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Chapter 16: Déjà Vu.

Kate stirred with a wince and a groan as she felt the warm rays of the sun stab through her eyelids, and slowly allowed her eyes to peel open. At first, all she saw was a large, black blotch before her spectrum, but with each time she blinked, it broke apart, then finally faded and her vision became clear.

"On your feet, alpha!" a stern voice yelled, "there's no time to rest! Your friends are dying out there and you are gonna just fall down and quit?!"

Kate was startled by this sudden outburst and locked up, but she did not remain in this state for long as she felt a set of teeth latch onto the scruff on her neck and yank her to her paws.

"Pick up Cole and get moving!" the voice barked.

Kate was still lost in the throes of confusion, and sought quickly to figure out what was happening. She turned immediately behind her to see a young wolf, probably about six months old, lying on the ground, then forward to find none other than Eric, her former teacher standing before her.

"Harrison, Glover, stop!," Eric yelled with a shake of his head, "you are dead!"

With that said, he turned to the other pups who stood about twenty yards away.

"You see this, students, is what happens when you allow yourself to become weak," he barked, then turned to Kate once more, "weak of body, weak of mind, and weak of will."

Kate, having not the ability to comprehend what was going on, simply lowered her eyes as the one she carried rose to his haunches.

"I would have expected better from the Alphas' daughter," he mused with a shake of his head, then turned away again, "that will conclude our training for the day. Get cleaned up and get to bed." He then returned his attention to Kate once more, "There will be no excuses tomorrow, Glover," he warned, "if you fail one more test, you're finished here."

With that said, he turned and walked away and the rest followed, leaving Kate alone.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked herself, "am I... in Alpha School again?"

Confusion flooded over her as she stood there, because, even though she was aware of what was happening, as she could remember what she had done in order to rescue her dying husband, she could not understand why it was that she had come here. However, before she could ponder the situation any further, another pup approached her.

"Hey, Kate," he called as he arrived at her side, "you just gonna sit out here all by yourself?"

Slightly startled, she turned to the pup who had spoken and instantly found a nagging sense of familiarity, fear, and intrigue with his lively, yellow eyes, but she just couldn't place the name with the face, which, to her, was unsettling and strange. Why was it that she remembered everything about this place besides him?

The pup was displaced by her silence and cocked his head to the side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, "you're not acting like yourself."

Kate didn't know what to say, so she simply said the first thing to come to her mind.

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind," she replied, only telling half a lie, "I'm afraid I won't pass the course."

The pup smiled and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," he comforted, "I know that you have greatness in you. All you have to do is dig down deep and tell yourself that this thing is the only thing you will ever want, and don't let a few failures get you down."

Kate lowered her eyes and nodded, still playing along.

"Thank you," she thanked.

The yellow-eyed pup smiled and waved a paw before his chest dismissively.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he began, "after all, that is what friends are for."

Kate lifted her eyes with a smile.

"Now come on," he said, "let's get cleaned up and get to bed. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

The words of his final sentence struck a familiar cord with her, but she just couldn't place the feeling she felt when she heard them, but she figured that eventually the answers would present themselves and she could finally sort this whole ordeal out. Feeling resolute in her decision, Kate followed and joined him at his side.

"So tell me," she began, trying to disguise the fact that she was drawing a blank on his identity, "how is it that you always know exactly what to say?"

He turned to her then shrugged as he allowed his eyes to migrate forward once more.

"I don't know," he replied, "they say that there are those who are born to lead, and those who are born to follow, but I also believe that some of us are born to speak, and some are born to listen." He paused for a moment then continued. "Though words may come naturally to the speakers, their words are often cold and flat, and their ears, deaf," he explained, "it is often times the listeners who could make a difference if only their voices were not mute.

Kate nodded slowly as she listened to him speak and found herself completely astounded that she could not recall who this young pup was. He was such an intriguing and insightful individual, and, unlike many others who offered her their wisdom, she actually valued his views.

"It is up to you, right now, to decide which you are going to be," he began again as he drew to his closing thoughts, "are you going to be the speaker who never hears, or are you going to be the listener who may one day say it all?"

Kate nodded inquisitively as they drew near to the river, but as her eyes fell upon the congregation of students, her memory flickered to life once more, and she recalled her status amongst the students, which caused her smile to slowly fade.

"Well, if it isn't the future leader of the pack," a female, whose name she recalled as Tessa, teased as her eyes fell upon Kate. She strutted over and thrust her nose into Kate's face. "How do you expect us to trust you to carry the pack on your shoulders when you can't even carry Cole fifty yards?"

This drew sniggers from the others in attendance which caused Kate to shrivel slightly.

"Now, Tessa, I hardly think that this is necessary," the yellow-eyed wolf stood in Kate's defense.

Tessa scoffed and turned to him.

"Zip it, Daniel," she barked, "let your girlfriend fight her own fights."

Daniel lowered his eyes, then lifted them once more.

"We are not a couple," he insisted.

Tessa laughed.

"Oh, that's right!" she chimed, "how silly of me. I forgot that you were a faggot."

