We arrived at the campsite last night around 11PM so we slept in the car. When I woke up, it was just getting to be morning. The sun was just coming up and the clock said 6:25AM. I yawned at looked at Dakota. He was still asleep. I looked back at Lilly and Lupa and the were the same. I quietly opened the door and stepped out, breathing in the fresh, morning air.
I looked around and saw a fire pit and a LOT of cut up log pieces laying everywhere. I gathered a bunch up and tossed them in and lit them. A few minutes later, the fire was going pretty good, filling the air with that special campfire smell that I loved. The pit had a grate over it so it can be used as a BBQ. I went to the back of the car and quietly opened it and pulled out a frying pan and a few paper plates. I set them down next to the pit and went back and pulled the coolers down.
I opened one and pulled the eggs out for breakfast. I took them over and started cooking while everyone was still sleeping. A few minutes later, I heard a yawn come from the car and saw Dakota waking up and sniffing the air. He saw me sitting outside and got out and walked over. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, sitting by the fire. "Cooking breakfast. Hungry?" I asked. He nodded and said "I'll be right back. Gotta use the bathroom." He walked off and came back a couple minutes later.
As he sat down, Lilly woke up and saw us sitting by the fire. She woke Lupa up and they both came out to us. "Morning guys. How long have you two been up?" Lilly asked, sitting down with Lupa. "I've been up for about a half hour. Dakota just got up a few minutes ago." I said, finished breakfast. I divided it up between them and they started eating.
"You're not hungry, Dad?" Lupa asked. "No, not really. I'll eat something later." When they were done, I threw the plates away and sat back down with them. "So what do you guys wanna do today?" I asked. "How about we go for a walk?" Lupa asked. Dakota and Lilly nodded and I said "Sounds good. Let me get my gun and lock up the car."
I walked over and put the coolers back up. I opened the door and got my gun and some ammo and locked the doors. I set it over my shoulder and put the ammo in my jacket pocket.
"Okay, so which way?" I asked, turning around. Lilly looked around and said "How about down that trail?" I looked over at it and said "Sure. Let me know when you guys wanna come back. We still need to set up the tent and all." We walked off down the trail, looking at all the nice scenery around us. Lupa and Dakota's tails were wagging a mile a minute as they looked around, amazed.
"This is really nice up here, Dad!" Dakota said. I nodded and said "Yeah it is! I've never been here before so this is all new to me too." We kept walking along the trail for about an hour until Lilly said "My feet are starting to hurt."
"Want to head back then?" I asked, stopping. She nodded and I said "Okay. Let's get back." We started heading back and about halfway back, I heard "Lilly" out of nowhere.
"What is it, Lupa?" Lilly asked, smiling. "I...didn't say anything, Mom." Lupa said, getting a little scared. Lilly looked at her and said "You didn't just say "Lilly"? Lupa shook her head and Lilly said "Okay...What's going on?" She caught up next to me and Dakota with Lupa right next to her. "I have no idea..." I said, dropping two shells into the gun.
We kept walking until we heard it again. Someone CLEARLY saying "Lilly". We were all scared and started running back when something tackled Lilly, making her scream. I told Lupa and Dakota to run back to the car and stay there. They ran off and I went over to Lilly and pulled a wolf off her and held it down. I closed my gun and pointed it at it.
"Who are you!" I yelled. The wolf said in a raspy voice "Kevin..." I recognized it as being Kevin and got off him. "Kevin! You almost got killed! What's wrong with you!" I said, unloading my gun. "I was trying to scare you guys. I guess it worked!" he said, chuckling.
"That WASN'T funny, Kevin! You really scared me and the kids! He almost blew your head off!" Lilly yelled, getting up. He looked at her and said "I'm sorry, Lilly...It was Eve's idea." Lilly laughed and said "That...I believe. Where is she?"
"Over there." He said, pointing to a bush. I walked over to it and said "You're caught, Eve..." She came out, laughing, and said "That was pretty good! What are you guys doing here?"
"We decided to take a family camping trip here. Just the four of us. Where's Naomi?" I asked. She smiled and said "Going over to surprise Lupa and Dakota." Just then we heard a loud yelp come from the car. "Good girl!" Eve said, laughing. We all walked back to the car to see Naomi pinning Dakota while Lupa was laughing hysterically.
