Alpha and Omega: After Realization

Chapter 5: It's Your Decision

The night sky began to fade as the first small sparkle of light from the sun appeared over the mountains. Although it was very early in the morning, Lilly had found herself awake with her head still atop a sleeping Humphrey as he gave small breaths as he slept. Lilly could still recount what had happened during the night and could not believe the events that had transpired, she felt like it was all a dream.

But it really did happen spoke Lilly's mind.

She hadn't moved since waking up and as she took notice of the slow rising sun, she remembered what Humphrey had told him about staying over at the den that they had until the earliest in the morning to not be with each other when Kate comes back. She looked down at Humphrey and stared at him as he kept on sleeping, but she didn't have time for that, she had to be gone now. She lifted her head from his and carefully slid her arms and paws beneath his head so as to not wake him. She started to make her way out of the den and get back to her parents den when she stopped and looked back. Humphrey remained asleep and didn't even notice that Lilly had left him alone, but she smiled at him.

"I'll see you later Humphrey" whispered Lilly.

She kept her eyes on Humphrey for another four seconds and then made her way back to the den.

Now I have to make an excuse to tell my parents reminded Lilly's thoughts.

At the edge of the forest and exiting from a den was good old Jack as he barely made his way back to his parents den, but he was walking very dizzy and could hardly keep himself balanced as he shifted from side to side.

"Man, next time I'll settle for a single date instead" said Jack as he kept on attempting to walk.

He looked up to the sky and saw the sun's rays make a small sparkle, telling him that it was really early in the morning.

"Oh well, I've done worse. I could have woken up in the late afternoon"

Jack made his way to the den and although he barely stood up walking, he reached the slope of the den and started upwards. As he made his way up, he saw someone else coming up the slope and tried to make out who it was. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Lilly.

"Top of the morning Lilly" greeted Jack to his sister.

Lilly recognized Jack and smiled in response when she saw her brother, a friendly and familiar face. She now came to realize that they were both coming back home late and would have to do the same thing when facing their parents.

"Morning Jack, hey listen, if mom and dad ask about where I was the whole night…"

"Don't worry sis, I'm in the same bowl as you know, we'll both tell them about last night" said Jack.

"What about last night?" asked voice.

"Well you see, last night was…was…uh"

Jack had turned his head to speak to the voice that had spoken to him, but he began to worry some when he saw his mother Eve standing at the entrance of the den.

"Oh, hello mom" said Lilly in almost a whisper.

"Good morning mom, how are you today?" spoke Jack.

"Well I'm fine and thank you for asking, but you and Lilly both seemed to have stayed out a little late don't you think?" said Eve.

Lilly and Jack looked from each other then back to Eve, trying to figure out what they would have to say to answer her question.

"Uh…well, I was…was…"

Lilly didn't start out right and Eve was already concentrating on her as she waited for her response, but Lilly was too nervous to finish her words, especially because she didn't want to say anything.

"We simply forgot about the time and over enjoyed ourselves at the Moonlight Howl"

Eve and Lilly turned their attention to Jack who had spoken to finish Lilly's words for her.

"What do you mean by that Jack?" asked Eve.

"Well, with all the cheers and celebration last night, we just spent the night celebrating and just…passed out from being so tired" said Jack.

Eve gave Jack a raised eyebrow as her response, but Lilly took the chance that Jack was giving her to help him out in making their excuse believable.

"Yeah, I guess I just passed out from all the partying and howling that…well…we stayed out late" replied Lilly.

Eve gave her attention to Lilly and since she was her daughter, she always gave her trust in Lilly's innocent words. She simply smiled to both of them and sighed.

"Well…at least I know you're both safe and that you had a good time at your celebration Jack, and you did great in watching out for your young sister" said Eve.

"Don't worry about it, I'm here for anyone in my family who needs me, no matter what" said Jack as he turned to Lilly and gave her his own thumbs up with his paw.

Lilly felt touched that she now had a brother, her first brother, who she could count on if things ever got hard for her. Eve accepted Jack's statement and removed any worries from her mind.

"Good then, I'll be going out for a walk, your father already left early this morning too. You two take it easy and we'll be back soon, maybe with some dinner too" said Eve as she winked at Lilly.

