Thanks everyone for reviewing! We've reached the 100 reviews mark! -throws party-

Chapter 35- A Hero's Return

Buckstar crashed through the forest, the RainPack wolves surrounding him like a protective shield. They leaped across the border and all the wolves visibly sighed. They kept running until the Alpha flicked his tail, signaling it was safe for them to stop and rest.

They happened to stop at the LoneRock, all of them panting and out of breath. Their sprint was the fastest they had ever ran, the adrenaline still pounding through their veins.

Buckstar looked around and made sure every wolf was with him. Larksong, Blackfrost, Sagetail and now Lilyfrost. He hoped Hawkflight was at camp safe with the others.

"Let's rest here for a bit, and then we'll continue on our way." He said to the RainPack wolves and he sat down, wincing as his shoulder throbbed with pain. Dried blood crusted on the edges of the wound, but the bleeding had stopped, thank StarPack.

The others sat around them, grooming their ruffled fur.

Out of the corner of his eye, Buckstar spotted Sagetail edge closer to Lilyfrost and the she-wolf flinched.

"I'm glad you're safe." Sagetail whispered to her, licking her ear.

Lilyfrost drew back. "Please, Sagetail. Don't." She growled.

The light brown wolf frowned. "What's wrong? Don't you appreciate being saved?"

Lilyfrost sighed. "Buckstar saved me. As I recall, you were standing outside with the others." She wrapped her tail around her paws, not looking into Sagetail's sage-colored eyes.

"If I had the chance, Lilyfrost, I would've gone in and saved you myself, but-"

"Just leave me alone." Lilyfrost got up and padded away from him.

Buckstar was about to turn away when he heard Sagetail mutter to himself, "Why does she have to be so stubborn?"

The Alpha shook his head and bent over to lick his wound, but he caught the lilac-colored eye of Lilyfrost as she walked towards him.

"You're hurt." She whined as she looked at his shoulder, her eyes troubled.

"I'm fine." He grunted and started to lick his wound with fast, thorough strokes.

Lilyfrost let out a whimper. "I'll do it." She offered.

"No, I can do it by myself. I'm not a pup." Buckstar growled between licks.

Lilyfrost growled in frustration. "Why are you acting like this? You just saved me from those horrible wolves and the least I can do is-"

"Stop!" Buckstar bared his teeth and whipped his head towards the she-wolf. "I would've done the same thing for any other RainPack wolf!"

Lilyfrost flinched, stung.

"Why don't you go to Sagetail? He seems to have a keen interest in you."

"I hate him!" She growled, her pelt starting to bristle violently.

Buckstar blinked. "Huh?"

"I hate the stupid he-wolf! Don't you see, Buckstar? I l-" She was stopped mid-sentence by a sudden shriek coming from the forest.

Dawntail crashed through the clearing her pregnant belly weighing her down, but surprisingly she made it through as if she was not pregnant at all.

Buckstar jumped up. "Dawn? What are you-"

The she-wolf's blue eyes had a wildfire in them as she ran towards him.

Buckstar tensed. She did not look too happy to see him back. Suddenly, she stopped, looked around and then narrowed her eyes at Lilyfrost. The silver wolf in turn gave her a defiant growl.

"What's going on?" The Alpha asked his mate, padding closer to her.

Dawntail blinked at him, the fire in her eyes gone in an instant. "I see you've got here all safe and sound." She then flicked her tail at his shoulder wound. "Well, almost."

"Why are you out of the Nursery?" Lilyfrost dared to ask.

Dawntail flipped her head at her, teeth bared. "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to my mate."

Lilyfrost bowed her head, suddenly very uncomfortable.

Buckstar switched his gaze around both she-wolves, more confused than anything. "What's going on here?"

Lilyfrost opened her mouth to reply, but Dawntail was faster.

"Nothing, Bucky. I was just so worried about you that I just had to find out where you were." She smiled a smile so sweet and convincing that Buckstar had to smile too.

"Dawn, you know I can take care of myself. Besides, you need to take care of yourself because our pups are due about any day now!" He told her, licking her muzzle.

Dawntail glanced at Lilyfrost before brushing herself against her mate. She then started to lick his wound gingerly, her long strokes washing the blood away. Buckstar gave her an appreciative whine and closed his eyes.

Lilyfrost snarled and turned away from them, her eyes burning holes in the ground under her.

Buckstar saw Larksong pad up to them and he separated himself from Dawntail, who gave a disappointed grumble.

"We should start going, Buckstar," The Beta wolf said and then his ice blue eyes caught sight of Dawntail. "Oh…I didn't know you came."

The she-wolf opened her mouth to answer, but Buckstar replied for her.

"She didn't come with us…it's a long story, trust me."

Larksong shrugged and said, "The rest of us are getting restless to get back."

Sagetail had appeared next to Lilyfrost, much to the she-wolf's apparent frustration. He put his tail on her shoulders and growled, "Very restless, right, Lilyfrost?"

The silver she-wolf just shrugged off his tail and growled.

Blackfrost was the last to gather around and he arrived with a scowl. "What are we waiting for?"

Buckstar blinked. "Nothing, so let's go."

Before he left, he saw Lilyfrost push herself away from Sagetail and quickly slither away, giving Buckstar more suspicions about their relationship.

He started to run back to the camp, the bright moonlight guiding their way. Dawntail ran alongside him, surprisingly keeping pace with him despite her pregnant stomach.

One thought had been nagging Buckstar ever since he left his packmates to venture inside the strange DarkDen. As he and he mate ran side-by-side, he asked her, "Did Hawkflight make it back to camp?"

