Cody: Well, this was a rather fun chapter to create! Spent a little time bouncing ideas back and forth until we all finally decided on what to do and we feel it turned out good!
Lilly: Got a little bit of loving, some drama...What else could you possibly want!? *giggles*
Cody: *chuckles* Exactly, what else!? So now, because we've spent enough time now talking, not to mention we're going to bed now too, here's chapter 10 for you all to enjoy! So...well...Enjoy!
"Oh, Lilly, it's beautiful!" Eve exclaimed as Lilly showed off the necklace Cody gave her. "Yeah, that thing looks amazing!" Kate said, smiling at her younger sister. Lilly giggled and said "Thanks….I know I love it! Matches my eyes pretty well, don't it?" Eve and Kate both nodded and then Winston said from the back of the den "It looks very beautiful on you, honey."
"Thanks, Dad! Are you okay?" She asked, looking back at him. He was laying in the back, but smiled at her and said "I'm fine, don't worry. Just a little tired is all." She nodded and said "Well, okay then….Just making sure." He chuckled a little and nodded as well, making Lilly smile. "So, where's Cody at?" Eve asked as she sat down in front of Lilly and next to Kate.
"Oh, he's over at Candu's den. He's changing the bandaging, I think he said." Lilly said, her tail slowly swaying across the cool dirt. Kate smiled and said "It's really nice of him to make sure Candu's alright, even though he seems to be doing fine." Eve nodded and said "It really is! He's a really sweet boy, actually."
Lilly giggled a little and right then, they heard Cody outside as he asked "Anyone mind if I come in, too?" Eve smiled and said "Not at all, come on in." He walked in with a smile on his face, Lilly tail wagging faster when she saw him. "Hi!" She happily chirped, receiving a kiss on the nose that made her giggle. "Hey, you! Everything okay in here?" He asked, looking between them all.
"Everything's fine. We were just saying it's really sweet of you to keep taking care of Candu." Eve said, giggling a little. He chuckled as well and said "Ah, it's nothing….Just keeping an eye on his leg so it doesn't get infected or anything." Kate smiled and said "Be that as it may, what Mom said still stands."
"Well, alright then. I'm not gonna try and argue with you girls, especially since you're both Alphas." He chuckled, making them giggle as well. "Take it from me, that's the best idea any guy could have…." Winston said from the back, making Cody chuckle again. "So, anything you happened to come by for?" Eve curiously asked.
"Well, just to ask Lilly something…." He said, smiling at her. She smiled back and said "I take it it's a private thing, then?" He nodded and said "Sorta…." She giggled and said "Okay then. We'll go outside for a moment." Eve and Kate nodded and they walked outside together, going off to the side where the small slope was.
Kate looked at her mother and asked "Any idea what they might be talking about?" She shrugged and said "No idea….But if it upsets her, I'll tears his limbs off and beat him to death with them!" Kate smiled a bit and rolled her eyes, saying "Alright, calm down a bit…." Eve giggled a little and Kate got up, walking over to the entrance and standing just inside.
"Do you think your parents would be upset with that?" She heard Cody ask. "Mom might be a little….I'm not sure. I definitely want to, though! It'd be a nice chance to relax and unwind for a little while….Not to mention how fun it'd be!" Lilly said, giggling a little. Kate's eyes went wide and she thought "Are they….planning to mate soon!?"
"Kate, honey? Something wrong?" Eve asked, seeing the look of shock on Kate's face. She looked back at her mother and shook her head, smiling a little. "Everything seems okay to me…." She quietly said and Eve smiled too. She went back to listening to them and heard Lilly say "….Besides, we're not the first ones, anyway. I know Kate and Humphrey have already."
"Humphrey and I….what?" Kate asked herself, wanting to know what she was talking about. "Well, if you wanna ask them, I promise you'll be home before too late in the morning." Cody said, chuckling. Lilly giggled and said "I'm sure they'd appreciate that. I'll ask Mom tonight if it's okay." Kate heard the briefly kiss and Cody start walking away while Lilly started coming back inside.