Lilly only smiled back at her mother, knowing that her furious side was something she did not want to face, especially if she knew the truth. Eve then set on out and walked down the slope to enjoy her early walk and later, maybe a little hunting if lucky. Jack came over to Lilly and patted her on the back.

"We survived, last thing mom needs to know is that I stayed out" said Jack.

"What kept you out so late Jack?" asked Lilly.

Jack paused for a second to take in the question and turned his head at least once as if he were nervous to give the answer.

"Let's just say…I really need to be careful with who I…sleep over with"

Jack gave another wink to Lilly before he made his way into the den.

"Now if you'll excuse me dear Lilly, Jack needs to lie down for a while"

"Me too" said Lilly.

They both entered their parents den and found separate spots at the back of the den to sleep rest, with Jack taking the right side and Lilly the left. As Lilly began to lay herself down, she suddenly felt a sharp quick pain come over her for a second and yelped.

"You okay Lil?" asked Jack.

"Yeah, just a little sore I guess" answered Lilly.

How could she not be sore, her ass was still in some pain from last night's pounding in Humphrey's den and although she had enjoyed the pain last night, the morning didn't seem quite so good to her now.

"Just take a good rest and that soreness will go away" said Jack as he lay down, but he also felt some pain and gave a grunt when he rested himself.

"You too?"

"Like I said…sleep over"

While Jack and Lilly took their much deserved rest, the morning still had some very interesting events transpiring right now. As the sun made its slow advance into the sky, Kate and Garth were making their way through the forest from the north back home to their territories. They were exhausted from last night's encounter with the mysterious white flash that had escaped them at blinding speeds that no wolf could match. They were both worn out, but they still kept their minds on the encounter from the night.

"What do you think it might have been?" asked Garth.

Kate had her head down and seemed to be stressed from the patrolling that she did, but she nonetheless answered his question.

"Don't know…it was unlike anything I've seen"

"I mean, what could possibly run so fast as to outrun us?" said Garth.

"An alpha wolf can run really fast, but not like what we saw, it got away in a flash" said Kate.

Kate and Garth continued their walk back to the territory when their names were called out from the distance.

"Kate! Garth!"

They both turned their attention to whoever had called their names and they were relieved to see that it was both Winston and Eve. Winston approached them and gave them a smile.

"I see you both worked really hard last night, good work you two" said Winston.

"Anything happen?" asked Eve.

Kate and Garth looked at each other at hearing the question and they knew that they had to tell Winston about what they had found or at least what they had seen.

"Everything went great, but we did run into something last night" said Kate.

"A wolf?" asked Winston.

"I wouldn't say a wolf...not like what we saw, it was something that was really fast" said Kate.

"How fast Kate?"

"I don't know dad, all we saw was a white flash that jumped from a couple of bushes and we both went after it, but it just…got faster in seconds and disappeared into the forest heading to the north" stated Kate.

"It's something that is not normal" added Garth.

Winston and Eve were both stunned at hearing the news.

What could possibly run so fast that it could disappear thought Winston and Eve.

"You didn't get hurt while chasing after this…thing did you honey?" asked Eve.

"No mom, we just chased after it but it got away"

Winston showed a serious expression on his face and felt that whatever Kate and Garth saw last night was too dangerous for only two wolves to take on alone.

"Well then, I think this needs to be monitored until we know what exactly it that we are dealing with is. You two can go rest up for the rest of the day and get ready for tonight"

"Again sir?" asked Garth.

"Yes, but I think it will be better if this time, you each take three alphas with you for the night, that way it will be safer and probably easier to catch this…whatever it was" stated Winston.

Kate and Garth were worn out from last night and some rest sounded pretty good right now, but hearing the news that they had to go out tonight again sent sadness through them both. They really didn't want to spend another night out, they were thinking about spending time with their mates for once without any conflicts. Eve came up to Kate and put her paw on her shoulder.

"Don't be sad sweetie, I know it's hard for you, but we need to keep everyone in the pack safe" said Eve.