"Hey Naomi!" Lilly said, running over to her. Naomi got off Dakota and said "Hi, Lilly! How's it going?" "Good, how about you? You've gotten big!" she said. "I've been good. And yeah, I grew...a lot!" Naomi said, laughing. Eve, Kevin and I walked over and we all sat down by the fire.
"You two have gotten pretty big too!" Naomi said, checking Lupa and Dakota out. "Thanks. How was the howl when you guys left?" Dakota asked. Naomi blushed and said "It was good..." Dakota looked at her and said "Okay, how was it REALLY?" She laughed and said "Okay it was great! I met a guy there. His name's Jeff. He actually looks a LOT like you. And acts like you, too!"
"Wow, really? That's pretty cool. Did he come with you guys here?" he asked. She nodded and said "He's over at the lake right now with his parents, but he said he'd come by later."
"Cool...Sounds like a cool guy. Have you two-" he started when Naomi said "No. Not YET at least." Eve let out a sigh and wispered "They're always out together...I wouldn't be surprised if they did." Lilly and I laughed but Kevin looked a little irritated.
"Kevin, what's wrong?" Eve asked, nuzzling him. He sighed and said "I don't want to think about my little girl mating already..." Naomi looked at him and said "Don't worry, Dad. Jeff's a sweetheart. He'd never force me to do anything I don't want to. You know that..."
"I know..." he said, smiling at her. "So, how long are you guys sticking around our little slice of heaven?"
"We'll be here for a little over a week. It's really nice up here." I said. He nodded and said "That's why I love it so much. And the fact I'm with my girls here." Eve nuzzled him and Dakota said "How about we go to the lake, Dad? I'd like to see it." I looked at Lilly and she said "Sounds like a good idea."
"Okay, we'll go in a little bit. Is there a way I can get my car down there so we don't need to walk as far back uphill?" I asked. Eve nodded and said "If you go back up the road you came in on for a couple minutes, you'll see another one on your right. It's a dirt road that goes right next to the lake."
"Great! I brought my dad's fishing stuff, so maybe I can pull some fish out of it." I said, smiling. "Good idea. Fresh fish for dinner sounds great!" Kevin said, licking his lips. We all sat around for a little while longer until the fire was out, which was around 10AM. "Okay...Let's go see the lake." I said, getting up. We all walked over and got in the car and drove off down the road until we found the one Eve mentioned. I turned onto it and we drove along it for about 10 minutes. We finally found the lake and parked next to it and got out.
Naomi, Lupa and Dakota ran over and jumped in the water, laughing and splashing each other. Kevin and Eve were watching them while I got the fishing stuff and walked down the bank a little bit with Lilly. We sat down and I cast the line out and set the rod down and waited. "Are you happy we came up here, love?" I asked. Lilly giggled and said "Yes, I am. Only one problem..."
"What's that?" I asked. She slowly licked my neck and I said "Oh, right...I forgot that. It's okay, though." She smiled and said "I know...I just REALLY want to!" I kissed her and said "We'll figure it out, don't worry." We sat there for a while longer. I already caught 3 fish and was pulling in a 4th one. The kids were sitting by the water with Kevin and Eve, talking and laughing. Eve walked over to us and said "Hey guys. How's it going?"
"Good. I've got three fish so far and about to get a fourth." I said, pulling the fish in. It was bigger then the rest. Lilly was smiling, looking out over the lake when something caught her eye.
"Mom?" she asked. "Yeah, honey?" Eve asked, turning to her. "Look straight across the lake..." she said. Eve and I looked over and saw a light brown wolf drinking from the lake. "Could that be...?" Eve said, eyes wide. The wolf must have noticed we were looking at it and looked over at us. Eve and the wolf locked eyes and it started sprinting over to us. Lilly was in shock.
"MOM!" the wolf yelled. Eve ran over and yelled "KATE!" and tackled her. They hugged and cried on each other's shoulders and Lilly ran over and hugged them too. "Kate..." Lilly said, crying. "Hi, Lilly! It's been a while!" Kate said, crying. "I know! A LONG time." Lilly said. They continued to hug for a few more minutes. I got up and walked over to them. Eve saw me me come over and said "Kate, this is Cody. Cody, this is my daughter Kate."
