The cougar known as Selena stalked along the barren path, her large paws thudding loudly with each step, her long tail swishing with each sway of her slender hips. But as she walked along, she kept shaking her head, trying to banish the thoughts of the female wolf she had just encountered. From her silky-smooth marble fur to her stunning blue eyes. Now, while those eyes had stared at her with such contempt, Selena couldn't help but feel a flutter in her stomach at the, dare she say, connection that was made. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she may have feelings for…

"NO!" Selena pretty much shouted to herself before continuing in a low mutter "you are not a cub anymore. You cannot fall in love with someone at first sight…especially a wolf…a very lovely, beautiful, even sexy…"

Selena once again shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. And the moment she did, she walked over a small rise in the path she was walking, only to descend into an area that was littered with boulders, some even formed into small dens. And occupying these dens were other cougars, from cubs to the elderly, each looking upon Selena with curiosity as she made her way to the largest boulder in the area. And sitting atop the boulder, a large male, his beige fur matching Selena's. And when he looked down at her, he sent her warm smile, which was made kind of off-putting by his gaze.

The right eye, the same golden hue as Selena's, and the left, a dull blue accentuated by the three long scars that fell over it, a clear sign of a fight that left the male half-blind.

This was Kako, a fitting name, for a fitting tyrant.

Rising from his position atop the boulder, Kako made his way down, warmly greeting Selena with a nuzzle and a purr, the smaller female smiling sweetly as she felt the male's throat vibrate through the top of her head. The male then let put a deep, throaty laugh as he pulled away, looking upon Selena with great tenderness.

"Hello Daddy," Selena greeted with a giggle.

"Welcome home, My Dear Selena," he greeted with a lite, yet sinister tone, "How was your hunt?"

At that moment, Selena seemed to shrink in posture a bit, unsure of how to tell her father that she had failed in her hunt due to some pesky wolves. Yet, after a moment of thought, she figured out a way to turn it into an advantage. With her plan in mind, Selena let a dark smile for on her muzzle, her eyes twinkling with mischief as thought about how to get back at the wolves who had humiliated her.

"Not well," she said in faux dejection, only for her smile to return, "it would seem we have some trespassers…a pack of wolves."

"In my territory?" Kako growled out, his gaze hard as he glared at his daughter. But, upon seeing Selena's mischievous smirk, he finally put two and two together. And so, after lowering his hackles, Kako looked at Selena with a passive expression as he continued to address her.

"What a terrible turn of events…"

Then his expression gave way to a cruel, twisted smile.

"I LOVE a terrible turn of events…I have a mission for you, my dear."

Meanwhile, back in Jasper, the air was very somber.

The news that three most cherished and beloved wolves had been swept away shook them all to the core. Even Terra was still trying to console her heartbroken daughter, Marcus by her side as Anna would find herself shedding more tears that she didn't know she had. However, there were a few wolves who could not shake this feeling that this grief was uncalled for. And while Alan had shed tears of his own, he couldn't get away from this strange feeling that there might be hope.

Then it occurred to him; Marcel and Paddy.

Perhaps a bird's eye view might shed some light on why ground parties and failed to locate any remai- Alan quickly shook the morbid thought from his head. It was still a search and rescue and had yet to be renamed retrieval. Luckily, Marcel and Paddy were still in Jasper, having delayed their travel plans to Idaho to pay their respects. But, while they were there, Alan had asked Humphrey he he could recruit the birds for some "aerial reconnaissance."

"Of course, Mon amie," Marcel had told Alan, who was accompanied by Amelia, both the female's paws being taken by Marcel's wings, "we are always there for our friends."

"Yes indeed," Paddy had added in, "and perhaps we can fly to the Bear Kingdom and recruit Lady Magpie in the search effort as well."

"And if you can," Humphrey suggested, "fly to Banff. Ask for Rex. Tell him that Humphrey says to keep a sharp look out for Sam, Liam, and a friend of theirs. We don't know how far they may have been swept away, but it's worth a shot."

With that, the birds had flown off…and had not returned for some time.

In that time, the large family had gathered in a small clear near the main den area. Both sides, from Kate and Humphrey to their children and their mates, and their grandchildren, to Sam's family, even Garth, Lilly and Al were sharing stories, offering some comfort as they tried their best to keep their hopes alive. But, after a few rounds around the circle, a loud honk sounded form overhead.

"BOUNJOUR, MY FURRY FRIENDS!"