Kate could say the same, she wanted to spend time with Humphrey instead of patrolling again, but it was better to patrol every night than risk someone come into the territory and kill off one of them, like Humphrey. The same went for Garth, he would rather go through countless nights of patrolling to protect both his and the Western pack than let some creature come in and do harm to them, and Lilly.

"Okay sir, we'll go again tonight" said Garth.

Winston gave a nod of agreement towards Garth and Garth looked back at Kate.

"Looks like it'll be another tiring night, might as well get going and get some sleep"

"I'll see you again tonight Garth" said Kate.

Garth only smiled at her and then proceeded to go on walking passed them all, heading back to this pack in the east of Jasper. Kate watched as Garth left and suddenly gave a loud yawn, a sign that she really was tired.

"Go on Kate, go back to the den and catch some rest, you'll need it" spoke Eve.

Kate just let tears of sleepiness come out of her eyes and she only gave her mother a nod of agreement. She went on walking and headed on back to the den, leaving Winston and Eve to talk to each other about the matter.

"So…what do you think?" said Winston.

"What do we do about something that runs so fast, so fast that it suddenly vanishes from eyesight?" replied Eve.

"I don't even want to think about it, we both know that it was only a legend right?"

"And who says legends are just legends?" asked Eve.

She leaned closer to Winston and whispered her answer into his ear.

"No one"

Back at Humphrey's den, Humphrey was only beginning to wake up as the first rays of light from the sun reached his eyelids. He grunted as the light shone in his eyes and rolled over facing towards the den and avoided the light, which gave him some time to adjust his vision properly. He stretched out his legs and paws alike, with a bone or two making a small cracking sound to confirm the stretch. He gave a yawn and as he did, he rolled up in ball and hissed slightly as if in pain, which could be understood under the certain circumstances of what had happened last night. He felt the whole area around his "wolf" beat in a small but noticeable pain from last night when he had put the last of his energy to give into Lilly.

"It hurts, but at least it wasn't all for nothing" whispered Humphrey.

He could never bring himself to admit his secretly kept love for Lilly since the day he had first met her. It was during the winter that he had come to know Lilly since he never saw Kate until she had finished her alpha training at the time. He had gone after Kate when she had come back and ended up getting the relationship of his dreams, at least the dream he had when he was a young wolf. That dream was nothing more than a desire for someone only looked hot in his mind, but it was never about personality or anything else besides that. He had seen personality in Lilly and though he had forgotten about her for a while during his time married with Kate, there was always someone there to remind him and make sure he follows his heart where it truly leads. Humphrey stayed laid down and took the pain in his lower region; he knew he could handle it since it wasn't that big of a deal.

"I can take this no problem" said Humphrey.

Curled up into a ball, Humphrey stretched out and turned around to at least take on the sun and get the morning over with. He stared towards the entrance of the den and saw the shadow of someone coming in and although he was frightened at whom it was, he gave a big sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Kate, coming back from border patrol duty from last night.

"Kate, you're back" said Humphrey joyfully.

She stood himself up and walked to her to embrace her in a warm hug, and although she felt so tired, Kate brought a smile to her face as Humphrey welcomed her back with the hug. She lifted her arms up too and returned his embrace, only a bit tighter than his.

"Hello Humphrey, I missed you all last night" said Kate.

Humphrey didn't know what to say to her after and with the events of last night having happened in the same den they were in now, his mind began to fill up with worrisome thoughts as to what might happen.

"So, how did the whole night patrol thing go?" asked Humphrey happily.

Kate was still embracing him and pondered his question in her mind, trying to figure out what to respond. Kate did not want to worry Humphrey as to what might be out in the forest as her mind flashed with images of the white flash that she and Garth encountered.

"Well…um…there's wasn't anything that seemed fun I guess, it's not like work is fun if it's serious right?" said Kate.

Humphrey could go along with what she said; after all, who said that work was fun if it needed someone to be serious always. He could only imagine how she felt the whole night with just patrolling the border and not being able to do anything entertaining at all. Kate only kept on hugging Humphrey for a moment longer before she slowly released him and as she did, she gave out a yawn, expressing her tiredness.

"Sleepy Kate?" asked Humphrey.

"Yeah, I have to go back to patrolling the border again tonight, Dad says it's important to make sure there's nothing threatening out there" said Kate.

