Chapter 13 - Lost in a Blizzard
TWO WEEKS LATER
Shadow's POV
Skye and I were somewhere far south of Jasper looking for a suitable location in the event the pack may have to move. For the past two weeks, we've been following the caribou herds south and we've just come across a mountain range in, what the humans called, Sawtooth National Park. We were scouting the area to see if there was another pack in the area and, so far, we haven't come across any sign of one. "This place looks good", Skye said, as we stopped for a break from walking all morning, "don't you think?".
"It's nice", I replied, "lots of caribou around and there doesn't seem to be any other wolves in the area, not to mention the scenery is great".
"Should we head back to inform the pack then?", Skye asked.
"I guess so", I answered, "this place looks like it'll work, just got to hope that another pack won't claim it before we can get here".
"Then the sooner we get back, the less likely another pack will come here", Skye replied, "now, let's get going".
She got up and started to leave, "you do know that I'm the Alpha Leader, right?", I asked, as I followed after her.
"I do", Skye answered, "but I'm your older sister".
I chuckled, "yes, Ma'am", I said. We started making our way back north towards Jasper, but I noticed huge clouds heading in our direction. "Looks like we're going to have a snowstorm soon", I said, pointing to the sky.
Skye looked at the sky, "then we should hussle", she said, "we can't get caught by that storm". The two of us started running north, in an attempt to get ahead of the storm. We kept running until the snow started to fall, which was around midday, and stopped to find a den to wait out the storm in. By the time we found a den, we couldn't see anything in front of us and the snow was already starting to restrict our movements. Once we entered the den, we laid down and decided to sleep out the storm.
THREE HOURS LATER
Skye and I suddenly woke up to find the entrance to our den blocked by snow and the roof was about to collapse. "Quick!", I shouted, "start digging!".
Skye and I started digging into the snow that was blocking the entrance to the den, thankfully it was all powder and easy to move. We were out of the den well before it collapsed and found the snow was still falling. There was even more snow falling now than there was before, "Shadow, we can't stay here!", Skye shouted at me over the wind, "we have to find shelter!".
"I know!", I shouted back, "we should head north!".
"Do you know which way north is?!", Skye asked, "we can't see anything!".
"We came to the den from the south!", I shouted, "and I remember the den was on our right!".
"We go this way!", I shouted, pointing in the direction I thought was north.
"Are you sure that's north?!", Skye asked.
"Only one way to find out!", I shouted, "if it's not, then we can backtrack or whatever!".
"Either way, we can't stay here!", I shouted, "let's go!".
Skye and I stayed close together, so that we didn't get lost or separated. It was difficult walking through all the snow, it came up to our shoulders and it was still falling. We were more digging through the snow, than walking through it, "why does there have to be so much snow?!", Skye asked.
"I don't know!", I answered, "but as long as we keep moving and stick together, we'll be perfectly fine!".
"How are you holding up?!", I asked, after a few more minutes of walking.
There was no answer, "Skye?!", I asked, still no answer, "SKYE!".
Skye's POV
"Why does there have to be so much snow?!", I asked.
"I don't know!", Shadow shouted, "but as long as we keep moving and stick together, we'll be perfectly fine".
Suddenly, I felt the snow give way underneath me and I fell down a cliff and landed in the snow at the base. Thankfully, it was all powder and the cliff wasn't that high, so I wasn't hurt, but now I had no idea where I was. "SHADOW!", I shouted, "where are you?!".
There wasn't an answer, I guess he couldn't hear me over the wind, he probably didn't even know I fell. I looked around, but couldn't see anything because of the snowstorm and on top of that, it was now dark out. The only thing I could do was dig in and wait for the storm to finish, unfortunately, I probably won't be able to make my way back to Jasper.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Eve's POV
Humphrey got the Omegas to prepare the dens for the blizzard that hit two weeks ago and only a few dens had collapsed during it. Thankfully, no one was in them at the time they collapsed, so no one was injured and everyone survived. I was now taking Humphrey, and Kate because she wanted to come along, to the Alpha School to talk with Winston. The snow had blocked off the Alpha School from the rest of the pack and we were only now able to reach it. We arrived at the top of a hill and we looked down into the valley, where the Alpha School was taking place this year. "Lilly's somewhere down there, right, Mom?", Kate asked.
"I hope so", I answered, then I started walking down the hill with Kate and Humphrey following behind me. We haven't had any word from the Alpha School since the blizzard hit, which was why we were here in the first place. Being a mother, I wanted to know if my pup was safe, "you stay by my side, Kate", I said, "Omegas aren't usually allowed here".
"What about Humphrey?", Kate asked.
"Humphrey's the Omega Leader", I said, "and everyone in the pack knows that now, including here at the Alpha School".
After a few minutes we made it to the center of the valley and found Winston there with the Eastern Pack Leader, Tony. "Winston!", I called out to him.
He turned towards us and his eyes widened with surprise, "Eve!", he exclaimed in joy, "what are you doing here?".
"I brought Humphrey here for a pack meeting", I answered, "is Lilly alright?".
"She's fine, Eve", Winston answered, and I sighed in relief, "how's Kate?".
"Why don't you find out yourself, Dad", Kate said, running up to him.
"You brought Kate here too?", Winston asked, as he embraced his daughter.
"Two reasons", I explained, "one, she wanted to come, and two, I couldn't find a pup-sitter".
Winston chuckled, then looked at Kate, "I hear you and Humphrey are dating now", he said.
