A Son of Wolves
Chapter 3: One of The Family
Kate stirred and yawned as the late morning rays lit her den. She clenched her eyes shut after having a wonderful dream, but was caught to a stop when the light flew into the den and wiped away the sleep. She fluttered her eyes, seeing her mate holding her tightly to his chest with his head above hers. She smiled and giggled lightly and snuggled in closer to rest until he woke up, she wasn't going to complain; she loved feeling him and being this close to Humphrey. She could hear his heat beating in time with hers, feel his chest rising and falling while he slept. She wasn't going back to sleep, she was just joining his embrace.
Soon after she felt him stretch out his back legs and yawn. She looked up, making her nose rub against his. He smiled down to her as he licked her muzzle. "Morning wonderful."
"Morning Humphrey." She said kissing him. "How'd you sleep?" She asked.
"Great, I slept great." He yawned again. "Like a pup, how about you?"
"I had the most amazing, yet craziest dream." She giggled thinking back to it.
"Really? So did I. Tell me yours first." He chuckled.
"Ok, well, we went on a walk, found a human den found one of their pups, we brought it back…" Humphrey tilted his head down to her while she spoke, but then he continued for her.
"…It back to the pack, your dad wanted us to take it back, Tony was going to kill it, that crazy she-wolf stopped him and we fell asleep with it." Her eyes widened, he dreamt it too. Or was it a dream. They broke apart and looked in-between them, but nothing was there other then the smell of human. They looked up at one another with wide eyes, only then to hear a girl's giggle from just outside the den. The shot their heads in that direction and jumped to their paws to see what it was. Outside and to the right of their den laid the pure white Lily with her back to them but on her side. She was laughing, but what at.
"Lily?" Kate questioned. She turned her head to face them and showed them her loving smile.
"We were wondering when you were going to wake up." She giggled.
"We?" Humphrey asked. Just then, a human pup crawled over her side and onto her ribs. Their eyes widened at the site, it wasn't a dream, everything they dreamed really happened. It gurgled and giggled away having fun as it tumbled and crawled around Lily.
"I came up to see you but I found this one crawling out, he's so adorable." She giggled and bringing her tail around to stop it from going over the cliff.
"How long have you been here?" Kate asked as the couple approached.
"Not long, Garth was still asleep when I left. I didn't think he'd like to come."
"Like Tony is he?" Humphrey chuckled.
"Not as bad, he thinks you did the right choice to bring it here, but he still thinks you should have taken it back. He couldn't have done it either so you're not alone." She laughed as the child pushed her over and lay over her chest. "He's so much fun; he'd make a great Omega. Want him back?"
"Come on little one." Humphrey chuckled and taking him by the cloth it wore and lifting him off his sister-in-law and allowing her to get her breath back. He placed it back on the floor, only then to be pulled back down and have his face stroked and tugged.
"Does it have a name?" Lily asked.
"Leo, we came up with it last night." Humphrey answered as the child pried open his jaws and looked inside his mouth. "Curious isn't he?" He laughed.
"Aren't all pups?"
"So you came up here to see him?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, he looked so funny last night and I wanted a better look, he's so sweet. But why does he have those things on him." She asked pointing and tugged lightly on the things wrapped around his body. Humphrey managed to shake him off and roll it onto his back, then using his paw to tickle its stomach and causing it to erupt into laughs and pup like giggles.
"We don't' know, something all humans wear I suppose." Humphrey answered.
"Well now you'll know what it's like." Kate and Humphrey both looked at Lily and tilting their heads. What was she on about? Their facial expressions were enough for her to see they didn't know what she was on about. "To be parents?" She said as if it were obvious. Their eyes widened again, they had never thought about that. They looked at one another and then down to the human that lay on its back at Humphrey's paws. Was this a sign? That's all that ran through their heads. Was this a sign that it wasn't wolf pups they were supposed to have, but a human's? Was it fate that they found this human and to raise it as their own. They weren't allowed to have their own; it was not in their future for it to happen. So maybe, just maybe, that this could be their chance, their only chance at being parents.
So what if most of the pack didn't and won't like the child, so what if it's a human and a completely different species. This was the one and defiantly only chance they'd get at parenthood. They looked back at one another with a smile.
"We guess." Kate muttered. She turned to look at her sister. "It's ours." She bent over and nuzzled the child in its cheek. "Little Leo, my son."