Kate made it look like she was just walking out when Lilly came in, saying "Oh, you're back already! Everything good?" Lilly smiled and said "Yeah, everything's perfect!" Kate smiled and said "Alright then. I'm just heading out for a little while. Gonna see if Humphrey's busy…."
"Okay then! Tell him I said hi!" Lilly said and Kate nodded, quickly walking out of the den. Lilly watched her leave seemingly in a hurry and turned to her Mom, asking "Is Kate alright?" Eve smiled and said "She's fine….So, what is you two were talking about?" Lilly nervously smiled and sat down, saying "Well….Promise you won't get mad at Cody?"
Meanwhile over to the north, Humphrey was sitting next to a big pond a lot of others went to for some fun. He didn't really do anything other than clean up a little and now he was just sitting by the water watching the waves roll. It wasn't much, but it was calming for him. He was lost in his mind when he started to hear footsteps behind him, smiling to himself since he already knew who it was.
"Tryin' to sneak up me, huh Kate?" He asked, turning around to see her creeping up behind him, a look of amazement on her face. "Ha-How did you know it was me!?" She asked, standing back up. He chuckled and said "Because you taught me how to know when others are around. Not to mention the wind is blowing this way…."
She then realized he was right, the wind was blowing at him from behind her and carried her scent with it. She smiled and said "Well, it seems I did a good job teaching you then…." He smiled and said "Better than anyone else could've!" She giggled and walked up to him, receiving a sweet kiss from him. "And what're you doing here, my lady?" He asked, still smiling at her.
"I was just looking for you….Not too busy doing Omega things, are you?" She asked, giggling a little. He rolled his eyes and said "Omega things? What's that supposed to be?" She shrugged and said "You know; Having fun, being silly….Things you won't get much time for later on." He nodded and said "In that case, I wasn't. I was actually hoping you'd be free the rest of the day."
"Oh? And why's that?" She asked, brushing her tail over her nose and smiling at him. He chuckled and said "I thought it'd be nice if we just have a little fun today. You could SO use a good time…." She giggled and said "Yeah, I really could! Besides, we haven't really spent a lot of time together the last couple days. I mean, there was the howl, but I'm talking about just spending the day relaxing."
"Well, then look at where we are….Nice refreshing lake, plenty of area to lay out and relax….Not to mention it would take a little while for anyone to find you should they want to." He said, nuzzling her. She let out a soft purr and said "That's a good point….A nice swim does sound pretty good right now!" With that, he quickly kissed her cheek before darting into the water, making her laugh as he jumped in.
"Come on, it's perfect!" He said, splashing water at her, but it landed a few feet short of her. She giggled and jumped in as well, instantly feeling more relaxed from the cool water. He smiled as she surfaced, flipping her hair back and giggling. "Having fun?" She asked, splashing him a little. He nodded and splashed her back, making her laugh again as he said "As much, if not more than you are!"
They spent quite a while having fun in the water; Splashing, kissing, cuddling….Whatever they felt like. They lost track of time after a little bit, lost in their own world and easily spent at least an hour in the water. It was starting to get to Humphrey though as he was getting cold. "I think we should get out soon…." He said, his teeth chattering a little.
Kate nodded and said "I'll be out in a moment…." He nodded and kissed her before going over to the bank, shaking the water off and laying down in the warm dirt. He watched her scrub her fur a little in places, getting clean again. She finished a minute later and got out as well, but time seemed to slow down for Humphrey, his jaw dropping.
She shook off in slow motion, her fur slowly swaying as she did. She seemed to go from her head to tail, shaking every little bit in between. "Oh, wow….She's even more beautiful!" He thought to himself as she finished and came over to him. She saw he was watching her and giggled, pushing his mouth closed as she asked "Enjoy yourself?" He could only nod and she giggled again, leaning against him a little.