All wolves stood to their feet, save for Anna, whose heavily pregnant form made it difficult to even walk, each looking with hopeful eyes up to the yellow duck and Canadian goose descending down into the clearing. And this time, they were accompanied by a small magpie, her blue, black and white feathers shimmering in the sun.

"Marcel, Paddy!" Amelia exclaimed as she ran to them, her mate by her side along with Terra.

"Any news?" Alan inquired, his hope skyrocket when he saw the two large fowls' excited expressions.

"Well, As I said, we flew up to the Bear kingdom o recruit Lady Magpie," Paddy began, gesturing to the much smaller bird, who offered a gracious bow, causing Amelia to marvel at the lovely bird.

"OH Très jolie!" Amelia gushed. And if Magpie's feathers weren't present, she would have blushed.

"Merci, madame," Magpie said with a smile, causing Amelia's eyes to go wide in amazement.

"Tu Parle France?" Amelia beamed.

"Oui Madame," Magpie said, unaware of the smug smirk that Marcel gave Paddy, who merely rolled his eyes at his friends childish attitude toward their rivalry for Magpies affection. Luckily, King was there to keep things on track.

"Anyway," he loudly said, causing a deep blush to show through Amelia's fur up realizing she had led the conversation astray.

"Yes," Marcel continued, a blush of his own forming, "well, after we recruited Lady Magpie, Paddy and I flew to Banff, as you instructed Humphrey. Your father and a few of his Alpha's are on their way to help."

"Help?" Collin chipped in, his hazel eyes wide with hope at the inflection, "So you found them?"

"That's just it," Magpie added, "I hadn't."

Upon seeing everyone's confusion, Magpie realized she needed to elaborate.

"The water from the storm has since receded. The river itself, while having a fair depth, is not very wide. Any remains would have been visible. Plus, there have been no sightings of vultures along the banks. Any vultures seen had been circling caribou or elk some miles away from the riverbank. So, there is a very high chance that your friends are still alive."

"That is why Rex is on his way," Marcel added.

"Yes," Paddy continued, "he figures that if two parties start from Jasper and Banff together, they can cover more ground by meeting in the middle. He sent us ahead to let you know they have started and await your reply as to when you will begin your search."

"Tell them we're on our way," Humphrey blurted out before turning to some of the male wolves in the group.

"Who's with me."

In the end, Humphrey was accompanied by Alan, Ewan, Garth, Collin, King, and even Al.

It was time to bring their friends home.

Meanwhile, far from Jasper, Liam and Sweets were walking along, following their new friends, if they could even call them that. Though, they did save them from the cougar that was about to kill, so they could call them tentative allies. And the more Liam thought about, them having been sent by his father to find him and Sweets was a clear sign that they were good wolves, so yes, perhaps friends.

"You doin' alright there, hun?"

Looking to the source of the voice, Liam offered a timid smile toward Jenny, the older female offering a kind and caring smile of her own. And while Jenny had made it clear that she was something of the "pack slut," she apparently had enough self-control to reel it in when the situation called for it.

"Yeah, I'm good," Liam responded with a small laugh, "just can't wait to see my dad."

"Yeah, and he can't wait to see you," Jake added.

"Yeah," Duke said next, "you should have seen him. Dax could hardly get him to sit still."

"Dax?" Sweets inquired, her interest peaked at this new name.

"He's the boss," Jake answered, "helps keep us all in line while we travel."

"Travel?" Liam asked, curious as to what Jake the brown-furred male meant.

"Yeah," Jenny began to explain, "ya see, our pack are descendants of the pack of San Bernard Wildlife refuge in Good Ol' Texas. From the stories we heard, it was just amazing. Clean air, wide open spaces. Sounded like paradise."

"What happened?" Sweet asked, her interest very much peaked at this point, wonder the original pack wanted to leave.

"From what we understand," Jake continued, "a big storm came. The tale says that the leaders heard humans talking about someone called Katrina. Kept saying 'Katrina's comin'.' They didn't realize until after the fact that the humans were callin' the storm Katrina. They said it was monster, wiped everything out."

"In the end, there was nothing left for 'em," Duke joined in, a clear sign that the story was reaching it's end, "the leaders made a decision. Pack yer shit n' git. They traveled, tried to find a place to settle, but nothing ever really stuck. It's been that way ever since."

"Long story short," jenny fished with a somewhat sad smile, "that's why we call ourselves the Wayfarin' Pack."

