The next morning, Humphrey awoke with a smile on his face. Today was the day he and Kate would be mates for life. He left the den to see that the sun was shining brightly, there were no clouds in the sky, and a gentle breeze was in the air.

"This will be a day I long remember," he said aloud to himself, "Kate and I will marry, and Garth will be with Lilly. It is too good to be true." Humphrey hurried off to get cleaned up, and Garth joined him.

Not too far off, Kate sat waist-deep in the stream, washing her body to get herself ready for Humphrey. Not one word could describe how happy she was. She and Humphrey were going to be mates in only a few more hours. The thought excited her, her body started to shake a little, and she started to feel a little nervous.

"I hope Humphrey likes the way I look…," she said to herself as she rubbed water through her tail. "Who are you kidding? Of course, he will love it," Lilly said joining her sister in the stream.

"Lilly, I didn't know that you were here, I thought you were with mom," Kate said, giving her sister a hug.

"Yeah, mom got me all ready, but we are missing Reba and Janice's flower necklaces that they plan to let us wear for the wedding," Lilly said cheerfully.

Kate smiled at the sound of flower necklaces. She even heard that Marcel and Paddy were going to fly over and drop rose petals for the wedding, but then she remembered something. Humphrey. What would it be like having him as a mate? Will he be a good, loving father and mate? She hoped so.

"Kate, can I ask you a…kind of a personal question, if you don't mind?" Lilly said nervously. Kate nodded. "Did you love Humphrey before you became an alpha?"

"Yes, I loved him, but it was not the love I have for him now," Kate admitted. Lilly saw her sister blushing, but knew it was a good sign.

As Garth and Humphrey had their fur combed, Eve and Winston showed up and they didn't look very happy.

"What's wrong?" Humphrey asked. "Is Lilly alright?" Garth gasped.

Eve stepped forward. "Humphrey, there is something you need to know before you marry Kate," she said with a sigh. Humphrey cocked his head. "What do I need to know?"

Eve looked up at him. "You... you never were a western wolf," she said softly. Humphrey was shocked, as well as Garth. "Winston found you floating in a box a few days before Kate was born. I had an omega nurse you and get you back to full strength. We had no idea were you came from, so you were adopted into our pack."

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Humphrey asked, trying to make out what was going through his mind. "I mean, why tell me this now?"

Winston looked at his future son-in-law sadly. "Because last night a wolf from the north came and told us that your pack wishes to have you back. We didn't want to tell Kate about it, for it would break her heart to know that you would have to leave and never come back."

"You can't do this to him!" Garth snapped. "He is getting married today!" Eve glared at Garth for his outburst.

"You need to hear the last part," she said with growl, "Humphrey will not be going alone, because we are sending you, Kate, Lilly, Salty, Shaky and Mooch with him on this journey." Garth and Humphrey were still shocked, but they were glad that this wasn't a lone wolf thing.

Eve and Winston walked up to Humphrey and hugged him tightly. "Humphrey, this is the last time we will ever see you or Kate. You have always made us proud. Now take care of Kate while you are gone... son," Eve said softly in his ear.

"Never forget who you are Humphrey," Winston said, "you are our son now, always remember that."

"I will never let the family down," Humphrey said, as tears filled his eyes. Garth put his paw on Humphrey's shoulder. "Come on, we have a wedding to start before we go north," he said with a smile.

Down in the valley, Kate and Lilly were waiting anxiously for Garth and Humphrey to show up. Tony walked back and forth, starting to get really angry. If his son had no respect for time, then what was the point of getting married?

"There they are," Shaky said, "and boy, do they look good." The two packs turned to see Garth and Humphrey walking toward their future mates.

"Hey, does Humphrey look a little different to you?" Mooch asked, seeing the look in his best friends eyes. Salty and Shaky looked at him, Mooch was right, Humphrey seemed rather nervous.

"Hey, it's his wedding day," Salty said. "He is just a little excited." If he had known what was really bothering Humphrey, then he and his friends would have been ready for the shock of their life.

Garth, Humphrey, Kate and Lilly were finally mates for life when their noses touched. The packs went wild. Their cheers could be heard for miles. A big party was held and everybody celebrated-all except Humphrey and Garth. It was midday now, and Kate wanted to know why her husband and brother-in-law, Garth weren't all that happy.

"Humphrey, I know that something is bothering you and Garth," Kate said. "I'll tell you at the den, but first get Salty, Shaky and Mooch because they need to hear what I have to say," Humphrey said, walking off to the den.

