A Son of Wolves: The Last Kind

Chapter 13: Look and Listen

It was a ridiculous time in the morning when a strange noise brought a number of the pack away from their dreams. The sun had not yet risen, or even showed signs that it was anytime soon for that matter. It caused newborns to cry, it caused parents to complain due to thinking they'd have a good night's sleep for a change. But for those who's pups weren't at that stage any longer or even had children, it was a case of hearing it and falling back to sleep. It wasn't like that for two though.

After speaking with Leo, Sahara didn't want to sleep on her own again. She spent two nights along, then one with her human mate and then she was expected to do it again. She just didn't want to be alone, and Eve always told her she was welcome in her den any time of the day or night. She took that opportunity to feel a little safer, to have some company. She brought the phone with her of course should Leo call, she wasn't going anywhere without it. Yet that wasn't the source of the noise. She and Eve knew it and who it belonged to, they had come so accustomed to the noise and where it came from that it sprung them both to their paws. Well…after first debating on whether they really were correct of course. Firstly, Sahara was awoken by it, the rumble and roar of a car's engine. Then Eve heard it, bringing her head up. "What in the world is that?" She mumbled sleepily.

"It sounds like Charlie." Quick to react, this was the time they leapt into action by jumping to their paws and walking to the den mouth. Their eyes set on two bright lights coming towards them at some speed, that noise it created grew ever louder the closer it came. "They're back." Sahara sighed in happiness. It was sooner then she expected, but she wasn't going to complain. She'd have her mate back; her pups would have her father back. It come closer and closer, coming to a stop just before the slope that lead to their den and the leaders den just next door. It seemed that the noise hadn't woken them yet. Eager to see Leo again, Sahara marched forwards towards the rise to look down at the car. First Charlie stepped out; it didn't matter to her though, any second now she'd see her mate. Something didn't seem right, Eve seemed to be the only one to notice this, Sahara just waited to see her mate again, that was all she focused on. But why was nobody getting out? Charlie must be letting them out, he must be.

It was at this moment that Garth and Lily finally arose to investigate the noise they were hearing, their daughters far too preoccupied by their dreams to notice the noises coming from outside. Charlie opened the door on the other side, moment later Jasper stepped around the vehicle. This was the moment where Sahara began to see something wasn't right here, why was nobody else getting out. "Charlie? What happened?" Eve asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Jasper, Where's everyone?" Sahara then asked. The car was empty; nobody else was in there, that much was certain. Suddenly, another human noise came from the den behind her.

"We'll let him explain." Jasper responded. Looking back and forth form the den to him a couple of time, Sahara quickly ran back to the den to the phone that lit up and vibrated along the ground.

"Leo?" She said. "Where are you?" She went straight into it.

"Hey babe, look I'm sorry…"

"This better not be a prank, because it's not funny." She tried to find a funny point in all of this. She only heard Leo sigh on the other side. He was sat leaning back against a tree while camp fire cracked and spat a little way from him. Everyone else was asleep around it; he seemed to be the only one who wasn't. "Leo?" Was he gone?

"I'm sorry." He replied brokenheartedly and shakily. He could hardly keep his words straight. "There was a problem, mom and dad got out before we could get to them."

"But where are you? Tell me!" He knew this was stupid. He should have just gone with Charlie and Jasper to let everyone else continue searching.

"We stayed behind; we're going to carry on looking for them."

"You joking right, tell me you're joking." She almost begged. He didn't answer, he just couldn't. "Did you forget I'm pregnant? I'm going to give birth within a few days and you're stuck a thousand mile away?! How are you going to walk back in time?"

"I made you a promise didn't I?" He asked back. "When have I ever broken one to you?"

"There's a first time for everything." She replied angrily.

"Please, I'm so sorry to do this."

