Eternal Wolves Chapter 25

While walking through the camp on the way to Gally's, Hope saw Minho, Thomas, and Newt going around talking to various keepers. Once Newt looked up and spotted her, he gave her a smile and a small wave before turning back to his work. Smiling and waving back, Hope continued on taking the route that Newt and Gally had said was best to find Gally's place. The sun had set and the darkness was overtaking everything. Reaching the entrance to the forest, she stepped inside the massive trees letting her eyes adjust to night vision before continuing on to the clearing that Gally had said he had made his home.

After walking for what seemed like forever, she stopped in what looked like a small clearing in the midst of the trees supposedly nearby to where Gally's place was. Looking around she put her hands on her hips definitely thinking she might've taken a wrong turn somewhere seeing as how she couldn't see Gally's property anywhere. Suddenly she dropped to her defensive mode as she sensed something approaching her from behind. Right as it got closer, she whirled around throwing punches at whatever had managed to find her.

Her fist was suddenly caught midair by a large hand and when she looked to the owner of the hand she found that Gally was standing in front of her holding a lantern lighting up the space around them. He smirked and let go of her fist as he spoke slowly and clearly. "Damn girl, you have a frickin nice right hook there. Almost got me. Thank God for good reflexes. You would've put all the guys back in the glade to shame if you were in the fight circle. Nonetheless, I figured you might get a little lost out here with it being so dark so I thought I'd come rescue you."

Hope smiled and leaned in giving him a sisterly hug in greeting. She shivered slightly as the wind was picking up as it blew through the trees. Gally immediately took notice and shrugged out of his jacket that he was wearing and put it gently around her shoulders. "You look absolutely freezing. Let's get you back to my place so you won't turn into a Hope ice cube." Hope giggled and nodded before they turned and continued to walk the rest of the way. Once they reached the clearing Hope was amazed that the entire clearing was surrounded with lanterns on polls that swayed gently in the wind. In the middle of the clearing there was a small house made out of wood that looked a little like a log cabin with steps leading up to a porch where two wooden rocking chairs sat. The large wooden front door had lanterns hanging on either side of the frame lighting up the entrance.

Off to the side of the house there was a small workshop in the same style as the house that had intricate carvings over the door and a small tool shed that sat next to it. Gally led her up the path until they reached the front door stepping inside. She was delighted to see that the inside seemed to fit Gally's masculine personality perfectly. The floors were a light hardwood that ran the whole length of the room. The walls were wooden with small shelves shattered along them with little nick knacks and carvings that he had made. In the middle of the room there was a large sitting area that had a couple of couches and chairs in a circle around a stone fireplace. Off to the side there was a door that she guessed led to the bedroom.

Gally gently removed his coat off of her shoulders and hung it on a hook next to the front door. Following him to sitting area, he gestured for her to take a seat as he bent down to make a fire. Taking a seat on a couch directly in front of the fireplace, she noticed she was still a little cold from her trek through the woods and noticed a small plaid wool blanket that she wound around her shoulders. Once the fire was blazing brightly, Gally collapsed back on the coach next to her kicking off his big boots in the process. It was quiet for a few minutes as they both watched the fire dance. Soon though Gally turned and faced her speaking slowly. "So how are you really liking it here with us? And are you really happy and everything?" Hope leaned down to where she had placed her blue messenger bag and took out her notebook and a navy blue gel pen to write a response.

Furrowing her eyes in concentration she wrote quickly a note and handed the notebook over to him so he could read what she wrote. The note had said "I don't just like living here with all of you, I love it. It's so much fun to have a great group of friends to hang out with all the time. I can tell already that as the years pass, were all going to be really close. And as for being happy, I have my moments just like anyone else but for the most part I really am happy here with Newt and you guys. You all make it so easy for me to fit in here even though I wasn't a part of the original gladers. I'm really grateful for all you guys have done for me since I got here. I don't know what I'd ever do without all of you."

