Chapter 11: Crossroad

The sun was barely peeking over the mountains when Kate awoke in her den to be greeted by a dim golden light, shining through the treetops just outside. She lied there for a few moments, staring around the den aimlessly before eventually rolling onto her side and scratching out her legs and back, which relieved a stiffness she felt. Her night had gone unusually pleasant; she couldn't remember a single time she awoke in the middle of the night, nor any sort of dream. Her sleep had been deep and quick, to the point where it flew by in the matter of moments. This seemed bizarre to her as she continued to wake up, her mind had been going through such a mix of thoughts and emotions that she was sure that there was going to be no chance of a good night's sleep. However here she was, refreshed and in a neutral state of thought, feeling eager to start her day and see what it held in store.

With this feeling she wasted no time in getting up onto her paws and giving one last good stretch before heading toward the entrance of the den. It was time she went to see Humphrey like she promised to do when she woke up. They had more discussing about their situation to do and she held hope that by the end of the day they would have a solution. Upon exiting her den she took a breath of the fresh mountain air and gazed around at the forest. All was quiet as she strolled through the far side of the den grounds, some wolves were already awake and a few greeted Kate as she passed by. She returned the gesture without slowing down, too focused on her own thoughts to say anything further than 'good morning'.

She could tell that the pack was starting to return to its usual routines now that mating season had come to pass, no more having to overload the alpha males with hunting and patrolling while the females took it easy. It was only a matter of time until she would be assigned into doing duties as well, however maybe not as often as before if it turns out she's pregnant. That got her to thinking about the symptoms which would confirm that theory. They only thing she knew from her mother was that when a female first becomes pregnant she experiences a short nauseous feeling. So far Kate felt fine but knew she should take it easy and be prepared just in case this suddenly happens. However she hoped it wouldn't, that she managed to luck out and nothing happens, though from what her mother told her the chances of that were slim to none.

'I guess only time will tell...' She thought to herself, the concept of her carrying pups filled her with a tense feeling. She was far from ready to be a mother; her own life was already unstable enough without parenting thrown into the mix. But it was too late to dwell on the thought of whether or not she was ready, she made that decision two nights ago and now she teetered on the edge of the consequences from it. Sooner or later she would have to face the truth of it and manage to get herself prepared for the day she had more mouths to feed besides her own. This is why she hoped that her and Humphrey would stick together and raise the pups, rather than having to turn to Garth like he suggested.

Everything was just too complicated, and their argument last night helped show that. She was glad that they were both on the same page when it came how they felt about their mating; they blamed themselves for it which made things a little easier. Though they didn't see eye to eye about what to do next, and now that a night has passed Kate was sure Humphrey's thoughts would be clear like hers were at the present. Perhaps he would see the error in his previous idea and move on to thinking of a better one.

Humphrey's den came into view after a couple minutes passed since she left her den. Kate approached slowly, taking a few breaths to ease her thoughts before entering the small crevasse in the ground. "Humphrey?" She called in pleasant tone, feeling glad about getting to see the only other wolf who shared her problems. However the slight smile on her muzzle faded when she entered the den and found it empty without any sign of him. The only thing she sensed was his scent which wafted through her nostrils; it wasn't strong, indicating that he hadn't been here in some time. She grew confused 'Where is he?' She expected to see him lying there waiting for her to arrive but that turned into a lie. She took one last glance around the den before heading back the way she came.

She felt her heart beat rise slightly and forced herself to take a breath as she stopped before the entrance of his den. 'It's alright; he's bound to be around here somewhere.' She told herself before beginning to ponder the possible places he could be. The most suitable reason she found was the idea that he could be out for a walk through the territory, something she knew he did regularly. 'Perhaps he had a rough night and needed to think.' The concept seemed fitting enough but she decided to head to the den grounds just in case he was there instead.

The morning continued to advance while Kate walked through the center of the packs den grounds and eventually the feeding grounds; however there was no sign of Humphrey's signature grey pelt anywhere. At this time a majority of the pack was awake and active, with a fair amount of them gathered around to have their share from the fresh kill pile. Upon seeing this while Kate approached the feeding grounds she decided that it would be best for her to get a bite to eat herself. She couldn't say that she was hungry but now was a better time considering she had nothing else to do while she waited for Humphrey to show up.

