29. The Missing Piece

Humphrey was slammed to the ground, his jaw jarring upon impact with the stone earth. This had happened several times on their journey into the forest. Whenever any of them tried to break free of the newcomers' grasps, they'd be slammed harshly into the ground and kicked in the rump forward. Humphrey decided after this time that it probably wasn't the best idea to continue doing it. After all, it was probably destroying his teeth with each shattering hit. He dragged himself up and growled at his captor as he was shoved forward again. Scourge's muzzle was wrapped tightly in vines after he'd tried to tear one of the captors apart. 'At least,' Humphrey thought. 'They haven't done that to me yet.'

Kala trudged a few tail lengths away, Winston on her left. Lily, Garth, and Firetail were kept apart, each watched by a wolf. Kacey had tried to go back to Humphrey and Kala on several occasions, but was beaten down by a ruthless she-wolf captor each time she made the attempt. Salty was unconscious, Sweets worrying over him as a particularly large wolf carried him on his back. The other four were spread out amongst the group, and the large white wolf led the way forward. One of the wolves walking in the back of the group was watching Kala intently; he was a brute of a wolf, but looked to be low on overall intelligence. He tentatively padded up to Kala and poked her rear with his nose. She reeled away and snarled at him. Humphrey growled at the perverted wolf as well, his eyes bearing a warning glare for the attempted-molester.

"If you touch my daughter," Humphrey growled. "I'll rip your throat out!"

"Oh, little wolf thinks he so tough, uh?" The brute said, walking up to him. "Me thinks little wolf should FUCK OFF!" He rammed into Humphrey, sending him sprawling into the ground. The group stopped, the white wolf glaring at him.

"Sarmen!" He barked. "We are not here to rape she-wolves and beat their parents! Back off!" Sarmen grinned crookedly and backed away submissively, another wolf taking his place to keep watch over Kala.

"You say you're not here to abuse us," Humphrey growled, pulling himself back up. "So, what are you here to do with us?"

"You're on our land," the white wolf stated, leading the group once more. "It's up to the Leader Wolf and the Shaman to decide your fate." With that, they continued forward. Humphrey was pushed forward forcefully. He reluctantly stumbled forward, keeping pace with the group as they continued through the forest.

They traveled into the night, the morning, the day, and into the late afternoon without stop. It was torture for the wolves as they were forced to scat and urinate while walking, the she-wolves doing their absolute best to refrain from doing so at all. They stopped not for food or water and gave blatant disregard to Humphrey and the wolves of his pack. Winston was rasping heavily, the brutish wolf, Sarmen, barking at him to shut up. What kind of stupidity could ail a wolf that they couldn't see that Winston needed water? They all needed water, but the old wolf was practically coughing up his death throes as they walked on.

The white wolf announced that they weren't far from something he called 'the Ĝarnaw.' Humphrey furrowed his brow in confusion; what in the name of Fenrir was a Ĝarnaw? Evidently the rest of the pack was just as bewildered by the strange word and behaviors of these wolves as Humphrey was. He reached his mind out, hoping for Sam to come and give some kind of explanations as to what was going on, but he received no response from the Spirit Guide. Humphrey sighed; every time he actually needed Sam, he was never there. 'Typical of him, just so incredibly typical of him,' Humphrey thought bitterly.

Suddenly, something darted behind the trees. The wolves stopped, the white wolf looking deep into the darkness of the trees. There was more movement as the day died, the sun setting behind the mountains. There was a feral, hissing shriek in the forest. Kacey looked at Humphrey fearfully and mouthed out, "Night Watchers." Humphrey's blood ran cold; they had already encountered the D'Tyoni, so what were the Night Watchers going to be? Suddenly, a pale, furless creature leapt out of the forest. At first, Humphrey thought that it was a Longfang, but this was too small, to lithe, and it had no tail. Its head bore no eyes either, nor did it have ears; it was just a vast, hideous maw with four incredibly large fangs jutting from its mouth, two on top, two on the bottom. Three rows of razor-sharp fangs lined the interior of its mouth and a long, purple tongue snaked out of its mouth. Its paws had long appendages sticking from it; they looked like human paws, but larger, with massive, yellowing claws sticking from the tips.

