Chapter 3: A Fateful Spark (written from November 23rd to November 30th, 2024)

October 17th, 2009

Tony and Martha decided to wake up Garth together. A part of them hated to see him released from a good, restful slumber, but they knew having a slow, groggy start to the day wouldn't do him good.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," said Martha. "Up, up, up!"

"Ugh… Early again?" Garth muttered after yawning. His parents chuckled.

"Well, that's what early mornings are. They're kind of… early," Tony awkwardly replied.

"You're going to watch your friends practice the Admissions Test today," Martha informed.

"Oh, yeah!" Suddenly, the pup jumped out of bed as if wide awake. "C'mon! C'mon! What are we waiting for?!"

"Your dad hunted some mice. It's waiting for you near the mouth of the den."

The red pup shot out of his room and promptly inhaled the food. Even for Garth, it was speedy. "You're through already?" said Tony. The couple traded looks of surprise.

"Er shrure ram!" their son answered before he swallowed with difficulty. "Ouch!" He then rubbed his neck.

"That's what happens when you don't chew. I know Stormfast's your cousin, but you need to slow down. The test isn't a spooked fawn. It's not going to run off on you."

"But we gotta get there!" Garth protested. "Let's go, go, go!" He dashed out of the cave. His parents struggled to keep up, their over-enthusiastic son kicking debris into their faces.

Martha's apprehension soon got the better of her. "What have we done?"

"Obviously, we've set the future in motion," said Tony.

"And now that future is running off into the wilderness with no clue of where he's going!"

— A&Ω —

When the distinguished family arrived at the Eastern Training Grounds, the Alpha that Tony placed in charge of the Alpha training, Murphee, was busy setting up the obstacle course. Tony walked up to Murphee and started to help out with the preparations. Meanwhile, his mate walked over to the edge of the clearing, where Garth found a boulder that overlooked most of where the practice test was set to occur. He watched with eager anticipation as more wolves arrived one by one. He saw pups of all different fur colors and patterns, including his friends, Alex, Stormfast, and Luke.

Tony eventually called everyone to order and made sure Murphee was right beside him. "Welcome to the training grounds, everyone. The first practice test for juniors' admissions to Alpha School will be underway shortly. In a minute, my good friend, Murphee, will be passing out bones to every participant. All test attempts must be marked down and signed by one of the captains."

Murphee then described the test. There would be a multiple-choice quiz, then a very challenging obstacle course. Any junior who wanted to get into Alpha School had to score at least ninety-five percent on the quiz and at least ninety percent on the obstacle course. The captains of the pack, which included Murphee, would act as adjudicators for the latter. Soon participants were divided into two groups, each led by volunteer Alphas on opposite sides of the clearing. Both sides began with a quiz.

The red pup watched all that was taking place, completely absorbed by the realization that he would get involved at the next opportunity. So absorbed Garth was that he failed to notice another red pup staring at him, a female. For two solid minutes, she locked her gaze on him.

"Hi there," she eventually said.

It startled Garth. "Ah! Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there."

"My name is Chelsea," she said, trying to strike up a conversation. "What's your name?"

"Well…" Garth blinked. He took a second to examine her. She was his exact height and had fur so red that it was like looking straight into fire. At the same time, Chelsea's luminous green eyes studied Garth. She tilted her head. Her fluffy, elegant tail swished from left to right as she waited for his answer. Garth thought she must have been…

He then snapped out of his mini-trance. "Oh, my name?" Chelsea nodded. "My name is Garth. I'm Tony's son."

"You're Tony's son? Oh, my! That's so cool! My parents are Super and Fabulous!" Garth tilted his head in confusion. "Ha, ha!" I'm just kidding. My dad's name is Jaylon, and my mom's name is Chelyssa. It's kind of like my name. She even looks like me with the same eyes and everything!"

"So, are you also taking the practice test next time?"

"You bet! I'm so excited because, if I pass, my auntie says she's going to hunt down a moose and give me its heart as a gift!"

"Wow, that's great! What about your mom and dad? What are they going to do?"

"Oh, my parents are Omegas. They can't hunt," Chelsea replied.

"Wait, Omegas? What?"

"I'm what's called an Alpha-Sigma. Sigma wolves have parents who belong to a class different than their own, so as an Alpha-Sigma, I'm an Alpha with Omega parents."

"How does that work? Who brings you food?"

"My other family members chip in. They're all Alphas."

"That's so weird. I've never heard of a Sigma. I didn't know you could have family members of a different class."

"We're everywhere if you look hard enough."

"So, what is it like being a Sigma?"

"I love to play!" Chelsea replied, wagging her tail.

"So do I!"

"But I really, really, really love to play! The other Alpha pups think I'm annoying…"

"I don't. Hey, do you want to practice-hunt later today?"

"Can't. My auntie's giving me lessons on herbs. She wants me to become a healer after I graduate from Alpha School."

"Aw, that stinks! Well… do you want to be friends?"

