Chapter 2: Not So Dream Life

Several days flew by since Humphrey first learned about the upcoming, rather eye opening season, and while he was content with what he was going to do during this time, others weren't so lucky. Elsewhere in the forest lied a golden female wolf in a small clearing beside a pond. This wolfs name was Kate, and currently she had some issues on her mind. Much like Humphrey had his favorite place to think along the valley rim, this clearing was Kate's equivalent. It was a quiet place where the only sound was the breeze moving through the trees. It was the perfect place for a wolf to think and solve their personal problems, because not many others knew about it. However Kate wasn't here to have some quiet time to herself, her mind was in a mild panic after hearing what her mother told her earlier this morning. She had been warned that mating season was coming up soon, and while most females with mates were content or even excited about it, she felt quite the opposite. She was married to the once eastern alpha named Garth, it was their responsibility to end up together in order to unite the packs, but after a couple months she was beginning to regret following through.

They had gotten to know one another better and become friends but that was it, nothing more. She didn't love him, and could tell that he felt the same way, but unlike her he was actually trying to change that. If she gave it more time then maybe she could start to love him, but that was the thing, time, something Kate didn't have right now. There was no way Kate was going to start a family with him after this season, maybe in the future when she could learn to love him, but at this time, never. She wanted to be as far away as possible from him during this, and that was what was bothering her right now. There was nowhere for her to go, she couldn't hide in her own den because she shared it with him, and she didn't want to intrude on her parents privacy either. She contemplated leaving to live on her own until it subsided but that was immediately shot down. There were lone wolves out there, and if a random male found her then she would be in a whole mess of trouble, much worse than sticking around Garth.

She let out a sigh of frustration before rolling over on her back to look up at the sky, the sun was there to greet her directly above. Not a cloud was in the sky, meaning that the full force of the newly arrived summer hit the land. It was hot, but at the same time there was a breeze to help make it more bearable. As her eyes wandered around the view before her she realized a place she could go, her sisters den. Lilly lived by herself, and wasn't seeing anyone as far as she knew so she must be in the same predicament as herself. Two sisters hiding out from the season sounded like a suitable plan to her, it would give them both plenty of time to catch up and talk. Upon coming to the conclusion Kate got up on her paws and began to walk in the direction of her sisters den, which wasn't too far from her and Garth's. As she continued to dwell on her current relationship with Garth since the topic was already on her mind. He was a nice guy in her opinion, which made the experience of being forced to be together better. Yet how come she couldn't feel herself falling in love with him? They may have only known each other for a short time but by now she should at least feel some things. It was another struggle placed upon her in her life as an alpha, for her own sake she needed to love him, because it would make living her life worthwhile and not just a sacrifice to the packs.

No matter what she was stuck married to him; she feared wanting to get a divorcee because of what the packs reaction might be. Their marriage served as the bond that kept the east and west together, and if she broke it then surly that would mean the packs would split. At least that's what she thought, it could turn out different but she wouldn't risk it. She hasn't even been straight forward about her feelings with her own parents, ever since the uniting she could sense that she was growing away from them. All she ever tells them is that things are fine between her and Garth, though she did state this morning that she was going to skip the season. Her mother was surprised but understood that she needed more time to be ready for a family of her own. Kate felt on her own lately, it wasn't that she was lonely but more of that she didn't really have people to talk about her problems with other then her sister. Which was why she hoped she could spend time with Lilly, and have the chance to catch up as well as discuss her problems like she's done in the past. That's one good thing about having a sister, a family member who was the same gender and age as herself, meaning she felt comfortable speaking about anything around her.

A short walk later Kate arrived at her sisters den, a rather small hole in the hillside that opened up into a moderate sized crevasse. She called out her sister's name before peering her head inside to see if she was around. Sure enough there she was, the pale white she wolf with a half-eaten squirrel before her. She looked up from her meal with a smile "Hey, come on in sis." She greeted. Kate walked inside before lying down opposite from Lilly "How are you today?"

"I'm doing alright, just came by to visit since there's nothing better to do." Kate replied sharing a smile as well. "How about you?"

"I'm good as well, and glad you came by because I was starting to get a little bored." She answered.

"Yeah same here, so what have you been up too since we last talked?" Kate asked.

