A/N: Hello, and welcome to a story that's going to be on the mature side. If you are not okay with this then I recommend skipping this one. Other than that, enjoy!

One Night Only - TheChriZ1995

Chapter 1: Restart

There I was, running away from the only place I had ever called home in my life. The need to get away was vital for I had done something entirely wrong to not only myself but also a past friend of mine. Nothing could have truly prepared us for what occurred that night, a night full of compassion and love, yet was thrown aside at first light of a new dawn. I should have seen it coming and heed the warnings that were given, but instead I took a risk by trying to gain what had been lost for months. Something that I held near and dear to my heart, and I came close to doing just that however fate changed again. It seems that perhaps I should have left when I had the chance, before she had the opportunity to play my heart for a second go around.

In the blur of it all I knew that I was the one to blame, I played with fire and now have to live on with the emotional burn as a scar to my moral. Moving on was going to be hard, but I would manage. I had to, for the good of myself and others around me. This is why I am leaving into the unknown, to start over and forget all the wrong and foolish things I have done in this once beautiful place I called home.

How did it come to this? Well let's just start from the beginning...

A new day arrived in the rather silent region that is Jasper Park, Canada. Clouds rolled by like an ocean with the breeze, giving the once golden sunlight a shade of dull gray. Today looked to be a rather gloomy day as rain appeared to be coming in the distance, however that didn't stop life from continuing on. For the wolves in the valley it was business as usual, the alphas left to go hunt and maintain the territory while others enjoyed doing what they pleased. It was a peaceful time for the newly founded United Pack, food was no longer an issue and fights between once rival wolves were at a low. Not too long ago things were different here, the valley was once split in half between two wolf packs. Getting food was a struggle, boundaries were broken, and fights broke out nearly every day. The situation between the packs was getting worse, and it seemed war was the only outcome, until the leaders came to a new agreement.

It was decided that the packs would be united by the marriage of two wolves, a female from the west, and a male from the east. A political move at its core that would ensure a new peace for generations to come. The plan was set in motion, and when spring arrived the marriage was held and complete without a hitch. Everyone celebrated and over the course of a few weeks things turned back into normal with the addition that there was enough food to go around in the nearly three dozen strong United Pack. With three leaders and a vast territory, this was defiantly one of the largest wolf packs around, and it was for the best. All wolves just wanted peace and be able to live their lives the way they wanted to. To find someone to love, start a family, and simply live life to the fullest. Now they could do just that, and it wasn't only today but for all wolves in the future as time passed by, the United Pack would continue on for many years to come.

Yet in this time of change and peace there are some who are not so happy. It's not the uniting itself that upsets them, but the way it was done. A grey and white wolf named Humphrey is one of these upset wolves, he's an omega of the western pack and feels cheated out of a good life from this marriage. Humphrey isn't a regular omega, he's considered the leader to his omega brethren but that's not what makes him stand out. He's an orphan, abandoned by his parents but was adopted into the Western Pack at only a month old. He grew up self-taught, yet if there's one thing he's learned from others it's that he can achieve anything with enough effort. Reaching for the stars is what he did and enjoyed, breaking the mold and becoming one of the more stand out wolves in the Western Pack. However when it came to love he really did reach for stars, and who could blame him? For he had fallen for the pack leaders alpha daughter, a golden yellow she wolf named Kate who was the most beautiful thing his eyes have ever looked upon.

From a distance it appeared his longing for her wasn't as farfetched as it seems. They both grew up together as pups, from playing and inventing games to exploring the territory, they did it all. The closest of friends but that was it; they couldn't be anything more than friends once they grew up. No it wasn't because one of them changed or they got into a fight, rather it was law that stood in the way. A general law for all wolves is that alphas can't become mates with omegas, for it could cause an imbalance between the ranks. Sure there were the exceptions but for the Western Pack that law was enacted with force, and Humphrey knew this well but it didn't stop him. He knew it was possible for him to get his dream girl, and if he tried hard enough he could make that a reality. Of course his actions didn't go unnoticed; his omega friends knew all too well about his feeling towards the alpha. It was the winter when Kate was away at alpha school that Humphrey realized he was in love with her. Learning this; his friends tried their best to get him to find someone else and not go after her, but he ignored their reasoning. It was in his nature to go for something that was out of reach, and that's exactly what he was going to do.

