Chapter 14: Visiting Jake

A few days have passed and life in the united pack has gone back to normal, well... besides the fact that there has been a marriage between an alpha and an omega with another coming within the next day. It was a happy time for all of course but for four wolves it was the best days of their lives so far. Garth and Lilly were already married since their relationship now served as the new symbol that united the east and the west. The day of their wedding was rather entertaining, the entire pack gathered in the valley at the same place Kate and Garth stood months prior. The ceremony went on with no problems and soon there was a new married couple within the pack. The cheers didn't last long because there was still a moonlight howl to attend to later in the evening, so wolves shortly left to prepare for that.

Back when Kate, Humphrey, Garth, and Lilly all met up with Eve and Winston to discuss when their marriages would be. Garth and Lilly decided to just get married on the same day as the moonlight howl so the pack could just celebrate there instead of doing something else. Kate and Humphrey however decided to hold off on their wedding for a few days, sure they could have gotten married at the same time as Lilly and Garth but personally they both wanted their wedding to be separate so it would be more special. Also they didn't need a big fuss, the only witnesses they wanted for their wedding was family and close friends. Nice and simple, and after that the sky was the limit in terms of their relationship and lives, same went for Garth and Lilly.

However during the mix of returning, wedding planning, and enjoy his new life Humphrey forgot about one thing surprisingly. When he left his lone wolf home to return to the pack he never said goodbye to Jake. He felt so stupid for forgetting and now he was heading out there to meet up with him and tell him about everything that has happened, as well as apologizing. Jake and him became great friends during his time as a lone, not to mention that he taught Humphrey the skills of hunting and more. After he met Jake, being a lone wasn't so boring when Kate wasn't visiting.

To make up for his sudden disappearance Humphrey had an offer to give him once he found him, he talked to Winston about asking Jake to join the pack. He agreed under the condition that he would be doing something beneficial to the pack and not just be "another mouth to feed" in his words. Humphrey didn't expect Jake to say yes to offer considering that he enjoyed being a lone wolf but maybe after becoming friends he would consider it more. Either way Humphrey didn't mind the result, he would still come out to visit if he decided to stay in his current home.

The familiar cliff face came into view, the dark cave like entrance that was once his den still there as he left it. Humphrey continued passed it until reaching Jakes den, upon arriving Humphrey thought he wasn't home because it was fairly quiet. Also he couldn't smell a scent indicating that he was here recently but besides that he walked right into the den only to find that it was empty. 'Maybe he went out to find some food' Humphrey thought to himself before turning around and heading back outside to sit down in front of the den and wait for his return.

It didn't take long because not even five minutes later his ears picked up the sound of something being dragged over leaves and dirt. Humphrey turned his head and surly enough there was Jake dragging a small deer beside him, Jake stopped once he got next to him and dropped the deer from his mouth before smiling.

"Well it's about time you showed yourself" He greeted.

"Yeah I'm sorry about that, I have some explaining to do." Humphrey replied.

"Well let's head inside first then you can tell me why you disappeared, although I already have an idea why." He said before picking up the deer and placing it by the entrance within the den.

Humphrey followed behind him before sitting down again along the back wall. "So how have you been?" Humphrey asked as he sat across from him.

"I've been the same, just doing the same routine" Jake replied "but my question is how have you been, just decide to up and leave without saying goodbye?" From the way he made it sound Humphrey could tell he was only teasing.

He smiled and laughed "I know I'm sorry about that I just got so busy all of a sudden." He replied "Kate woke me up one morning and said that her parents had found out about us, however after explaining it more her parents were actually accepting of our relationship."

"Ah... see now what did I tell ya, things would work out for you and Kate." Jake said.

"Yeah you were right, but when I returned back to the pack we still had to convince the eastern leader to accept the law being removed and the divorce. It wasn't an easy conversation but eventually he somewhat agreed to it." Humphrey continued.

"Why was he against it, if two leaders agreed then why wouldn't the other?"

"You know I'm not sure really, he just thought it wasn't the best for the pack. All I know now is that he apologized to his son about it."

"His son is Garth right?" Jake asked

"Yeah, he and Lilly already married two days ago"

"How about you and Kate?"

"Our wedding is tomorrow, which you're welcome to come to." Humphrey answered

"Of course I will, as long as no wolves think I'm a trust passer when I head over." Jake stated

"Well you could always just come back to the pack with me today, spend the night, see the wedding, and then be on your way. However I actually had something to ask you first." He said.

