Chapter 3: Protection (written on September 2nd, 2015)
"Oh, Eve. These are good times," said Winston. "To think we were gonna have Kate marry Garth."
"Yeah. Looking back on it now, I'm glad Kate chose Humphrey. With Garth, I would've been constantly worried, knowing Kate would be in the paws of such a strong Alpha. With the Omega though, Kate's the one who has the say in things."
"You're right." They rubbed their heads together in affection.
They were lying down in their cave, the soon-to-be home of both Humphrey and Kate that overlooked one of the many valleys in the region. It was agreed later that when Kate and Garth co-lead, Garth would have the den right next to Kate and Humphrey which was currently Lilly's den. Kate's parents were also happy with Lilly's arrangement. "What about Lilly?" asked Winston. "She's the one with the strong Alpha now."
"I don't think Garth would hurt a hair on her. She softens him."
"True. True."
Unanticipatedly, someone with a bloody face rushed into their den.
"Ow! Ow! Winston!"
"Gregory? What are you doing here? I thought you were on border patrol. What happened?" he questioned.
"You'll never believe it, sir! You have no idea!"
"Sit down, and talk with me, Alpha! Tell us the whole thing!"
"Okay... Remember Lia?"
"Yes!" said Eve. "We used to be good friends despite her being an Omega. I haven't seen her since she moved way out there on the fringes of the territory for peace and quietness."
"Yeah, well, a few years back, she had adopted a stray pup which she secretly hid for what seemed to be no reason. But now the pup has gone older and turned into a disgusting monster! Literally! I don't know where Lia found it but it's such a hideous beast; it can't be a wolf, let alone a she-wolf! The worst part is it found it necessary to attack me when I was doing my job, protecting our pack!"
"Disgusting monster?" Winston and Eve looked at each other, almost in disbelief. "Are you sure what you say is true?"
"Absolutely, sir! My fellow Alphas have taken her to the holding cells at the bottom of the mountain."
"Hmm... Okay, Eve, take Gregory to the pack healers. I'm going to find out what's going on."
Later, at the holding cells…
At the holding cells which were basically a group of dens full of prisoners, Winston arrived, not expecting much to see. Gregory had a habit of stretching the truth, but looking back at his deep wounds which he knew for sure were caused by teeth, Winston did leave his mind open for more possibilities. And at the first sight of Erika, he was glad that he did.
Usually, prisoners were guarded by two Alphas, but the one they called Erika was kept back by five, one of them being the warden. Surprisingly, Lia was nowhere to be found. Winston was shocked by the appearance of this so-called wolf. He didn't know what to say. Maybe Gregory was a hundred percent right on this, and he should be scared. However, what made it more odd was that, after being told this was a male, he heard her say hello in what was certainly a feminine voice, and the fact that the tone was sort of friendly and frail made part of the fear of this wolf go away. "Are you sure this is a male?" he asked the warden.
"Positive, sir. He's got the wolf male genitalia, though the pack healers' examination told me that it might be dysfunctional from the way it appears, suggesting this wolf might be a hybrid between a wolf and something else."
"Really? Interesting..." He turned to the prisoner.
"Hi there. I'm not here to harm you. I've been told of your past. I know you're an orphan."
"I didn't mean to harm the border patrol wolf."
"You didn't?" he whispered.
"No. Everybody was just criticizing my looks, and he happened to be the closest one to me when I snapped."
"They made fun of you?"
"And they made me feel insignificant like I was an abomination to nature and should never exist..." The abnormal wolf started crying and sobbing. "I'm so sorry for doing what I did... Truly..." Winston got up and addressed the warden.
"Hutch, switch this wolf with Gregory as soon as he steps out of hospitalization. I want him punished this instant! Is that clear?"
"Umm, yes, sir."
"Once out, send Erika to the ceremonial valley under extreme supervision. I don't want any more wolves hurt."
"Okay, sir.
"Good. I need to do something."
Later, at the ceremonial valley…
At the place where speeches of news and special events were held, Winston called upon many of the pack's citizens to address a problem. He stood on a flat boulder that overlooked everyone. Next to him was Erika who was embarrassed and didn't want to look the crowd in the eyes. Kate and Humphrey had attended and were sitting in the front row. "This is Erika!" He told them. "A hybrid wolf!" Everyone gasped out of amazement. "And from what I've learned, I hereby decree that no one shall discriminate him for being different! It is not right. It should never be!"
Behind Humphrey, wolves began laughing at Erika.
"Hey! Guys, show some respect!" Humphrey scolded. Winston continued.
"He is part of our family and deserves the right to stay with us. He is hereby welcomed to the Western Pack. Anyone caught discriminating him will answer to me and Eve." Half the crowd was booing. Humphrey couldn't believe what he was hearing. Part of his own pack was disapproving of this spotted newcomer. He couldn't stand it. Even Kate seemed to not be very happy about it.
As an Omega, Humphrey treated everyone fairly, no matter what they looked like. He didn't think Erika was ugly or an abomination. Rather, he thought the opposite; he thought this wolf hybrid was handsome and nobody could say otherwise truthfully. He knew some of the wolves would disobey Winston, especially the Alphas. He knew he had to do something...