Chapter 12 : Sad Lessons

The glorious sun rose from the mountains after the descend of the silver moon, perishing the darkness with its powerful light. Kate began to open her eyes and looked at her surroundings. Humphrey was still asleep, his paw still placed on hers, but her coat is soaked with sweat. She never forget what happened last night, and decided to apologize to Rex as fast as possible before he might leave the pack territory after suffering a nightmare, unable to forgive them for suggesting a terrible idea. She got up and stretched her muscles, yawning at the same time, and began to nudge her mate awake.

'Wake up darling.' She said in a gentle voice.

His eyes began to open and he groaned as he looked at her.

'Morning Kate.' He said sleepily.

'Morning sweetie. I think we have something important to do today, and it's urgent.' She said in a worried tone.

'What is it?' He asked as he got onto his feet and stretch his muscles.

'To apologize to Rex?'

'Oh… yeah, right. I almost forgot.'

'Come on. Let's look for him now. I'm afraid that he might leave our pack territory because of this.'

'Okay. Let's go.'

They left the den in a hurry and found that the sun wasn't fully out behind the mountains when they stepped into the open. They stood at the overhang and overlooked the den grounds and the far away clearing below them and found no sign of Rex. Kate's heart began to beat faster as fear gripped hold of her. If Rex does left, then no one in the pack can cure her and she can do nothing but wait for the consequences to come. Humphrey noticed her worried looks and decided to calm her down.

'Calm down, Kate. He's here. I'm sure of it.' He said in a gentle tone.

'How do you know?' She asked, looking at him.

'He's not a very sensitive wolf, Kate, except towards his dead mate. Just relax. He'll be back.'

She thought seriously for a while about Rex's behavior, and realized that he was right.

'Maybe you're right. Thank you darling.' She replied with a smile.

'Good. Now calm down and relax.' He said and they sat down infront of each other.

After a few minutes of their chat about other topics, Lilly appeared along with Rex dragging a Caribou with a deer on his back and they watched as they walked up the steep road slowly and Rex dropped his prize infront of them.

'Breakfast is served.' Rex said with a smile.

'Thank god you're still here.' Kate said as she hugged him tightly all in a sudden and it made their eyes widened.

'Um, excuse me?' Rex asked, completely confused about this.

'I thought you will leave Jasper because of last night.' She said as she pulled away and sat beside Humphrey.

'Why would I?'

'Well, I thought you won't forgive us for suggesting you to try to sleep.'

'It's not your fault, but mine.'

'Why? We're the ones who suggested it.'

'But I'm the one who accepted it, so it's mine. Don't worry, I won't leave you in a situation like this.'

'Thank you.'

Kate received a smile from him and noticed Lilly's puzzled expression as she doesn't know what had happened last night, and she decided to let her know everything.

'We suggested him to try to sleep for once.' She said and Lilly's eyes widened.

'But you know what hap-' Lilly stopped when her sister interrupted.

'Yes, I do, so as Humphrey, and the results… were the same as the past.'

'Um, Rex?' Humphrey asked, looking at him.

'Yes?' Rex said, looking back at him.

'I hope you don't mind, but, would you care to let us know about the whole nightmare? You know, to lighten the weight?'

Rex frowned at this and Kate and Lilly eyed him as he was suggesting another bad idea, but they wore a worried expression when they turned towards Rex.

'Sure. I could use someone to talk to to get this weight lighter. But, wait till you're done with your meal and after arriving at the pond.' He said and they nodded.

They had a wonderful chat as they ate their meal, and just when they are done with their meal, they felt surprised due to Garth's sudden appearance when he approached them from the steep road.

'Hey guys.' He said and they looked at him with a surprised expression.

'Garth? What are you doing here darling? I thought you have duties to do today.' Lilly said as she stood up and nuzzled him when he stood beside her.

'A good friend of mine personally invited me to teach some of the pups at Alpha School, so I thought if you guys would like to come along.' He said, looking from Lilly to the others.

'Is there a small pond in that school?' Rex's very first question and that let Kate know that he placed her as his top priority.

'Yes, all alpha pups trained on how to swim with that pond.'

'Good.'

'Did you let Winston know about this?' Humphrey asked.

