A/N: Here's Chapter 3. A little longer than the usual 4,500+ (5,300+ words according to my document). I don't have much to say, except for what's at the bottom, other than I appreciate any feedback you can give me. From anyone. Good or bad, especially criticism. There's always room for improvement, especially with me. Also, I need more votes on the poll I put up. There's six different selections and...well, I'll let you check it out for yourselves. I realized that polls don't appear on the mobile version of the site, nor do they appear on the app, so you can leave your vote in a Review on any story. I'll put up the question and choices on my profile (at the very top), so you can see what it is.
Chapter 3
Kate's Plan
Sawtooth National Park, Present time
The sun rose over the mountains and shone over Sawtooth, illuminating the United Pack's new territory, as the Alphas dragged a few freshly caught caribou to the newly established feeding grounds. Inside the Alpha Den, a golden-tan she-pup was sleeping soundly, when her ears perked to a voice outside the den.
"Psst! Claudette!" The voice whispered into the den. Claudette moaned, as she stirred awake, then opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.
"Over here." The voice said, then Claudette groaned, as she stood up and stretched the sleep out of her body. She looked around to make sure the rest of her family was still sleeping, then approached the entrance of the den and spotted a brown and white pup sitting just outside.
"Fleet?!" She asked, shocked, keeping her voice hushed, "What are you doing here?!"
"I, uhh…" He stammered, "…may have followed you here."
"Why?" Claudette asked, confused, "What about your father? What would he think?"
Fleet shook his head, "Doesn't matter." He said, "I made my choice between you or my father and sister. I chose you."
Claudette smiled at his comment, but she frowned, "But you can't be here." She said, "If my mother found you here, she'd skin you alive!"
"Skin who alive?" Kate asked, as she exited the Alpha Den, "You're not exactly being quiet, my dear."
Fleet had disappeared before Kate spotted him and Claudette chuckled nervously, "Uhh, no one, Mom." She said, "I was just, uhh…talking to myself."
Kate eyed her daughter suspiciously, "Well, alrighty then." She replied, then nodded towards the Alphas who were bringing up breakfast, "How about you and I go get some breakfast? Have some mother-daughter time."
"Sure." Claudette answered, excitedly, as her tail wagged a mile a minute.
Kate chuckled, "Well, let's go." She said, then they headed down to the feeding grounds.
Somewhere in Maine, Two weeks earlier
He lied and you died. The voices echoed in his head, He lied and you died!
"Mr. Denbrough?" A male voice called, then he shook his head to refocus his attention on what he was doing. He was sitting in the waiting room of the National Parks office and looked up to see a man beckoning him over.
"I'm coming." He said, then grabbed his duffel bag and followed the man into the Head Ranger's office. Once he grew old enough to be on his own, he applied to work at the National Parks. At the time, it seemed like the plausible thing to do. After all, he was missing half of his right arm, so a job working at the National Parks seemed relatively simple. He managed to get a desk job, filing paperwork, booking campgrounds for campers, etcetera. Now, he was in his early forties and was still doing paperwork, but he was also an auxiliary Ranger, just in case they needed the extra hands, or hand in his case.
Today though, he was called in to see the Head Ranger about something important. He sat down in front of the Head Ranger's desk and waited for them to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, she entered the office and set her stuff behind her desk and sat down.
"So sorry about that." She said, "My daughter didn't want to go to school today."
"That's perfectly alright." He replied.
She exhaled heavily, as she settled into her chair, "Do you have kids, Mr. Denbrough?" She asked.
He shook his head, "I've never even dated a girl before." He said.
"Oh? Why's that?" She asked.
"Haven't met anyone yet who couldn't look past my arm." He answered, "Besides…families aren't always what they're cracked up to be. Some people have the patience and, dare I say it, the courage to become parents."
She chuckled, "Yeah, you got a point there." She replied, then opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a few files, "Anyway, this is what I called you in for. You're being transferred."
"Me?" He asked, shocked, "Why?"
