Chapter 36: Finding Hope Again (written on June 28th, 2013 to March 24th, 2014)

Today was now the second day of autumn. Stephen had been walking around uncharted territory for hours. He had just been exiled. He wasn't sure when or how he was going to find another pack. But it shouldn't be that hard. He had already done this before, long ago before he was even a yearling. He had lost his original pack and family. Back then, he had searched and searched with his little knowledge until he came across two wolves named Stone and Rhys. Now, a similar thing was happening. He was finding hope once again. Hope: that he will find a family that he so dearly missed. *thump!* His head hit a wall of some sort. He looked around it. There was an opening. It was a cave. Could there be wolves in there that came from a pack? He looked inside to find out. What he saw was exactly what he came for. He had made it to Humphrey and Kate's den. They were the first Alpha and Omega to be married together and mate.

"Hello?" he called out.

"Oh, hi," said Kate.

"My name is Stephen. I'm from Stone's Pack," Stephen told her. Kate's face immediately frowned upon the name, "Stone" as so did Humphrey.

"What are you doing here?!" she questioned firmly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know what you might be thinking," he explained, "but I've been exiled from the pack." Kate came to her senses.

"Oh... sorry 'bout that. You've been exiled, you say? Let me guess, you're trying to find another pack."

"Precisely."

"Well, welcome to the Grand Pack! I'm Kate, him over there is my crazy mate, Humphrey."

"Crazy and proud," Humphrey corrected with a big smile. Kate laughed. Having an Omega in the den was never boring.

"You are so funny, sweetie. Anyway, these are our pups: Stinky, Runt, and Claudette."

"Hello, Stephen," they all said.

"Umm... Kate. I was wondering... since you know I'm trying to find a family, would you mind if I join your family?"

"Sorry, but yes. We kinda' have a full den already with the pups. And I think we both know that they come first." Kate then thought for a minute. "Hmm... Oh, yeah. You can go to our friends' den. Garth and Lilly will be happy to have you!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you very much," said Stephen.

"Oh, but..." she continued, "they are checking the borders currently. You can stay here until we hear they've returned."

"Okay."

Later...

After hours of silence, the pups became bored. Stephen listened to the dialogue as he sat in a corner in the cave.

"Dad! There's nothing to do...!" Runt complained.

"Yeah, Dad," said Claudette. "What's the deal?"

"What do you mean," said their father."Why don't you all make your own fun. I remember when you all used to love games like hide-in-seek."

"First of all, dad," argued Stinky who arguably could be more smarted than Humphrey, "we've heard that rogue wolves were wondering around the pack, organizing in Banff National Park. Going outside may not be the best choice. Second of all, we all... I mean... some of us have outgrown unsightly silliness." Humphrey looked confused and glanced at Kate who sighed and translated it for him.

"They're extremely bored and protective, honey."

"Oh... well then, why don't I read 'em a story?"

"I want to hear a story!" said Runt.

"Oh, really? Then gather around me, pups." All three pups sat in a row in front of Humphrey. Kate sat behind the pups. "Alright, once upon a time, when I was a pup, I used to have a brother named Vert. We played all the time, all day, every day. He was a simple white pup with brown spots. He also had an unusual body oder that smelled like fruit." Stephen's eyes widened. That sounded like a description of Stone. His fur was white with brown spots too. Coincidence? Humphrey continued. "Then one day, while I was nursing with my mom, Vert had accidentally fallen in the dividing river. I wanted to save him but my mother told me it was too dangerous and to stay put. Before I knew, she had jumped in the waters to try and save him herself. This was a time before we knew who to swim. Vert could die at any moment. After a while, I couldn't see her downstream anymore. I became worried. Then, the next day, she did come back but not with my brother. She said she was too late to find him because she had searched everywhere in the river. Even the lake it emptied into. There was no way an untrained pup could survive. And to this date, I still mourn for him and have dreams sometimes."

"What pack were you in at this time?" Stephen asked.

"The Western Pack."

[It must be Stone! He must be the missing pup!]

Next: Chapter 37: Questions About Love