Springtime had come at last. All across Jasper Park, the world was waking up. Winter had finally come to an end as March rolled through the area, turning icy rivers to flowing streams and snow-capped peaks to trickling falls in a matter of days. The valley was coming alive with life as the white of winter made way for a fresh, green spring. All across Jasper, the bears were waking up from their dens, the caribou were starting to graze in the fields again, and nature was marching on.

The coming of spring affected the wolves more than anything else, though. The Alphas were organizing their springtime hunting parties again, and most of their numbers were out in the sun constantly, stalking and chasing down their newly burgeoning prey to feed their families back home. The world was waking up, but the wolves were already wide awake, and ready to strike.

But none of it really mattered to Humphrey. Kate was the hunter of the family, after all; she was the one with her paws full with all the hard work. Every time she left for a hunting trip, she would be gone all day, leaving right at sunrise and only coming home at the very end of sunset, exhausted. Proud and hauling a fresh kill in their strong jaw, but exhausted. He had volunteered at first to come and help her, but after a couple months of rejection, he resigned to staying home. It was clear that she felt like it was something she had to do alone, and Humphrey respected her for it. He always did love a strong woman.

So Humphrey would spend most of his time with his friends or in the den, making sure that the peace was kept and the den was nice and cared for. Mooch and Shakey would laugh at him for it, but they didn’t understand; they weren’t married like he was, they would never get it. But Humphrey played the part of the devoted husband for a whole year, watching his wife leave for the hunt without him and being happy with his place. After all, being a famous Omega and husband to the greatest and most beautiful Alpha in the world? What else was there to want?

There was one thing, though…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was setting outside the den, casting the spotless interior of the rocky little cave with bright, deep orange. Humphrey’s underbelly was cool against the smooth rocky floor, and his face had a satisfactory grin on it, knowing just how hard he had worked to get it like this. He had worked for so long on that floor, sweeping it with his bushy tail until not a single bit of dirt from the outside remained. He rested his head on his front paw, flat against his chin, and sighed a contented sigh. When Kate walked in, she would be so impressed. Everything was perfect today. He had had the whole day to himself (well, him, Mooch, and the others) and they had used every last second of it to make things as perfect as they could be for his amazing wife. She’d come home any minute now and be so impressed, he just knew it.

Humphrey’s smile widened, his eyes lighting up, as Kate’s silhouette appeared in the mouth of the den, his exhausted wife hauling a large caribou behind here. Her fangs sank into its scruff, and he walked at an angle with slow, purposeful steps. Humphrey lay down on his side, a paw supporting his head as he watched her work. She really was amazing.

“Hey, babe. Welcome home!”

“Hello, Humphrey…!” She said with a warm, but tired, tone, her voice muffled by the large animal’s fur in her mouth. She continued lugging in inward, and Humphrey got to his feet.

“Here, beautiful, lemme help you with that…” Humphrey slipped around to the other side of the caribou’s neck, but he was stopped when Kate held up a paw.

“No thanks, handsome, I got this…!” With that, she squared her hind legs and moved her head back a bit, throwing the entire animal several feet in front of her. It landed right in the middle of the den floor with a heavy impact, and Humphrey watched on, impressed.

“Heheh, that’s my wife!” He remarked, making his way back further inside, clearing out some recently-disturbed dust from the floor that had fallen from the ceiling. “Strong and confident! You’re beautiful even when you’re tired, you know that?” He planted himself down into a sit right next to the fresh carcass, looking it over for a couple of seconds, but admiring Kate for longer. She joined him next to their soon-to-be meal, panting, but just barely. It was almost like she didn’t want him to notice.

“Thanks, Humphrey.” She grinned, nuzzling his shoulder. “This thing was hard to get, let me tell you. Garth and I were shadowing this thing for hours today…!”

Humphrey chuckled a bit, nuzzling her back. “Well, welcome home, beautiful. Go get some R&R, you earned it!"

Kate sighed deeply, closing her eyes and resting her head on his back. "I think I like it here just fine…" She slumped over a bit, on the verge of falling asleep on the spot. Humphrey looked back at her soft, contented smile, her peaceful breath on his neck.

Humphrey looked over the caribou on last time. It really was a nice kill; tall and muscled and hardy. Leave it to Kate to kill something like that, even if Garth had to help. Tearing his eyes away from it and back to his wife, he smiled warmly, hearing her breathe into his ear for so long that he lost track. It couldn’t have been longer than five minutes or so, but it felt like blissful eternity. When he was around her, time always seemed to slow down, and no matter how short of a time they spent together, it always felt longer than it was. It was good to have a woman like her in his life, that much was certain.