"Oh don't bother!" She exclaimed and with a swipe of her paw, she smacked the phone across the den and into the den wall before storming out passed Eve and Lily. She refused to be here any longer, she just wanted to be on her own now. Leo dropped the phone and let it fall down his chest, this time letting his tears fall.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

"Home, I can't be near anyone right now." She grumbled.

"It's not safe at night dear, and it's nearly morning."

"I really don't care now, Eve!" She continued walking away.

"Jasper, take her home, be careful." Garth ordered. With a nod, he was fast to walk after her to guide her safely home. A lone pregnant she-wolf was vulnerable to bears, lone-wolves should there be any, anything, it was a precaution.

"We leave tomorrow buddy, I'll meet you back here at mid-day." Charlie said as he passed. With another nod, Jasper continued on followed just behind Sahara.

"Leave? Where are you going now?" Eve asked just before he climbed back into the car. "Tell us everything you know. What happened to my daughter and Humphrey?"

"They managed to escape the place they were taken to when we got there; we didn't have time to get them out."

"So…" Lily knew there was something more to this.

"We guessed they'd start heading south, back here, so we started following the roads when the other thought it would be better if they walked to find their scent and track them down."

"So that's why Sahara's unhappy." Eve then sighed. "Carry on."

"There's a lake about six hours drive to the north of here. I told them I'd wait for as long as I can there with Jasper for them to bring them the rest of the way home. If Kate and Humphrey are trying to come home then they'll have to pass it at some point, so if we camp out and wait, we can catch them before they pass."

"That smart thinking, human." Garth had to admit. "Until you mentioned it's north." He then added seriously.

"That's bordering on the Northern pack's northern borders; they'll kill any human in sight that crosses it." Lily added.

"And that's exactly why Jasper volunteered to go with me." Charlie responded. "We'll look out for one another out there until both Kate and Humphrey or the other come to us; we'll bring them the rest of the way home."

"You don't sound very doubtful." Eve sensed in his tone of voice.

"I don't even know if they're ok, none of us do."

Leo still sat back against the tree, his face buried into his crossed arms as they rested on his knees, silently crying. This hadn't gone the way he wanted it to go; this had gone the exact opposite direction. This was supposed to be a case of search and rescue, but now this was a search, track and retrieve. All with a heavily pregnant mate who now didn't want to talk to him. He should have just gone home with them, he should never have stayed. The chances of missing his pup's birth have just doubled; he wouldn't make it back in time if he walked. Yet this was his only choice now, he just had to be quick.

The following morning, as the sun gleamed up high, silence shrouded and consumed everything around Adrian, Kate and Humphrey. The entire night, the abandoned small den they found was full of the highest tension ever sensed, it was horrendous. Both Kate and Humphrey meant what they said, neither saying another word since their outburst. The group separated to do their own tasks on Adrian's suggestion; he and Kate went to hunt while Humphrey searched for a place to stay. Adrian and Kate would return to this spot and follow his scent until they eventually found him. They slept well apart, still refused to talk to one another or even Adrian for that matter. The entire evening was spent in complete silence, even up until morning when they moved on at first light. And there was only so much Adrian could take of this stupid amount of quietness. Humphrey walked in front of him and Kate a little behind him, each time they caught one another's eyes they'd look away with an "hmf" or a quick glare before one of them would. And that's exactly what he caught them doing now, this was his breaking point.

"Bien, eso es todo!" (Right, that's it!) He finally exclaimed as he came to a fast stop. "This has got to stop, both of you walk in front of me and start talking or so help me I'll leave you two to get home by yourselves."

"I'm not walking next to that for as long as I live!" Kate replied sternly.

"And I don't want to catch her grouchiness." Humphrey added.

"You have three seconds, act like civilised wolves and not pups!" He demanded. "One…" The two parents glared one another without blinking. "Two…" This was pup-like they were adults for crying out loud! They can choose what to do. "Three." But they weren't going to get anywhere like this. So like pups being scolded and ordered by their parents, Humphrey groaned in annoyance as Kate growled in anger before she walked passed Adrian and to Humphrey's side to continue walking with Adrian's beady grey eyes. "Start talking." They weren't close, but enough for Adrian to be a little happier. "Now." He grew a little angry again when they still didn't talk.

