Prepare yourself for the longest chapter of the story.
The Promise 2
Chapter Seven | Humphrey
I woke up in a dark den. Outside it was a bright, sunny day... At a territory that I hadn't been to before. I knew I hadn't because of the scent. It was completely different from Jasper and Glacier. One I had never smelled before. It was strange. I looked to my left. Lilly was asleep, a few feet away from me, but she looked different... She looked a little younger. How was that possible? Her fur was hanging in front of her eye like it usually did when she slept. A pretty blue flower was in her fur. Weird. She never wears a flower. I looked around. Where are we...?
"One of them's awake!" I heard it come from outside, so I turned to search for the source of the voice. A grey wolf ran up to me. "You okay kid?" he asked.
"I'm no kid..." I complained, feeling a headache coming on. I started to lift my paw towards my head when he stopped me. "Don't do that. It's just a bump."
"A bump? What happened?"
"I don't know. You tell me. I just found you and your friend floating in the river, so I brought you home. Are you okay? Can you walk?"
I felt weak. So I wasn't sure if I could walk or not. "I don't know. Let me try..." I brought my paws towards me before attempting to stand up, my teeth clenching at the pain in my legs. I fell back to the ground beneath me with a thud and a grunt. "No... I can't. Hurts too much."
"No worries. Just get some rest. I'll be right back." He left the den, running.
Seriously... What's going on? How'd we get here? Where are we? I looked back to the sleeping Lilly with the blue flower. It was strange that she looked a little younger. I watched her for a moment before her eyes slowly opened, fluttering for a second. She groaned and yawned. Stretching her legs forward, she quickly pulled them back, wincing. So I wasn't alone in the pain.
Whoa. Even her voice seemed different. A little bit more high pitched than usual. That was another new thing about her. I didn't notice it before. But it looked like her fur had been wet, and still was a little bit. "Morning sleepy-head."
She looked at me like she was startled by my voice. Another surprise for me. Her eyes weren't the same violet I had come to know. They were blue. Like the flower in her fur. "Good morning." Yeah. Her voice was definitely different. The one word hadn't been enough for me to make sure. But that time it was obvious. "Where are we?" She tried standing up, and fell back to the ground just like I had. "And why do my legs and head hurt?"
"No idea..." I said. "I just woke up myself. Some wolf was just here a minute ago. Said he found us in the river, unconscious, and brought us here. That's all I know. He said he'd be right back and ran outside."
We lay there for a moment, looking around the den. So strange... We had just killed an impostor of my sister, and now we were lying in a strange den in a strange territory while Lilly's eyes were a different color and she looked younger, and with a blue flower she had never worn before, and she had a different voice. WHAT'S GOING ON? Then the grey wolf came back in the den, followed by another grey wolf. Blue-eyed. Female. She looked familiar for some reason. The guy from before said, "Oh, the girl is awake now too. That's good. Can you walk?"
"Nope. Already tried."
"No worries," the girl wolf in front of us said. "Do you two remember what happened?"
"Nope," Lilly said.
"Well, allow us to introduce ourselves," the guy said. "My name is Mike."
The girl was next. "And I'm his mate, Chloe."
CHLOE! I suddenly jolted awake, my paws flying to my sides as I sat up. "Ow! What was that for?" I was back in Kovu and Hailey's den. I looked at Lilly. She was back to her normal self. No blue flower. Her voice was the same as I remembered. Her eyes were the lovely violet again. She looked the same as when I'd fallen asleep. It was just a dream? Lilly asked again, "Humphrey? Why'd you hit me? You don't hate me, do you?"
"Huh?" I must have hit her when I jolted awake... Crap. "Of course not, Lilly! I could never hate you. And... I'm sorry I hit you. It was a complete accident. My dream just... shocked me. Sorry."
"What was it?"
"I don't even know... Me and you were in some territory that neither of us knew. Your fur looked like it had been wet, but dried a little. You were wearing a blue flower. Had blue eyes... And looked younger."
"Younger, huh?" Lilly said, interested now that I said the magic word. "I like this dream so far. Continue."
I chuckled. "Well... our heads and legs hurt. We didn't know where we were. Then this guy came in with his mate. Said their names were Mike and Chloe."
"Chloe?"
"But... it was just a dream, Lilly. Probably means nothing..."
"Yeah... nothing... But, tell me more about myself in your dream. You said I'm younger?"
I chuckled. "Yes, Lilly. You were younger. But you were still just as beautiful as you are now."
She smiled and moved her head closer to me, nudging her head under my chin. "I love you, Humphrey. Even if your sister did turn out to be an impostor of your real sister that wanted to kill me."
I laughed that time. "That's the weirdest sentence I've ever heard. But it's funny 'cause it's true."
