Runt yawned loudly during the later hours of morning daylight, stretching his small paws out wide. Kate felt the mild pricks of her youngest's claws touching her upper left side. She spoke out to Humphrey to stop for a moment, then laid on her stomach into the snow.
"Morning, Runt." Kate said while smiling.
She waited patiently for Runt to get off her back and stood back up. Making a short right turn, Kate lowered her head down and rubbed her chin against Runt's head. Runt hugged her in return and his stomach suddenly gurgled. "I'm hungry, Mom." He said.
Kate nodded and told her pup, "I know. I am, too. We're gonna hunt around in a bit, okay? Can you hold out until then?"
Runt nodded back and then started walking away towards his father and his siblings. Kate watched and followed after him, leaving light tracks in the snow behind her. She approached Humphrey.
"Humphrey... We're all hungry right now and we've been moving since sunrise. Let's find a temporary shelter and something to hunt down."
Humphrey replied, "That's a good idea. I think I saw a small cave a little ways back. Looked abandoned."
"That's perfect." Kate said. She and the others turned around and headed towards Humphrey's suggested shelter. When they arrived, Humphrey was the first to go inside followed por Stinky and Claudette.
"Dad, are you positive that this cave is vacant? It is a fact that grizzlies hibernate in caves like this, is it not?" Stinky asked Humphrey.
Humphrey answered his son calmly with a question, "You don't smell grizzlies, do you?"
Stinky planted his paw firmly over his face, a look of stupidity hidden behind it. Humphrey grinned and gently moved Stinky's paw away. "It's alright, Stinky. Happens to everybody."
Stinky still felt kind of idiotic but he managed to grin at his father. Humphrey then walked over to Kate who was getting Runt and Claudette settled. "Kate... You're tired and your paws are sore. Let me go out and hunt for you." The adult Omega suggested.
Kate faced Humphrey and said, "It wouldn't be easy. It's winter, moose will be scarce. With any luck, one of us could probably run down a rabbit at least."
"At least it would be something." Humphrey replied.
"Just be careful, Humphrey. And if any rogues come around, you know how to alert me." Kate felt Claudette brushed her head against her large paw and laid down on the cool cave floor.
"I know... My sucky howl." Humphrey said as he walked out of the cave entrance.
Kate softly laughed. "Oh, come on. I think it's cute."

minutos later, Humphrey was frantically running around a small area of forest not too far from the cave. "C'mon, c'mon... I'm starving!" Humphrey yelled out. The rabbit continued to dodge Humphrey's paws and jaws, kicking back snow with it's back feet that repeated pummeled snow in Humphrey's face. The Omega lobo shook the snow off his face and ran after the rabbit again.
Before Humphrey could attempt to strike at the rabbit again, he heard a shrill, blood-curdling scream and the sound of a small neck being crushed. Coming out from behind a árvore was Kate who was grinning while holding the dead rabbit between her teeth. She muffled, "Alpha one, Omega zero."