Chapter 11 : Mad Dream World

Humphrey and Kate were sitting in the cool water, playing their usual guessing game when they're alone while waiting for Garth, Rex and Lilly's return. They've been playing it for a long time, but didn't wonder what's delaying their return as they're completely distracted by how fun their game was.

'His coat is grey and he has blue eyes.' Kate said as it was Humphrey's turn to guess who she's thinking and completely forgotten what has happened a few minutes ago, so as Humphrey.

'Okay. Go on.' Humphrey said as he sticked out his tongue at the side of his mouth which made Kate giggle and began to browse through his memory while listening to her next hint at the same time.

'He is a funny omega and he considered himself the luckiest wolf alive.'

Humphrey's face lit up and was about to end the round but stopped when Kate gave another hint that lead him to confusion.

'He's muscular and handsome.'

His face expression turned from happiness to puzzled and he looked at the ground and concentrate as he browsed through his memory again. In the end, he gave up and looked at her.

'I gave up.' He said after letting out a breath.

'It's you, handsome.' She replied and nuzzled him.

He was shocked by her answer and became curious on the last hint that she gave.

'I'm muscular?' He asked and received a nod from her. 'I'm not musc-'

He stopped when he took a glance at his body and was surprised to find that his muscles were growing bigger than before, and he smiled as he looked back at her.

'Wow. I've never noticed this.'

'Really?' She said with an eyebrow raised.

'Yeah, really.'

'Well, I'm glad that you've noticed now. So, are you gonna keep building it up?'

She leaned closer to him and rubbed her body against his and it made his smile grew bigger.

'So you will stick closer to me? Of course, if that's what you want.'

They shared a quick kiss and continued their game until they noticed Lilly's arrival, without Garth and Rex walking along. They could tell from her looks that something was wrong and they stopped what they were doing and turned towards her. Lilly sat infront of them and lowered her head.

'What's wrong, sis?' Kate asked in a worried tone.

'Did something happened?' Humphrey asked in the same tone as his mate.

'One of our alphas died due to loss of blood. The Caribou that he was hunting hit him in the belly with its horn and tore it open.' Lilly said, looking up from the ground.

'Is Garth safe?' Humphrey asked and received a nod from her.

'Where's Rex and Garth?' Kate asked.

'They're at the funeral.'

Lilly knew what her sister had in mind and spoke first before she makes her move.

'Rex told me to tell you that you must stay here, you know why. He's in a really sad mood right now, so I suggest you to listen to him.'

Kate seemed to be a bit upset as she couldn't attend her packmate's funeral, but she understands what was her condition and knows that Rex doesn't want anything bad to happen to her, so she smiled at her sister and nodded.

'Okay. I'll stay here. Are you going, sis?'

'No. I've seen enough back at the feeding ground.'

For the past few minutes, Lilly told them everything that has happened back at the feeding ground; how Rex gave the injured wolf medication, how he behaved when he couldn't save him, and clawing every tree in his path in the woods. They were depressed when she ended her story and received a frown from each other.

'I can't believe this happened.' Humphrey said.

'All of us are.' Lilly replied, looking at him.

'Is Rex feeling better now?' Kate asked.

'I think so, after being calmed by me and Garth, but I'm sure he's still blaming himself inside his heart.'

'Hope he gets over that feeling soon.'

They spend the rest of their time trying to forget what had happened by chatting about other topics, while back at the funeral, Garth, Rex, Tony, Eve and Winston stood infront of all alphas and omegas with the dead wolf lying infront of them. Some of the alphas and omegas cried while the others lowered their head in silent till Winston began his speech.

'Brothers and sisters, today we are here for the funeral of our honoured brother. He was a brave warrior, and a great friend. So let's set him to rest. You are free to speak your last words to him after our speech.' He said and looked towards Tony.

Tony stood forward and began his speech.

'He was indeed a brave warrior, and an agile alpha in our pack. He will be missed and his soul lives with our ancestors.'

Eve had nothing to say for the honoured wolf, so Garth took over.

'He was a great friend of mine, and we usually made our morning hunt together.' He said and looked at his dead friend. 'I will miss you brother. Hope you will have a good rest after all the tiring duties that you've done.'

Finally, Rex stood forward with his head raised and chest forward like a true alpha.

'Although I don't know this wolf, but I'm sure that he's an honourable man. But I can't believe I couldn't same him…' He said as tears flow from his eyes. 'I tried to save him, I truly did, but I guess this was part of life. I'm deeply sorry for my failure. Please forgive me.'