It shrieked again and leapt at one of the wolves. It took Ashley by the throat, blood gushing from her neck as she screamed in terror. The creature ran out into the forest, dragging Ashley with it. Another wolf screamed her name and broke free of his captors, rushing into the forest. Almost immediately, another creature attacked him, severing his head from his body. It rose on its hind legs and grabbed the head in one paw and the tail in another, dragging the headless body into the forest. The wolves' eyes widened and the white wolf barked at them to get moving. More of the creatures pounced at them; the last two of the Eastern wolves being dragged off save for Garth who stayed beside Lily the whole way. Two of the captor wolves were also taken away, but the wolves continued their hectic run through the forest and away from the devilish creatures.

Humphrey spared a glance back and his blood ran cold as he saw more of the creatures chasing them. He sprinted forward, catching up with the rest of the wolves. Suddenly, Kala tripped, falling behind. Humphrey skidded to a halt; no, he couldn't let her die! One of the Night Watchers leapt on Kala and her eyes locked with the creature's. Suddenly, two invisible slits opened on the side of its head and glowed a bright yellow as it looked into Kala's eyes. Her eyes glowed yellow as well as she looked into its eyes.

He dashed forward and grabbed her by the scruff dragging her away from the creature. The slits on its bulbous face closed and it roared at them. Kala's eyes blinked and returned to their normal amber, no longer glowing. Humphrey shoved her along, getting her to run again. They sprinted as fast as they could, racing after the rest of the wolves and gaining on them quickly, but the creatures did as well. There was a gap in the trees ahead, a dark wolf standing at the end. They dove past the wolf and into the clearing. The wolf standing before the forest raised a paw and the creatures leapt at them. Suddenly, they smashed into an invisible barrier. It sparked blue as they crashed into it as though there was some kind of electrical field of energy that they couldn't see unless it was touched. The creatures hissed and snarled at the wolves through the barrier and then ran off.

They all breathed heavy sighs of relief, but they were saddened. They wept for the wolves that didn't make it. They were taken in a matter of moments, all of them…they were gone. If Iris and Marcel were still alive, that meant that now, there were only thirteen of them left. If not, then it was even fewer still. How could this happen? How could Humphrey let this happen?

"There was nothing you could have done," Humphrey, a voice said in his mind. It was not Sam; it was Scourge. Humphrey cast a shocked glance at him, but Scourge reminded him just of what Sam gave them. He had also given the gift to Kala. How Scourge managed to figure out how to use the newfound ability of telepathy was beyond Humphrey; this would have to be something that Scourge would need to teach him. As soon as he had the thought, Scourge told him that he would certainly teach him the ability of telepathic speech, as well as help him explain it to Kala if he so chose.

Suddenly, the wolf standing before the forest turned to look at them. He was incredibly ancient, appearing as though he was decades old despite the fact that the life expectancy of a wolf was only around ten years. His fur was ragged and unkempt, two large green eyes poking from sullen eye sockets. Long hairs stretched out of his ears and his whiskers stretched down his face. His claws were long and cracked, his entire body covered in green markings. His face was covered in the markings, lines etched across his face and around his pelt everywhere. The green had been so engrained into his fur that it almost looked natural. Had there not been the dull grey-white fur across his body, Humphrey would have easily thought that he was the first green wolf to exist in the world.

He glared at them, his eyes darting about madly as he observed the wolves. He was a hyperactive, jittery old wolf. His tail, Humphrey realized, was half severed. There was a large part of top of his left ear that was missing and whenever he opened his mouth, they could see that he was missing teeth as well.

"Who are these wolves?" He rasped. His voice was old yet youthful at the same time, energized, hyper. His voice was slightly higher than the normal pitch for a male wolf, somewhat higher than Shakey's voice. The white wolf walked up to the old one and gestured to Humphrey and his pack as they moved closer together. Humphrey could feel Kala press against his side, Kacey standing next to him on the other.

"We found them in the Snake Pass," the white wolf informed him. "As of Pack Law, we brought the invaders here for you and the Leader Wolf to take care of."

"Why must you repeatedly drop your problems on us?" He inquired angrily. The white wolf flinched as though he was fearful of the old wolf. Still, he stood still and waited as though he expected the old wolf to say something. When he didn't, the white wolf continued to talk.

"I didn't mean for it to sound like that, oh Shaman," he replied carefully. "Pack Law states that the Leader Wolf and you are to decide the fate of invaders, oh Shaman."

"Drop the 'oh Shaman' badger shit!" The Shaman snarled. The white wolf winced and backed up several paces. The Shaman snorted from his response and dragged out a small wooden plank of bark. There was a white, powdery substance on it of which he laid out on the ground in a long line in front of the forest. "I told you imbeciles that if you don't renew the Spirit Guardians after every rainfall or fast-wind, then every damned creature from the forest will kill us while we sleep!"