"National Parks Canada has notified our Sawtooth branch that those two wolves they relocated there had returned back home to Jasper last year. And now it seems that they've moved back to Sawtooth with their entire pack, so they need some extra hands to monitor them." She explained, then he held up her right arm and she chuckled, "Sorry, hand."
He smiled, "That brings me to my first question." He said, "Why me? Why not the many others who each have twice as many hands as I do?"
She sighed, "Look, Mr. Denbrough…" She said, "…you've been here, what? Over fifteen years? I believe it's time you've had a change in pace. You've been a great help here, I'm not denying that, but I'm sure you want a little more in your career."
"I never really thought about it, because I didn't believe that I could do it with my disability." He explained.
"Well, I'm offering you the chance to become a ranger at Sawtooth, Idaho." She said, "You'll be in training, of course, but in a couple years, I'm sure you could make Head Ranger there."
"Are they expecting someone like me?" He asked, referring to his missing limb.
"I explained to them about your condition and there's no problem as long as you pull your weight." She answered.
"Well, I'll certainly do my best." He said.
"Does that mean that you accept?" She asked.
"I'll have to think about it." He said.
"Don't you want it?" She asked.
The voices in his head suddenly grew louder, Don't you want it, Georgie? The taunting voice asked, Take it.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then nodded, "I do." He answered.
"Good." She replied, "I'll do the necessary paperwork here, while you go home and get packed and ready to leave. They're expecting you there in two weeks."
He nodded in understanding, "Of course, Ma'am. Thank you." He said, then stood up and left the office.
Sawtooth National Park, Present time
Humphrey was sleeping soundly with a smile on his face, when something wet rubbed up against his head.
"Mmm, Kate. It's not that time of year again, is it?" He muttered in his sleep. He suddenly heard a loud croak, then something wet and slimy shot into his ear.
"Ahh!" He screamed, as he jumped awake to the sound of laughter. Humphrey rubbed his ear with his paw and looked over to see Stinky and Runt with a large toad sitting beside them. They were rolling on the ground, laughing.
"Ha-ha." Humphrey groaned, "What is it? Pick-on-Dad day today?"
Stinky chuckled, "Sorry, Dad." He said, still giggling slightly, "We saw the toad hop into the den this morning and we couldn't resist."
Runt smacked his paw onto the toad, then it croaked and its tongue shot out and landed on Humphrey's face. He went cross-eyed, as he looked up at the pink tongue that was stuck to his forehead.
"Ha! Bull's-eye!" Runt exclaimed, then turned to his brother, "Beat that!"
The toad drew its tongue back, then Stinky smacked it and it croaked again before shooting out at Humphrey again. It went straight for Humphrey's eye and he instinctively closed his eyes before it smacked him in the eye.
"Ohh!" Stinky exclaimed, "Wolf's-eye!"
Humphrey removed the pink tongue off of his eye, then slowly approached the two mischievous pups. They immediately panicked and Stinky started smacking the toad non-stop. Its tongue shot out multiple times at Humphrey, hitting him in many places over his body. Humphrey reached his son and smacked the toad away before pushing Stinky over and tickling him.
"Oh, Dad, stop!" He screamed, between fits of laughter, "That tickles!"
"Well, I see I don't have to wake you guys up." Kate said, as she entered the den with Claudette beside her, then noticed the relatively large toad sitting on the ground.
"What's up with the toad?" Kate asked.
"We used it to wake up Dad." Runt answered. Humphrey stopped tickling his youngest son, then started attacking Stinky.
"Oh, no!" Runt exclaimed, as he fell to the ground laughing. Kate chuckled at the sight, then approached her mate.
"Humphrey, Dear." She whispered into his ear, "Remember what we said last night?"
Humphrey had a confused expression on his face and she must've noticed, "About my sister and Garth?" She asked.
Something clicked in Humphrey's brain, "Ohhh." He muttered, "Why are you bringing it up?"
"I've just talked with my sister and she's…umm, you know." Kate explained, "So, I want to get my plan over and done with before Mom finds out."
"Before I find out what?" Eve asked, as she entered the den, then smiled, "Good morning, Dears, by the way."
"Oh, morning, Mom." Kate replied.