'Yes, and he allowed me on accepting this invitation.'

'Well, let's go guys.' Lilly said and they began to walk down the steep road and headed towards Alpha School.

'I can't wait to see those cute little pups.' Lilly said, starting the conversation during their journey.

'Me too.' Kate said as she walked beside her sister and looked at her.

'Hey Garth, are they hard to teach?' Humphrey asked as he walked beside him.

'Well, not really. Most alpha pups are well-behaved, until the pack law changed.' He said, looking at him.

'What's wrong with that?' He asked, looking back with a puzzled expression.

'Omega pups are able to join the school now, and that makes the alphas more playful than before. I hope that it isn't that hard to get some lessons into their heads.'

'Well, today's their lucky day.'

'What makes you say that?'

''Cause they have a master to teach them today, am I right, Rex?'

Humphrey looked back at Rex who was at the back of the group and noticed his head lowered, as if something was bothering him.

'Rex?'

His second call caught his attention and he raised his head and looked back at him.

'What? Uh, yeah.'

'Is there something wrong, Rex?' Kate asked, noticing his sad expression.

'No, everything's fine.' He lied with a fake smile, but there really was something that was bothering him.

Hope it isn't last night that was bothering him, Kate thought to herself.

'Well, if you say so.' Humphrey said and looked back to the front.

Rex was silent for the whole journey as Rose's past wish returned in his mind. Just a glimpse of a pup breaks his heart, but it heals as it also allows him to imagine how his and Rose's pups would look like if they mated. This twisted feeling is just unbearable to him, and hope that the training would be over as soon as possible.

As they entered the school, Humphrey, Rex and Lilly's eyes widened as they've never seen the beauty of the school in their life as omegas can't join as restricted in the past pack law. They walked pass some alpha teachers who were teaching the pups, and some teaching the juniors and seniors. The school looks like a paradise instead of a training ground.

'Wow. This place is beautiful.' Lilly said in amazement.

'I know darling.' Garth said, looking back at her.

'Returning back here brings back so much memories.' Kate said as her memories as a pup returns into her mind.

'Um, what are we doing now, Garth?' Humphrey asked.

'We're looking for my friend.' He replied.

'Garth!' A male voice called out.

They turned to their left and saw a dark chocolate alpha wolf walking towards them with a smile.

'Hey Sam.' Garth said and they shared a quick hug. 'Busy with those pups?'

They looked at the alpha and omega pups behind Sam and noticed their puzzled expression as they're curious of their presence.

'Yeah. They're pretty cute actually.' Sam said, and Rex felt his heart being compressed.

'So, which batch is my friends and I going to teach?' Garth asked.

'Any. You can teach the seniors too. Just approach to any coaches and they'll let you handle their batch.'

'Which batch is closest to a pond?' Rex asked and it got his attention.

'Well, there's two, the seniors and the juniors. Take your pick.' Sam replied and looked at Garth.

'We'll see.' Garth replied with a smile.

'Okay. Good luck.' Sam said and walked back to his batch of students.

'So, which batch would you guys like to teach?' Garth said, turning towards them.

'I'll teach the pups.' Lilly volunteered.

'Darling, you're still undergoing training.' Garth said with a slight frown.

'Well, at least I know a little.' She replied looking back at him with a smile.

'Okay then. I'll help you out more than the seniors.'

'Well, I'm still undergoing training of my own, so I'm just gonna watch.' Humphrey said.

'I can only watch too, so that makes me and Humphrey being the audience only.' Kate said and exchanged smiles wither mate.

'Which batch are you teaching, Rex? I'll help out in both.' Garth asked.

'I'll… teach the seniors.' Rex said, hiding his sadness.

'Um, Rex, are you sure you're fine? You look pretty upset.' Humphrey asked curiously as he knows how every omegas act, especially in hiding their feelings from others.

'What, no, of course not. I'm fine.'

'Well, okay then. Good luck guys.' Garth said and they headed their separate ways.

Garth leaded Lilly towards the junior batch while Kate leads Rex and Humphrey to the senior batch. Garth and Lilly arrived first and smiled as they watched the pups trained in pouncing and running. Garth noticed Lilly's funny expression as she couldn't bear the adorableness of the pups and expressed a grin.

