I'd like to let you know that there is only one more chapter that's already typed. All the others are being written as I go, no more. So J-Dog is alive, Humphrey and Kate have decided they're ready to start a family, and Age has retreated to the open to fall asleep with his future mate Hayley under a starry night sky. What could possibly go wrong?

Better Than This

Chapter 19

Not What He Would've Wanted

The night was still not yet over, it was still and moon was not yet full. Its quarter shape lit the sky with its pale light and all of it rained down upon Hutch during his search for surviving wolves. He thoroughly sniffed each and every den that he came across, but all of them shared the same fate; all of its inhabitants crushed beneath a pile of grave lite stone and small jagged rocks. Hutch exited what he thought was to be the twelfth den he found, and he gazed up at the moon, and he shed a single tear, but he wouldn't dare admit to himself why.

Back outside the lead den, Age was sleeping soundly, the first time in a long time. The last time he had slept this well was when he first met Hayley and he fainted after she said she'd go on a date with him. She was still the most important wolf in his life, despite the fact that he now lived around his cousin. Both Humphrey and Age still weren't sure how Winston came to the conclusion that they were cousins, but they just rolled with it, for both longed for a sense of family, a real family. They way Age saw it, this mess was his fault, and it was Humphrey's story.

Hutch came walking back, holding back the dam of tears behind his eyes, he was an Alpha, he thought himself to be above showing emotion. His walk showed how he was feeling inside, sort of a mix between a stagger and a limp. His face was kept straight as he arrived back at the Alpha den to see Age sleeping with Hayley outside on the ground. Not wanting to disturb them, Hutch tip-toed past them, but his efforts were pointless,

"I can hear you…" Age said as Hutch tried to sneak by them, his ears perking up and getting up from his position. "Any others…?" He asked hopefully, Hutch didn't want to put a damper on his mood, but the news wasn't going to be avoided.

"None that I found, this means that if the pack is still together, it's you, me, Hayley, Humphrey, Kate, Eve, Tony, Lily, and Garth. So…that's not much of a pack, now is it?"

The head of the peripheral had never fallen further down, like it was ready to finally fall off. The feeling of failure was still rushing through the encrusted fur on Age, and his attributes were about to collapse. "There's got to be more survivors…how many wolves were in this pack before J-Dog and I showed up?"

Hutch thought back to the night everyone was finally howling in unison, the first official night the packs were united. "I'd say about, thirty to thirty-four, I didn't know the exact number."

"And how many are officially declared dead?" The thinking began, the number was hard to recall, but the total couldn't have been more solid.

"Well, we know for a fact that Candu is dead, you've been wearing his blood like a suit…" Hutch commented on Age's fur, to which he got a very stern look from Age, "Anyway, one was killed to start, then there was the three, then the six we found by the river, then Candu, then Hayley's parents, then a squad of Alphas sent to kill Blood, and then Winston, and as of right now we have no indication of the total number of Alphas that remain. Blood might've not gotten to them because we did first. And there was also Royce, plus all the innocent Omegas and pups, so…for a gruesome total, I'd say about…thirty-three, not including our team, Hayley, Eve, Tony, Garth, and Lily."

"Thirty-three out of approximately thirty-four…dead?" Hutch nodded his head, "So then I failed…" Age said to himself, but the wind blew past his face, and his ear caught sound of something. "The sun is rising, and so is something else…" He said and ran past Hutch and into the den.

"The sun's not rising…!" Hutch said, but was instantly proved wrong, but his shadow slowly appearing on the ground beneath him, the moon was gone, and the sun came over the tree tops. "Oh…"

Back in the den, Age ran over to J-Dog's side, and startled Humphrey and Kate in the process. "Age…? What's going on?"

"Someone is waking up…" Age responded to his cousin. Below him, J-Dog was beginning to stir, and all eyes nearby were on him. Hutch came in, Kate walked over, Age just watched, and Humphrey looked over Age's shoulder as J-Dog's eyes, slowly, but gradually opened up. His pupil was seen moving around inside his eye, and anyone could see that he was confused.

"Age…?" Everyone heard him say, but no one saw his mouth move.

"Hey Joe…how are you feeling?"

"Like shit…what happened?"

"You got…" Age was trying to think of something, "Stepped on…by a…caribou." Age lied, but it was the best he could do.

"Who are these guys?" J-Dog asked around.