"Anyway, what is it I'm not supposed to find out about?" Eve asked with a smile that said, Tell me or you won't live past the hour. Kate went up to her mother and whispered into her ear, then Eve widened her eyes.
"Oh, he did, did he?" She asked, as Kate continued whispering, then she nodded, "I see."
A low growl emanated from deep inside Eve's throat, as she approached Humphrey.
"Umm, Kate?" Humphrey asked, nervously, as he backed up, "What did you tell her?"
"Mom, can you please not do it in the den." Kate said, "We don't want the pups to be scarred for life."
Eve smiled, as she faced her daughter, "Of course, Dear." She replied, then turned back towards Humphrey, "You've got to the count of five to get out of this den, or your pups will see something they shouldn't see at their age. If you know what I mean."
"Uhh, what?" Humphrey asked.
"One…" Eve warned, then he gulped and nodded.
"I understand, Ma'am." He said, then bolted out of the den with Eve on his tail.
I hope you can forgive me, Humphrey. Kate thought to herself, But I had to get Mom out of the way.
"Uhh, what's Grandma going to do to Dad?" Claudette asked.
"The same thing that I would do to any boys that try to take advantage of you, Sweetie." Kate answered, "Now, why don't the three of you run along and visit your friends for the day? Your father should be back by dinner time."
"Okay!" Runt exclaimed, then the three of them ran out of the den. Kate turned towards the toad, then it suddenly shot out its tongue at her, but she quickly snapped its tongue into her jaws and swung the toad out of the den. The toad flew through the air until it landed in the nearby lake with a splash.
"No one sticks their tongue out at me." She muttered, then left the den and headed towards the forest. She soon arrived at a secluded clearing, then sat down in the center and waited. A few moments later, she saw her sister and Garth emerge from the trees and meet her in the middle.
"So?" Kate asked, "What's the verdict?"
"We…uhh…" Garth stammered, then nervously shook his head, "Lilly wants pups, so I'm gonna go through with it."
Kate eyed her sister and she chuckled, "This may be the only chance I'll get to have pups with my true love, so…I may have threatened him a little bit." Lilly said, sheepishly.
"Oh, yeah?" Kate asked.
Lilly nodded, "I told him that if he didn't go through with it, I would tell Mom that he did." She explained, "So, whether he does or not, his life would be on the line. This way his death isn't made certain."
"Either don't get your mate pregnant and get killed by the wrath of Eve, or do get your mate pregnant and only risk getting killed by the wrath of Eve." Garth muttered to himself.
"Garth!" Kate snapped, then he snapped to attention.
"Uhh, yes, Ma'am?" Garth asked, nervously.
"Let's make this quick." Kate said, "I don't know how long Humphrey will be able to distract our mother."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Please, please, please, please!" Humphrey begged, as he ran for his life with a murderous Eve on his tail, "I-I-I have no idea what Kate told you, but I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding!"
"Whoa!" Humphrey exclaimed, as he ducked from Eve's sudden pounce from the bushes beside him, then she sailed over him and continued running through the trees, hunting her prey.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Anyway, let's get this started." Kate said, then Garth and Lilly nervously shuffled their paws, "Something wrong?"
"It's just that I've never done this before." Lilly said, then chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, and I'm too big of a chicken to do it, because of your mother." Garth added, "And do not tell the coyote that."
"My lips are sealed, Garth." Kate replied, then sighed, "Alright."
Kate moved over to her sister, then suddenly pushed her onto the ground and lifted her rear into the air.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Lilly exclaimed, as she lay there with her chest planted onto the ground and her hindlegs spread apart.
"You wanted pups, didn't you?" Kate asked, then looked over to Garth, "Now, get over here, Chicken!"
"Uhh, I think I'll actually opt out this time." Garth said, nervously.
"If you don't get over here and give my sister the family she deserves…" Kate warned, "…I'll remove the part of your body that makes you a male, capisce?"
Garth gulped, "I-I-I still think-" He started, then stopped himself when Kate unsheathed a claw, "You know what? If it's what my flower wants…"
Garth nuzzled Lilly's nose affectionately, then moved behind her before placing his front paws on her hips and mounting her.
