Author's Note: FINAL CHAPTER RIGHT ON SCHEDULE! I MET MY DEADLINE!

Chapter Thirty-Four

Wolves were closing in on her! Everywhere she looked, Kate saw nothing but wolves tearing each other apart, and all over a lack of food on one side of a stream! One wolf jumped on another and pinned him down, then bit his throat, trying to kill him. Another one pulled on another's tail and tried to knock her down. Then one wolf leaped up and was coming straight towards Kate, snarling and showing teeth, ready to bite down onto her throat…!

Kate gasped and jumped out of the way of the wolf just in time. She could not believe Tony! The stubborn wolf had just started a war! This can't be happening, Kate thought to herself. She desperately turned around in circles, still standing on the ceremonial rock where her wedding was supposed to have taken place. I have to stop this… Kate thought.

Suddenly Kate noticed something in the distance. A herd of caribou had apparently been spooked by the sounds of the fighting wolves and was running straight towards the conflicting wolf packs. This would be the perfect diversion, even though it brought imminent danger. "Stampede! STAMPEDE!" Kate shouted frantically trying to warn the wolves.

Fortunately Winston and Tony were able to snap out of their fighting modes and catch the warning. "Everyone! Run! RUN!" Winston shouted in warning.

"To the sides of the valley!" Tony added.

Wolves scattered all around as they desperately tried to clear the way for the mad herd of caribou. Kate ran up the side of a nearby ledge and then turned to keep an eye on her father and Tony, to make sure the crazed Eastern Pack leader did not try to push her father down so he could be trampled by the herd. He refused to listen to his own son after all. Who knew what other dirty tricks he might try? To her shock and horror, Winston and Tony were slowly becoming surrounded by the herd. It seemed as if their old age was preventing them from outrunning the herd. "Oh no! They're trapped!" Kate alerted the nearby wolves.

I have to help them! Kate's thoughts exclaimed as she ran alongside of the ledge trying to keep up with them from above. Suddenly, a wolf ran across her path. Kate skidded to a halt just before she collided with the wolf and turned to see who would be in her way. It was Humphrey. He skidded to a halt like Kate and turned to face her. "Humphrey?!" Kate exclaimed, wondering what he was doing back in the territory.

"Kate!" Humphrey exclaimed as he ran to the alpha's side.

"We have to help them!" Kate said not wanting to waste a second. She gestured to the two rival Head Alphas that were trapped in the stampeding herd of caribou.

"Look!" Humphrey pointed to a hollowed out log just up ahead on the side of the ledge.

Kate knew exactly what Humphrey was thinking. She darted towards the hollowed out log with the omega right behind her. The two wolves boarded the log just like they had when they were outrunning the bears only a day before, and then they pushed off as hard as they could, trying to angle their approach to intercept Tony and Winston.

"Roll left!" Humphrey commanded to keep in line with the downward slope of the hill. "Roll right!" he shouted a few seconds later as the downward flow of the land shifted towards the right. "Oh you're getting good at this!" Humphrey congratulated.

"I had a good teacher," Kate smiled back at Humphrey. Then she turned back to see how their approach was. "They're too far ahead! We'll never make it!" Kate exclaimed worriedly as she saw the log was too far behind the wolves.

"Hold on!" Humphrey replied. He then rolled the log sharply to the right and shot straight off of the cliff, using the last stretch of ground as a runway. The log soared through the air much like it had when Kate and Humphrey were trying to catch the train. And by some miracle the log landed upside down right in front of the Head Alphas. Kate and Humphrey were thrown forward.

As Winston and Tony took shelter behind the log like Kate had earlier during her first hunt, Humphrey and Kate slowly crawled forward towards the log, trying to keep down so they were not trampled by the caribou. But suddenly, Kate's head was struck roughly by something hard.

She blacked out.

…..

Kate heard the sound of howling. She groaned in pain and slowly propped herself up. Her head was throbbing but the rest of her body felt numb. As she opened her eyes, she saw Humphrey lowering his head from howling. "Humphrey…?" she asked weakly.

Humphrey smiled. "I thought I lost you," he said.

Kate shook her head as if to say, I'll never leave you. Then she turned around, observing her surroundings. The caribou were gone, but all the wolves from both packs were surrounding her and the omega. "Is everyone staring at us?"

Humphrey turned to observe the crowd. "Well no not everyone but uh… yeah. Now they are." He smiled.

"Oh darn. Cause I wanted to tell you something," Kate leaned in to whisper into Humphrey's ear. "I love you and I want to be mates with you."

"What?!" Humphrey exclaimed softly. "Really?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay well, I wanted to tell you something too." Humphrey leaned in and whispered to Kate, "You really are sweet and I've wanted to be mates with you too for so long."

Kate smiled and wagged her tail. She loved the sound and feeling of the male wolf whispering and tickling her ear. She did not care what her father or Tony thought of their relationship anymore. It was her life and she had to live it her way without others making her decisions for her. And if Tony and Winston were going to live her life for her, then they were not wolves that deserved to be in her life. Kate would leave Jasper with Humphrey and they would start their own wolf pack. Then they would both be the Head Alphas and no one could or would tell them how to live their lives.

