26. The Coming Storm

Kala awoke face down in the sand. She groaned, rising to her paws. She spat out sand as she did so, shaking her head. She had blacked out and landed here, that was certain. It made sense, after all; she hadn't recalled falling asleep or eating dinner before her nightmare. Something had caused her to faint and have that nightmare, but she had no idea what that was. She looked around, surrounded by long grass, several dead trees sparsely dotting the dunes. The sound of the ocean could be heard nearby, so Kala walked over towards the sound, figuring that she'd find everyone else if she did so.

Walking out of the grass, she looked about, hoping to find out where the wolves were. She saw the paw prints where she and Kacey had run about. Speaking of which, where was the she-wolf right now? If Kala had fainted, she thought for sure that Kacey would be looking for her, wouldn't she? She howled into the sky, calling out for someone. She padded about, waiting for a response. She did not hear a returning howl from anyone, nor did she see a single wolf in the area. Kala's heart clenched as she began to panic.

Where was she? Where was everyone else? It didn't add up, it didn't make logical sense! Finally, she saw something run down the beach towards her. It was one of the Eastern wolves, Ashley. She was covered in blood, crying hysterically as she loped off. She ran past Kala, sobbing. Kala followed her, asking what was wrong. Blood flowed from a massive gash on her hind leg, blood trickling down her face from a large cut on her forehead. Kala ran after her, asking her what had happened and where everyone else was.

Kala caught up to her and turned her around. Ashley looked at her and screamed. Suddenly, two bloody appendages burst from her foreleg shoulder blades. Blood flew out from her legs, the appendages growing outward, blades protruding from the ends of the appendages. She shrieked in pain and horror as her fur and skin fell from her body, revealing a hideous corpse underneath. It deformed and greyed, blood pouring from her mouth. Finally, her once-golden eyes turned black and burst, liquids flying from her eyes. Her claws and fangs grew in length. She coughed up clots of blood and muscle tissue, and then looked up at her. She released an alien scream, her voice reverberating through the air. She was no longer Ashley; she was no longer a wolf. She had turned into something else, something truly nightmarish.

She didn't wait for Ashley-or rather, what used to be, Ashley-and she bolted in the opposite direction. The shriek came again and she could hear the creature racing after her. Kala panted heavily as it relentlessly pursued her across the beach. Desperately, she raced over the dunes, trying to lose the creature. It stumbled and slipped, but it did not give up the chase. The blade-tipped appendages began to act as two extra legs. Kala slipped, tumbling down the sand until she came to a halt at the bottom. She looked up the dune to see the creature bearing down on her. She closed her eyes, but just before it reached her, something happened. She heard a snarl as something attacked the creature and she looked up to see what was happening.

A blue-grey furred wolf had attacked the creature. The two rolled down the dune, the blue-grey wolf standing on top of the creature. It slashed the creature's throat, then tore its arms off and the creature slumped over, dead on the sandy ground. The blue-grey wolf was wearing shining objects on his claws and legs. They were attached to his body, acting like a metallic barrier between his legs and paws. There where white markings around his eyes and running down his muzzle. Crescents were drawn over his eyes, a long, pointed line protruding from the top of the crescents until they met in the center of his cranium.

He looked at her, his jade green eyes flashing. The objects attached to his claws retracted and fit together on his legs. He padded past her, into the forest. She looked after him, wondering who he was and where he was going. She looked back at the creature, its blood flowing out onto the sand. She figured her chances of survival were better with the armed and armored wolf, so she stayed by him. Despite his agility and prowess, he appeared to be less than a year or two older than she was. Kala tried to stop him and get answers, but he ignored her and continued to walk through the trees. She growled and walked after him, hoping that eventually he'd tell her what was going on and where her pack was.

