Alpha and Omega: After Realization

Chapter 7: A Window of Misfortune

Jack only kept on running and could feel himself begin to tire out, but he could not stop running, not after what he had just overheard. Jack had finally found a sanctuary for both Humphrey and Lilly within the forest in the north of Jasper, but after hearing that Kate and Garth would have time off from being alphas, he could not let his whole plan fall apart.

"Fate just had to come out and ruin my plan…why?" said Jack to himself.

"Fate comes along at anytime it wants Jack; I guess it just wanted to come in at this moment"

"Well Fate… sucks then"

Jack spoke back with the voice despite that he was running as fast as he could to get back to the feeding grounds and find Humphrey and Lilly to tell them the news.

"So what do you want to tell them?"

"The truth and I mean it, we're not going to try to candy coat this news , we need to tell them both so that they can both plan out their own solution for when this goes down" exclaimed Jack.

"Are you sure Jack?"

"I'm sure, there's no other way to break it to them"

As Jack made his way back to the grounds, Humphrey and Lilly were both resting back at Humphrey's den after Kate had gotten up and left to go do her border patrol duty with Garth, who came by soon after she had left the den. Humphrey was looking down at Lilly's face as they both lay down next to each other with Lilly having laid down on her back and her head resting on Humphrey's arms. Humphrey had let Lilly rest her head on his arms and he couldn't help but just stare down at her the whole time after they had been left alone. Lilly only looked up at Humphrey in return and used her paw as she played with his mane fur and giggled as she also blew at it with Humphrey not minding it at all and also giggled as she did so. Humphrey did not know what was going on with him, he only felt a large wave of emotions hit his whole being and he could stop gazing at Lilly, he just loved her so much. The same went for Lilly, she had never felt so joyful and happy in her life, and she could only feel this special feeling when she was with Humphrey. After a few moments of just giggling and fooling around with Humphrey's mane fur, they both just stared at each other in silence and their eyes couldn't detach themselves from the others.

"I love you Humphrey"

"I love you too Lilly" said Humphrey.

Lilly snuggled her head into his chest some as they talked to each other and Humphrey felt warm with her touch.

"I've never been so happy…I just can't think of anyone who I would like to be with" said Lilly as she buried part of her head in Humphrey's chest fur.

Humphrey could feel his heart beat a slight bit faster as she spoke those words to him and he couldn't even imagine what he would do without her.

"Lilly I…I…I just feel so happy, I've also never felt this happy before, not until I met you was I able to feel so…full inside" said Humphrey.

Their confession of love brought tears of joy to both of their eyes and they couldn't help it as Lilly cried into Humphrey's fur, causing it to get wet, while Humphrey let his tears drop down and Lilly could feel his tears as they dropped down on her fur hair. Lilly didn't move herself to avoid getting wet; she knew that Humphrey was crying happily for being together with her. Humphrey felt bad that he was letting his tears trickle down and hit Lilly on her head, but he saw that she didn't move away from him, even if his tears would cause her hair to get wet.

"Lilly?" asked Humphrey.

"Yes Humphrey?" replied Lilly.

"Lilly…I'm sorry about…before…it just wasn't me…it was all…"

"It's okay Humphrey, you don't need to apologize, and I should be the one who should apologize to you. I should never have…"

Lilly was cut off when she heard a voice call out from the entrance of the den. Humphrey also heard the voice and they both got up and off each other to see who it was. Both of their hearts began to beat rapidly as they looked towards the den entrance and tried to see if anyone was outside. A few seconds later, they both sighed in relief as they saw Jack's head poke from the entrance of the den and wave at them.

"There you two are, I was looking for you both" said Jack.

"Glad to see you again Jack" said Humphrey.

Humphrey and Lilly were glad to see Jack after being gone for the most part of the day, but they both saw as if Jack was worried about something as they saw a concerned expression on Jack's face and he was staring towards the entrance of the den from time to time after he had come in.

"Is something wrong Jack?" asked Lilly.

"Yeah, you could say that sis" replied Jack.

"What is it?" asked Humphrey.

"Both of you are not going to like this but I have to tell you in any case"

"What?" said Lilly.

"As I was heading back from the northern forest, I overheard Kate and Garth talking as they left for patrol duty and I heard Kate tell Garth that Winston will be giving both of them time off from their work soon once this whole patrol issue has been somewhat solved or something" explained Jack.

