Alpha and Omega Re-telling.

Chapter Nine: The Final Stampede.

Chapter Nine: The Final Stampede.

    Down in the valley the two packs were facing one another, this time peacefully, a massive flat rock lying between them. Tony stepped over from his pack and sat down next to Winston, who nodded, quite enjoying how things were turning out." Tony!"
    Tony nodded back and sat down.
    In front of them, standing facing each other on the flat, grey stone, were Garth and Kate . . .
    "So," Garth said nervously," are you ready?"
    Kate took a deep breath and nodded," Yes," she was as ready as she'd ever be. Waiting woud never help . . .
    "Good," he nodded, and glanced nervously behind Kate . . . To Lily, who looked away.
    "Are you okay?" Kate asked, easily seeing that something was different in Garth.
    "You bet!" He exclaimed," No problems on this end! Ready to go, go, go!"
    His father frantically gestured for him to get going, he nodded solemnly back and took a deep breath." So you wanna start this thing or me?"
    Kate shook her head," We'll start together."
    "Start together," Garth nodded.

    Shakey looked up above the other western wolves, standing on the backs of Mooch and Salty." So happenin is they're accepting each other's scent." He said, watching Kate and Garth slowly and nervously nuzzle each other's necks with their noses, explaining happenings to the other two, who nodded back.
   "Oh, and now the nibble on the ears!" Shakey continued as Kate and Garth slowly gave each other a soft nip on the ear . . .

    "Do you think I can make it?" Humphrey called up to Paddy, flying smoothly above him, looking over at the train speeding toward a spot a few dozen yards away from him where Humphrey was to board.
    "Yes sir!" Paddy called back down to him, flying along with him as he ran." Just as you hit the tracks you should see an open train car!"
    "Well," said Marcel, swooping down from the other side," avoid treck stops, bears, and that hideous desert . . . What is it called?"
    "Cupcakes sir!" Paddy chuckled back.
    "Ah, yes! Cupcakes!" Marcel said, quite seriously.
    Humphrey grinned up at them, bounding over the soft green grass." I will . . . And thanks guys!"
    As one the two birds nodded and swept away above the forest, heading back into Jasper, and leaving Humphrey to continue on the path he had chosen for himself . . .

     "And finally," Shakey said tearfully," They will rub noses, to symbolize that they are . . . mates." He grabbed a wolf in front of him's tail and burst into sobs on it. A quick growl and he dropped the tail and chuckled appologetically.

    Slowly Kate and Garth stepped toward one another their noses lifted, prepared to seal the bond that would bind them together for the rest of their lives . . . Lily gave a soft sob in the background . . .
    Suddenly Kate froze, this wasn't right. How could a peace thrive on something that was so utterly false . . .? She looked up into Garth's eyes and didn't need to look again to know that he didn't want it either, regret and sadness filled his features . . . He seemed to be simply pushing himself forward, forcing himself to do what had to be done . . .
    Slowly she closed her eyes, tearing her what little remained of emotion or feeling in her heart out, and stepped forward. This had to be done, or there was no hope! Garth sighed and stepped forward a bit and closed his own eyes leaning in for her.
    Suddenly some dormant part of Kate flared to life, NO!, it screamed, and a moment later Garth opened his eyes and saw Kate had stepped back, a look of fear at what she had been about to do etched into her face.
   "Kate, what are you doing?" He said softly, a slightly fearful look on his face.
   "I . . . I . . . can't . . ." She said simply.
   "You can't!" Garth cried exultantly, and then suddenly he froze." Uh, I mean . . . You can't?"
    Suddenly Tony leaped to his feet and faced Winston." What is this Winston," he exclaimed," Why can't she marry Garth?"
    "Quiet!" Winston snapped at him, stepping forward to Kate." Kate, Kate . . . Why can't you marry Garth?"
   Kate smiled to herself and looked down at the stone beneath her feet." Because . . . I, uh . . . I fell in love with an Omega?"
   "An Omega!" Winston cried in shock, Eve beside him fainted dead away.
   Out on the outskirts of the crowd Humphrey's friends grinned. Salty chuckled softly and whispered happily," Humphrey! That sly dog!" Laughing they turned away from the scene unfolding before them and looked up at the cliffs behind them . . .