Lilly let out one chuckle. "Y'know... I still dont' think she should have just let her die like that. Not when she was pleading for us to help her like that..."
"I know, Lilly... But we couldn't just let her go. There's no way we could trust her to run free. She could have tried it all again with someone else. I don't want that happening."
Lilly sighed. "I know..."
"Let's just get some more sleep."
"Yeah. There's no telling how long we'll be walking. We'll need the energy."
Right... I completely forgot. We were going to start our way home to Jasper in the morning. Lilly kept her head where it was. Maybe she was cold from the night air? I closed my eyes to get some sleep, knowing she probably wouldn't want to move her head away from me. Fine by me. I lay there for a while, waiting for the sleep that never came. I didn't even feel that tired anymore... I thought about Lilly beneath my head. And the question that had been on my mind all day yesterday. Ask her now.
I whispered her name. "Lilly?"
She didn't move, or say anything. Asleep. I didn't want to bother her if she was sleeping.
My mind kept coming back to the dream. Why did Lilly look different. Where were we at? Where was that Chloe? The nice Chloe that had to be my real sister... It was too different from other dreams I've had. In other dreams, I usually realized I was dreaming. But this one... It seemed completely real. I had no idea it was a dream until I was already awake. Even if I didn't know it was a dream from the beginning, I usually would have realized it about halfway through. I had no clue this time.
I kept going over the dream over and over in my mind, looking for a clue as to where it could have been. I had to figure it out. Specially if it meant I had a chance at finding my sister. And if that was her mate... Then it meant she lived there. Maybe our parents were there too. I smiled. It would be nice to see Chloe again. The real Chloe. And our parents... I fell asleep to the nice thought.
I woke up with Lilly's eyes looking directly into mine. "Now that's a nice sight to wake up to," I said, smiling. Lilly sat up on her haunches as I stretched forward and brought myself up to sit with a yawn. I looked around to find that Kovu and Hailey were still sleeping. Everyone else was gone. The sun barely gave enough light inside the den for us to see. But when I tried looking outside, my eyes burned with the brightness. I quickly turned my head back to Lilly, trying to regain my sight. "Been up long?"
"Couple minutes."
I tried to remember what I had dreamt about between now and the last time I was awake. It was all blank. Couldn't remember anything. I wasn't surprised. It happened sometimes.
"So, Humphrey... Who's Skye?"
I looked at her, confused. Skye? What? "Huh?"
"Skye. Who is she? You kept mumbling about her in your sleep. Said something along the lines of... 'Skye, don't go. It's too dangerous.'" She mocked my voice.
Skye? "I did?" I asked. Lilly nodded. I looked to the ground, and could tell my face showed my confusion. "Skye... It doesn't sound familiar."
"Hmm... Well," Lilly said, "whoever it is, you were pretty attached to them in your dream." I stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out why I might have said it. Who was Skye? "Hmm... Skye... Actually a cute name, don't you think?"
"Uh... I guess. Actually. Yeah, it is. I like it. Anyways, you ready to start our way home?"
"Sure. We should tell Kovu and Hailey we're leaving though. So they don't worry."
"Right. Almost forgot."
I walked over to Kovu and started to shake him. I didn't bother to be gentle with it. This was how I used to wake him up when he still lived in Jasper. He was awake in a matter of second. "Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?"
"Oh good, you're up."
"Well, I am now..." Kovu stretched and sat up. "Something wrong?"
"No. We were just about to—"
"Oh my gosh, are you okay!"
Kovu and I instantly looked over to see Hailey getting to her paws in front of a confused Lilly. Lilly just sat there, looking at her. "Um... Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Because of the three scratches on your face," Hailey said. "That's why." Oh... Right. We hadn't told them about the girl we thought was Chloe. Kovu looked at me, most likely wondering what happened.
I walked over to Lilly. We were both sitting in front of Kovu and Hailey now. They were waiting for an explanation. We told them everything that happened. About "Chloe" and her plan. About how she was the one that tried to kill Lilly. And the fight. And the cliff. Kovu and Hailey listened to each word we told them, shocked that "Chloe" had been lying to us all this whole time. No. Not just to us. To this whole pack. And there was no way that any of us could have known about it.
The two were silent for a moment after we finished, probably waiting to see if there was more. Then Hailey spoke up. "So Chloe... The girl we thought was Chloe... planned to kill you from the moment she met you?"
Lilly nodded her head. "And I called her a bad word because of it too... I think that was the worst part of it."
I looked at Lilly. Really? She thinks calling that girl a bad word is worse than almost getting killed? "Oh no..." I said, teasingly. "You cursed. First time in your life. How'd it feel?"
Lilly looked at me, smiling at my teasing. "Pretty good, actually. I'll most likely never say it again though."