"Did I upset you by staring?" He asked, a bit of a nervous sound in his voice. She smiled and said "Of course not, Humphrey. I don't mind if you do or not….I actually liked it! Made me feel attractive…." He smiled too and said "You don't need to me to be staring at you to be attractive….In fact, you're not just that….You're drop dead gorgeous!"
She giggled and blushed a little, saying "Aww, you really mean it!?" He simply nodded and she kissed his cheek, saying "I love you, Humphrey…." He smiled and kissed her back, saying "I love you, too….How do you feel after that nice swim?"
"I feel great! Little sleepy, though…." She said, yawning. He nodded and said "I can tell. Why don't you get a little sleep then? I'll wake you up after while." She nodded and nuzzled him, saying "Okay….See you soon!" He smiled again and she shifted onto her side, still resting against him and soon fell asleep. He quietly chuckled to himself, saying "How did I ever get so lucky?"
He laid there for a few minutes longer until he started to feel thirsty, so he very carefully laid Kate's head on the ground before getting up and going over to the water, leaning down and getting a drink. As he was, he heard Kate groan a little behind him, getting his attention. He looked back to see her just shifting around a little and curling up a bit, making him smile.
He quickly finished and went back over, laying down next to her and carefully kissing her cheek as he did. She smiled a bit in her sleep, which made him smile again before he absentmindedly started admiring her body, her every little curve and he couldn't help but think he nice her butt looked. Once again, he was knocked out of his little trance by his wolfhood, making him sigh.
"I really gotta stop doing that…." He quietly said to himself, laying his head down on his paws and shifting a bit closer to her. He looked up at the sun high up in the sky and thought "Hmm….Only about noon now. I'll wake her up in a couple hours. I could use some sleep myself…." He let out a quiet yawn and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to a pleasant sleep.
Across the valley and up in the hills, Cody was back home at his cabin, cleaning every square inch he could reach. He and Lilly talked about her possibly spending the night, which she loved the idea of, but wasn't sure what her parents would think. He left to come back here while she talked to them and have some fun.
He'd already cleaned up most of the entire cabin in the hour he'd been there, just making sure things were neat and mostly clean. Last thing he'd want is to upset Lilly, but she didn't seem to hardly notice anything last time she was there. After a little bit longer, he stopped and looked around, saying to himself "Well, I think that'll do it….Maybe spray a little air freshener around….
He started to reach for the can of spray sitting on the counter, but stopped right before he grabbed it and said "Wait, no, it'll probably irritate her nose or something. I'll just open a window or two." He went over into the living room and slid two of the larger windows open, letting the fresh breeze outside come in.
He smiled to himself, saying "Much better! Now, what else….Oh, she'd probably be hungry!" He went over to the freezer in the kitchen and opened it, looking through it until he found some frozen caribou steaks. "Yep, I think she'd like that!" He said, setting them on the counter to thaw out. It was only around noon now, so they'd be ready to cook by the time she arrived, which she said would probably be a little after sunset.
Right about then, he started to hear leaves crunching on the ground outside and knew someone was walking up to the front door. He walked over and opened the door, surprised to see Eve there! She jumped back a little from the door suddenly opening, but then saw him standing there and said "Oh, it's just you! God, that scared me…."
He smiled and said "Sorry 'bout that….Heard someone walking up here." She smiled too and said "It's okay. Do you mind if I….come in?" He shook his head and opened the door, stepping to the side as he said "Not a bit, come on in!" She smiled more and nodded, walking inside and immediately looking around.
"Wow! You know, this is rather nice, actually!" She said, looking around at everything in sight until her sight fell upon a caribou and deer head on the wall. "Uh….What's that about?" She asked, her head tilted a little. He noticed what she was asking about and chuckled, saying "Oh, they're just something us humans do to show off our best hunts." She nodded and said "Sorta makes sense, but we just eat the thing…."
