AN:. To all my readers who was reading my Wolf's Rain story, I want to take this time and apologize for the lack of update. I hit a bad wall on that one and am trying to decide where to go with it. Rest assured, I will finish it. Until then, I'm trying to become a better writer. I have some help on this one so hopefully I'll become a better writer because of it. I would like to give a shout out to WolfOfRome who without his guidance, this would never have happened. So without further adieu, I give you the prologue.

The trees blurred together down below as the eagle soared overhead. The majestic bird continued gliding on the wind as it hunted for it's prey. Soon it soared over a clearing where a figure was slowly making it's way towards the woods on the other side. The eagle soared on in the other direction as it let out a piercing cry. The figure's head snapped up sharply at the sound, alert for danger. The beams of moonlight glinted off of silvery fur as blazing golden eyes searched the sky. When she noticed no immediate threat, the she-wolf turned her attention back ahead of her and continued making her way to the forest.

A pitter-pattering noise followed in her wake as fresh blood streamed down her side from numerous gashes as well as from her muzzle and the almost fatal gash on her neck. As she hobbled along, she made sure not to let her right hind leg touch the ground, otherwise she would let out a yelp of pain. She had lost her pursuers a long time ago but she didn't want to take any chances now. As she made her way painfully through the woods, she began to reflect on that morning from hell.

flashback

The silver she-wolf's eyes opened groggily as she started to wake up for the new day. She felt movement at her belly and smiled down at the two balls of fluff nestling into her fur for warmth, whimpering as the sun started to wake them up. There were two pups, one male and the other female. They both had the look of their mother and father. Silver fur with brown patterned over it. The only thing that distinguished them was the cream colored sock on the right front leg of the male and the blue eyes with gold trimming the pupils on the female. The she-wolf looked over at her mate and smiled while giving a slight chuckle. She still couldn't believe she was lucky enough to have him in her life. Everything about him captivated and fascinated her from the color of his fur that resembled the vibrant shade of sun kissed oak to the unusual way he slept. Like right now. He was sprawled out on his back, hind legs splayed out, forelegs tucked in with his paws curled into his chest. his head was curled around with his muzzle digging into his shoulder. She was surprised he didn't get a crick in his neck for the position looked painful.

She slowly made her way to her feet, the pups whimpering in protest from the absence of warmth. The female pup slowly opened her golden eyes and, after giving a mighty yawn, her teeth clacked together as her muzzle snapped shut.

"Mama?"

"Shh." She gave her daughter a wink and a smile. By this time, the male pup was awake as well and the two pups looked at each other and gave a small giggle for they knew what was about to happen. The she-wolf crept slowly over to her mate with a mischievous grin and when she was close enough, her pups slowly climbed up her back. When they were in position, they gave each other a look, and then, giving little puppy battle cries, launched themselves off their mother and landed on their father's belly.

He gave an "oof" at the rude awakening and jumped to his feet in a flash. The two pups landed on their backs, laughing hysterically while he stood there panting. He looked at his pups and then at his mate who was also laughing. He gave a grin and said, "So, you think that was funny huh Tavy?"

Octavia looked at her mate and said, "Well Nolan, it's one way to get your lazy ass up."

"Oh, really?" He gave a mock growl and jumped at his mate. As soon as her back hit the ground, she kicked her legs at his underbelly, flipping him off of her. She continued the maneuver, rolling backwards and landing on him. She gave a quick lick to his muzzle and then jumped backwards off of him. He gave a smirk as he jumped to his feet. The two continued to play fight for a few minutes, the pups eventually joining in. Soon the pups grew tired and sat, watching their parents and rooting them on. The play fight came to an end when Octavia pinned him again. She laid there on him, staring into his blue eyes. She smiled and then gave him a gentle lick on his muzzle. He licked her back and whispered in her ear, "I love you Tavy."

"I love you too," she said. The two nuzzled for a moment and then she got off him and let him up. He stood up and shook his fur out. Right about that time, They heard paw steps outside of the den. Not long after, a sandy brown wolf with a cream colored belly and sock on its right front paw came into the den.

"Sheena, It's good to see you. Right on time as usual," said Nolan.

"Good morning Alphas. It's a wonderful day today," Sheena said with a bow.

