A/N: Before anyone gets confused, this chapter takes place right after Chapter 1, just like Chapter 2 did. I've also made a slight change to the time setting at the beginning of each chapter and added in the exact dates to, hopefully, make it easier to understand when they take place without me having to describe it.

NOTE: The dates are when the majority of the chapter takes place. i.e. The beginning of this chapter takes place on the eve of the 27th, but the rest (and majority) takes place through until the eve of the 28th.

Chapter 3
- - - The Once Shy Omega - - -
Jasper West; April 28th, 2018

"He… left?" Lilly asked, as the shock overtook her. Shakey had already told her everything and they were both in the back of the Alpha Den. Lilly sat on her haunches and gasped in shock, before lowering her head towards the ground in sadness. A few moments later she looked up at Shakey and spoke.

"Why?" She asked, then Shakey sighed.

"He figured it would be easier on everyone, especially you, if we believed he was gone as well. Humphrey knew you would be hurt if you found out he was still alive, just to find out he was leaving." Shaky explained, then Lilly sniffed.

"Well, he was right. I feel worse than I did before." She said, as she laid down in her usual spot in the den. Shakey looked on, questioning himself on what he should do.

"You want some company tonight?" He asked, but Lilly shook her head.

"You go. I want to be left alone tonight. I'm going to have to get used to it, after all." She said.

"Alright." Shakey replied, then headed towards the den exit and turned around to face her.

"Let me know if you need anything." He added, then headed out into the darkness. Lilly laid her head down on her paws and closed her eyes.

Lilly found herself in the middle of the valley with everyone else from the packs, gathered around the Ceremonial Rock. It was the day of Kate and Garth's wedding. She watched her sister approach the Rock, which Garth stood upon, and stop in front of him. They began the wedding ceremony, but before they touched noses, Kate immediately disintegrated into dust, followed by Garth and most other pack members. Lilly began to panic, then a stampede of caribou descended into the valley and headed towards them. Everyone ran to the sides of the valley and the stampede passed, then Lilly relaxed a little until another wolf appeared.

King approached the remaining wolves and grinned evilly before letting out a long howl. Rogue wolves descended into the valley and surrounded them. Lilly screamed as King ordered them to attack, then he approached her.

"No, no, no." Lilly muttered in her sleep.

"Lilly, wake up." Hutch said, as he tried to nudge her awake.

"No!" Lilly screamed, as she bolted awake, then jumped up and fell backwards. She curled up and whimpered as Hutch cautiously approached her.

"It was just a nightmare, Lilly. A very powerful one too. Are you alright?" Hutch asked, but didn't receive an answer.

"Lilly?" He asked again.

"No." Lilly muttered, then Hutch laid down beside her and cautiously began stroking the fur on her back. After a few minutes, she started to calm down.

"You want to talk about it?" Hutch asked.

"I saw it again. What happened yesterday, except…" Lilly said, then trailed off.

"Except what?" Hutch asked.

"It was King. He came and… attacked." Lilly answered, then faced Hutch.

"You don't think it means anything, do you?" She asked, then Hutch frowned.

"It was just a dream, Lilly. Nothing more. Try and go back to sleep." Hutch said, then Lilly shook her head.

"I don't think I can." She replied, then a thought came to her.

"Mind if I tag along with you? It might be good for me to get in the habit of leading a pack." She asked.

"But you said you didn't want to. What changed?" Hutch asked, then Lilly shrugged.

"There's going to be a lot of uncertainty in the times ahead. The pack will need someone to look up to, and if not me, then who?" Lilly said.

"I see. And I see you've been paying attention to Winston's speeches too." Hutch replied, then Lilly chuckled.

"It shows, doesn't it?" She asked.

"Well, if you want to tag along, we'd better get going. I'm meeting with Claws, who's now the Acting Eastern Pack Leader, to discuss… everything." Hutch said.

"Okay." Lilly replied, as she stood up. She followed Hutch into the darkness outside and they walked beside each other for a few minutes without saying anything. It soon got boring for Lilly, so she started quietly humming to herself. Hutch noticed and wondered why.

"What are you doing?" Hutch asked.

"Sorry, I was just humming to myself. It's so quiet out here. Is this why you Alphas are always up so early?" Lilly asked.

"Well, that and to make sure breakfast is caught by the time everyone is awake." Hutch answered. The pair came up to the creek that divided the East and West, then Hutch let out a long howl that echoed through the forest.

"What was that for?" Lilly asked.