The den turned dead silent, so silent that a quite breeze of wind could be heard as it passed through the den. Humphrey and Lilly only stared at Jack with widened eyes and their mouths hanging down, not a word being uttered by what they had been told. Lilly took some time in before her eyes only burst into tears and she buried her head into Humphrey's chest fur and she hugged him very tightly. Humphrey felt like he couldn't breathe, but the shock from the news kept his attention on Jack and not on the pain from Lilly's hug. Humphrey then also let tears run down his muzzle as he couldn't contain his sadness in.

"You…your…you're lying!" shouted Humphrey at Jack.

Jack only looked at Humphrey with depressed eyes, but his question was answered by the voice.

"He's not lying Humphrey, that's the truth"

"That's right bro, I'm not lying, I wouldn't want to lie about something like his" said Jack.

Humphrey then appeared confused but still sad as he saw how Jack was talking about the voice who was speaking to him.

"Wait…how do you know about her?" asked Humphrey.

"He knows Humphrey; I just introduced myself to him"

"Don't worry, she can fill you in on how we met each other later, but this is more important right now"

Humphrey put aside the question of Jack and the voice meeting and refocused on what he was told.

"So what will we do?" asked Humphrey.

"Don't worry Humphrey; I will try to make sure you both are still in touch with each other"

"How will you do that without giving suspicion to Kate and Garth?"

Jack took in his question and as he did, his eyes could not keep themselves from staring at Lilly as she still kept her head buried in Humphrey's chest and continued to cry. Humphrey had brought up a good question to him, how he would be able to keep them together without making up a good excuse to Kate and Garth. Jack had taken into consideration if his mom and dad were to ever find out, but trying to keep Garth and Kate in the void would be as hard as keeping it secret from the parents. Jack still pondered Humphrey's question as he looked around in his mind for a plan that would both satisfy Kate and Garth all the while, Humphrey and Lilly would still be able to be with one another without any problem. Humphrey kept staring at Jack as he thought in his head and he was getting concerned at how Jack was not able to give him a plan or idea in an instant. Jack did a few more seconds of brainstorming and finally lifted his paw up.

"I've got it"

"Got something Jack?"

Jack was happy with his solution that he had found and could only smile at Humphrey as what he had in mind.

"Let's say that you both go and be with Garth and Kate, but then when it's time to go to bed, simply tell a simple lie to Kate that you are going to get a drink or go for a little walk, while Lilly can sneak out of her parents den quietly or just tell them the same thing about getting a drink or go for a walk" explained Jack.

"Wait, but then where would we…"

The voice stopped Humphrey as he was asking his obvious question.

"You don't have to worry about where you'll meet without the whole fear of being seen, Jack already took care of that"

"Indeed I have amigo; I have found the perfect location where you and Lilly can meet up when you want to during the night time. It's the most perfect cueva or cave as we say" said Jack.

"A cave?" asked Humphrey.

"It's a secret cave up in the north in the forest and it's only a short walk over there, no one knows about it so it's absolutely perfect" said Jack.

Lilly had calmed down in her crying as she pulled her head back from Humphrey's chest and wiped her tears from her face with her paws. She then looked over to Jack.

"Are you…sure that…you're plan will work" asked Lilly as she settled down.

"This will work sis, nothing can go wrong as long as it's done accordingly" replied Jack.

"You'll be fine Lilly, just do what Jack has said, but do it without being afraid of doing it"

Lilly instantly jumped and grabbed onto Humphrey and pulled him down some.

"Who's there?"

"Just calm down Lilly, it's just our unseeable friend that is with us" said Jack.

"It's just a friend Lilly, she just can't be seen, but we can talk to and hear her" added Humphrey.

Lilly didn't understand what they meant by a friend that was not able to be seen, but the voice went on to talk to her.

"Sorry I never made it so you could meet me; I've just been helping Humphrey out ever since he and you got married"

Lilly loosened her hold Humphrey and just relaxed as she could hear the voice speak to her. She smiled at knowing there was someone who would be around to help her and Humphrey, so she put her head back into Humphrey's arms and went back to looking up at him as he smiled back at her. He kept his eyes on her and also continued to talk with Jack and the voice.

"So, when will they be getting off duty?" asked Humphrey.

"As far as I heard Kate say it, she said within a few days, so I don't exactly when, but I can bet that she will tell you when that day comes, the same will probably go for Garth. Make sure that you both remember what to do when things begin to get complicated, I'll always be waiting for you at the north forest every night after Kate and Garth are off, so that I'll lead you to the cave" explained Jack.

