Special thanks to:

jhilton0907 for the idea that Humphrey was part of another pack.

Chapter 4: Humphrey's Other Pack

After leaving the territory behind them, the group began to get to work. The cool morning mist slowly began to lift, allowing مزید of the surrounding forest to become visible. The tall trees, with their many leaves shaded much of the forest floor from the beating heat of the sun.

Stinky began to take the lead, using his profound sense of smell to try and pick up his father's trail.

"Well, Stinky," Humphrey کہا after letting his son sniff around for a few minutes. "What do آپ smell?"

Stinky looked up at his father. "You," he said. "But younger and less mature."

Humphrey gave out a nervous laugh, as he knew that Stinky hadn't the faintest idea.

"Yep," he said. "That's definitely me."

"Anything else, Stinky?" Kate asked, trying to stay on track.
"Hold on," he کہا as he began to sniff the cool, morning breeze, then sniffed down towards the ground.

"There's a trail. It's faint, but it's there."

"Where's it headed?" Garth asked.

"Deeper into the forest."

"Well come on," Runt said, walking up towards the front. "Let's go see where it leads."

"Yeah, Stinky," Claudette agreed. "Lead the way."

"Okay," Stinky announced enthusiastically. "Follow me."

Kate and Humphrey looked at each other nervously.

"What?" Humphrey asked.

"The fate of this quest is betting on Stinky, Claudette, and Runt."

"Yeah? Try not to think about it."

They began to venture into the woods that were now just beginning to come to life with the sounds of the birds waking up.

As the دن wore on, it began to warm up and the group occasionally stopped to bathe in the warm spots of sunlight that broke through the canopy. It was early evening and the cold air started to return and the sun began to go down, but was still visible in the cloudy sky when the group started looking for a place to sleep and Stinky suddenly stopped. Humphrey approached him, wondering what was wrong.

"Stinky," he said. "What is it?"

"I smell something really strange. Not like anything I've ever smelled before."

Everyone looked at each other as they thought about what he could possibly be smelling out here. Kate looked down at him.

"Like what, exactly?"

"I don't know," Stinky replied, uncertainly. "It smells like a pack of wolves, on the other side of that ہل, لندن over there." He looked over at a large ہل, لندن which was completely barren of trees, not too far away from where they were standing.
"But there's something else about it," he continued. "It smells kinda like Dad."

"Well, maybe it's the pack where he was born," Lilly suggested.

"I don't think so," Stinky said. "I only smell Dad's specific scent. Nothing else resembling it at all."

"I don't understand," Garth said. True, not much was known about Humphrey's past, but it still didn't make sense why Humphrey's scent would be coming from a pack that he wasn't born into.

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "As far I know, he was on his own ever since he lost his parents."

As everyone else stood around in the middle of the woods, with the sun continuing to sink in the sky, Runt took this opportunity to once again, express, the tree-hugger within and began heading towards the nearest tree. It was quite tall, and could've easily provided him with a good view over the hill. But Kate noticed him running off before he could get there and called him out on it.

"Runt," she said. "Where are آپ going?"

"I'm going to go take a look," he shouted back, not stopping. However, right when he was about to start climbing, Humphrey took notice and put a stop to it.

"Runt, don't even think about it," he sternly said.

"But Dad," he began, but was quickly cut off سے طرف کی a much better and safer idea from Marcel.

"Don't worry, we'll go see what it is," he کہا as him Paddy flew into the air to look over the hill. The sky started turning مالٹا, نارنگی as the sun started setting behind the trees on the other side of the hill. A few rays of sunlight allowed them to see into the woods behind the hill. Through the trees, they were able to make out a few dozen بھیڑیا dens, hidden in the trees before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. As they returned to the group, they began to talk amongst themselves.

"What did آپ guys see?" Kate asked.

The two ignored Kate's سوال and continued talking.

"That ہل, لندن has such an amazing view," Paddy was saying. "It would make for an excellent place for a golf course, wouldn't آپ say sir?"

"Indeed it would, Paddy," Marcel agreed.

"Guys," Humphrey said, getting a little annoyed. "Let's focus, please. What did آپ see?"

"Oh, yes. Right. Well," Marcel started, but then Paddy interrupted him.

"We couldn't be sure," Paddy explained. "But it looks like there are several dens down there. Quite a big pack, I'd say."

"Well, let's go," Humphrey said. He figured these other wolves might be able to help them. Besides, it was getting late and they needed a place to sleep.

"Wait," Garth said. "Are آپ crazy?"

"Does anyone ever say "yes" to that question?" Humphrey asked, then turned and kept going. He began to walk up the ہل, لندن and soon the others stated to follow him, seeing as how there would be no changing his mind. As they reached the top, they stopped and looked down the other side. Not much could be seen anymore as the sun had long since set and the surrounding forest was nearly pitch black. But it wasn't long before the dim, blue light of the moon began to light up the forest as the moon slowly rose into the cloudy night sky.

