Kate and Garth continued to follow behind Hutch and Vik feeling a great sense of nervousness the closer they got to the yungib grounds. They didn't speak much for they were too busy in their thoughts, which were running at lightning speed trying to think of what will happen next. Kate was beginning to accept the fact that it would be better to just come out with it all right when they got to her parents den, but another side of her sinabi otherwise. Now it felt like she was back during the first week of when this started, always in a constant worry that someone would catch onto her plans before she had a chance to get prepared. Yeah the fact that they did at least have a plan now was somewhat relieving but she would stay nervous about it no matter how prepared she was.
Garth wasn't feeling any better about the current situation, he had just as much to lose as Kate did but all he had to fear was his own father madami then anything. After all Tony was the one who first came up with the idea to unite the packs through forced marriage so he feared what he would say when he and Kate wanted a divorce. If things went south between he and his father then he would be losing the only family he had left. He was stubborn and it would only take Winston and Eve to be able to convince him to see the problem they both face. Then again Garth had no real idea how his father would react, this could all go without any fuss and susunod thing he and Kate know, their getting married to their true loves.
Hope was all they could hold on too, hope that they could live the life they dream in Jasper without any hostilities occurring between the packs or their parents. Kate did her best to burry inside how she was really feeling and swapped it out with her normal self, she was still going to hide the truth for as long as she could. Garth did the same and prepared to just follow along with whatever Kate had planned. His puso pounded in his chest as they arrived at the head alphas den, they both sinabi goodbye to Hutch and Vik before looking at each other.
"You ready?" He asked
Kate sighed "As I'll ever be... come on"
She could hear the sound of talking before taking a turn and walking right into the yungib to find her parents and sister all sitting there. They were chatting about something she did not know about but as soon as they noticed her and Garth walk in they stopped and looked at them. Lilly became completely silent and just looked at her sister and the lobo she loved, hoping that they had a way to get out of this. Winston was the first to speak after a prolonged silence.
"Hey you two, where have you been?" He asked in a normal tone
"Hey dad, we were just out for a little walk outside the territory" Kate answered casually
"Yeah there was this cool cave we heard about and decided to go see it for ourselves." Garth added, in a way they did really visit a cave. "It really wasn't anything special though."
Winston smiled lightly and looked over at his mate "See honey? I told you there was nothing to worry about."
Eve eyed the two for a moment before answering "Okay you were right, I guess I shouldn't jump to conclusions." She sinabi to him before getting up and walking over to her first daughter. "But please tell us the susunod time you leave the territory, you had me worried."
"Sorry mom it won't happen again." Kate hugged her mother thinking she and Garth had dodged to bullet entirely. She knew her mother did like to jump to conclusions, it was just one of the many things that made her who she was. Eve was very protective of her and Lilly and made sure to let everyone know that if someone hurt them then their days would be numbered. Sometimes the threats she sinabi creeped Kate out but she's come to understand that's just how her mother is, she just hoped that she wouldn't become like that when she had her own family.
As Kate felt a great relief while they hugged Eve began to smell a foreign scent that was on her. This caused her suspicions to rise right back up and she quickly pulled back and began to smell along Kate's side. Everyone in the yungib looked at her confused but waited to see what she was doing, she knew it was the scent of a lobo that was not of their pack, however at the same time it was slightly familiar. Kate had no idea what to think but when she figured out why her mother would smell her she wanted to slap herself. She knew she smelled Humphrey's scent on her and since they were found sa pamamagitan ng Hutch and Vik she had no time to wash it off before entering the territory again. After a few moments Eve sat back and looked at her daughter, clearly unpleased sa pamamagitan ng the look on his face.
"Care to tell me why I smell the scent of a foreign lobo on you miss?" She sinabi plainly
"I uhh..." Kate began but looked over at Garth who only nodded, which told her to go ahead and say it, she sighed "Alright you caught me... the real reason we left the territory was to meet up with someone."
Now Winston was feeling his own suspicions rise, was his mate really onto something after all? "Who?" He asked, feeling upset that her daughter had lied to them about what they were up too out there.
"I'm just going to come right out and say it, I have been secretly seeing Humphrey outside the packs borders." She said, not even wanting to look them in the eye as she sinabi it.
Both her parents starred at her completely shocked, Winston had no idea what to say to that, his own daughter was cheating on Garth with a former omega and had been breaking multiple laws in the process. However it all made sense to Eve now, this was why she had been pagganap so strange since she returned tahanan from that trip and was always disappearing.
Kate decided to continue since she could tell her parents were Nawawala for words "...The araw after he left I found him a few miles out and we confessed our pag-ibig for each other, ever since then I have been going out to see him every chance I got." Oddly enough she was feeling courage build up within her "I don't care if I broke the law, it's all worth it to me and I would very much rather live my life with him then be forced to stay with Garth for the rest of my life."