"To let them know we're here." Hutch answered.

"Oh, well, that makes sense. So… What do we do now?" She asked.

"We wait." Hutch answered.

"Oh, okay." Lilly replied, then they sat on the bank of the creek in silence. Within a few minutes, a shadow appeared on the east bank and Claws stepped out of the trees.

"Hutch!" Claws greeted, cheerfully, as she approached the creek.

"I hope there's no hard feelings about my mate and I ruining your goddaughter's hunt. It was Tony's decision and we were just following orders, I'm sure you understand." She said, after she sat down by the bank. Lilly quickly glanced towards Hutch and quietly hummed to herself.

"I see you brought an Omega with you as well. Are you expecting this meeting to become violent where her skills will be necessary?" Claws asked.

"She is here, because she is Winston and Eve's second daughter." Hutch said, then Claws eyed Lilly.

"So, you're the one that Garth fell in love with." She said, then Hutch enlarged his eyes and turned towards Lilly, who stared back at them with a similar expression.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. That… never happened." Lilly replied with a blank expression.

"Please… Garth may not have explicitly told me, but I could tell he fell in love with someone and I doubt it was Kate. Also, the only one he's been with recently was Kate's sister." Claws said with a smirk, then Lilly gasped.

"Lilly? Care to explain that one?" Hutch asked.

"Uhh…" Lilly stammered with a gaping mouth, as she stared at the two Alphas.

"Whatever." Claws said, dismissively.

"Garth is gone, along with Tony, leaving no one in the east with any sort of leadership status." She added.

"Then why are you here?" Lilly asked.

"I don't have to answer to the likes of you, Omega. But to answer that question, I'm here on behalf of the Eastern Pack. Since we have no leadership and only half of our pack remaining, we see it would be best if our two packs joined into one to ensure our survival." Claws explained.

"Without a marriage, there can't be a union between our packs." Hutch pointed out.

"I wasn't meaning a union between our two packs. That was Tony's stubbornness, which would've let us starve or gotten us killed in a useless war. We join your pack, you accept us into your pack and you get our territory." Claws clarified.

"I think we're moving a little too fast. For all we know, the others could've just been taken, not killed." Hutch said.

"Taken… How? There's no conceivable way for them to have been taken." Claws asked.

"No conceivable way for them to have been killed either. We truly don't know what happened and I don't think we ever will." Hutch replied.

"Alright, I'll give you that one. Though either way, any rival pack could easily take advantage of this situation and attack us." Claws said.

"I'll have to discuss it with Lilly, who's taken it upon herself to be a leading figure to our pack." Hutch replied, then Claws immediately jumped across the creek and approached Lilly. Lilly stared at her wide-eyed with a nervous expression as she sat down in front of her.

"That was a good decision." Claws said, as she held out her paw, taking both Hutch and Lilly by surprise. Lilly cautiously took Claws' paw in her own and shook it.

"After what happened, the packs need a show of support wherever they can find it. Even if it's from the unlikeliest of places." Claws added.

"Oh, uhh… Thank you, I guess. Though, it wasn't all me, Hutch has been helping me." Lilly replied, as she let go of her paw, then Hutch lightly scoffed.

"I didn't do anything, Lilly. All I did was wake you up." He said, then Lilly thought to herself.

"You knew my father better when he was making important decisions like this. What would he do in this situation?" She asked Hutch.

"He would do everything he can to protect the pack." He answered, then Lilly nodded after a few moments.

"You'll be accepted into the pack. We must move forward if we're to survive." She said, then looked towards Hutch, who nodded in response.

"Just so you know, if any of your pack members disagree with your decision, you must remain firm or they'll chew you up like this morning's breakfast and spit you out before you know it." Claws stated.

"Uhh… Okay." Lilly replied, nervously.

"Not literally, of course." Claws added, then Hutch turned towards Lilly.

"The Alphas should be back soon with the morning hunt. I'm sure you're hungry, so how about you go get some breakfast. I have to talk with Claws about a few other things." Hutch said.

"Well, if they're pack matters, shouldn't I be here as well?" Lilly asked, then Hutch shook his head.

"It's just boring stuff. I can handle it, you go get some food." Hutch said, then Lilly's stomach growled as if on cue.

"Well, alright." Lilly replied, then she headed back into the foliage, while Claws eyed Hutch suspiciously.

"Alright, what's up?" She asked.

"We should put ourselves on alert. I'm sure you know that King would love to attack us while we're at this kind of disadvantage." Hutch explained.