Gally smiled softly after reading her note, and leaned over to pat her on the head gently. "Don't worry little wolf, we'll take care of you. You never need to worry about being alone ever again. You've got the best of the best watching out for you here. You'll always have us to fall back on."

Hope smiled and leaned into him giving him another big hug before picking up the notebook and writing. "Thanks big brother. That means a lot. Especially since I know you're not usually one for mushy stuff." Gally laughed when he finished reading. "Yeah…don't let it get out that I can do that. I have a reputation to uphold." Even though they had a rocky start, Hope and Gally had quickly let bygones be bygones and moved forward into a close friendship. Gally had become like the big brother that Hope never had. And Gally definitely had quite a soft spot in his heart for Hope, thinking of her as his little sister.

Anywhere they went, he always was the one next to Newt who looked out for her the most. He tended to hover a lot. Sometimes it drove Hope a little crazy but she always remembered that in the end he just cared a lot about her and just wanted her to be happy and safe. Sitting there for a few minutes just enjoying each other's company while they watched the flames dance, Hope realized she had yet to ask about Harriet. Taking her pen and notebook she wrote out her question quickly. Handing the notebook over to Gally she watched as he read. The note had said "Oh I almost forgot to ask, how is everything going with you and Harriet? Did she finally move in here with you or is she still staying at her own place back in camp?" Gally's lips turned into a slow lazy smile as he gazed at the fire for a moment before turning back to her with a dreamy look in his eyes. "Everything is going so perfect with us. She's everything I ever wanted in a girl. Whenever she's not around, I find myself missing her a lot. I know I'm supposed to be the strong tough one, but she literally breaks down all my walls. She's everything to me. And to answer your question, no she's still staying at her place. She said something along the lines of wanting to wait until marriage to move in with me."

Hope giggled and quirked an eyebrow at him before writing down her response. Handing over the notebook he read quickly before looking back up at her. The note had said "Oh, so do you think there may be a possibility of you proposing sometime in the future?" Gally blushed a bright pink before speaking, his voice shaking slightly. "Well…I definitely see that as a big possibility for us. I knew since the moment I met her that she was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I couldn't ever imagine living without her. I know she's trying to take things slow with us though, so I'll wait until she's more ready. I'll wait forever if I have to. There's no question in my mind that she's the one I've been looking for."

Suddenly, Gally's face morphed into a curious expression as he watched her intently before speaking. "What about you? With things going so well with Newt would you ever want him to propose to you?" Hope whole face turned bright red as she looked away slightly before hesitantly picking up her notebook and writing back a response. Handing it back to Gally once she was finished she watched him read. The note had said "Well…we've never actually talked about getting married before since we've just been focusing all our energy on when we're going to become fully mated. But if he's willing, I'd love to get married before we start having a family. So I guess we'll just have to see how he feels about everything. Only time will tell."

Gally nodded in understanding and put an arm around her shoulders. "I know this all has happened so fast with you two. And you're so young to be dealing with the whole wolf thing but I have faith in you guys to make the best of it and handle everything in the way you think is best. I know it'll all work out though. I wish you could see the way he looks at you when he thinks you're not paying attention. I've never seen him look at anyone that way in the entire time I've known him. He really does love you. And I know you love him. When the time is right and you're both ready, I'm sure he'll find a good way to propose. Don't worry too much about it though, you've got so much time. There's no need to push yourselves just because you see couples who have been together for a long time deciding to take the next step. Like you said, everything will happen in time. Until then just enjoy each day as much as possible and focusing on learning more about each other."

Hope smiled brightly nodding before she leaned her head gently on his shoulder. She knew she had lucked out when it came to having the best big brother ever. He always seemed to know just what to say to make everything better. Next to Newt, he was the one that she knew she could trust with anything. She could only imagine at how much closer they all would become as they grew up and the years went by. The evening passed quickly as they sat watching the fire die slowly as they talked about anything and everything with each other. The whole time, Hope couldn't help but think that this was just a sign of many good things to come, with a bright future ahead of them.