AN: I apologize for getting your hopes up for an early update and end up giving you a late one. I'm just going to tell you all that I have a focusing problem. Whenever I try to focusing on something, wither it be writing, homework, talking to people, ect, it takes me much longer to do something that requires focus because I get lost in my own mind and I struggle to get out. So sometimes it takes me several days of work to finish a chapter, even though I know exactly what I want to happen. Try to understand and I will work my hardest to give you updates every weekend. Thank you and enjoy :{

Morning was fast approaching. Today the sun was eager to get rid of the early morning chill with its powerful rays. The sun was even able to leak through a crack in the side of den right where Opal's room was. The thin lines of light were bright enough to light the room announcing the start of a new day. Opal slowly open her eyes as they glimmered different colors. She stretched her forelegs forward as far as they could reach. Once she finished stretching her legs, she slowly stood up and loosened up every aching muscle in her body.

Now up, Opal went to go check on Tasha and Humphrey to see if they were awake. She glanced inside Tasha's room and saw that she was not there. "looks like someone is an early riser" thought Opal to herself. She then walked over to Humphrey's room and saw that he was still sleeping. She then noticed Tasha sleeping right next to him. Opal couldn't help but to smile. They just look so cute together, she just couldn't wake them. She then decided to let them sleep a little longer while she went out to get some breakfast.

About an hour passed as the morning light was slowly making its way to Humphrey's room. Humphrey began to slowly open his eyes. He looked around the den as this was the first time he was even able to see its walls because it was so dark last night. As he was observing his surroundings, he noticed that Tasha was sleeping right next to him. Humphrey's face lit up. He remained motionless and began to smile as he started to admire her. Humphrey then remembered Kate. He still had feelings for her, but he also had feelings for Tasha. He was now feeling torn, like he had to make a choice.

Humphrey began to put a lot of thought into this. He could still pursue Kate and try to earn the love of his life, or he could try to be with Tasha. Humphrey continued to think really deeply, but it seems to hard for him to give up on Kate. She filled him with so much happiness and he felt that if he were to give up on her, part of himself may go with her. On the other end, Tasha also made him happy and he thinks she has similar feelings towards him. He feels like if he does not go for Tasha and fails at getting Kate, he may never find love again. Tasha's eyes suddenly began to open and she noticed that Humphrey was also awake.

After Tasha let out a large yawn as she said, "Good morning Humphrey, how did you sleep?"

"Pretty good, better than most nights" he responded with a smile.

"Now why is that? Was it because your head feels much better?" said Tasha with a sly smile.

"Sure, I guess you could say that was part of the reason" said Humphrey as he began to hear a sound outside of the room.

Both of the wolves look at each other with a confused look on their faces. They silently decided to go check it out. Tasha and Humphrey got up and walked out of the room and looked in the main part of the den and could hear the sound coming just outside the den entrance. They both walked to the entrance and saw Opal struggling to drag in a large caribou. Humphrey and Tasha ran out to help her bring the meal inside.

"Why thank you guys, this big boy sure put up a fight and drained all my energy" said Opal as she took several deep breathes.

"You didn't have to go out and fetch us breakfast. I'm sure we would have found something along our travels" said Humphrey

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't hunt. Also what kind of host would I be if I let you leave with an empty stomach. Now please, eat up" said Opal as she began to take the first bite of the caribou. Then both Tasha and Humphrey started to eat the fresh game.

"So Opal" said Tasha as she finished swallowing her first bite, "why don't you tell us about your pack. You mentioned you used to be the former pack leader."

"Oh honey that's kind of a long story and I don't want to hold you up to long" said Opal just before grabbing another bite.

"Oh were not in that big of a rush, we got time don't we Humphrey" said Tasha as she looked towards Humphrey who nodded his head while his was stuffing his face with another mouthful.

"Alright, if you insist" said Opal as she began to tell her story.

