Greetings dear readers. I am here to bring you the 9th chapter in this story and the theme of this chapter is very appropriate for today.

Chapter 9 The proposal

Garth, Lilly, Sasha, Shelia and Shaun had been sitting in the clearing for most of the morning listening as Decca told all about how him and Kate got relocated, he told them about how him and Kate met Marcel and Paddy who directed them home and of course he didn't forget to mention how he saved Kate's life after she ran away from him because she was angry that he had lost their ride home. Sasha also told them what had happened when Decca lost her and she had made her way back to the pack, only to find Decca supposedly dead along with most of the pack. "right so that is everything that has happened in my life right up until we met again" Decca finished. "wow and to think we thought we had an adventure" Shaun said. "So? What should we do now?" Garth asked, suddenly a loud rumbling sound came from his belly. "I'm wondering, was that a bear or your belly Barf?" Decca teased in a fit of laughter. "I told you not to call me that!" Garth shouted. "why not Barf? it's a good name" Shaun joked. "hey that's my name for him, no one gets to call him Barf except me,make up your own nicknames" Decca protested. "Neither of you are allowed to call me any nicknames" Garth replied. "How about Stinkbutt? Loudmouth? Skunkbutt? errrm birdbrain? Ooh ooh, I know, Pack idiot" Decca offered, causing Garth to go a shade redder. "Decca, just because you're my cousin and best friend, don't believe that I would think twice about hitting you if you continue" Garth growled, getting really annoyed at these two immature Zetas. Sasha, Lilly and Sheila just watched as Decca and Shaun continued to make up nicknames for Garth, causing the wolf to snap, he started chasing the two brothers around the clearing. "Do you reckon we sort this out ourselves or just leave them to it and wait for them to get tired?" Sheila asked the other two."If we want to get something to eat, then we best not. If I know Shaun and Decca then they can do this all day, I'll handle this" Sasha replied, she stepped forward. "Right that's enough you lot! I can see that your stomachs are talking louder than your heads! so let's just calm down, head to the feeding grounds and get something to eat" Sasha shouted, a howl signaling a successful hunt sounded out just as she said that. Lilly, Garth, Shaun and Sheila looked at her stunned whilst Decca looked at her with a mixture of fear and amusement, after all he had seen firsthand what could happen if Sasha got annoyed, not with himself being on the receiving end of it of course but rather his tormentors in the Zeta pack, those that had pushed him around and bullied him soon learned that to pick on him was to risk the wrath of Sasha. slowly one by one Lilly, Garth, Shaun and Sheila snapped out of their shock, In the bushes Winston smiled to himself as he watched the five wolves slowly started walking up towards the feeding grounds, it was so good finally seeing the family back together again and he was happy for them.

When the five of them got to the feeding grounds they each took a piece of meat from the carcasses that the hunting party had brought back before Garth led them over to where two eastern wolves were sat. Even after spending so long away from the Eastern pack, he still recognized them "hey Zeke, Theo" Decca called out. the two wolves turned around to see who had called them, their mouths dropped open and they stared wide-eyed in shock. "Wait, Kora? But the stampede? Garth and Tony said you got trampled" Theo exclaimed. "Guys, yes it's me, back from the dead, but my name isn't Kora, it's Decca" The young Half-wolf replied. "Ahh, we don't care, so long as you're alive. Besides, Decca is a better name than Kora" Zeke said as he and Theo ran up to Decca and tackled him to the ground. "it's great to see you guys too" Decca laughed, trying to protect himself as Zeke and Theo started tickling him, it was wonderful to see that these two hadn't changed one bit. Once he got up, Decca introduced Zeke and Theo to Sasha, Shaun and Shelia, then they just sat on the grass talking as they ate their meal.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Decca asked after they had all finished their food. "I don't know, you're always the one with ideas" Shaun answered, just as he said that, Salty, Shakey and Mooch entered the feeding grounds and came over to where Decca and the others were "Hey Humph... erm I mean Decca, *under his breath* boy, this is so confusing. you said that you would hang out with us today" Shakey said as they approached. "Wait that's it! Guys I think it's time we introduced them to logboarding. I can't wait to see what Garth makes of this" Decca exclaimed.