"Y-yes, oh Shaman, sir," the white wolf replied. His eyes widened and he vigorously shook his head. "My apologies, sir, I forgot to not call you-"

"Stop with this petty conversation!" The Shaman growled. "I tire of it. Bring the newcomers to the Ĝarnaw, we must speak with Saren." The white wolf nodded and growled an order to his wolves. Immediately, they shoved the Jasper wolves ahead, following the Shaman and the white wolf forward. The trees were sparse in this part of the forest, giving way to rocky flats.

They moved through the mountains until they reached a large clearing. In the clearing were stone obstructions that were not natural. Stones were piled on top of one another in small den-like creations, plant life growing around and in the stone structures. In a way, they resembled exterior caves. From the structures, wolves emerged. They all had lines painted onto their fur in unique designs, different colors given to the wolves depending on their natural fur color. Only the pups and younger wolves did not have the markings on their bodies. There was one thing that all of these wolves had in common, though; they all had bright, jade green eyes and they were all exceptionally large wolves. Not many of them were taller than the Jasper wolves, but indefinitely built far more stocky and stronger than them. It was like looking at a pack of Garths.

Silence hung over the massive clearing eerily as the Jasper wolves were ushered into the center of the clearing. A large red circle was drawn in the center of the clearing, an odd insignia painted on the ground within the circle. Upon closer examination, Humphrey realized that it looked just like the object he'd seen in his nightmares. What was this thing? There was a large cave mouth in the mountain they stood before. At the top of the mountain, four ice claws jutted from the peak and pointed in on themselves at the top of the massive peak. The sloped incline was incredible, nearly a perfect vertical drop. Humphrey would have been shocked if anything aside from birds could scale its surface.

The white wolf, the Shaman, and another wolf, a large black-furred wolf walked out of the cave, staring down at the Jasper wolves. This, Humphrey presumed, must have been the Leader Wolf they had talked about, Saren. He looked down at them, scrutinizing them from a distance. The rest of the pack was looking at them as well, the Jasper wolves huddling closer together as Humphrey padded to the forefront of the group. As Leader Wolf, it was his job to settle disputes and conduct diplomatic speeches on behalf of his pack.

"Who are you?" Saren asked him. His voice was different, the dialect odd as though he was not normally accustomed to speaking the language. That was impossible though, wasn't it? Wolves all spoke the same language, so how could this wolf be any different? Then again, they all had colored markings on their fur, the black wolf, Saren, covered in bright white markings resembling claw mark designs running down the sides of his face, his forehead, and his legs. Humphrey padded forward several paces, Scourge on his right and Winston on his left. The wolves looked at them through narrowed, questionable eyes. They didn't trust Humphrey and his pack, nor did they have any reason to. Still, Winston was experienced as a Leader Wolf and Scourge was a wolf that Humphrey considered to be his second in command (aside from Kacey, of course-as mates, Kacey was a Leader She-Wolf by default) and he was a wolf that Humphrey trusted with his life. He needed them with him just as Saren needed the Shaman and the white wolf.

"My name is Humphrey," he replied, projecting his voice so it could be heard. "We are the surviving wolves of Jasper Park to the south." There was a slight murmur that went through the crowd and the Shaman whispered something to Saren. He nodded and returned his hard gaze to Humphrey.

"You said you are survivors," he observed. "Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"Jasper Park-our former home-was destroyed by humans one year, seven months, and eighteen days ago. We used to be a pack of over one hundred wolves, but only we survived. We've been traveling north ever since." Saren nodded.

"I am sorry for your loss, Humphrey of Jasper Park," he apologized. His voice was sincere, but still bore caution. "I am Saren; I am the Leader Wolf of the Pack of the Jagged Ice. My Harko here," he dipped his head towards the white wolf. "Has informed me that you have invaded our territory through the Snake Pass; why are you invading our lands?"

"We aren't invading," Humphrey replied calmly. "We've been traveling north for a long time now and we thought the pass would be the fastest way out of the mountains." Saren nodded once again and conversed with the Shaman and the white wolf. Humphrey shifted his weight uncomfortably. He spared a glance to Winston and the old wolf nodded in approval; he was indeed carrying out with the diplomacy quite well in the situation. Scourge also nodded, his claws partially unsheathed in case things got out of hand. Finally, Saren looked back.

"Where are you heading, Humphrey of Jasper Park?" He inquired.

"We are heading for the Pack of the Winter Mountains," he replied confidently. There was a murmuring sniggering in the crowd as they stifled mocking laughter from his bold statement. Saren considered his response for a while.

