Author's Note: Wow... nearly a year and a half and no updates. I'm sure most of you probably hate me. I know, I know... but as I've said before, inspiration is unkind to me. I've written this chapter 12 different times, each time taking the plot in a different direction and each time I've been too afraid to post it. I don't know... I'm kind of reaching the point where I don't want to disappoint but it seems like everyone likes the next chapter more than the one before it. The bar gets higher and higher and I get more and more nervous to post. HOWEVER, I do really enjoy writing and I kind of miss reading little reviews. SO! I really hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you look forward for what's to come! Please drop a review and I promise I'll try to post another chapter within the next month or so. Cheers!

Lilly jolted awake in an empty den she didn't recognize. What had happened? Where was she? The last thing she could remember was… was…

Nothing.

Try hard as she might, she couldn't remember what had happened at all. What day was it? How long had she been asleep?

"Lilly? Are you awake?" Garth's voice echoed in the den, coming from the entrance.

Lilly smiled. Garth was here! She frantically smoothed over her ruffled fur and sat up, trying to keep her back straight and look as presentable as possible. "Y-yeah, I'm awake."

Garth walked into the den and looked at her closely, checking if she was okay. She had to resist the urge to blush a little and look away. "What's the matter, Garth?"

Garth took a deep breath. "Okay… don't say anything… I just need to speak. After I'm done, you can say whatever you want, but I beg you, just let me finish."

Lilly flattened her ears and frowned. What was this about? Did Garth know that she liked him and was trying to reject her as nicely as possible? Oh, she was such an idiot… she should've known she wouldn't stand a chance with an Alpha.

"Lilly… what happened with your sister… I just… I didn't have a choice, okay? I'm an Alpha, and this whole issue between the packs is a big deal. I mean, it was either go through with it or start a war… and I don't think anyone wanted to fight. You can understand that, right? I mean, you're an Omega, keeping the peace is your job. I was just… trying to… make things right."

Lilly raised an eyebrow and interrupted him. "Garth… just what the hell are you talking about?"

Garth tilted his head in confusion. "I'm talking about… what happened… with me… and your sister?"

Lilly's head drooped. "Oh… yeah. You have to marry her, right? To protect the packs? No… it makes perfect sense. I was just… I don't know, I just thought that maybe… I don't know what I thought…"

Garth was still confused. "Lilly… what happened last night?"

Lilly looked up at Garth with a quizzical expression. "I… I don't know. I was actually hoping you'd tell me that. When I woke up… everything was kind of just… blank. But… if I remember right, you're supposed to be marrying my sister in a couple of days."

"Kate must've hit you on the head really hard…" Garth muttered softly. Lilly laughed softly, the sound sweet and melodious to Garth's ears. "Yeah, she plays too rough. I always tell her that, but Alphas will be Alphas, right?"

Garth couldn't believe it. Lilly didn't remember anything. Everything that had happened in what seems like the past month has been completely wiped from her mind. Garth thought hard about what to do. Should he tell her everything? Or should he embrace this gift of amnesia? He could just… tell her he loves her, and figure out a way to be with her. But what about Kate, what would happen to her? Garth was pretty sure Humphrey was beyond redemption, and even though he didn't love Kate, he felt really bad for her. She may end up having to kill the wolf she loves, and then… she'd be alone forever. Married by title to him, although he'd rather spend his affections on her sister.

"G-Garth… it's okay if you marry my sister. I mean… I get it. She's an Alpha, you're an Alpha. She's pretty, you're… you're just… you're dreamy. It just makes sense. I just… I want you to know that, for a moment, I'm glad I got to pretend that I was the most important wolf for someone like you. Me… an Omega… got to believe that I really mattered to an Alpha."

Garth's heart ached at hearing her say that. Damn the consequences, he couldn't let Lilly believe that he would choose to walk away from her if it was purely his decision. "Lilly, there's no pretending. You are the most important wolf for me. I love you… I really do. But this whole situation is more than just about me and you. If you'll have me, I'd rather give all my love to you."

