Thanks everyone for reviewing! This is a shorter chapter, but like they say, it's short and sweet.

Chapter 36- Love's Complications

Buckstar entered the Nursery and the scent of blood immediately hit his nostrils. I didn't know births can be so bloody. He thought with a shiver.

"Only two, Silentheart?" Dawntail asked as he made his way inside. He saw Stormpaw roll up a wad of bloody moss, crinkling his nose in disgust and Redpaw with another, but unlike Stormpaw, he looked glad to be helping to clean the Nursery.

"By the size your stomach was I could've sworn there were four." Dawntail flicked her tail for Buckstar to sit at her side and he did, wrapping his tail around his paws.

The Alpha saw Silentheart lying on her side, two little pups suckling from her belly. Twilightpaw was next to her, sorting some sort of leaves into neat piles. Blackfrost was at her other side, licking his mate's ears.

"They're beautiful." Buckstar whispered, looking at the puppies. One was dark brown and bulky, the other was light gray, like the color of a cloudy sky.

Blackfrost nuzzled Silentheart, who gave Buckstar a small smile.

"There you are." Fernleaf made her way next to Buckstar, cobwebs hanging from her jaw and a paw full of crushed berries.

Buckstar winced as she started to rub the berries on his wound and after a few moments, she gave a grunt.

"What's wrong?" He heard Dawntail ask the Healer.

"It's infected." Fernleaf replied, her paws working in the juices so that the Alpha's wounds can heal properly. "The wolf that bit him must have some sort of disease."

Buckstar remembered Fang, the annoying white wolf. He did not seem to have any disease, but then again, those strange wolves could have anything.

"Is he going to be okay?" Dawntail asked Fernleaf.

"He'll be fine. He just needs to take it easy for a while. Here, I'm going to put some cobwebs on it." She did so, Buckstar whimpering softly with pain.

Twilightpaw gave Silentheart some of those strange leaves. "These are borage leaves, Silentheart." She whispered to her. "Eat them and your milk will be better for your pups."

The golden wolf ate them, shaking her head with the tangy taste.

Fernleaf finished dressing Buckstar's wound. "I'm going to go clean my paws and help Stormpaw and Redpaw clean up the Nursery." She gave them a curt nod then whisked away.

"She's so busy now," Buckstar said, "I wonder when she finds time to rest!"

"She does." Twilightpaw answered. "Remember? She has me to help her now."

Buckstar nodded. "That's right."

Twilightpaw's face then turned solemn. "Did you…find anything while you were gone, Buckstar?" She asked.

The Alpha sighed. "I'll talk about it later."

"Alright."

Dawntail gave a light cough. "Have you thought of any names for them yet, Blackfrost?" She asked the black wolf.

Blackfrost looked at Silentheart. "Yes. For the brown pup here," He pointed to his son with his tail. "His name will be Bearpup. For this one," His tail flicked towards his daughter. "Her name will be Icepup."

Buckstar looked at the newly named Bearpup and Icepup. They had fallen asleep and Silentheart was now licking them, her soft tongue caressing her new children. He smiled at the pure love that radiated between the three. The blind pups did not have any idea who their other was, but they could sense the feeling of being wanted and protected.

Suddenly, there was a squeal and Sparrowfeather's pups ran up to them, their drowsiness vanishing in an instant.

"Here comes the terrible three." Dawntail muttered.

"New puppies!" Hazelpup piped up, sniffing at the newborns.

Crowpup let out a small howl. "Do they want to play?" He asked, while his brother, Owlpup, tried to get a closer look at the two.

Silentheart gently nosed the brown pup away from her litter when he got too close.

"They're too young, Crowpup." Blackfrost said to the puppy. "You'll have to wait until they're older to play."

"Aw!" The black pup whined and abruptly tackled Hazelpup, who let out a surprised squeal. The duo tumbled around on the ground, but stopped when Twilightpaw let out a growl.

"Not so close, pups. The new puppies are sleeping and you don't want to wake them up." She nudged them away from Silentheart and they resumed their game as soon as she left them alone. She slipped out of the den, probably to help her mentor.

Buckstar sighed. "They need to be apprenticed. They're almost six moons old."

Dawntail nodded her agreement. "The Nursery will be a lot quieter without them, believe me."

Her mate touched his nose to hers. "Just wait until our pups are born. I still can't believe it and it's been…how long?"

Dawntail chuckled. "Too long."

Blackfrost suddenly let out a huff. "I better get going and get something for Silentheart to eat." He looked at Dawntail for some reason, his ice blue eyes unblinking.

Dawntail shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, me too. I'm getting hungry after what happened, I-"

"I'll get it for you." Buckstar interrupted her, flicking his tail and getting up.