10 minutes later

Four hollowed out half logs and eleven wolves sat at the top of the large slope that the omega's and Decca used for logboarding, everyone was excited except Garth who had small hollowed out half logs on his knees and his elbows (like pads that you wear for skateboarding or whatever). "Are you sure this is safe?" Garth asked nervously as he peered over the edge and down the steep slope, unsure of how on earth Decca and his friends actually managed to do this, let alone how they managed to talk him into it. "Oh come on, I thought Alpha's are supposed to be fearless, not scared of going down a small hill" Sasha teased, getting a laugh from the others which made Garth turn as red as a tomato out of either embarrassment, anger or both, you never could tell. "Right you did add breaks to this didn't you?" Decca asked Salty. "Umm...about that..." Shakey started before he was cut off by Salty. "Sure we added brakes this time around, we aren't idiots, also there's a massive mound of dirt at the bottom to make sure little Garthy doesn't get hurt" Salty replied. "Oh good, WAIT! WHAT!" Garth shouted. "all right everyone get in and hold on tight, this is going to get bumpy" Decca said as he got into one of the logs along with Garth and Sasha. "Last one to the bottom is the caribou" Decca said as he pushed off sending the log flying down the slope, Decca felt the all too familiar rush of the wind flying past him, ruffling his fur and chilling the skin underneath, he imagined that this must be what it felt like to fly, to be free, he became lost in the moment as he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander. However, the need to teach the other two how to steer and prevent them from crashing soon brought him back to his senses.

"Lean left, lean right" Decca shouted, instructing the other two on how to turn the improvised "sled" as the log narrowly missed a tree and a rock. The log continued to pick up speed as it shot down the hill, Decca and Sasha were screaming out of excitement with their paws in the air whilst Garth was...well, just screaming, but as the log continued on its path down the hill a smile started forming on Garth's muzzle until he was screaming with excitement like the other two. "So Garth how is log sledding now?" Decca asked after hearing Garth yell with excitement "WHAT?" Garth asked, not being able to hear Decca properly because of the air rushing past them. "I SAID HOW IS LOG SLEDDING NOW!" Decca shouted so that Garth could hear him. "YOU KNOW IT ISN'T AS BAD AS I FIRST THOUGHT!" Garth replied. Just then one of the other logs zoomed past them "quick aim for that rock" Decca instructed, pointing to a flat rock that stuck up at an angle. the log hit the rock and flew up into the air, carrying the three wolves with it. "WAHOO!" they shouted as they were catapulted out of the log, then they looked down and saw that they were no longer in the log, then they started falling, but luckily they landed in a heap on the log with Sasha on top. "Well that was lucky" Sasha sighed as she looked around, noticing that they were back in first place, then she looked down, seeing the other two beneath her and suppressed a chuckle. "Garth get your butt out of my face" came the muffled voice of Decca,who was struggling to breath through the mass of fur that sat atop him. Sasha and Garth carefully got off Decca. "Errrm...guys...tree!" Sasha warned pointing to a large tree only a few feet away. "Quick, everyone lean right!" Decca shouted, they did as he said and they narrowly missed the tree but they had steered right into the path of a rock that was sticking up out of the ground.