Octavia gave a smile and then looked down at her pups. "Cole, Lana, I want you to be good while we're gone and mind Sheena, okay? And don't go too far from the den unless Sheena is with you, you hear?"

"But Mama," Lana protested.

"Lana, listen to your Mother," Nolan spoke up. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time. Sheena had to fish you out of the creek."

Lana's ears lowered to her head. "I will Papa"

"Good girl. We'll be back this evening."

Cole and Lana ran to their parents and after exchanging nuzzles said, "We love you Mama. We love you Papa."

"We love you too. Now you kids have fun and try to stay out of trouble please," Nolan said

"Oh, they're no trouble at all," Sheena said. "Now you two lovebirds run along. The pack isn't gonna run itself."

The two alphas gave a smile and made their way out of the den to go assign hunting parties and patrols for the day. After that task was finished, Octavia looked at Nolan and said, "Maybe we should go and check on Reese. Last I talked to Keller, he wasn't doing too good."

Nolan nodded his head and said, "That's a good idea. I've been worried about him since his leg got skewered by that caribou." And with that, they made their way to the healer's den. Once outside, they stopped and Nolan stuck his head in. "Psst. Keller. You here?"

"Yes Alphas. Come on in." When they got inside the den, they saw an middle aged grey wolf sorting his herbs he would need for pain and remedies. He turned to them as they entered and said, "good morning Alphas. What may this old wolf do for you?"

"Ah, watch it Keller," Nolan said with a twinkle in his eyes. You ain't that much older than me."

"That may be true Nolan, but I do recall delivering you after all," he said with mirth in his voice.

"Yeah, still got a mind as sharp as a claw as well."

"Yeah, and don't you forget it either. Now what brings you two here on this fine morning?"

"Well," Octavia said, speaking up. "We came to check on Reese. Is he getting any better?"

"Actually, he's doing much better. The infections gone and the wound is starting to close. I'd say within a month, he will have full mobility back and should be able to join the hunting party again."

"That's good news Keller. That boy had us worried there for a while," Nolan said with a relieved sigh.

"Why don't you two go and see him? He would love the company."

"Thanks Keller," Octavia said as she and Nolan went into a side passage that led to the invalid's quarters. Once there, they saw a black wolf with a white underbelly, white under his muzzle and tail, and white socks on all four paws that went half way up his legs. He was laying slightly on his left side with his right hindleg propped up on a log to keep it elevated off the floor. Octavia took one look at Reese's injury and gave a startled gasp when she saw the gruesome wound. The flesh was ragged at the opening. the muscle torn where the antler went through the leg. She could even see the severed blood vessels. Octavia felt like she was going to be sick right there.

Reese looked up when they appeared and noticed the slack-jawed and queasy look on the female alpha's face. "Trust me," he said with a smile. "It looks a lot worse than it feels."

"How ya feeling buddy?" Nolan asked.

"I'm doing a lot better. thanks for coming for a visit. I swear, Keller's gonna be the death of me," he said with a jovial grin.

"Yeah, Keller may not have the best bedside manner but you know that it's for your own good," Octavia said with a shaky smile of her own."

"Yeah yeah I know. But don't you guys worry. I'll be up and about in no time."

"Well I hope you learned your lesson on hunting caribou. Don't try to be a hero out there. That's why it's called a hunting 'team.' You have to work together," Nolan said sternly.

"Yeah, I learned my lesson on that. And one I'm not likely to forget either," Reese said with a grimace.

Nolan shook his head and said, "alright buddy. We'll let you rest now. Take care of yourself and follow Keller's orders."

"Yes sir," Reese said with a mock salute.

Nolan laughed as he and Octavia made their way back to the main cavern. They said bye to Keller on the way out.

Octavia gave a shudder as she looked at her mate. "I don't normally freak like that, but, that was one of the worst wounds I've ever seen. I've seen plenty of hunting injuries involving antlers but that one's at the top of the list." She gave another shudder just thinking about it.

"Yeah," said Nolan with a grimace. "He's lucky he didn't lose his leg or worse."

Octavia looked at her mate and said, "Let's go check on the den mothers next and make sure they have everything they need."

"Alri-" he was cut off as he saw the leader of one of the scout patrols running up full tilt. As he got closer, Nolan saw blood on his silver and white coat.