"Alright ask away."

"I know you like being a lone wolf and all, but seeing that were good friends now I wanted to put out the offer of joining our pack."

Jake's smile slightly faded away and he looked at the ground for a second before answering "That's very kind of you Humphrey, but I can't"

Humphrey's smile faded as well, he really wanted to be able to see Jake as much as he did back when he lived here. "I would love to join your pack but you know how I feel about pack life, besides I... I met a girl." Jake continued, giving a slight laugh saying the last part.

Humphrey raised an eyebrow and smiled again "You met a girl? When?" This was surprising because he thought Jake wasn't looking for anyone.

"Yeah I did, a few days ago I was out doing a normal hunt when I came across the scent of another wolf close by. I ignored it but right when I was about to go in and take down the caribou I was stalking, this grey pelted wolf came out from the side and took it out before me." Jake said.

"That doesn't sound like a very nice girl..." Humphrey interrupted.

"Shh I wasn't finished yet. Of course I was made about that so I stormed up and confronted them about it, but when got closer I realized that she was just a young female. Surprisingly she was very forgiving about it and eventually decided to split the caribou with me as an apology. She never saw me and after taking off the legs as my share we talked a little bit more at that spot before going our separate ways." He continued.

"So you like her because she was generous and forgiving?" Humphrey asked with a laugh, he knew there had to be more still but he felt like teasing him about it.

"Your still getting ahead of me" He said "When we talked I learned she lived by the big river that's south a ways so I told her that my den wasn't too far away from here. I didn't think anything much of our conversation then but last night I was just lying around outside my den and she came over just to say hi. We talked some more, I told her about my past and stuff like that, I learned that she lived with her parents who were also lone wolves. I thought it was interesting and before I knew it, it was already getting late in the day. She left and said she would stop by again sometime which I agreed to, I guess you could say that's when I could admit that I like her a bit."

"Wow looks like you might have a future mate living with you soon huh?" Humphrey said, patting him on the back.

Jake laughed "Well I wouldn't say that, we've only just met"

"True but that doesn't mean it's not possible, she sounds nice so why not go for it?"

"I guess, I'm just going to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks" Jake said

"Yeah don't rush into it, but I guess I'll have to meet this wolf eventually" Humphrey said.

"Won't you be busy living your new life with Kate back in your pack?" He asked

Humphrey looked at him surprised "Are you kidding? I wouldn't be too busy for anything! I'd come out and visit every now and then since you're going to stay here."

"Really? Oh that's great." He said kind of relived

"Friends and family are important to me, so I wouldn't just forget about you. You made my days here without Kate enjoyable, not to mention you also took the time to take care of me and train me which Kate is great up for. Also you're more than welcome to come and visit us in Jasper anytime of course."

"I'm glad" Jake said.

The two continued to talk until Humphrey decided that it was time he headed back home, Kate was already done with her daily duties so he didn't want to keep her waiting. Jake decided to just follow along with his idea and just spend the night with them at their pack before attending their wedding tomorrow. This way they could talk more and Humphrey can introduce him to other wolves. While Humphrey wanted to see Jake take his offer of living in their pack he understood that it wasn't what he wanted. Plus if this whole girl thing worked out then he would have more of a reason to stay where he was. Which if it did Humphrey would be happy for him, honestly he felt bad that he would be alone most of the time now that he left. Then again he was already alone before and he enjoyed it, I guess that was just his own opinion making him feel bad for Jake since he enjoys visiting with other wolves.

The late afternoon sun shined about through thick cloud cover, Humphrey led Jake to his and Kate den to find that she wasn't there. After searching around they ended up at her parents den where she was talking to them about their wedding some more. Humphrey introduced Jake to Winston and Eve before they all had dinner in the same den. They night ended with Kate, Humphrey, and Jake all talking about random things and making jokes for fun. The last thing on Humphrey's mind as he feel asleep was his marriage to Kate tomorrow afternoon. After perhaps a year of chasing after her the moment he wanted the most was nearly here, and he was trying so hard to make himself believe it was true. Whatever happened tomorrow he knew that his life could be considered complete in a way, there were still a few missing details but those could be added in the future.
_____________________________________

A/N: Just one more chapter then it's over, the wedding being the ending of course. Kind of ran out of ideas for this chapter which is why it's mostly just a filler, but I got the last chapter mostly planned out and maybe, just maybe... I'll get the next chapter out within two days. Cya.