Lilly's POV – Three Hours Later
It'd been a few hours now since Cody had finished working on Candu, probably saving his life. I showed him back to the den he was in before and offered to stay to make sure nobody bothered him while he got a little rest. He offered to help hunt since nobody's gotten anything to eat all yesterday and today, so everybody was really hungry!
Of course, I had another reason for staying….As far as humans go, Cody's actually rather interesting. He obviously won't hurt any of us, wants to help any way he can and could be a really good pack member. I just laid there at the entrance the entire time, occasionally finding myself staring at him and wondering exactly why I wasn't afraid of him. I mean, he's a human after all. Common sense would say be afraid….But, I'm not.
I was lost in thought when I heard him waking up, stretching out with a groan. I turned to look at him and smiled, saying "Well, looks who's awake!" He looked over at me and smiled too, asking "How long was I out?" I looked outside at the sun before saying "About three hours or so. Sleep well?"
He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, saying "Sorta….My neck and back are sore as hell…." I giggled and said "Well, I'm not surprised. Did sleep on hard ground after all….Not the most comfortable thing, I know."
He nodded and looked around before asking "Did you stay there the entire time?" I blushed a little and said "Yeah, I did….Just like I said I would. Nobody came by, though." He smiled and said "Well, thank you either way. I'm glad I wasn't woken by someone snarling at me…."
I giggled a little again and said "Good point! I'm just waiting to hear how Candu's doing." He smiled again and said "Well, we could always go see. I want to know as well…." I nodded and got up, saying "Okay, let's go then!" He chuckled and got up as well, following me out and quickly over to Candu's den. We went inside to see Kate and Humphrey still there, whispering to each other in the corner.
They saw us come in and Kate said "Oh, you're back! He's asleep right now." Cody nodded and said "How's he been doing?" Kate shrugged and said "Okay, it seems. He was in pain for a little while, but it seemed to stop after a bit and he went to sleep."
"Well, that's good. You two decided to stick around a while?" I asked, smiling at them. Kate giggled a little and said "Yeah, we did. I was actually waiting for you to come back, Cody." He smiled too and said "Oh, and why's that?"
"Well, you offered to hunt with us earlier….I'm going to talk to our Dad and ask when a hunting party's going out. I'd really appreciate it if you come along. We won't tell him until afterwards…." Kate said, sounding a little nervous about asking him to go, but he nodded and said "I'd love to help out! Just tell me when and I'm there."
She nodded and said "Great! If you'll all excuse me, I'm gonna go talk to him now and see what's going on." We all nodded and she got up, giving Humphrey a light peck on the cheek before quickly walking out and toward her parents' den. When she was out of sight, we looked at Humphrey and I asked "Okay….What was that about!?"
He smiled a bit and said "Alpha business….Nothing to worry about." i suspiciously smiled and said "Right….I'll have to ask Kate, it seems…." He shrugged and said "You can, but she'll probably tell you the same thing." Cody smiled and said "Alpha business, huh? Then how much longer are you still an Omega?"
"Wait, you're going to become an Alpha?! When did this happen?" I asked, curious as hell. Humphrey smiled and blushed a little, saying "Since the last Moonlight Howl. Probably the best night of my life…."
Three Nights Ago
"Veronica, I'm sorry, I just….Can't howl anymore tonight…." Humphrey lied, trying to get out of this more-then-awkward situation he got himself into. He didn't have a date, which isn't uncommon for him, so he waited on the mountain for a girl he could ask. It didn't take long until she came along, but it got awkward fast.
She was too much into the vegetarian thing going on more recently for his liking, talking about it every chance she got. It's so healthy, you'll feel better if you try it, yadda yadda yadda….His mind screamed for him to just walk away while he tried to keep himself from ripping his own ears off while she went on and on.
"Oh, well….O-Okay. I suppose it IS kinda late….I uh….I had a nice time, Humphrey." She said, faking a smile. He forced himself to smile a little as he said "I um…I did, too. Maybe we could….come together again?"
"Y-Yeah, that'd be….nice. Well….Goodnight…." She said, getting up and walking down the hill with him, the both of them silent all the way down. He sat down while she continued walking away and when she was out of sight, he let out a long sigh of relief, saying "Thank god that's over with….One more word and my brain would explode!"