"Oh nothing much really, other than going to the moonlight howl the other night." Lilly replied before continuing to finish her meal.

"How did that go?" Kate had skipped it since she wasn't in the mood to go howl with Garth, he may have learned how to howl but that still didn't change her mind.

"Pretty well surprisingly, I found a guy to howl with who was nice."

"Really?" Kate replied with surprise in her voice, this was the first time she heard of her sister actually finding someone to howl with. "Tell me about him!"

Lilly giggled from her sister's sudden excitement "His names Ryun and was originally from the eastern pack, a quiet guy but very kind and quite the charmer." She said.

"Wow I'm happy for you, finally getting out and finding someone." Kate stated. Lilly was always a shy one and Kate knew that well, but recently she has been finding some confidence. "Do you think he's a keeper?"

She smiled with a short sigh "I don't know, I told him we should get together again so we'll see what happens. I'm just going to get to know him better before I make that decision." She replied.

"Well I would hope so, but still, I guess I'm starting to lose that shy little sister I once had" Kate teased with a hint of sadness in her voice, but held a half smile.

Lilly laughed "Oh get over it because I'm starting to like finding this confidence."

"I'm glad, because I haven't seen you this happy in a while."

Kate had a positive point there, after the packs united she noticed that her sister mellowed out and kept to herself. She never understood why and when she tried to ask why she always avoided the question, saying she wasn't feeling too well. She shook it off, figuring it was a phase, because it didn't take long for her to notice she was returning to her old self. Unknown to Kate, her marring of Garth was the reason she fell into a short depression, during the time she was relocated Lilly had spent time with Garth. She introduced him to what the western territory had to offer, while at the same time learning about him. Eventually she began to like him and even taught him how to howl, it was all good times and she thought that just maybe she could have a chance with him. Yet once Kate returned he went through with his duty of marring her, causing Lilly to be thrown into a depression much like Humphrey. However unlike him Lilly wasn't as attached to Garth, she did feel upset about not getting a chance with him but she already knew that she was getting involved with an engaged wolf. So when he married the pain wasn't as bad and she was able to move on after the course of a couple of weeks.

Now she was still friends with Garth, they would talk every once in a while but she couldn't love him like she once did. She accepted that fact, and realized that being friends was just as good. This allowed her to focus on finding new love, a love that wasn't forbidden and could blossom into something beautiful. "Yeah you're right about that." Lilly answered. "So how are things with Garth going?" Lilly already knew that her sister didn't love Garth and was content with her reasons. She wanted to see it work out between them, so occasionally she would push Kate to make a move on him so that their love could grow. However Kate never went with it, she was going to let time do that for her.

"Fine as usual" She replied. "Not much to say other than that, but that is a reason I came to see you today."

Lilly tilted her head slightly "Did something happen between you two?" She asked.

"No not at all, but has mom told you that mating season is coming soon?" Kate replied.

Lilly nodded her head. "Yeah I stopped by her den before I went to the feeding grounds earlier, she filled me in on all the details but I was already aware." She answered "Let me guess, you're worried about Garth?"

Kate nodded, glad that her sister was already on the same page as her. "Yeah I'm nowhere near ready to start a family with him obviously, and I don't want to risk staying around him while I'm in heat. Which is why I wanted to ask and see if I could hideout here with you, since I'm sure you aren't ready for pups either." Kate said. She wasn't trying to make Garth sound bad here, but her being in heat around him could lead to problems over time.

"Well you're right about that, I defiantly am not ready for that. However I was actually thinking about getting to know Ryun better before the heat starts. That way I could spend the season with him here in the den, kind of like a little test. To see if we can manage through it, which could bring us closer." She admitted.

Kate was confused and shocked from her sister's sudden idea of spending the season with a guy. She knew what she was implying but at the same time was thrown off over the fact that her sister was never one to think like that before. "What do you mean by that? I thought you just said you didn't want pups." She asked.

"I don't, and I'll take the precautions to make sure that doesn't happen. I just think that it will bring us closer, turning us into a couple of it works out." Lilly stated.

"Are you sure you want to try something like that Lilly? I mean mom has told us that it's a hard challenge to just ignore heat." Kate argued.