"There's no reason he would even know that we're in this situation. Besides, it could've happened to his pack too. What makes you say he would attack?" Claws asked, then Hutch thought to himself before speaking.

"I just have a gut feeling. It's also better to be safe than sorry." Hutch said.

"Alright. I'll have what remaining Alphas we have left doing full shifts around the territory." Claws replied, then Hutch nodded.

"Good." He said, then Claws jumped back across the creek and the two of them disappeared into the trees. Lilly was in a nearby bush, listening to the whole conversation. A worrisome expression was on her face as a new fear grew inside her. She waited for a few minutes until she was sure that Hutch and Claws were gone, then she headed back towards the feeding grounds.

The sun was beginning to rise by the time she got there and she noticed very few wolves had come out for breakfast. A good thing too, because it seemed the hunting party didn't catch much. Lilly spotted Shakey among the crowd with Janice and went to approach them, only to be stopped by three Alphas.

"Remember us, Lilly?" One of them asked and Lilly recognized him immediately.

"Miles…" She muttered, then he chuckled.

"You don't have your sister around anymore to protect you from us. Now, how about we go somewhere a little more… private." Miles suggested, while the others snickered.

"No, Miles." Lilly said, firmly. She took a quick glance to see if anyone was watching and she took a sharp breath once she realized no one was.

"We always get what we want, you know that, and it'll be a lot easier for you if you go along with it." Miles said in a menacing tone.

"You think that just because my family is gone, you can do what you want with me without anyone interfering?" Lilly asked.

"Your family…" Miles muttered, then nodded.

"Your family didn't care about you. Why do you think they made you an Omega? I'd bet they'd be tossing and turning in their graves if they knew the pack was left in your paws. You are a pathetic, weak Omega." Miles said, as Lilly stared at him in shock.

"I'm surprised they kept you around for as long as they did-" Miles continued, but suddenly yelled in pain as Lilly's claws slashed across his face. He groaned as he held his cheek that now had four red claw marks.

"Why you little…" He growled, as he held up his paw to strike her.

"Miles!" Hutch shouted, then the group turned to see him approaching with two other Alphas.

"Sir, I just want to say-" Miles started.

"Save it! You're now on twenty-four hour patrol duty. I don't want to see you back here until tomorrow morning!" Hutch growled. Miles nodded, then he began walking towards the territory border, while Lilly approached Hutch.

"Twenty-four hour patrol duty?" She asked.

"It's more of a punishment than anything, at least for the last twelve hours." He explained, then frowned.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine. It's not the, uhh… first time." Lilly answered, then started heading towards the Alpha Den.

"Hey!" Hutch called out to her, and she stopped.

"Your friends are that way." He said, pointing towards the feeding grounds.

"I need to be alone with my thoughts right now." Lilly replied, then continued on towards the Alpha Den. She laid down inside and rested her head on her paws, but a shadow suddenly appeared over her.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone." She muttered, as Hutch approached her.

"What would you have me do about Miles?" He asked.

"Doesn't matter. No one cares about me." Lilly muttered, moving her paws over her eyes.

"That's not true." Hutch replied.

"Yes, it is." Lilly insisted.

"What about your sister? I'm sure she cared about you." Hutch asked, then Lilly removed her paws and looked at him.

"Well… She did. She's gone now." She muttered. Hutch approached her and laid down in front of her, staring at her directly into the eyes.

"I don't think she would want you to be like this, especially right now. The pack needs their leader." Hutch pointed out.

"They need a strong leader, Hutch. I am not… I don't fit that category. I'm weak, an Omega. The pack won't see me as their leader." Lilly replied.

"They won't if you keep wallowing in your own grief." Hutch said, as Lilly curled back up into a ball, then he sighed.

"I saw you with Miles, Lilly. You stood your ground. Even though he was bigger and stronger than you, you didn't let him push you around." He explained.

"Is that what you saw?" Lilly asked.

"No, you're right. I only saw you claw his face." Hutch answered, making Lilly chuckle.

"It doesn't matter whether you're capable or not, Lilly. What matters is that you never give up. You may not have the training, nor the strength to do what's necessary, but that doesn't matter. The pack looks up to you, their Head Alpha." Hutch continued.

"Not everyone will see it that way. I know for a fact that Miles won't." Lilly replied.

"Well, if he becomes too much of a problem, you could always banish him." Hutch suggested, eliciting another chuckle from her.

