Six weeks have passed since the pups first opened their eyes and it seems like that time has just flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday since the pulse were being born, and before I know it they will be moving out and getting mates of their own. Before that happens, though, I'm going to make sure to spend as much time as possible with them. Of course before any of that happens the will be going off to alpha school; or at least the ones who decide to.
Even in this short amount of time, the pups have started to show their personalities and it is easy to tell what most of them will choose.
Dakota is the easiest to tell that he will become an alpha. He is competitive by nature and a natural leader in all the things done by the pups. He's usually the one that comes up with the games as well as makes sure everyone is following the rules. It's pretty clear to see that he will grow up to be a great leader someday after Kate and I are done. Huh, it just occurred to me I'll be leading this pack some day… thoughts for another day.
Katie's is our little clown. Everything she says and does is an attempt to get everyone to laugh. She's hilarious too her siblings, there's no doubt about that. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be a great omega.
Next is Hannah is will also most likely go the path of an alpha. She is a lot like her brother, Dakota, and already they have formed a sibling rivalry; luckily, it's all just fun and games for them.
Finally, there is Blaze. Now this little guy is a bit more complicated. It's not that he's a troublemaker, far from it in fact. It's just it's a lot harder to tell what he's going to be when he grows up. He frequently ends up winning or coming close to winning all the games they play, but it's all for fun not to be competitive. I can tell, as well as my friends, that he could grow up to be the best alpha this pack has ever seen, but that's if he chooses that path. Honestly, it could go either way him. Not that it matters what I think in the end; what they di is their decision and I'll stand by whatever they do.
Another interesting thing that we have found with Blaze is his infatuation with Smitty. Whenever he sees the older wolf he stops whatever he's doing and go over to talk to him, obviously with him doing all the talking as Smitty sits and politely listens to the pups words. Blaze figured out early that Smitty doesn't talk and he was just fine with that; it gave him more talking time.
Venturing away from the topic of my pups, I'll start talking about someone else's pups. We've been informed recently that Lilly is pregnant with her and Garths pups. There was a whole lot of excitement around that from everyone who was involved. The pups were especially excited to hear they were getting cousins. It was clear to see Garth and Lilly couldn't wait to see their little pups.
Bringing it back to the present, today is a special day for the pups. Today Mark's there second month of life, meaning that are two months old and are now able to leave the den. I still remember when McCabe and I hit that mark in our lives; so many new experiences in such a short amount of time. The experience was overwhelming but amazing at the same time.
Kate and I had already been up for awhile, getting everything ready and making sure David, Andy, and Smitty were all on the same page. The pups are bound to wonder so to keep them safe those three will be keeping a close eye on them on top of Kate and I already watching them. You'd think Kate and I would be enough, but pups can be sneaky little pests sometimes.
We decided that everything was fine now and went over to wake up the pups. Unsurprisingly, they all groaned as we woke them at an earlier time than they are used to.
"Why are we getting up so early?" Katie groaned, getting the others to whine with her as well.
"Because today is a very special day," I told them. That got them to stop whining as they all looked up at me with parked ears, excitement painted all over their faces.
"Really, what is it?" Blaze questioned excitedly.
"Today is your guys second month since being born, which means you can now go outside the den," Kate explained with a smile. Honestly, I think we're just as excited as the pups are.
Their reaction was priceless. They all started cheering and running around, tipping and howling with joy and excitement. It's too adorable.
We lead all of them outside for the first time and immediately they are taken back by everything in front of them. All the new sights and smells and feelings; like I said it can be a little overwhelming. Still, they are just pups and it didn't take them long to start playing some sort of game. Kate followed them to make sure they didn't get into trouble, and I was going to as well until I saw a familiar wolf walking over to me.
"Hey, McCabe," I greeted happily.
"Sup, Humphrey. Has it really been two months already," the wolf chuckled while he watched his nieces and nephews running around playing with each other.
"Sure has. It's amazing how fast time fly's," I commented, getting a nod from my brother.
"So what brings you by?" I asked.
"Nothing really. I was just in the area and decided to come check in on my family, and it seems I picked the right day to do it."
"What has you being this far over in the pack?" I questioned. He really has no use in coming over this way unless it is to see me and the others. If he was already in the area, what reason did he have.
He seemed to be a little flustered by the question, looking as though he didn't want to answer the question. If I didn't know better I'd say…
"Uncle McCabe," I voice cheered from the distance. McCabe and I turned our heads to see Dakota running over with a big smile on his face. So Blaze has taken a liking into Smitty, and Dakota has taken a liking in to McCabe which is really adorable no matter how you look at it.
"How's it going bud," McCabe greeted his young nephew with a warm smile.
"Its awesome," he shouted, twirling around in a circle, "Its our first day out of the den."
"I can see that," McCabe chuckled, "Now go back and play with your brother and sisters." Dakota nodded happily and took off towards his siblings.
"Such good pups," McCabe smiled.
Out of nowhere, a thought popped up into my mind; possibly due to the fact McCabe was here, but suddenly I'm thinking about my parents again. I have still yet to see them around since I've been back and honestly I worry for them. I would go and check on them, but I honestly think it's their responsibility to come and see me. But that doesn't mean I couldn't help speed up the process.
"McCabe, I need to know. What have mom and dad been doing?" I asked. He immediately knew what I meant and dropped his smile.