Time crept by, and Kate nuzzled his nape every minute or so. The sun set gradually, the orange glow of the cave making way for silver as the moon rose. Humphrey started to feel drowsy, like Kate’s own fatigue was rubbing off on him. He yawned loudly and looked back at her with his usual grin.

“Hey, Kate. You want me to find you a place a bit more comfy?”

Kate didn’t respond. Humphrey thought she must have fallen asleep.

“It can’t be very comfy back there, you know. C’mon, climb up on my back and I’ll-”

What could only be described as a moan hit his ear. Kate nuzzled his nape harder, the telltale sound making his ears twitch and tingle. She did it again, nuzzling right up against his ear to make extra sure he heard it. Humphrey knew that kind of moan anywhere; it was needy, in that special way that set his heart on fire. Along with a few other body parts as well…

“Mmm, Humphrey… Do you know what day it is?” Kate opened those beautiful eyes of hers, chocolate brown against here blonde fur. They burned with a loving warmth as they lidded, her once-tired face now wide awake as she gave a little, sultry grin.

Humphrey counted on his paws for a second, wracking his brain. What day was it? But it hit him like a train only a few seconds later, and his eyes went wide in embarassed shock. It was the first day of Spring.

Oh no. He gulped audibly; Kate’s heat cycle began on the first day of the season, and he had forgotten! He chuckled to hide his shame.

“Heheh, it’s the, uh… first day of spring, right…?”

Kate grinned wider, her sultry gaze locking him down. She did always know how to do that.

“And what happens on the first day of Spring, sexy?” She spoke softly, her words tickling his ear before her lips took a peck at it.

Humphrey chuckled again, clearly not doing a very good job at hiding his embarrassment. How could he possibly forget? Kate’s heat was his favorite part of the year!

“You, uh…” He gulped audibly once again. “You start your…”

Kate’s muzzle inched closer to him, and Humphrey felt that familiar, excited chill as her words broke. He gasped when her nose touched his ear, a shiver going down his spine to right between his hind legs.

“Yeeees…?”

Humphrey took a deep breath. When Kate wanted to be sexy, she damn well knew how. It was one of the many reasons he married her, after all.

“It’s, uh… the start of your heat, right...?” Humphrey put on his most nervous, toothy grin, hoping to hide his nerves with one last gesture. But he knew she could smell them on him.

“Yep, that’s right!” Kate answered, taking a little nibble at his scruff. “And you know what that means~”

Humphrey took a deep breath, his heart pounding as his mind raced in excitement.

“Oh yeah, I know what that means, gorgeous. You’re gonna want some extra lovin’ out of me for a while.” He chuckled, his nerves coming down by a bit to be replaced by burning-hot excitement. “Well, if you want that, I can provide. You just gotta ask~!”

“Hmm, that does sound fun…” Kate replied, her voice lowering a bit as she bit down hard on his scruff. Humphrey flinched, a different kind of shiver going right back up his spine; he loved it when she did that. A loud slap slammed into his ears, almost loud enough to deafen him. His ears rang for a split second, the momentary deafness overshadowed by a sharp, reddening sting that shot through his rump. Kate snickered, biting her lip as she repeated the process.

“Ooooh~” She cooed. “Nice rump, handsome. When did it get so big~?”

Humphrey bit his lip, a swell of pride filling his chest. He had hoped that she would notice what he had been working on for so long back there. It really was a great butt: wide and round, full and bouncy in just the right ways. There wasn’t enough flab to make it lose its shape, or enough muscle to make it lose its bounce and jiggle, and if it weren’t for the obvious pair of balls between his legs, it could easily confused for a very gifted female’s. It was easily his best work, and he chuckled proudly in response to her compliment.

“Must’ve been while you weren’t looking, sexy! Been working on that thing for months. I knew you’d like it, you did always like a guy with a nice butt!”

Kate growled playfully, watching as Humphrey’s rear lifted itself off the ground. His back arched as his fabulous rump jiggled wildly, Kate’s eyes watching hungrily as it went on for seconds on end, even as his hips stood still. She landed one more heavy slap for good measure, just as the first round of jiggles died down, so that the new bouncy reverbs fed off of the old. “Mmm, you know I love it. You’ve been putting a lot of work on this thing while I’ve been gone, huh? It shows~”

Humphrey snickered, the slaps to his ass only making his plump sheath throb between his legs. He loved when she treated him like this. But then, as the jiggles died down again and his ass returned to its normal standstill, her voice hit his ear again, low like a growl.

