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Humphrey's P.O.V.

As the honeymoon ended and our life began, we found ourselves at the center of everyone's attention. Needless to say, a change as ground-breaking as this took time to sink in and really take root. We had turned our entire system over onto its head and I suddenly found myself in the face of things that I had spent my entire life avoiding: Political advocacy meetings, grievance hearings, food ration propositions, genuine hatred and threats from alphas whom I had grown to admire and respect in my lifetime. Kate, being the proud, strong, militant alpha that she was, took to these meetings and discussions almost as though they were second nature to her. I, however, found myself on the brink of a panic attack any time I was asked about my opinion on any of the propositions that were brought to the floor. I appreciated the fact that they seemed to desire my perspective... kinda... but at time it seemed... almost patronizing?

Most of the wolves in the den were either wolves I either didnt know, or who, up until this point, had never cared one iota about what I thought. No, it seemed as though they wanted me: one, apolitical, oblivious, insignificant omega to speak on the behalf of the entire omega population. Never before had I held this level of responsibility, and if I'm completely honest, it freaked me out. I didnt realize that this wild frenzy of responsibility would be so readily thrust upon me the second I won Kate's paw, and as the weeks drew on into months with many tried and failed attempts to hammer out ways to make accommodations and reparations for omegas fair without going too far and disenfranchising those in the alpha population who were now afraid that their way of life was under attack, we could all sense a growing tension in the pack.

In spite of what many may have come to believe, our marriage was not met with the unanimous support about which the two once enemies now political consorts so boisterously boasted to our neighbors to our north and south. In fact, it seemed as though around every corner we'd find yet another skeptic from our own pack and beyond who was waiting around for us to fail. I hoped that as time wo re on, things would get better, but even after four grueling months, the tension remained. Of course, many were appeased by this point, but of course the most stubborn of traditionalists remained unswayed and as threats on my mate's life and my own continued to be placed in cryptic art displays of mangled prey corpses across the park, I found myself beginning to wonder if this was a mistake. I loved Kate DEARLY, and she loved me. We stood beside each other through it all, but I couldn't get the thought of simpler times out of my mind.

I missed my friends. I missed goofing off from sunup to sundown. I missed breaking up petty squabbles. I missed Kate or myself being able to go out alone and not have to constantly worry and wonder about which of us wouldn't return at the end of the day. I was not ready for this level of stress, frustration and responsibility, and if this was what being married to the pack leader was like, I shuddered to imagine what my life would be like when I completed my alpha training. In spite of protests from my mate and several other omegas who were against the idea of forcing me to change my identity, the pack's leaders, council and I decided that, for my own safety, and that of my mate, I would have to complete alpha training. I would still be allowed to remain an omega upon my return, but in order to appease those who argued against the strength of my body and my heart, it had to be done.

Kate, of course, insisted that I had nothing to prove to anyone and that she loved me for me, but in light of everything that had happened since our wedding, I could see dark clouds brewing on the horizon, and somewhere deep inside of me, I could see my beloved mate and everyone I held dear lying in a pool of their own blood. I could not blame Kate for being upset about my decision to attend Alpha School that winter, but it always seemed to me like she never truly understood my reasons. Beyond that, she was always stubborn as hell, especially when she felt threatened, and when she was in this state, she almost seemed as though she believed that she was invincible. So no matter how I tried to reason with her, she would always remain on the defensive and insist that she could handle whatever came our way. There was no changing her mind about this, but unfortunately, my mind was also made up...

Kate's P.O.V.

Up to a certain point, I remember our first fight as a couple quite clearly. It was the day that Humphrey, my father, and several other political elites decided that he should succumb to the pressure of the extremists and give up some of, or all of his identity and possibly become somebody I wouldn't even recognize anymore. It started off as a semi-casual, passive aggressive walk home.

"You know I don't like this one bit, Humphrey..." I stated flatly as we two walked abreast of each other toward our den, "I don't want you to go."