"Shawn, what the hell happened?"

"Sir!," Shawn said, trying to catch his breath. "The northern pack are attacking. My whole squad was wiped out!"

"What!" What happened?"

"They had an ambush set up. We never stood a chance. They were on us before we even knew what hit us the smart bastards! Rowe he-he-he saved my life. My throat would have been scattered all over the northern woods if he hadn't taken that hit for me. What the hell man! I thought we had a peace treaty with the northern pack!"

"We did," Nolan said darkly. "Shawn, how bad are your wounds."

"I'll make it sir."

"Are you sure? That wound on your back looks pretty bad."

Shawn looked at his Alpha with a fierce determination in his golden brown eyes. "Sir, Rowe sacrificed himself for me so I could make it back and warn the pack. I don't want that sacrifice to be in vain. I will make it. I want to help any way I can."

"Alright, round up the deltas and omegas. Tell them to get the females, pups and invalids out of here. Octavia, go get Sheena and our pups and go with them. Don't argue. Shawn, once you have everything squared away with them, tell the betas and fighting squads to meet me at the eastern ridge. Now go!" As Shawn turned to go do as he was told, The voice of his Alpha spoke up behind him. "Oh, and Shawn." Shawn turned with a curious look on his face.

"Yes."

"I know it's going to be hard, but try to put all this behind you and focus on the here and now."

"Yes sir," Shawn said and ran off to carry out his orders.

"Nolan," Octavia was looking at him with tears in her eyes. "I can't let you go out there and get killed, We should fight this together."

"No Tavy. I need you looking after our kids. If Something happens to Keller, Sheena will have to tend to the wounded. I can't risk you. Now go and do what I said please."

Octavia just looked at him for a moment and then ran up to him and nuzzled him. He nuzzled her back and said, "I love you my darling."

"I love you too Nolan. Just come back safe please."

"I'll do my best. Now take off."

She gave him one last nuzzle and then ran to their den. As soon as she got there, she saw fighting right outside. 'Damn, they got here quicker than we thought.' Three wolves were attacking Sheena who was trying to defend the pups. She wasn't doing too good either. She was already wounded while the enemy still looked fresh. Octavia let out a snarl as she tackled the wolf who was squaring off with Sheena. She immediately jumped to Sheena's side and bared her fangs at the enemy wolves, hackles raised and fur standing on end. "Sheena, are you okay?"

"I'll live. What's going on here?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, lets take care of these guys." Before another move could be made, a howl broke off in the distance.

Sheena's ears laid flat on her head. "Octavia, there's more coming." The two females and three threatening wolves turned toward the sound of pounding paws against the terrain. A second later, four wolves jumped into the fray, tackling the enemy wolves. Sheena's ears perked up and she and Octavia sighed in relief. It was Tor, beta leader and second in command under Nolan as well as Octavia's childhood friend. His normally snow white fur was matted and muddy. Blood flowed out of several wounds on his body, one of the worst being the gash starting beside his ice blue left eye, crossing over his muzzle and under his golden right eye, running across his lips, and finally ending at his jaw.

Just as he was about to speak, several more northern pack wolves were rushing to the scene. "Alpha, Sheena. Get the pups and get out of here."

"But what about you Tor?"

"We got this. We'll buy you some time but you've got to hurry."

Octavia looked torn for a moment but then nodded her head. "Okay, we will. Just please be careful."

"Will do. Now get the pups and get out of here." And with that, he jumped back into the fray.

Octavia and Sheena ran back to the den to get the pups.

"Mommy, what's going on?"

"No time Cole. We've got to get outta here!" Octavia grabbed Cole and Sheena grabbed Lana and they left the den and took off to the south.

"Where are we going to go?" Sheena asked around a mouthful of scruff.

"We're heading to the outskirts of a human town called Nome. Hopefully they won't follow us there," Sheena replied. The two continued running until they came to the edge of a cliff with a raging river down below and then turned south and west and continued on. The only sounds were the whimpers of the pups, their breathing and the sound of crunching leaves everytime their paws hit the ground. They rounded a bend and continued on. "We should be getting close to a ravine where we can cross safely. When we do, we'll continue to follow Snake River and continue on south towards the town. It's about fifty miles from here. Once we reach the outskirts we should be safe."