Walking up to the pile of Caribou, squirrels, and other prey she grabbed the best take she could find before having a seat beside a nearby tree. A dull roar filled the air as wolves discussed varying things and enjoyed their meal, Kate however sat by herself. Normally she would look for any alphas she knew hanging around and make conversation but today she felt out of it. Instead she focused on eating and occasionally glancing around at the environment around her. It gave her some more time to think of ideas and solutions, which seemed like it was all she was going to think about from now on until she had success.

"Good morning Kate" A voice greeted.

Kate looked up from her meal to recognize Humphrey's two close friends Salty and Shakey standing before her. "Oh, good morning" She replied kind of awkwardly as she wasn't paying attention the moment prior. "What's going on?" She asked, it wasn't often she spoke with these omegas so there had to be something they wanted to ask of her.

"Oh nothing major, we were just wondering if you've seen Humphrey anywhere?" Salty asked.

She shook her head, "I haven't, and actually I've been looking for him because I didn't find him in his den this morning." She replied, realizing that she wasn't the only one looking for him.

"Yeah we looked there too, do you have any idea where he could be?" He asked. "We wanted to take him out and help cheer him up a bit since I'm sure you're both under a lot of stress."

Kate admired their kind gesture; Humphrey sure did have a tight bond with his friends who seemed to all care for one another. 'If only I had that...' She wondered, she did have her sister for support but that was it, she didn't have a group of friends that she knew she could turn to. Typically she had her family for that but in this current situation she could only seek help from one of them. However as she was told yesterday, this is something she and Humphrey personally had to deal with. "Well if he's not with you guys then my only guess is that he's out for a walk somewhere." She replied. "I've been looking for him because we agreed to spend time discussing our problem today." She added, thinking they knew all about it already.

"Ah yes, how is that going?" He asked, "If you don't mind me asking?"

She didn't mind at all, but at the same time she knew they were surrounded by a good majority of the packs ears, who could easily eavesdrop on their conversation. "I don't, but try to keep your voice down, the last thing me and Humphrey need is more wolves finding out." She answered, lowering the tone of her voice.

She watched his eyes widen, "Oh right, sorry" He replied quickly upon noticing his mistake and lowered his voice as well.

'At least they're polite' she thought to herself, but wondered just how safe their secret was in the paws of Humphrey's friends. "To say the least we've made little progress." She stated.

"That's a shame; I figured you would already have an idea to follow after yesterday." He replied, there was a slight uneasiness in his voice but she ignored it.

"I thought that too but we decided that it would be best to get some rest before getting serious about it." She agreed.

"That's good at least, I'm sure you both will come up with something soon." He stated.

"I hope so" She replied.

There was a short pause before Salty took a breath, "Well that's all we needed to ask, Shakey and I got some other things to take care of, but if we see Humphrey we'll be sure to send him your way." He responded, while Shakey nodded in agreement.

"Oh good, thanks" Kate replied.

"Anytime," He replied with a nod of his head as Shakey turned and started to walk away. Salty however hesitated to follow for a moment, "I just want to see Humphrey get his life on track, these past few months have been hard on him, especially right now. I can't speak for him but I don't think he'll be truly happy until the two of you are together as something more than friends. All the drama he's had has revolved around his relationship with you, and you might not see it but you mean a lot to him even if he says you don't, at least that's what I see. I don't know why I'm telling you this but I rarely speak with you and figured I should let you know that, in hopes that the both of you decide to stick together through this." He explained before turning away and following Shakey out of the den grounds.

Kate said nothing after she heard that, surprised by what she heard. She understood all about the drama she's caused Humphrey but Salty's statement struck a chord within her. The fact that she meant a lot to Humphrey seemed strange to her, with all the problems she's caused him she would expect him to just move on and get over her. Something he did try to do but as of last week gave up on and returned to becoming her friend again. Her mind continued to dwell on the subject as she got up and put the remainder of her meal into the scrap pile before leaving the feeding grounds. She decided to head back to her den and remain there until Humphrey came looking for her, there was still plenty of morning left so she expected to start seeing him later in the day. If not then she would have to start searching for him a second time, something she didn't like the sound of.