Rex bowed his head infront of all wolves present and they were depressed even more as the once-famous medic somehow loses his healing touch. Garth placed a paw on his shoulder as he got up and he wiped his tears.

'I forgive you.' He said.

'We all do.' Winston said, joining in the conversation.

All wolves howled in forgiving him and Rex stared at them in amazement as he never seen sights like this and he finally made a faint smile.

'Thank you all.' He said in a slightly happy tone.

All wolves lined up to give their brother their farewells and finally, some alphas gently placed the body in a dugged hole and began to bury it. It ends the funeral and every wolf headed their separate ways. Garth and Rex decided to head towards the pond where Lilly, Kate and Humphrey was to tell them how the funeral went and found them having a pleasant chat when they arrived. The rustles of brushes caught their attention and watched as they walked towards them. Garth and Rex sat infront of them with a depressed expression which brought down their feelings by a glimpse of it.

'How did the funeral went, honey?' Lilly asked in a worried tone.

'Fine, just very depressing.' Garth replied in a way that his expression shows it.

'Are you okay, Rex?' Kate asked in the same tone as her sister.

'Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just disappointed in myself.' He replied as he looked at his paws.

They knew what he was thinking and tried to remove that thought off of his mind.

'You're still a healer, Rex. My friend's death doesn't mean you lose your title.' Garth said, looking at him.

'I'm a fallen healer, Garth. That was the past.' Rex replied looking back.

'But your pride is still within you. Like me and Garth said, ac-' Lilly's sentence was continued by him.

'Accept death as part of life. I know.'

'That's right. So don't give up on that pride just because you can't save a wolf. You've saved your pack before, remember?' Kate said.

She was right. He cured almost all of his pack members before, so that proves that he's a legendary healer. Their support gave him the hope and strength to not let go of his pride, and he smiled at them.

'Thank you guys.' He said to them.

'No problem. What are friends for?' Humphrey said as he placed a paw on his shoulder.

Their sadness ceased and they continued their conversation after their lunch, along with jokes that cheered them up and lightened the group. The sun began to set behind the mountains and the moon rose to shine its silver light across the green land, forming shadows at every corner. The five wolves said their goodbyes after their dinner and walked their separate ways back to their den. When Humphrey, Kate and Rex arrived, Rex placed the rose that he took from the waterfall on his way back on the ground and watched as Humphrey and Kate walked into their den.

'Goodnight, Rex.' Kate said along with Humphrey before entering the den.

'Goodnight you two.' He replied and watched as they disappeared into the dark den.

Humphrey and Kate did the same as usual; curling up in a ball shape with Humphrey placing his paw on hers.

'Goodnight darling.' Humphrey said.

'Goodnight honey.' Kate replied and they drifted to sleep.

Meanwhile, Rex sat at the overhang with the rose in his paw and admired the beauty of the moon.

'I couldn't save a wolf today, Rose. But these new friends I've made have helped me a lot in not giving up what I was made for. How I wish that you were here to tell me what to do at that situation.' He said with the silver moonlight shining on his face and coat.

The stars sparkle in the night sky, reminding him of his past with Rose.

They sat outside their den and leaned close to each other as they admired the beauty of the moon. Rose noticed the sparkling stars and smiled as she saw something.

'Rex, look at those stars. They're beautiful.' She said happily.

'Yeah, they are.' He replied.

'Do you notice something?'

'Notice what?'

'The stars formed a shape. Guess what shape did I see.'

'Hmm.'

He examined the stars's formation and found out what she saw.

'Two wolf, and three pups.' He said happily.

'Yep, and guess who those wolves are.'

'Us, of course.'

'Would you like to have pups, darling?'

Rex was surprised by her question and widened his eyes.

'Um, I thought they would be load to our adventures.'

'I know, but at least we can have the feeling of being parents. I never felt it before.'

'Well, someday, Rose. If you really want it, I'll fulfill your wish.'

Rose turned towards him and they shared a passionate kiss before pulling away and their eyes met.

'Thank you, Rex. Yeah, we'll have pups someday.'

'So, what should we name them when they're born?'

Rose thought for a while before replying.

'Hmm. If one of the three is a female, I think I'll name her Claudette.'

'Good choice.'

'How about yours?'

Rex made some serious thoughts for a while before replying.

'If the other two are boys, I think I'll name the oldest one Stinky and the youngest one Runt.'

She was surprised by his name choice and frowned a bit.

'Well, Stinky is unique, but Runt?'

'Look at the stars darling.'