"I can't believe you... after all this time you have been doing nothing but lie to us." Eve finally said, anger becoming apparent in her voice.
"It was for our own good, but before you jump on me there's madami you need to know first. Lilly and Garth are just as guilty as I am, for they have been seeing each other as well, and for just as long." Kate sinabi motioning between her sister and Garth as they silently sat on opposite sides of the den.
Winston looked at both of them, as if hearing that one of his daughters had been un-loyal left him speechless then upon hearing this he began to wonder if he was even awake at this very moment. Both of his daughters have been breaking the law for a couple of months and he never even knew of it until now. Eve was angry, not only because they broke pack law but also because they have continued to lie right to their faces. She couldn't even begin to fathom the kind of punishment they would have to give their daughters after they finished learning about everything they have been up to behind their backs.
"It's true, Lilly and I are in pag-ibig as well and will not be forced he forced apart." Garth sinabi standing proud beside Kate, there was no point to be nervous anymore. He and Kate were fighting for what they believed was right, true love.
"Now that you know the truth, Garth and I would like a divorce and wish to be married to the mga lobo we truly love." Kate finished, it sounded so easy but thanks to the way packs were run it was far from that.
"You can't divorce, not after all Tony and I have done too get the packs to unite." Winston stated
"You forced us to marry, and thought we would end up falling in pag-ibig afterword. Well you were wrong in assuming that." Kate argued.
"I only assumed you two understood your sacrifice of pag-ibig was for the packs well being, and hoped that it would work out in the long run." He replied sternly before beginning to exit the yungib "come on, let me ipakita you something."
They all got up and walked outside of the yungib to find Winston standing on the overhang that over looked the yungib grounds and everything beyond. Lilly didn't like how the argument was going so far, it really had only started but it seemed to be going in the direction they all didn't want it to go. Kate and Garth stood susunod to him and looked down at the grounds below, there was most of the pack going on about their business without a care in the world. They didn't understand why he would want to ipakita them this but waited for him to speak as the wind blew through their fur. Lilly sat close to Garth's side and looked at him for a moment, he noticed and looked at her as well, giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled back before looking to see what they all were staring at.
"Look at them, all happy and thankful to be able to live in a united pack like ours. No hunger, no conflicts, no troubles, they have all that they would ever want in a place to call home." Winston sinabi before looking at Kate, Garth, and Lilly "And you want to ruin this? Divorce and therefore break the only thing that holds the packs together, this is your responsibility, to serve as the ones who untied the two great packs of Jasper and become the eventual leaders."
"We don't want to ruin this, we want the packs to stay together but-" Kate tried to say
"But nothing" He interrupted "If Tony hears about you two wanting a divorce then he will be furious, separate the packs and call for war." Kate could not believe her father, did he not care about how she felt and put the pack before his own family?
"You don't care do you?" Lilly suddenly sinabi in a tone that startled even her own parents. "Kate and I have found our true loves and you, our own parents, don't even care and insist that we should suffer for the good of the packs."
Kate was surprised and proud to see that her sister was standing up for herself, Winston began to realize that he was putting the pack before his own daughters, that's not what he wanted but at the same time he feared that Tony would overreact when he got word of this.
"Lilly..." He tried to say but couldn't find the words, he would only be hurting his daughters if he forced Kate and Garth to stay together. However he would never forgive himself if the pack was thrown into war because of this, he can't just ruin what the past Western leaders had tried so hard to do. "...I'm sorry, its not that I don't care but if I allow you to divorce then there's nothing to keep the packs together. I know it's a selfish thing to say but I can't just ruin everything Tony and I have work so hard for."
"If you force us to stay together then we will have no choice but to leave" Garth said
Winston's eyes widened "Leave, as in runaway?" He asked not believing they would really do something like that.
"If it's what we have to do in order to live the lives we want then yes." Kate answered looking at him.
Was this how they really felt, were they really willing to leave the pack just to be with their true loves? He looked down at his paws, ashamed of himself that he had been so blind to his daughter's feelings. He swore that he would never cause his daughters pain but emotionally that was what he was doing right now. Never did he ask Kate how she really felt about going through with a forced marriage. He was too busy worrying about the packs own problems and just hoped that thing were working out between her and Garth, but that was where he was wrong. Kate had fallen in pag-ibig with Humphrey, which he could understand because they had grown up together and have continued to be good friends. However hearing that Lilly was in pag-ibig with Garth was the big shock, both couples were total opposites when it came to ranks and personalities but that wasn't stopping pag-ibig from blooming.
Eve walked up beside him and placed her paw on his shoulder, she had time to think madami about what was happening while he was busy talking with his daughters. Yeah she was just as upset as he was upon first hearing that they wanted a divorce but at the same time she wanted what was best for her daughters. Why let them suffer against something they couldn't even control in the first place. Kate didn't have a choice when it came to being forced into marriage, the path was already set up before she was even born. She can recall that meeting they had years nakaraan with Tony and his mate before she pasted away. There it was decided that the alphas of both of their litters would become the ones to unite the packs through marriage. At the time they were all happy that they had finally come to an agreement on something but as Kate grew up Eve began to regret it, Kate deserved to have a chance at true pag-ibig just a Lilly did.