"Our son." Humphrey added licking her cheek and then Leo's making him start laughing again which only resulted in the others doing so. "He will be the best wolf ever."
"My Alpha." Kate giggled.
"No way, my son is going to be the finest Omega around."
"We'll see about that." Kate giggled and bringing her head back up from him.
"Hold on, how will he understand us if he's human?" Lily then asked. She had a point, how will they talk to their son when he's human? Kate thought back to yesterday, when she was in the human den and on the bed when it started to cry out for its mother. She told it to calm down and it did, but why, and how.
"We don't know, but he understood me yesterday, maybe he can." Kate answered.
"What does dad say about this?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen him this morning." Lily answered.
"Maybe we'll go and see him some time today."
"That's not a good idea." They looked down the path to see the crazy star gazer Sahara come running up the path and towards them. She had a smile on her face, something that made Kate and Humphrey feel like she was no harm to their son. Leo rolled onto his side and crawled around to Humphrey's to use his back and stand on his two feet. "Tony is down there at them moment, he's still not very...happy, is the easiest way to say without cursing." She laughed lightly. "And I heard about what you said about the language thing, you don't need to worry, I believe everything will be fine."
"How can you be so sure?" Humphrey asked.
"Human children are much like wolf pups, only they look different. They are creative, fun loving, cheeky most of the time, but they are more importantly imaginative. His imagination is just as strong as it is in a pup. He can use it to understand you and your open minds are what are allowing you to understand him." Everything she said made sense; he was young and susceptible to the world and to learning new things. No matter whether it's human, wolf or caribou, they all have imagination, and that imagination is the strongest in a young child as young as this. If he remained imaginable as he grew, he'd be able to understand them when he grew up and when he was fully grow into, not the hunter they all dreaded he would become, but to be the wolf he would grow up to be. "Do you understand?" She asked again.
"We do, thank you." Humphrey smiled in her direction. The child clambered onto his back and sat on his shoulders to look over his head and play with his ears. But then it stopped and looked down as if hanging its head. The wolves sensed the sudden change in its behaviour and looked back at it. They saw a tear fall down its cheek and it slowly began to cry again. Lily or Sahara not understanding it shuffled back a little, Humphrey froze, but Kate shuffled in closer and wiped its cheek not afraid of it anymore. It was her son as far as she was concerned.
"Hey there, what's wrong?" She asked sweetly.
"Mommy." It sniffled.
"Oh there, there now, come here." She gently nudged it off her mate's back and laid it against her side. She wrapped her body around it and laid her tail over it to keep it warm. Its crying quietened, but not enough to stop it. She stroked its head and whispered words into its ear lovingly. "You're safe now my angel, no one can hurt you now." It gently took her tail in it hands and played around with it while cried much less and now many just sniffled. "Thank you." She said looking up to Sahara. "For stopping Tony last night."
"He's a special human, as much as I hate them as well, I couldn't let the prophecy pass."
"You really believe he's special?" Humphrey asked.
"Absolutely, he will one day be our saviour from the humans." Neither Kate nor Humphrey could ever be prouder to be the parents of such an amazing child.
"I'm going to go home guys." Lily said rising to her paws. "Shall I tell mom and dad you'll come by and show off your son?" She asked walking over and licking her new nephew's cheek with a big long lick.
"Yeah, please, they need to see him at some point." Kate smiled. On the outside she was excited that she was going to see her mother and father with her new son. But on the inside, she was as nervous as a pup facing a new crowd. Because she was. She was going to see the wolves she grew up with, but only with a human amongst them. But he was family now and who matter who and what stands in there way, they were going to have to face it. Even if it was her own family.
"Great, see you later." Lily bid before turning and trotting down the slope.
"I'd better get going too; I'll leave you three alone."
"Thank you for your help." Kate said with a courteous nod. "But could you stay? You seem to know more about Humans then us."
"You're not the crazy wolf we all thought you were after all." Humphrey added.
"Aww and I were getting used to it." She giggled before walking towards them. Kate and Humphrey looked back and to their son, now asleep against Kate's side and under her tail. It made them laugh lightly.
"We're a family now Humphrey." Kate whispered and locking their gazes together. "It was meant to be."
"Dreams can come true." He smiled and leaning in to kiss her. She returned it and kissed him back deeply. "How about I go and bring your parents up here?" He suggested. "He's fast asleep and you still look it."