However once the spring arrived and Kate returned the once strong friendship between them was gone, she almost seemed to be a new wolf. Once again this didn't stop Humphrey, he knew it was only a matter of getting to talk to her one on one to reinstate that friendship, and with time he could get her to love him. It's when he put this plan into motion that things actually turned for the better. During the night while they were away from the rest of the pack they were shot with tranquilizer by a couple of park rangers. The psychedelic night in their eyes faded into black before being replaced by a whole new world laid out before them. Kate and Humphrey had been relocated to the Sawtooth National Wilderness to repopulate the wolf species. You could say this was a dream come true for Humphrey, not because of the reason they were there but the fact that he now has Kate all to himself. Kate however wasn't as excited about being relocated as he was, she kept going on about how she was needed back at home and that they should get back as soon as possible. Humphrey never understood her urgency but was more than willing to help his friend get home, and so the cross-country trip began. From walking to catching rides on trains in the back of motorhomes they worked their way home, and as the time flowed past Humphrey could feel their close friendship start to return. They worked as a team through the whole ordeal, and towards the end they could reflect on it and remember all the good times they shared on this little trip.

As they rode the train straight to Jasper, Humphrey decided to get Kate to howl with him and after some persuading he achieved just that. They sang their voices out into the cool night, something that was forbidden back in their pack but out here was fair game. Humphrey couldn't be more excited after sharing a howl with his secret lover and he decided that before they arrived home he would share his true feelings to her. He had a strong belief that she had to share some of the same feelings towards him; for howling was something you only did with someone you care about and love. However as he was about to confess his love Kate jumped out of the train upon seeing her pack preparing for war against the east. Humphrey was upset by this but ran after her, growing curious as to why their pack would be going to war all of a sudden. That's when he learned something that would tear him apart into a state he had never experienced before. It turned out that the reason Kate needed to get home so fast was because she was getting married. Not for love, but for the good of the packs.

Humphrey could not believe she hid this from him, how could she go and marry a wolf whom she had only met once? Sure it was for the wellbeing of all the wolves but to him marriage was something that brought two lovers together, not two packs. It was from this moment that he spiraled into a state of depression and shock; he could care less about the packs uniting because that wasn't driving him crazy. It was the fact that Kate had lied to him after he did nothing but to try and be her friend again. He felt used, betrayed, and left to rot in depression with no sign of help or second chance. This was when he came to the conclusion of running away, there was nothing left for him here and he surly couldn't bear to see Kate married to someone else. A chance to start over was what he needed, move to a new world and leave the past behind. Though moving on was going to be hard, how can you erase someone you've known for nearly all of your life, it just wasn't normal.

So it was settled he would leave the pack in the morning after, catch the next train out of here and move on. He didn't care where he ended up as long as he was away from this place, a once beautiful place in his mind now tainted by one wolf. However when he went to tell his omega brothers about his decision they quickly shot him with questions. They pleaded for him to stay after learning he was leaving because of Kate, there was no way they could watch a friend take a fall like that. So they decided they would help him get over her and learn to move on, to enjoy life again was what Humphrey wanted the most and his friends promised just that. After all he owed them the chance to help him for he always ignored their warnings about Kate. Now he could see the reasoning and truth behind their words, fully realizing that he had some of the best friends he could ask for in his time of need. Humphrey was going to stay in Jasper, and move on from the broken up mess he currently was, though he wasn't very sure his friends could pull it off.