"And if for some reason Jack is not there, just remember I'll be there to lead you instead"

Humphrey couldn't really find a way to say anything to express how thankful he was for having the best brother in law who was willing to risk himself just to see both him and Lilly happy. He was already overwhelmed by the fact that Jack now knew about the voice and he and her would be working together to help him and Lilly out. Humphrey looked at Jack and gave him a friendly smile before he returned his attention to Lilly, who still kept on staring at him from his arms and he once again was entranced by her lovely lavender eyes. Lilly had also let her eyes remain focused on Humphrey's and they didn't ever bother to look up as Jack stared at them with a heartwarming feeling inside of him. Jack silently made his way to the entrance of the den and made his ways out without a single word to say to the happy couple, their moment confirming that for him. As he walked outside and decided to make his way back to the main den to explain to Eve and Winston where he had been, he started to get into a conversation with the voice.

"So…anything else you'd like to say?"

"Are you expecting me to say something?" replied Jack.

"That depends, there's still a whole night to go"

"Well right now, I need to speak to dear old mother and father, and then I'll decide on what I want to do afterwards" answered Jack.

Jack walked up to the den and just before he could make his way inside, he was greeted immediately.

"There you are Jack"

Jack looked up and saw that it was Eve who had spoken to him and he wasn't even inside the den yet. Followed right behind her was Winston as he came up to Jack and gave him a fatherly hug, which he held onto for about three seconds before he let go and then was hugged tightly by Eve.

"Okay mom…I missed you too" said Jack.

"Where were you all day Jack?" asked Winston, showing some worry even as a leader.

"I had gone into the northern forest for a walk, just to relax myself, and I guess I just lost track of time, I kept on seeing that the sun light either got brighter or dimmer. But once I saw that the sun was going down, I made my way back" said Jack.

"You went into the northern forest?" asked Eve.

"Yeah. Is there something wrong?" asked Jack.

Winston came in and talked to Jack.

"You see Jack, some of us never really try to go into that part of Jasper" said Winston.

"Why? Is there something wrong with the place? Is it dangerous?"

"Not really" said Eve.

"It's just that…sometimes things we can't explain go on in there" said Winston.

"Sometimes we never see a wolf come back, we're just a bit worried since it's also the same part of Jasper where Garth and Kate are patrolling for whatever is out there" said Eve.

"What is out there?" asked Jack.

"The other night, Kate and Garth said they encountered a strange white flash that they said ran so fast that they couldn't catch up to it and then it just vanished" explained Winston.

Jack couldn't even believe what he was hearing, but he wasn't scared, he was just interested. Eve and Winston both looked at each other and they both knew it was probably better that they don't tell Jack about it.

"Maybe its best not to say that much…maybe you don't believe in the supernatural stuff" said Eve.

"Well it's not that, I have seen a thing or two when I was growing up" replied Jack.

"The important thing is that you are here and alright, so I think we should all get some sleep" said Winston.

"Good idea" said Jack.

Eve and Winston gave Jack one last hug at the same time before they retreated back to the den to sleep. As for Jack, he did feel sleepy, but he had something else in mind. He once again traveled down the slope and walked over to the lake to its farthest side. For while he only sat up and looked up to the stars, admiring how many of them were in the sky and probably beyond.

"So how many stars do you thing are up there?"

"Millions, if not billions"

"That's a lot of stars"

"It sure is, I didn't even know that there were so many up there at one point"

"So uhhh…you know I still don't know what to call you? Can you just tell me your name amiga?" said Jack.

As Jack asked his question, he then felt a warming sensation below his muzzle and didn't understand how that was happening.

"You're still asking the question Jack, but the answer isn't going to be easy to find. Keep on looking"

Jack was never able to understand what happened after that last sentence that he heard, but he couldn't help but feel warm inside, the kind of warmth that you couldn't get from just from simply curling up in a ball when trying to sleep, this was a special kind of warmth that he had never felt before.

"Maybe this could count as yet another supernatural thing I've encountered"

Sorry for making this chapter as short as it is, I'm planning out the next upcoming additions to After Realization and I thought it would be best to include it in its own chapter. Also, I know that some of you guys get somewhat (or not at all) irritated at reading a long ass chapter that takes forever. Anyway, count on an update coming up sometime sooner or later as we prepare to cross into the main part of this story and start to pick up a bit more. Chapter 8 coming soon within the last days of April or later into May. Take care.