# # # # # # # # # #
Humphrey was breathing heavily, as he was running out of breath, but his fear of Eve kept pushing him further. Eve was only a few feet behind and gaining on him. She growled, then jumped forward and pinned Humphrey to the ground.
"Ahh!" Humphrey screamed, "Please don't kill me! I swear that whatever it was Kate told you, I can explain! You're overreacting!"
Eve snarled in his ear and he whimpered, "Oh, she told me plenty." She growled, "She told me you cheated on her."
"What?!" Humphrey exclaimed, "You know me, Ma'am! I would never cheat on Kate!"
"I used to know you, Hum-phrey." Eve said, saying his name in disgust, "Now I know, you're just like any other male. Take 'em and leave 'em."
"I-I-I would never!" Humphrey shouted, then gulped, as Eve unsheathed her claws and placed them on his neck.
"Any last words?" Eve asked. Humphrey started hyperventilating from fright, as he panicked.
"Eve?" A male voice asked, then both Eve and Humphrey looked up to see Winston approaching them.
Oh, crud. Humphrey thought to himself.
"What are you doing, Honey?" Winston asked.
Eve smiled, "Dear, Kate has told me that she caught Humphrey cheating on her with another female." She explained, "And I'm giving him the punishment he so richly deserves."
Winston shook his head, "I don't believe that Humphrey would do that." He said, then looked down at Humphrey, "Would you?"
Humphrey rapidly shook his head, "Never, Sir." He answered.
"Okay, then why do you think Kate told my mate that you cheated on her?" Winston asked. Humphrey thought to himself until he remembered last night's conversation and Kate's plan that she didn't tell him, so he figured this must've been her plan.
So, this was her plan. He thought to himself
"Uhh…" Humphrey stammered, "She threatened me not to tell."
Eve growled into his ear, "You better tell us, or I'll do worse than what she threatened." She warned.
"Somehow, I doubt that." Humphrey replied, then whispered into her ear. Winston watched, as Eve widened her eyes and she gulped. Humphrey stopped whispering, then Eve got off of Humphrey and approached her mate.
Winston looked at his mate with a worried expression, "Are you alright?" He asked, "What did he say?"
Eve stopped beside him, "Something I'm not willing to repeat." She answered, then nodded, "Let's just say, there's no way I can top what our daughter came up with. Seems she made sure that Humphrey would never tell, no matter what I threatened."
Winston chuckled, "Yep, she's your daughter alright." He said, then he noticed Eve looking around, "Something wrong?"
"He escaped." She growled. Winston looked around and noticed Humphrey had run off, presumably while they were talking just a few moments ago.
# # # # # # # # # #
The feeling was very new to Lilly, as Garth moved on her, while her chest was still planted on the ground. The pair were in absolute bliss, as they. Kate was giving her sister and Garth some privacy, while she walked along the edge of the clearing to make sure no one was spying. That…and to make sure no one would squeal to her mother, who would most likely murderize Garth in the most gruesome way possible. Lilly suddenly screamed in pleasure, scaring dozens of birds from the trees nearby, and Kate mentally chuckled to herself.
She's got a good set of pipes, that's for sure. She thought, as she continued walking around the clearing. After a few minutes, she noticed that her sister and Garth were finished, so she approached them.
"Is everything going well?" Kate asked, while Lilly and Garth panted heavily with beads of sweat dripping off of them, "Looks like you two had fun."
Lilly groaned, as Garth pulled, then she moaned when Garth dismounted her. She fell to the ground exhausted, as Garth laid down beside her.
"Do you think it worked?" Lilly asked.
Kate shrugged, "You'll find out in a few days." She answered, "Now, you both better wash up before Mom smells you. You, Lilly, screamed so loudly that I doubt there's a creature in Sawtooth who didn't hear you."
Lilly chuckled, sheepishly, "Sorry." She replied.
Kate smiled, "Don't be." She said, "It means Garth knows how to pleasure you. Now, go to the lake and wash up."