"Is there something threatening?"

"No not really, but I have to go back to patrolling with Garth just to make sure, I'll also be taking three alphas with me to help out this time anyway" replied Kate.

"Well, it's good to know that you're not going at it alone this time. How about you get some sleep? Got to rest up before the long night right?" said Humphrey.

"You're right; I'll get some rest then…sweet dreams Humphrey"

Kate only let out another yawn after talking to Humphrey and just made her way to the back of the den to lay down for her rest. Humphrey couldn't believe that Kate was going back to patrolling tonight and he didn't know whether to see it was a good thing or a bad thing. His mind was now a storm blowing a lot of debris of what he had locked up in there, not knowing what to make of the situation and that upset him inside. He watched her as she closed her eyes quickly and fell asleep, which left him with only to walk out of the den to see what he could do today. He walked down to the lake and took a drink to satisfy a small thirst he was having, but also guess it was all from what occurred. As he finished up his drink, his mind only kept on going in a complete cycle of asking himself on what to do with his relationship. He needed someone he could trust to talk to about the situation and hope that nothing goes wrong afterwards, but he couldn't think of anyone who would be able to hear him out and not say a word as to what he was getting into after so long. He kept thinking and as he stared into the lake water, he suddenly remembered something he had been told.

"Just know one thing Humphrey, I'm here to help. If you need anything, anything at all, just come to me"

Humphrey got a spark in his head and although he smiled at what he now knew of what he could do, he didn't like the possibility that it could turn out differently than what he was thinking.

"It couldn't hurt…much" said Humphrey as he started to walk to Winston and Eve's den up on the slope.

He quietly walked to the entrance of the den and made sure to be careful as he peeked into the den. He didn't see anyone in the den and he suspected that Winston and Eve had gone out to either take a walk or hunt for food, which he was glad for. He then heard a soft snoring sound coming from the back of the den, but he couldn't tell who it was. He made his way inside and looked around without making a sound and sure enough, he saw a wolf sleeping at the back and snoring. He got closer to see who it was and although he could have waited until he knew who it was, he took his chance and whispered the name.

"Jack" whispered Humphrey.

He had made the right choice and he could now see it was Jack who was sleeping and making all that snoring.

"Jack"

Jack shrugged around in his sleep as Humphrey called his name, but Humphrey needed Jack to wake up and he decided to wake him up himself.

"Jack!" said Humphrey.

Jack jumped from his sleep on all fours and started to go all panic like.

"No please, I don't want another round, my whole body still hurts and…"

Jack saw Humphrey standing in front of him and gazed at him for a moment.

"Oh…it's you…whew, don't wake me up so suddenly dude, I have brutal nightmares from time to time" said Jack as he calmed himself and straightened out.

"What was that all about?" asked Humphrey.

"What the whole…that was just…um…you could say that…um"

Humphrey only eyed Jack and raised his eyebrow at what he was trying to say. Jack only gave him a smile in response.

"Guilty as charged. I just had a rough night okay"

"I can see that, but I never thought you would freak out and say all that about it" said Humphrey.

"Listen amigo, when it comes to certain things like that, I'm not good at playing doubles alright?" replied Jack.

"I understand"

"But back to the main topic, what brings you to the den Humphrey" asked Jack.

"I just need to…talk to you…about something…if you have time you know"

Jack walked up to Humphrey and sat up to him.

"I'm always here to listen to what needs to be said and I'm understanding. You do know what I told you last night right?"

"Yeah"

"Then go at me friend, shoot" said Jack.

Humphrey began to explain his situation to Jack in the fullest of detail he could go, as far as some things that he tried to hint at and Jack only nodded his head without speaking to show he knew what he meant. Humphrey felt that his conversation with Jack was taking an eternity to finish, but Jack only had a serious expression since he started to talk and never once did he tell Humphrey to pause to ask a question or anything. Humphrey told Jack everything from how things started to where it led up as he even went as far as getting himself to tell Jack about last night after talking to him at the Moonlight Howl. Jack was always about being a fun and witty wolf, but through the whole conversation he just stayed serious. Humphrey said a few final words to Jack if he needed to know anything else.