My pack was very large, there must have been at least 40 or 50 wolves in it. We were doing great, everyone was happy and we were all living very good lives. I ran this pack with my loving mate Vernon. He was the most handsome wolf I have ever met. He was tall and strong with his brown and black fur. The one trait that stood out that I liked his views on equality. Just because one wolf had a higher rank than another does not mean they get special treatment. He treated all wolves the same, Alpha or Omega. Then one winter, many of the caribou must have migrated. Food then became very hard to come by. Everyone in the pack was starving; many even resorted to eating objects such as dirt and tree branches, it was very sad. It was not long before many wolves were starting to die of starvation and all the blame was put on me and my mate. Soon after, rumors were being spread that me and Vernon still had plenty of food and were eating well. In reality it was the opposite, me and Vernon were just as hungry. We were giving almost all of our food away to the rest of the pack. Then one day, about 15-20 wolves stormed the den and attacked us. Me and Vernon fought off as many as we could but there were too many. After killing about ten of them, we were badly beaten and left on the ground bleeding. The surviving wolves searched the den and found no food and then left angry and hungry. I was surprised that they didn't kill me, but I was not able to say the same about my mate. I called to him but there was no response. I then crawled over to his side and when I got to him I could not hear him breath or feel his heart beat. Right then and there I knew he was dead. I pressed my face into his side and cried. I don't know how long I was there for, but eventually a few of my closest Beta wolves came in and aided me. After that day, the whole pack broke up and I don't know what happened to most of them.

"Ever since then this place has been dangerous. I hear lots of stories of outside wolves getting attacked and killed because of competition over food" said Opal as she finishes her story.

"I'm am so sorry to hear what happened to your mate and your pack. At least your doing well and still helping others. I'm sure Vernon would have wanted you to do this" said Humphrey who was feeling bad about hearing what has happened to her mate.

"Why thank you dear, It's nice to see two young wolves like yourselves truly understand this type of situation. I really think it's best that you guys head out soon. Most of the attacks happen during the lunch hour, and I want you guys out of this area before then.

"Alright, I guess maybe we should be heading out. Thanks for letting us stay for the night; that was really nice of you and thanks for breakfast" said Tasha

"Not a problem dear and you guys are more than welcome to come and visit or to spend the night. My home is your home" said Opal as she waved goodbye to Tasha and Humphrey.

"Bye Opal, thanks for everything" said Humphrey right before she was out of sight.

*Kate and Garth*

The two Alpha wolves were still sleeping in the den but something didn't seem right with Kate. She had a disturbed look on her face as she was tossing and turning on the soft dirt. She was heavily breathing and sweating so much her fur was starting to become noticeably damp. Kate's eyes suddenly shot open and she got up from the ground. Sitting down, Kate spent a few minutes regaining her breath as she tried to recover from her nightmare. She had the same one as the night before, but there was a small difference. Unlike the last dream, Kate was able to find Humphrey at the end of the road. When she found him he was staring off into the distance with another wolf. She was not able to tell who the other wolf was because if was to dark.

Kate tried to take her mind off of the dream and walked outside the den to get some fresh air. It was still dark outside, but she knew it must be close to sunrise from the position of the moon. Kate took a glance at her fur and noticed that it was pretty dirty. She decided to go out and to wash up before they headed out. Garth liked to sleep about an hour after sunrise so she had some alone time.

She remembered seeing a small stream just a few minutes away while her and Garth were following the mysterious drag marks. Kate headed in that direction to clean up.

It was not long until she found the stream. Before she hoped in she took a large drink of water. The water was very cool and refreshing after a rough night; It really eased her mind. After her drink, Kate placed one paw it the water to test it and not to her surprise, the water was cold. She took a step back from the water and thought if she should either go in slowly or to just jump right in. Kate soon started to smile as she started to run towards the water and dove right in. The cold shocked her and gave her a huge rush of energy. After a second or two she returned to the surface gasping for air; the cold took all the breath right out of her. Kate has never felt so alive in quite awhile, it felt good. While shivering, Kate began to scrub at her fur loosing up all the dirt into the stream. After several minutes of washing and dunking her head in the water, she finally got out and shook dry. Because the sun was not out yet, she could not use it to warm up. Not knowing what to do, Kate just walked around in circles and continued to shake her fur just to keep her blood moving, which seemed to be working. A few more minutes went by and she noticed another wolf walking towards the stream, but she recognized who it was right away.

"Oh hi there Kate. What brings you here?" asked Shakey who was somewhat surprised to see her.

"Good morning Shakey. I was just getting a drink and washing up" said Kate as she sat down near the stream.

"So you and Garth are looking for Humphrey?" asked Shakey curiously.