"I'd love to! We are now officially friends! Ha, ha!"

"Yeah! You should come over to my den and play sometime! We could have all sorts of fun!"

"Sounds great!" Chelsea replied joyfully. Suddenly, her name was called. "Catch you later, Garth. If you see me taking the test next week, wish me luck!"

"Good luck! I'll be watching you!"

"Toodles!"

— A&Ω —

The remainder of the day passed rather quickly. When Garth and his parents returned home, Martha left to hunt by herself again, and Tony went to attend another meeting with the Western chieftain. Garth thought he would be alone in the den, but his group of friends decided to pay him a visit. "Hey, guys!" he greeted. "How was the test?"

"Pfft. Stupidly easy," Stormfast replied. "If that's how Alpha School's going to be, we have nothing to worry about."

"'Easy'?! Are you certain we took the same test?" said Luke, a pale tan wolf.

"Where's Alex?" Garth asked.

"He's still working on his project," said Roxana.

"I hope it buries him alive. I can't stand that wolf," muttered Dulmore, a greyish-brown wolf, who was covered from head to toe in scars.

"Is there anything you can stand?" Stormfast commented. "Your whole personality can be summed up as, 'I hate everything.'"

"A mountain lion tried to eat me five days after I was born, and you expect me to be positive?"

"It wouldn't hurt."

"Keep dreaming, Storm." Dulmore displayed his snaggletooth as a warning.

Stormfast's brother, Stone, moved in between them. "I'm with Luke. That test was far from easy. I think it's rigged."

"Rigged? Oh, please. They just want the best Alphas," Stormfast replied. "You wouldn't be saying that if you had just put in the work."

"Well, excuse me!" Stone exclaimed. "Not everyone has superpowers like you."

"Hey, guys, I met a girl," Garth informed. The eyes of everyone except for Roxana doubled in size.

Stormfast wrapped his right arm around his cousin's back. "Right on! Good for you, Garth! Does she have a name?"

"Chelsea."

"Hmm, never heard of her. You, Stone?"

"No."

"Me neither," said Luke. "What about you, Roxy?"

The orange pup smirked. "When was the last time you saw me with another female?"

"Fair point," said Stormfast. Roxana, a self-avowed tomboy, never hung around juniors who shared her sex, especially after she claimed one's ear as a souvenir.

"Stormfast knows every girl from here to yonder," said Dulmore. "If he doesn't know her, then she must be new."

"She said she was an Alpha-Sigma, an Alpha with Omega parents. Maybe that has something to do with it," Garth suggested.

"Ah, that makes sense," remarked Stormfast. "Because of her Omega blood, she probably lives on the outskirts of the territory. Her den must be well-hidden."

"But she's not an Omega. She's an Alpha. She should be living with us."

"She would be alone. Omegas aren't allowed on the den grounds. Tony's rules."

"Well, that's not fair!"

"That's the way things are. Nothing we can do about it. If you don't know, one of Winston's daughters is an Omega, and rumor has it she's only allowed on Mount Victory for a limited time."

"I'm going to talk to my dad about this… This isn't right."

— A&Ω —

"No. Absolutely not," Tony asserted.

"Dad, I don't think you heard me correctly. I said, 'Can we get rid of the rule against Omegas on the den grounds, please?'"

"I heard you loud and clear. My answer is the same."

"What?! Why?"

"As I've told you before, Omegas are inferior."

"I understand that, but why can't the inferior wolves be where we live?"

"Because they're distractions. Alphas can't relax after a long day of duty if Omegas constantly want to play games. We can't have them tainting our areas of leisure. They have the rest of the territory to do whatever they do. That's more than enough. There's only so much closeness you can allow between Alphas and Omegas before…"

"Before what?"

Tony shook his head. "Nothing. The fact of the matter is, when you give Omegas too much freedom, you end up like the Western Pack. Weak."

"The Western Pack has the same kind of rules. One of Winston's daughters is an Omega. For most nights, she can't even sleep with her dad."

The information related to the Westerns blindsided Tony. "What the…? How do you know that?"

"Stormfast told me."

The chieftain sighed. "Owen…" he remarked under his breath. "Until I say otherwise, you are not to speak to my brother or his sons, understand?"

"Yes, Dad." Tony noticed his son frown.

"C'mere." He opened his arms. His son stepped forward to accept his hug. "I know what's best for you, okay? There will be a day when I won't be around to protect you." He licked his son's forehead.

"Really? This whole time I thought you'd live forever."

Tony laughed. He rolled his shoulders as his bothersome disc continued to misbehave.

"What are you boys chatting about?" asked Martha, facing away from them. She entered the den, dragging in a muskox carcass with her powerful jaws.

"Rules and why we follow them," Tony replied. "Wow, it's been several moons since we've seen muskox. That's one heck of a catch!"

"Why, thank you. You know, you're quite the catch yourself."

Knowing his parents would start smooching, Garth slunk into his room.