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Chapter 10: What Dreams May Come/ Public Enemy #2 Part 2

All night Kate stayed by his side, crying softly, praying that her mate be saved until finally the last of her energies were drained by her tears and she passed on into the realm of her dreams.

The world inside of which she had found herself when she arrived was peculiar and beautiful, almost as though she was on a different planet. She did not recognize any of the strange vegetation she saw and the sky was occupied by an overcast of clouds colored a bright and brilliant purple which seemed to flash and swirl turbidly like a beautiful, yet angry sea. Soft winds whispered across the plains, shaded in many hues of red and blue by the plants, and somewhere in the distance she could hear water running, trickling slowly over rock and stone. This place was unbelievable. The essence of the atmosphere was so quiet, so serene, and so peaceful, like a patch of paradise all of her own, but then from almost out of nowhere, the strange plants and flowers wilted away, the ground became bare, and the sky darkened until everything was pitch black. This frightened Kate, causing her heart to race, but she could not flee, almost as though she was glued to the spot. A powerful wind could be heard in the undefined distance which grew louder as it drew near until it blasted through her fur, overwhelming her body and nearly knocking her off of her feet, but she retained her footing by bracing against it. She widened her stance and lowered her head, then squinted her eyes as she waited so patiently for it to pass, then finally the wind ceased to blow and all fell silent yet again.

With a sigh of relief, she lifted her head and opened her eyes yet again to find that the environment had changed dramatically. Before her eyes she now saw only stars of white, distant nebulas whose colors were beyond imagination, comets which whipped around her at a million miles per hour, trailed by beautiful tails of ice and dust collected from parts unknown, planets from the tiniest specks of dust to magnificent gas giants, and other objects whose beauty was beyond any words that she was capable of conjuring. Such a sight struck her in such a way that she felt a new sense of her existence wash over her, almost as though she had lived her whole life solely for this moment, and experiencing such feelings caused tears to sting her eyes.

"Kate," a familiar voice echoed around her in the vast voids which surrounded her.

Her eyes widened, as she could not believe who she had heard.

"Humphrey?" she asked, turning her body around, but she could not see him, "Humphrey where are you?"

"I'm here, my love," he replied as his form became visible before her.

"Oh Humphrey I was so worried," Kate cried, stepping forward and wrapping him up in a tight embrace.

Humphrey returned the embrace passionately with a deep smile then pulled away from her, but when he saw the tears in her eyes, his smile faded and he cocked his head to the side.

"Kate?" he asked softly, "is everything alright?"

"Humphrey," she began, her voice choked by tears, "you're hurt... bad, and-"

"I know," he interrupted, lowering his eyes.

"Wait, you- you know?" she asked him, sniffling.

Humphrey nodded.

"Which is why I want you to make me a promise, alright?" he replied.

"Sure," Kate replied quickly, "anything."

"I want you to promise me, Kate," he stated again, more firm this time, "before I even tell you what it is that I want you to do, I want you to promise me."

Kate was hesitant, but she loved her mate and would do anything for him, so she nodded.

"Okay, I promise."

Humphrey nodded.

"Good, now I want you to listen very carefully," he began, causing Kate's ears to widen, "I am in bad shape," he said, "my body is broken, my mind is fading, and if such circumstances should arise where I should go longer than two weeks without waking, I want you to let me go."

Kate's eyes widened and she retreated slightly.

"Let you go," she cried, aghast, "you mean-"

"Yes," Humphrey replied, "I want you to let me sleep forever."

Tears filled Kate's eyes.

"Humphrey I can't!" she cried, "I love you!"

Humphrey stepped forward and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Kate," he said to her assuringly, "you would be doing me a favor."

"A favor?" she demanded, "you're not asking me to do you a favor, you're asking me to murder you!"

"Kate, leaving me on earth would be murder for my spirit," Humphrey began, "for on earth I am a but a vegetable, spoon-fed pre-chewed meat from a straw and forced to lay around and listen to people as they come in to watch me die, but here... I'm free to run, to romp, to roam. Kate, to me this is Heaven."

"But Humphrey I can't live without you!" she implored, sobbing, "how am I just supposed to let you go?"

Humphrey stepped forward and wrapped her up in a passionate embrace, pulling her in tight so that she may cry into his chest.

"You're just gonna have to be strong, Kate," he crooned, "and don't give up hope."

"But giving you up-"

"Listen, Kate," Humphrey interrupted softly, brushing the back of her head, "I know you're scared, but this is just a part of life, as unfortunate as it may be, but there is nothing more that you can do."

