29. Epilogue

Winston stood on the top of the hill beside Scourge. Merely an hour prior, there had been one hundred and eighteen wolves living in the Pack Den. Now, there were only twelve, all including Winston and Scourge. It would be fourteen when Humphrey and Kate returned. He tried to offer his condolences without worrying too much about them. He trusted Humphrey; he knew that if anyone could find a way back, he'd be the one to do it. Perhaps the Spirit Wolf, Sam, that Scourge told Winston about recently, would guide them back.

He sat down on the rock, looking out over the burning landscape. The battle was over; the humans had successfully eradicated the human forces in their valley and moved away from the territory. He stared apprehensively at the newly formed canyon where the humans' Black Weapon had fired, tearing the earth apart. It was a terrible power for any one species to hold in their paws and now the most hated race in existence had acquired that power. The wolves could never go back to their territory; there was nothing left of it save for destroyed earth and fire, toxic smoke billowing into the air. The prey was dead, the survivors far away from the territory at this point. They would have to move north like Humphrey had suggested.

There would always be complications, however. Kate was pregnant and would be having her pups any day now. They would be moving slowly, trying to feed Kate's pups and the rest of the wolves of the pack. Still, they would persevere and do just that; all fourteen of them had survived this far, and it was imperative that they stood in positive morale and continued to live on.

It was nearly an hour after his daughter and son in law had been separated from the pack. He began to worry more, pacing about through the falling ash and soot. Scourge sat calmly, staring out over the valley. There was a feeling that Winston had; it was a terrible, burning, sickly sensation. He felt as though there was a deep void in his stomach, his senses itching and burning away at him. There was something wrong, and he could feel it. He didn't quite understand what the sensation was, nor why he was having it right now, but he knew something had happened or was happening.

"You might as well rest and save your strength," Scourge commented dryly. "Worrying isn't going to do you or anyone else any good in this matter."

"My son is out there," Winston said with a heated sigh. "As well as my pregnant daughter while the forest burns down. How can I not worry?"

"I don't blame you for worrying," Scourge told him calmly. "But I trust Humphrey. You should have more faith in his abilities." Winston sighed, knowing that Scourge was right. He had to trust his son in law that he'd protect Kate and get her back safely. Then, they could set off for the north. They had to leave the territory in case the humans came back.

Then, he saw something moving down below. It was the dark figure of a wolf leaping over rocks and fallen trees, evading the fire and burning shrubbery. It leapt over a missile crater and walked wearily towards them, something held in the wolf's jaws. As the wolf walked into view, he recognized the grey fur of Humphrey. Winston's eyes widened, a sigh of relief escaping his jaws. His initial relief siphoned his ability to register that Humphrey was alone.

His mind blanked out for a moment; he didn't seem mentally able to understand that Kate wasn't with him. In his mind, he thought that she'd appear any second now behind the brush, joining Humphrey's side. She didn't do so, however; Humphrey walked towards him, the wolves assembling beside Scourge and Winston. Scourge closed his eyes, looking away in sorrow. Winston looked at Scourge, confused. There were pained, mourning wails when they saw Humphrey approach. Winston didn't understand it; why were the wolves sad at his arrival?

He saw the thing hanging from Humphrey's jaws; it was a newborn grey she-pup. Her ears and eyes were still sealed shut, her fur unkempt from obviously being licked. He heard the small, whispering squeaks of the pup. Its tail swayed ever so slightly. Winston smiled, and then looked back at the forest. Kate had not shown up. That's when it hit Winston with a force that he could not comprehend. He gasped, his heart lurching. It was their pup, and she wasn't with him. His eyes were hollow, foregone and filled with insatiable, terrible pain. He saw tear streaks running down his face. Humphrey was lost; he was no longer the fun-loving Omega that he was commonly known for. He was now a changed wolf, something completely different than what he formerly was.

He approached Garth and Lily. Lily broke into tears when she saw him, Garth starting at Humphrey, shocked. Everyone saw the flecks of blood on his muzzle. Everyone knew what had happened. They knew Humphrey had done what was needed; they knew it wasn't his fault. Humphrey, however, was not of similar thoughts. He blamed himself for what happened, and his heart was now replaced with a shattered, broken, dark core in his chest. He had lost the one thing that he held on to for so long.

He placed the young pup at his paws, looking at Garth and Lily. Garth looked at him, a tear falling from his eye in sympathy to Humphrey. Lily sniffed and looked down at the young, feeble pup. She smelled her and licked the small scrap of fur.

"She needs milk," Humphrey said. His voice was now hollow, cracked, and broken. "Or she'll die."

"What's her name?" Lily asked. He sat there for a moment, hesitating. He considered what the name should be and remembered what Kate had said before. She wanted one of the she-pups to have a particular name. He would christen the pup by that name.

"Kala," Humphrey replied. "Her name is Kala." Lily nodded and gathered the pup close to feed her. Humphrey walked to Salty and Sweets. Salty looked at him with horrified shock, tears streaming from Sweets' eyes. Salty whispered something in Humphrey's ear, not receiving a response from him. He walked around, meeting with all of the survivors. There were thirteen of them, fourteen when including Kala.

Scourge nodded at him when he came near. Humphrey looked back at him, returning the nod. He walked up to Winston. His eyes filled with tears when he saw Humphrey. Humphrey took a small object off of his leg, presenting it to Winston.

