, he saved several people, but couldn't remember who they were easily. There was a red wolf that he had rescued alongside Winston, and there was someone he was traveling with earlier, but he couldn't prove who they were.
Humphrey, hearing whimpers and slight cries, began to become worried about what was going on.
The light he had seen came closer to him than it had ever done before, and he felt the presence of another wolf standing just before him. Whoever it was, they didn't seem like the others that talked to Humphrey.
'Humphrey, I'm sorry, it will be over soon.' He stammered.
"Over, soon?" Humphrey heard this and he didn't like it. He thought back to what that term may have meant and it brought terror to his mind.
Just then, Humphrey felt something fall to his neck. It felt to him like someone had their teeth locked onto his throat, but what he didn't understand was why.
He closed his eyes and started kicking and yelling for this mysterious being to leave him, to get away from him, but instead he regrettably felt the strange and foreign tingle of pressure being applied.
He cried aloud and looked for anyone to help him.
"Winston, Eve, help!" he gasped, but he didn't hear them so much as move.
Just as he lay there in fear with his eyes wrenched shut, he felt a warmth slowly wash over him starting at the tip of his nose. He no longer felt the same fear he did, but felt instantly better about whatever was going on. Wanting to see what it was, Humphrey opened both of his eyes, and to his amazement, the light was resting in front of him.
"Do you remember me?" It asked quietly.
Memories started pouring back to him, it was the wolf who he had forgotten, everything about her was coming back to him.
"I remember you, your smile always made me happy." He whispered and felt his head clear of any pains.
"Do you remember me, Humphrey?" It asked again and began to dance back and forth.
He thought back to just a few days ago. He was traveling with her to get back home, he was about to tell her something important then but never got a chance.
"I remember, that you were there for me, and that I loved you." He said boldly, feeling his lungs no longer hindering him from breathing again.
"Do you remember my name, Humphrey?" The light asked once more and began to gently float away.
Everything had come back to him, Humphrey didn't feel terrible anymore, he began to see the light slowly take the form of the wolf he had forgotten, and there before him she stood proudly.
He smiled as widely and felt his strength return to him as she smiled back. He found the means to stand once more, and did so promptly.
Upon standing he watched a scene unfold before him. Winston and Eve were standing next to each other in tears. The wolf he had rescued before, Tony, was looking away towards two wolves he couldn't recognize. There was also Garth who, despite being the unwavering alpha as he had been so deemed, seemed lost in thought about what just transpired.
Though he was curious to what just happened, he felt as though he should instead move on. He turned back to see the wolf waiting for him and giggling slightly.
He smiled back at her, he hadn't been able to say much before, but now he was finally able to tell her what he felt.
"Hey, Kate." He smiled and walked closer to her.
Kate continued to smile and started to walk out of the den. "Come on." She urged him.
Humphrey was more than happy to oblige, he was able to see Kate again, and that's all he had wanted.
Upon reaching her and standing beside her, Humphrey looked back into the den where the others were still in mourning over something he couldn't perceive.
As he now had Kate and she had him. He couldn't think about going back, and with one last glimpse he waved to them. "Take care." He said jubilantly.
Winston perked up his ears at this, though he had been weeping over the loss of his family, he still believed that he heard Humphrey talking to him. But from the cold and lifeless body that sat before him, he knew it couldn't be so for Humphrey was gone.
Minutes passed in the den and all fell silent. Tony continued to eye the two captive wolves, now angrier than ever as he had seen Galen stare at Humphrey and Garth in horror.
Eve was trying to get over the feeling herself, but as she remembered more and more of the time she spent watching the two, she knew she would never forget their bond.
Garth, however, was still standing over Humphrey's now unmoving body. Humphrey's eyes were glossed over, and he had a large and deep gash in his throat where Garth had delivered the fatal blow.
He shivered knowing that his decision to take Humphrey's life was no easy choice, but now he wished that he had chosen a different way as this would haunt his memories.
As they continued to mourn, they heard the faint and distinct sounds of clicking across the ground. None of them had so much as moved, so they all turned to face the outside.
A wolf had stood there at the ledge of the den facing inward, her mouth hung wide and her eyes skimmed across the whole area. She was frozen in silence at what she had seen and felt more devastated than her complexion would dare to show.