“But you know what would make this place so much better, Humphrey? You know what else I want...?” Her tone lowered to a whisper, his ear tingling as her voice tickled his eardrum. “Maybe… an extra pair of paws or two around the den~”

Humphrey's blood ran cold. All that excitement turned to worry as he processed what she had just said. There was no way he had just heard that.

"Heheh, Kate…" He chuckled weakly, "Did you just say that you want-"

"Pups." Said Kate, abruptly finishing his thought. He nuzzled his neck again, a paw slipping around to his underbelly. "I think I'm ready~" There was hunger in her voice; hunger and need. Humphrey swallowed hard, feeling uneasy. He had never thought of becoming a dad, but something about it felt… off. He racked his brain, that plump sheath between his hind legs giving a noticeable throb against her claw, despite the thoughts going through his head. He would have to tell her.

He didn't want to be a dad.

Once again, he tried to hide his feelings behind a goofy chuckle. "Kate, Kate, Kate… that sounds like so much fun, but…"

Kate chuckled deviously into his ear, her razor-sharp claw circling slowly and painlessly around his sheath. "But what, handsome? Don't you want it? What's holding you up tonight? Are you scared~?"

Humphrey swallowed harder, grinning a nervous grin as he squeaked out his reply. “Kinda…?”

Kate slipped off of him and onto the floor, rolling onto her side and peering up at him. Her face was softer, less intense, but her eyes still betrayed her need. “What’s wrong, Humphrey? I thought you’d be excited…”

Humphrey lowered his posture a bit, looking down at her. “Kate, I am, but I just…”

Kate looked him in the eyes, urging him on silently.

“I just… Babe, I don’t think I’m ready.” He bit his lip in a nervous gesture, his heart fluttering. He hated to let her down on the best of days, but this was something else entirely.  

“Humphrey, I… I thought you’d want something like this. I thought you’d want to start a family.” Her voice didn’t break; she sounded confused, not disappointed.

“You’re not mad, are you? Sorry, Kate…” Humphrey lowered his head, waiting for her response, totally sure that it wouldn’t be good.

But her voice hit his ear almost immediately. “No… no, Humphrey, I’m not mad at you! If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready.” Her voice lowered to a bit of a mumble. “It’s my fault for bringing it up. Should’ve read the room.”

“No, no, no, Kate, it’s not your fault!” He blurted out, not really thinking. “You couldn’t have known! I’m just… not ready for pups right now. You understand, right…?”

Kate sighed. It wasn’t an angry or disappointed sigh, but an understanding one. She made her way up on all fours and nuzzled Humphrey again, holding him close. “Of course I understand, Humphrey. You just take your time, I can wait.”

Humphrey grinned softly, leaning into her nuzzle. His heart fluttered in a different way; a more comforting, warm way than before. “But… what about your heat? I can’t just leave you alone like that. It’d be so hard for you!”

Kate grinned slightly, patting him on the back with a paw. “It’s okay, handsome. I can handle it, it’s just two weeks max! What I’m worried about is…” She struggled for words for a moment, glancing between his legs. “...you.”

Humphrey raised his brow. “Me? Why are you worrying about me, babe?”

Kate chuckled slightly, her grin widening by a barely-perceptible amount. “Well, for obvious reasons, we’re going to have to have a little dry spell. Can’t risk you giving me pups accidentally, can we? And I know how much you love what we do together…”

Humphrey chuckled a bit, his mind swimming with all sorts of steamy memories. “Oh yeah, I really love that~” He stared off, slightly dazed and salivating, before snapping himself back to reality, clearing his throat with a gulp.

“Exactly.” Kate smiled. “We’ve got to find some way to take care of you. I can handle myself, but I know for a fact you won’t last long!”

Humphrey chuckled with a guilty twinge. “Heh, guilty as charged, beautiful…!”

“So,” Kate sat down next to him, his paw pulling her close instinctively. “have any ideas? You were always the friskier one.”

Humphrey looked off into the distance for a bit, wracking his brain. Kate was so kind to do this; another reason why he was glad he married her. He had lost count of how many females he knew that would have just gotten pouty and mad, but Kate was really something else. He felt like the luckiest wolf in the world as he brainstormed, trying to find some way to answer her question.

The lightbulb turned on. A flood of images filled his head, images and memories of a time so long ago now that he had almost forgotten. He felt that familiar stirring between his legs again, his eyes lighting up with guilt. She would hate it, he knew it. He had to think of something else! But the idea stuck, and Kate’s voice hit his ear, whispered and sultry like before, before he could even conjure another thought.