"I see them," Kate said, looking down through the trees. It was true. As the full moon rose, its immense light broke through the trees, revealing a few dozen stone dens, hidden within the foliage. Everyone gasped in amazement as they had never seen a pack this large.

"Wow," Lilly exclaimed.

"That's a lot of dens," Garth agreed.

As Humphrey looked down at the forest, his gaze slowly worked its way back up the ہل, لندن until he saw something that made him freeze. Kate looked over at him and immediately recognized his face from Father's دن a few days before. Something was wrong again, and she knew it.

"Humphrey?" she asked, but to no avail. "Just like last time," she thought. Kate followed her husband's gaze down the hillside to what he was looking at. But when she saw it, she was as confused as ever. As she followed his gaze, her eyes landed on a rotten tree, laying across the bottom of the hill, just beyond where the forest began again.

"That tree."

Kate jumped in surprise when she heard his voice so suddenly. But something still wasn't right. It sounded dazed, almost emotionless.

Then, suddenly, Humphrey leaped forwards down the hill, running faster then Kate would've thought possible for an omega. She shouted after him.

"Humphrey, wait!" But it was too late. Humphrey had already taken off. Kate hurried down the ہل, لندن after him and soon the others followed her.

As Humphrey reached the tree, he stopped, hardly even panting as he did so. Kate came up behind him a few moments later, breathing heavily.

"Humphrey," she said, trying desperately to catch her breath. "Why'd آپ run off like that?"

"I remember this place," he replied, still looking at the درخت and sounding a little less dazed. "I've been here before, a long time ago, after I lost my parents."

Kate was confused. "But how?" she asked. "How did آپ know that you've been here before?"

"The tree," Humphrey answered, not lifting his eyes from the rotting tree.

"The tree?"

Humphrey finally looked over at Kate as he began to explain, just as the others were coming up behind them.

"Last time I was here," he said. "This درخت almost killed me."

Everyone listened intently, as the cold night air blew around them.

"It was dark and stormy and I was looking for shelter. The storm was the biggest I'd ever seen. The wind was so strong, it was practically bending the trees over themselves, the rain was coming down so hard, آپ could barely see your own nose in front of you. It had been about a ماہ and a half since I lost my parents and I was barely surviving, all alone in the world with nothing at all when suddenly, there was a huge bolt of lightning that nearly hit me. All the فر, سمور on my body stood up, and then I heard it. The sound of a درخت falling down. It all happened so fast, I barely had enough time to get out of its way, but not before it landed on my tail. The pain was undescribable and I couldn't get free, no matter how hard I tried. So I stayed there, all night and through much of the اگلے day, until-"

"Quiet," Daria suddenly said, stopping Humphrey from finishing. "I hear something."

Everyone stopped and listened, but no one heard anything. No one but Daria.

"What is it?" Lilly asked quietly.

"I don't know," Daria replied. "It kinda sounds like-"

"Quiet!" Garth said. "I see something. There in the trees."

Everyone looked into the trees ahead, but not much could be seen, even سے طرف کی the bright light of the full moon. Only a dimly lit figure moving through the trees could be seen. It was a wolf, but that was about all that they could be certain about. The mysterious بھیڑیا stopped just short of the درخت line, staying within the darkness of the woods. Then he spoke.

"Hey there!" he shouted. "Who are you?"

Kate approached Humphrey. "Humphrey, we should go," she کہا and slowly began to turn around, waiting for him to follow.

"Wait," Humphrey said.

"What are آپ doing out here?" the بھیڑیا asked.

Kate turned back around and walked back up to Humphrey. "Humphrey, we really need to go," she urged him.

"Something about him seems familiar," Humphrey told her. The بھیڑیا continued to talk.

"We don't welcome strangers into our pack. The last time we did, he nearly killed my son."

Humphrey suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with amazement as he remembered a crucial part of his puphood. "Oh my gosh," he exclaimed. "It can't be."

"Return to your own pack now before someone gets hurt," the بھیڑیا threatened, clearly getting annoyed with the delay.

Kate stepped آگے in Humphrey's defense. "Try it and see what happens," she said, a slight snarl evident in her voice.

"Kate, wait," Humphrey کہا as he began to slowly walk up to the wolf.

"Stop!" the بھیڑیا shouted. "Don't take another step یا it'll be the last one آپ ever take."

"Pups, get behind Aunt Lilly," Kate کہا as her and Garth started slowly advancing toward the wolf.

"Owen?" Humphrey asked into the woods.

"Who are you?" the بھیڑیا asked, the threatening tone in his voice now replaced with a hint of confusion. "How do آپ know my name?" As he کہا this, he slowly stepped forwards, into the light of the moon, revealing his face.