She did and noticed that one of the pups is smaller than the others and understands his name choice. She looked back at him with a smile.

'So, do we agree on these name choices for our pups?'

'Yeah.'

They nuzzled each other and shared another passionate but quick kiss before continuing their admiration of the moon.

Rex tried to search for the shape of the wolf made of stars again and finally found it, but his heart broke when he found only one wolf without the other and the three pups. He lowered his head and cried in pain as he didn't get to have adorable pups with Rose and didn't fulfill her past wish. He looked back up at the silver moon with watery eyes.

'I'm sorry, Rose. I failed to make us as parents.' He said and continued to cry for the rest of the night.

The moon began to set and the sun rose to take its place of the day and showered the green nature with its luminous light. It hits the face of a golden female wolf and caused her to awake from her slumber. She raised her head and found her mate already awake and staring at her with eyes showing that he's charmed.

'Why are you staring at me like that?' She asked.

'It's because you look beautiful when you sleep.' He replied and she giggled.

She licked his cheek and he smiled.

'Humphrey darling, you've told me this lots of times already.'

'I know, but I just couldn't snap out of it.'

'Okay handsome. Let's go and look for Rex.'

They got up and stretched their bodies and let out a yawn before exiting the den. The morning light hits directly at their face as they walked out of their den and found Rex isn't around, probably at the feeding ground. They sat at the overhang and have a pleasant chat while waiting for his return, but Lilly and Garth arrived first. They turned towards them as they approaches.

'Morning sis.' Kate greeted and her sister replied the same.

'Morning coyote.' Garth greeted and raised his paw for a bropaw.

'Morning Barf.' Humphrey greeted back and gave him his bropaw.

'Don't you have duties today, Garth?' Kate asked curiously.

'Winston gave me a day off for what happened yesterday.'

Garth lowered his head with a frown and they noticed and frowned as they brought back the bad news. Lilly looked back at her sister and decided to change the topic.

'Have you guys seen Rex?' She asked and received shrugs from them.

'We think he's at the feeding ground.' Kate said.

'Well, I think you're right, darling.' Humphrey said as he noticed something from afar.

'How do you know?'

'Look over there.' Lilly said, pointing at where Humphrey was looking.

There at the distance from Humphrey and Kate's den was Rex dragging a Caribou with a deer on his back towards them and surprisingly, the four omegas, Candy, Sweets, Reba and Janice was walking beside him in a playful way. They watched as he dragged the Caribou up the steep road and dropped it infront of them along with the deer and looked at them, showing no signs of tiredness.

'Morning guys.' He said and they replied the same.

'So, let me guess, these ladies didn't give up on what they've been doing?' Humphrey said with a grin.

'Well, yes indeed. They came to the feeding ground again when I was doing my daily workouts and followed me all the way here after hunting for you guys.'

Rex looked at the four female omegas who were behind him and they giggled as they got his attention and he looked back at his friends.

'Yep, they didn't give up.'

'Same thing as usual?' Kate asked.

'Yeah, to the pond after your meal. Eat up.'

He sat down infront of them and felt some pressure from the sides. He turned to his sides and found two ladies sitting at his both sides and he let out a deep breath of disappointment that made Humphrey, Kate, Lilly and Garth laugh. When they were done with their meal, leaving scraps that was the meal of a group of flies, they headed towards the pond along with the four omegas. Rex gave Lilly and Humphrey their training immediately when they arrived and Kate sat in the cool water with her whole body submerged along with the four ladies and they watched their training. Garth helped out in teaching Rex's students and it went on for the whole afternoon. Finally, Rex and Garth decided that it was time for them to rest and play for the rest of the day.

'Okay, that's enough for today.' Rex said and Humphrey and Lilly collapsed on the ground, panting in exhaust.

'You did great, darling.' Garth said as he stood above Lilly and licked her cheek which made her giggle.

'Thanks honey.' She replied happily.

Humphrey sat infront of his mate and she licked his cheek.

'Good work, my handsome omega.' She said.

'Thank you, my sexy alpha.' He replied and she giggled.

They played hide-and-seek for the first few hours before having their lunch and Humphrey gave Rex his first try on log-sledding, which he howled in joy and happiness after flying out of the log when it bumped a large rock and landed on his feet while the others landed hard. Humphrey decided to get back to Kate immediately as he must stick close to her at all times, worried that something bad might happen. The sun began to set and the moon rose to take its place and glitter the green land with its silver and holy moonlight. The wolves had their dinner and said goodbyes to each other before going their separate ways. As usual, Rex brought a rose back to Humphrey and Kate's den and sat at the overhang. Humphrey was about to enter the den when an idea struck him. He turned towards Kate and smiled.