Lilly and Garth picked themselves up, then headed to the nearby lake, but Kate stopped them.
"Oh, yeah." She said, "Watch out for a toad in that lake. It likes to stick its tongue out at you."
The two of them nodded, then continued on their way to the lake.
Now I better find Humphrey and hope to Fenrir that Mom didn't catch him. Kate thought, then ran off in the direction she last saw her mother chasing her mate.
# # # # # # # # # #
Richie was back at the campfire, attempting to cook breakfast, while Mike was out collecting firewood. Ben and Beverly were sitting by the fire with their daughter, who was playing with an imaginary friend of hers.
"Has anyone seen Bill anywhere?" Richie asked, "I haven't seen him since last night."
"He was up early this morning." Beverly said, "I think he had a nightmare or something, 'cause he was screaming and yelling at…something."
"Well, I'm sure that if it was important, he would tell us." Ben said, "Right?"
"I hope so." Beverly replied, "But where is he, by the way?"
# # # # # # # # # #
Bill was a few miles away from their campsite, hiking along a trail, when a gray wolf suddenly ran up and crashed into him. He landed on his back with the wolf standing on top of him, as they stared into each other's eyes, each equally fearful of the other. A golden-tan she-wolf ran out of the bushes.
"Get back here, Humphrey!" She growled, then froze once she spotted the human. Bill stared at the she-wolf in shock, then a second golden-tan she-wolf suddenly ran out of the trees. Bill recognized the second one as the same one from last night.
"Humphrey…" Kate said, "Just, uhh…don't move."
"Not moving." Humphrey said, nervously, as Bill stared at the three of them in bewilderment. Bill saw an older wolf calmly approach and stand above him, then he brought his paw down onto Bill's head and knocked him out.
"There." Winston said, "That's how you deal with that. Now, let's get out of here before more of them arrive."
Humphrey climbed off of the human and went with his mate, then yelped in fright when Eve snapped her jaws at him. Winston followed them into the trees and the four of them headed back to the pack area.
Few hours later
A green ATV drove up beside Bill's unconscious form, then a one-armed man, wearing a ranger's uniform, climbed out. He approached Bill and kneeled down beside him, then grabbed a good hold on Bill's arm and swung him over his shoulder. The man brought Bill over to the ATV and buckled him into the passenger's seat, then walked around and got back into the driver's seat. They drove off back towards the campground.
# # # # # # # # # #
Richie pulled the frying pan from its place above the campfire and dropped its contents onto separate plates. He handed one each to the others, keeping one for himself.
"Here you go." He said, "Breakfast is served."
"I thought you were going to make pancakes?" Beverly asked, as she gestured to the eggs on her plate.
Richie chuckled, nervously, "I tried." He answered, "Didn't turn out too well. So, I made bacon and eggs instead."
"Then, where's the bacon?" Ben asked, then Richie pointed to three wolf pups on the other side of the clearing scarfing down a pile of bacon, while Maggie gave them pets. Runt had gotten hungry, so he decided to come here for more food, but his siblings had followed him as well. Richie had taken pity on them and gave them the bacon he was frying for breakfast.
"You do know, you're not supposed to feed the wildlife, right?" Mike asked, "I mean, this is exactly why. I've seen it with pigeons. You give one a fry and dozens more will come by, expecting food."
"I know." Richie said, "So, don't tell anybody."
A ranger's ATV drove up from the trail and parked in the campsite. The four of them recognized the unconscious form of Bill in the passenger seat and Ben stood up to help him out of the vehicle. They also saw a one-armed man climb out of the vehicle and effortlessly pick up Bill. Ben just stood there, as the man placed Bill onto one of the folding chairs.
"What happened?" Beverly asked, worried.
"Found him on one of the trails, while I was doing my rounds." The man explained, "He's unconscious, but should be waking up anytime soon."
Bill suddenly groaned, "Ohh, my head." He muttered, as he raised his hands up to his head.
"Also, feeding the wildlife is prohibited." The man added, referring to the three wolf pups eating the pile of bacon, "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but don't let it happen again."