"Nice to meet you. How do you guys know each other?" Kate asked. Lilly blushed and said "He's my mate!" Kate smiled widely and said "Wow, you too! My mate's a human too!"
"Well, where is he?" Eve asked. "He's up at the campsites. We came here for a week after learning you guys weren't at Jasper anymore. I heard about Dad..." Kate said, tearing up. Eve hugged her and said "Yeah...I miss him too. He fought to protect us and gave his life for us. I have good news, though."
"What?" Kate asked, excited. "I got remarried...and you have another sister." Eve said, smiling. "Really? Can I meet them?" Kate asked. "Of course. They're over by the car." she said, pointing over at them. We all walked over to them and Kate said "Hi. I'm Kate!"
"I'm Naomi. You must be my other sister! This is my dad, Kevin." Naomi said. "Hi, Kate. I heard a lot about you." Kevin said, hugging her. "Don't worry. I'm not trying to replace your dad, but I really do love your mom."
"Well, thanks Kevin. No one can replace Dad." she said. She looked at Dakota and Lupa and said "I didn't meet you guys yet." Lilly walked over and said "They're our kids." Kate's eyes went wide and she said "You have kids?" Lilly nodded and said "Yep. Lupa and Dakota." Kate looked at Dakota's eyes and then at mine a couple times.
"You two have the same eye color..." she said. Dakota nodded and said "I found that a little odd at first too. I like it though." Kate smiled and said "Me too. I've always liked blue eyes. My mate, Chris, has blue eyes too, but not the same shade of blue."
"How about we go up to the campsite and meet him?" Eve asked. Kate nodded and said "Sure. I'll go back and tell him you guys are coming!" She ran off to the campsites while we all got back in the car. I put the fish in a cooler and started driving back. About 10 minutes later we pulled back in the campsite and got out. I got another fire going and a few minutes later, Kate and Chris came over from their site.
"Hi. You must be Chris." Eve said. He nodded and said "I am. And you must be Eve. It's nice to meet you." "You too. This is my mate Kevin, my daughter Lilly and her mate Cody and their kids Lupa and Dakota." Eve said, smiling. "Nice to meet you guys." he said. "You too." Dakota said. They sat down next to the fire while Eve, Kate and Lilly caught up.
After a few minutes Lilly asked "So, you guys don't have kids?" Kate shook her head and said "No. But I'd like to someday. How old are you guys."
"Almost a year old." Lupa said. "Cool. Where do you guys live?" Kate asked. "Kalispell, Montana." I said. She nodded and said "I have no idea where that is." I laughed and said "It's about six hours from here. We just got here last night." Kate nodded and said "Okay, if you say so." We all laughed and she asked "Do you guys live alone back home?"
"No, we live with my parents. At least until I can afford to move out." I said. We kept talking for a couple hours. I looked at my watch and it was almost dinner time already. "You guys ready for dinner?" I asked. Dakota and Lupa nodded and I said "Okay, let me clean the fish and we'll have them. Sorry, guys, but I only caught four."
"That's okay. We were going to have ribs tonight."Chris said. "You wanna go eat, babe?"
"Sure. I'm getting hungry. It was great to see you again mom. You too, Lilly." Kate said, hugging them. "It was great to see you too, honey. Gonna be back tommorow?" Eve asked. "Yep! See you guys later!" Kate said, walking off with Chris. Eve smiled and said "I'm so happy we got to see her again..."
"Me too, Mom. It's been way too long." Lilly said. I got up and got the fish out of the cooler and started cleaning them, throwing the guts and crap far into the woods. After about 20 minutes, I started cooking them over the fire. Dakota's mouth was starting, listening to the crackling sound.
"Right after we eat I'll set up the tent, okay?" I asked. They nodded and I realized we didn't have a water bowl for them to drink from "I know what I forgot to pack now..." I said, smiling. "A water bowl."
"Oh...That'd be nice to have. Any place we can get one around here?" Lilly asked. I nodded and said "The gas station back up the highway we stopped at." Dakota laid down and put his ears back, looking sad.