"A bold statement, Humphrey of Jasper Park," he said. "But you must know that the Pack of the Winter Mountains does not exist."

"We had no other place to go," Humphrey replied. "It seemed like our best shot after Jasper was destroyed." Saren nodded.

"If your mind is set on reaching the Pack of the Winter Mountains," Saren said. "Then you may stay here for the night and take shelter here. You do not seem to be in the best shape at the moment; tell me when the last time was you ate a proper meal?"

"No, Saren!" The white wolf protested. The Leader Wolf glared at him. "We can't just let these strangers in our Ĝarnaw; much less give them our food!"

"We have enough room to accommodate thrice the amount of wolves we have in this clearing," Saren stated. "And we have never had a shortage of food nor water. If anything, we have had a staggering surplus of food and water as we always have. They shall be our guests for the while and we will ensure that they are at full health before they continue their journey. This is my pack, and I am your Leader Wolf; what I say is the law here." The white wolf grumbled and walked away. Saren padded to Humphrey.

"My apologies, newcomers," Saren said. "Icerin has been quite bothersome lately."

"No worries," Humphrey replied. "Thank you Saren, for your hospitality."

"Of course!" Saren exclaimed, smiling. "We are all wolves here, why should we not be hospitable towards one another?"

"If only all wolves thought the same as you do," Humphrey said in agreement. Saren nodded, then turned to a wolf walking by. He was a blue-grey male, not much older than Kala and Firetail. Saren barked at him. "Faolan, take our guests to Inner Cave. When the hunting parties return, bring them back here and we'll dine together."

"Yes, Leader Wolf!" He replied instantly. He beckoned for them to follow him as Saren walked away. Faolan led them to a large, spacious cave nearby. He dipped his head respectfully towards them and padded away. Kala looked after him, a puzzled look on her face. Humphrey smiled at her and nudged her. She looked at him.

"Already got a crush on him?" Humphrey teased. She looked at him incredulously.

"No!" She exclaimed. "That's icky she-wolf stuff! No, you and Kacey can do that, but you can leave me out!"

"Well, if it's 'icky she-wolf stuff,'" he said, amused. "Then why are you so interested in him?"

"He looks familiar," Kala admitted. "I don't know why, but I feel like I've seen him somewhere before." Humphrey considered her for a moment and decided to look around. The cave was covered in spiraled markings and drawings of the object he'd seen in his dreams. He padded up to a wall and saw four paw prints on the wall. He looked at the smallest and saw a line that went down it. It looked…familiar to him. How could that be? He looked at his right paw and gasped; on his pad was a line perfectly identical to the line that showed up on the cave wall. It was an old birthmark-scar that he'd had for as long as he could remember.

"I knew you'd come back," a she-wolf said. He looked at the mouth of the cave and saw a grey she-wolf standing there, tears in her eyes. She looked to be the same age as he was. She padded up to him, her eyes watery. She had a white spiral mark on her forehead, three vertical lines running down her face beneath her eyes. There were spirals on the backs of her ears and triangular marks on the tops of her paws. Her eyes were a bright teal hue, tears falling from her eyes as she held up her paw to Humphrey. An unnatural, instinctual force pushed him to meet her paw with his own. Kacey glared at her hard, the rest of the wolves staring at them in confusion. Humphrey was just as confused as they were, however.

"Who are you?" Humphrey asked her.

"It's been so many years, I guess I was expecting too much for you to remember me," she replied sadly. She smiled weakly and looked back at him. "My name is Narami. I am your sister."

**A/N: Well, that was eventful! Thanks for reading! Also, thanks to Dawn Walker Wolf, The-crazy-lone-wolf77, LilyandMe, the dark shadow, Alexander, and MoonTrekerAF for reviewing my last chapter! Also, I'd like to address something right here.**

**I am quite amused and slightly disturbed to see that so many people think I'm going to have Kala and Firetail mate. Guys, Firetail is the adopted son of Lily and Garth. Kala is biologically related to Lily and Garth, and Firetail is their adopted son. That would be like non-biological incest. Guys, the last thing I'm going to do is have Kala and Firetail mate. When I say the last, I mean literally, probably one the VERY last things I would do. They won't be mates; the fact that Kala had her first period and Firetail had his first boner on the same day was purely coincidental, not some kind of sick, twisted foreshadowing of intestinal mating. No, they won't be mates. Just…just no. Well, that's all! Until next time!**

**-The Dishonored Wolf**