'They're so cute!' She said in excitement.

'They are, but not as cute as you.' Garth said and their eyes met.

'You know you don't have to say anything to get my attention, right?' She said as she leaned closer to him, their lips almost touched.

'But I must, so my beautiful flower can always stay close to me, and I'll protect it with my life.'

She giggled and they shared a quick kiss as they heard the sounds of disgust from their side. They turned towards the source of the sound and found a group of pups and an alpha teacher watching them. Some pups sticked their tongue out in disgust which made them looked adorable and Lilly smiled. Garth gave the batch coach a nod and he left to let Garth and Lilly take over.

'That's disgusting!' One of the pups said.

'No, not at all.' Garth replied and looked from the pups to his mate.

'It's beautiful when you did it with the wolf that you truly loved.' Lilly said and leaned her head on his chest which made the female pups let out a sigh of romance.

'Okay now, we're not here to teach you guys about kissing, but real alpha training. Let me introduce myself. I am Garth, the son of the leader of the Eastern pack and this is Lilly, my mate and the daughter of the leader of the Western pack.'

'Hello.' Lilly said politely as she waved her paw at them with a smile.

'Yeah, we've heard of you guys from our parents.' One of the pups said and the others nodded in agreement.

'I see. So, let's begin your training. What were you guys learning today?' Garth asked.

The pups looked at each other and had a short discussion before nodding in agreement and looked back at him.

'Um, we're still learning on how to pounce properly.' One of the pups said.

'It's very easy actually. Lilly, would you like to show them?' Garth asked as he looked at his mate and she looked back with a smile.

'Okay, my macho alpha.' She replied and it made him smiled.

She stood in position and began to power up her hind legs. At that moment, Garth stood beside her and explained to the pups why she did it in that way. The pups listened carefully and Garth and Lilly began to teach each and every one of them after his explanation. A few minutes later, they began to get a hang of it as some of them managed to pounce correctly.

'Hey, I did it!' One of them said happily and turned towards his friends.

Garth and Lilly smiled at their success, but it isn't complete yet, and so they had an idea that might speed up their learning skills.

'Can I have your attention please?' Lilly asked and the pups stopped what they were doing and sat infront of them.

Garth and Lilly gave a nod to each other before looking back at the pups who were puzzled at what they had in mind, and their face lit up when Garth made a deal with them.

'If all of you can pounce properly, I'll let you play for the rest of the school time. Do we have a deal?'

'Yes!' All of them said and it made Lilly giggle.

'Good. I'll be testing each of you, so who would like to volunteer?' Garth asked and received lots of raised paws.

The sound of cheers from the pups crumples Rex's heart as he teaches the seniors nearby with Humphrey and Kate watching as they sat in the small pond. The seniors were surprised of Rex's sudden visit and was even more surprised when they found out that he'll be teaching them for today, which is their lucky day as there's a master wolf who'll be teaching them. The male students are well-behaved and raised their chest to show their bravery as they stood in a row with Rex walking pass them, but the females, on the other paw, just tries to charm him with their beauty, and it made him, Kate and Humphrey rolled their eyes.

'Damn, I could've brushed my fur if I know that he was coming.' One of the female wolves whispered to her friend beside her.

'Me too, so I can get his full attention.' Her friend replied.

'No, he's mine.'

'No, he's mine!'

'He's mine!'

'No, mine!'

Rex already heard their whole conversation and stepped in.

'What are you two arguing about?' He asked, pretending that he never heard of their conversation.

'Oh, um, nothing, sir.' One of them replied with lustful eyes.

'Yeah.' The other female said with the same eyes as her friend.

'Well, pay attention, 'cause I'll be teaching you for today only.'

Sigh, teenagers these days, he thought to himself.

'Okay.' She replied and giggled with her friend.

Rex sat infront of them with his chest raised and wore a serious expression.

'Do you know the main reason why you're sent here to Alpha School?' He asked and a male wolf raised his paw. 'Do you have an answer?'

'To protect our pack?' He answered with a smile.

'Close, but which part of our pack?'

'Our family.' Another male wolf answered.

'Yes. We train hard to protect them, so as them to protect you when you're a pup.'