    Humphrey felt as though, as he ran away from Jasper, moment by moment getting closer and closer to the train, he had a string attatched to his heart, and as he ran he was pulling his heart out, bit by bit . . .
    An image of Kate standing next to him, howling triumphantly up at the moon, flashed through his mind, but he shook his head. It was never to be, she was probably already married by now! It was over! Nobody should ever build their hope, life, and dream on something as unstable as love!
    With a final bound he leapt through the air.

    Tony laughed harshly, practically snarling." An Alpha in love with an Omega! That's against pack law!" he turned on Winston, but Garth interruped him.
    "Dad," he said, leaping down from the rock," I also am in love with an Omega." Slowly he stepped toward Lily, who looked up, a light shining in her eyes.
    "What!" Tony cried angrily, Kate grinning at Lily," What have you done to my son Winston!"
    "An Alpha and an Omega, an Omega and an Alpha." He muttered, confused, turning to Eve as she stood," Eve! Help me out!"
    In reply his mate simply fell flat back down.
    Suddenly the anger and surprise in Tony's eyes was replaced with burning fury," This is madness!" he howled," This isn't our custom! This isn't our way!" Slowly he stepped around in front of his pack, who were now facing off the westerners, snarling once again." Take the valley!" He roared.
    In response the wolves leaped for each other's throats . . .
    "I just love weddings!" Yelped Shakey, he and the other two huddled up against the cliff, keeping carefully out of the fight unfolding.
    Kate stood in the middle of the fight, standing on the rock on which she was, only a few minutes before, to be married on, her worst nightmare unfolding about her . . .
    Can-do had his jaws locked on a howling eastern wolf's leg . . . Hutch was snapping away at two other wolves . . . Winston and Tony were facing one another, their teeth flashing as they tore at each other . . .
    Was this how it would end? In a battle . . .

    During the early weeks of spring massive herds of caribou flocked to the valley to graze, all prefering to go to the head of the valley, were the grass was greenest, and join together there to feed.
   Today the sound of all the fighting wolves nearby had them nervous . . .
    One lead buck leapt forward and an instant later a thousand caribou poured after him . . .

    "Stampede!" Kate screamed frantically, staring in shock up at the wall of charging caribou pouring down the valley toward them." Stampede!"
    Instantly everyone froze. Winston raised his head and roared," Run! Run! Everyone run!"
    "To the sides of the valley!" Tony added, instantly ever wolf in sight poured for the edge of the valley . . .
   He and Tony turned and ran forward, but suddenly there was a sickening snap and Tony stumbled, falling forward, his back in an awkward bend." It's that darn disk in my back!" He howled in pain up at Winston.
    Winston nodded, and without thinking for half a moment, slammed his fellow leader in the back. There was a snap and Tony stood, nodding thankfully to Winston. Instantly they turned and again ran for the side of the valley . . . but it was too late, the caribou poured in on either side pinning them in, forcing them to keep ahead of the herd, or die, trampled to death under their hard hooves. . . .
    Kate had finally made it to the top of the valley and only then did she turn back to look into the valley . . . What she saw made her blood run cold, the two leaders running frantically forward in front of the stampede . . . doomed.
   "Oh no! They're trapped!" She cried frantically, running along the edge of the valley, frantically trying to think of some way to save them . . .
    Suddenly a grey streak ran out of the woods and stopped behind her." Humphrey!" Kate cried in surprise, skidding her run to a stop.
    "Kate!" He cried back in relief.
    "We have to help them!" She yelped, pointing frantically at the stampede . . . and Tony and her father.
    Suddenly Humphrey's eyes fell on something: An old, broken in two, hollowed out log!" Look!" He cried in triumph, leaping forward, Kate right behind him.

    13/5-14.

    Down below them Tony and Winston were slowly feeling how truly old they were getting . . . They began to slow down, panting hard. . . The caribou closing in.
    "Faster, faster Tony!" Winston called hopelessly to Tony, who was lagging, a slight glitch in his run.