"and that's pretty much…what happened" finished Humphrey.

Jack gave a nod at the end when Humphrey had finished speaking and put his paw under his muzzle, now seeming to think on what he had been told. Humphrey began to worry in his mind as he stared at Jack ponder on what he told him, but Humphrey had done it because Jack had told him that he was there for him if he ever needed something, that included being someone who would understand despite the reality of things. Jack only kept on pondering on the subject and did not even give Humphrey a word. After about three to four minutes, Jack put down his paw and focused his attention on Humphrey.

"Okay, so you're telling me that you married Kate, but because you and Lilly had something that started long before your whole hot girl crush on Kate, you have finally come back to this relationship and you truly love Lilly than Kate since you only liked her because of how she looked at the time right?" said Jack.

Humphrey only nodded his head and his face began to slightly blush at being told what was going on.

"And you truly, with all your heart and soul, love Lilly and love her enough to do anything to stay with her, no matter what right?" asked Jack.

"Of course" replied Humphrey.

Jack took in Humphrey's answer and after a second or two; he only smiled at Humphrey in his own gleeful way.

"Then I say you and Lilly should stay together amigo"

Humphrey was lost in utter confusion at Jack's response, he had been expecting Jack to get angry for cheating on one of his sisters to be with the other, but Jack only seemed to encourage him.

"Huh? I mean…I don't…aren't you like…mad?" said Humphrey.

Jack only stepped to Humphrey's side and put his arm about him.

"Listen Humphrey, I know that you're telling me that you are going against marriage and all that stuff, but like I asked, do you love Lilly so much that you would do anything for her?"

"Of course"

"Then that's all I need to know. If you loved Lilly from the very beginning before getting into this whole marriage, then nothing has to stop you. You see bro, I have come to respect a person's feelings towards another, as long as it real and not false" said Jack.

Jack then looked Humphrey in the eyes and pointed at them with his paw.

"And I can see the love in your eyes; I can see that sparkle in your eyes and even your heart that tells me you love her to the deepest extent. If that's not love, then what is mate?"

Humphrey couldn't believe that Jack was so understanding about his situation and the fact that he loved Lilly over his sister, but although he was happy about Jack's response, Humphrey needed to know what would happen now and later on.

"So…what'll happen now? I mean…I told you and Kate is your sister after all…I don't want to…"

Jack knew that Humphrey was afraid that he would spill the beans to Winston and Eve, but Jack had his own principals to follow.

"Don't worry about anything Humphrey, no one in this den and outside the den will know about this. I swear on my soul that no one will hear a single word from my mouth" reassured Jack.

"Really?" said Humphrey, his mood now excited being told those words.

"Of course, I will keep this to myself and to help you out, I will be here to help both you and Lilly keep that relationship together pal, okay?" said Jack.

Jack gave Humphrey a pat on the back and then proceeded to give him a brotherly hug.

"I congratulate you on your relationship bro, don't let her go, do anything and everything for her" said Jack.

Humphrey was beginning to tear up and had tears trickle down his face; he was just so overjoyed at the fact that Jack understood him and promised to give him the support he needed when he needed it. Jack let go his hug and looked at Humphrey as tears continued to come out of his eyes.

"Come on now, I don't want to see you cry, be happy. Now how about you go and find something fun to do while the day is still fresh" said Jack.

Humphrey had no words to say and only gave Jack a smile and a nod, after that he wiped his tears away with his paw and made his way to the entrance of the den to go out, but then Jack stopped him when he spoke to him again.

"Hey Humphrey, one last thing"

"Yeah?"

"Have you gotten any…well…any action on with her?" said Jack.

Humphrey did nothing more than blush and quickly made his way out of the den, leaving Jack to give himself a playful chuckle.

"Ah love, so strong to talk about, but not strong enough to tell me if it has been done"

Jack had come to realize that during their conversation, Lilly must have stepped out earlier before Humphrey came into the den, which was a good thing since she would need to know about this. Jack went back to lying down at the back of the den and kept everything that Humphrey had told him in his mind, which he now focused on.

"It is true love, but all true love has problems. This is definitely going to have issues, but I will need to find a way to help these two out. But how?"