At the den, Salty confronted Humphrey. "All of us want to know what is going on, Humphrey," he demanded.

"This morning Eve and Winston told me that I have to go north... back to my old pack," Humphrey said, "and you all are coming with me." When he finished, Kate stepped forward with an angry frown.

"We can't leave," Kate protested, "Humphrey, you and I just got back and became mates. Now you say we have to go on another journey?" Lilly stepped forward. "And not to mention that mating season is only four days away."

"Yeah," Mooch said, agreeing with Kate and Lilly. He was not happy about going north on some wild goose chase. Garth stood up with a dark glare at Mooch. "You call yourself his friend? Humphrey has always been there for you. And you two," he said turning to face Salty and Shaky, "he even tried to help you guys find dates for the moon light howl and this is how you repay him-by sitting on your butts? I may not want to go on this trip, but I know that family sticks together. So what do you say, are you with us are not?"

The three omegas thought hard on this. Humphrey was their best friend, and it wasn't right that he and Garth should go alone. Kate looked at Humphrey and at Lilly. Her sister walked up to her mate and gave him a smile.

"When we became mates I made an oath saying that I would go wherever you go," Lilly said giving Garth a kiss on the cheek. "We are going to have a family, even if it is on this journey." Garth smiled happily at his mate. She had just proven that she had the bravery of an alpha.

"I'm in," Shaky said, taking a seat next to Garth and Lilly. "Humphrey has been on one adventure without us, so I'm going."

"Yeah, I mean, what's the point of going if you can't have friends to watch your back?" Mooch said, joining the others next to Humphrey. "Also, we may meet some pretty she-wolves along the way."

"If there are girls out there for me, then I'm with you as well," Salty said. Everyone looked at Kate, not sure what her answer would be, but they hoped that she would come along.

Kate looked at them all. "I will not leave Humphrey, because we are now mates for life," she said smiling. "Besides, I've always wanted to go north." Everybody was happy that she was coming along, but it would be hard for the omegas to make this trip. They didn't know how to defend themselves, they only knew how to keep the peace. However, Garth and Kate were going with them, so they had some protection, but they would have to learn how to protect themselves along the way.

"All right," Humphrey said looking at his group. "We leave first thing in the morning, but for right now, let's go and have some fun." Kate and Lilly went to say goodby to their parents. Mooch, Salty, Shaky and Humphrey went log sledding for the last time before they would leave the valley and Garth went to say goodby to his father.

Later that night, Garth could not sleep well, because he feared that the journey would be too hard on his sweet flower, Lilly. Looking over he saw the moonlight shining through the den entrance on his sleeping mate. The moonlight made her look like a sleeping angel. Lilly's beauty overwhelmed him. Garth stared at her for a long time before she woke up.

"Garth," Lilly said with a yawn, "why aren't you asleep yet?" she asked, walking over to him. Garth looked at her with a worried frown.

"I'm just scared that something bad will happen to you," Garth said looking deeply into Lilly's violet eyes. "I don't want to lose you." Lilly understood how he felt, but she knew a way to help the fear.

"Garth, I'm afraid too," she said softly, "but I know that we will be alright, because we have each other." Then Lilly leaned forward and connected her muzzle with Garth's, locking them into a deep kiss.

"Looks like somebody is getting a little happy," Lilly teased, as she pulled out of the kiss. Garth knew what she meant and he tried to hide his prize from her.

"Sorry about that," he said covering himself with his tail, "I just got lost in the moment with you." Lilly gave him a cute smile. "Garth, there is one thing I want to do with you before we leave tomorrow," she said.

"And what is that?" Garth asked, but he already knew what Lilly wanted.

"Would it be all right if we mated?" Lilly asked, a bit nervous about his response.

Garth kissed her again. "I was hoping that you would say that," he pulled away and automatically started kissing Lilly's neck. She closed her eyes to have a better experience. She let out soft moans and moved her head up to allow him to have more access. Lilly had never felt such passion as she and Garth mated for their first time. Soon the two of them became very tired from their first time together.

"Garth, I love you," Lilly said lying up against Garth's side. "I love you too, Lilly," Garth said. The two cuddled up and happy that they were so connected to each other. Their love for each other was stronger than that of any two mates. They slept together through the night, but as they slept peacefully together, a black wolf with red eyes stared at Lilly from the entrance of their den.

"When you two go north, Garth, you will die, and Lilly will be mine," he said to himself. "She will be mine."