Dawntail frowned and her ears flattened against her head. "Well, let's just say you won't be seeing him for quite a while."

Buckstar blinked, his heart sinking. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see." She replied shortly, the thundering paws of the wolves following them drowning out her smooth voice.

Then they entered the RainPack camp. The wolves were at their home once again.

XXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Buckstar let out a howl as soon as he crossed the entrance of the camp, signifying the return of the rescue patrol.

For a moment, there was silence except for the constant rushing of the waterfall outside of the Healer's Den. Then, a dark gray head poked out of the Nursery. It was Fernleaf. Then, a smaller, black head appeared.

"Father!" Hollypaw cried and ran up to Larksong, who washed his daughter's face in licks.

Fernleaf padded up to Buckstar, a tired look on her face.

The light brown wolf looked down at her paws and saw the smears of blood on them. "What…happened?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"Silentheart gave birth!" Hollypaw said excitedly, mostly towards her father, who smiled.

Blackfrost's ears shot forward. "She did?" Without waiting for anyone to answer, he dashed towards the Nursery.

Fernleaf sighed. "Not only that," she glanced at Dawntail, who flattened her ears for some reason. "I'll…tell you later."

Buckstar had a feeling it was about Hawkflight, but he pushed it away. "Anything else?"

"Fortunately, no." Fernleaf blinked and turned to Larksong. "Your mate is worried sick about you. You should go see her, but the Nursery's crowded now with Blackfrost now in there-"

"I'll go see her. Thanks, Fernleaf. C'mon, Hollypaw, let's go see your mother." Larksong padded away, his daughter in tow. The Beta wolf stopped in front of the Nursery and Sparrowfeather came rushing out, covering his face in licks.

Buckstar's eyes drifted to Dawntail. She was staring back at him. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing. Thinking that if their love was so strong as Larksong and Sparrowfeather's that it would last for eternity. Buckstar smiled to himself. Of course, it would be like that. He loved Dawntail and the pups she was carrying more than anything else and nothing will ever change that, not even the Darkness or Shade.

"Do you want to see Silentheart's new pups?" Fernleaf abruptly asked.

Buckstar broke away from Dawntail's steady gaze and nodded. He definitely wanted to see the first litter born to RainPack!

"I'll see them later." Sagetail said gruffly, even though the question was not directed at him. "Right now I'm so tired I can barely lift my paws. Come with me to the Pack Den, Lily."

Lilyfrost looked confused and disgusted at the same time. "My name is not Lily."

Sagetail smiled, though to Buckstar, it looked fake. "Let's go."

Buckstar remembered what Lilyfrost had said about the he-wolf and thought Sagetail cannot make her go with him, unless-

"I'm coming." She sighed, her voice small.

Sagetail's smile grew even bigger. "That's right." He then padded towards the Pack Den and slipped inside, the lichen swaying after his light brown tail disappeared.

Fernleaf, who had been surprisingly quiet all this time, looked at Buckstar's shoulder. "I'll get you some cobwebs for that. Meet me in the Nursery." She then walked away from them and went into her den.

Lilyfrost, however, stayed where she was, staring at Buckstar, a certain longing in her eyes. Buckstar was clearly surprised but before he could ask her about it, Dawntail suddenly growled.

"Sagetail's waiting for you." She lashed her tail and narrowed her eyes, impatient.

Buckstar looked away from the silver she-wolf, breaking their stare.

"I suppose." Lilyfrost sighed heavily and padded into the Pack Den. Buckstar thought he saw the glint of sage-colored eyes through the lichen, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

But I thought she said she hated him…Buckstar thought. Something's wrong and I'm afraid the only one who can tell me is Lilyfrost.

"What are we waiting for, Buckstar?" Dawntail asked him, then followed his eyes to the Pack Den. She frowned. "Don't worry about her. She's fine."

The Alpha shook his head. "I don't know, but I am worried. She's my friend after all."

Dawntail scoffed. "And I'm your mate and I say let's go."

Buckstar shrugged and figured if Lilyfrost wanted someone else in her life besides him, it was her decision to make, not his. "Okay, Dawn." He replied, taking his eyes off the Pack Den.

Dawntail's muzzle broke into a grin. "Let's see these pups. I guess I'll have a glimpse of what my pups are going to look like."

"What did you say?" Had Buckstar heard what he thought he heard?

Dawntail looked panicked. "Did I say that? Oh, no, not like that." She let out a light laugh, which sounded nervous to Buckstar's ears. "How can you think that? These pups are yours, no doubt about it."

Buckstar raised a brow and shook his head. "Dawn, what's going on? You're acting very strange."

The she-wolf shook her head vigorously. "There's nothing going on, Bucky, trust me." Then she smiled her convincing smile again, and Buckstar's heart fluttered. The thoughts of Dawntail possibly cheating on him vanished.

He licked her and brushed his muzzle along her neck. "Okay, I trust you."

Dawntail licked him back. With her snout, she then pointed to his shoulder wound, which seemed to have gotten redder since she had last seen it. "Doesn't that hurt?" She asked her mate.

"A lot." Buckstar admitted with a slight groan.

"Fernleaf said she'll be in the Nursery, so let's hurry." Dawntail left him without waiting for him to answer.

Buckstar watched her leave, a heavy feeling coming upon him. Why can't I find the trust I need in my mate? He thought. She's acting so hostile to Lilyfrost and very strange towards me. I wish she would tell me what's really going on.

He shook his head to get rid of these thoughts and padded towards the Nursery where he could hear the faint cry of newborn pups.

I'm going to be on a short three day hiatus so this won't be updated until then. What do you think of Dawntail now? She's one bad wolf, that I can assure you. R&R!

-Evanessence