He looked back up the mountain to see a lot of couple still howling, and it upset him that he wasn't. In his mind, there was only one girl he actually wanted to howl with, and that was Kate. However, being an Omega meant he couldn't….He went with other girls just to keep his mind occupied, but his thoughts always shifted to Kate.
He let out another sigh and said to himself "I need a drink…." He got up and walked off toward the small river running by the mountain only a minute away. When he got there, he sat back down and leaned down to get a drink, the cool water quite the treat in the warm night air. He started to hear footsteps behind him and turned around to see Kate walking by, seemingly not even seeing him.
"Wasn't she just howling with Drake?" He thought to himself, remembering he saw up the mountain not five minutes ago with a fellow Alpha. He got curious and got up, quietly following her deeper into the woods and toward where he knew there was a little pond. It only took a couple minutes since she was walking rather fast, like she was in a hurry.
When he saw the pond, he watched her walk right over to the bank, drop to the ground and start crying her eyes out. His own eyes went wide and he got really worried, slowly walking up toward her. She didn't hear him behind her until he said "Kate? Are you….okay?"
She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes burning red and she said "H-Humphrey….I can't *sniff* believe this…." He walked up and laid down next to her, asking "Believe what?" She took a breath and said "Drake… Left me *sniff* up there…." He felt horrible for her, being stood up in the middle of a howl like that.
He put his paw on her cheek and caringly said "It's alright, it's not the end of the world….So one guy is an ass. That doesn't mean they ALL are…." She smiled a little and sniffed again, saying "I know, I know….But, why is it so hard to find one who isn't?"
He chuckled a little and said "Because they're shy…." She couldn't hold back a little giggle and she said "But, you're nice….And you're not shy." He smiled a little more and said "Not around you, anyway….I'm a wreck around other girls, believe me." She nodded and said "I've seen….Why aren't you shy around me?"
"Because we've been best friends for as long as I can remember. I know everything about you." He said, chuckling again. She giggled again too and said "Okay, fair enough….Thank you…." He gave her cheek a quick peck and said "Don't mention it, that's what I'm here for." They ended up staring into each other's eyes, as if mentally thinking the exact same thing.
She hesitantly leaned a little closer, slowly closing her eyes as he did the same thing. They slowly got closer and closer until their lips and noses touched, making them both blush as they engaged in a passionate kiss. She involuntarily shivered from the feeling and he brought his paw up to her neck, gently pulling her closer.
They broke apart a few moments later and slowly opened their eyes, both of them blushing like mad. "Kate…." He started, unable to put his thoughts together. "Humphrey…." She softly said, her heart beating faster than if she'd sprinted a mile straight. They looked away from each other, their cheeks on fire and minds racing.
Humphrey finally calmed down enough to be able to think straight and said "Kate, I need to tell you something….We've been friends for a long time, but….I've always wanted more than that with you. I've been in love with you since….Well, for a long time, I'll put it that way! I don't mean a little childhood crush, either…. I. AM. IN. LOVE. WITH. YOU!"
She was completely stunned from what she'd heard, her best friend in the entire world was in love….With her! She'd always thought Humphrey was cute, charming and quite the character, but she'd never really felt more than friendship between them. After being stood up at the howl and him being there to comfort her like he always has been, THAT'S when she realized she wanted the same as he did.
"Humphrey….You don't know how much you mean to me. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be losing my mind being an Alpha already! You put so much joy in my life, it's unbelievable! I know I've done some stupid things to make you mad, but the fact you put it all behind you and still want to be with me….It's….Better than simple words can describe!" She said, happy tears running down her cheeks and dripping to the ground.
His heart leapt as he heard her words and he could barely keep himself from kissing her right then and there again. Right as he was about to speak, the look on her face changed from happy to sad in an instant as she said "But, we can't be together….We're not the same rank….Nobody would allow us to be in love. God knows what Mom and Dad would do if they found out…."
He put his paw on her and smiled as he said "Kate, you don't need to worry….Come winter, I'm joining Alpha School." Her eyes went wide and she said "Y-You are!? Are you sure you want to put yourself through all that?" He slowly nodded and kissed her on the lips, saying "If it means we can be together, then yes, I'll do it a million times."
