Chapter Eleven: Happy Birthday

"You are to marry Zak."

My jaw dropped. And I'm positive that I wasn't alone in that. I could tell without even looking around that everybody else was surprised as well. We stood, shocked, in silence, for a few moments before Chloe spoke up, "No... No no no. Not Zak! Please, isn't there anybody else?"

"I wish I could say there was. He's the only one. He is the one that gave the Northern Pack the idea of uniting the two packs in the first place."

"I'm not marrying that killer!"

"What was it you said? 'If it means protecting this pack from having to fight a war, then I would gladly be married to anybody they have chosen.' They have chosen Zak. If you don't marry him, then we will go to war. Do you want that?"

He was right. I remember her saying that as well. Chloe hesitated, most likely thinking about what to say. She closed her eyes, a tear forcing its way out of her left eye. I could this was a hard decision for her to make. Marry a merciless killer, or let the two packs go to war with each other. I definitely didn't want to see two packs go to war. The Western and Eastern packs came too close to that a couple years ago. It would be difficult for me to handle seeing a war between these two packs. When Chloe finally spoke, she did so with her teeth clenched on the first word, "Fine. I'll marry him. But only if it means keeping the two packs from going to war."

The head Alpha walked in the cave, towards Chloe. He put his paw on her shoulder and said, "I know you don't want to marry him, but it's better than having to fight a war, don't you think?"

She nodded, still clearly upset. The Alpha probably didn't think anything more needed to be said or discussed, so he turned around and walked out of the cave. I could only imagine what must be going through Chloe's mind. She has to be frustrated about the situation. She asked aloud, "How did I get myself in to this?"

I assured her, "You didn't know it would be Zak. But it'll be okay. If it makes you feel better, I think you're doing the right thing; uniting the packs."

"But to marry a killer for that to happen? I don't know how I could possibly live with myself, knowing that he's killed before. Not only that, but I'm so much older than him. I might as well be his mother."

Hailey almost yelled, "Excuse me? I'm not that old."

"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Nobody else had anything to say. We kept helping Chloe get ready for her wedding. Kovu and Hailey were helping Chloe sort out exactly what she would need to do. Each step of the process. They did that while I went out and found a blue flower. Chloe let me put it in her hair behind her right ear. It really brought out her blue eyes. I could definitely see the resemblance between her and Humphrey. It was not hard to accept that they were family. They were probably all they had left. Chloe had not yet told us if their parents were here in Glacier or not. I figured they weren't because Chloe would have said something. I'm sure that she would want her parents to see their son after all this time.

Kovu, Hailey, Linda, and I left to join the rest of the pack. I sat next to Hailey since I knew her more than I knew Kovu or Linda. We were all sitting in the back, but we could still see Zak sitting there. I could see there now was smile on his face. Actually, he looked bored. Like he wanted to get this over with and get home. Next to him were two other black wolves that looked almost exactly like him. Only, they weren't as muscular looking. I figured they were his "friends." I doubt they were really his friends. They were probably just afraid he would kill them if they didn't follow his orders. It's so hard for me to see that Zak is Kovu and Hailey's kid. They are so nice and kind. And from what I heard, he's a merciless killer.

It wasn't long before Chloe and Humphrey finally came down. They walked side-by-side, towards the rest of the pack. Chloe looked as if she was trying to force a smile on her face. I could tell she was having difficulty with it, though. Humphrey didn't even bother. He already hated Zak for biting his leg. Humphrey took a seat next to me when they reach us. Chloe kept walking, giving us a nervous glance as if this was the last time she would see us. When she reached Zak, she sat down i front of him. I could tell that Zak was looking at Humphrey. What I couldn't tell was if it was a a glare or not. From this distance, it's hard to be sure about those things. The Head-Alpha, whose name I still didn't know, said, "You two may start when you're ready."

Chloe nodded to him and I think I saw Zak roll his eyes as if to say, "Whatever." The two began to circle each other, looking in their soon-to-be spouse's eyes. I could tell Chloe gulped, nervous about this. I hoped she was reminding herself that this was for the packs. When they finished circling each other, the sat back down, and began to sniff each others faces. This was part of the ceremony, to get familiar with the scent. After that, the two went back to their starting positions. Now, the final act was to finish the ceremony. The kiss. This was probably going to be the hardest part for Chloe, considering she couldn't even smile at him. Chloe leaned forward, slowly, just as Zak was doing. It seemed like hours passed by, without contact. Of course, it was only about a minute or two. I saw Chloe turned her head away like she didn't want to do it. Zak took notice of this and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I can't marry you."

