Chapter 3: Like Father, Like Son

Back in the Central Pack around a 年 或者 so later, spring had just arrived, and young Humphrey was a mischievous, rambunctious three-year-old omega, happily playing with the other pups in his pack.

He had become particularly close 老友记 with another omega pup named Steven. The two played together nearly every day. While the pack was small, that didn’t mean there weren’t great places to play. One of the most 流行的 was a large hillside near the southern border close to where the omega’s dens were. The alpha dens were farther to the north.

Adam would usually 加入 Humphrey and Steven on the hillside but would sometimes be called away 由 Jack and Mary, who occasionally tutored him on being an alpha. Adam and Steven weren’t as close as Steven and Humphrey and they didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. They had even gotten into heated arguments on 更多 than one occasion.

But Adam had a friend of his own. A female alpha pup named Emily with golden 毛皮 and bright blue eyes. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Adam did have a bit of a crush on her, and he knew that she felt the same.

Gary and Martha did the same as Jack and Mary and tutored Humphrey on the various aspects of being an omega. Martha taught him the social perks and responsibilities and Gary taught him the best ways to have fun. And today was one of those days.

This would be a big winter for Humphrey. Martha was pregnant with her third pup and was due any 日 now. Gary knew what a handful newborn pups were, so he wanted to 显示 Humphrey something very special before he became too busy with his new pup.

Gary took Humphrey to the 最佳, 返回页首 of the 爬坡道, 小山 and they stopped for a moment to look out over the entire pack and beyond. To the east was a vast woodland that covered a series of hills, to the north and south was nothing but forest, and far to the west was a range of mountains with a large valley. The sky was clear of clouds and the sun’s light reflected brightly off the new fallen snow.

“Alright Humphrey,” Gary said. “I’ve already taught 你 many different ways an omega can have fun, and you’ve even come up with your own 或者 added on to what I’ve taught you.”

Humphrey smiled, happy that he had impressed his father.

“Today I’m going to 显示 你 my 最喜爱的 thing to do during my pastime.”

“What does that word mean, Dad?” Humphrey asked.

“Pastime is pretty much any time I have to myself when I’m not busy with other things.”

“Oh, okay,” Humphrey said. “So, what do 你 like to do in your…pastime?” he asked.

“It’s a little something I like to call…logboarding,” Gary said.

“Cool.”

The young omega was intrigued. This logboarding thing sounded awesome whatever it was.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’ll 显示 you,” Gary answered. “But first we gotta find a log.”

He began looking around the large hilltop for an old shell of a hollowed-out log. He eventually found one, half-buried in the snow, and pushed it over to where Humphrey was standing near the edge of the hill.

“Now stay here and just watch me,” Gary said.

He hopped into the logboard and soon began sliding down the hill. Humphrey watched in amazement as his father rushed down the hillside in the old log, shouting and laughing as went.

Gary reached the bottom and looked up at Humphrey and smiled at him. He then began the tedious task of pushing the logboard back up the large hill. Around ten 分钟 later, he finally reached the 最佳, 返回页首 and Humphrey rushed up to his father.

“Wow, Dad! That was so cool!”

“I know, right?” Gary said, getting a little excited himself. “Now it’s your turn.”

Humphrey’s smile faded and it was replaced 由 a look of fear on his face.

“But it also looked scary, too.”

“Don’t worry,” Gary told him. “I’ll be riding with you.”

“Okay then,” Humphrey said, his excitement returning. “Let’s do it.”

“Alright then,” Gary said, helping his son into the logboard.

They set it up on the edge of the 爬坡道, 小山 with Humphrey sitting up front and Gary in back pushing. Just as the logboard began to slide down the hill, Gary jumped in back behind Humphrey and off they went.

They slid down the 爬坡道, 小山 at an exhilarating rate and Humphrey cheered and shouted. It was indeed like father, like son as Humphrey enjoyed himself just as much as his father had. But the path was filled with obstacles, like large rocks and boulders that lay directly in their path, sticking through the snow and things began to go wrong quickly.

Not halfway down the hill, the logboard struck a large boulder and began to spin wildly. Humphrey yelled out for his father. The logboard eventually stopped spinning but now it was facing the wrong way. Gary and Humphrey were now sliding down the 爬坡道, 小山 backwards.

Gary quickly sprang into action, using an old trick he had taught himself when the very same thing happened years ago. He stood up and stuck his back paw out into the snow. Then, in one 迅速, 斯威夫特 motion, Gary twisted his back paw and swung the logboard back around, a trick Humphrey would use many years later when he would become 迷失 with another 狼 as they tried to get home.

Gary laughed to himself before directing Humphrey down the rest of the hill, giving him directions on what to do. They reached the bottom and that’s when they ran into 更多 trouble. They couldn’t figure out how to brake and soon crashed into a rock. The logboard came to a jolting stop, knocking Gary and Humphrey off it into the snow.

Gary helped his son out of the snow.

“Um, 你 forgot to tell me how to stop, Dad,” Humphrey said.

“Yeah, it’s been a problem,” Gary replied.

“It’s been a problem?” Humphrey asked sarcastically.

“Well…” Gary began, but before he could finish, they heard a bloodcurdling scream echoing through the woods from the northern part of the pack where their 巢穴, den, 书房 was.

Gary and Humphrey looked at each other with a look of concern on their faces. Not long after, a 狼 came rushing up to them, a nervous look on his face. Something was definitely not right.

“Gary,” the 狼 said, panting. “Gary, 你 have to come, now.”

“What? What is it?” Gary asked.

“It’s Martha.”

Gary immediately became worried.

“What happened?” he frantically asked. “Is she okay?”

“She’s going into labor,” the 狼 said.

Almost instantly, Gary’s face lit up with excitement and shock all at once. He picked Humphrey up, put him on his back, and began running through the snow back to their den.

“What does that mean, Dad?” Humphrey asked.

“It means you’re about to be a big brother.”

But in their haste to get back to their den, they failed to notice the man hiding in the bushes, watching them.

(Note: From this point forward, there are quite a few callbacks to the first movie, like Humphrey spinning the logboard around when they were being chased 由 the bears, so make sure to watch out for those.)