Daniel's face deepened into a scowl and he directed his steely gaze directly into Tessa's.

"That may be true," he replied, "but I am comfortable with who I am, which is a lot more than I can say about you."

Tessa drew her head back slightly.

"You're so ashamed of who you are," Daniel began, "You hate yourself so much that you have to project it upon others and make them feel exactly as you feel every night when you lie down to go to sleep."

Tessa opened up her mouth to offer a rebuttal, but Daniel continued before the words could pass over her lips.

"I haven't yet figured out your complex, but I know enough to know that are nothing in your own eyes. So you make up for it by putting yourself above the rest of your peers, and all you can do is hope that they can't see through your pathetic ruse" he said firmly, "and please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that inside, you are only a spiteful pup, and you can deny it all you want. You can lie to me; you can lie to them, but you cannot lie to yourself."

Tessa barred her teeth as a growl rumbled deep in the base of her throat.

"One more word out of you, and I'll bathe myself in your blood!" she snarled.

Daniel smirked.

"I don't need to say anything more," he replied, "you've just proven my point."

Tessa's snarl sharpened and she lurched forward as though she was going to attack him, but before she could move, hot tears stung her eyes and she began to wail.

"Daniel," Kate said shocked.

All who stood around the river simply stared at Daniel and Tessa in stunned silence, but before their eyes could bore too deep into him, Daniel wordlessly turned and took his leave.

Muttering began to arise over Tessa's cries, but before Kate could watch the development any further, she turned and followed Daniel toward the dens.

"Daniel, what was that?" she called to him as she arrived at his side.

Daniel sighed and lowered his head as he walked.

"I'm sorry," he replied, ashamed, "all I wanted was to stand up for you. I didn't mean to make her cry like that."

Kate lowered her head as well, then lifted it.

"It's okay, Daniel," she comforted, "I think she deserved it."

Daniel kept his eyes low and nodded.

Kate continued to follow at his side until they got to the sleeping area, but as she drew near to the den she remembered as hers, she felt a sinking feeling in her gut. She just couldn't explain why, but before she could ponder the situation any further, she felt something bump her forcefully from behind and she fell forward. She was taken completely off guard by the push and henceforth had no time to catch herself and struck the ground hard with her chest, causing her to pinch her eyes closed and groan.

A second ticked away before she opened up her eyes and she attempted to rise, but before she could lift her head four inches off of the ground, she felt a paw force her face down into the dirt once more.

"Who are you?" she cried as she struggled beneath the weight of her attacker.

"Don't speak," she heard a familiar voice growl sinisterly as its owner rubbed his paw on her exposed rump.

Kate felt her heart jump out of her chest as the memories came flooding back to her. She knew there was something strange about that yellow-eyed pup, but up until now she just couldn't place what it was. Now she remembered why she chose to erase his memory from her mind.

She was the outcast of the Alpha class, because her skills were the weakest of them all, so Daniel, whom she first-handedly discovered was a sociopathic rapist, pretended to be a homosexual to gain her trust as her companion in ostracism. She befriended him and together they stood against the rest of the class because they were different, and it bonded them, but all the time, Daniel had other, more sinister plans in motion. Everything he did was designed to lead to this moment. He gained her trust, then, only three days after he stood up for her against Tessa, he raped her.

"Please, Daniel," she cried as she struggled beneath his weight, "you're hurting me!"

Daniel laughed and pressed harder upon the back of her neck, then leaned down and licked the side of her face.

Kate sniffled and then began to sob, as this memory of him was the one which she had buried in hopes of never having to relive, second to only one other, but here she was once again, helpless against the will of her predator.

"Now," Daniel began with a sneer, "you're going to be a good girl and-"

"Get off of her, you son of a bitch!" Kate heard a familiar voice yell, and before she could even recognize the voice which she had heard, she felt a jolt as Daniel was knocked off of her.

She pitched over onto her side from the blow, then turned quickly to see Humphrey standing over top of Daniel, but had to turn away as she watched him rip his throat out.

There was a snarl, a dull pop, and then a gurgling sound as Daniel literally choked on his own blood, and finally, silence.

She was at first astounded, as she did not remember it ending like this, but before she could attempt to get her thoughts organized, her mate addressed her.

"Kate," he began, stunned, "were you..."

Kate was so shocked by everything she had experienced, from having to relive that dreadful moment in her life, to having to watch her mate kill somebody, that when she turned forward to Humphrey once more, she simply broke down and began to sob.

Humphrey temporarily banished his own shock from what he had just witnessed and rushed to her as she returned to her adult form and collapsed to her haunches and wrapped her up tightly in his arms.

Kate returned the embrace and buried her face into his shoulder as tears continued to pour down her cheeks.

"What is this horrible place?" she cried.

Humphrey tightened the embrace and began to stroke the fur on the back of her neck.

"Shh," he crooned, "it's okay. It's over now."

Behind them, Daniel's body faded, and with it, so did the blood from Humphrey's muzzle, chest, and paws.

Kate sniffled and nuzzled her face deeper into the fur on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Humphrey," she apologized.

