Humphrey's POV
"So what do you want to do now?" I asked as I sat on the soft dirt, normally it would be time to eat but we already ate earlier.
"How about we go watch the sunset" She suggested
That sounded like a good idea to me and we were already at the perfect spot to view it. However she must have somewhere else in mind by the way she asked the question.
"Sounds great, but where at?" I asked
"Well that small little hill by the lake over there seems like a good vantage point" She said pointing to what she was taking about
It was a little hill that was practically right on top of the lake, it was literally a stony cliff from the top down to the water. It did offer a much better view then where we currently were and looked to be a short five minute walk away.
"Alright let's do it" I said getting up with her following
There was plenty of time to get there by the time the sun started to disappear behind the distant mountains. We followed the shoreline walking silently side by side, so far I have been really enjoying this little vacation away from Jasper. A small getaway to be like what we thought we were going to be, lone wolves. Sure were still a part of a pack but once you leave you're territory you are considered a lone wolf and stay one until you return.
What looked like a small hill from our past perspective now looked like something much taller. Perhaps it was just the illusion from its steepness but whether or not this was true it was going to be quite a climb up to the top. It reminded me of howling rock, it was a tall rocky hill as well and had steep slopes that offered spectacular views. Hopefully this one had some great views as well.
"Well, if we work our way up quickly enough we should make it before the sun drops" She said
The two of us had stopped at the bottom and I looked for a possible way to get up to the top.
"If we just zig-zag our way along the side we should have no problem, I think" I said looking at a small path just wide enough for us to walk along.
"That should work, follow me" She said starting up the slope
I followed her, mirroring the path she went along, this wasn't anything like going up a sheer cliff. It was more of just a regular slope with lots of rocks on it. Surprisingly it wasn't as difficult as we anticipated, we slowly worked our way up and before I knew it we were half way up. Occasionally I looked over to see where the sun was and found it almost getting close to the top of the distant mountains. There was really no rush though, if we managed to get half way in ten minutes then there was plenty of time. Kate must have noticed as well for her pace had slowed down to a slow leisurely walk.
"You know we could log sled down this" I said looking back down what we had just climbed.
"Are you serious? That sounds more like suicide then fun, just look at those rocks." She said looking back at me.
"I was only kidding" I said with a grin. She did have a point, those rocks along the way looked very unforgiving and could easily shatter not just the log but myself as well.
"I hope so, I don't need you doing anything stupid to hurt yourself" She said before looking back ahead.
"Don't worry I got enough common sense in my head to keep me from doing anything that would kill me." I replied.
We finally reached to top of this hill after about twenty or so minutes of climbing and boy was it worth it. The lake could be seen fully spread out below with the forest and mountains behind it. It seemed like everywhere the two of us went on our adventures was always stunning and special. Then again I sometimes saw the beauty in everyday life so that's a reason why I found many places beautiful.
"Defiantly a good spot of watch a sunset" Kate said as we walked up to the edge of the drop down into the lake.
We were pretty high up, around the same height as the valley cliffs back home. Speaking of home I could actually see some of the familiar mountains of Jasper several miles away. The sky had begun to turn shades or orange and red as the sun began to set. The clouds had been building up throughout the day and now covered most of the sky. However the sun was free of any obstructions except a mountain that it would soon vanish behind.
"Yeah" I agreed watching the sun turn into a vivid orange
"You can even see some of the familiar sights of home form here" I said pointing off to our right.
"Oh yeah you can" She said looking over where my forepaw was pointed at.
We were sitting close together as we watched the sun slowly work its way down, the whole process taking several minutes. The two of us talked as we watched this happen, mostly about everyday things or what was around us. Occasionally we shared a rub of our noses or lick of the others cheek, just enjoying each other's company. I began to think about how this was what being lone wolves together would be like. Originally the plan was just this, to live somewhere alone or in the company of others fully independent of a pack. I liked the idea, but after all that has happened and what I've learned from the past few weeks changed my opinion on it. I didn't really want to spend the rest of my life always thinking about food, water, and protection. In a pack you didn't have to worry about this, there was always a reliable source of food and water. Plus you had lots of other wolves to help protect yourself.
A lone wolf didn't have this and although I knew Kate and I would do fine on our own, I don't know what I would do if something bad happened. Such as Kate breaking a bone, or us getting attacked by something. Sure these were rare and could possibly never happen you still had to be prepared just in case it did happen. Another thing that would be difficult to do on our own is raise a family, I would have to do all the hunting and water gathering for Kate during the final months of her pregnancy. I would be the only one to protect us from any unexpected attack, and if I was being trained then we could be as good as dead.
I had learned a lot since Kate and I got sent to Idaho, very important things that I would have overlooked if this experience had never happened. I am grateful about it, here I am going from just a regular silly omega to a guy who is training to be an alpha. I would have never thought I would be doing this if you asked me a month ago. It's funny how life can just do full one eighties and change constantly, it could either be good changes or bad ones. Luckily most of the changes had been good for not only me but Kate as well.
"You know Kate, I'm glad we decided to go back to Jasper and not runaway" I said after a long silence between us
The sun had already set and the sky was a beautiful red, almost pinkish, color with everything behind us becoming darker. Some stars were beginning to show themselves but I could only see that ones that weren't blocked by clouds. The wind was nice and cool, it felt good after the long day today had been. I was surprised I wasn't just falling asleep on the spot, we had been walking for half of the day and most of it was jogging. But as of right now I was fully awake and had plenty of energy.