"Ok, we'll see you out the back." He nodded and bent down to his son to lick his cheek before running down the slope to leave the she-wolves to talk humans. He was just as nervous on the inside as Kate was, he might not have shone it on the outside, but truly he was. He was now the father to a human, something he grew up as did the pack to hate and stay cautious of. But what was there to fear in a human child? It was still to go up so its entire perception of wolves could be changed. Instead of hunting them down like all humans did, it's perception about them could be changed so he protected them from his own kind.
He reached the bottom of the slope, but to see his friends all back together again and kicking a berry around in a game of berry ball. He hadn't seen them all together in a while, his relationship with his friends were important to him as well. So he slowed it down and turned to run up to them.
"Hey guys." He said trotting towards them. Salty dropped the berry as they all turned to face him. "How's it going?"
"Hey Humphrey, how's the human?" Mooch asked back. Humphrey studied their body languages and facial expressions, they didn't show any sign of threat or nervousness around the subject or hatred towards him.
"Leo? He's great, Kate's never been happier."
"Leo?" Shaky questioned.
"That's his name; we gave it to him last night."
"Dude, you're not getting attached to the thing are you?" Salty asked. Humphrey didn't know why, but he felt a pang in his chest at the insult directed at his son. He felt the protectiveness start to come over him, but he wasn't going to be mad at his friends.
"Guys don't call him a "thing", so what if we're getting attached to him? Kate and I have adopted him, he's our family now."
"Dude?" Salty gasped.
"No man, hear me out." He said calmly and stopping him from speaking. "When he's older, I'm going to take him log sledding, he's going to be apart of our group. He's going to be the best wolf he can be. Kate and I can't have our own family; this is the closest we'll ever have to having one. Please just see that this will make us and more importantly her happy. Just let this happen, Leo's our son, nothing can take him away from us." The gang were, in a strange way, taken back and now admired their friend.
"We're sorry man." Shaky said stepping forward.
"It's just a little weird man to have a human in the pack." Mooch added.
"We're happy for you buddy." Salty said.
"Thanks guys, maybe you could come round and see him for yourself at some time." Humphrey said going around and paw bumping each one of them.
"We'd like that." Shaky replied when Humphrey came to him. "A human Omega, that should make log sledding different."
"Maybe, see you guys later." Humphrey said turning back to the direction he was first heading in.
"Not going to hang with us Humph?" Mooch asked.
"Got to get the in-laws first to meet the little one, maybe some other time!" He yelled back to them.
"Best of luck dude!" Salty yelled to him before the Omegas did what they did best and kicking the berry around again. The run to his pack leaders den was not far off. The Omegas were genuinely never to far from the leaders dens in case they were in need by them.
Humphrey was running up the slope leading to Winston and Eve's den in little time. He found them talking with Garth and Lily, most defiantly talking and her adventure up there and talking about that. He wasn't going to listen into the conversation they were having, so he stepped inside, but waited by the entrance. He let out an attention seeking cough as he stood there, gaining their attention. He was sure that Tony wasn't sitting in the shadows before he coughed; he knew he wouldn't be happy. Not that he ever was. Winston, Eve and Lily smiled brightly, but Garth didn't have that much of a difference on his face.
"Humphrey, please come in." Winston said greeting him. Humphrey took a deep breath before stepping completely inside and joining them. "Lily was just telling us about what happened this morning."
"Good, then you should know we were wondering if you'd like to come up and say hello." He questioned.
"We don't know about that." Eve replied calmly.
"Oh come on mom you have to see him, he's so sweet." Lily pleaded.
"She says you're going to keep him." Winston said.
"Kate wants to, so I'm happy if she wants to and that she is. He'll be our newest pack member." Humphrey said confidently and full of pride. He wasn't ashamed any more. "She also wants you to come and see him and her, so if not for me, then for your own daughter."
"Well I'm going." Lily said getting to her paws. "I miss him already." She giggled. Garth didn't see any point in fighting or complaining, he saw that he was going to be forced to come either way. So he got to his paws as well and padded towards his mate who licked the corner of his mouth. Winston and Eve whispered something to each other before slowly getting to their paws.
"Not for Kate Humphrey." Eve said. "For you. You made our daughter happy, you brought her home safely from Idaho, you are our son now as well as Garth. We'll do it for you."