She let out an ecstatic half cry, half laugh as she locked her lips onto his, making their kiss as passionate as she possibly could and he returned it just as much as she gave. They made out for at least ten minutes, too caught up in passion to keep track of time. When they finally broke apart, they were panting for breath and rubbed their noses together.
"Kate, I want to ask you something…." He quietly said without moving away from her. She smiled and said "Anything…." He smiled a little more than she did and said "After I get back from Alpha School, I'm going to talk to your father. But, before I do….You would make me the happiest wolf in the world if you'll do me the-"
He was stopped by Kate putting her paw on his mouth, smiling much more with tears in her eyes and she nodded, saying "Humphrey, I would love nothing more than to marry you! I've had dreams of being your mate, but never imagined it would come true….Yes, I will marry you!" He shot up and wrapped his forelegs around her as he rolled them around, laughing and kissing like fools.
When he finally stood up off her, she smiled again and said "And another thing….According to Mom, all the females are going to come into heat around the end of Alpha School. Even me….I need to know before I do if you want to have pups with me."
"Kate….That would be the most amazing thing to ever happen in my life! Of course I do…." He said, leaning down and kissing her again. She returned it and they lay there in the cool dirt making out again, not a care in the world aside from each other and their love.
Present
"Wow, Humphrey….I can't believe I heard all that!" I said, as happy as I could be for him. Cody nodded and said "Yeah, that's really amazing! Congratulations, even if it's a bit early!" Humphrey smiled and said "Well, thank you both! I know Kate's really excited, but she's got to keep it a secret until I get back. You guys can't tell anyone else, please! Her parents CANNOT find out yet!"
"Don't worry, nobody else will know, especially Mom and Dad. I know you're gonna make Kate really happy….You're a really good guy." I said, hugging him. He chuckled and said "Thanks, Lilly….I hate to leave all the sudden, but I need to go now." Cody and I nodded and he said "Don't sweat it. Just gotta wait for Kate to come back now."
Humphrey nodded and said "I'll see you guys later then!" He got up and quickly left, clearly in a hurry to get where he needed to go. I let out a happy sigh and said "You know, I've had a little feeling deep down they would be more than friends someday." Cody smiled and said "Well, they definitely seem really good together!"
I nodded again and right then, Kate came walking back in with a smile on her face. "Well, I've got a couple good things you'll wanna hear!" She said, coming in and sitting down with us. "First off, Dad's getting a small hunting party together right now. Only two others and I told him you're coming weather he likes it or not."
"Well, alright then! Sounds good to me! What else?" Cody asked, smiling. She giggled a bit and said "Even though Hutch has never met you yet, he's given you his den for saving Candu. He said it's the least he could do for saving the life of his best friend."
"Wow, really!? Jesus….As much as I appreciate it, I can't accept that. I've got my own home a little over a mile from here." Cody said, chuckling. Kate nodded and said "I told him about that and you'd probably say no, which he's perfectly okay with. He said if you ever need anything at all, just ask him."
"Well, I'll have to be sure to thank him when I finally meet him." Cody said, a big smile on his face. Kate smiled too and said "Won't be too long since he's in every hunting party. You'll meet him pretty soon." Cody nodded and I said "Sounds like you two have a busy day in the works then! I'm gonna head home and maybe take a bit of a nap."
Kate smiled at me and said "Alright, Lilly, I'll see you later then!" I smiled back and got up, walking out and as I passed her, I whispered "By the way….Congratulations!" Her eyes went wide and I giggled a bit as I quickly walked out and headed home, excited for her and Humphrey.
Yep, I know...Bit of a short chapter. The next one will be pretty good length, so I hope it'll make up for this one! This chapter is more an...explanation chapter. I've gotten a few PM's asking for a backstory to Kate and Humphrey getting together, so that's what this one was really centered around as you could tell by the additional detail put into the flashback there. Hope you guys stick around for chapter 4! Don't know when I might have it up, but definitely after New Year's. I'm working more and have less time to write, so both this and Life With Lilly are suffering.