Lilly's eyes widened in surprise. She'd never thought that Garth would ever tell her something like that. Her heart fluttered as she imagined nuzzling his nose, being his little Omega forever. So what if he was going to actually marry her sister? What mattered to her was how he really felt… and even if that meant she had to keep their relationship a secret… she didn't care. Kate's a proud, strong Alpha. Their parents loved and cherished her endlessly as the future leader of the pack. Kate had everything. For once, Lilly wanted something… someone she could call her own. Everything else be damned, nobody made her feel the way Garth had.

A tingle in the back of her head ached Lilly's skull. When she closed her eyes in pain, piercing blue eyes stared at her with hurt and the shrill cry of a lonely howl echoed in her head.

Lilly shook her head to dispel the vision and gently massaged her head with one paw. What was that? It made her heart ache softly before she shook it off and smiled at Garth. "I love you, Garth…"

Garth's heart warmed at hearing those words from Lilly, even as a small sense of dread crept within him. He didn't care. Lilly was here with him now, accepting him. That was all that mattered to Garth. He would deal with everything else as it happened; he was not losing Lilly after he was given this second chance.

Kate and Humphrey approached Jasper and Garth was out to meet Kate. He narrowed his eyes menacingly at Humphrey. "What's it doing here, Kate? It's not safe."

"He is fine, Garth… at least for the moment. I'm not going to kill him if he's not out to hurt anyone, and as of right now, he's in control. He wants to speak to Lilly."

Garth only got angrier. "He's gonna hurt her. Didn't you knock her out so we could drag her away from him?"

Kate sighed. "I did… but I was a little frantic with worry for her and I was wrong. Humphrey's fine now and he really wants to see Lilly. And unless you want a feral wolf, one that's capable of kicking both our asses and who knows how many others, rampaging around Jasper… I'd suggest you let him see her."

Garth took a deep breath. "Fine, Coyote… you can see her, but I want you caged and we'll bring her to you."

Kate snarled a little at Garth. "Garth! Behave. Humphrey's not doing anything right now, you're being an ass."

Humphrey placed a paw on Kate's shoulder. "It's okay Kate. I'll listen. I'll be honest, I don't think any cage short of a steel box will hold whatever it is that's inside me, but if that's what it takes, I'll oblige."

Kate frowned. "Humphrey… I'm not gonna let them treat you like a monster. You're a part of our pack. You always have been. I grew up with you. You're a part of our family… not some freak…"

Humphrey shook his head. "It's fine, Kate. Drop it. I'll go."

Garth tilted his head at Candu who was a little ways off from where they were talking. "Take the feral over to the cage and leave him in there. We'll bring Lilly over to speak with him when she's ready."

Candu walked cautiously, leading Humphrey over to a fortified den that the Alphas spent time building in case they managed to capture Humphrey rather than kill him. As they walked through Jasper, Humphrey managed to catch a glimpse of Salty, Shakey and Mooch log sledding down a hill. However, without Humphrey at the front "piloting", he watched them crash into a large rock. He smiled as he recalled having fun with them.

One day I'll be able to go back to that.

I'd rather you have us killed. It's disgusting watching you prance around like a carefree Omega. You're a wolf, not a gazelle.

Humphrey sighed. As soon as he spoke to Lilly, he'd be able to calm himself down enough to control the darkness. Right now, he was toeing a very thin line, and he suppressed every emotion, good or bad, in an effort to block off any moments of vulnerability where he would lose control. The numbness was so empty and cold and he hated being this way.

"He can't speak to Lilly." Garth said decisively.

"He has to. If he doesn't he's gonna lose control of himself again and who knows how much damage he could cause. Please, I promise you he won't hurt Lilly in any way, you just have to let him speak to her." Kate answered pleadingly.

Garth growled a little. "Why didn't you kill him, Kate? Why'd you bring him back here? You're putting everyone in Jasper in jeopardy by having him here, and I'm not gonna let Lilly near him if there's the slightest chance he could lose control and snap her neck."