I guess Humphrey could sense the venom that hid beneath my tone, because he, in his own polite way, was quick to respond quite tersely with: "Well, it's not always about what you want, now, is it?"

I felt a small flurry of anger rise up inside of myself. However, so as to keep our current discourse a secret from any who may wish to use it as a means to further defame us, I remained calm.

"No, of course not," I replied through lightly gritted teeth, "I'm just concerned for your safety. That's all."

"And I'm concerned for yours, which is why I have to go."

"Humphrey, how many times do I have to tell you: I'll be fine."

"Kate, I have no idea who is leaving those threats, but whoever it is, they're serious, alright," Humphrey retorted sharply, "and if I don't do something, I'm worried that one of these days, they're gonna use more than prey for their art."

I knew Humphrey's heart was in the right place, but I guess at the time I was too arrogant and stubborn to allow myself to be bested in an argument.

"So your solution to this is to just leave me alone while you go off and do god knows what with instructors who might not even have your best interest at heart?" I asked him pointedly.

I guess at this point, something inside of Humphrey broke, because this was the first time in my life I had ever heard him speak like this.

"If it means I won't have to hear you bitch at me for a while, then yeah," he stated bluntly as we finally drew near to the mouth of our den, "I'll do whatever the fuck it takes."

I'm not sure what came over me in this moment, but I suddenly felt this white hot rage wash over my body and I blacked out. Without even thinking about it, I used my teeth to grab Humphrey by the ear and dragged him forcefully into the den. I cannot remember for the life of me what was said or what happened beyond that moment, because I was so lost in my rage that I lost track of everything else around me. All I know is that by the time it was said and done, Humphrey stormed out of the den and I didn't see him for the rest of the evening.

Humphrey's P.O.V.

I honestly couldn't say what happened during that fight, what was said or what eventually drove me to walk away that night, but it was honestly a long time in the making. I could sense a growing tension between Kate and myself as time wore on and our meetings grew more and more stressful. We both had this vicious concoction of negative emotions that neither of us had the time or energy to express welling up and swirling around inside of us. I guess that night they finally all came out. I know that I tried my best to remain calm and rational, as de-escalation was one of my strong suits, but it wasn't long before I found myself doing something that I swore I would never do. Before I could even think to stop myself, I found myself up in my mate's face, screaming at her, calling her this and that, and trying all that I could to tear her down. This of course caused her to do the same in retaliation and after about twenty minutes of vociferous discourse, I dismissed myself from the den and stormed out into the evening.

As I continued to walk, I found myself unable to do anything but stew over the previous situation and the thoughts that swirled about inside of my head as a result. In my mind, it seemed as though Kate wasn't able to understand my side of the argument, or get past her emotions long enough to see the bigger picture. In the moment, I felt as though everything that I had agreed to do was for a greater cause, to benefit her AND myself, but Kate was trying everything to hold me back, and the only reason why was so she wouldn't have to be alone. I didn't understand why she would want to hold me back. Of course I still had my reservations about the idea, because it would be a massive change for me, and I would have to essentially sacrifice everything that I knew in order to be everything I needed to be in order to assure her safety, my own, and that of the pack. In the moment, I felt like I was giving so much more, so I couldn't see why she was so against the idea. I felt another wave of anger begin to rise up inside of myself, but a sudden presence of a voice upon my ears pulled me from my thoughts.

"Hey, buddy. Lonnnng time no see."

I immediately recognized the voice, and ordinarily, the pun on my last name which I had heard on several occasions throughout my life would have drawn at the very least a sarcastic smile from me. However, today, I simply was not in any mood for jokes.

"You look like hell, man!" Shakey teased, "married life treating ya that bad already?"

This drew a laugh from the others. I however, simply allowed an annoyed sigh to escape my lips.

"Hey, guys," I said flatly as I lifted my eyes to the three omegas I had come to call my brothers over the years.

"That's it?" Mooch, the incurable shit-talker of the group replied in a tone of feigned despondence, "the first time we see you since the wedding and all you can say is, "hey?"