"Wait…" Bill muttered, "What happened? All I remember was being attacked by wolves."
"You were attacked?" The man asked.
"Well, not exactly." Bill corrected, "More like, one was being chased by another and he just happened to crash into me. Then, two more came by and…"
Bill widened his eyes, "They knocked me out." He said, surprised, "That was strange."
"Hm, well, if you have any more problems with the wildlife, be sure to let one of us know." The man said.
"We will." Beverly replied, "Thank you, Ranger…what's your name?"
"Denbrough." The man answered, making the group enlarge their eyes in shock. He must've noticed, shown by the frown on his face.
"What?" He asked, "Something wrong?"
Beverly shook her head, "Uhh, no." She answered, "Just that Bill here has the exact same last name and…now seeing it, you both look very similar. You don't happen to be related, do you?"
"I don't see how that's possible." Mr. Denbrough said, "I've only known a life in foster homes until I grew old enough to be on my own with the help of a social worker. Now, you lot, have a good day."
He climbed back into his ATV, then drove off before the others could say anything more. Bill was thinking to himself.
His name's Denbrough. He and I look a lot alike. He pondered, He also has one arm, but…wait, that was just It's hallucinations…or was it? Can it be?
"Bill?" Beverly asked, then shook him out of his trance.
"Wh-What?" He asked, confused.
"Are you alright?" She asked, "You zoned out there for a minute."
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Bill answered, "I was just thinking."
"Thinking about what?" Beverly asked, then Bill stood up and clapped his hands together.
"Thinking that we should all go for a hike." Bill said, enthusiastically, "What do you say?"
"Yay!" Maggie exclaimed, "Can we take Stinky, Claudette, and Runt?"
"Uhh, who?" Beverly asked, then her daughter gestured to the three wolf pups and she sighed, "Sweetie, don't name them."
"I didn't." Maggie said, "Those are their names. They told me."
"Oh, okay." Beverly replied, unsure about that response, but she shrugged it off as just her daughter's imagination, "Uhh, then only if they want to. I'm sure they want to go back home soon."
"No, they said they're good for a few more hours." Maggie said.
"Oh." Beverly muttered, "Well, let's go then."
The group of five, plus Maggie and the pups, then headed towards the trail to take a scenic hike.
# # # # # # # # # #
In a lake nearby the pack area, Lilly and Garth were soaking in the water, while basking in the sun's evening glow. They had already washed up from their previous activities, but they decided to stay and enjoy the cool water on their fur. Garth floated out into the deeper water and Lilly got a devilish idea. She swam up beside her mate and before he could process what happened, Lilly had pushed him down into the water.
He burst from the surface a few moments later, coughing up water, while his mate was dying of laughter. Garth grew a smile on his face, then pushed up out of the water and landed back into the lake with a big splash. A small tidal wave was sent towards Lilly, which picked her up and dropped her on the lakeshore. She didn't appear to be moving, so Garth quickly ran up to her side with a worried expression.
"Lilly?" He asked, "Are you alright?"
Lilly didn't answer and Garth began to panic, "Oh, no." He muttered, "Eve is gonna kill me. Uhh…what do I do? What should I do?"
"Garth." Lilly muttered, weakly, then muttered something else that Garth didn't hear, so he knelt down beside her.
"What was that?" He asked.
"I said, give me your face." Lilly muttered. Garth frowned, then Lilly suddenly shot a stream of water out of her mouth, which sprayed Garth's face. He reeled back in surprise and Lilly burst out laughing at her own prank.
"Oh, I got you good!" Lilly exclaimed, between fits of laughter, "You should've seen your face!"
Garth huffed, then a smile formed on his face and he chuckled, "Yeah, I guess you did." He said, "I see you've been spending a lot of time with Humphrey."
Lilly gasped and he frowned, "What?" He asked, "It was just an observation."