"Well, like I said, just something we do. Are you thirsty or anything?" He asked, leaning against the wall a little. She smiled again and said "No, I'm okay, thank you! I came by to ask you something….Rather important, actually." He nodded and said "Well, I'm all ears. Is everything okay?"
She nodded as well and said "Yeah, everything's good….As long as you answer my question right. Lilly asked us if she could spend the night here tonight. I'll tell you the same thing I told her; It's okay as long as nothing happens, in any way. Get what I'm saying?" He nodded again and said "I believe so. You have my word nothing'll happen."
She smiled as she said "Well, then that answers my original question….What're you two planning to do tonight?" He shrugged and said "I haven't really thought of a lot, but probably just have a nice dinner and enjoy the night."
"That sounds nice to me! Any kissing or cuddling gonna be going on?" She asked, her eyebrow raised. He smiled a bit and said "Depends on if you or your husband would kill me for it…." She giggled a little and said "Not over that, but we would if things go past it….But, you've promised you won't, so you're safe….As long as you don't break it." He nodded and said "Fair enough to me. Any idea what Lilly's up to now?"
"Well, after we talked, she went off to go play around for a while. Probably went to find Kate, too. Let me ask you one more thing….Not about what we were just talking about, but more about Humphrey." Eve said and he nodded, asking "Did he do something stupid?"
She couldn't help but giggle and said "No, not that I know of, but it wouldn't be shocking….Did you know he and Kate were secretly together and he's going to be at Alpha School this coming winter?" He nodded again and smiled, saying "I did, but not for very long. Are you upset with either of them for hiding their relationship?"
Eve smiled and said "No, I'm not. They didn't do anything wrong and they planned how they want things to work out. I know he's a good boy for her….They've been friends pretty much since the day they were born. Humphrey's actually an orphan…." Cody was surprised to hear that since he always thought Humphrey lived with his parents considering how well he was taken care of.
"Wait, really? Did something happen to his parents?" Cody asked, going over to the couch and sitting down. Eve came over as well and looked at the couch, asking "Mind if I sit down, too?" He smiled and said "Not at all, come on up."
She hopped up on the couch and sat down, saying "Thank you! So, anyway….Yes, something did happen. When he was…." She paused and rubbed her head, trying to remember something until she finally did. "Oh, right! When he was right about a week old, his father was killed by a Southern Pack wolf while he was out on a hunt. The details are a little fuzzy, but it seemed his father did something to anger them and they got their revenge by murdering him and his mate, Humphrey's mother. She brought him to Winston and I and asked us to keep him safe while she "dealt with an issue". We found her body at their den a few hours later…."
She had tears in her eyes remembering that day a little under a year ago, the sight of her friend dead still quite distinct in her memories. Cody moved over a little and pulled her into a hug, saying "At least you were able to spare Humphrey from the same fate…." She nodded a little and said "We've never had the heart to tell him what really happened….He asked before, but we could only say his parents died from an accident."
"Well, depending on what his father did at the time, it may have really been an accident on his part. I'm sure he never intended to put his family in danger…." Cody said, rubbing her back a little. She let out a sigh and said "I know, you're probably right….I'm sorry for breaking down like this…." He smiled a bit and said "No need to apologize to me, Eve."
She smiled too and slowly pulled back, saying "Thank you….I may not show it, but I really do care for everyone in the pack, some more than others, though. I've always considered Humphrey one of the family, but he's always been a free spirit. It's something I really admire in him….Even more now that he's going to Alpha School just to be with my daughter. That really says a lot about someone."
He nodded and said "He's willing to give up everything he loves about being an Omega because he loves Kate more. He's a really good guy, I can tell you that." She smiled again and nodded, but before she could say anything, a loud snarl echoed through the air, getting their attention. Eve's eyes went wide as a quieter scream came through the air as well, making her heart nearly stop.