Eve was surprised to see who it was.
"Reba!" She hoarsely shouted.
At the mention of her name, Reba stepped back, she shouldn't have come up unannounced, but she had no other choice.
Unable to find any fury worth mentioning from the what had just regretfully happened, Eve slowly walked towards her. "What's the meaning of this?" She questioned, she knew her wolves well enough to figure when something was amiss.
Despite having found the whole den in the state that she did, Reba turned to Eve. "Mam, it's Lilly." She sniffled "She's gone!"
"What?" Both Winston and Eve shouted, this was the worst time for anything to occur with her.
Reba felt as though she answered wrong and then corrected her statement "We were watching her and she suddenly disappeared, she said she'd be here."
Winston's eyes lit up in shock and Eve looked no better.
"She came here?" He asked.
He went over what had happened, Garth had taken Humphrey's life, and all their backs were turned away from the den's entrance. Any light-footed wolf could have come by, and they would never be aware of its presence.
Reba quickly nodded, she didn't know what that meant for Lilly, but she could guess from what was happening before her eyes it wasn't good.
Winston could do nothing, he had to gather preparations for yet another funeral, and Eve had to be there to help him. Tony was watching their backs in case the intruders tried to make a move, he had only one option left.
Winston slowly looked towards the alpha, he still hadn't moved very much and Winston didn't believe that was a good sign.
Taking care as not to startle him, Winston go up and slowly approached. Garth had been frozen the whole time silently whispering something.
"Garth?" Winston whispered.
In an instant Garth shot his head up and looked directly into Winston's eyes. His fangs were still dripping with blood and he trembled slightly as if he were about to fall under his own weight.
As much as he hated asking him, Winston knew that this would take Garth's mind off of what he had just done. Garth loved Lilly and she would help him in his peril, and Winston had faith that she would.
"Garth, please, find Lilly." He asked him sincerely.
Without even a simple acknowledgement, Garth took off.
I•I
"Paddy, how long has it been?" Marcel asked somberly.
He and Paddy had sat at the grave site for a while now, just remaining about their adventure they had with the two wolves that considered them travel agents.
"Nearly an hour sir." Paddy replied, he hadn't been much up for conversation due to the atmosphere, but he certainly didn't dismiss it.
Just before them, as they had been informed, was a mound of dirt that had been recently smoothed over. It pained them to who it was just a few feet below, now lost in the prime of her life.
Marcel sighed and looked down towards the grave "She was a lot of trouble, but also a good friend."
The two sat in an unbearable silence, flapping there wings and sniffling ever so often from the experience.
Having had enough time to collect himself, Marcel turned to face away from the grave. "Well, we'd better get going." He stated and began to flap his wings.
Paddy silently agreed, he hadn't wanted to leave, but he couldn't stay. From all that was told to them and all that they had informed Eve of, they wouldn't be coming back to jasper until things were less dangerous.
Just as Marcel began to lift off the ground, a red wolf came dashing towards them. He thought quickly to leave for not many wolves still saw them as nothing more than food.
Paddy felt inclined to do the same until the figure running towards them began to shout as well.
"Wait!" Garth yelled, he remembered the two birds from earlier as they left the den. As they were right in front of him now, he could think of nobody better to ask for assistance.
Despite his call the two began to climb higher until they were out of reach of any of his methods, but he still had to try, he had to find Lilly and her scent was nowhere near here.
"You two, I need our help, please." He pleaded at the top of his lungs.
Hearing his cry for help, Marcel and Paddy slowly circled around him, he seemed familiar. They looked at each other and back to him as they each made the connection.
Marcel, as usual, was the first to respond. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the wolf that carried Humphrey back here, are you not?" He questioned while lowering his altitude.
Garth hastily nodded at his observation, though from the time that they left, things had changed.
"Yes, and I need your help I need to find Lilly." He called up to them desperately.
The two continued their circle and Paddy had a question of his own "What does she look like?"
"She has white fur." He shot back, he didn't want to loose time, but they had to have a good description of who she was.
Much to Garth's amazement, he heard the two gasp from only hearing the color.
"Ah, yes, yes, we know of her," Marcel quickly declared "Eve's daughter, correct?"