The log hit the rock and catapulted the three wolves out of it, sending Decca and Sasha flying over the mound of dirt, a pile of leaves broke Sasha's fall, however Decca landed hard on his side on the solid ground. "well that went well" Decca moaned to himself as he shakily got to his feet but as he did so a surge of pain shot through his left fore-paw. "Ow my paw!" he exclaimed, as he collapsed to the ground with a pained yelp. "Decca you okay? Are you hurt?" Sasha asked concerned as she hurried over to him after watching him collapse. "Yea I'm okay but my paw isn't" Decca replied through gritted teeth, just then the log containing Lilly Shaun and Shelia crashed through the pile of dirt and came to a stop then after it came Zeke and Theo, then finally Salty, Shakey and Mooch. "hey what's up with Decca?" Shakey asked, noticing his friend lying on the ground, seemingly in pain. "When the sled catapulted us all out, he landed pretty hard and I think he's hurt his paw" Sasha replied as they stepped closer to Decca. "This looks pretty bad, we should get him to my mom as soon as possible without hurting him" Lilly advised as she examined Decca's paw, being careful not to touch it and cause him more pain. Sasha helped Decca up, then allowed him to lean on her so he didn't have to put weight on his left paw. "Hey wait ,where's Garth?" Decca asked, looking around and not seeing any sign of the red Eastern wolf anywhere. "I don't know, I'll go look for him... wait, come and look at this" Shaun called as he went round the other side of the dirt pile through the gap the logs had made. The others followed him and immediately started laughing because Garth had been flung head first into the dirt pile and was now stuck with the back half of his body sticking out of the pile. "This isn't funny guys, someone help me out of this!" came Garth's muffled voice, Theo and Zeke grabbed hold of him and started to pull, but had no success in getting him out. "can't you pull any harder?" Shaun asked as they continued tugging. "Hey! We are pulling our hardest, Garth is just a bit fat" Zeke replied defensively. "I HEARD THAT!" Garth shouted "I BET THAT WAS YOU Zeke!". Shaun and Shelia started tugging on Garth as well and eventually they managed to pull Garth out of the dirt pile and started to make their way back to the packs.

Five minutes later

Eve was in her and Winston's den relaxing when in came Sasha, Lilly and Decca who was lent against Sasha and was holding his left foreleg up off the ground. "What can I do for you?" Eve asked as the three of them entered. "Decca's hurt, we were out log sledding and he got catapulted out of the log and hurt his paw" Lilly explained as Sasha gently lowered Decca to the floor. "Right you two go wait outside whilst I check his leg" Eve commanded as Lilly and Sasha went outside. "How many times have I told you to stop pulling crazy stunts like that? It's only a matter of time before you get yourself killed" Eve scolded "Hey, what can I say, old habbits die hard" Decca replied, managing a weak chuckle. As Eve checked over Decca's leg her mind wandered back to when she had first met him as a pup before he was to become Humphrey, he stayed in a den just outside pack territory whilst Winston made arrangements for his arrival into the pack (having a new den dug and thinking of an excuse for the pup's sudden arrival into the pack among other things) and either her or Winston would take turns to go down to check up on him. Eve liked going to see Decca and to her and Winston he was like the son they never had, he was a very kind and shy pup, although around those he saw as friends he was also playful and fun loving, despite being a Zeta and despite everything he had been through. As soon as he met Kate and Lilly as Humphrey she could tell that there was a strong bond of friendship that had formed between them, in fact Eve had overheard Humphrey/Decca saying to Lilly that to him she and Kate were like family and he hoped that they could be friends forever. Eve knew that when she and Winston weren't around anymore he would keep her daughters safe no matter what. Eve snapped out of her train of thought and began concentrating on the task at paw, after examining Decca's leg she stepped outside the den where Lilly and Sasha were both eagerly awaiting news of Decca. "what's up with him?" Sasha immediately asked, with a look of worry and concern on her face. "His leg is broken, but not badly, so long as he keeps it still, then it should heal up in about one and a half to two weeks. Lilly will you please go and find some vines so I can make a splint for his leg?" Eve replied. As Lilly ran off to get the vines, Eve and Sasha went inside the den, Sasha sat down and started chatting and joking with Decca whilst Eve went to the back of the den and picked up to little half logs out of a pile that had been picked specially for making splints, she then placed them down near Decca and joined in the two young wolves' conversation whilst waiting for Lilly to get back.