"Honey we can't force them to stay together, they deserve to be with the ones they pag-ibig no matter how wrong it may seem." She sinabi in a soft tone.
Kate and Lilly smiled along with Garth, they had managed to win over Eve's puso but would Winston be able to agree? "Come on dad, I'm sure there's a way we can keep the packs together without us having to stay together." Kate sinabi looking at him.
He looked at her in the eyes, he couldn't say no anymore because his mate was right. He had seen the errors of his ways and hated himself for putting the pack before his own family, he would allow them to marry they ones they pag-ibig here in Jasper. However that still left the problem of Tony, being as stubborn as he is he would never allow for this. "I would pag-ibig to see all of you be happy but what about Tony, he wouldn't agree with me breaking the alphas over omegas law." He said.
She sighed and began to think, this was something she and Garth hadn't thought of an answer too, they just hoped that sa pamamagitan ng winning over her parents they would be able to talk a new deal with him, but it seemed that they were just as clueless.
"My dad may be stubborn but I'm sure if we all talk to him then we can get him to agree on a way to keep the packs together." Garth said.
"Do the packs really need something to stay together?" Kate asked "I mean look at them, their all getting along so well I wouldn't believe that they would want to go to war with each other."
Winston saw that she had a point and thought of an idea "Well what if we let the pack decide whether or not they want to stay united without you guys being married?" He sinabi looking at all of them as they continued to sit along the overhang.
"What do you mean?" Eve asked
He smiled, at first he was the bad guy but no he was fixing the wrong he had caused. "If we can't get Tony to agree with us then what is the point of going to war if his mga lobo won't fight? If they are enjoying being united then what would cause them to change their mid of you two split?"
"Nothing I guess" Kate answered
"Oh I get it, if they want to stay united then what's the point in following Tony's order to fight if he calls for war." Garth said
"Exactly, so tomorrow I want us all to meet sa pamamagitan ng river including Humphrey and we will go visit Tony from there." He sinabi feeling normal again.
"You mean we'll get to stay and marry in Jasper?" Kate asked just to make sure.
"That's right" he sinabi with Eve smiling beside him
A big grin appeared on Kate's face before she quickly hugged her father "Oh thank you dad! You don't know how happy we are to hear that." Winston returned the hug, glad that he had redeemed himself after all those things he had said. "I'm sorry for being angry with you at first, I was just scared and wasn't sure what to think when you sinabi you wanted a divorce."
Kate could feel her eyes water up, she couldn't contain herself any longer. She, Humphrey, Garth, and Lilly would get the lives they dreamed of and that was all she had ever wanted. "I forgive you dad, you were doing what you thought was right." She replied as they continued to hug.
"Your mother and I pag-ibig you a lot and we're happy for you and Humphrey as well as your sister and Garth." He said, saying the last part while looking over Kate's side and at Lilly and Garth as they stood susunod to each other.
"I pag-ibig you guys too"
Their hug ended before Lilly ran up and hugged her father as well, saying practically the same thing, Kate smiled as Garth came up beside her. "I guess we can say we did it?" He asked.
She nodded "Yeah, that got out of paw really quick though"
"I agree, but the worst of it is over"
"Maybe, we still have to deal with your father which could go bad"
"I doubt it, especially after the plan your father came up with"
"True I guess we'll have to wait and see, I can't wait to tell Humphrey the good news." She smiled
He laughed "Yeah I'm sure he will be happy to come back here again after so long."
A few moments pasted until Lilly was done thanking her parents, she was ecstatic at this moment even if they weren't finished fixing the problem yet. At least now the two couples could rest easy knowing that the life they wanted was just around the susunod corner.
"Let's head back inside, I want to hear madami about how all of you managed to fall in love" Eve sinabi smiling
They all walked into the yungib and didn't come back out until late in the night, finally Kate and Lilly no longer had to hide themselves from their own parents and they were pleased to hear they agreed in their choice of a true mate. For the first time in weeks Kate could fall asleep with no troubles on her mind and only looked pasulong to meeting Humphrey in the early morning and telling him the good news. The fight wasn't over yet but a resistance had formed up that would be able to ensure peace would stay in Jasper.
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A/N: Finally the hard chapter to write is over, hopefully it turned out good because I had to change through multiple ideas of how it should go. I'm happy with how it turned up but I'll leave you, the reader, as the judge of that. It may feel that the end is near but at the moment I think I can continue on through three madami chapters before reaching the spot it want to end this story on. Until then I thank you for the support and I look pasulong to seeing this story complete. Cya.