    "Pull left!" Humphrey yelled, and instantly Kate gave the log a slight jerk over and they sped on past the tree that would have turned them to splinters. They were trying desparately to use Humphrey's knowledge of the area, put it together with some teamwork, and get ahead of the stampede off to their right, hidden behind the trees, before it overtook Tony and Winston." Pull right!" He called now, there was another jerk and they went up the side of a small incline, and forward, faster and faster." Whoah, you're gettin good at this!" Humphrey chuckled up to Kate.
     She grinned back at him." I had a good teacher."
     Suddenly they whisked out of the trees and found themselves flying along the edge of the canyon, down below the stampede had moved faster than they'd counted . . . and was now farther ahead than they were . . ." No!" Kate cried in despair," They're too far ahead! We'll never make it!"
    "Hold on!" Humphrey yelled suddenly, giving the log a small shove to the left. Suddenly they were flying through the air, still on the log, thrown up a ramp made by a massive spur of rock, and heading straight for Tony and Winston.
    They landed hard, the log splitting in two, and Kate and Humphrey were thrown a dozen yards past where it hit.
    Slowly they crouched down and crept forward, keeping as low as they could, heading for the log behind which Winston and Tony had now taken shelter.
   Humphrey grinned at Kate, crawling along beside him." World adventurers!" He chuckled.
    She smiled back, a real smile." I told you we'd make a good team!"
   Humphrey grinned wider." Did you say that? I thought I said that."
   Together they leapt up and forward. Humphrey landed easily beside Tony, in the shelter of the log, but there was a sharp snap and Kate was hit by a caribou and thrown backwards . . .
    "Kate!" Humphrey yelled. Without thinking he leapt out and threw his body over hers, letting the sharp caribou hooves which would have Kate, slam into his body.
    Winston and Tony looked at the two of them and nodding in silent agreement leapt up onto the log and began to snarl and snap at the caribou as they approached the log, causing them to swerve to the side . . . Away from Kate and Humphrey.

     The thunder of the caribou's stampede had hardly died away when Humphrey slowly crawled off of Kate, every inch of his body screaming in pain. But his pain didn't matter right them . . . the only thing that mattered was Kate, lying so deathly still in front of him, her eyes closed.
    "Kate . . .Kate . . ." He said softly . . . There was no reply." Please Kate . . ." Fear engulfed him and he gave her a gentle nudge, but her body remained still, hardly moving at his touch." Please . . . You can't do this." Sorrow poured into him like a torrent, inside he gave an ear piercing scream, but it couldn't be heard. He leaned forward and embraced her body gently, lying his head on hers." I love you." He whispered softly.
    Slowly he raised his head and let out a deep, resonating howl, letting his sorrow stream into the sound till it sounded like a death toll. Slowly Winston stepped forward and added his majestic howl to Humphrey's . . . Lily joined in a moment later, and before you knew it every wolf in sight, and many of them had returned after the stampede, raised his or her head and added their howl to the chorus: Even Tony.
    Suddenly Humphrey stopped howling . . . Kate had moved. He froze, his heart skipping a beat, and waited, watching in amazement as she slowly stirred again and stood." Kate . . ." He said in relief.
    "Humphrey?" She said weakly.
    Humphrey sighed," I thought I'd lost you . . ."
    Slowly and painfully Kate sat up." Is everyone staring at us?" She asked, looking up at all the wolves surrounding them.
    Humphrey grinned." Uh, ah, well no . . . not everyone - No, yeah, now they are"
   Kate smiled." Oh darn, cuz I wanted to tell you something." Slowly she sat back down and put her mouth to his ear.

    Winston chuckled, watching Humphrey and his daughter whispering happily to one another." Maybe, this can work." He said, slowly turning to Tony.
    Tony shrugged, and a smile tugged at his face." Oh . . ." Suddeny Eve gave a snarl and he straightened up." All right!"
    Lily suddenly gave a shout of joy and leapt up to Garth, smiling widely . . .
    The wolves around the valley howled together, suddenly and so easily joined, and that time of hatred it seemed, passed from them.
    "Tony?" Winston smiled," What do two old wolves do after they're retired?"
    Suddenly Marcel and Paddy hopped up on the log from nowhere." Gentlemen!" Marcel exclaimed, catching the attention of the two surprised Alpha's." May I introduce you to . . . golf!"
    Paddy tossed a rock on the log and Marcel cried" Par!" Then gave one almighty swing. . . .

    That night the howl on the mountain was the best that the pack, now twice its size, had ever seen. The moon was at its fullest, the clouds were few, and their hearts where filled. . . .
    "You ready?" Humphrey asked, stepping to Kate where she stood on the very top of the mountain.
    She nodded," Oh yeah, ready!"
    Slowly they stepped together and let their hearts loose into their howls . . . It was the same howl that they had howled on the train, but that time it had been a howl in triumph.
    This was a howl of triumph . . . Nothing would ever break them apart again.

                                 <THE END>