As the months passed by he had daily get gatherings with his friends who each played a role in helping him feel better and think about positive things. Salty, the tallest and thinnest of the group was what you could consider a coach, keeping Humphrey from moping around his den and pushing him to get out into the world. Shakey was the small one among them, he made Humphrey talk about everything that was causing him to be depressed, allowing him to just let out everything held inside him from anger to sadness. Finally there was Mooch, who helped Humphrey find new goals in life as something to keep him going. At first Humphrey hated having to do all this work and constantly think about the bad that has happened to him but as time went on things changed. His friends worked as a team, isolating Humphrey from most of the pack for two months until he was in a much more stable state. Coaching him on and forcing him to let go of nearly everything that tied him to his bad memories, and one by one they subsided. There was still much work left to do but in the present day Humphrey could see the joy in life again, and he couldn't thank his friends more for their help. It was hard to believe that they could make him move on from the past, he was truly a lucky wolf, a wolf that got a second chance at life in his home pack.

Now here he sits, under the shade of a pine tree, not a care in the world other than just spending another day with his friends. The day may be gloomy but that certainly wouldn't stop them from having their fun. Humphrey could afford to relax this day, he felt good and no longer needed daily coaching or any of the other things his friends told him to do. Gradually the need for these exercises will go down until the point where he would no longer need them. He may feel good now but he knew that it was still going to be a couple months to where he could go freely about the pack and think like a new wolf. In a way he was a new wolf, yeah he had his same mindset and looks but his memories were clean. They were still there in his mind if he thought about them though, that would never go away until the day he passes on. But at least now they're not prominent in his mind upon every hour, instead it's the occasional time where he'll reflect back on that point in time. All that mattered to him was peace of mind, something which his friends spoke of a lot these past few weeks. The act of accepting your past and what happened rather than just forcing them aside to haunt the mind until later.

To Humphrey this was a lot of complex stuff; never did he realize how much work really went into changing the mind. It wasn't his friends that helped with all of it either; he did get some kind words from other wolves around the pack, though he was only straight forward about his true reasons for his depression towards the omegas. If word got about his one love towards Kate he would be ruined, and that's when he would have to run away. Luckily that has never happened, he couldn't even bare to leave such a beautiful place as Jasper. From the sprawling valley with steep walls, to the pointy snowcapped mountains, he admired it all, and even more so now than ever before. In a way you could say that his love for Kate was replaced with a love for nature, he saw the beauty in it much like he once saw the beauty inside Kate. Yet that was in the past, Humphrey could solidly state that he sees Kate now as nothing more than just another pack member. Because even with all the coaching from his friends, time away from her has helped the most with letting go.

A sudden rumble caused Humphrey to slip out of his thoughts and become alert of something approaching his once quiet retreat. As suddenly as the sound arrived he looked over just in time so see a log board come grinding to a halt before him. Inside was none other than his three omega brothers Salty, Shakey, and Mooch who were all smiling from another successful run down the hillside. Humphrey had already been expecting them, they had already made three runs earlier during the time he's sat under the tree to admire the view. He smiled and got up to greet them "Excellent work guys, you're getting the braking thing down well." He stated, walking out beside where they stopped.

"All thanks to you good buddy." Mooch replied, looking at him before they all walk passed him and plopped down under the tree he once laid under.

Humphrey turned around to face them and shook his head "Don't tell me your already tired guys, it's not even mid-day yet." He said finding a spot to sit at next to them, which formed a circle.

"Your one to talk Humphrey, you're not the one who had to push the log up the hill three times." Salty responded.

He just lightly laughed "Alright you got me there. So what's new in the world today?" He asked.

"Other than getting better and making log sledding safer, nothing much." Shakey answered.

"Yeah just another day, what have you been up to Humphrey?" Mooch said before turning the question around on him.

"Oh you know, the usual. Just lying at my favorite spot admiring nature." He replied, extending his foreleg across the distant landscape that was behind him.

"Have you been thinking about what we said the other night?" Salty asked.

Humphrey looked over at him shook his head slightly "Not really, I mean I know I should go for a change of scenery but I'm really not that ready yet." He explained.

A few nights ago Salty had suggested to him that he should go to the next moonlight howl with the rest of the guys. Humphrey however wasn't too keen on the idea, it's been months since he's been to one and the last thing he needed was to find new love. Yet Salty had still insisted he think about it, before leaving him alone for the remainder of the night. After giving it some thought Humphrey still didn't agree. "I know you want me to find love like some of you have but it's going to be a long time until I'm ready for that again." He continued.