I chuckled. "Good. I don't know what Eve"—I saw Kovu flinch at the name—"would do if you said it in front of her."
"Eve... I forgot about her," Kovu said. "She still the same as when we left?"
"If by 'same' you mean she still scares everyone with her calm-sounding threats, then yes," I said. "She's the same."
Kovu and I looked at Lilly. And both said it at the same time. "No offense."
"Oh, none taken." Lilly sat straight up. "I agree completely. She scares me sometimes."
All four of us sat there for a moment, letting that sink in. I hate awkward silences... "Well, Lilly. You ready to go?"
"Oh. Yeah." She took a step toward Hailey and put a paw on her back, bringing her friend into a good-bye hug. "Bye Hailey. It was nice seeing you again."
"Likewise," Hailey responded. "Hope you can come back sometime."
Then Lilly turned to Kovu and gave him a hug as well while I went up to Hailey for my own hug with her. Then, when Lilly came out of her hug with Kovu, I went up to him. We sat there awkwardly for a second, then I put up my paw. We bumped paws and chuckled at the awkward moment we just had. "We'll try to come back soon, guys," I said.
"You better," Kovu said. "We need to whoop you in a race. Again."
"Don't be so cocky. That was just one win," I told him. "And we tied the score yesterday."
"You had luck on your side," Hailey said, smirking.
I laughed. "Ha! Yeah, right. ... Well, we'd better get going. The longer we're gone, the worse it could be when we get back to Winston and... Eve."
"Oh," Kovu said. "You better hurry then. With those scars, it's probably bad already."
Great. "Yeah," Lilly said. "Well, when the others get back, let them know we said bye and that we might come back sometime. 'Kay?"
"All right." They both said it.
I looked at Lilly. "Time to go."
She nodded. Then we both took off, running out of the den at top speed, side-by-side. We were out of the territory's boundaries within a minute or so. It was strange, leaving this territory. It had really grown on me. The hills were amazing for log-sledding, for one thing. But I had also grown to like the waterfall. And that little swimming area, even if it did tire out my legs. And that fish tasted amazing. I was going to miss mine and Lilly's secret cave. I hoped Kovu and Hailey wouldn't go looking for it and find it before we came back to visit. For some reason... I even missed that trench, and the little log-bridge put there for us to cross. I didn't know why. I had hated those things. So why would I miss them, right?
No idea.
I looked at Lilly, running beside me. Her fur flying back with the wind, staying out of her lovely violet eyes I had come to love. I sort of hoped they would never go blue. Like the Lilly from my dream. Lilly looked back at me, and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. I would always love her. No matter what. The scars on her face didn't matter to me. I didn't care. I loved her for who she was. And that would never change. "I love you, Lilly."
"Love you too, Humphrey. Always." Dang, she bested me... Oh well. She looked back in front of her, and I saw her eyes widen for a second before she moved a bit away from me. I saw a blur of brown between us, right where Lilly had been, and then she came back closer to me. We both looked back at the tree speeding away from us. "Phew, that was close."
"It might be better to just walk..."
"Yeah..."
We slowed down our pace, turning our sprint into a run, into a jog, and then finally into a normal walk. The two of us walked... and walked... and walked... and walked... We walked for I don't know how long before I started feeling tired. My paws started to ache, and my legs were getting extremely tired. I looked to Lilly. Her head was hanging low, her tongue hanging from her mouth as she panted. "Let's just stop and rest for a minute..."
Lilly looked up at me. "Good idea."
We both stopped. I looked around. Trees. Shade. Lilly followed me into the shade and we lay down together, our hearts beating off each other, only beating quick because of the walking. Well, our love for each other was probably another reason as well, but it was mostly from the walking. It was for me, at least. I couldn't be sure about Lilly, but I figured it was the same. I couldn't believe how hot out it was today. It just made it worse for us.
I woke up to feel Lilly's head nudging me. Crap... We weren't back at the den, were we? I don't think I'd be able to take all that walking again. I opened my eyes to see Lilly. I smiled. At least one good thing came from waking up. "Hey there."
"I can't believe it, Humphrey. We fell asleep."
I looked around. We were on grass. Underneath a tree. It was dark out. I hadn't even realized it. When did I fall asleep? I looked back to Lilly. "We slept all day?" She nodded. "I didn't even realize..."
"Same here. But look..." She looked up at the sky. I sat up as I followed her gaze to find that the moon was full. It was large and glowing beautifully, surrounded by stars as well.
"Beautiful..." we both sighed at the beauty of it. I looked back at Lilly, she was still looking at the moon. My heart was beating faster already. Ask the question, Humphrey. Just do it. Right now seemed like the best time to ask it. "Lilly...?"