As he led her through the forest, she noticed something strange about the objects connected to the wolf. It was already strange enough that he was wearing the armor-like objects, but there were symbols etched into its shining silver surface, the most prominent symbol representing some kind of object; it was a type of rock or something with two points that jutted into the sky. There was writing underneath it, something that she could vaguely understand. It was the writing of the Ancients, the inscriptions reading the wolf translations of letters and words. As she was not fluent in the language, she could only pick up small parts that seemed to make odd connections in her mind. She had never seen nor heard the language before, yet there was a kind of instinctual presence that allowed her to understand bits and pieces of the inscriptions. The writing directly underneath the drawing of the object read the several letters and phrases that she didn't understand, but she picked up the first letter of the word as the ancient wolf translation of 'M' and another that read the translation for 'K.'

'MK?' That didn't make sense to her, nor could she make any connections to existing words, names, or phrases that the letters might relate to. The rest of the inscriptions were just as vague and difficult to understand if not more, but she could make out the words 'whole,' 'mountain,' 'dire,' and a word she didn't quite understand for she had never heard of the word before; it was called 'shaman.' Her head began to pound as she fought to understand what it all meant, but she gave up her futile attempt at reading the language and simply followed the wolf.

They arrived in a dim clearing, the wolf stopping in the center. Kala halted, waiting for him to do something. He turned to her and stared into her eyes. She locked gazes with him and she waited for the wolf to do something.

"Kala," he said. "Wake up, Kala. Wake up, now; you must wake up. Wake up, Kala; WAKE UP!"

"KALA, WAKE UP!" Kacey screamed. Her eyes shot open and she woke up in the sand, Kacey standing over her. Kala looked about, a loud buzzing noise in the air. "Kala, come on, we have to get out of here!"

"What-what's going on?" Kala asked, still drowsy from her dreams. Kacey nervously looked back at the direction of the ocean, then back at her.

"No time to explain, just come on!" She helped Kala to her paws and the two ran to the beach. Humphrey had gathered the wolves and began to move them into the dunes towards the forest. There was a frantic, terrified look in their eyes as they moved away from the ocean. Kala looked back out, but couldn't see what was wrong-everything looked the same as it had before save for the odd noise in the sky.

Kala and Kacey joined them, Marcel and Iris flying above closely. They rushed into the confines of the forest, hunkering low to the ground when they reached the cover of the trees, hiding in a low, natural ditch. They looked at the sky, terrified. The buzz had grown louder, the wolves shaking in terror. Humphrey's eyes were locked with the sky, horror in his gaze. Sweets began to cry softly, Salty doing his best to comfort her. Kala looked skyward, wondering what was wrong with the pack and why they were acting this way.

Suddenly, a triangular thing flew through the sky above the trees, a great scream emitting from it as it flew away. The wolves gasped and got lower, their fur standing on end. Kala interestedly yet cautiously stepped forward, trying to get a better look. More and more of them began to fill the sky until she realized it was a swarm of angular birds flying above. Humphrey quickly grabbed her scruff and dragged her down into the ditch, holding her down as they looked at the sky. Kala listened as well as watched the birds fly off; they were faster than any bird she'd ever seen before and quite strange looking as well. As soon as they left, Scourge growled and knocked Kacey to the ground.

"I thought you said there were no humans here!" He snarled viciously.

"There weren't!" She growled. "The last couple of times I was here, there weren't any humans at all! I know for a fact that there's none on the ground, though; other humans wiped out the places they used to live on the coast."

"How can we be so sure of that?" Scourge snarled. "How do we know that we can trust a bitch like you?"

"Scourge, back off!" Humphrey ordered.

"No!" He spat. "We can't trust a lone wolf; she said the west was safe and now we just saw more of the humans and their Fighter Jets. How the fuck can we trust her?"

"She didn't know, Scourge, now get off of her!" Humphrey growled.

"Give me one reason why I should," Scourge countered darkly, his paw poised to strike at Kacey. Her eyes glared defiantly at him and Kala noticed her unsheathed hind paw near his belly.

"I am your Leader Wolf, Scourge! Just let her go; I won't have a war break out in my own pack! We already have enough problems as it is." Before Scourge could do anything, however, Kacey aimed a swift kick to his groin. He groaned in pain as her paw connected with his wolfhood and she flipped him to his back. Humphrey quickly leapt between them, separating the two from one another. He growled at the, giving them each a cold glare.