"Yeah, we think that something is really bothering him and I'm really worried" said Kate as her mind flooded with images of Humphrey.

"You're not alone, I too am worried about him" said Shakey with his head somewhat low.

"Shakey, your his best friend and you know him better the almost any other wolf out here. Do you know what is bothering him?" asked Kate.

"Well... I think I have an idea, but I don' know if I should tell you" said Shakey who was struggling to make eye contact.

"Oh please tell me, I want to find and help him. Any information would be of great help" pleaded Kate.

"I don't know, just don't tell Humphrey I told you or anyone for that matter" said Shakey nervously.

Kate placed her paw on her chest and said, "I promise, I won't tell anyone. No one will know that we even talked."

"Alright then, I'm really trusting you here. Humphrey has had this thing for you for a long time now. Ever since I met him he had a crush on you. Every day he would always be talking about how beautiful you were or how great you are. Each and every day he would always be looking forward to just simply being able to see you. He didn't care about pack law and the rules on Alpha and Omega's being mates. We tried so many times to tell him that you two would never be together, but he never listened. Then on the day you got married to Garth, it was like his whole world fell apart. He was severely depressed and would not talk to anyone. Kate... he loves you and he couldn't see a life without you."

Hearing Shakey tell her all the emotions Humphrey had for her made her tear up. It was like a huge weight has been lifted from her. Hearing it from someone else made her feel good, but only hearing it from Humphrey would make her truly happy.

"Well... to be honest, I love Humphrey too. That's the whole reason why we are out looking for him" confessed Kate.

"And Garth is ok with it? asked Shakey who was clearly surprised.

"I didn't really want him to come with, but if he didn't it would be suspicious. And he doesn't know that I love him. Also I don't think he loves me either. I mean, we don't spend a lot of time together or talk a whole lot, so I'm hoping that he is ok with us breaking up" said Kate.

"One thing's for sure, Humphrey will be overjoyed to hear that you like him too. You guys would be great together. I got to get going, I originally came down to just get a drink and to take care of a few things before the Reba and Janice woke up. See you around, and good luck" Said Shakey as he got his drink and walked away.

"Bye Shakey" Said Kate as she started her way back to the den.

As she walked back Kate could hear her stomach begin to growl. It was defiantly breakfast time. Kate kept an eye out for anything to eat and was able to catch a few rabbits. It may not be very filling but it sure was going to taste good. Kate approached the den to see that Garth was still sleeping. She placed the rabbits down and walked up to him.

"Garth, time to wake up. We got to get going, its morning" said Kate as she tried to nudge him awake.

"errgg, five more minutes" said Garth as he tried to fall back asleep

"Ok fine then, I guess I'm just going to eat all these rabbits myself" laughed Kate

"Wait what" said Garth as he jumped awake

"Yea, I found a few rabbits. Let eat and then head out" Said Kate as she began to eat

They both ate their food and then began to follow the path Kate had found earlier.

Several hours began to go by and it was high noon. Even though that it was the brightest time of day, it was still fairly cool. Autumn was in full swing as each day was becoming shorter and cooler. As the time went by, Kate thought to start up some conservation.

"So Garth, what was life like in the eastern pack?" asked Kate

"Well, it was not very fun. Every day we had to scavenge for food. Finding a dead animal was considered to be a good day. Our land was baron and void of life, much like this place" said Garth with a troubled look on his face.

"I never experienced a time when we were lacking food for a long time. Maybe a day or two when the hunts were not going well, but we always had food. I guess that's one reason why Tony wanted to join the packs" Said Kate as she tried to understand what Garth went through.

Unknown to Kate and Garth, a small pack of wolves were following them. They were keeping their distance and keeping quite. Many of the wolves were licking their lips as drool would drip from their mouths and onto the ground but one wolf was clearly in charge and kept them under control.

"Alright guys, attack on my signal" said the large white wolf as everyone eagerly nodded their heads.

"Ready...Three, two, one, ATTACK!"

AN: I know I know, why did I just end it on a cliff hanger? I mean, I never use cliffhangers in any of my chapters. Well, I decided to because I know you want an update and I don't feel like posting a chapter that's 7,000 words or longer (so far my longest is 4,000). So I'm just going to post it now and I'm breaking this up into two or more chapters. Stick around to see what happens and don't forget to review.