She looked away from the moon, back to me. "Hmm?" Her fur fell back in front of her eye as she brought her head down. I leaned in and nudged it back to the top of her head with my nose because I loved to see her eyes.
"We... we really love each other, right?"
"Of course. I don't think I could love anybody more than you." She moved closer to me, putting her head beneath my chin and making my heart-rate increase. I gulped, trying to swallow my nerves.
"Good. Because... I have something to ask you."
She pulled her head back from me, looking in my eyes. "What is it?"
"Lilly... I know we've only been together for two weeks, so I'm probably asking this too soon. So I'll understand if you say no... But..." It made me more nervous, looking her in the eyes as I spoke, but it was better that I was. It made the moment better. "Lilly... Will you marry me?"
My hear-rate picked up, wondering what she'd say. It had only been two weeks since we fell in love. So if she said no right now, I'd understand. One second, I was sitting up. The next thing I knew, I was on my back with her standing over me, her tail happily swishing left and right so fast it was a blur. She was licking my face and yelling, "Yes, Humphrey! Yes! A thousand times yes!" I couldn't help but laugh. I loved her way of answering. I was the happiest wolf in the world right now. Glad that she said yes. Boy, Winston and Eve are gonna be so surprised. They didn't even know we were in love, and we were going to be married. I could hear Eve's voice now... "Exactly what happened while you two were gone?"
When Lilly finally stopped, and looked at me with pure love in her eyes, I asked. "You... don't think I asked too soon?"
"Well... yeah, I do think that. But I'd still love to marry you, Humphrey. I'd just like to know... Why did you ask so soon? I figured you to be the kind of wolf who would have waited longer."
I had my response for that prepared. "Well... I know that mating season is almost here. I just thought... since we won't be able to control ourselves, and if something happened... we should be married first. Y'know?"
"Ah. Smart thinking. It'll keep you out of trouble with my mom."
"That too."
We shared a quick laugh. Then she slowly leaned her head toward me, still standing over my body, and kissed me. It was more passionate than all the others kisses we've shared before this moment. Pure love was shared in that one little spot of contact between our lips. I didn't bother closing my eyes to enjoy it. I enjoyed it more by looking in her violet eyes as we kissed. I brought up my right paw, and caressed her left cheek, running my paw over the scars. I lost track of how long we were like that. Seconds? Minutes? Couple hours? I had no idea. But when she finally pulled away, I wished she hadn't.
"That was... different," I said, not sure what to say about a kiss that amazing. I couldn't put my thoughts on it into words. The best word I could think of was... Perfect.
"Yeah..." Lilly said, smiling down at me.
"Can I... Get up now?"
"Oh." She lifted her paws, and went to the side so I could get up. "Sorry."
"S'Okay. I forgot I was on my back 'till just now anyways."
I sat up in front of her. My future wife. Moment of silence. If neither of us were going to do or say anything... Then we were wasting time. I could tell the direction by using the tree we slept under as a reference point. I started walking off in the direction I knew Jasper would be. "We should probably... keep going."
"Right."
We continued walking... and walking... and walking... As we walked, we were silent. I didn't know about Lilly, but I couldn't stop thinking about our wedding. And that kiss we shared. The hours passed as we walked. As those hours passed, the sun was starting to rise. I was starting to get a little tired again, but we kept going because the familiar scent of Jasper was starting to come in to my nose. We were close. I looked to Lilly. Her eyes were closed, her nose wiggling adorably as she smelled the air. She knew we were close too.
We didn't bother with walking anymore. The two of us took off in a sprint. Our destination: Her parents' den. They had to be in there. They would either be awake now, or would be awake soon. Some wolves were already awake and out walking around. I could hear their voices as Lilly and I sprinted home. "It's them." "They're back!" "They're alive!"
Alive? Did they think we were dead? Well, we were gone for two weeks. I could see why they'd think that. But we knew something that none of these other wolves did. Lilly and I were going to get married. Yes. I still can't get that off my mind. "Hey, Humphrey!"
I looked in front of me towards the familiar voice, still running with Lilly. The voice came from Shakey. He, Salty, and Mooch were all together. Sitting as Lilly and I ran towards them. We ran past. I yelled back to them after we past. "See you guys in a couple minutes! We've got something to do first!"
"All right! Don't keep us waiting!" Salty yelled.
"Okay!"
It seemed as if nobody saw Lilly's scars. Maybe they just couldn't get a good look at us because we were running so fast. I looked back ahead to see Winston and Eve's den. Closer... Closer... Then we slowed down to a walk just before we went inside. We knew how Eve felt about running, unless it was for hunting purposes. They were awake, talking with each other. "Surprise!" Lilly exclaimed.
Winston and Eve both snapped their heads toward us. "Lilly!" Eve ran toward her daughter, and looked ready to pounce on her. Then stopped. "What... happened? Someone scratched you?"