“Got an idea, handsome? Come on, let’s hear it~”

Humphrey cursed his own parts. To think his own body had the gall to rat him out like that. He cleared his throat, his nervous grin returning. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a couple old memories.”

“Oh, really?” Kate smirked, leaning to the side and into him. “What kind of memories?”

“Just some old stuff from… y’know, back in the day. Not really very important…” His plump sheath gave another visible throb between his legs, his low-hanging balls contracting upward as his body responded to the thoughts running through his head like blood through veins.

Kate snickered, watching his body’s reactions carefully. “Not from this angle, it’s not. What’s on your mind, you stud? Thinking about some old flame~?”

Humphrey’s mouth started moving before he could stop it, the instinct to voice his thought acting against his better judgement. He knew that she was going to kill him for this. “You were in Alpha school, and… you know my friends? Mooch, Shakey, and Salty? Well, back when he were pre-teens we used to kinda... “ Humphrey placed a single finger through a loop in his paw, grinning at Kate out of the corner of his eye with a fearful glint. “...Y’know, have some fun.”

Kate listened intently to his explanation, not a single hint of anger in her tone or on her face. Her tail swished as he laid down on her side, head propped up with a paw. “Oh, I didn’t know you were-”

“It’s not like that!” Humphrey blurted out again. “We were just out of puppyhood. We wanted to kinda… experiment.” Humphrey’s grin grew almost dazed again, his eyes lost in a memory made up of so many smaller ones. “But dang, were those guys fun! We spent all winter together, just trying everything you could think of! Well, I mean, not everything, we did have limits. And those guys never did get me to…” Humphrey cut himself short, his mind screaming at him that he had already said far too much. But, to his shock, Kate only seemed to be enjoying herself.

“So, do you still have a thing for males? I won’t be mad if you say yes, you know.”

Humphrey cleared his throat. “I mean, sometimes Garth can look nice in the light... Or Mooch can be kinda cute, I guess…” With every word he spoke, he felt more uncomfortable, like he was spilling some kind of long-hidden secret. But Kate never seemed to react beyond amusement.

“So, that’s a yes?” He asked with a sarcastic edge in her voice. “I told you I wouldn’t be mad. Really, I just think it’s kind of cute. Garth’s not really my type, but Lilly married him, so there must be something there. And I don’t really know Mooch at all, but if you like big Omegas, I guess he’s your Omega!”

Humphrey sighed, his memories finally clearing out as he pulled himself back to reality again. “Like I said, it was a while ago. We had some fun times, but we all moved on; Omega duties call and all that!” Despite his words though, he couldn’t help but feel that familiar pit in his stomach. His searched deep down for what it was, knowing already: it was desire. A desire to relive the past, maybe even make new memories. Maybe, just maybe, he could…

“But you want to do it again, don’t you?” Kate smiled, nuzzling his neck. “You don’t have to say no; I know there are things a male can give you that I can’t! If you want to be all experimental for a while, all you have to do is ask me.”

A knot twisted itself in Humphrey’s stomach, but it quickly undid itself, only to be replaced with a rush of excitement. He had half a mind to clean out his ear with a claw; there was no way he had just heard that! But he knew that his ears were fine, and she had just said it.

“So, uh…” Humphrey scrambled for words, desperate to cut through what could easily become an awkward silence. “If I wanted to get the old Omega group back together and go have some fun… you’d say yes…?”  

Kate grinned with a slight giggle. “Of course! I’m asking you if you want my permission. You might as well go for it, since you seem so excited~!”

It was true, Humphrey’s excitement levels were through the roof. Truth be told, he had never forgotten those old days with Mooch and the others, it’s just that his marriage had distracted them from the old nostalgia. But now, here he was, only a few words from the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world at the time: a loving wife’s blessing.

“Kate…” Humphrey nuzzled her, his face beaming. “Would it be okay if I had some fun on the side without you? I promise I’ll stick to males!”

Kate giggled again, nuzzling him in return and patting him on the rump, watching that ass of his ripple against her paw with a few soft smacks. “Sure thing, sexy. Just don’t take it too far okay? No kisses on the lips and all that.”

Humphrey’s tail brushed over hers, blue eyes staring into brown, the moonlight outside reflecting off of both of them. “Thanks, Kate. You’re the best.”

Kate chuckled one last time, giving her husband a little peck on the lips. “I know~!”

Humphrey broke the kiss, staring off into the moonlit night. He half-wondered what his friends were doing tonight, who they were with, whether they were having fun. He could never really be sure what Mooch, Shakey, and Salty did when he wasn’t around. One thing was for certain in his mind, however: they would be having a lot more fun together from now on.