"Yeah, and she also told us on how to keep heat from getting out of control. I want to find love Kate, because I look around and see couples enjoying the feeling of it and I want the feeling for myself. This seems like the perfect opportunity to try, I have someone who's interested so why not speed things up a little, for some excitement?" She said.

It was then that Kate realized that her sister meant what she said, she wanted her to find love but this just seemed so... implied in her opinion. She was taking love slow, but her sister was the opposite right now. All she could do was smile in wonder how her sister could change so much in a short time, this wasn't the first day she has seen her trying something new and different. For the past month she's noticed her getting out more, and her going to the moonlight howl was a fine example. "Alright I can tell that you're set on this, so I guess that means I'll have to find somewhere else to stay." She replied.

"I guess so, sorry sis." Lilly agreed.

"That's okay; you deserve to have a chance at love during this. Just try not to do anything stupid, alright?" Kate stated.

Lilly laughed, a typical response that she would expect from her older sister. In a way she loved having Kate as an older sister, she always looked out for her growing up, but sometimes that could also ruin the fun. "Don't worry I'll be smart through all this, I'll even get mom to give me some tips." She responded.

"That is if she lets you do this..." Kate added.

"Oh I'm sure I can get her to understand, I mean what did she say to you about Garth?" She said with confidence.

"I told her that I plan to not be near him during it, and that I didn't want a family of my own yet. Surprisingly she was kind of disappointed, but understood my reasoning." Kate answered.

"So then I have nothing to worry about, we're adults now Kate. Which means that mom and dad need to come to the terms that we can make decisions for ourselves." Lilly said.

She was surprised to hear that coming from her, she may be an omega but when it came to logic, she was smart. "Good point" She agreed.

"So where will you go now?" Lilly asked focusing back on her sister's dilemma.

She sighed "I don't know, there's no one else I could hide with, and I'm not going to stay with mom and dad." She replied.

"Nowhere to go, don't you know any other alpha females who are single?" Lilly suggested.

Kate thought for a moment about some pack mates she knew but all the ones she could consider friends were already in relationships. "No their all already in relationships, and I am not going to get in the way of that." She responded, slightly disappointed.

Lilly couldn't believe her sisters luck, she thought of suggesting a vacant den but that wouldn't work since the merging of the packs filled them all. She was out of options but still had one idea. "Wow that's a bummer" She stated.

"Tell me about it..." Kate agreed. "I've thought about leaving the pack or heading over to where the east used to live but that's not a good idea to stray far from everyone else."

"Defiantly, you're safer here in the den area." Lilly replied.

"Ugh, why must heat make things so difficult?!" Kate exclaimed out of frustration, putting her paws over her head.

"It's just the way things are Kate, but I'm sure you have someone to trust that isn't family out there, and is hiding from the heat as well. They could be male even, as long as you trust each other for nothing to happen you should be fine." She stated.

"Who Lilly? Who?" Kate asked looking at her.

"I don't know; ask around, maybe you could find someone who has the same problem as you." She responded.

Kate saw the logic behind her words, she did put up a good point of simply asking around but in reality she really wanted someone she could trust. Someone she knew wouldn't take advantage of her and be able to get along with. It was just finding someone that could fit that description, there was no one who came to her mind at the moment, and there were only so many wolves around. If she couldn't find someone then she would have to resort staying with her parents, something she wasn't too fond of for various reasons. "I guess you're right, that seems like the only thing to do." She agreed.

"Try not to worry about it too much, it'll come to you." Lilly said.

She smiled "You know you really sound like mom right now."

"Well I learn from the best." Lilly admitted "Just here to help you out like you have done for me in the past."

"Thanks Lilly, I will think about what you said." She said.

"No worries just come back to me when you find someone." Lilly replied.

"I will" Kate said as she got up and proceeded to leave the den. "See you around sis." She called.

"See you" She could hear Lilly reply as she walked out into the afternoon sun. She was glad she stopped by to chat with her; things may not have turned out as she hoped, but at least now she had things straightened out. To find someone she could spend the week long season with, kind of a bizarre quest when she thought about it. If she just stayed with Garth then things would be simple, but she just couldn't, she would never be able to forgive herself if they lost control together.