"Yes." Garth answered gratefully, finally something was going right this day.
Having all they needed, the two swooped down and landed elegantly next to their newest client. They stood and studied him, noticing several deep red spots covering his muzzle before they continued.
They nodded towards each other and continued.
"We'll help you, but may I ask one thing?" Marcel requested.
"Okay." Garth replied.
He glanced over to Paddy who also had a pleading look in his eyes and Marcel was still worried about him.
"Where is Monsieur Humphrey, is he okay?" He asked faintly.
Garth lowered his head in shame, he felt sick about what he had just done, but he couldn't change the past.
He faced them and sighed "He's...gone."
A long silence fell between them, and only Paddy flinched. Marcel had a terrible feeling that this would happen from the conversation he had with Eve, but he didn't know the outcome until just now.
"I see." He stated remorsefully.
Marcel had no further questions and instead began to waddle next to Paddy. He lightly tapped him to awaken him out of his shock and within seconds the two turned back to Garth with their plan.
With a twinge of regret for their friends, Marcel slowly spread his wings and looked Garth dead in his eyes "Let's go find your Lilly."
Garth didn't say anything back to them, their help was more than enough, and he couldn't thank them enough for it.
As grimly and as silently as he could, Garth stood up and chased after wherever the two fowls had lead him.
I•I
Garth didn't know how long he had chased the two for, but there was already sunlight above him. Had he been paying much more attention, he would have seen the shadows streaking across the ground to signify that it was nearing noon.
He was deep in the territory of the Western wolves, but very close to the border from what he could tell. He was deep in thought from all that he had done, and all that he had chosen not to do.
His decision cost Humphrey his life, but he saw no other way to end the needless suffering. He wanted to take it back, to be given another chance, but even if he were to be given that, he wouldn't know what to do.
"We've found her." He heard from overhead.
Marcel and Paddy flew high above him and wherever their shadow touched, he was sure to trail swiftly behind.
Garth felt a little unnerved when they stated this. "Where?" He called out to them.
Paddy, being closer to him, flew lower and lower until he was at his side "Yes, well, she's up that hill."
Garth traced his eyes to where Paddy had pointed, it was the same place that the packs met for their moonlight howls, the same place he had first met Lilly, Kate, and Humphrey. A shiver ran down his spine from the memory when he got closer.
As he had his goal in mind, Garth pressed forward regardless of what he felt, he had to make sure Lilly was okay.
"Do take care." He heard as Paddy took off to meet Marcel in the open sky. He didn't know where the two were headed, but he was glad that they got him this far.
Reaching the hill within seconds, Garth caught hold of Lilly's scent. It was close, but he had to be cautious, nobody seemed to be around.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked up the hill. The rocky terrain was starting to warm, and he could feel a soft breeze pass by him.
While he continued to walk up the hill, he heard a faint sound. It was muffled and sharp, he knew that sound well, it was someone crying.
Hearing this, Garth increased his pace little by little until he finally reached the top of the howling rock. When he got to the summit, his heart nearly tore in two.
Upon the rock where he had first howled to Kate, sat a little white wolf. She had been crying for some time and her cries had become weaker and weaker.
Garth slowly walked up to her, he had the overwhelming need to comfort her and to replace her tears with a smile.
"Lilly." He called to her softy.
Lilly's ears stood on end and as she heard her name being called, had it been another voice she would have welcomed it easily.
"Go away!" She shouted without turning away from him.
Garth was puzzled, why was she acting like this, could she have known?
"Lilly, what's wrong?" He asked.
Lilly, for quite possibly the first time in her life, grit her teeth in response. She shivered and rose from the ground in a fury that she had never felt herself have before. With her eyes full of stray tears she turned to Garth.
"He was my best friend," She screamed and soon found herself sitting down with her eyes closed crying once more "How could you?"
Garth felt this sting him more than he could have imagined. He felt as though she hated him for what he did, that she would never forgive him for this mistake.
"Lilly, I-i'm sorry," He choked out "We didn't have a choice-"
"He didn't," Lilly pointed at him and continued to shout "But you did!"
Garth didn't know what to say, Lilly was right, it was his choice that lead to the death of Humphrey. Humphrey hadn't wanted to die, but he had no say in the matter, Garth was all to blame for the shameless execution.