The longer they went without speaking the closer they got to her showing signs of whether or not she was pregnant. At that point she feared it would be too late if she had to go see her mother and make sure she was okay, perhaps taken there due to Garth's concern if he found her getting sick. The thought of Garth made her wonder if she should tell him all about what really happened between her and Humphrey. If the two of them decided to leave Jasper it would only be fair that he knew the real reason why considering he was supposed to be her mate by marriage. Garth already did put together that she had spent the season with Humphrey, something he brought up when they discussed last night before falling asleep.

Kate worried what his reaction would be, he seemed easy going and they hadn't grown close but she cheated on him with Humphrey. She knew he's tried to make their fixed marriage work out and the news of this could hinder all effort he's put into that. It has hard to know; he could even go straight to his father or her parents and confront them about it. Though she again believed that he of all wolves needed to know, at least upon the moment she and Humphrey have a plan. The more she thought about a plan the more she felt like leaving was going to be the best option. To brave the chance to start everything anew much like the coming of spring every year.

As she crossed through the den grounds she heard her name called and looked over to her side to see her mother and father approaching. "Good morning Kate" He father said as they stopped before her.

"Good morning, how are you guys this morning?" She replied with a smile, coming to a stop as well.

"Doing well, your mother and I were just on our way to the feeding grounds." He answered. "You're welcome to join us if you like."

"Oh I already had my share for the day; I was on my way back to my den." She replied, it's been a few days since she spoke with her parents but it seemed nothing much had changed with them. If only she was the same way, all she could do was smile and clear her thoughts in hopes of pretending that nothing was wrong.

Winston nodded in response, "That's great dear, I wanted to ask how you are feeling since I haven't seen you around in a while." Her mother chimed in.

"I feel fine mom, I think I can say that my heat is finally gone. I've just been doing what you said and took things easy." Kate replied.

Eve smiled, "Oh good to hear, I came out of mine yesterday." She admitted. "Who did you say you stayed with again?"

"One of my alpha friends who was skipping the season too." Kate quickly replied but to her the question seemed so sudden, 'Oh please don't tell me they figured it out too...' She wasn't sure how well she would be able to manage to explain her choice in staying with Humphrey, especially when it came to her mother.

"Really? Because your father and I have heard you decided to stay with Humphrey." Eve stated.

Almost immediately her fears were answered, feeling her heart beat flutter she began to debate on what to say in her thoughts. How was it that she felt so broken when speaking to her own parents now? All her life she had no trouble in communicating with them about problems but after she and Garth married things just seemed to get challenging. To the point of now; where it seemed like her parents were the enemy when it came to the problems she faced with Humphrey. It hurt her to an extent, having to lie to the face of her own parents, but at the same time it was for her own protection. She couldn't imagine the consequences she faced if they knew everything; she's never done something so wrong to comprehend one. Doing her best to calm the panic rising in her chest she took a breath before replying to her mother's assumption.

"H-How did you know?" She asked.

"Well I had an assumption judging by how I noticed you heading in the direction of his den during the past week, but it wasn't made clear until I spoke with Garth this morning who confirmed it." Winston replied.

'Great...' She thought. Now how could she go and tell Garth about her real problem when he could easily tell her parents about it. Though to his credit she never told him not to tell anyone, but assumed that he would keep it to himself. "Yeah I did choose to stay with him." She admitted.

"Kate what were you thinking, do you realize how foolish that was?" Eve asked in a stern tone.

"I had nowhere else to go mom, all the other females I knew weren't exactly skipping the season so I had to look elsewhere." She replied, her tone rising slightly in response to her mothers.

"Then why didn't you go back and stay with Garth?" Eve asked.

"Eve relax, there's no reason to get upset." Winston stated looking at her before looking back to Kate for her answer.

She sighed "Because I wanted to become friends with Humphrey again, we hadn't really talked much since Garth and I got married so I figured I'd take the chance to catch up." She explained, looking to the ground then back up to her parents.

Winston seemed satisfied by the answer but Eve appeared to have a million questions on her mind. "And he agreed to do this during mating season?"