Age began to introduce them, "This is Humphrey, our cousin, his fiancée Kate, Hutch, a close friend, and over there sleeping you'll see Garth, Humphrey and Kate's brother-in-law, and his mate is in a coma, her name is Lily, she's the white one. Over there you'll see Eve, Kate's mom, and…"

"Me…" Hayley announced walking in, "I'm Hayley, he's my fiancé." She said nudging Age in the butt with hers, and then they nuzzled a little.

"You're engaged…? Since when…?" J-Dog asked in a dumbfounded tone.

"Long story bro…"

"Hey…" Hutch stopped the conversation because he caught wind of something coming to them. It sounded big, but he wasn't sure what to call it.

"What's up Hutch?" Humphrey asked,

"You hear that…?" He responded, and everyone except J-Dog started listening, Hayley got the most excited.

"I hear it, I hear it!" She jumped up and darted outside.

Age moved his muzzle underneath J-Dog's forearm and helped him up onto a supporting position, Age found it strange he didn't make any groans or 'ow' noises to signal that it hurt, but brushed the thought off because he was so overjoyed that he was awake. They all walked outside and looked out over the cliff side where the den was and saw Tony down in the canyon.

"Tony…!" Kate yelled down to him. "Did you find anyone?" She asked him, and he just smirked.

"Why don't you ask them?" He hollered back up and about a dozen wolves came out from the forest behind them, all of them looked exhausted.

"They're alive, they're alive!" Hutch exclaimed out at his fellow male and female Alphas.

The gang all sprinted down to the canyon base and everyone sat down where they were. No one was in the mood to go anywhere else, they were far too tired from their apparent seclusion.

"Where were they?" Kate asked Tony.

"Hiding in the cave behind the waterfall…"

"There's a cave behind the waterfall?" Age asked out-loud as he set his brother down and walked over to Tony and Kate, as they were leading the pack. Humphrey sat back with Hutch and slowly made their way down into the canyon. They too were ecstatic about the fighters being okay, but they really had still just woken up.

J-Dog sat alone, Hayley walked by him and he got a narrow eye and spotted her neck. It was fur covered and extremely exposed, like it wanted to be mangled. No one noticed J-Dog's sudden reaction to the urge to kill, everyone was still greeting the Alphas or talking to Tony. Age continued his kibitz with Tony while Hayley stayed back, not thinking it was her business.

"If all of these wolves are alive, then maybe there's more, I'm certain of it…"

They continued chattering, no one yet had took notice that J-Dog had gotten up from his sitting position and lowered his front half, readying to pounce. His fatal mistake was he turned his paw right before he jumped. Age's ear twitched at the dirt that shifted when he moved and turned around to see J-Dog ready to pounce, and it was a pounce to kill. His eyes widened, all his thoughts, all his emotions were channeled into the next thing he did, he didn't know what happened, he saw his brother move, and who his target was. J-Dog hadn't lost his memory, it was just another trick,

"HAYLEY…!" He screamed and jumped in unison with J-Dog. Age closed his eyes and hoped he could save her, J-Dog on the other paw felt his maw grab something thick and fuzzy and bit down at hard as he could, his tongue tasted blood and he heard something crack and snap, he knew who it was, and then he rolled and landed on his feet with his prize in his mouth.

Everyone gasped in horror once they saw what had happened, J-Dog looked around and saw they looks of anguish and laughed in a muffled manner. "He didn't lose his memory." Humphrey said out loud, unable to say anything else.

J-Dog was feeling satisfied with himself, he looked around to see if he could find Age, but he wasn't there, and after he saw Hayley standing there, ready to fall to pieces, his own eyes finally widened and he dropped the wolf out of his mouth and looked down. To his own horror, Age fell from his jaws, his neck broken and bleeding from eight different holes across both sides of his neck. J-Dog backed up, horrified at what had happened, he knew who he had aimed for, and his own brother wasn't the target. Never in his own sick and twisted mind would he ever kill his brother, not even after what had occurred the night before. He wanted to make him suffer, but not kill him. No, never…the thought never even crossed his mind. He began to breath heavily at the disaster that he just caused, no one moved except Hayley who walked up to Age's body and placed a paw on his neck, after she pulled it up, it was already soaked with Age's pure blood, blood that had been wasted. Hayley looked up to J-Dog and her eyes started to water, her mouth was sealed shut, too shocked and stunned to say anything. All Hayley did was crouch down onto Age's corpse and wrap her arm around his body and cuddled up in him like she had done when he was alive. The tears came, and the wolves turned to J-Dog,

"I…" He tried to say,

"Kill him…" Tony commanded, and everyone excitedly started to close in on him, but Hayley pulled her head up from her sobs, and put her paw out in front of them.