Uh-oh. This can't be good.

Zak was silent for a moment before he asked, "You know what that means, don't you?"

Chloe let a tear escape from her eye, as she nodded. She said, "I know. If there was anybody else, I would be glad to be married. But, I just can not get married to a killer."

Multiple wolves in the crowd started whispering to each other. Chloe looked to Zak for a moment before he jumped at her, tackling her to the ground. I saw that Zak's paw was as Chloe's throat. I heard a few gasps in the crowd. I looked to Humphrey, only to see that he was no longer sitting next to me. I looked around for him. It only took me five seconds because I saw him running through the aisle in the crowd of wolves. Towards Chloe, and Zak. He was quick to get there, which surprised me because of his leg. He must be ignoring the pain. I watched as Humphrey jumped at Zak, pushing him off of Chloe. Zak tumbled to the side. Quick to get back to his paws, he looked at Humphrey who said, "Stay away from my sister."

By now, the crowd of wolves had all backed up, giving the two enough space so nobody would get hurt. Zak and Humphrey circled each other in the large area, looking at their opponent.

Zak smirked and responded, "You're sister? Oh, what a treat! I get to kill siblings today."

"I don't want to fight you Zak. But I will if I have to."

"Let me see what you've got, Omega."

"I may be an Omega, but it's better than being a killer. See, unlike you, I have a heart." Humphrey looked back at me and said, "I can love."

Humphrey turned back to Zak in time to dodge getting scratched on the face. Humphrey ducked under another swipe. He was unable to dodge what Zak did next. Zak tackled Humphrey to the ground, immediately putting his paw down on Humphrey's throat. Humphrey tried pushing Zak off him but was unable to. He choked, "Killing isn't right, Zak."

Zak growled, "I don't care what you think."

Humphrey choked, trying to pull Zak's paw off his throat. He asked, "What would Aleu say if she saw you now?"

The mention of Aleu's name made Zak pause. The look of anger fell off his face. It was replaced with a look of surprise.

A female voice answered from behind me, "I'd say I don't like what you've become."

I turned to see who it was that said that, I thought I was looking at Hailey for a second before I looked to where Hailey was sitting. She was still there. I looked back and forth between the two. They looked exactly alike, which was confusing me at this point. Kovu said, "Aleu... You're back."

Aleu smiled at her father and said, "Yea dad. I'm back."

She hugged both of her parents and asked Linda, "How have you been, sis?"

"Well, I've been better."

Aleu began walking towards where Zak was. He still had his paw pressed down on Humphrey's throat. Humphrey was struggling for air. Aleu said, "Let him go, Zak."

Zak pulled his paw off Humphrey, like Aleu was the boss of him. I heard him take in a big gasp of air. He needed it. Humphrey backed away from Zak a little, ready to defend himself if needed. Aleu assured him he didn't need to, but he couldn't be too careful. Aleu asked, "How have you been, brother?"

Zak didn't respond.

Aleu said, "Like I said earlier; I don't like what you've become, Zak. I want you to be the nice wolf you used to be. Like when we were still pups. When I look at you, all I see the nice pup you used to be. I don't want to think of you as a killer. Specially since you are my brother."

Zak couldn't say anything. He was probably feeling upset with himself. Specially with what his sister was telling him. He looked to the ground. I was not sure of it at this point, but I think a tear escaped his eye. He said, "I don't want to be a killer..."

Aleu took him in to a hug and said, "You're not a killer, Zak. You're my brother."

Linda walked up to them and said, "You're my brother too. I don't like seeing you as anything else."

The crowd was all watching, curiously to see how this would turn out. It was good to see the sibling love they had for each other. It was also good to see that Zak was transforming into a more nice wolf. Chloe took a step forward, Humphrey wanting her to stay back. She said something to him that I couldn't hear and turned back to Zak. She asked, "Does this mean you won't kill anymore?"

Zak nodded, smiling. The crowd of wolves watching all cheered that no more lives would be lost. No more worries about getting killed. They would be able to leave their homes without fear of being murdered. I can't even imagine what that must have been like.