"Well… I'm going to go do my border patrol. I'll be back tonight." Hutch said, then stood up and exited the den. After he disappeared, Lilly stood up and left the den as well, sitting on top of the cliff that overlooked the dens.

Claws crossed the Eastern Pack border and headed towards the Alpha Den. When she got there, she found Lyle and Link hanging around whispering quietly to themselves.

"What are you doing here?" Claws asked, annoyed by their presence.

"Oh, we just thought that with Tony being gone there's a new position to be filled as the pack's Head Alpha." Lyle said.

"We were thinking of co-leading." Link added, then Claws sighed in frustration.

"Forget it, you two. Never going to happen. While you two were busy with… whatever you do, I've already attended a meeting with Hutch to decide the future of our packs. You've already proven time and time again that you're both, even together, not responsible enough to be Head Alphas." Claws explained.

"What?" The twins responded in unison.

"Just go." Claws said with annoyance, gesturing away from the den. The twins scoffed and went on their way, while Claws laid down in front of the den with a heavy sigh.

"Not responsible enough. We're responsible, right brother?" Lyle asked.

"Apparently everyone else seems to think otherwise." Link muttered.

"We should've followed King when we had the chance. At least with him, we would've been 'put out of our misery' if he felt we failed our duties, instead of starving to death because of those Westerns." Lyle said. They passed by a bush and failed to notice someone ducking into it at the last second, because of their debate.

"I think we should prove to her that we are capable enough to lead this pack." Link said. Neither of them noticed a tail disappear inside a nearby den.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Lyle asked, then Link thought to himself.

"How about we-" He started, then quickly turned his head towards the Alpha Den at the sound of leaves rustling.

"What is it?" Lyle asked, as he turned around as well, then frowned.

"Where's Claws?" He asked. The pair of them approached the Alpha Den and stopped where Claws was lying only moments earlier.

"She's not here." Link said.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious." Lyle replied, sarcastically.

"Where did she go?" He asked. Link approached a nearby bush and sniffed around.

"There's the scent of a foreign wolf here. Perhaps she was wolfnapped?" He suggested.

"Well, where does it lead?" Lyle asked.

"Nowhere." Link answered, then his brother frowned.

"Nowhere?" He asked, confused.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Link said, annoyed by his brother's ignorance.

"It's like they just took off into the air." Link explained.

"Have you been eating those red berries again?" Lyle asked with disbelief.

"Hey! I don't see you helping here." Link replied.

"That's because I already know who did it. It was the Westerns." Lyle said.

"How's that?" Link asked.

"Think about it… Claws said she went to meet with Hutch. I think that they're taking advantage of us being left with only half a pack and they took out our acting leader before they move in." Lyle explained.

"So… What do we do?" Link asked.

"I think I have a plan." Lyle answered.

Shaky approached a clearing where Janice was sitting in the middle amongst a large patch of flowers. She had her head lowered as tears fell down her face. He cautiously approached until he was a few feet behind her, then cleared his throat to get her attention. She gasped and turned around with a surprised expression, while Shakey held up his paws.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said, then she relaxed.

"I apologize. I haven't been myself since…" She said, then trailed off. Shakey moved up beside her and sat down.

"Hey, we all are." He replied.

"She was my sister, and more than that, she was my friend." Janice muttered.

"It can be difficult to move past losing a friend. I realize that." Shakey said.

"Well, what about you? You seem alright." Janice pointed out, then he sighed.

"Salty and Mooch may not have been my actual brothers, but we considered ourselves as such. We also knew that our friendship wouldn't last, whether it's social problems or even death." Shakey explained.

"But how do you get past it?" Janice asked.

"Everyone gets past their grief in their own way. For the three of us, we agreed not to mourn any of our deaths, but to continue on, for we'll see each other again in the next life." Shakey answered.

"I didn't think of you as one to believe in those things." Janice said.

"You'd be surprised." Shakey replied. There were a few moments of silence between them until he spoke again.

"Also, I'm trying to be supportive of Lilly. She needs as much help as she can get." He added.

"I can't imagine going through what she is. Losing her entire family and then having to lead the entire pack. I'm surprised she hasn't lost her mind yet. I know I would have." Janice said.

"What do you say about helping me help Lilly? I'm sure she could use your help, being a…" Shakey asked, then trailed off, while Janice tilted her head in curiosity.

"Being a… what?" She asked.

"A, uhh… A female." He answered, nervously. Janice chuckled and lightly smacked him upside the head.

"You're cute when you do that." She said.