"But, Buckstar, don't you want to spend more time with Silentheart and her pups?"

The Alpha shook his head. "No. She's tired and probably all she wants now is some peace and quiet." He pointed his tail to Silentheart, who nodded faintly. "I'm also hungry too. I haven't eaten since I left to rescue Lilyfrost."

Dawntail let out a sigh and lied down on the floor, her head resting on her paws. "If you insist, Buckstar."

Buckstar glanced at Blackfrost, who looked disappointed. The real reason he was going to fetch prey for Dawntail is that he did not want the black wolf and his mate together at all. Even though he trusted her, he still had his doubts and he was going to avoid the problem altogether.

Blackfrost slithered outside, his pelt blending in perfectly with the dark night.

Buckstar followed him, his paws lightly stepping on the newly cleaned bedding. Stormpaw and Redpaw had done a good job. He thought. Redpaw probably had done all the work, knowing my brother.

He padded towards the fresh-kill pile, which seemed to be running lower and lower these days. It was almost winter, so they would have to get more than this to survive! The RainPack wolves are just being lazy. Buckstar growled. And with Shade and his wolves out there, we just might have to compete for food.

He saw Blackfrost choose a chaffinch and Buckstar himself chose a young fox. He watched the black wolf slither back into the Nursery and the Alpha narrowed his eyes. He slipped indie the warm Nursery and he dropped the fox at Dawntail's paws. The she-wolf looked up at her mate and sighed heavily, not even looking at the prey.

"Eat some, Dawntail. I'm going to sleep in the Pack Den tonight."

Dawntail flicked her ears, showing that she had heard. She opened her mouth and bit the fox's flank, ripping off a chunk of red flesh.

As he waited for his mate to finish eating, Buckstar's hunter green gaze drifted towards Blackfrost. The black wolf was staring at them as he sat beside his mate, who was digging into the chaffinch hungrily. Buckstar narrowed his eyes and Blackfrost turned away.

"There." Dawntail pushed the half eaten fox towards him.

"Are you sure you don't want more? Prey is scarce this time of year and with the pups-"

"I'm fine." The ginger she-wolf growled at him and closed her eyes, as if she wanted him to leave.

Buckstar understood and grabbed the fox in his powerful jaws. Just then, Larksong and Sparrowfeather padded back into the den, the he-wolf licking his mate's ears affectionately. Buckstar did not have to guess that they had just mated. He left the Nursery without looking back and he padded towards the Pack Den.

He nosed apart the lichen and he slithered inside, his paws suddenly feeling like deadweights. As he walked deeper inside, he noticed a sniffling coming from his side and he turned his head, seeing Lilyfrost sitting by herself, her head buried in her chest fur.

Buckstar dropped his prey and he padded closer to her, his expression worried rather than curious. "Lilyfrost?" He asked.

The she-wolf jumped at the sound of her name. She looked up at Buckstar and shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, Buckstar, you scared me-"

"Were you crying?" The Alpha asked, noticing the silver wolf's tear-streaked face.

Lilyfrost shook her head and took a deep breath, as if she was composing herself. "I'm fine."

The he-wolf bared his teeth. "You don't have to lie to me, Lilyfrost. Sagetail did this to you, didn't he?"

Lilyfrost was alarmed and she looked around. "No he didn't! Just leave me alone!"

Buckstar bowed his head and his deep voice grew soft. "I don't know why you're doing this to me, but I'm just trying to help. I wish we could be friends again."

The silver she-wolf's lilac eyes were cold. "It's too late for that, Buckstar. Go away."

For a moment, Buckstar regretted risking his life for this wolf. She doesn't deserve to be rescued! He thought. However, seeing her miserable like this, he thought twice. I'm an Alpha. I'm responsible for her safety. For everyone's safety.

Leaving her, he padded back to his half eaten prey. He sat down on the mossy floor and prodded his prey half-heartily. He suddenly did not feel like eating. A silhouette fell across the moonlit entrance and Sagetail padded inside the Pack Den.

Buckstar forced himself not to howl in his frustration. He heard Sagetail murmur something, but it was too soft for the Alpha to catch and then he heard Lilyfrost shift around in her makeshift nest. Soon, there was silence in the Pack Den except for the snores coming from rest of the wolves sleeping around the den.

Buckstar reluctantly bit into the fox's russet-red fur, the blood seeping into his jaws. I have to eat to regain my strength. He thought. I have to face tomorrow like a true Alpha. When he was done, he pushed the bones away and he yawned sleepily. Without another thought, he shut his eyes and let sleep's dark wave crash onto him.

C-l-i-f-f-h-a-n-g-e-r. I couldn't have said it in a better way.

-Evanessence