"You two back the hell off!" He snarled. "We don't need to be fighting one another, much less at a time like this! The humans are gone for now and they're the least of our worries. The tide will be coming in soon and I can scent a storm coming already. This is survival, and we are a pack; we look out for one another, and we take care of each other. Now shape up and forget this ever happened. We have work to do or we'll all be fucked by that storm."

The two wolves glared at each other and they began to disperse. Kala watched as Humphrey began to talk quietly with Kacey. He glared at her to stay away, so she obediently-though reluctantly-obeyed him. She laid down a ways away from them where she was unable to hear the two, but she knew that they were talking about her. He glanced at her several times, Kacey's gaze darting to her as well.

She wondered if Kacey was informing him of her fainting in the dunes, but there was no way to quite certain of that. When they were finished, Kacey looked at Humphrey…strangely. Kala couldn't understand the look in her eyes as she stared at her father, but was quickly informed when they nuzzled each other. Kala felt a sudden overwhelming sense of jealousy towards Kacey when she saw them do this, somewhat glad when Kacey padded away. Humphrey walked up to her and sat down, sighing.

"Kala, we need to talk," he said. She sat up and looked intently at her father.

"What is it, Dad?" She asked him. He exhaled deeply, looking about as though at a loss for words. He was trying to explain something to her or ask her something; perhaps both. This was important for both of them, and Kacey had something to do with it.

"Kala…over the past moon, I've begun to grow…close to Kacey. I want you to know that I will always love your mother and I can guarantee you that I'll miss her until the day that I die. Kacey, though…she came to us and befriended us. We've talked about it for a while and we decided that we both know what we want. Kala…Kacey and I want to be mates, and I want to ask you if that's alright with you."

She was not particularly surprised by this news, at least not nearly as surprised as she thought she'd be. However, she was shocked that he actually wanted to follow through and become mates with the lone wolf. After everything he'd been through with Kate, he was going to throw that away for her? She was being selfish despite Kate's messages to her, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to see him with Kacey; not yet, that is. How would she be able to spend time with her father if he was always with Kacey? No, she didn't want Kacey part of their family, not now, not ever! She wanted things to go back to the way they always were, back when it was just Kala, Humphrey, and the rest of the pack. She wanted them to all live at the Small Grounds that had been their home for most of her life. She wanted…she wanted…she wanted her mother.

"I'm thinking in your best interests, Kala," Humphrey continued. "You need a mother, someone that you can talk to and call a part of your family."

"But you're my family!" Kala whined.

"I know, Kala, but I mean more than just me," he sighed. "Your mother came to me in a vision and told me that she sent Kacey to us for this reason. She also said that she told you this as well." Kala's ears burned as hot blood flowed through them. This was true; she'd seen her mother and she'd told her this, but she didn't want to admit it.

"Dad…I don't know about this. I mean, I love Kacey, she's a great friend, but…"

"Kala, don't feel like you have to say yes for my sake," he told her gently. "I will only do this if you want to; this includes you just as much as it includes me. I'd never become mates with her without your association of the matter." She nodded and looked away, unable to think of what to do. She knew he was thinking in her best interests and she was grateful for consulting her first, but she was still hesitant to allow Kacey into their close-knit family. What would happen in mating season? Would they have pups? Would they forget Kala? She voiced her concerns to her father and he smiled softly and licked behind her ear. "Kala, I'll always be with you. Nothing will ever get between us, not Kacey, not pups, not any wolf of this pack or another, not even the humans will keep me from you. I'll always be your father Kala, and I'll never leave you again, not like after Jasper." She looked down, a small smile on her face. She knew in her heart that it was right for her father to do this. She looked up at him, smiling broadly. She nodded and the two embraced one another. They padded back towards the rest of the wolves, ready to inform them of what their plans were.

**Humphrey**

The pack had taken very well and acceptingly to Humphrey's proclamation of taking Kacey as his mate. Scourge was uneasy about it, but accepted it as well. He was worried that they might think he'd forgotten Kate already, but on the contrary; they'd understood fully and accepted her as part of the pack upon the announcement. Throughout the night, the wolves, Marcel, and Iris celebrated their joy of life and the future that lay before them. They had successfully made it to the ocean and were just over a year away from reaching the Pack of the Winter Mountains. It was perfect, and it had brought the sense of hope that they'd all been denied for so long.