"No one ever said you had to find someone to howl with, we just figured you'd enjoy coming with us. To hang out there like we used too." Shakey stated.

"Yeah we just figured you wanted to change things up a bit." Salty added.

Humphrey sighed and slowly shook his head. "Sorry guys but I'll have to take a pass, maybe next month. Even if I did go it would just be Mooch and I hanging out mostly since you two already have girlfriends to howl with." He had a point, Shakey was currently dating Reba who was one of the packs vegetarians and Salty had Tasia, an omega female who was originally from the eastern pack.

"So? That doesn't mean we'll be howling the whole time, I'd be there if you needed me." Salty argued.

"I don't doubt that, but I have made my choice."

"Alright you don't have to go if you don't want too." Salty decided to drop it after that, knowing all too well that once Humphrey said no to something he meant it. He decided to change the subject. "So, anyone have any ideas when the season is so post to begin?"

"Not really, I've hear rumors that it's within the next couple of weeks." Mooch responded.

"Yeah I've heard the same rumors" Shakey added.

Salty smiled "Well that's good to hear; of course we lucked out Shakey because it's our first season and we already have girlfriends." He said, looking at the smallest friend of the group.

Shakey laughed after that, "Indeed we do." He replied.

Humphrey however had no idea what his friends were talking about, what exactly did Salty mean by 'season' and how come everyone besides him understood what he was talking about. "What are you guys talking about, what season, summer?" He asked with a confused look. Of course it was already summer but that's the only reason he could come up with in his head.

All his friends have him a surprised look after he said that, which confused him ever further. "Why mating season of course." Salty answered.

Humphrey's eyes widened after he said that, what the hell was mating season and why had he never heard of it before? He could already understand what it implied, that much was obvious, but at the same time many questions began popping into his head. "What!" He exclaimed jumping up in surprise "There's a whole season dedicated to... that?!"

The omegas all exchanged glances before looking back at their shocked friend before them. "Yeah there is, once a year and for us it's our first year." Salty replied casually.

"Weren't you taught about this growing up?" Shakey asked.

"Of course I wasn't, why else would I be freaking out right now?!" He answered.

Salty couldn't help but laugh at how he was reacting, it reminded him of himself when he first learned about it from his father. That's when he remembered the fact that Humphrey didn't have a father around to teach him these things, luckily he was willing to help with that. He got up and proceeded to have a seat right by his side. "Dude, relax and have a seat because you've come to the right place to ask about these sort of questions."

"You guys better not be pulling my leg here..." Humphrey said bitterly before having a seat next to Salty. A sick joke is what this seemed to be to him right now.

"No one's messing around here, mating season is a real thing." Salty answered, suddenly getting serious and wrapping one of his forelegs around Humphrey.

"Right..." He said, still not buying it. "Prove it"

"Well you understand what mating is right?" Mooch asked.

"Of course I understand that, I am a guy after all." He responded. He couldn't believe how his friends were so open about talking about something like this, mating was something only shared between lovers, not exchanged in everyday conversation.

"Good that gets the hard part out of the way" Salty said with a smile "Now have you ever head of the term 'heat' before?"

"Heat? Yeah, as in something hot right?" Humphrey replied confused as to what that had to do with anything.

Salty wanted to slap his paw on the top of his head after that, Humphrey may be a smart wolf but sometimes he was hard to get through to. "No not that kind of heat, though they are kind of related in his case. You see mating season begins when females come into what's called heat, which causes them to become lustful and begin producing this scent that drives males crazy. It's the female's job to mate during this time for it's the only time during the year they can get pregnant. Now I know what you're thinking, impossible right? No it's all true and it's the reason why all pups are born shorty before winter begins, hence why all of our birth days are in this time frame."

Humphrey had no idea what to think after that, it was all just so sudden and seemed like some weird fantasy. However he was aware of when pups were born which now made him start to believe what was being spoken to him. "Okay I still think you're crazy but you are right about the pup thing." He said after a short silence. "So you're telling me that all females are suddenly driven to mate with their significant other? What if they don't have one or they just ignore the feeling?"