As they were running, Octavia caught movement from her left side. Before she could shout a warning, she and Sheena were tackled. Octavia landed hard and Cole went flying out of her mouth. Cole landed with a surprised squeak. She heard a cry off to her left and and looked up just in time to see Sheena and Lana go over the cliff.

"NOOO!" She screamed as she saw her best friend and daughter disappear over the ledge. She jumped to her feet and tried to run to the edge of the cliff when three wolves jumped in front of her. "Where do you think you're going bitch!"

"You bastard!" She snarled and lunged at her aggressors. She tackled one and got a couple of bites in before being knocked off of him. A paw hit her face, the claws tearing into her flesh. She let out a snarl and threw the wolf off of her. She jumped to her feet and immediately launched herself to her left, avoiding a strike. She lunged, her jaws closing around the throat of her assailant. She bit down with all her might and a satisfying crunch was heard. She dropped the now twitching and dead wolf into the snow and faced off with the other one. "Just you and me asshole."

"Oh, really. You might want to rethink that bitch." She heard whimpering from behind her. Turning around, she saw the third wolf that she forgot about holding her son on the ground, jaws around his neck.

"No, please. Don't hurt him. He's just a pup. Please do whatever you want to me but don't hurt my son."

"Anything we want huh? You know what, that's just too bad." He looks at his companion and gives a nod.

"NOOO!" Octavia screams as the other wolf picks her son up and gives him a violent shake. Several crunching sounds could be heard and her son went limp.

"YOU MONSTER! She launches herself at the wolf that just killed her son and tackled him to the ground. As soon as she does, she's knocked off of him and then they gang up on her. Violent snarls are heard as the three fight. Blood and fur fly as the two wolves struggled to kill her and she herself struggled for vengeance and survival. By this time her flanks had been ripped to shreds and the other two weren't faring any better. One of her assailants got his jaws around her right hind leg, biting with everything he had, trying to immobilize her. She gave a shrill yelp of pain as her bone broke in two. He threw her against a tree, her ribs cracking with the impact as she bounced off like a rag doll and fell to the ground. Finally the two wolves got her pinned and the leader had his jaws around her neck.

"Any last words?"

"Yeah, Die bastard!" With those words, she twisted out of his grip causing her neck to get ripped open and lunged off the ground, grabbing his throat in her jaws and ripping it out with such savagery that his spine was even cleaved in two. She was knocked back down again and no longer had the energy to defend herself. She laid there, accepting her fate and her failure to protect her children when the weight that was on top of her was suddenly flung off. She laid there for a second trying to process what just happened. She looked over and saw Nolan finishing off the last wolf. He turned back to her and gave a smile before slumping to the ground.

"Nolan!" With renewed strength, she heaved herself off the ground and stumbled over to him. That's when she saw the fatal wound in his side. His left flank had been savagely ripped open and his throat was mangled. Tears flooded her eyes as she fell down next to him, their noses almost touching. "Nolan. Cole and Lana. They-they-they're dead. And so is Sheena." She started sobbing right there, unable to control her tears.

Nolan, eyes barely open, gave her a brief lick on her muzzle and said, "We did all we could. Now You must live for all of us. There is still something you must accomplish in your life. Aniu spoke to me in a dream. Look for the wolf who isn't and his son and daughter. They will help you fulfill your destiny. Promise my love that you will keep on going. Don't give up. I love you Octavia."

"I-" But it was too late. Nolan had already breathed his last breath and passed on from this world. "I love you too," she whispered. Octavia laid there, weeping into his fur for another hour until she heard howls in the distance. Her mate's last words rang through her head. "For you, my love." She gave him one more lick and then made her way to her feet and stumbled away.

End flashback.

Thatwas many hours ago and now here she was, limping her way through the woods, near death, leaving a trail of blood and heartache in her wake. She was now at the point that she could hardly put one paw in front of the other. Her movements were getting more and more sluggish until, unable to go any further, she collapsed on her left side in the snow. Her breathing became shallow and she waited for death to take her. What was the point in continuing? She had lost her mate, her pups, her best friend, and her pack. She was a lone wolf now with nothing but heartache and despair. She closed her eyes, waiting to breath her last. She heard the sound of barking in the distance before the darkness overcame her.