The scars... It wasn't me, Eve... Just know that. She didn't even glance at me, like she knew it wasn't my fault. Winston looked at me though. Not with an accusative look though. More of a What happened? look.
"I'm okay, mom. Really. They're just scratches."
I looked back to Eve and Lilly. Eve was making a big fuss about the scratches. Lilly finally just stopped her mother and said, "Mom. Dad. We have great news."
It's time... I went over to Lilly's side, sitting as close as possible. Her two parents waited. Though it looked like they figured it out from the smiles on their faces. I looked at Lilly and smiled. She smiled back before we looked back at Winston and Eve. I spoke up. "Winston... I know I should have asked you first. But, considering she's already said yes. I'd like to ask for your blessing. I asked Lilly to marry me."
That shocked them. They thought the news was just me and Lilly falling in love. They had no idea there was a proposal. Lilly leaned her head against my chest. Winston's jaw was wide open. That was a first. I'd never seen him so surprised. I looked to Eve. She had the same expression. She looked at me and asked, "Well.. I'm very happy for you two, but... Exactly what happened while you two were gone?"
I felt like cracking up at that exact moment. Those were the exact same words I imagined her saying. We both smiled at her response to the news. Lilly and I answered together. "Long story." Then I added. "So... Do I have your blessing, sir?"
Winston was frozen stiff. A statue. His jaw hanging wide open. Eve waved her paw in front of his eyes. He stayed still. She put her paw underneath his chin and shut his mouth. With enough force to knock him back into reality. He shook his head, trying to get a grip on the here and now. "I-I'm sorry, what?"
"Do I have your blessing to marry your daughter?"
Winston started pacing around the den. Thinking about it. "Let me get this straight... You leave Jasper. And come home asking me for my blessing to marry Lilly? I'm sorry. I'm just... trying to make sense of all this. Exactly when did this... love between you start?"
Lilly and I looked at each other, thinking about exactly when it happened. "Two... maybe three days after we left."
"And... you never came back home to tell us?" Eve asked, beginning to stalk towards me. I was about to start backing away, but Lilly put her paw on my back like she wanted me to stay. Eve was getting scary close to me now. Looking me in the eyes. "Why didn't you come home?" she asked, her face a few inches from mine. I wasn't sure if I was shaking or not. I hoped not.
I made sure to keep my face straight. Try not to look scared of her. If I was going to marry Lilly, I couldn't be scared of her mom. I always heard about the relationship between a guy and his mother-in-law being bad. Not ours. Ours was just scary. Lilly answered for me, seeing that I couldn't think of anything to say. "We ran into some old friends of ours. Remember Hailey? And Kovu?"
Eve turned her eyes away from me to look at her daughter. She pulled back and sat on her haunches where she had been before. I subtly let out a sigh of relief. Winston was listening to everything we said as he paced around the den, thinking. "Oh yes, I remember them. They were both of your best friends, right?"
"Yeah," I said. "And their oldest son was getting married, so we stayed until the wedding. Then, we just stayed another couple of days."
"And... Humphrey," Eve said. "Exactly why did you ask Lilly to marry you so soon? She's not pregnant, is she?"
My mind was screaming at me to tell her yes as a joke. But I'd be dead before I could say I was joking. Honesty was the best bet with Eve. "No. She's not. But, mating season is starting soon. I know we won't be able to control ourselves, so I thought it'd be best if we were married before we did... that."
Eve stared at me. I guessed she was trying to find something in my expression to see if I was lying. She smiled after a moment and said, "Such a thoughtful boy."
Lilly spoke up. "So can we get married, dad?"
Winston stopped when he was spoken to again. He looked back at us, switching his eyes between me and Lilly. We both smiled innocently. Then he finally sat down next to Eve. On her right side. He looked to Lilly. "Are you truly in love, Lilly? This isn't just some lust-type of thing, right?"
She sighed. "I'm not like that. We really love each other, dad." Lilly said this as she rubbed her head underneath my chin.
It looked like the dad part at the end had some sort of impact on Winston. My confidence in this boosted. Nice, Lilly. He looked to me. "Humphrey... Will you keep my daughter happy and safe every day?"
"Every day, sir," I said. "I promise I'll keep Lilly happy, and never let anything or anybody hurt her. If she ever gets upset about anything, I'll be by her side to cheer her up."
I noticed Eve smile wide at what I had just said. She looked to Winston like she wanted him to just hurry up and say it was okay. Winston looked around at all of us. From me, to Eve. To Lilly. And back to me. It looked like he made up his mind. He smiled at me. "Then you have my blessing, Humphrey. Welcome to the family."