"This was something Kate made for me," he told Winston. "It's rightfully yours."

"No," Winston said in a teary manner, his voice cracking. "She gave it to you. Keep it and honor her memory." He nodded and he tied it back around his leg. The wolves sat along the ridge, all of them looking expectantly at Humphrey.

"Where to now, sir?" Garth asked Humphrey. Humphrey gave Garth an odd look. "You killed my father in the dominance battle; the mantle of leadership is rightfully yours, and I don't know where to go. Where to now?"

"North," Humphrey replied. He was now the Leader Wolf of their pack, and it was his duty to keep them alive and get them to safety. He wouldn't let them die. Not this time; not again. He wouldn't let that happen again. "We head north as soon as Kala is finished feeding…to the Pack of the Winter Mountains." The name carried swiftly on the wind, an air of hope and meaning coming with its presence. The Spirits approved of Humphrey's choice, and they would guide the wolves to the northern mountains.

The thirteen survivors looked back at their territory, their home. Lava rose from the massive gorges and canyons, the fires burning at the forest, sparks and smoke rising into the sky. The forest was now a glowing ember of fire in the darkness, the poisonous, noxious gases polluting the air above. Kala broke away from Lily and stumbled towards Humphrey. Humphrey saw the small pup trip, quickly catching her on his muzzle. He steadied the young she-pup and looked down at her warmly. He gave a weak smile, nuzzling the small soul. She was his life now, and he would protect her at the cost of his life. "Nothing," Humphrey thought. "Nothing will ever hurt you." He lowered down to whisper to her, despite that she couldn't hear.

"Kala," he whispered brokenly. "I couldn't protect your mother, but I won't stop protecting her. I promise you, I swear to you, that I'll protect you with my life." The pup whimpered and whined, leaning against his leg. He nuzzled the she-pup, her fear beginning to subside from her father's caring touch. "It's okay, Kala. I'm here, pup, I'm here."

With that, he picked her up carefully by the scruff and led the way into the northern pass and away from their dead territory. They had all lived and grown up in Jasper, and now…now it was gone. They would continue on, and they would never forget what happened here. The wolves walked grimly into the darkness of the north and away from Jasper… and they never looked back.

**END BOOK ONE**

**A/N: Thank you for reading Into the Darkness. Over the past month, I've had a hell of a fun time writing this story. Unlike my Call of Duty Fan Fiction stories, I was able to make my own original storyline and add depth and emotion to the story, making this just as exciting for me as I hope it was for you, the readers. I must thank my fans and readers again for all of the support and care that you guys have given me while writing. To see ninety one reviews on this story and to see many big writers on this archive (humphreyandkate together, Dawn Walker Wolf, and chiefdaniel117) is just insane! I thought myself as lucky if I got a review on my first stories at all, and to see everyone really enjoying this story is so moving and awesome of you guys and I can't thank you all enough for your support. **

**I'd like to clear some things up right now. Several people private messaged me what happened with Lily and Tony and if Kate was really dead or not. First of all, Lily was beaten and raped by Tony (she will not become pregnant from him, however). Kate is dead; everyone that died is dead. The thing I find most annoying about books, movies, games, et cetera, is when a character 'dies' and then comes back miraculously, destroying the emotion and beauty of the ending. Many people said they cried or almost cried when Kate died; that motivates me, knowing that I successfully did what is required of a good writer and made an emotional impact on my readers. Kate is dead; it was a difficult decision for me to make and even I shed a tear when Humphrey was forced to take Kate's life. **

**Her death was (somewhat) inspired by the death of Dom's wife, Maria in the video game Gears of War 2. Dom found his beaten, tortured, and lambent-infected wife suffering and had to make the ultimate decision to kill her and take her pain away. When I came to this chapter, I knew I had two choices: I could either make an emotionally impacting ending, or I could have Kate's pups die so the metal shard could be removed and she would survive. The second choice, however, was not emotionally impacting and would change the outcome of the storyline entirely.**

**This is the first story of a trilogy. I am planning on starting the next story within a week or two, so either the next Friday (not this upcoming Friday) or the Friday after that depending on my work, practice, exams, et cetera. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or email me at baileygrabel yahoo . com (without the spaces. If I didn't put those in, then the email wouldn't show up). **

**Thanks to imjustlikehumphrey, Alexander, the silver wolf, FunLovingKate, Dawn Walker Wolf, dp, the dark shadow, kilobravo1, Guest(s), LoyalWolfHumphrey, and NathanAnderson839037 for reviewing this story. I can't thank you guys and girls enough for reading and reviewing and it really motivates me to write more when I see reviews. **

**I know this story wasn't the best; I didn't expect it would be too great considering that this is my first story in the Alpha and Omega Archive, but I'll do my best to make sure my future stories are heightened in quality and will be far better than this story. Once again, thank you all for reading and reviewing Into the Darkness. My motivation and enthusiasm to write more on this site is strong and I'm so glad to see that people enjoyed this story. I apologize for this short, 1700 word update, but as this is the Epilogue and the final update of this story, I hope you can see why this was short (and I think you all understand why I put my Author's Note at the beginning of the last chapter). The next story will be coming soon. You all know what author to look out for. Remember, it'll be in the Rated M section of the archive. Well, since this is my last update for a week or two, I guess…until next time…**

**-The Dishonored Wolf**