"But-"

"Keep me on earth, and you will have imprisoned me," he interjected again, "let me be free, and I will get to remain here forever in this beautiful place. And if ever you think you're alone, just remember that you'll never be without me. Even if you can't see, hear, or feel me, I will always be with you. Keep me in your heart and I will never die."

"But I don't want to keep your memory in my heart," she cried, "I just want you!"

Humphrey pulled her in tight once more then extended his forelegs.

"You'll always have me."

There was a silence as he produced something from behind him.

"I want you to have this," he said to her, producing a beautiful crystalline stone which hung from a string he had woven from a vine.

Kate turned her eyes down to it and sniffled, but she remained silent.

"I was gonna give you this just as soon as I got back from training as my vow to us and to our family to come, but I want you to have it now," he told her softly, placing it around her neck, "keep this close and I will never be far away."

"But what if I never see you again?" she cried, wiping her nose.

"You will," he crooned, "always here, always there, wherever you desire, just think of me, and I'll be with you anywhere."

"But how will that work if you're..."

She paused and lowered her head, for the word 'dead' refused to pass over her lips.

"You'll understand in time," he replied, "but for now I need for you to wake up."

A&?

Kate's head shot up from her paws and she glanced quickly around the den, finding it to be daylight. She sighed and wiped her eyes, finding them to be soaked with tears, then turned her attention down to Humphrey, but when her eyes moved down to her sleep-stricken mate, she saw something flash before her chest.

She furrowed her brows in confusion and pawed at what was on her neck until finally she was able to grip it with her paw and when she held the object before her eyes, she gasped, for there in her grasp and about her neck was the crystal necklace he had given her in her dream.

A&?

"... and you're sure that you didn't-"

"He's alright!" Kate cried, interrupting her father and causing everybody to turn to her.

"Alright?" Mary asked quickly, shoving to the front of the group, "you mean he's awake?"

"No," Kate replied, "but something is, look."

She then produced the crystal which Humphrey had given her and everybody stared at it in confusion.

"Where did you get that?" Winston asked, "and what does it have to do with Humphrey?"

"He gave it to me last night in my dream," Kate replied, turning her eyes between the masses.

A few of those who gathered muttered amongst themselves and some began to direct odd looks at Winston.

Winston, feeling pressured into taking action, stepped forward.

"Look, Kate, I know you're upset about Humphrey," Winston began, "but right now is not the time to be making up stories."

Kate stepped back slightly.

"I'm not making up stories!" she yelled indignantly stomping her paw, "Humphrey gave this to me last night."

"Then he must have given it to you before you left," Mary inquired, "and everything that happened last night subjected you to so much stress that your mind blocked it out."

Kate growled, for she knew exactly what they were implying, even if they may not have said it.

"I'm not crazy," she seethed, "so stop treating me like I am. Humphrey is out there somewhere, and he is reaching me in my dreams. I'll prove it!"

With that she turned and stormed away, leaving everybody else in the gathering perturbed and speechless

A&?

Kate turned her eyes intermittently between Humphrey and the necklace, trying to piece it all together, but the connection eluded her, and she knew that until such connection was made, there was no way they would believe her.

She sighed and turned the crystal over and over in her paws, thinking deeply over what he had said to her, but thus far she could not make heads or tails of it. The messages he had sent were quite clear to her, but the question remained: was it really him, or was her mind just playing tricks on her?

Of course it was him, she reasoned, it had to be him and it had to be real.

There was no way it didn't happen because how else would she have gotten the necklace if he had not presented it to her last night in her dream? She knew for an absolute fact that he had not given it to her last night before she left, and up until last night she did not even know that he had such an object in his possession, but then again... how would it even be possible to receive a fantastical object in the realm of sleep and have it become tangible upon waking?

Maybe there was something she missed, or maybe they were right. Maybe she just needed to clear her head.

She sighed, lowering the necklace and turning her eyes to her mate once again for guidance.

"If you can hear me, I could use some help," she begged then laid down beside him.

A&?

Humphrey could not believe where he was. This was once his meadow, his own little piece of paradise, that only he knew existed. Here he could hide from the world he knew and lose himself in a wonderful world of fantasy where he was king of his own design. So many days had he spent here, lost in the magical world of imagination, and while sometimes his imagination would lead him off on incredible journeys of glory and daring, most of the time he pictured himself here with Kate at his side. They wouldn't do much, just talk, or maybe play a game, but mainly they spent the day simply enjoying each other's company, because here they loved each other and he cherished it deeply. He thought that he would never see it again after the fire, but here it was just as he remembered.