His mate suddenly jumped to her feet and ran by him towards a small turtle that had fallen onto its back during Garth's tidal wave. She grew a worried expression on her face when she found the turtle wasn't breathing. Placing her paw on the turtle's underside, Lilly started to do tiny chest compressions. Garth watched, as she also put her lips on the turtle's and breathed oxygen into its tiny lungs. He grew a disgusted expression on his face, as he thought about how many times Lilly might've done this before…maybe even right before they made out. And just like that, Garth ran to a nearby bush to empty out the contents of his stomach, then headed to the lake to wash his mouth out.
The turtle started breathing again, then Lilly smiled before flipping it back onto its feet.
"There you go, little buddy." She said, as she watched it crawl back to the water, "I apologize for what my mate did earlier. It won't happen again."
The turtle didn't seem to care, as it submerged underwater. Lilly approached her mate, as he gulped water down and spat it back out.
"Garth?" She asked in a sweet tone, "What are you doing?"
Garth stopped washing his mouth out and turned towards his mate, "Uhh…" He stammered, then Lilly chuckled.
"It's alright, Dear." She said, then nodded, "I need to wash my mouth out as well now."
Lilly dunked her head underwater and blew bubbles, then pulled her head out again and shook dry.
"There. All done." She said, "Now, let's get home. I'm sure Mom and Dad are waiting for us by now."
"Uhh…right." Garth replied, then followed after her to the pack area. They found the rest of their family, minus their niece and nephews, waiting for them with a large caribou in the feeding grounds.
"Well, there you two are." Kate said, giving them a wink that went unnoticed by the others, "We were beginning to worry."
Lilly chuckled, "Sorry, got held up." She replied, as she and Garth sat down with the others.
"Oh? How come?" Eve asked.
"We were having fun at the lake and a turtle happened to be caught in our wake." Lilly explained, then Eve growled.
"What kind of fun?" She asked, glaring at Garth.
"The splashing-around-in-the-water kind of fun." Lilly answered, "And I can take care of myself, Mom. Thank you, but no thank you."
Eve's ears flicked at that comment, then there was silence.
"Awkward." Humphrey muttered in a slightly squeaky voice. Kate elbowed her mate in the side and he grunted from the pain.
"Ow!" He exclaimed, "What did I do?"
"Shut up." Kate whispered in a tone that said, You'll get your punishment later.
"How about everyone just dig in?" Winston suggested, "Does that sound good?"
"No, I want to know just what you meant by that, Lillian." Eve said to her daughter, "Care to explain?"
"Maybe it's because I don't want you controlling my life anymore, Mother." Lilly replied, "Maybe it's because I want to have a family of my own, but you won't let me!"
Eve blinked, "Sweetie, I'm just-" She started, but Lilly cut her off.
"I don't care!" She shouted, as a crowd had begun to gather. After all, it's not every day you get to witness an innocent flower like Lilly snap at her parents.
"I don't want to be kept inside a den for another two months straight just because you want to 'protect' your youngest daughter!" Lilly snapped, "I want pups! And I'll get them, even if I have to rape my mate to do it!"
Garth enlarged his eyes in surprise at that comment, but Lilly wasn't done.
"In fact!" She shouted, "I've already entered my heat cycle and we've already mated! Whether you like it or not, I'm having pups!"
A low growl emanated from Eve's throat and Garth backed away from fright, "You…what?!" Eve snapped.
A/N: I'm going to cut it short there, because this chapter is already over 5,000 words. I wonder what's going to happen next? (I know what's going to happen next, but that's beside the point.) Next chapter will be quite gory, or at least as gory as I can make it, Lol. So, fair warning.
Unfortunately, I'm already running low on data again. I know…but the good news is that it lasted longer this month than last time, and I know exactly what the problem is, so it shouldn't be a problem next month. Hopefully…
I'll most likely run out of data before I finish the next chapter, in fact, I was surprised that I had enough to post this one. I'll continue writing the chapters over the next two weeks, then post them on the 24th. Should have about two or three more chapters finished by that time. Please Review and…
Till next time,
-Demonwolf102
P.S. If you're familiar with Stephen King's Dark Tower series (which I'm really not, Lol), see if you can find Maturin the Turtle's cameo appearance in this chapter. It's quite subtle, unless you've noticed it already. Good luck hunting!