The day's end was nearing closer as Kate decided to swing by the feeding grounds to have a meal before the evening rush. Along the way she continued to list wolves she knew and whether or not they would work out as a place to stay. However she was losing hope once she ran out of alphas to choose from, all that was left were omegas. She didn't really know that many and the only person she could even consider a friend was Humphrey, one of the wolves she grew up with as a pup. Though now she rarely sees him anymore since the packs united, and hasn't even spoken to him since then. She began to wonder why that was, why they never spoke anymore, they were good friends before but what changed that? Of course there was the whole reason that alphas in general didn't make friends with omegas, but maybe they just grew apart. She stated to feel bad as the memories of him and her entered her mind, he was always so nice to her and looked after her when they were young. Oh how she wanted to experience those good times again, but they would forever be held in the past.

That's when she began to realize something, maybe she should go pay him a visit to catch up, and surly he would enjoy a visit as much as her after all this time. Yet that wasn't the end of it, the idea of staying at his den crossed her mind and lingered there. Much like how Lilly would be passing the season getting to know someone new, she could use that time to catch up with Humphrey. She smiled quietly to herself as she continued to enjoy the leg of a caribou she was eating. Once she was done she was going to head over to his den and ask him, surly she could convince him to understand. That is if he was still a single wolf, she had no idea about that but she held hope. The plan seemed perfect in her mind as she planned it out, she would take the steps to tone down her heat each day and spend the evenings and night catching up with Humphrey. Perhaps she could rebuild their friendship and afterword's continue to be his friend, it seemed great. She thought back to what Lilly also said about 'someone to trust', she felt that she could trust him to control himself around her. Back in the day he was a very trustful wolf, especially when they both got relocated, so he couldn't have changed that much could he? She would have to find out for herself, and so she began the journey towards his den, which she remembered as a pup.

Meanwhile Humphrey was out enjoying a walk through the eastern side of the territory, this was all fairly new land to him considering it used to belong to the Eastern Pack. However it didn't really offer anything truly special when compared to the west, but it did offer a different view of the valley. One where you could see the western den grounds along the opposite rim. He spent most of the afternoon walking around, which in turn was giving him a good work out. One goal he had come up with during his friends coaching was to work on his figure, not to fully build muscle but to keep himself fit. This was one of the reasons he walked as much as he could; it made him feel good once it was over as well as satisfying his love of nature. Now he made his way homeward, stopping along the way to pick up some food to end off a busy day in his den, alone. However as he approached his den he was surprised to find a wolf peering into the entrance of his makeshift home, and it just wasn't any wolf. 'Kate...' He thought blandly in his mind as his heart began to pound.

He stayed silent until walking up right next to her and dropping the squirrel hanging from his mouth. "May I help you Kate?" He asked, starting to wonder why she would be looking in his den. This was the first time he had spoken to her in weeks, and his heart was beginning to race thinking it was a bad idea to confront her.

Kate nearly jumped at of her fur in surprise before spinning around to face the wolf she was looking for. "Humphrey! There you are; I was looking for you." She said, holding a small smile.

He raised an eyebrow "You were looking for me?" He asked, putting emphasis on 'you' and 'me'. Before letting her answer he picked up his squirrel and proceeded to walk past her and into his den. "Let me guess, your father needs me?" He said though clenched teeth, hoping that she was only here for some simple reason.

Kate followed him inside where he sat down with his meal and stood across from him. "No actually, I came to ask you something." She answered, sitting down as well.

Humphrey was surprised, what could she possibly have to ask him? They have never talked for weeks, but he decided to hear her out. Though he wasn't sure if it was a good idea, considering there was still a hurt side of him that remembers what she had done to him two months prior. "Alright, ask away" He replied, he felt like he shouldn't be nice to her but at the same time his friends had always told him not to hate her, just to stay away from her.

She took a deep breath as she was about to bring up an unusual subject, which she was okay talking to Lilly about but not so much to someone who she hadn't talk to in a while. "Well I'll cut straight to the point; you do know that mating season is coming up soon right?" She asked, rather awkwardly.

He just stared back at her with a surprised and confused look "Uh... yeah I'm aware... why are you bringing this up?" He replied slowly. 'Why on earth would she ask that kind of question to me?' He thought to himself.