The flowers danced in the wind in synchronic rhythm with the tall blades of grass, the stream, clear and inviting rolled and rippled beneath the sun whose rays reflected brightly off of mountains beyond, even the clouds overhead seemed unchanged by the brutal sands of ceaseless Time.

He relished in the sight for a moment, then smiled as he felt an uncontrollable joy begin to well up inside of him and once he could no longer keep it contained, he charged forth into the meadow, laughing like a pup, bounding and leaping just as he had in days of old. Taking not a moment to slow himself, he threw himself down into a bed of flowers and rolled around on his back and sides, suckling on the sweet smell of the nectar and relishing the sensation of the grass as it tickled his fur.

Then he found content and sprawled out on his back with his legs spread wide in all four directions and like this he lied, gazing up into the bright blue sky, watching as the clouds rolled steadily over his head then disappeared somewhere over the horizon. He sighed in the deepest content and closed his eyes, losing himself quickly to the peace and serenity of the meadow around him.

But just as he had begun to drift away into the realms beyond the mortal world, something distant caught his attention which disturbed him slightly and brought him back to consciousness. An uneasy feeling crept slowly over him which caused him to begin to shift tumultuously into different positions, but he could not maintain comfort in such positions for longer than a minute, so eventually he relented in his attempts to ignore the disturbance and opened his eyes.

But whatever it was that haunted him remained aloof of his eyes, so he brushed it off as nothing and allowed his eyelids to fold slowly closed once again.

But that was when he heard the scream.

His eyes flashed open and he shot to his paws only to find himself to now be standing in the middle of a war zone. Bodies of wolves, shredded into unrecognizable pieces were scattered everywhere, the air was filled with the smell of blood and the agonized screams of those afflicted by the battle, and he soon realized that he was standing in a puddle of hellish soup from one of the fallen.

He was frightened by what he saw, but above all he felt as though he would be sick. He felt his heart rate spike and his stomach leap into his throat, but thankfully the rising bile remained in place.

He panted and wiped his teary eyes, searching frantically for a place to hide, but as he looked, he noticed something. These wolves were no strangers to him, but were of his pack, and they weren't fighting each other, they were, as he could tell, only fighting one, for they all went to and died in the same place.

But who would be so powerful as to demolish so many alphas alone? What kind of monster had the capability of being such an unstoppable machine of war?

His question was quickly answered when he watched a tan wolf whom he knew to be Sadie charge past him. She had traveled only four yards before a grey flash swept her off of her paws and in one fell swoop ripped her head from her shoulders, spraying blood like a fountain from her neck.

And who was it that he saw holding the now deceased Sadie's head in their jaws? It was none other than himself.

He was shocked, mortified, horrified, speechless when he saw himself standing before him, a raging demon, merciless and indestructible, a being which could be brought to life only by the most frightful child's nightmare.

Again he thought that he would be sick, for he knew that he was dangerous, but was he really capable of doing this? Was he really capable of destroying his entire pack?

He had not the time to worry any further for he saw himself turn to face him.

His blood turned to ice in his veins as he gazed upon the bloodied brute before him and he began to tremble noticeably at his knees.

The destroyer smiled sinisterly at him and dropped Sadie's head to the ground, then began to approach, laughing and licking his bloody maw excitedly as he drew near.

Humphrey was so frightened by seeing himself in such a hellish form that he locked up and found himself incapable of fleeing regardless of how his mind implored him to retreat, so having no other option but to accept his fate, he closed his eyes and awaited death.

But again it did not come. The sounds of the battle faded from his ears, the stench of blood no longer invaded his nostrils, and all became silent yet again.

But then a frigid and howling wind began to blow over his body which sliced his flesh straight to the bone and caused him to immediately begin to shiver. He wrapped his tail tightly around his body and opened his eyes, finding himself to be lying on a snowy plain in the middle of a raging blizzard. He could not tell where he was exactly as the snow whited out everything, blinding him to the briefest of distances away from his nose. He was still in the throes of shock in lee of his previous experience, but he brushed such knowledge aside temporarily, for he knew that he needed to find a place of shelter fast lest he wanted to freeze to death, but he knew that attempting to move in these conditions would practically be suicide, so he did the only thing he could do. He had seen the alphas do it during the winter, and never did quite understand how it worked, but it kept them alive and that was all that mattered to him right now.

With stark movements, for the cold was so extreme that it nearly froze his joints, he pressed himself to his paws, shivering violently, then began to dig, keeping in the back of his mind the slim hope that he was on enough snow to dig a cave inside of which he could hide from the elements until they became more acclimate.