'Kate, I was wondering…' He said.

'Yes?' She asked curiously.

'If Rex would try to sleep for once?'

She frowned immediately at this as Rex told them that he would have nightmares in every slumber.

'Are you sure? Don't forget what he told us.'

'I know, he always have nightmares in his sleep, but it may be different this time.'

'How do you know?'

'Well, because we're here to support him?'

'I don't think that's gonna work.'

'Aw, come on Kate, please? Ask him about this with me?'

Kate thought about this seriously, as Rex might or immediately deny this, but if this is what her mate wants, so be it.

'Okay, fine. But I'm sure he'll rejects it.'

Humphrey wagged his tail in joy and they turned towards Rex who was admiring the moon. Before she even spoke a word, Rex already knew their intentions.

'I can hear your 'whispering' conversations.' He said.

'Well, yeah. Sorry.' Humphrey apologized.

'So, now that you know what we're going to ask, would you try?'

'No.'

'Please, Rex. It may be different this time.' Humphrey said with a frown.

'I've tried a lot of times already long before, Humphrey. And it's the same results.'

'Well, that's a 'long time' ago. Please?'

Rex lowered his head and let out a deep breath before turning his head slightly to one side.

'Okay, I'll try.' He said and Kate's eyes widened as she never expected a 'yes' from him about this.

'Good. Come on in.'

They entered the den and Humphrey and Kate slept in their usual place while Rex slept on one side of the den. He watched as Humphrey and Kate curled into a ball and Humphrey placed his paw on hers and it made him smiled. He did the same as them and closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

The beautiful voice of a female wolf rang in his ears, echoing as he opened his eyes.

'Rex…'

He raised his head and found himself in a grass field with snowy mountains and woods from a distance with a lake a few metres away from him. The world he was in was like a paradise where no wolf has ever been before. He looked to his right and saw a wolf from a distance, a beautiful alpha with golden eyes and cream white coat. Tears began to flow down his eyes as she walked closer to him, revealing that it was his true love, Rose.

'Rose!' He shouted and began to run towards her.

Her smile was beautiful with her charming eyes locked on him as he ran closer, but he stopped when the blue sky turned dark all in a sudden and rain that was coloured blood poured from the dark clouds. He was shocked as drips of blood from the sky hits his face and the grass that he was running on rots. He stopped infront of his mate with a confused expression.

'Rose, what is happening?' He said, but the real horror lies infront of him.

Rose's flesh began to rot with blood flowing out of her ears, mouth and eyes. A few seconds later, all that was left were her bones and the dark clouds roared above them. A piercing shriek came from her.

'Why did you do this to me, Rex?!'

He backed away and ran as fast as he can, but to his surprise, the land that he stood on collapsed and he fell into an eternal hole…

Rex woke up from his sleep, screaming in fear and alerting Humphrey and Kate. They stood up immediately and turned towards Rex who was panting in fear and walked towards him.

'Are you okay, Rex?' Kate asked as she placed a paw on his shoulder.

'It never changed. Her death haunts me, and it was my fault.' He replied as he got up and walk towards the exit of the den. 'Let me be alone for a while. Sorry for interrupting your sleep.'

They watched as he left the den in tears and began to felt guilt growing in their heart as their idea was a total false. They looked at each other with guilt in their eyes.

'I'm so sorry for suggesting that idea to him.' Humphrey said with a frown.

'Well, we can apologize to him tomorrow, not now. Let him have some peace.' Kate replied.

They curled back into a ball and went back to sleep with guilt, while Rex stood at the overhang with the rose in his paw.

'It's hard to live without you, Rose.' He said as he looked from the rose to the silver moon, but a strange feeling calmed him down from inside his heart…

Well, I pitied Rex for having such a terrible life, but the story plot tells me not to change it. Anyways, I know that you, my best and awesome viewers, might have(or already for a really long time) noticed that I've been updating late than before, around a week and a few days. Well, I sincerely apologize for that due to my internet issues(again, but it's the truth) and I'm pretty busy with my daily works. Also, I require lots of time to think on what to write for every chapter. So, now to let you awesome viewers know that I'll probably be updating only around a week. I hope you understand and anyways, hope you like this chapter and thank you so much for the supports so far. You're the one that kept me writing and as usual, leave a review/follow/favourite. It means a lot to me and have a pleasant day. Peace out. -LoverWolfs1121