Jack questioned himself on how he would tackle the problem and be able to help both his brother in law and his sister not because they were both family, but because both of them are truly in love with one another.

"More importantly, I need a backup plan if for any reason the worse were to happen" said Jack.

It was at that same moment that Lilly was walking in the forest, but she wasn't hunting or anything like that, she was merely enjoying the air and nature around her. She just couldn't help herself as she walked along and she couldn't stop from smiling, she was just full of joy and happiness. Lilly was still feeling warm and happy from her night with Humphrey and she knew someone would probably ask why she was acting like this, but she could not resist the feeling.

"I feel so great today" exclaimed Lilly.

She really did show off her excitement and happiness without the fear of someone overhearing her, that's how great her joy was right now. She even started to walk with her eyes closed and just went on with every step as if she could still see, but it was only her luck that kept her from hitting a tree or tripping over a log. She kept her eyes closed as she embraced her whole body in her newly found excitement when suddenly; she was hit in an instant from the front. The impact sent her backwards and she fell to the ground.

"Damn tree" said Lilly.

"Is that what you think of me?"

Lilly was busy squinting her eyes from the pain of the impact when she heard the voice and she immediately opened them to see who it was. She felt her heart race the fastest she had ever felt when she saw who it was now laying on top of her.

"I'm just a damn tree?" said Humphrey playfully after hearing Lilly before.

"Nnnn…no, I didn't mean to call you that, I love you Humphrey" said Lilly.

Humphrey kept on smiling as Lilly explained herself and then he leaned his head down until his nose made contact with hers and that's when she went silent. Lilly only stared into Humphrey's cool blue eyes and Humphrey did the same with her bright lavender eyes. They were both mesmerized by the moment as their eyes kept themselves on each other and they didn't even think for a second that someone would catch them in the moment.

"So, what are you doing out here?" asked Humphrey.

Lilly heard Humphrey's question, but she didn't respond as she kept her eyes on his and instead of speaking to him, she only lifted her head up and kissed his lips. Humphrey was taken by surprise by her kiss, but he took the kiss and returned it. Humphrey and Lilly were now locked in a kiss and once again, they had no fear as to who may be watching them, and they only cared about being with each other in this small moment. As they kissed, Lilly could not help herself as her lips stayed locked with his and she took her chance to enhance the moment, she proceeded to stick her tongue into Humphrey's mouth. Humphrey was taken back even more this time as he felt Lilly's tongue swirling around in his mouth and touching his, but this excited him even more. He felt his body heat up and he only found it in himself to respond to her with his own tongue.

Lilly's body heat was also rising and they were both now exploring each other's mouths as their tongues rubbed against each other's in a rough and passionate way. Humphrey was still on top of Lilly as they kissed when they heard a voice speak to them.

"Well, this is a rare scene right?"

Shit was the same thought that came over Humphrey and Lilly as they opened their eyes from kissing.

Now they were scared to death as to know who it was that had spotted them. Humphrey removed his lips from hers and got up off Lilly to stare at whoever had seen them.

"Look…I can explain all of this to…"

Humphrey now saw who it was that had spotted them and he was only received with a grin and then friendly smile.

"I knew you loved her, but I never thought things would get hot this quick amigo"

"Jack?" said Humphrey.

Jack only stood in front of him smiling and he was trying not to burst out in a laugh over what he had seen.

"What did you see?"

"All I saw was a crash, passionate stare contest, and then lips finally sticking to each other like they were stuck with the toughest tree sap, not much really" humored Jack.

Lilly was embarrassed at being caught with her secret loving boyfriend and she was also mad to know that Jack, her own brother, had seen what they were doing. She got up off the ground and walked to be in front of Jack as he smiled, but not in an attempt to laugh, he only smiled because he had seen true love.

"Jack you better not tell anyone about this or I'll…"

"Calm down sis, I'm not going to tell anyone except myself" responded Jack to Lilly.

Lilly wasn't expecting Jack to answer like he did and she turned her attention to Humphrey, who was also smiling slightly.

"Humphrey is there something I should know?" ask Lilly.

Before Humphrey could answer her question, Jack again spoke to her.