With quivering paws he shoveled snow backward until finally, thankfully, he had dug deep enough to where his body could be shielded from the wind. Now all he had to do was lie down and wait for the wind to cover him up with insulating ice to keep him warm and hope that he did not fall asleep, for he knew that if he did so before he obtained warmth, he would never wake again. He had seen it happen before.

So in the hole he waited, trembling and fighting to keep his eyes open, but digging the ice cave had taken a lot out of him and squinting against the brutal blast of snow and wind for so long was beginning to make his eyes quite tired, so it was beginning to grow harder and harder to keep his eyelids parted. Heavier and heavier they grew with the passage of time as he began to feel drowsiness sweep over him and pretty soon he began to nod off, but each time his head would begin to fall toward his chest, he would shoot upright again and shake his head as a means of trying to keep himself awake, but each time he did so, the less it would help until finally-

"If you can hear me, I could use some help."

"Huh?" Humphrey asked, shooting awake yet again upon hearing the familiar voice echo in his ears, "Kate?"

Now energized, he pressed himself to his paws, breaking out of the snow cave he had dug to find that more time had passed than he had previously considered, for the storm had finally begun to relent. The wind still blew and snow still fluttered about, but its fury had by now nearly played itself out, becoming now a light snow shower as the final remnants of the storm began to sputter out.

Over the white plain he ran his eyes, searching for his love, for he knew it to be her the moment he heard her, but he could not see her, only more snow and ice as it was kicked up by the breeze in sporadic flurries.

"Kate?" he called, but in reply he heard only an echo.

"Kate?" he tried again, and again he received the same result.

He sighed and closed his eyes, then began to cry softly. He missed her deeply in the time he had spent here and wanted nothing more than to go back to her, but he was lost without a map to guide him, trapped in a strange world where everything changed randomly, seemingly every time he blinked his eyes, and as far as he could tell, he had no way out. He was frightened, lonely, and above all else, he was homesick. He wanted nothing more than to be lying in Kate's arms right now, tucked tightly together in their den where everything made sense, but with the current circumstances, he was beginning to fear that he would never see her again.

A&?

Gauge knew that he was in deep trouble, for he knew that it would almost certainly be pinned on him, but he did not care. He would not deny that he had done it, and in his mind he felt as though he had done the world a favor by incapacitating the omega, so if they wished to punish him for it, then so be it, but they would thank him later when they did not have such a weak-willed waste of space trying to lead the pack.

And he honestly considered confessing. There was a small part of him that wanted them to know who was responsible for the omega's current condition, but what was the fun in that? It was much more entertaining to watch them toil and argue over the one whom they thought was responsible than it was to own up to what he had done- even though he was certain that they already knew.

He must admit, though, that he did feel slightly guilty for having hurt Kate. He had always respected and admired her, and was fearful of what would become of him since she was the Alpha's daughter, but at the same time, he felt as though she had it coming; she was married to an omega, after all, so that's what she deserved.

He brushed his musings away with a shake of his head and ran his eyes slowly over the inside of his assigned den, taking a moment to plan his day accordingly so as to avoid suspicion for as long as he could, but as his eyes settled on the mouth of the den, he found Miles to be standing there, though he stood unsteadily.

"Can I help you?" Gauge asked bitterly.

Miles did not say a word, only staggered inside, his livid eyes fixed upon Gauge.

"Hey man," Gauge said, pressing himself quickly to his haunches, "I don't know what you-"

Miles did not allow him to finish, for just as soon as he was within range, he brought his paw slamming down hard across Gauge's muzzle, knocking him to the floor.

"What the fu-" Gauge cried indignantly, but was silenced when Miles forced his muzzle down so that it was only an inch away from his.

Gauge grimaced and tried to pull away, for on the alpha's breath he could smell an abundance of fermented berries and it forced its way invasively into his nose, but Miles would not allow him to retreat.

"I know what you did to Humphrey you little piece of shit, and I've had it up to here with you," Miles yelled then kicked the young alpha-to-be in the side, "you think you're big, you think you're tough, but you prey on those weaker than you. Why don't you try picking a fight with somebody your own size!"

He then began to beat Gauge just as he was certain Gauge had beaten Humphrey. With fury he brought his paws down relentlessly upon the young wolf's body, causing the afflicted to scream and cry in fear and pain, but little did he know that he now had an audience.

"Miles what are you doing?" Dakoda cried, now arriving on the scene to investigate the disturbance she had heard.

"Teaching!" Miles replied, throwing his paw down on Gauge's eye.

"Miles stop it," she cried and rushed to pull him away from the helpless student.