"Thank you, I'm sure Kate will really appreciate it." He smiled. "She's back home with Leo, better not keep her waiting." They turned tail and started walking out, across the Valley and up the slope.
What was going through their heads? Winston took it too far to allow the human to stay; he never wanted any part in it's raising. But he has a debt to pay, as does Eve. He brought their daughter back safely as she did with him. They looked after one another. He was there for her when she received the news of her anatomy; he stands by her side in these dark times of her life. Garth however was just along for the ride; he had to follow his mate.
They reached the den entrance, Humphrey padded inside full of confidence with Lily, Garth, Winston and Eve took it a little slower. They were full grown wolves, why did they fear a tiny human? It was because they've lived long enough to see and hear what humans can do and fear this one will grow up to do the same. "Kate? We're back!" Humphrey called out.
"We're out here!" She called back from outside the back of the den.
"Come on." Humphrey said leading them through. Humphrey, an Omega, leading three highly looked upon Alphas. Out the back was not just the slope the couple liked to ride down, but also a tree Kate loved to lie under. It was a white barked tree with the same coloured braches. It didn't have leaves growing on it, but pink, purple and white flowers that only added to its beauty. It had grown over and bent over to make a shelter from the sun. Humphrey, being the loving mate has admitted to her to being her stalker and watching her from inside the den and how the tree magnified her own beauty. He guessed she was there, and there she was. She lay on her side, in pretty much the same way he left her. Leo slept against her side and her tail draped over him and keeping him warm.
She turned to face them and smiling when seeing the rest of her family now coming towards her. Humphrey padded right up to them, first muzzling his son delicately and them kissing his mate. Lily wasn't far behind and doing the same but smiling at Kate instead before sitting opposite them. Lily brought Garth over after seeing he was still stood far back with his in-laws, forcing him to come and say hello. He wasn't afraid, or so he thought when really he was indeed terrified. He nodded towards Kate as she did back. But he didn't say or do anything else; he lay some distance back from the human while it slept.
Kate looked back at her parents, still stood some distance from her and staring down at the human in their daughter space. "Comer over guys, he doesn't bite."
"You say that now dear, wait until he's grown up." Her mother said before they took small and careful steps closer.
"Mom, Dad, this is Leo." Kate said moving her tail a little so they could have a better view. It didn't wake; it still slept on its back against her side.
"Has it hurt you?" Eve's first question asked.
"Mom, it's only a pup." She giggled.
"He's so sweet." Lily giggled as well.
"Has he been asleep all this time?" Humphrey asked.
"He did wake up just before Sahara left, but she thought he might be hungry. So I gave him some berries which he seemed to enjoy then he fell back to sleep." She replied.
"Humphrey says you want to keep it." Winston said and Kate nodded.
"I do dad." She said confirming it all. "We can't have our own family dad; I want this to be the start of it." She said laying her tail over him again and stroking her paw gently down his cheek. "I don't want to wait for him to get older and then take him back; I want to keep him until the day I die."
"As do I sir." Humphrey added and shuffling closer to them. "We can raise this human to be the best wolf there can be. If this prophecy is true, then we will raise him to protect us, not hunt us."
"Mom, Dad, we love him, he's our son and if you want to get rid of him then you'll have to get rid of us." Nor Winston or Eve believed the words coming from their daughter and his mate. They'd rather be excluded from the pack then leave this human. They truly did see that they had developed parenting bonds with the human, that they really were willing to do anything to keep it. Eve had only seen this in herself and Winston when Kate and Lily were born and they were in the same state these two were in.
It was then that Leo started to stir in his sleep after a draft blew over them all. He fluttered his eyes open and the first he saw were Kate's amber ones gleaming back down at him and her smile. It yawned after having its afternoon nap and quickly started to regain its energy. It rolled over, causing the Alpha's other then Kate to tense up a little and ready to react. It used her to stand back up on it's two human paws and look around. It looked back seeing Lily lay behind it. A smile grew on his face as it saw her and began crawling towards her. She opened her paws to it and pulled it closer making both of them laugh. Garth tensed up more then anyone, his mate in the arms of a human. "He loves Lily." Kate giggled lightly as they watched them.