I could see her smile as she had her head and side leaning up against me as we sat. "And why's that?" She asked quietly
"Well if you think about it, things would be much harder if it were just the two of us." I said
"That may be true, but we were doing great during those few days on our own" She said
"Yeah but I would have to become the provider and protector of both of us if something happened to you. And in my current state I'm not trained enough to do that." I said
"I see, so if I were to break my leg or get sick you would have to get me food and water. I know you don't mind doing that but you are right, that can be a tall order for one wolf to take care of another." She said
"Not to mention having to fend off any possible threat" I added
"Mmhm" She replied before a short pause "But once you were fully trained I'm sure it wouldn't be as hard on you"
"Well, in my mind that's only half true" I said
"What do you mean?" She asked getting off of my side and now looking at me
"Well..." I started, I wasn't expecting to get this far into talking about it. "What if we were to have a family, we would be taking care of more than just the two of us then." I said looking back at her
"Are you saying you would like to have a family?" She said simply continuing to look at my face
"What I'm saying is that I glad that we're living in a pack instead of going on with our lone wolf plan. It makes it much easier on the both of us." I said summarizing the whole point I was getting across.
However it led into the question I knew she would ask me eventually, I wanted to have a family with her but I felt that right now wasn't the right time.
"And yes, I would love to have a family with you but the choice is really up to you. If it's something you don't want then I completely understand." I said answering her question.
She began to smile before giving me a kiss, from that I could tell it was what she wanted as well. "I would love to have a family with you as well" She said.
She seemed full of sudden excitement that we would have a family at some point in our lives, I was as well. I smiled back at her as we became silent in the growing darkness. The sun had already set at this point and the sky was mostly dark now, except for the light from the thin sliver of moon.
"So... When do you want to start this 'family'" She asked quietly leaning close to me with a big grin on her face
My eyes widened a bit from hearing the question she just asked, my heart began to race as I looked at her. "W-Well" I managed to get out through my few nervous laughs "We could start soon but do you think it would be better wait until I was more trained, maybe even until I'm a full alpha." I said
That was really half the reason, I myself didn't feel ready to start family just yet, in fact I was pretty nervous about the whole mating aspect of it. I had never really thought of Kate and I like that so you could say the whole idea was new to me. Once I was trained then I would be ready.
"Well you did say it yourself, living in a pack is easier on us then being out alone. So you don't need to be fully trained in order for us to have pups" She said
"I know" I said, she had a strong point there but that didn't change the fact that I wasn't really ready for it yet. "I'll be honest, the whole idea of us… well you know" I said hoping she knew what I was trying to say.
"Mating?" She simply said continuing to look at me, listening to everything I've said.
"Yes, it makes me nervous" I said, it's better to be straight forward about my feelings then not telling them at all.
She gave me a heartwarming smile "There's nothing to be nervous about honey" She said putting her forearm around me "We're marred, we both love each other, and there's nothing bad about it. I think of it as the most loving thing we can experience together. You will be a great father to our pups, and I know that for a fact."
"I know" I said looking at her, my facial expression being plain as I talked "I'm just not ready yet is all"
"I understand, I wasn't expecting you to be all for it, especially not so soon either." She said looking at me, we had been together romantically for around three weeks so that made sense.
I licked her on the cheek, glad that we have made this one important step in our relationship. "Thank you for understanding Kate" I said
"Theses no need to thank me, I love you Humphrey and I won't force you to do anything that you are uncomfortable with." She said before returning the lick
I smiled "I love you too" I replied "I feel that I'll be ready to have a family in a few months"
"That's fine honey, we'll cross that road when we get to it. For now let's just enjoy it being the two of us, because it won't be like that for long" She said
We sat there for what felt like days, she was leaned up against me as we became silent after our conversation. I had a lot on my mind now and I'm sure she did as well, I was surprised by how the whole talk went about having a family, but in the end I was happy. Someday we would start having a family and I was excited to see what our children would look like. I was kind of worried about whether or not I would be a good parent to my pups. I enjoy entertaining other wolves' pups when I was asked to babysit from time to time, and I had no problems doing so. I really had no reason to think that I wouldn't be a good father and Kate reassured this saying that I would be a great dad to our eventual children. It seemed I had a complex feeling right when it came to having a family, more complex then I even thought I did, but one thing I did know was that when the time came I would be ready.
An hour must have passed by before I began to yawn and get tired, Kate was starting to become the same way. We decided it would best to start heading back to our temporary den before we passed out on the hill top. We carefully made out way down the steep slope which proved to be easier than expected, it was hard to climb it but going down was a different story.
Eventually the large log we found to use as a den came into view after we walked along the lake side. I could barely see where I was going in the thick tree cover, and the fact that it was cloudy with the moon was almost gone didn't help. But we made our way inside and cuddled up together to get some sleep, we had another day of walking ahead of us to get back home. To me the day had gone by so fast but at the same time it was satisfying. We may have done nothing too special but I enjoyed our little honeymoon together, even if it was only for a day. I'm glad Kate and I talked tonight about whether or not to have a family. I wasn't expecting it to be so soon but she understood the fact that I wasn't ready yet, and I love her for that. I am a lucky wolf to be married to a wolf who loves me as much as I love them.
A/N: This sure was a complex chapter to write, but hopefully it was good and made sense with it seeming like a jumbled up mess. Cya next chapter
Random A&O Fact: Humphrey's eyes are blue, however this is not possible in real life. No wolf species is known to have blue eyes and the only colors they do have are yellow, brown, orange, or pale green. There are some parts in the movie and trailer where his eyes look green indicating that his eyes may have been this color at one point in production. But in the end they are blue and some say this is due to confusion with huskies.
