Back at the Eastern and Western Packs, things had changed. A wolf by the name of Humphrey, who was an Omega, had fallen in love with an Alpha wolf named Kate. It was law across all wolf societies that wolves of different ranks could not associate romantically. But despite the differences between the two wolves, they showed love anyway. Meanwhile, a territorial dispute between the packs was erupting into war. While they were bickering though, a stampede ran through them, and they thought they lost a loved one. Luckily, the wolf survived. Since both sides were tired and felt a sense of unity after the whole incident, they decided to be as one. So now the packs were united as the Grand Pack once again.
At this moment they celebrated the peace by having a grand wedding, which was open to all pack members. They usually had grand weddings when male Alphas who were descendants of the pack chieftain fell in love with female Alphas, but the rule was changed. The chieftain's son or daughter could practically marry whomever they wished.
"I now present to you: Alpha Kate and Omega Humphrey!" Winston announced. They were starting the wedding now. The wolves were cheering. Humphrey and Kate were now standing on top of a flat boulder. Around them were wolves who had assembled to watch them. The first step of marriage was to accept your partner's scent.
"So, should you go first or me?" said Humphrey.
"Well, let's start together," Kate encouraged happily.
"Okay," he agreed. They started sniffing each other at the same time. During this, Winston was crying with joy.
My little girl is grown up, he thought. Now with her true love. The next step was nibbling the ears. They both did just that.
Humphrey was a grey wolf with black on his tail, mane, and ears. One thing that Kate liked was his blue eyes. Usually, pups were born with blue eyes, and then they changed to brown or dark brown. Rarely did they change to turquoise, lavender, or remained blue. Also, she liked his howl. His voice was amazing! He could have the best howl the Grand Pack had ever seen!
The next step was to rub noses. Although they had done it before, it wasn't official until now. So they got close and closed their eyes. Garth was also watching the wedding. He was originally going to marry Kate, but he had not loved her just as she had not loved him. Now the final step was coming. This step was new. Tony and Winston walked to the East side and West side of the boulder respectively. Tony spoke first.
"Do you, Alpha Kate, take Humphrey to be your trustworthy mate?"
"I do," Kate said with a smile. Winston spoke next.
"Do you, Omega Humphrey, take Kate to be your trustworthy mate?"
"Most definitely." They then rubbed noses again. The crowd was clapping with their paws. It was over. During the dispersal, Garth realized some wolves were missing.
"Oh, yeah, Stormfast and Stone. Where are those sly dogs?" Stone was one of his best friends, and Stormfast was his only cousin. Many families were small in the Eastern territory. A lot of wolves blamed it on Isaac's River Curse. He did say the territory would suffer loss and they did. Garth had lost his mother last winter, and he was her only pup. Coincidentally, Stormfast was the only pup of Owen and Debby. Both of whom also died last winter. The Westerns didn't fare that much better. There were fewer early deaths, but families kept having one or two pups at a time instead of normal litters.
Garth had a mate now, a pure white wolf with lavender eyes. Her name was Lilly. She was awfully shy, but Garth would comfort her. They were both part of elite families, but neither of them wanted a big wedding, so they had a small one instead. Lilly, like Humphrey, was an Omega, but that didn't stop Garth. Love was too great to miss out on.