"No…" Everyone looked at her funny. "It's not what he would've wanted." She then turned her gaze to J-Dog and shook her head, her face never dried from the tears, and then looked down to Age.

Hayley: I know there's something in the wake of your smile

I get a notion from the look in your eyes

You've built a love, but that love falls apart

Your little piece of heaven, turns to dark

Everyone was quiet, even J-Dog; his mouth had fallen open, not only at the moral blow he dealt to his own brother, but he could believe someone else was singing/howling like Age had always done. The other wolves never heard anything like it, not even Kate or Humphrey.

Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you

Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do

I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why

But listen to your heart, before you tell him…

Hayley never looked away from Age's closed body as she sang, and she had a number of flashback, all of which made her cry even more.

"Hi…again. Who are you?" She tried saying to him.

"Uh…sorry miss, but you've…well, sort of…" Age couldn't think of anything to say. He was rendered speechless by the wolf. But in a quick action of mental reconstruction, he pulled his thoughts, and his nerves back together. "I'm sorry, my name is Age." He said and bowed his head forward like a gentleman. She took a liking to his sudden calmness, and answered him back.

"Hi…Age. My name is Hayley, I'm an Omega."

And then another,

"I don't think I can do it Hayley. Does a wolf like you really deserve to be stuck with a wolf like me?" He asked her in a profound voice. She was relieved that she hadn't messed up, and then she answered him with words that spoke for her heart.

"Age, you're right. I don't deserve to be stuck with a wolf like you." Age heard this and let his head fall, but she picked his head up and placed her paw on his cheek, and spoke right into his eyes, "I need to be with a wolf like you." She said right to him. They both simultaneously smiled.

"I hope it's not too early for me to say this, but…" Age was interrupted by Hayley, in the sweetest way.

"I love you too." She whispered. Age just smiled even bigger, and with her paw still resting on his cheek, they kissed, for the first time in both of their lives.

And another,

"Hayley, I love you, with my whole heart, soul, body, mind…and other important parts of me that can feel love." She giggled at his attempt to try and say his feelings; it was still entrancing to her. "And…I got this feeling that, when you feel this way about someone, no matter how long you've known them, that it is an omen of something."

"Oh Age; I feel exactly the same way. There just something about you that I feel I wouldn't be complete without." Hayley said, going up to Age and wrapping her paws around his back and burying her face into his side.

"I know Hayley, and I plan on fixing that right now." Hayley pulled away a little, and stared at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Hayley asked.

"I mean this…" he said and kissed her deeply, she returned the affection and once he finished he looked her right in the eyes and asked, "Hayley…will you…make me the happiest/luckiest wolf in Jasper…by…by becoming my mate?"

The look in her eyes was astonished, awe, excitement, shock, love, and other assorted positive emotions a girl should feel when they're proposed to. Hayley couldn't even pretend to think about it she wanted to say 'yes' so badly. "Of course Age, I'm yours, and I always will be. I love you."

And one more,

"Age, when I first met you, there was a shock that coursed through my body. It was a feeling that said something, like 'Hey, there's something about this guy' and look where that took me." She said and put her paw on his and tucked her head under his and cuddled up with him. Age smiled and shed another tear, but this was a tear of joy, the best, most rich kind of all. As he fitted his head and cheek onto her head, and put his paw around her back and pulled her in, she also put her paw around his back and snuggled up into his chest. "I love you Age, no matter what you do, or where you go."

"I love you too Hayley, so much. And I promise, when the time comes, I'll do anything to prove it." She looked up at him and pulled out of their embrace.

"Kiss me…" She said to him.

He just grinned, the two leaned in, and their lips met. Hayley used her paw to rest it on the side of his face, and Age did the same, only he rested his paw on Hayley's that was on the ground. It was a moment in each of their lives that would carry them to their dying day, no matter what, they'd never forget it. Age was the one who pulled away first, and Hayley's eyes were closed and smiling she was. It was a full moon out, and from where they were sitting, the light shone brightly on her face. The image was permanently wedged into his brain, and once she opened her eyes it was replaced.

"Thank you Hayley, now I see why you're the one for me. I was lost, unsure of what I did; but in the darkest moments of my life, you came through and were the lights that guided me back. This is how I see you now, a guide, and a life all wrapped in one. Nothing…no one will ever be better than you."

"I stand by what you said Age, what we have…" She said and put her free paw on his heart, "Nothing is better than this." She held her other paw on his cheek and moved it back around his neck, and they pulled into another kiss.

It was then that she finished, and shed one finally tear on Age's body,

Goodbye…

The story isn't over…