"You see Lilly, Humphrey here came to me only a few minutes ago to talk to me and he literally told me about how you two are secretly with each other"

Lilly kept a gaze on Humphrey that spoke 'why did you tell him about us?' to him. Humphrey couldn't respond now that Jack had done it for him and he saw that Lilly was somewhat upset with him over him talking about them.

"You could have at least talked to me before you went and told Jack" spoke Lilly.

Humphrey felt sad for not telling his true love about what he was going to do and he lowered his head down in sadness. Jack came over to Lilly's side and gave her a pat on the back.

"Come on Lilly; give Humphrey here a little break. He didn't know who to turn to to talk about his relationship with you, so he came to me; I did tell him last night that I would be here. I'll be here for you both"

Lilly turned to face her brother and looked him straight in the eyes. Jack could now look into her lavender eyes and he saw the same sparkle that Humphrey had in his eyes, the sign of some who is truly in love.

"Will you keep this a secret Jack? I don't want anything to happen to him because…if anything did happen…I'd…I'd…"

Jack watched as Lilly shut her eyes and let out tears as she softly sniffed as she cried at the thought that he would betray both of them and tell someone their secret. Jack knew very well what the consequences were if anyone like Kate, Garth, or even Kate's parents found out about this and he also knew he was risking himself, but he saw that these two were meant for each other. He leaned forward and he gave his sister a hug to comfort her.

"There there Lilly, don't cry now. Look sis, I'll make it 100 percent sure that no one ever knows about this, I can see that you love Humphrey a lot, so don't expect me to tattle on you okay?" said Jack.

Lilly took in Jack's hug and felt touched that her only brother would actually put himself in danger of being discovered in their little conspiracy like circle. As Jack kept Lilly in a hug, he looked over her shoulder and saw Humphrey with his head up and staring at them. Humphrey had tears in his eyes but was able to give Jack a smile for helping both him and Lilly in the most dangerous but greatest way. Jack patted Lilly on the back some more before he let go of his hug hold on her, which she appreciated a lot from him.

"Thank you Jack…we owe you" said Lilly.

"Don't worry about owing me a thing hermana, my reward is about helping you out, so don't think you have to owe me. Besides, I never was one to owe something to" responded Jack.

Lilly only kept a smile on her face and then went on to walk by Jack and over to Humphrey as he hugged Lilly when she did. Jack was already satisfied with the fact that he would be helping them to keep it together, despite what might be in store for him if anything leaked. Suddenly, Jack had a spark in his brain and his mind was now thinking of something that just might serve Lilly and Humphrey well. While Humphrey and Lilly remained in a hug, Jack silently started to walk away into the forest and headed northward of the territory.

There's still time left in the day today, it's only morning thought Jack as he walked away.

Humphrey took notice of Jack leaving them and he called out to him.

"Hey Jack, where are you going?" asked Humphrey.

Jack heard Humphrey's call and stopped to answer.

"Just want to take a walk, might as well start off the day with a relaxing walk right?" replied Jack with a gleeful smile.

"Okay then" responded Humphrey.

"Just tell Eve and Winston that I'll be gone for some time but I'll be back by the afternoon or so. Can you do that for me?" asked Jack.

"Sure thing Jack"

Jack waved to Humphrey and Lilly also gave her attention to Jack as she waved to him as well. Jack then went on with his walk, as he entered the ever expanding forest with the sun light piercing through the trees. Humphrey and Lilly watched him go when Lilly spoke to Humphrey.

"You know what?" said Lilly.

"What?"

"My mom and dad always said that most of us never enter this forest for some reason"

"Why's that? Is it dangerous to go in there?" asked Humphrey.

"Not at all, they always just said that it was really… strange"

And so concludes the end of Chapter 5 as Jack sets off into the forest to the north of Jasper. You might be wondering just what exactly that means right? Don't worry; the next update will answer that. Also, predictions tell me that Chapter 6 will most definitely be the longest chapter I will ever do, since it will be a sort of special chapter to work on. And most of you are probably also asking Where did the female voice go? That also will be answered in the next chapter as this journey continues. Predictions also say that after Chapter 6 and beyond, the story will begin to build up and will see the dawn of new revelations. Hope you enjoyed this and until next time.