"What's the matter, Dakota?" I asked, rubbing his back. "I really don't want to go back there again..." he said, tears in his eyes. I looked at the girls and said "Could you guys give us a couple minutes?" They nodded and walked over to the trail and sat down where they couldn't hear us.
"Why don't you want to go back? I asked, comforting him. "Because of what happened...What if it happens again and I can't get out?" he asked, starting to cry. "Shh...No one said you'd need to stay in the car this time. You can get out with me if you want." I said. He looked up at me and said "I just don't want to go back."
"Would you rather stay here?" I asked. He nodded and I said "Okay, I'll go tommorow then while Chris and Kate are here." He smiled and said "Thanks, Dad." I rubbed his back and Kevin said "What happened at the gas station?" I called over to Lilly and waved them back over to us. They came back and sat down next to the fire.
I started telling them about what happened and when I was done, Eve was almost in tears and said "Don't worry about anything, Dakota. You know your dad will always be there for you." He nodded and said "I know..." About that time we heard people laughing, coming down the road. I didn't think much of it until I looked back up and noticed it was two wolves. They stopped and sniffed the air and saw us.
Dakota looked over and saw them. He started growling and I said "Easy, son...They look harmless." They really did. They were a couple smaller wolves. He stopped and got up, walking over to them. One of them moved in front of the other, defending it. Dakota sat down and started talking to them, but we couldn't hear what they were saying. They talked for a few minutes until dinner was ready. I divided it up between us all.
"Dakota! Dinner's ready!" I called over. He looked back at me and nodded. He said something and one of them looked over at me and back at him. Dakota nodded and walked back to us a couple minutes later. "So who were they?" Lilly asked. "A couple wolves that live near here. They're brother and sister, Shadow and Crystal." he said, smiling.
"Did you guys become friends or something?" I asked, laughing. He nodded and said "You could say that. They invited us to walk with them tommorow. Is it okay, Dad?"
I looked at Lilly and she looked unsure but said "It's okay with me...Do you wanna go, Lupa?" Lupa nodded and said "Yeah, I'd love to! Please, Dad?" I sighed and said "Okay...Just be careful." They nodded and Dakota said "They said they'll be here around noon tommorow."
"Okay, I'll be leaving tommorow morning and probably won't be back until a little after noon." I said. Lilly looked up at me and said "I'm going with you...I don't want you to go alone." I nodded and said "Good idea...I don't want to go alone, either." After we finished eating, I got the tent out of the back of the car and started putting it up. It only took just a few minutes.
I got the sleeping bags and air mattress out too and set them up inside it. When I was done, it was starting to get dark. "Where are you guys staying, Mom?" Lilly asked. "We've got a den about 15 minutes from here." she said. Lilly nodded and said "So are you guys going home now?"
"Yeah...We'll be back tommorow, don't worry." She said. We all said bye and they walked off to their den, leaving us alone. The fire kept going throughout the night until around 11...We were all talking and laughing about when Dakota and Lupa were pups. After a little while longer, the fire started to go out so we decided to go to bed.
Dakota and Lupa decided to sleep on the bed with us. Lilly and I laid down with them and I started rubbing Lilly's back. Lupa looked up at her and asked "Mom, why are you purring?"
Lilly giggled and said "Because I like it when your dad rubs my back...Feels relaxing." Lupa laid her head back down and fell asleep a couple minutes later, along with Dakota. Lilly gently rolled over to face me and said "I'm so glad we took this trip. I never thought we'd see Kate here..." I smiled and pulled the blanket over us and said "I'm just happy you guys are having fun. I thought it would be boring to you." She smiled and said "I love it here...It's so peaceful and beautiful."
"I know...That's why I love it. That and I'm with you guys." I said, kissing her. She blushed and said "You're sweet...I'm starting to feel warm." "Want me to take the blanket off you?" I asked, starting to move it. She licked my neck and said "Not "that" warm, dummy." I smiled and said "But the kids are right next to us. We can't."
"I know...But it's just so strong right now..." she said, looking sad. "I know, love...We will soon, I promise." I said, kissing her. She nodded and put her forelegs around me, pulling me closer. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face with me right behind her.