The wolves danced and sang, howled and ate, and overall, they had fun for the moment. Humphrey, Kala, and Kacey stayed by one another throughout the night, enjoying each other's company. Kacey was ecstatic when Kala came back and greeted her with "Hi, Mom!" Her eyes brimmed with tears when she said this and the two embraced for a long while. Kacey had always wanted to be a mother to a pup, and now, she finally had that golden opportunity to do just that.

"Hey, Barf!" Humphrey shouted across the sand clearing in the dunes. He glared at Humphrey.

"What is it, Coyote?" He growled. Humphrey, however, knew that he was playing along as well; now they saw the nicknames as a fun inside-joke. He grinned.

"How about you shoot your little 'project' to all of us," Garth's eyes widened and he looked about nervously. Lily looked at him, curious.

"What project?" She asked him inquisitively.

"Oh, it's nothing," he dismissed.

"Nothing!" Humphrey scoffed. "I thought you were going to show it to Lily! Come on, Garth, show us the project!" The other wolves began to pester him as well and he gave in.

"Okay, okay!" Garth groaned. He walked over to a dead tree and climbed up its barren surface. When he reached on of the sturdy branches, he wrapped his tail around it and dug his hind claws into its surface. He let himself hang back until he was upside down, hanging from his tail on the branch. "Alright, what am I?" Humphrey and several of the wolves snickered, but Lily looked at him in interest. She tilted her head and thought hard.

"Wait, wait!" She said, holding out a paw. "Don't tell me, I got this! Um…um…a bat?"

"Not quite, but good guess," he replied with a smile. She thought hard again and took another guess.

"A possum?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, that's right!" He replied happily. The wolves burst out laughing, Garth looking embarrassed. Suddenly, the branch snapped and he crashed to the ground. He groaned and pulled himself up. Lily flopped onto her back and stuck out her tongue.

"Turtle road kill?" Kala piped. Lily grinned and nodded in affirmation. They all began to play a game of charades and made impressions of other animals and objects. Suddenly, there was a loud crack of thunder and the bright flash of lightning in the sky. The wolves looked up at the sky and the wind began to howl viciously. They began to walk towards the forest, but something hit Humphrey's leg and his bracelet flew off towards the ocean. His eyes widened as he watched it fly, but Kala saw it too.

She darted after it, over the dunes towards the ocean. He called out to her, but she didn't listen. He ordered everyone back to the forest and then took off after Kala. He chased her, calling out. As he ran overtop a dune, he was suddenly smashed with a tidal wave of water. He stood up, coughing and sputtering out the salty ocean water. He looked out over the dunes and saw water-soaked sand. Kala was nowhere to be found.

"Kala!" He cried. He looked about, howling for her. He screamed to her, but couldn't hear her or see her. He rushed to the shoreline, the howling wind and rain hitting him. Another wave smashed into him, Humphrey digging his paws into the sand and mud. "KALA!"

He looked out over the dark ocean, searching for his daughter. 'No,' he thought. 'No, no please, no…' Suddenly, a silver body broke through the surface of the ocean and waded to shore. In her jaws was Humphrey's bracelet. Humphrey hugged her tightly as she tied it around his right leg where it belonged.

"I thought you'd died," he growled, holding her close. She grinned.

"Come on, Dad," she told him. "It's going to take a lot more than this to get rid of me."

**A/N: Well, there it is, everyone! Thanks for reading and supporting me this far in! Hopefully this wasn't too predictable for you guys, but who knows, I just hope you enjoyed it! Also, I'd like to say that I've joined that forum from HLK, and it's pretty freaking cool!**

**Anyhow, thanks to Dawn Walker Wolf, Alexander, the dark wolf, imjustlikehumphrey, light555, LilyandMe, MoonTrekerAF, and the-crazy-lone-wolf77 for reviewing my last chapter! Until next time!**

**-The Dishonored Wolf**