The previous night, Moonlight Howl Rock.

Kate stared at the body on the ground before her, the blood splattered on the rocks glowing white in the bright moonlight. Jacob was dead. Murdered. The culprit now stood over his body, breathing heavily and Kate slowly raised her eyes to look at the all too familiar grey wolf, her suspicions confirmed as she took in the features of her late, beloved mate.

"H-Humphrey...?"

Kate's voice trailed off as Humphrey swung his gaze onto her, his expression wild yet unfocused.

"Seize him!" Winston yelled, snapping the surrounding wolves from their stunned stupor. As four nearby alphas pounced on Humphrey Kate thought she saw his eyes change color from blood red to the icy blue that she had fallen in love with but she couldn't be sure it wasn't a trick of the light.

Present.

Humphrey cried out in panic as he plummeted towards the bottom of the ravine, flailing his limbs in an attempt to grab onto something or slow himself. A moment later he hit the river at the bottom, the impact driving the air from his lungs. He couldn't stop himself from gasping, immediately wishing he hadn't as the icy water flooded in, chilling him to the bone in an instant.

\\\

"What has happened to me?" Humphrey asked himself, gazing despondently at his reflection in the slow moving water that made up this section of the river. He'd passed out from the cold as the current had swept him away but something had woken him a few miles downstream, just in time for him to grab a branch and haul himself out.

"You've always been this way."

"Ahhh!" Humphrey cried out in panic and jumped backwards as his reflection deviated from his own actions, speaking as though it had a life of its own. After a moment of silence Humphrey gingerly approached the water once more, facing a reflection that hadn't moved when he'd jumped back.

"What are you?"

"As I said, I'm you. In a way."

Humphrey could see that it was true, the wolf in the water certainly looked like he did, but it was different as well. For one thing it was more muscular than he was and for another it had blood red eyes that frightened Humphrey to his very core.

"I don't understand."

"No, you just don't remember."

"Remember what?"

"What we are Humphrey. What we are."

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Kate lay in her den, gazing down at the two pups snuggling up next to her with a complicated expression.

After all that happened she didn't really know how to feel about, well... anything, but she did love her pups, that she was sure of.

She leaned down, nuzzling one of the pups as it made a small noise in its sleep, fidgeting in discomfort. She knew that the other wolves were all outside in an emergency meeting that Winston had called to discuss what to do.

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"It's not safe. They're the offspring of that... monster."

Many of the gathered wolves nodded in agreement of Tony's words but Winston growled.

"They are also the pups of my daughter. Watch your words."

"All the same, we can not allow them to live."

Winston looked around at the others, realizing that he was fighting against the tide on this one but he just couldn't accept that such young pups could be guilty of anything.

"I can't go along with this."

"It's not your choice to make."

"Neither is it yours Tony!"

Winston and Tony both glared at each other, heckles raised as they growled angrily. Things were about to get violent but Garth jumped between them, forcing them apart.

"Now isn't the time for fighting!" Garth said sternly, glaring at the two old wolves until each backed down a bit.

"With Kate... absent, we have no choice but to put it to vote." Hutch said, moving forwards now. He had been Winston's beta for years and was well respected, the other wolves nodding in agreement.

Garth nodded as well, turning to Tony.

"Father, what do you think we should do?"

"As offspring of that monster, the pups must be killed lest they grow to pose a threat to the pack."

Winston felt as though his heart was breaking as he watched the majority of the assembled wolves murmur in agreement.

"And Winston, what is your suggestion?" Garth said turning to Winston. His tone was sad suggesting he, like Winston, could guess how this was going to go.

"They're just pups. Newborns! We cannot judge them on the actions of others."

Winston looked out at the others, begging them for support on this but except for Eve, Lily and Garth he saw no sympathy. Even Hutch shook his head, a grim expression on his face showing that he had made his choice, even if he wasn't happy about it.

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"I am so sorry, please live and prove them wrong."

Winston looked down at the two tiny wolves before him, tears running down his face. He'd convinced the others to let him be the one to dispose of the pups and had taken them in the dead of night, planning to tell Kate that they'd died in an accident. The whole situation broke his heart but with the pack against him this was all he could do. He'd carried them as far downstream as he had time for before sunrise and left them in a small hollow beneath a tree

"Fenrir forgive me." He whispered, breathing a quick prayer to the Great Wolf for all their sakes before heading back for the dens.

\\\

The gut-wrenching howl of despair that woke the united pack that morning was so filled with pain that, whether they admitted it or not, almost every single wolf that heard it questioned the decision that they'd made.

"It can't be..."

Kate whispered, staring at Winston with tears streaming down her face as she felt her heart shatter, actual physical pain shooting through her veins.

This chapter was written by Goatsplus! We hope you enjoyed.

~Stay Frosty Mates