Feeling weak and having the world on his shoulders, Garth held his head low. He dared not to look into the eyes of Lilly, whom he declared that he loved, and tell her his side of the story.
He felt tears form in his eyes and felt them run down his muzzle and he could hear them fall to the hash and barren ground.
"I'm sorry." He spoke just barely loud enough for Lilly to hear.
Lilly wouldn't take this answer of his, she was angry, Humphrey was dead and Garth was behind it.
"Why are you sorry, why-" She shouted and lifted her head only to stop dead in her words.
Garth stood in shambles before her. He trembled violently, and there were tears staining his deep red fur, it was then that Lilly understood his words.
Silently feeling her guilt for yelling at him, Lilly stood up and walked by his side. Though she shed tears of her own, she gently touched his chest and felt terrible from what she had said.
The moment Lilly laid her paw there, Garth felt sick to his stomach. He had to tell Lilly how he felt, and he had to make things right with her, he didn't want to lose her.
"I was afraid." He whispered.
Lilly was confused at the statement, this was Garth saying this, that he was afraid. She didn't know how that could be, but felt as though she should confront him about this fear.
"Afraid of what?" Lilly asked softly.
Garth slowly opened his to meet Lilly's, but as quickly as he did this, he turned away.
"Everything," He began "I'm supposed to become the 'Alpha Leader' someday. I'm the one others are going to have to look up to for decisions regarding others."
Garth took a slight pause to catch his breath, as he did so he found Lilly still had her paw over his heart.
This alone comforted him enough to continue "I was scared from the beginning that I'd fail, that I'd make a mistake that would cost someone their lives."
Lilly understood that as an alpha he would make decisions about the pack, but she didn't understand the extent of these decisions until now.
Garth felt better, though at the same time he was miserable. His poor choice was going to forever stay with him even if he had Lilly at his side.
He managed to bring himself to look her directly in her eyes this time, though he could see that she as deeply troubled by his distress.
He took a deep breath and slowly furthered his reasoning "I've already failed to protect you twice,I failed to save Kate,I couldn't even help Humphrey in the end."
"Lilly, I'm afraid that... That I won't be able to protect anybody." Garth finished and felt his vision become blurry.
He hadn't felt this way ever before in his life, that he did something terrible and couldn't change it for the better. He had recalled over and over again how his life was changed because of Humphrey.
He was going to become Kate's mate but that all changed because of Humphrey. Both his father and Rei were still alive because of his heroic sacrifice. Even Lilly and he were in love because Humphrey changed it all.
Lilly understood his side more and more. She felt it deep within her heart that he tried his best, though it ended up to him as a failure.
Feeling that she finally understood him, Lilly removed her paw from his chest. She instead inched closer to him and embraced him in a soft and much needed hug.
Garth felt this deeply, her paw being removed and then her embracing him by hugging him. He felt both miserable and at the same time comforted. He had done Lilly a misdeed, but she had silently forgiven him.
He returned this gesture, and yet through his tears, he hadn't forgotten who he was nor why he made his decision. He was to become an alpha leader with Lilly by his side.
Everything that he had, and everything that had happened for both the Jasper packs would be forever changed because of the life of one wolf.
In their minds and in their hearts, both Garth and Lilly would never forget their friend.
: : : : : : :
* Next time on Alpha and Omega: The week after *
All things must come to an end less they be eternal
Though there are some things that will never die
There is also a time where we will see what mattered most
("I love you")
Alpha and Omega: The Week After
* {Effluent Eternal Love} *
And so begins the end. With one chapter left before the sequel I hope you're ready to read. Next chapter is more of a recap with some interesting info revealed, that if I'm able, will be posted by Sunday (guaranteed not nearly as long). Sorry for taking longer than I had originally planned... 21k words... new personal record...
Also for those interested, there's a fan-fiction recommendation page for A&O on tvtropes!
Be sure to check out the A&O Series here (forum/Alpha-and-Omega-The-Series/118805/).
And I'm back but taking a break until sunday, 21k words...
If you liked this story and have time please post a review. If you want to keep up with the story fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to pass me a P.M... I hope you enjoyed this installment of Alpha and Omega: The Week After. Till Next Time DLW.