Somebody asked from somewhere in the crowd, "Then, would you marry me?"

A few wolves in the group gasped at the sudden question. Almost everyone was looking around, trying to find who asked the question. I looked around as well, until I saw a girl walking toward Zak. I could not see her eye color, but her fur was almost the same was Zak's. White fur on the face, front paws, tip of the tail, and on her stomach. Black everywhere else. Zak looked at her and I figured that he recognized her because he knew her name. He asked, "You would really marry me, Allie? But— why? I've killed people before, why would you— or, anyone want to marry me?"

Allie answered, "Two reasons. The first; I trust that you won't hurt anybody anymore. The second; Because I... I use to have a crush on you, Zak."

That surprised Zak so much that I saw him actually take a step back. I looked over to Humphrey and Chloe standing by each other now. I saw the surprise on their faces as well as Linda's and Aleu's. I also saw it on Kovu's and Hailey's faces. Actually, I think there was a surprised look on everybody's face. Zak opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and thought for a second before speaking, "Y-you did?"

She nodded and said, "Before you turned into a jerk. That's why I would want to be around you a lot. Because I loved you."

Zak smiled again. He walked over to her and said, "I loved you too. I was just too shy to say anything."

Zak pushed himself forward, bringing the girl in to their first kiss. Her eyes went wide for a second in surprise at the sudden move. Allie's eyes quickly closed to savor the moment. The crowd of wolves all shared an "Awww" at the scene. Even I couldn't help but join in. I even heard Hailey do it too. Kovu, I can't be sure about. There were too many others for me to hear him if he was. Zak and Allie stayed like that for about a minute or two before they pulled away from each other. Zak smiled at her and asked, "Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will."

Everyone cheered again that there was going to be a wedding today. The Southern and Northern packs were going to be united after all. I looked at Chloe. She was smiling at the scene. I looked at Humphrey, smiling as well. Kovu, same thing. Hailey, of course. Same thing with Linda and Aleu Me, I'm a hundred percent positive that I was as well. Everybody was glad that the packs were finally going to be united. And to think Humphrey almost got himself killed a moment before. If Aleu hadn't shown up, Humphrey would be gone right now. I was going to have to thank her later. I already knew I was going to. Plus, I wanted to meet her because she was my friend's daughter. How could I not meet her?


(One Hour Later)

Me, Humphrey, Chloe, Hailey, Linda, Aleu, Zak, and Allie were all back at their home. Kovu left with the Alphas for the caribou hunt and would be back with dinner soon. Zak and Allie set the date for their wedding. They didn't want to rush it because they don't know each other that well. They wanted to spend time together and meet each others families before getting married. Of course, they wanted the packs united as well so they made sure not to set the date too far away. They decided it would be next week. Humphrey and I asked Kovu and Hailey if it would be okay with them to stay until then. Of course, they allowed it but they had to ask the head-Alphas to be sure it was absolutely okay. Humphrey and I decided that we would go back to Jasper after Zak and Allie's wedding. Zak apologized to Chloe and Humphrey for almost killing them earlier. Awkward conversation? Pretty much. But still, at least the two were alive now.

Now, Humphrey and I are sitting on the ledge outside the cave, just watching the territory. I playfully hit him in the side of the head and said, "That's what you get for almost getting yourself killed."

He chuckled at that and said, "Yea, sorry about that. Give me some credit though, I had to save Chloe. If Aleu hadn't showed up, who knows what might have happened?"

"Yea, that's true. But still, do you know how worried I was? I thought I was going to lose you. I won't be able to handle losing someone else in my life."

Humphrey moved himself a bit closer, put his arm around me and said, "You won't lose me, Lilly. Specially not on your birthday."

I looked at him and he added, "Happy birthday, by the way."

I gave him a smile before saying, "Thanks. What'd you get me?"

That surprised him enough to make his eyes widen and pull his arm off my back. He stammered, "Oh. I—Uh. Well, you see..."

I chuckled, "I'm kidding Humphrey."

He let out a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, good. Don't do that to me, Lilly. You had me worried for a second."

"Good, consider that as a little payback for having me worried earlier."

"Hey, I said I was sorry about that. How long are you going to hold that against me?"

"As longs as it takes for me to forgive you, Humphrey."