"I wonder how the kids are doing." Humphrey was the first to say something, looking ahead of him and away from Kate and her gaze which looked ahead all the same.

"I'm sure they're ok, they can look after themselves."

"Even Jasper? He was still back there."

"He won't be on his own; he'll have brought someone with him."

"What about Leo and Sahara? Think we'll get home before she goes into labour?"

"I hope so." She sighed. "I wanted to be there for that moment."

This was good, they were finally talking, Adrian smiled at them from behind. Yet he still knew this was either going to be a short moment that they were like this, or it was going to take a lot more of these before they were being friendly again. Either way, they were all still going to need one another if they wanted to get home. They were in uncharted territory, a place they didn't know, anything could happen out here and anything could come their way.

He froze at the sounds of something not far away, his ear perked and he leaned towards where it came from. Was it…? "Mi Kate, Humphrey." He called to them, quickly bringing them to a stop. "This way!" He then darted to the left and through some plants, bringing the other two to confusion.

When they caught back up to him, it was just when he ran full speed into a stream, floating on his front with his head submerged to greedily lap up the water. They were so thirsty; water was something they hadn't had since the morning they escaped. "Yes, water!" Humphrey said happily and bringing his water to a trot and using the same technique as Adrian by jumping into the water. It was great, the weather was hot and they were parched, this was a gift from someone up there for sure. Kate smiled and sighed in thanks and relief as Humphrey began using his paws to wash the water over his face as Adrian rolled onto his back and continued to float around. Kate, being the adult, Alpha she was, with pride simply lowered her head down to the water and began to lap the water quickly. Oh how cold it was, perfect.

Suddenly, Adrian splashed her, a few drops landing on her muzzle and head, therefore making her head come back up to see his sheepish grin. "Yeah, I'm not playing." She said.

"Oh come on mi Kate, the water's so cool." He grinned and wading through towards her.

"I'm ok thank you right here." She leaned down to drink again when she slipped on the rock. Quick to react, Adrian grabbed her paw and used his other to hold her back from falling in. But this was perfect, Kate felt and saw his grip around her paw tighten, a devilish grin spreading across her face. "No, Adrian, don't you dare!" Just as quickly, he pulled and dragged in into the water. She cried playfully as she slipped in and managed to keep her head above the water. He laughed as she clambered back out, gasping as the coldness of the water dripped from her. "It's not funny!"

"So are you laughing?" He laughed with her. She shook dry, tiny water droplets splashing all around her before she stopped, sat down and set to work on brushing down her fur again. "Oh…have I ruined your fur, hermosa?"

"Ok, seriously, what does that even mean? You keep on calling me that?

"Hermosa? It means…beautiful." She froze in an instant, quickly looking behind him to find Humphrey still floating on his back and therefore with his ears under the water so he couldn't hear a thing.

"So when you've been called me "Hermosa Kate", you mean you've…"

"I don't lie." He replied with a nod. "You shine so much brighter then the sun, Kate." He couldn't be serious, he has to be joking. She's never had anyone call her that since she and Humphrey were together. "But come, drink, we must press on." He stepped out; shook dry and walked on passed her with a friendly smile to brush down his own fur.

She looked back to Humphrey in the stream, then back, then back again. What was going on? What was this torn feeling? No…it can't be…she can't…Adrian?

You've got to love a bit of Spanish, what girl can't resist that language or accent after all? Besides, cursing sounds so much better in Spanish anyway. But back to the story. Things are heating up, Sahara's pissed, Leo's breaking down, Kate's trapped and being torn, the father of her pups of the young, devilishly handsome lobo? What would you do? Until next time! :)

The FalconWolf