Both Kate and Humphrey blushed, making Winston and I chuckle, "it's fine, honey", Winston said, "I'm happy for you".
"Really?", Kate asked.
"Really", Winston answered, then turned to Humphrey, "make sure you take good care of her, Humphrey, or I'll let Eve loose on you".
Humphrey gulped, "I'll be good to her, Sir", he replied, "you don't have to worry about that".
"That's good to hear, Humphrey", Winston said, "and I heard you're now the Omega Leader".
"Yes, Sir", Humphrey replied, "and as Eve said, she brought me here for a pack meeting, because she didn't want it to just be the two of us again".
Winston chuckled, "yeah, I realized that Eve would've been the only one at the meetings after I sent off Skye and Shadow", he said, "which is what we have to talk about".
Winston looked back towards Kate, "while we're doing that, Kate", he said, "I don't think your sister would mind getting a visit from you, I think she's somewhere in the fields, training".
"Okay", Kate said, "I'll see you later, Dad".
"Bye, sweetie", Winston said, then Kate ran off towards the field.
"Let's go to my den", Winston said, once she was out of sight, "we'll talk there".
Kate's POV
I ran off in the direction of the fields and found a few wolves training, one of them noticed me and walked up to me, "hi there, I'm Garth", he said, "I haven't seen you here before, you just arrived?".
"Uhh, yes and no", I answered, "I'm looking for my sister".
"What's her name?", Garth asked.
"Kate?", Lilly asked, I turned just in time to see a flash of white fur tackle me into a hug. After a few minutes, she pulled away, "what are you doing here?", she asked.
"Mom brought Humphrey here for a pack meeting with Dad", I explained, "only Mom and Humphrey were at the last one, because Skye, Shadow, and Dad, were here".
"Yeah, but why are you here?", Lilly asked.
"I wanted to come see my sister", I answered, "also, Mom couldn't find a pup-sitter for me".
"Well, it's nice to see you again", Lilly said, "we haven't seen each other in two months".
"No, we haven't", I replied, "how's Alpha School treating you?".
"You mean how she's treating us", Garth commented, but Lilly elbowed him in the side.
"It's going great", Lilly said, "I'm ahead in all of my training".
"That's good", I replied.
"How about you?", Lilly asked, "how are things back at home?".
"Things are fine", I answered.
"I'd say they're more than fine", Lilly said, "I heard Humphrey's been promoted to Omega Leader and the two of you are now together".
I blushed, "yeah, we've been on a few dates", I replied.
"If you don't mind, Garth, I'd like to talk to my sister alone", Lilly said.
"Oh, yeah, sure", Garth replied, then he went off to where the other wolves were, probably to continue his training.
"You know, you're lucky, sis", Lilly said.
"What do you mean?", I asked.
"You have a chance at love", Lilly answered, "I don't, I have to marry Garth other there".
"Why?", I asked, confused.
"He's the son of the Eastern Pack Leader, Tony", Lilly explained, "we have to get married to unite the Western and Eastern Packs".
"That doesn't sound very good", I replied, "I'm sorry, sis".
Lilly shook her head, "don't be, Kate", she said, "Garth and I are doing our best to make it work over the past month, and...I think we're growing some feelings for each other".
"Well, I hope it works out for you two", I said.
Lilly chuckled, "I hope so too, sis", she replied, "now tell me, what's it like with Humphrey as the Omega Leader?".
Winston's POV
I led Humphrey and Eve to the den I was staying in for the past two months and we sat down inside. "Alright, first things first", I said, "Humphrey, how are you liking it being the Head Omega?".
"It's not too bad", Humphrey answered, "I've been handling it perfectly fine and haven't had any real problems, so far".
"Good", I replied, "now, there's a few matters we need to attend to. Firstly, the Eastern Pack Leader, Tony, and I, have been trying to unite our packs".
"Why would we need to do that?", Humphrey asked.
"Food is becoming scarce", I answered, "the caribou herds are moving on, there are none left in the eastern territory and the Eastern Pack keeps crossing our borders to hunt the caribou in our territory".
"Okay", Humphrey said, "how does uniting the packs help that?".
"With them crossing our borders and hunting our caribou, sometimes they prevent our own hunts from happening and, as a result, both of our packs are beginning to starve", I explained, "uniting our packs, will bring an end to the starvation and everyone will be fed again".
"How are we supposed to unite the packs?", Humphrey asked.
I sighed, "Tony's son, Garth, and Lilly will be married and the packs will be united with them as the new Pack Leaders", I answered.
"Does Lilly know about this?", Humphrey asked, "it's kind of not fair to decide someone else's future".
"Lilly knows about it", I said, "and she knows her responsibility, but between you and me, I think the two of them are starting to grow feelings for one another".
"Well, it's not really any of my business", Humphrey replied, "you mentioned the caribou herds were moving on, what are we supposed to do when they move from Jasper entirely?".
"Ah, that question brings us to the next thing we need to discuss", I said, "about a month ago, I sent Shadow and his sister, Skye, to find a suitable location for the pack to move to, just in case we have to leave".
"Do you know when they'll be back?", Humphrey asked.
"I honestly don't know", I answered, "it all depends on how far they've travelled and whether or not they survived that blizzard two weeks ago".
Suddenly, we heard a wolf enter the den, I looked up to see Shadow standing in the entrance of the den. "Skye", he said, then he passed out from exhaustion.