I blinked, and found myself on my back again, with Lilly standing over me. How does she do that so fast? I barely had a second to smile at her before she kissed me again, just like when I asked her to marry me. I heard cheering come from behind me. Lilly pulled her lips away from me, and looked up. I turned my head to follow her glance. There were so many wolves outside, cheering. Howls and barks everywhere. For me and Lilly? We must be really popular. Then I heard Salty's voice over the whole crowd. "You lucky dog!" Lilly and I looked back to each other and laughed. I leaned my head towards her and caught her in another kiss.
Our hearts were beating off each other. We were going to be married soon. Why wouldn't our hearts be like this? I heard Winston's and Eve's voices behind me. "Okay everybody! There's nothing to see here!" "Get back home!"
"When's the wedding?" I heard someone yell. Everybody went quiet. And there was no noise.
Lilly and I broke apart from the amazing kiss when we heard the question. We hadn't even thought about it. It was strange. An entire pack gathered in one spot, and I could hear a cricket chirping. After a second, even the cricket went silent. A gentle breeze blew into the den, flowing through Lilly's fur strong enough to make it waver a little. "Well, Lilly?" I said. "When is it?"
"You're... letting me decide?" she asked.
I smiled, letting her know her assumption was correct. Lilly looked up from me at the crowd. I kept my sight on her face as she looked around at everybody. I imagined the Winston and Eve were just staring back at us, waiting for the answer. "We'll start the wedding whenever you want to."
She looked back down to me. "Today. In a few hours, so we can get cleaned up."
"So soon?"
"Oh, like you can talk about 'too soon', Humphrey."
I laughed. She had me there. Clever girl. I realized I was still on my back. And Lilly was standing right over me. With the whole pack looking at us. And everybody was quiet. Talk about awkward. "Um... Lilly? Can I get up now?"
"Oh, sorry."
She got off me, stepping to the side. I heard a few chuckles from the pack. I sat to Lilly's right side in front of the pack. There were more wolves in this pack than I thought. I took one look at the whole group standing in front of us. It looked like the wolves from the East and West were all here. I saw Salty, Shakey, Mooch, Reba, Janice, Candy, Sweets, Claw, Scar, Candu, Hutch... Everybody was here, let's leave it at that. I rose my voice so it would be loud enough for everyone to hear. "I let Lilly decide when the wedding will be. She chose today. In a few hours to be a bit more accurate."
"Probably not even a few hours," Lilly said to everyone. "Just, after we've cleaned up a bit."
I was still surprised that Lilly had chosen today. I guess it was pretty reasonable though. Why wait for tomorrow when today just started? I sat in the river, rubbing the water all over my fur, rinsing out any speck of dirt I found. Salty, Shakey, and Mooch were by the river, talking to me. "Nervous?" Mooch asked me.
I scratched my head, scratching out any dirt that might be there. "Little bit."
"What's your secret, Humphrey?" Salty asked.
I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. "My secret?"
"Yeah," He said. "You and Lilly were just friends two weeks ago, and now you're getting married. You must have some sort of trick, right? What is it?"
"No... There's no trick."
"Well, how'd you do it, then? You got Kate, and now you've got Lilly. You're the luckiest guy in the pack, Humphrey. They're the two hottest girls in Jasper."
"Make 'em happy, and show them you love 'em. That's all I do," I responded.
"Yeah, Salty. There's more to it than just saying 'hey'," Mooch said.
I laughed as I continued with my washing. I was almost sure that I had gotten out every speck of dirt that could have possibly been there, but I just wanted to make sure I got everything. I had to look my best for this. I looked up at the three guys. My attention immediately turned to Shakey because he looked upset. "Come on, Shakey. Something wrong? You haven't said anything since we got back."
He lifted his head to look at me. Salty and Mooch looked at him, realizing what I said was right. Shakey just sighed. "It's just... Reba and Janice. I know I can't be with both of them."
"So pick one," I said.
"I can't just pick one, Humphrey."
"Okay... Say both of their names," I said. He looked confused for a second. "Trust me, Shakey. Just say both names."
He shrugged and went ahead with it. "Reba and Janice."
"There you go," Salty said. He must have caught on to what I did. "You said Reba's name first, so you must like her more. Problem solved." Yeah. He knew what I was doing.
"But..." He sat up straighter, like he realized something. "You know what? I actually do like Reba a bit more... Okay, how'd you know to do that, Humphrey?"
"Simple. It's like choosing between meat and berries. Have someone throw a leg of caribou and some berries at you. Whichever you decide to catch is the one you like more. I basically just did the same thing here."
"... You've gotten smarter since you left," Mooch said.
"And you've gotten a little thinner. You trying to trim down for someone?"
"Yeah. I'm thinking of asking Candy to the Moonlight Howl sometime. But I want to lose a little weight first." He sat up on his two hind legs and patted his stomach twice.