Five minutes later

Eve had just finished making the splint. "Right that's that done, you just need to rest it for a week or so, then it should be as good as new, so that means no hunting or playing with your friends." Eve told Decca. Decca Lilly and Sasha started to leave but just as they got to the entrance of the den, Winston walked in. "Ah Sasha there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you, your new den is finished now, if you follow me I'll take you to it. By the way Decca, your brother and sister are sharing your old den, I hope you don't mind" Winston said as he led Sasha along with Lilly and Decca out of the den.

9 days later

Decca's leg had finally healed and today found him lying by the lake which was lit spectacularly by the setting sun. Decca wasn't looking at the lake though, he was engrossed in thought. "What if she says no? What if she doesn't love me? Why would she want to be with a stupid Half-breed like me?" he muttered to himself, saying his thoughts out-loud. Suddenly he heard a dry twig snap to his left and a hushed voice say "oh shoot!". "Right, come out, I know your there" Decca chuckled, Sasha slowly padded out of the bushes where she had been trying to sneak up on Decca. "Wow Decca, your hearing really has improved" Sasha observed as she walked down to the lake and sat beside Decca. they sat side by side for a few minutes before Decca broke the silence. "Um Sasha...there is somewhere I want you to see, follow me" Decca said, getting up, curious as to what Decca wanted to show her, Sasha followed him. The route he took her through the forest was beautiful but Sasha wasn't concentrating on that, she was busy trying to figure out how to ask Decca a question that had been on her mind for years.

Ten minutes later

"Come on Sasha, hurry up" Decca said as he led her up the steep winding path that led her to yet another place that he was sure only he knew of, due to the teasing and bullying he had received during his time with the Weston pack, he had sought out many secluded spots where he could just be alone and escape from it all and this was one of them.

"I'm coming, where are we going anyway?" Sasha asked as she hurried to catch him up. By the time she caught up to him, she found him sitting on a ledge that overlooked the entire park, she walked over and sat beside him, her eyes taking in the amazing view lit up by the sunset. "Sasha there is something I need to ask you" Decca said quickly. "what?" Sasha asked, curious as to why Decca was being so twitchy and nervous. "Sasha there is no easy way to say this but...I...I...I love you, I have loved you since the first time we met, when you showed me that I didn't have to hide and pretend that I didn't exist, you showed me that I shouldn't let them see that they got to me. You mean everything to me. Will you marry me?" Decca asked quickly before dropping his head and sighing. Sasha sat there for a few seconds in shock at what Decca had just said, when she snapped out of the shock she sat down in front of Decca, put her paw under his chin and picked his head up so his eyes were looking into hers (or at least the one that wasn't covered by fur). "Decca I've loved you ever since I first met you and you don't know how long I've hoped to hear you say those words. Yes, a million times yes" Sasha said as she leaned forwards so that her and Decca's noses were touching, they stayed like that for what felt to them like forever but in reality it was only a few seconds. "Sasha, I just have one last request, would you howl with me?" Decca asked when they pulled apart. "I thought you would never ask" Sasha giggled as she lifted her muzzle up to the sky and started howling along with Decca (Decca and Sasha's howl sounds a lot like Kate and Humphrey's on the train.), partway through the howl. Sasha stopped howling and just sat there admiring Decca's howl for a few seconds before starting again, she had always wanted to hear his howl and it was one of the things she really missed after she thought he was dead. They eventually stopped and just sat there admiring the moonlit view. Sasha turned to Decca "So when are we going to get married?" she asked. . "I'll go and talk to Winston in the morning and arrange it. Right now though it's getting late, I'll see you tomorrow" Decca replied with a yawn. Seeing that Decca was tired and needing to get some rest herself, Sasha started walking off back the way she came to her den, Decca watched for a few seconds till she was swallowed up by the darkness. "What a wonderful wolf, I still can't imagine how someone like me could be with someone like her" he thought before making his way back to his own den.

As usual, please review to tell me what you of this story so far and/or to tell me what I could improve on for next time. A big thanks to all those of you who have reviewed so far and to those that have followed/Favorited this story. This is xXShadowTheWolfXx Signing off