"Maybe this could work…" Winston said nearby.

"Oh…." Tony sighed looking down. He sure was stubborn.

Eve growled behind Tony, staring him down.

"Alright!" Tony agreed suddenly seeing Eve's evil look.

Kate and Humphrey smiled. They waited no longer. Immediately they began performing the age old ritual that two wolves take part in when they are ready to become mates. As the wolves sealed their marriage with the final nose rub, they looked at each other happily. After a long political war filled with dissatisfaction, the law stating alphas and omegas cannot mate was being abolished right then and there. Kate and Humphrey were the first inter-rank wolf couple.

Later that evening, Kate and Humphrey ascended Howling Rock. Both wolf packs were gathered in a celebration of peace and union. Garth and Lilly were mating too, and through them the packs would be united. It was better that way. A union in love was better than a union in an arranged marriage.

"Are you ready?" Humphrey said smiling at Kate.

Kate did not hesitate this time like she had on the train. "Oh yeah. Ready." she said with determination and satisfaction in her eyes.

Then Kate and Humphrey tilted their heads back to howl out to the full moon together in harmony. Their pitches mixed and complimented each other wonderfully. They would howl together in peace for all eternity. No wolf could come between them. No law could call their relationship illegal. No longer would either of them be subject to the will of another wolf.

As the wolves finished their howl, they leaned in to each other to rest their heads on the other's shoulder. Kate smiled contently, closing her eyes to savor the moment. Love had worked out after all.

She had learned that being a leader meant standing up for what you believe in and what you know is right. Being a leader did not mean submitting to the will of others. It did not mean conforming to corrupt law to preserve the peace and keep a corrupt system going. Being a leader meant protecting others, yes. But Kate had learned she cannot allow others to make her life decisions. True leaders know and adhere to responsibilities. But they must also follow what is morally right and keep laws from oppressing individuals. Kate knew she was a leader. She was there to protect the packs and to preserve their freedom from oppressive laws. And she would never again allow someone else's ideas to fill her mind and control her desires. She and Humphrey had a future together because she stood up for what was right even when it seemed as if no one else would. She was a brave leader.

And now she was free.

***PLEASE Check my PROFILE to see what's next***

Author's Note: Well guys, on December 8, 2014 I said that Kate's Story would be complete on January 14, 2015. Today is January 14, 2015. And Kate's Story is complete.

This has been the longest I have ever worked on a story before! Honestly I hate how long I took between updates at times, but I am pretty proud of myself for being able to get back on track and push through to meet a deadline. *pats self on the back* I think the problem was I really got detailed on this story and was unable to keep up with myself. So I'll take the details down a notch unless I can get through them all at once, on future stories.

I want to give a special thank you to everyone who reviewed this story. I remember when it was back on only 200 something reviews. I freaked out when I got my 300th review. And now here I am at 456 reviews! I never thought this story would come that far, beating out Garth's Story easily by over a hundred reviews when comparing review count at time of completion. This is easily the most popular story I have ever written and now it's come to a close. :'D *le happy tears*

Thank you to everyone who provided an OC that I used for Kate's classmates in Alpha School.

OC Providers:

AaOWaSaCD4ever: He was my first reviewer EVER on my A&O stories on FanFiction. AaOWaSaCD4ever contributed to the story with Crystal.

Crowwolf: He is probably my most frequently contacted FanFiction friend. I will never forget those nights we stayed up till 6:00 a.m. PM-ing each other. We text now, but FanFic PMs always have a special place for me. Crowwolf contributed Robert to the story.

theMikMik: He was my second ever reviewer on A&O FanFictions back when I was just getting Garth's Story off the ground. theMikMik contributed Oahu.

Dead Wolf Walking: He and I have chatted off and on. Dead Wolf Walking contributed Alice and Satham. (By the way, his accent was really fun to type and imagine in my head! :D )

Shen's General: Shen, you're amazing. I like our PMs and I find that you keep me motivated. Shen contributed Cyrus.

BellsAreRinging33: We chatted a lot too. Haven't heard from you in a while. If you see this, PM me! He contributed Will (Carly's love interest!)

Country wolf-dog: I miss you man! I don't think you've been in contact with me for at least several months. CWD contributed CJ.

ChineseChestBreach: Haven't heard from you in a while too! He contributed Veronica.

I believe that is everyone! If I used your OC in this story and forgot to credit you, PM me and I will update the list. I like to credit those that help out. :D

Reviews are appreciated! If you have not reviewed but have been a ghost reader, now is a great time to leave one final review! If you do not have an account, you can still leave a guest review. You can even type a name in the name box so I know who it is if you leave multiple reviews. Before I had an account that's what I did so I knew which ones were mine. (Fun fact! If you go back to some of the older stories on here, there are some guest reviews marked "Humphrey loves Kate." THAT'S ME! They were written before I made my account. I had my paws on this name for a long time guys, haha!)

Thank you all! Readers mean so much to me! Reviews and PMs are loved! See you in the next story. :D