"How are you doing it?" I asked because he had lost so much for only two weeks. It wasn't a lot but if you're told that it was just two weeks, you'd think he was lying.
"No food unless I'm absolutely starving, and I'm jogging every morning and afternoon."
"Wow. Nice work. I can already see a difference."
"Humphrey." I turned to see Winston. "Lilly's ready if you are. She's still at the den, waiting to hear if you're ready to start."
"Yeah," I got out of the river and shook my fur dry, grabbing the pine-cone I'd brought with me. I started running it through my fur so it wasn't so scruffy-looking as it usually was. I combed through my fur as I told Winston, "Tell her I'm already there. I'll be waiting."
"Okay." He turned to leave, and stopped. He turned back and said, "Try not to let your jaw drop when you see her, Humphrey. She's tried her hardest to look the best she can for you. And you'll be surprised when you see her."
"Can't wait."
Winston turned and left, heading back to the den to tell Lilly the news. Salty, Shakey, and Mooch followed behind me as I trotted towards the valley, ready for the wedding. I gulped down the nervous feeling in my throat as I came out of the tree-line to the valley. The crowd of wolves from the East and West packs separated, making a pathway for me, Shakey, Mooch, and Salty. I went up to the front, trying not to make eye-contact with anybody. When I got to the rock in front of everybody, I turned and sat down as the others sat in the front. I looked out to the crowd. So many familiar faces... Candy, Sweets, Reba, and Janice were all sitting at the front. Shakey sat next to Reba. I took note of that.
After a short moment of waiting, Winston appeared in the distance, jogging toward everyone. The crowd made a path for him to get to me, and decided to just leave the pathway open because Lilly would be here soon anyways. Winston came up to me and whispered, "She's on her way. You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," I answered back.
He walked past and sat behind me. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for Lilly's arrival. Winston said she tried her hardest to look as best as she could. She didn't have to do anything to herself and I thought she was beautiful. So if she was trying to look her best... I knew I was in for a surprise. I sat where I was, subtly taking deep breaths before letting them out.
Then I saw her come out of the tree-line that separated her parents' den and the valley. It seemed as if time slowed down when I saw her come in to view. Her fur was perfectly white. Shining as if the sunlight was bouncing off of her fur itself. It ran perfectly straight across her whole body. A blue flower nested behind her left ear. Her head fur being held back by the flower. I had to force my jaw to stay up. I gulped, even more nervous now. Winston wasn't joking. I really was surprised when I saw her. How could she look so beautiful? It had to be a crime to look so amazing! Time returned to its normal speed as Lilly sat down in front of me. "Lilly... You look... wow..."
She smiled. "Thanks. You look pretty 'wow' yourself, Humphrey." Lilly had so much more confidence than I did. Why was that? Oh... She'd already gone through a wedding once. Her and Garth. Forgot. She must have sensed how nervous I was. "Relax, Humphrey. Nothing to be nervous about."
I nodded and tried to relax. I did. A little. Not as much as I hoped, but at least I was more calm than before. We both turned our heads towards Winston. He spoke to everyone around. "Surprise wedding, right?" That's all it took to get a chuckle out of most of the pack. He continued, "Surprised me and Eve too. These two wolves here, my daughter, Lilly, and soon-to-be son-in-law, Humphrey, left the pack two weeks ago as friends and come home to tell me they're getting married. Who wouldn't be shocked at that, right? Well... They had no problem telling me and Eve about it. It was Eve and myself that had the problem—taking in the news. Mostly me, because Lilly and Kate have been my little girls since they were born."
Lilly had to have blushed at that.
"So, Lilly, when I learned that you and Humphrey wanted to get married, and Humphrey asked for my blessing, I almost didn't want to say yes, because it would mean letting you go on your own again." His voice went weak towards the end.
I thought Winston was going to cry. It looked like he was going to. "Ohh..." Lilly stepped toward her father and gave him a hug, patting him on the back for comfort as she said, "I'll still be your little girl, dad."
"Oh, you'd better," Winston joked as Lilly pulled herself away. Then both of us chuckled along with some of the pack wolves as she came back to sit in front of me. "And Humphrey. All I have to say to you is... Keep my daughter happy. You've made a good choice in marrying her."
I looked to Lilly, and we smiled to each other, but I was talking to Winston. "Don't worry, sir. I'll make her the happiest wolf in the pack."
"I don't doubt that," Lilly agreed.
Winston then told us. "You can begin the ceremony when you're ready."
"Actually... sir—"
"Ah ah," Winston interrupted. "Call me 'dad'."
"Dad," I corrected myself, trying it out for the first time. I'd have to get used to calling him that after calling him 'Winston' or 'sir' my whole life. I continued. "I'd like to say a few words to Lilly first, if that's okay."