He stood up and walked from the left side of the row to the right, speaking as he walk.

'To be a master in combats, you must be swift, smart, strong, and requires-'

He stopped and slashed his claws at a gliding leaf next to him without looking, just like how he did it infront of Humphrey, Kate and Lilly, slicing it into four strips and the students stared in amazement. Rex knew that performing skills like that will gain more attention from other female wolves around the school which will bother him more than usual, but it doesn't matter. After all, he's showing them how a real highly-trained alpha wolf looks like.

'Instincts.'

'That was amazing!' One of the male student said and the female wolves fainted due Rex's badassery.

'It requires time to master your instincts, so if you want skills like mine, train hard and never give up.' Rex said with a smile.

Rex started off by teaching them how to use their instincts correctly, and trained them by commanding them to close their eyes and locate the incoming pebbles thrown by him with their instincts. Humphrey and Kate learned by watching them, and in the end, the training went smoothly. The school ends at the evening, and students began to leave after saying goodbyes to their teachers. The female students who Rex taught for the whole afternoon stopped by him before exiting the school.

'Sir,' One of them said shyly.

'My apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Rex.' Rex said with a smile.

'Okay, Rex, um… Can we hang out with you next time?'

'Sure.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, of course you can.'

'Okay, see you tomorrow.'

Rex watched as the girls walked away and they kept looking back at him, giggling at the same time. Rex let out a deep breath and felt glad that the training went well. He heard the sounds of happy pups and he turned around to look at them. He watched as they walked pass him and hugged their parents who were waiting for them at the entrance, which made hurts his heart again just a glimpse of it. Garth, Lilly, Humphrey and Garth were behind him and noticed his sad expression and decided to help him out.

'I know something's bothering you, Rex. Just spit it out.' Kate said as she walked up to him, so as the others.

Kate and Garth knows how well omegas act to hide their feelings by living with their omega mates, Humphrey and Lilly, and they eventually learned it from them.

'Looks like there's no point hiding it from you guys.' Rex said, looking back at them.

They sat infront of him and he took a deep breath before confessing Rose's past wish of having pups. He told them every single detail of it, including the names of the pups that he and Rose thought of, and they felt their heart broke when he ended.

'No wonder you're so depressed when you saw or heard sounds of pups.' Kate said with a frown.

'I'm so sorry, Rex.' Lilly said sadly.

'It's fine. I need to lighten this weight anyway. Thank you for listening to me.' Rex said with a forced smile.

'No problem, Rex. Why don't we head to the pond to spend the rest of the evening?' Humphrey asked and received nods from them.

They stood up and began to walk towards the pond, and Humphrey, Lilly and Rex played hide-and-seek again with Kate watching as she sat in the pond when they arrived. The sun sets behind the mountains and the silver moon rose to take its place of the night and shower the land with its beautiful moonlight. They said goodbyes to each other after their dinner and walked their separate ways. Rex found another rose plant at the pond, like Humphrey told him that rose plants are all over the territory before, and he harvested one before catching up with Humphrey and Kate. When they arrived, Rex sat at the overhang and watched as Humphrey and Kate entered their den.

'Goodnight, Rex.' Kate said along with Humphrey, looking back at him before entering their den.

'Goodnight you two.' He replied with a smile and watched as they disappeared into the den.

Humphrey and Kate made their regular sleeping posture and closed their eyes.

'Goodnight, Humphrey.' Kate said.

'Goodnight, Kate.' Humphrey replied, and they drifted to sleep.

Meanwhile, outside the den, Rex held the rose in his paw and looked at the silver moon with a frown.

'This guilt might never die in my heart, Rose. I'm truly sorry.' He said, and continued to admire the beauty of the moon for the rest of the night…

Truly pitied Rex for his terrible life, but It's still how it should be under the plot. My apology for the late updates; It's suppose to be 'a week or more', but I forgot to write it in the previous chapter. I can't promise you when the next update might be, as I'm busy sometimes, but I'll get it done as soon as possible. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I hope it's worth for your long wait. Thank you for the supports so far. I really appreciate it and as usual, leave a review/follow/favourite. It helps me a lot and have an awesome day. Peace out. -LoverWolfs1121