"Kate….My Kate's in danger!" She yelled, bolting toward the door and going out. Cody got up and ran outside as well, grabbing his rifle propped against the wall on his way out. Eve was already running down the hill back toward the pack, but he stopped and brought his rifle up to try and see anything, which worked.
Down in the valley, two wolves and three rather large coyotes were squared off, snarling at barking at each other. He instantly recognized the wolves as Humphrey and Kate and she was obviously scared while trying to intimidate them at the same time with Humphrey. "Eve, wait! I can see her!" Cody called after her, watching her slide to a stop and turn around.
"What's going on!? Is she okay!?" She asked in a panic, running back up toward him. "She will be in a minute…." He said, turning the dial on his scope to adjust the zoom more and lined up the crosshairs on the coyote in front of Humphrey, taking a breath to steady himself before pulling the trigger. A split second after the shot was fired, a mist of blood sprayed into the air and the coyote dropped to the ground.
The other two watched it hit the ground, but didn't seem affected by it at all. He quickly cycled the bolt to load a fresh round and did the same thing again, dropping the one in front of Kate in a heartbeat. He watched as the last one panicked and took off running, leaving Humphrey and Kate to watch it run off. "Are they gone!?" Eve asked, pacing back and forth. Cody saw them look up at him and could see Kate smile before saying something and they walked off.
"She's okay….Humphrey is, too." Cody said, lowering his rifle. Eve breathed a sigh of relief, saying "Oh, thank god….Thank you for saving her!" He smiled and said "You're welcome, Eve. I couldn't just let two friends get killed and do nothing….Even if I didn't know them, I still would've done the same thing." She smiled a bit too and said "Again, thank you! If you don't mind, I'm going to go make sure my baby's okay!"
He nodded and she started to run off, but suddenly stopped and turned around, running up to him and saying "Come here…." He kneeled down in front of her and she wrapped her forelegs around him, kissing his cheek as she said "You probably saved their lives….If you EVER need ANYTHING, just ask and the answers yes!"
He smiled and hugged her back, saying "Thank you, Eve, I'll keep that in mind." She nodded and let go of him, kissing his cheek again before running off back to the pack. He chuckled to himself and went back inside, laying his rifle against the wall again after taking the spent cartridge out. He looked at it and decided to go find the other one outside, coming up with an idea for them.
Back at the pack, Kate and Humphrey were just getting to her parents' den, still quite shaken up after their ordeal. "Coyote's have NEVER gotten that aggressive before….That was really unusual!" Humphrey said and Kate nodded before saying "And scary! I honestly don't think we could've taken them all…."
"Do I have any blood on my face? I feel like I do…." Humphrey said, wiping his cheek with his paw. Kate nodded and said "A bit….It'll wash off, though. I'm surprised it's not more considering how much there was when that shot hit it! Pretty nasty seeing it's jaw break apart like that…." Humphrey gagged and shook his head, saying "Please don't bring that up….Unless you wanna see my breakfast…."
She giggled a bit and said "Sorry….Come on, we need to let Mom and Dad know what happened." He nodded and right then, they heard her mother nearly scream "KATE!" They looked to the side just as Eve sprinted up to them, grabbing Kate in a tight hug. Too tight, actually…. "Mom, stop *cough* breaking me!" Kate wheezed as her mother squeezed her tighter then ever!
Eve relaxed her grip and Kate took a breath of air as Eve said "I'm sorry, honey, I was just so worried about you! I was with Cody when you two were attacked!" Kate looked at her questioningly and asked "You were….with Cody? Up on the hill?" She nodded and said "I went there to talk to him for a few minutes when I heard you two growl and scream."
"It's okay, we're both perfectly fine, Mom. He probably saved our lives!" Kate said, smiling as was Humphrey. Eve nodded and said "Quite possible….Come on, let's go inside and rest….Humphrey, you can come, too." He nodded and they all walked inside, Eve asked "So, what exactly happened, dear?"