He was an older-looking wolf, about Winston's age, maybe a little older. The فر, سمور on his back was a very dark brown, and his eyes had a bit of a brown tinge to them as well. As he stepped into the moonlight, Owen was able to see Humphrey's face as well and he recognized him immediately.

"Humphrey? I thought I was rid of you," he said.

"Wait," Kate said, stopping her advancement. "You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Owen said. "Who's that?"

"My wife," Humphrey replied, turning to look at Kate.

"You married an alpha? Are آپ out of your mind?" Owen exclaimed.

Runt walked out from behind Lilly. "You have no idea," he کہا to Owen. Owen looked down at Runt.

"You don't know the half of it, kid," he said, then turned back to look at Humphrey. "I take it these are your pups?"

"Yes," Humphrey said.

"Why, what happened?" Claudette asked.

Owen smirked as he knew the answer to that سوال all too well. "Come inside our territory and I'll tell آپ all about it."

Everyone began to head past Owen, who remained still and silent. However, when Humphrey and Kate began to pass him, Owen stopped them and whispered in Humphrey's ear.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today, kid. After what آپ did to Kyle-" but before he could finish, Kate snapped at him in Humphrey's defense before they continued on into the dark forest.

Owen led them on and soon, they began to see the dens مزید clearly. Some were packed together, others were spread farther apart. They were made of stone with moss covering many of them. Each ماند, خلوت خانہ was in the shape of a small dome with an arched opening in the front.

As the group was led through the دل of the territory, wolves from the pack looked at them in suspicion as they hadn't had a stranger in their pack for many years. Owen led them into a small clearing were there were fewer trees and the moonlight shined a little more. In this clearing, the first thing that everyone noticed was two dens, larger than all the others, fairly near to each other. The group was lead to one of them and it became clear that this one was Owen's.

When they got closer to the opening, an old بھیڑیا came out of the den, with dark grey, nearly black, فر, سمور and bright blue eyes. She seemed to be a bit older than Owen, but only سے طرف کی a few years. Her tail was also a bit frayed due to her age.

Owen approached his wife as the group waited several feet away. "Where's Kyle?" he asked her.

His wife, Amy, having noticed the group that her husband had come with, waited a moment before answering. "He's off on a hunt with Grace," she said, then motioned towards the group behind him and asked, "Who are they?"

Owen turned his head around to look at the group, then returned his gaze back to Amy.

"You remember Humphrey," he said.

"Of course," she scoffed. "How could I forget the brat that almost killed my son?" She took a moment to look behind Owen and glare at Humphrey as she کہا this. "Why did آپ bring him here? I thought we agreed to never let him within a hundred feet of our borders ever again. And who are they?" She looked back at the group that accompanied Humphrey.

"His family," Owen replied.

"He married an alpha?!" Amy exclaimed.

"That was my first thought, too," Owen said, beginning to walk past his wife so he could turn around and face the group. "They need a place to sleep tonight."

Amy stayed silent for a moment یا two before she sighed, saying "Fine. آپ can use Kyle's den, he shouldn't be ہوم until late tomorrow afternoon."

The group started heading towards the other ماند, خلوت خانہ and Kate and Amy exchanged dirty looks. As they entered the large den, they looked around, marveling at the sheer size. It was very roomy inside, bigger than any ماند, خلوت خانہ they'd ever seen. At least fifteen adult wolves could comfortably sleep inside its walls.

"Wow," Runt کہا in amazement. "This is the biggest ماند, خلوت خانہ I've ever seen."

Everyone settled down to sleep wherever they wanted since it was so big. Kate and Humphrey were laying together in the far back of the den, talking quietly so as not to disturb anyone.

"What is it between آپ and Owen's family?" Kate asked. "What happened?"

"You know how I was talking about me getting stuck under the درخت in that storm?" Humphrey asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, as I said, I was out there all night, and most of the اگلے دن when I saw another بھیڑیا pup come running out of the woods," Humphrey started explaining. "I yelled out to him for help and he stopped and came over. کہا his name was Kyle, and that his dad was the leader of their pack. I asked him where exactly his pack was and if he could go and get his dad to help. He told me that they were just beyond the درخت line and that he would be back soon. About ten منٹ later, he came back with his dad and a few other male alphas and eventually they got the درخت off my tail. The pain was beyond excruciating and I could barely even اقدام it. It was bleeding and I was so weak with pain, hunger, and lack of sleep, that I could hardly even get up. So they decided to take me in."

"But what happened that got آپ thrown out?" Kate asked. Humphrey was about to answer when they heard Stinky's voice from the other side of the den.

"Could آپ guys be a little quieter, please?"

Humphrey turned to look at Kate.

"Look, Kate," he said. "It's getting late and we should probably get to sleep."

Kate agreed and they laid their heads down to go to sleep. And as the cold night wind blew through the den, and as Kate and the others drifted off to sleep, Humphrey lay awake, thinking about Kate's question, and the terrible answer that accompanied it.