"Well I have sort of a problem, and was wondering if you could help me out with it? She continued.

Whatever it was Humphrey wanted no part in it, especially when it came to subjects like this. Yet wanting to stay kind he continued to hear her out. "I'm listening."

She smiled, glad that he was following along and not freaking out yet. "Okay so, I don't want to start a family with Garth and instead of trying to manage it around him I've decided to just stay away from him for the whole season. The problem is that my sister Lilly has plans of her own which ruin my idea of spending the time with her. I also don't want to stay with my parents for various reasons, I know this is all sudden but I was wondering if I could hideout with you? That is if you are skipping the season as well." She explained.

That was a lot for Humphrey to take in, and at the same time questions were firing through his head. Most of them being why he of all wolves was the one she came to about this, their friendship was over weeks ago yet here she was. Giving an offer that only a friend would accept, but Humphrey already knew his answer. There was no way he was going to help her with her relationship problems. He had no reason to do so no matter what she could say. "No" He quickly responded.

Kate looked at him surprised "What do you mean no, why?" She asked.

"Because I said so, that's why." He said before turning away from her, hopping she would take the hint to just leave however he forgot that he was dealing with Kate here, someone who didn't back down easily.

"You don't have plans do you?" She asked, figuring that was the reason.

"Why do you care? Why should I help you with your problems anyway?" He snapped coldly, looking back at her for a second.

Kate then realized the mistake she made; she couldn't just throw down all her problems like that, especially to Humphrey who could take it the wrong way. She sighed, regretting what she said "Look I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that. That wasn't even the actual reason I chose to come ask you about this." She explained, hoping she didn't just screw it all up.

"Then what was the real reason?" He asked, still facing the back wall of the den.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to catch up, we were great friends growing up but now we've drifted apart. I want to become friends again, and a week together sounds like a nice idea to do just that. Don't you miss those good times we shared?" She answered.

Humphrey slowly turned around to face Kate wondering if she meant what she said. 'Did she really want to be my friend again after this time?' The look on her face told him that she meant what she said, but he still couldn't trust her. "So let me get this straight, you want to hideout here in my den while you're in heat, which in turn doubles as a chance for us to catch up?" He asked.

She nodded "Yes, and I will take steps that my mother taught me which will make sure that my heat doesn't become a problem for us." She replied.

Humphrey still was far from being sure; his mind was fighting with him between trusting her and leaving her to deal with her own problems. "How do I know this isn't just a setup, to get me to do something punishable by law?" He asked.

She was taken aback by this "What? Humphrey do I look like the kind of wolf that would want to put you in trouble? I just want to be able to call you my friend again, don't you feel the same?" She replied.

'Yeah you do like the kind of wolf that wants to hurt me' He thought in his head. Yet the more he looked at her the more he could see those amber eyes of hers holding truth, could he still trust her? "I don't know Kate; I don't want to risk it. Though at the same time I would like to catch up and maybe be friends again." He stated. He wasn't sure what was getting into him, part of him didn't want to help her but the other part liked the idea of being her friend. After all his friends told him not to hate her, but they didn't say anything against being her friend. And in his mental state it could bring him peace of mind knowing that he made friends with his secret enemy, something that was in his nature as an omega.

Kate could see that he was uneasy from all of this, so she decided to give him some time to think. "Well promise me you'll think about it, okay?" She replied. She was kind of bummed that he said they might become friends again but at least he was accepting of it after learning the full reason.

"We'll see..." Was all he replied with.

"Alright, I guess I'll be speaking with you later then." She said before getting up and starting to leave his den, content that she will get his answer within the next day or two.

"Yeah..." He said kind of awkwardly before watching her disappear into the outside world. He looked down and proceeded to eat his dinner for the night, however any peace that he would have had was now ruined with Kate's visit. His thoughts were on overdrive trying to take in what she talked to him about. He was walking on a fine line between turning her down and taking the chance of getting to know her again. It was a hard decision and knew he was going to need help; the only problem was how he was going to tell his friends about Kate's visit. A wolf they told him to stay away from, for good reason.

A/N: Hmm what will Humphrey pick? Well you'll see in the next chapter! Hope you're enjoying the story so far, cause that's all I have to say right now, haha. –ChriZ