He smiled. "Of course, go ahead."
"Thanks." Lilly wasn't expecting me to have anything to say. I hadn't either. I was going with what my heart was telling me. I looked Lilly in those beautiful violet eyes of hers and began. "Lilly... Neither of us expected to find love in each other when we were little. But... when we left Jasper two weeks ago, we did fall for each other. And it's made me so happy, being with you. And if I learned one thing while we were gone, it's this: You can find love in anybody. Even your best friends. And boy am I glad I learned that, because when I asked you to marry me, and you said yes, I became the happiest wolf in the world. It was the greatest feeling in the world. Which brings us here, in possibly the greatest, most amazing, moment of my life; Our wedding day. The day where you somehow managed to make yourself look more beautiful than usual. The day i'm going to remember for as long as I live. All I have left to say is... I promise you, Lilly, that I will be the absolute best husband I can be."
I finished and all of the girls in the crowd went, "Aw..." There may have been a couple of guys that did too, but I wasn't quite sure. If there were, then the girls had been a bit louder with it. I was surprised just how much I'd said, considering I hadn't planned any of it out. That was all from the heart. Lilly was smiling the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. "That was...the most romantic thing I've ever heard, Humphrey."
"All for you," I said with a smile. We sat there, looking in each others' eyes for a moment. Then remembered where we were. Our wedding. "So... you wanna start or should I?"
"Let's start together."
"Together... Right."
We both started to circle each other, walking in a clock-wise direction. I was locked on her eyes, able to stop smiling. So was she. We continued our circle until we ended up where we began. Then we both leaned in towards each other at the same time. My head went to her left, and I sniffed, taking in her scent. I was already familiar with it, which made that part a bit pointless to us, but we still did it anyways to keep with the ceremonial tradition. We pulled our heads back, and switched sides. My head went to her right as I slightly opened my mouth, and took in the tip of her ear, nibbling on it as she nibbled on my left ear at the same time. I was careful to nibble gently so it didn't hurt her, so I was glad when I heard her adorable giggling. Guess it tickled her.
We pulled away to get ready for the next and final part of the ceremony. This is it... We both leaned our heads together, touching our noses against the other's. We were mates now. I'm Lilly's mate... Her husband... I'm going to keep the promise I had just made to her and try my very hardest to be the best husband I can be.
How long did Lilly and I have our noses rubbing together? No idea. It couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes because everyone would have stopped howling and barking by the time we pulled away. Lilly and I smiled to each other. Married. I still can't believe it. I was married! To Lilly! We turned towards the large pack of wolves in front of us. What were we going to do now? It was a surprise wedding for the pack, so I doubt the Alphas were able to get food for a party in the hour they had. So... Without a party, what were we going to do?
The most grueling thing that could be done at a wedding. Talk for hours about our new marriage. Sure, I didn't mind talking about being married to Lilly for a few minutes. But I knew the crowd wouldn't stop at minutes. No. They'd go for about an hour or two. Lilly and I walked into the crowd, and instantly got swarmed by just about everybody, yelling, "Congratulations!" "Congrats, you two!"
Lilly and I just kept walking, responding to anybody we could with, "Thanks!" and "Thank you!"
I didn't know how, but Lilly and I got separated from each other somehow. I hadn't realized it until I tried to look at her and she wasn't there. Oh well... I'd see her after all this. I'd just have to live without her for now. At least we'd have some time alone soon.
The two hours of talking with everyone passed quickly. And soon, it was just me, Lilly, and our closest friends: Reba, Janice, Salty, Shakey, Mooch, Candy, and Sweets. Of course we didn't mind talking with them for a bit longer. Sharing a few laughs was always a good time. And with all of us being Omegas, we laughed a lot. I tried hinting at Candy about Mooch's crush on her. But I don't think she understood. I wasn't sure if she did or not. But Mooch would still ask her out eventually. And when he did, Candy would most likely say yes. Even if it was just a pity-date, she'd probably grow to like him.
When our group conversation ended, and everybody was gone, Lilly and I started our way back to Eve and Winston's... Or... Mom and Dad's... den. There was no way I'd get used to that. At least not anytime soon. I felt a bit older, now that I was married. More mature. Wow... I'm married... How many times would I have to think that before I got used to it?
A cold breeze flew by us. Winter had just started. blowing through our fur. Lilly shivered. I leaned in closer, trying to share my body heat with her as we walked. Which was hard to do.
Now there were three promises to keep. The one to Kate; keeping Lilly safe. The one I made to Lilly today; be the best husband I can be. And the one to Winston: Keep Lilly happy.
I'm sure I can keep all three promises at once. After all... I've been able to keep her safe and happy for the past two weeks, right?
"I love you, Humphrey."
"I love you too, Lilly."