"I guess so..." I replied bluntly as I lowered my eyes.

"Eh he's just screwing around," Shakey assured, obviously sensing a tangible tension beginning to form in the air between us, "how've you been buddy?"

"Fine, I guess..." I replied flatly.

"And how bout that alpha pussy?" Salty teased, "is it everything you'd hoped it would be?"

"That sure didn't take long..." I said, slightly annoyed.

"That's what she said!" was Mooch's quick, almost planned response.

With this the three of them howled loudly and then leaped upon me for a wolf pile. I, however, was not in the mood for these antics at all, and the second I hit the ground, I allowed my anger to escape me once again.

"God dammit! Get off me!" I shouted pointedly.

This immediately brought an end to their folly and they quickly scrambled to remove themselves from upon my body.

"Shit, I'm sorry, man," Salty quickly apologized, "we didn't mean anything by it."

Upon hearing the sincerity of their apology and seeing the guilty, disappointed expressions upon their faces, I immediately felt guilt and disappointment in myself begin to rise.

I'm sorry, guys..." I apologized as I lowered my eyes, "it's not you. It's all these damned meetings and responsibilities. I haven't slept or had a moment's peace since the wedding."

"Hey, man... it's okay," Mooch said sincerely, "I'm sure it's been pretty stressful for you."

"That's the understatement of the century..." I replied with a hint of venom in my tone, "I didn't realize that being married was gonna take this much work."

"Well, you've gotta try and think about it from a broader perspective, bud," Shakey stated plainly, "nobody was prepared for this to happen, and a change as big as this one won't just happen overnight."

"Yup... won't happen in a few months, either, apparently..." I stated flatly.

"There's nothing wrong with that, though," Salty assured as he placed a paw on my shoulder, "I know things will be a little rocky for a while, but you've gotta see the bigger picture here. I mean look at what you've done!"

"Yeah!" Mooch affirmed, "you did something that we all thought was essentially impossible! You married an alpha- not just any alpha. The future leader of this pack, and almost simultaneously forwarded the cause of progress and equal rights by DECADES!"

"Huh?" I asked with a tilt of my head, confused by what he meant.

"Oh, don't be so modest," Salty said excitedly as he playfully shook my shoulder with his paw, "We know you've been up there fighting for our rights in those meetings. With you on the inside, we just might not have to be second class citizens anymore!"

I smiled softly as their optimism washed over me, but underneath, I knew that what they'd hoped could be accomplished tomorrow would probably take years. However, not wishing to crush their spirits, I allowed my smile to broaden.

"I'll do my best," was my simple response.

"You modest son of a bitch," Shakey replied enthusiastically, "come here."

With this said, he piled in next to me and pulled me in for a hug, which was then quickly made into a group effort as I found myself squished between the three of them. As I found myself in their embrace, I could feel the stress of the evening slowly begin to fade, and as it did, my smile finally became genuine.

"I've missed you guys," I said happily.

The hug lasted for a moment longer before finally they pulled away.

"So, would the wife be too upset if we stole you for the rest of the day?" Salty asked with a mocking sneer, "or does she pretty much have you whipped?"

I laughed.

"At this point I don't really care what she thinks," I replied bravely.

"Oh boy... sounds like you two just had your first fight," Mooch assessed, "so how'd that go?"

"Meh... about how you'd expect, but to hell with all of that," I replied, "let's go get drunk."

To this, the three of them let out an uproarious cheer and began to playfully bump and slap me.

"Welcome back brother!" Salty said ecstatically as he once again shook my shoulder with his paw, though more violently this time.

I smiled brightly as we then began to make our way out to the fermented berry patch, and as we drew closer to something that at least resembled the life that I used to have, I suddenly found myself lost in the lifestyle once more. All of my worries, and all of my ability to care about absolutely anything at all faded away. I spoke my mind, acted the fool and for the first time in months I finally felt free. Little did I know, however, that I had an audience...