"Don't apologize to me," he replied firmly as he continued to stroke her fur, "it wasn't your fault."

Kate sniffled again as she finally began to regain control of her tears.

"Thank you," she thanked, "for saving me from him."

Humphrey ceased to stroke her fur and wrapped his arm around her once more.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her calmly.

Kate sniffled again.

"He, he told me that he would kill me if I ever said anything," she confessed as her emotions became numb, "since I was so young, and had already fallen victim to him once, I was afraid of how easily it could happen again, so I stayed quiet."

"But Kate, you have to say something," Humphrey urged as he pulled away, "otherwise he will never pay for what he did."

Kate sighed and shook her head.

"It won't matter now," she replied, "he's gone, remember? He disappeared a few months ago, and to this day, nobody in the pack knows what happened to him." She paused and lowered her eyes. "but I have a pretty good idea that he won't ever come back."

Humphrey nodded slowly, though bitterly.

"I hope that whatever happened to him, he suffered severely for what he did to you," he growled.

Kate kneaded her paws silently for a moment, then lifted her eyes.

"He did."

It took a while for Humphrey to process her words, but when the gravity of what they implied fell upon him, his eyes widened.

However, before he could speak, the scene changed and they now found themselves standing near the edge of Raven Point. The roar of the water which raged a few feet before them as it poured over the edge of the falls was the first sound to penetrate their ears before, from a few feet away, they heard a sharp cry of pain. Quickly they turned to see the form of Daniel fall to the ground and before either of them could react to what they saw, Kate vanished from Humphrey's side and reappeared before the evil alpha in a form which was slightly younger than the one he knew.

This surprised Humphrey and rendered him temporarily helpless as the scene began to unfold around him.

"Please," Daniel begged as he backed away from Kate, who now seemed to have become involuntarily immersed in the memory, "I'm sorry."

The male was damaged badly, sporting welts and abrasions all across his face and legs, and based off of what Humphrey was now seeing, he had no doubt in his mind how he had obtained them, or how this was going to end.

"That's right, Daniel," Kate growled as she drew closer, "I wanna hear you beg."

Daniel choked on fear and tears as he drew closer to the edge of the falls.

"Let me hear it," Kate barked as she grabbed him by his tail and dragged him closer to her then placed her paw on his throat, "beg for me to stop! Like you made me beg!"

Daniel sniffled and began to sob loudly.

"I can't f***ing hear you!" Kate snarled as she applied more pressure on his jugular.

Daniel choked and gasped, then smiled evilly.

"Please, Kate," he pleaded as tears continued to pour down his cheeks, "you're hurting me."

Kate snarled as tears of her own began to build up in her eyes, as what it is that she was doing felt so wrong, but at the same time so right. She had never killed anybody before, nor had she ever wanted to, but he was the one who stole her innocence, and she had to be sure that he could never hurt anybody ever again. She had to make sure that he paid for what he did.

"That's good," she seethed, "tell me more."

"Kate," he gasped, "I can't breathe."

Kate's eyes narrowed and she applied more pressure.

"If you can talk, you can breathe," she growled as Daniel's smile faded and he squirmed beneath her.

Humphrey only stood aside and watched with horror evident upon his face. Even though he knew that Daniel was getting exactly what he deserved, he could not bear to watch the amount of agony which radiated from his mate. Never before had he seen her exhibit so much hatred, so much disgust, so much emotional pain as he did in this moment when she took vengeance upon the one who had assaulted her in such a cruel, damaging way.

Daniel gasped and struggled beneath the weight of Kate's paw for a moment longer before Kate removed it and allowed him to breathe.

As soon as her paw was removed from his jugular, he gasped and rolled over, then began to cough, grateful that air could once more fill his lungs.

However, this moment of joy was short lived, as before he could even fully catch his breath, Kate straddled his back and slammed his face down into the dirt. Daniel cried out in pain as his teeth crumbled upon impact, but his punishment did not end there. Kate gripped his head with her claws and began to repeatedly drive his face into the ground until suddenly there was a dull pop. Kate immediately stopped at this point and she slowly stepped away.

"Daniel?" she called frightfully and gently shook his shoulder.

However, when he did not respond, she realized, with horror, that in her rage, she had broken his neck.

"What have I done?" she muttered softly as she stared at Daniel's lifeless body.

She could not believe what she had just done and as she calmed down and was fully able to grasp what she had done, she became sick. She covered her mouth and turned away from his body as vomit shot from her mouth.

She just killed a wolf in cold blood. She was a murderer. What was she gonna do? If somebody discovered what she had done, she would surely get the death penalty. She had to hide this, but how?

Frantically she searched for a way out, and as her eyes fell upon the river, she understood what she had to do. Shock fueled her motions as she, like a zombie, took Daniel by the scruff of his neck and began to drag him over to the river's edge. There was a moment's hesitation as she still attempted to come to grips with what had happened. Then, with a forceful push of her paw, she rolled him off into the river and watched as his body floated downstream and disappeared over the edge of the falls.

On shaky paws, she turned and began to wander aimlessly into the forest as the scene around them faded to black.