"When I do what?" Shakey asked with a smile, then Janice blinked once she realized she said that out loud.

"Uhh…" She muttered.

"Can I speak with you, Shakey?" Lilly asked from behind them. Shakey turned to her standing there, watching the pair.

"Oh, sure." He answered, as he stood up.

"I'm going away for a few days. Just thought I would let you know before I left." She explained.

"What? Why?" Shakey asked, confused.

"I'm going with a group of Alphas on a hunting trip. It'll give me some time to get to know them and learn some hunting basics." She explained, then Shakey frowned.

"You don't sound like yourself." He commented.

"What do you mean?" Lilly asked.

"I mean, you're usually not one to take matters into your own paws. I thought Hutch was helping you?" Shakey asked.

"He is helping me, but I need this right now. Besides, the pack needs a strong leader. An Alpha. I need to at least train myself as one." Lilly said.

"Well, good luck." Shakey replied.

"I'll see you in a few days. Both of you." She said, pointing at Janice, then she turned around and disappeared into the bushes.

"I've never seen her act like this." Shakey muttered.

"I guess, grief can have a powerful effect on someone as innocent as her." Janice said.

Hutch approached the Alpha Den after his afternoon patrol of the border, expecting to find Lilly inside, but he found it empty.

"Where'd she go?" He wondered to himself.

"Sir!" An Alpha shouted. Hutch exited the den to find two Alphas escorting Claws through the territory.

"Claws? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Lyle and Link have taken over the Eastern Pack. They thought I was wolfnapped by you and prepared to attack, but after I returned and told them what happened, they call me a 'Western Sympathizer' and sent me here with a message." Claws explained.

"What message?" Hutch asked.

"To surrender or die. They attack at first light." Claws said, then Hutch let out a heavy sigh.

"This is not good." He muttered, then a thought occurred to him.

"Wait, what happened to you?" He asked.

"I was wolfnapped by the Northern Pack. They thought that the dust was Fenrir's doing as punishment for aiding you against the Easterns." Claws answered.

"But when they realized it happened to us as well, they let you go." Hutch surmised.

"Exactly. John also imprisoned Nars after he tried to take the pack from him." Claws added.

"John… John, who's John?" Hutch asked.

"Payton and Lisa's son." Claws answered.

"I didn't even know that they had a pup. This isn't good. I also have no idea where Lilly is." Hutch said.

"Sir. We know where Lilly went." One of the Alphas said.

"She went north after telling us that she's left you in charge of the pack." The other Alpha explained.

"Of course she did." Hutch muttered, then took a few moments to think.

"Alright, are Lyle and Link aware that the Northern Pack is here?" He asked.

"No. They believed I was lying to 'cover up my tracks', as they put it." Claws answered.

"That'll give us an advantage if we have John's help, but we need to let him know. We also need to warn Lilly that they're there." Hutch said, then began to run towards the north.

"She knows that!" Claws shouted after him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What?" He asked, after turning back around.

"She made the decision to head north after I told her what I told you." Claws explained, then Hutch stared at her in disbelief.

"What are you doing here, Lilly?" Felix asked.

"The Eastern Pack has been taken over by two troubled Alphas, they are Lyle and Link. They've declared war on the Western Pack." Lilly explained.

"And you expect me to help?" Felix asked.

"I understand that was your original intention for coming here." Lilly said.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"Claws told me." Lilly answered, then she approached him.

"I'm not going to let what's remaining of my pack be destroyed. I'm asking for your help." She added.

"I never expected you to be the responsible type, Lilly." Felix said.

"With my family gone, I'm the only one left to carry on Winston's bloodline." Lilly pointed out.

"You know that's not true." Felix replied.

"The pack believes so, and that's what's important." Lilly clarified.

"Even so, John is on his way there now to speak with you." Felix said.

"Hutch is still there, but we don't have time to debate this. The Eastern Pack will attack at first light." Lilly insisted.

"Then it's a good thing that I didn't tell the pack about the change of plans. We move in at first light." Felix explained, then they both had a small chuckle.

A/N: I apologize for the extremely late update, but at the beginning of August I had a massive blood clot develop in my leg and I was in the hospital on blood thinners for six days to help my body break it down. Thankfully, I didn't have to go through surgery to remove it, but I've been recovering ever since. I don't know when I'll update again, but I'll do my best. I still intend to post two more chapters of this crossover and then finish *For Better or Worse* by the end of the year.

Till next time,

~Demonwolf102