Kate snarled at Garth "Lilly's been keeping him under control. She's been keeping him sane while he was out there on his own. I don't know how she managed to do it, but she can pull him out of the abyss and keep him from going crazy. And… and he loves her."

Kate barely managed to get that last sentence out. Garth's eyes filled with rage. "He what!?"

"He loves her. And I'm pretty sure she loves him too, if the way she was acting last night was any indication. She fought us tooth and nail to stay with Humphrey, why do you think that is?"

Garth's fury was nearly tangible as tension filled the air between them. "Fuck that, Kate. I love Lilly."

Kate raised an eyebrow even as her own anger began to mount. "Yeah, so? You can't make her happy. You already broke her heart, just like I broke Humphrey's. Both of them have moved on, Garth. If we're really concerned about them and care about them, we'll let them pursue the lives they want instead of trying to hold them back. We're married now, it's not like we can openly cater to the love we have for them in public. We have to let it go…"

Tears stung her eyes, even as she said this. Garth's rage only continued to grow. "I've already said… 'Fuck that'. I'm not letting Lilly run off with him. I just managed to get a second chance with her, and I'm not going to let that Coyote fuck it up for me!"

Kate's heart stopped. "What?"

Garth took a deep breath, something he was starting to grow accustomed to as tension and drama built up in every aspect of his life. "When you knocked your sister out last night… you wiped her slate clean. She doesn't remember anything that's happened in about the past month. She doesn't remember the marriage, running away, being with Humphrey… none of it."

Kate exhaled slowly as she thought about what Garth just said. "What did you tell her?"

Garth looked down, feeling slightly ashamed now that he was being confronted about his actions, which he knew weren't the smartest nor the best actions to take. "I let her believe what she believes… and I told her that I loved her."

Kate put her paws on her head as she groaned. "What did she say?"

"She said that it was okay for us to get married, so long as she knew that I only loved her. I accepted… because even though we're married, I still love your sister. I'm sorry Kate, but I'm not letting Humphrey screw up my second chance with Lilly. Call me selfish, but I love her too much…"

Kate shook her head as she tried to think of what she should do. "What are you going to do if her memory comes back? What are we going to do about Humphrey? Garth, do you know how big of a lie you just put together? It's a life changing lie for all four of us, not to mention how the other wolves of the pack will take it. This is not going to end well."

Garth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't care. If you had the chance to make things up with Humphrey, to have him love you despite the fact that you were married out of duty, wouldn't you want to at least give it a try and make it work?"

Kate sighed as she realized that she would. Kate wanted more than anything to forget everything else and just be with Humphrey. She loved him so much, but she had treated him so badly. If given the opportunity to make it up to him, she'd want nothing more than to spend the rest of her life showing Humphrey just how much she cared about him.

But she didn't have that chance… and it wasn't Humphrey that forgot about everything, it was Lilly. Humphrey wouldn't be able to handle it if Lilly walked away from Humphrey. It would destroy him. He had just managed to heal and her sister had just helped Humphrey lick his wounds and now he was about to find out that she doesn't remember any of it…

Kate didn't want to see Humphrey suffer again. But what choice did she have? It's not like Kate could just make her sister remember. Humphrey would be crushed. The demon feral wolf inside him would take over him forever. Getting hurt so severely right after he had just healed with Lilly's help… Nobody would be able to stand something like that. Kate's heart ached for Humphrey. Tears began to flow from her eyes as Kate tried desperately to find a way to keep Humphrey from being hurt again.

Garth sighed as Kate wept in front of him for the suffering that would fall upon the Omega she loved. Garth moved close to her and wrapped a paw around her head, pulling her down to his chest as she cried. "I'm sorry Kate. I'm sorry things had to be like this." Garth's love for Lilly was so strong that he didn't regret lying to Lilly for another chance to be with her. But he wasn't so heartless as to be unsympathetic to the pain his actions may have caused.

Kate's tears wouldn't stop and the two Alphas seemed to share that embrace forever, lost in each other and just thinking the same thing…

What the fuck are we gonna do?