"Well it is possible to ignore it but over time I've heard that that the sensation just gets worse. Until the point where the female will do anything to mate, and I mean anything..." Salty continued. "That is unless they take precautions to keep it from getting that bad until the season subsides."

"How long does the season last?" Humphrey asked.

"Anywhere from a few days to a week or more." Shakey responded.

"Wow..."

"Of course this is just what my father has told me, same goes for Shakey and Mooch, but we'll just have to experience it for ourselves now won't we?" Salty said, receiving nods from them both before turning back to Humphrey.

"Now I feel embarrassed for not knowing about this sooner, I mean wow, that's just a lot to take in..." Humphrey said with a shake of his head.

"Don't feel bad man, we all had the same reaction as you when we first heard about it." Shakey stated.

"Yeah" Mooch agreed.

"Besides you don't have to actually mate during the season, a majority of couples learn how to deal with it and take certain precautions to simply go through the season without starting a family." Salty added.

However unknown to him this wasn't helping Humphrey any more, he was still freaked out by this, you could even say he was scared by the thought. The last thing he needed was any females chasing after him, especially now. "How come you didn't warn me about this before? I mean you should all know that I want nothing to do with females right now." He asked, looking at each of them as he spoke.

"Well... I'll be honest and say that I overlooked it and only now have I realized how much of a problem it is to you." Salty admitted.

"In the words of my dad, mating season isn't anything too special and it comes to pass as quick as it started." Shakey said.

Humphrey sighed "What am I going to do when the time hits?" He asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Salty patted him on the back "You don't have a thing to worry about, you can simply hideout in your den, and you're lucky you chose to live towards the outside of the den area. Tasia and I plan to do the same considering we're not ready for a family for a long time." Salty suggested.

"Good point, a week of solitude on my own will be nice." He then agreed, seeing a good side to this.

"Yeah everything will be fine as long as you stay away from females, which shouldn't be hard since you've said it yourself; you want nothing to do with them." Shakey replied.

He smiled and sighed again. "Well that was an eye opener, I still have some questions but that's more than enough I needed to hear for one day." He said.

"Alright then, I guess we can move on then. I just wanted to real quick ask you guys when you thought the season began in the first place. However when you want to learn more about it feel free to just ask, I'm sure we're all willing to help." Salty said, receiving nods from the others.

"Thanks, you know when this whole depression thing is fully over I'll have to someday repay all of you for your help. I really am thankful to have you guys as friends." Humphrey replied, looking at each of them.

"Oh you don't have to go and do that Humphrey, we're just glad you decided to stay and allow us to help you along with continuing to do our omega job together." Mooch remarked.

"Yeah, friends help each other and we're doing just that." Shakey agreed.

He just smiled after hearing that "Whatever, I'm still doing something for you guys." He stated with a laugh before looking up and noticing the clouds were getting darker. He looked back at his friends before him who also seemed to have the same thing on their mind as he did. "Come on, what do you say we get one more run down the hill before this storm begins?"

The three all immediately agreed and they quickly took hold of the log board and began to push it up the long slope that stood up ahead. It was obvious that rain was on the way and Humphrey did want to get some log boarding in before the day was over, so now seemed like the perfect time. Just like that all the talk about mating season was forgotten and pushed to the side in his mind, a new door had been open to him on the way things worked as a wolf, the bizarre ways. And as the day ended with rain falling he took the time to reflect on it in his den before falling asleep. You'd expect every coming of age wolf to know about something as major as mating, but in his case he only knew the basics, and not the fact that there was only a certain time frame for species repopulation to actually work. This was something he didn't look forward too, and was still skeptic about its truth, but he decided to take his friends words and simply hide the week away in his den. That was the plan at least, only time would tell what happens next...

A/N: Whew that was a long first chapter, so seems like Humphrey's recuperating well with staying in Jasper, much to the help from his friends of course. He's achieved being able to move on from Kate along with pulling out of his depression, however there's still work to do, and things aren't necessarily going to be getting any easier. Why's that? Well you'll just have to continue reading. -ChriZ