"They've exiled themselves to there den," he sighed. "I've tried everything I can to get them out, but nothing works. They're too ashamed of what happened and believed they failed at being parents when they didn't stand up for you. I told them they should come and talk with you, but they won't listen to me." McCabe looked defeated, obviously stressed about the whole thing. Maybe it was time I pay a visit to them. I want them to suffer like this because of me.
I called Kate and the pups over, telling them that we're going to take a small trip to the other side of the pack. Kate didn't seem to understand, but as we walked I explained to her what I was doing. All she had to say was 'finally', and I don't know how to feel about that.
As we walked, my thoughts were mostly on my parents; however, I couldn't help but smile as I witnessed my pups discover all these new things. Their reactions are priceless and adorable and I'm glad that I'm here to see them grow up. And to think if I hadn't kept messing up on my hunt all those weeks ago, then I wouldn't be here today. Funny how life works like that sometimes.
It didn't take too long until we reached my childhood den where I was born, where I grew up, and where my parents currently reside. I told Kate and the pups to stay out here until I call them in, then me and McCabe walked in.
"Mom, dad," McCabe called out as we walked in. The only response we got was a couple of groans. In the back I saw a couple bumps in the floor which where obviously my parents. They were still sleeping, not that it's all that surprising; they are both omegas, and older omegas too. They don't have much of a reason to get up this early. Though I'm sure that's not the only reason they haven't got up yet.
"Come on you two, get up. Someone is here to see you," McCabe pleaded. It took a few moments of silence, but eventually my parents gave in and decided to get up. When they did, they looked over at us. Their faces went pale and frozen when they spotted me. It's almost as if they were seeing a ghost.
"Hey mom, hey dad," I waved a little awkwardly. They had no response, just kept staring.
"Come on guys, I didn't come out all this way to only have you stare at me, though I do enjoy the attention," I smirked, trying to get some kind of reaction. And it kind of worked. They seemed to loosen up a little, except now they were avoiding eye contact by looking at the ground.
"Please look at me, this is important," I stated calmly. This felt a little backwards.
Slowly they lifted their heads and looked at me, their emotions full of guilt and regret. They've really been beating themselves up over this. I hope I can end this now.
"I know some things happened and you blame yourself, but this is what I think. Should you have said something during my trial? Yes, I really think you should have." That didn't make anyone in the den feel better, especially McCabe who looked like he was going to kill me. "I spent weeks hating everyone in this pack for what they did to me. I suffered a lot, I really did and I didn't think I would ever be able to forgive anyone," at this point my parents were nearly weeping, but I think McCabe knew where I was going with this because he doesn't look like he wants to tear my throat out anymore.
"But then I got back," I expressed with happiness, catching my parents a little off guard. "I learned my mate was pregnant, I learned I was going to be a father. I came back to the pack and slowly I started loving everything about it again. First I forgave Kate, and then McCabe, and then everyone else. Now I'm here to do something I should have done weeks ago. Mom, dad, I forgive you. I want you to be apart of my life and my pups lives. I just want you guys to know that I love you."
Now my parents were just a mess. Tears streaming down their faces and crying uncontrollably. I opened my arms, offering for a hug, and they gladly accepted. Our whole family was there hugging g it out happily. I'm glad I settled this, it was really started to get to me and I needed my parents back in my life.
"Thank you, Humphrey," dad said softly, followed by mom saying the same thing.
"Its no problem. Now come on, there are some pups outside waiting to meet their other grandma and grandpa," I smiled, getting them both excited. We walked out of the den, only we didn't see anyone there.
"Huh, must gave wandered off somewhere," I thought aloud. I figured everything was fine, that is until I heard the screams of my pup Katie. My instincts immediately kicked in and I ran towards the sounds of her screams. I prayed nothing was wrong. Anything but my pups.
I quickly ran into Katie around the same time Kate and the others did.
"What's wrong?" I asked as she embraced me with fear. Whatever it is, it really has her shaken up. All she could do was point in the direction she came from. I looked at David and the other two, all of us nodding as we knew what I had to do. I passed Katie over to Kate and took off in the direction she came from.
I only got about 100 feet before I heard the rustling of bushes off to my side I smelled the air to see if I could tell what I was up against. Its definitely wolf, but there was something else. It also smelled like blood.
I quickly looked by the bushes and what I saw shocked me. It was a beaten and bloody wolf laying on the ground looking like he's barley alive. He glanced up at me and uttered one last thing before he passed out. "Help."
I was caught a little off guard, but I quickly shook that off, put him on my back , and sprinted to the healers den. I busted through the entrance, startling Earl. He looked a little annoyed at first until he saw the wolf on my back.
"Quickly, put him down," Earl ordered. I did as I was told and took a few steps back.
"Thank you, Humphrey, but you can leave now. I've got some work to do," Earl said as he began working on the mystery wolf. I nodded and left the den, heading back over to my family.
Understandably, there were quite a few questions when I got back. I just told them I found an injured wolf in the middle of the woods and I took him to Earl.
All the adults nodded, but Katie still seemed to be a little shaken up. "Don't worry Katie, nothings wrong," I assured her with a soft smile.
"But he looked really scary," she whined, still not liking it.
"He was just an injured wolf. In fact, if it wasn't for you he might have gotten even more hurt. You really helped him out," I told her. That seemed to brighten up her mood.
"Really?" she asked. I nodded my head.
"Now come on, let's get back to playing some fun games," I said, getting all the pups to cheer. There was still plenty of time left in the day. I would probably end up checking in on that wolf later today, but for now I'm going to spend all this time with my pups making memories.