The Final Chapter

Humphrey and I continued talking for the next few hours. Nothing much; just going over everything that's happened since we left home. From Humphrey's fight with Zak upon our arrival at Glacier, to the message from the Northern pack, and even on to the log-sled ride that almost ended my life with the trench. We shared our thoughts, and how we felt about the situations. Of course, I was either; Worried, scared, surprised, or excited. What I hid from Humphrey was the fact that I heard him singing about me when he was alone. I wasn't going to bother with that. I was going to see how long it would take him to tell me himself.

When Kovu finally came back, we all took notice of the enormous carcass he had. And to think this wasn't even the whole caribou. I figured this was only the stomach. Even with everybody that was here, we still had enough food for everybody to have their fill. Just to recap, everybody that is here is: Me, Humphrey, Chloe, Hailey, Kovu, Aleu, Linda, Zak, and Allie. I figured that Kovu had to bring back more than usual because his whole family was here now, along with three visitors. I must say, he caught a good caribou. It tasted better than the caribou back home in Jasper. And that's really saying something because the caribou at home were pretty tasty.

Once we were finished eating, everybody turned in for some sleep because the sky had gone dark by now. Allie was worried that her family was wondering where they were, but Zak said he would go with her and explain everything in the morning. With the cold breeze coming in to the cave, it was pretty cold. I knew that Humphrey would keep me warm though. He did. He slept as close to me as he could. He's been doing well at keeping my mind off of Garth and Kate. I know that nothing could ever bring them back. Of course, I still miss them. But, that doesn't change the fact that I can't go through life being upset about it. Humphrey was keeping me happy. I fell asleep with a smile on my face because I of this. That night, I dreamed about Humphrey again.

(The Next Morning)

I opened my eyes and let out a yawn. The first thing I noticed was that Humphrey wasn't next to me. I looked around the cave to see that Kovu and Hailey were still sleeping, as well as Linda and Aleu. Zak was cuddled up with Allie. Chloe was still fast asleep. But, where was Humphrey? I had an idea. I got up, stretched my legs, and went outside to find Humphrey sitting there, watching the sunrise. I sat on his left side. He didn't even look at me, but I wasn't looking back either. I was watching the sun come up over the horizon. We sat, watching it for a minute before Humphrey asked if I had a good sleep. I answered with a smile, "You could say that. How long have you been up?"

"Not long. Just a couple minutes."

We sat in silence for another short moment. Humphrey broke the silence again, "Do you like watching the sun rise?"

I answered him again, "Yea. They're so beautiful."

After another short silent moment, I heard him whisper to himself, "This is the best chance, just say it."

I pretended as if I didn't hear him. I decided that if he had something to say, I would let him do it when he thought he was ready. When he looked at me, he said, "Lilly. I need to tell you something."

I already knew where this was going, but he didn't know that. So, I pretended as if I had no idea. I asked, "What is it?"

"You're my best friend, right?"

I nodded and said, "Of course. Nothing could ever ruin that. Why?"

He looked to the ground and said, "That's all I needed to hear. Because I what I have to say is..."

He looked back up to me and said, "Lilly. I—I..."

"Let me guess. You love me?"

That took by surprise. I smiled at him and said, "I already knew. I heard you singing the other day."

Humphrey was still surprised that I knew. He asked, "Why didn't you say something?"

"I wanted to see how long it would take for you to say it. Didn't take long."

"Now, I have a question for you..."

I tilted my head to the side a little, wondering what it was. I waited for him to ask. He finally did, "What do you think of me?"

"What do I think of you? Well... I think that you're: Kind, caring, definitely the funniest Omega I've ever known, and, definitely brave. But the real question isn't what do I think of you. It's: Do I love you back?"

Humphrey was feeling nervous about what I just said. He waited for me to answer the question. I smiled and said, "Of course I do."

He smiled and before either of us even thought about saying anything else, he leaned in and kissed me. I gladly let him do so. Why wouldn't I? With the orange glow of the sun rising, and with the fact that we both admitted our feelings for each other, this was the perfect moment for this. I closed my eyes, to savor this moment. The kiss was making my heart beat like crazy. Before I knew it, he pulled away and I noticed that I was on my back with my paws around his neck while he stood above me with both of his paws on the ground to either side of my head. Not knowing what else he could possibly say, Humphrey said, "I love you, Lilly."

"I love you too, Humphrey."

"Ahem."

Humphrey and I looked away from each other, to see everybody looking at us. Hailey, Kovu, Linda, Aleu, Zak, even Allie. They were all staring at me and Humphrey, with me still under him. Nobody moved or said anything for a few minutes. We were all frozen. Until Zak broke the silence, "You feel awkward yet?"

Humphrey backed up, and let me stand. I was positive that I was blushing underneath my white fur. Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have fur to hide my blushing? If not, then now you know. Chloe said, "Well... I never thought I'd catch my brother making out. More awkward than I thought it would be."

Humphrey and I couldn't think of what to say. We were both obviously embarrassed about the situation. Kovu finally stepped up to Humphrey's side and said to the others, "Hey, let's not embarrass them anymore than they already are."

Hailey came up to my side and told the others, "Kovu is right. These two are obviously embarrassed and... we're making this even worse, aren't we Lilly?"

I nodded. She turned back and said, "We should probably give these two some privacy."

I pushed my fur back from my eye to let it sit behind my ear as I said, "No. That's okay. We're done."

"Okay then..."

Everybody stood in silence for a few moments. All of us looked confused about what to do next. Until Zak turned to Allie and said, "We should probably go see your parents and explain why you didn't get home."

"Right."

The two started walking but Kovu stopped Zak and said, "Good to see you back as your normal self, son."

Zak smiled and said, "Thanks dad."

As the two began walking away again, Allie waved back, "It was nice to meet you all!"

Linda, Aleu, Kovu, and Hailey all waved back with smiles. Chloe was still smiling at Humphrey, obviously still interested in what she had seen. She came up to Humphrey and said, "So, she's not your girlfriend, right?"

That made me start chuckling. Chloe was just as funny as Humphrey. He didn't know how to respond since we just now told each other how we felt. He didn't know whether to say I was or wasn't his girlfriend. Humphrey looked to me for an answer and I just shrugged, not knowing either. I said, "I don't know about the boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. First guy I ever liked, we went straight to marriage to unite the packs."

Everyone stood silent for a moment.

Then, Humphrey finally broke the silence, "Hey Chloe... I've been meaning to ask you. Where's mom and dad?"

The End

Look for The Promise II on my profile to continue the Humphrey and Lilly adventure!