"Aunt Lily now." Lily giggled and pushing it over carefully to tickle its belly with her tail. Leo tried to escape her and evade her tail, but he found himself in so much laughter he couldn't do anything. "Garth say hi." Lily said pulling him closer. She wasn't strong, but she could and would be when her mate was in fear of something and when she wanted to. He found himself in a situation he didn't want to be in. Lily stopped so Leo could look up at him.
"Err, hey." He said sheepishly.
"Better then that." She giggled and shoving him. He sighed and took his paw and placed it on Leo's stomach to start tickling it while putting on a more playful voice.
"Hey little guy." He didn't know what was coming over him. He was…actually…enjoying this. He wasn't sure what was happening to him, why was he now starting to like the human? He started laughing with it as he tickled it further, making them all smile. But not Eve and Winston. They started to think the human had some sort of hypnotic effect on whoever it looked at, first their eldest daughter, then her mate, then their other daughter, and now their first reluctant son-on-law, now playing with the human. He stopped and let Leo crawl back over to Kate as if seeking protection from him. He laughed throughout the crawl, and somehow implanted a smile on Winston's face.
It sat against Humphrey chest and looked out at everyone. But then its gaze set upon Eve and Winston. "Mom dad, come and say hello." They gulped and nervously padded over. They had lived long enough to see what humans could do; this one could grow up in their pack and slaughter them all in their sleep when it grew up. They've had friends and in Eve's case, family killed by the humans. That sat in front of Leo and Humphrey and bent down to inhale its scent. It smelt of human, but it also smelt like their daughter and her mate. Keeping focused on those scents rather then the humans seemed to help. Leo reached his hand up to Eve who quickly backed away.
"It's ok; he just wants to touch you." Humphrey chuckled. Even looked back and forth from them, but slowly moved her head back down. Leo's hand grazed against her black nose, but then she dived in when Kate nudged her father who then stumbled onto Eve and moved her closer. It was planned out perfectly. Leo placed his hand on Eve's muzzle, just feeling her soft fur. He was, in a way, much like a pup in her eyes. He was curious, just wanting to feel things at the age it was and learn new things. She found herself beginning to smile, and seeing this, Winston lowered his snout back down towards him. Leo removed his hand and repeated the process to Winston, just feeling his soft yet old fur, but also bringing a smile to him. "So what do you think guys?" Humphrey asked.
"I think I'm starting to agree with Lily." Garth spoke. "He is kinda cute."
"I told you you'd like him." She said playfully shoving him.
"Mom, dad?" Kate asked looking up at them. Winston pulled back away and looked down at her, then Humphrey and Leo and then at all three. There was something about this picture that just seemed right, something that clicked in his head that made it seem perfect. That Kate wasn't supposed to have her own pups, she as supposed to have this one.
"I can't deny you my daughter." He smiled down at her. "If you love him like it looks like you do, then I'm sure we can." Kate let a tear fall down her face as she leaned over and nuzzled her mate's neck.
"He's one of the family." Eve added. Kate was so happy, as was Humphrey. Leo used Humphrey to stand again, but this time he turned and let go to walk towards Eve. She stepped back, giving him some room as did Winston. But Leo kept on following after her with small and unbalanced steps. He wobbled around as he closed the gap, Kate wanting to burst out into tears of joy at seeing this. Finally, he reached her, but he sort of fell into her chest. It knocked the wind out of her a little, but she laughed it away and wrapped her paw around him to keep him steady. "Well done." She giggled and turning him back around. "Now go back to mommy." She smiled back to her daughter. He looked back to Kate and she patted the ground before her. He smiled and revealing his small human like teeth and wobbled back to her. She opened her paws and caught him after he stumbled around for a bit and back towards her. She licked his cheek, telling him what a good job he had done. It seems in hers and Humphrey's eyes that dreams can come true. Just not in the ways they expected.
Hey guys, wanna know something? I've only watched Alpha and Omega once, add despite having the worst memory ever, i remember nearly everything about it. How weird is that? So Leo is one of the family, but will he ever be one of the pack? Will Tony ever drop his hatred for the human? Read and review to find out. Can i just say how thankful i am for the reviews i got from only the first chapter. In my other stories, i only had a few, in this one I've had many more and from different people. Wanna know what i'm fearing about this story though? That someone's going to start a hate campaign against me for writing and getting up a story line where Kate and Humphrey raise a human before anyone else. Sorry guys. :S Until next time. :)
The FalconWolf