Miles fought against her, trying to wrestle himself free, but in his inebriated state, he was sloppy and uncoordinated, so he was dragged away with little effort.

"Have you completely lost your mind!" Dakoda yelled, throwing him to the ground once they were outside.

Miles groaned and staggered to his paws then attempted once again to get past her, but she intercepted him and threw him down again.

By this time a crowd had begun to gather and they all stood in a circle around them to watch.

Miles rose once again to his paws and moved to attack, but she countered him and held him close in a position that would disallow movement, but as she held him, the scent of fermented berries rose into her nostrils.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked him as she wrinkled her nose.

Miles took advantage of this and struck her in the face, knocking her back, but as soon as he was free, the other instructors leapt upon his back and took him to the ground.

"Let me go!" he screamed, trying to break free.

The others groaned as they attempted to hold him, and once they realized that restraining him would not be enough, they did what they had to do to assure that he didn't hurt himself or somebody else.

Cail wrapped one of his forelegs around Miles' neck, positioning the bend in his arm with his jugular then tightened his grip.

Miles began to gasp and pant as his oxygen supply was cut off and he struggled to break free from their grasp, but he was rendered helpless, and as his strength began to slip, a black veil began to settle over his eyes until finally he lost consciousness and lied still.

After they were certain that he was asleep, they released him and they all stepped off of his back, but nobody said a word. Nobody understood the reason behind his actions. All they could do was stare at their friend as they attempted to comprehend what it was that had just happened here.

A&?

"Gah my head," Miles groaned as he slowly came to, but a searing pain in his throat caused him to grimace.

He lifted his head slowly from the ground and with foggy eyes, looked around.

For a moment he did not know where he was nor could he remember what had happened, how he had gotten here or why, but after about a minute, his memory came flooding back to him and he sighed, for it was a disgraceful memory that he wished now to forget.

"Good to see that you're awake," Dakoda said flatly as she entered the den.

Upon hearing the voice, Miles turned his head to her, but he could not bring himself to look her in the eye, so he moved his line of sight to the floor.

A silence crept over them which seemed to suck all of the air out of the atmosphere like a vacuum and it continued to drone as each of them tried to collect the millions of words they had for each other and form them into thoughts.

Miles was particularly upset, but mainly with himself. He could not believe what he had done, and he knew that there were no words that he could say which would make it alright. Besides, he felt as though if he were to attempt an apology, he would go nowhere, so his paws were tied.

"Miles," Dakoda began, though tensely, for she seemed to be struggling to find her words, "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I-"

"No, Dakoda," he interrupted dismally, "I'm the one who should be sorry." He sighed. "I was the one who was supposed to watch over him, I am the one who let this happen. I am the one who is responsible for all of this."

Dakoda sighed and stepped forward, placing a paw gently on his shoulder so as to provide him comfort, but it did little to help, for Miles knew that he had really screwed up bad this time, and this time, his career as an alpha was over indubitably.

"Has he awakened yet?" Winston asked from the mouth of the den, causing the two of them to turn toward him.

"Yes sir," Dakoda replied as Miles moved his eyes to the floor.

Winston stepped inside and paused before Miles, gazing down upon him with a mixture of emotions churning about inside of him. On one paw he was angry that he had gotten drunk and beat up a student, but on the other, he felt as though Gauge deserved what happened, especially since he was almost certain that he was the one responsible, but unfortunately there was no physical evidence to suggest that he had anything to do with it, so there was nothing they could do. What infuriated him the most, though, was the fact that he had to fire one of his best alphas, but there was no excusing what he had done, so he had no other choice.

"Go ahead and say it," Miles began sadly before Winston had a chance to speak, "fire me."

Winston sighed.

"Miles, I'm sorry," Winston began, "but this time you've gone too far. I've overlooked your blunders in the past because you're my friend, but now you've put two lives in jeopardy. I have no other options this time, so I am stripping you of your rank as an alpha of this pack and discharging you from your duties."

Miles sighed, feeling tears begin to sting his eyes, but after a moment, he took in a deep breath of collection and prevented them from flowing.

"Understood, sir," he said firmly, holding onto what little dignity he had left.

"You have the remainder of the day to say your goodbyes then you are to return to Jasper where you will be assigned a new rank of your choosing, with the exception of alpha, obviously."

Miles sighed and nodded.

"Yes sir."

"We'll leave you alone now," Winston informed softly then began to take his leave, ushering Dakoda to follow.

Once Miles was alone, he sighed deeply and folded his ears to the top of his skull.

"You've really done it this time," he mused to himself.

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