"Not at first, but yeah after I convinced him that I would do my best to reduce my scent." She replied, growing nervous by the second.

"Did he try anything on you?" Eve asked.

She immediately shook her head, "Not at all, nothing like that happened between us. All we did was talk stories and play games to pass the time, honestly it wasn't as hard as I thought to force through the urges I got." She defended.

Eve gave her a good long look, before sighing. "Kate that still was a huge risk to take, what would you have done if he lost control of himself?"

"It was a risk I was willing to take if it meant I could regain a friend I've had since I was a pup." Kate replied, taking her question as a challenge, to prove that they had nothing to be suspicious about between her and Humphrey. "I would have done all that I could to get away from him if that happened but he never got close to that point, I just kept leaving and washing off in the stream anytime he told the scent was getting strong."

"Well I'm glad to hear that, but it would have been nice to know you were staying with him." Eve replied, appearing to simmer down.

She nodded, "I'm sorry, I just wasn't sure what you guys would think of me doing that." She admitted, deciding that least she could do is come clean about half of the truth she could get away with.

There was a short pause, "Kate you are old enough to make your own decisions now without our input, but I do agree with your mother. You should have done this at some other time rather than during mating season." Winston stated. "You know the rules about alphas and omegas mixing."

Kate was kind of relieved that her parents seemed understanding of it, and it seemed they suspected nothing more. "I know, but the timing just seemed to fit, and believe me dad I understand how foolish it was from the start."

They both smiled after that, "Well I guess that settles that" He replied. "Your fine to be friends with Humphrey since you've known each other for so long, just remember that your duty as an alpha comes first."

"Thanks dad, I will." Kate smiled, glad that her dad was taking it well. Winston always seemed to be the most understanding whenever she did something unwise, rarely getting upset. Her mother on the other paw was different, however Kate was thankful she didn't jump to conclusions and go after Humphrey. She could recall clearly the time when she and Humphrey returned from Idaho and her mother found out the real reason they were taken away. She couldn't stand to see her over react like that, and all Kate could do is wonder what Eve would really do to Humphrey if she learned they actually mated during her heat cycle. She gulped as a few ideas came to mind, none of which were pleasant.

"Just try to keep us in the loop of things, your father and I are busy enough with the pack to always keep an eye on you and your sister." Eve said pleasantly, holding her light smile.

All Kate did was nod, trying to hold her smile. "I understand, have a good day." She replied, hoping to take the opportunity to get away while she still could.

"You too sweetie" Eve replied before starting to head in the direction of the feeding grounds.

"Don't take it too hard with what mom said darling, she was just kind of shocked when I told her about you and Humphrey." Winston stated before following his mate, "Go and enjoy your day too."

"Yes dad" She replied watching them stroll away.

As soon as they were out of earshot she let out a deep breath, a wave of relief flowed through her along with grief. She was glad that the conversation went over better than she expected it, but the whole time she could feel her heart racing and blood running hot. Fearing she may slip up on her words and express that she had something to hide beyond what her parents thought they already knew. At least now she could relax slightly, they knew about who she really stayed with during mating season and seemed to expect nothing more of it. Just a slap on the paw if anything.

She began to resume her walk back to her den, all she wanted to do now was to go curl up on the soft dirt and get away from where she was now. She should feel glad about not having to worry about her parent's curiosity into what she was up to anymore but the conversation she just had was difficult to stand through. Humphrey needed return from wherever he was; she couldn't hang in a state of hopelessness any longer, not knowing what to do next. She would give him until evening to come find her; if not then she would have to look for him again. She respected the idea in her mind that he was somewhere in the territory having some alone time, but he needed to hurry up. Little did Kate know that Humphrey was much farther away than she expected, miles away in some unknown forest that shared the same appearances as Jasper.

A/N: Hmm seems like Kate's day is off to an unplanned start, Humphrey going missing and her parents figuring out about her decision to catch up with Humphrey during mating season. However it appears to flow over well with them, which could help get them off her trail while she and Humphrey think of their next moves. Sorry if this chapter seems like it doesn't have much going on, I had a scene I wanted to add on to the end of it but I'm pushing it over to the next chapter so it ties better with the other things that go on in it.