After hearing the story of how these wolves came to be in their company, Liam and Sweets couldn't help but feel a little saddened at the fact that these wolves seemed to be destined to wander forever, never finding rest, never finding a new home to call their own. And the trio of southern wolves must have picked up on this sudden shift in mood, as they decided to try and lighten things up a bit.

"Hey," Jenny said, nudging Sweets, "don't feel bad for us. So long as we got each other, we'll manage."

"Yeah," Jake added, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he did so, "Jenny has anyone who can get her off, and I have Duke to pin me down and go to town."

"YOUR MINDS ARE FILTHY!" Liam yelled with a laugh, his and Sweets' eyes wide in shock and embarrassment as these wolve seemed to make it their mission to make them blush endlessly. But, in the end, they couldn't help but laugh with the trio of rough and tumble wolves. But then, Sweets decided she wanted to get some confirmation on a certain duo.

"So, Duke and Jake," she began cautiously, "you two ARE boyfriends, right?"

"Worse than that, I'm afraid," Duke responded with a laugh, "we're mates."

"Why do ya ask, sweetie," Jenny quipped, a sly, seductive smirk on her lips as she cozied up to Sweets, who found herself blushing deeply at Jenny's actions, "needin' someone to relieve an itch?"

"N-no," Sweets quickly responded, "just curious."

"What about you kid," Jake inquired with a quirked eyebrow, a teasing smirk on his muzzle, "got a girl...or guy?"

At first uncertain to answer Jake's question, Liam decided there could be no harm in adding to the playful conversation.

"A Boyfriend," he said in a teasing manner, "if you must know."

The trio of southern wolves looked at Liam with wide eyes, their shock made even stronger by the fact that Liam was walking with his head held high and chest puffed out, a clear sign that he was proud of himself.

"Well," Duke huffed in amusement, "good on ya, Kid!"

"Honestly," Jenny added, "I took you to be a ladies wolf."

"Well, technically I am," Liam corrected, "but, Al is the only guy for me, I guess."

"You Should see them when they're together," Sweets added with a giggle, "it's so cute."

This actually made Liam deflate in his posture, his confident smirk turning into a bashful grin at Sweets' mollycoddling.

"Heh, your old man must be pretty happy his boy found somebody?" Jake playfully inquired.

Liam's step faltered, his smile instantly gone.

This did not go unnoticed by his new friends, who looked at him with concern as his eyes suddenly took on a an almost sorrowful look. And having heard many stories of those like Liam, the trio feared that perhaps his relationship with his father was a little, complicated.

"He doesn't approve, does he?" Duke asked, his tone calm so as not to upset Liam any further. But the answer he got was not from Liam, but from Sweets.

"He doesn't know. Practically the whole pack knows, except for Sam."

"Everyone tells me he'll be fine with it," Lim said in a hushed tone, his head now low with his ears pinned back, "but, that's not it. I don't know why I feel I can't tell him."

For several minutes, the group walked in silence, unsure of how to help Liam through this very troubling time in his life. Truth be told, if southern wolves had known that they would be help a teen through an existential crisis, they would have bettered prepared for it. But, luckily, Jake came up with a very feasible idea of how to help Liam out.

"Look kid," he began, getting Liam's attention, "I know we just met an all, but I'm gonna tell you somethin' pretty personal. I was just like you, afraid to tell my pops about me and Duke. And every time I tried to work up the courage to tell him, I chickened out."

Jake paused briefly, and as Liam and Sweets could see, his eyes were misting over, a clear sign that he was recalling a very hard time in his life. Duke realized this as well, as evident when he nuzzled his mate and gave his cheek a tender lick. This seemed to help Jake as he continued to tell his tale.

"Then…he died. Right out of the blue. I was devastated. And because we had to keep moving, we just had enough time to bury him and have a little service. In the end, I wished I could have told him about me and Duke…I don't want to see that happen to you."

At this point, Jake had allowed a tear to fall down his cheek, joined in his sorrow by his mate, who tearfully nuzzled his head. At this point, the entire group had stopped, the weight of the story becoming too much as they sat were they stood. Even Sweets fought back tears as she listened to Jake's sad story. And jenny, who was there, just lowered her head in memory of a good wolf.

"Love is beautiful," Jake finally said after a long minute, "and should be expressed openly, without shame or fear. Your dad loves you, and you love him. I only knew him for one minute and I could tell he'd do anything for you. So don't make the same mistake I did. I made my choice and I have regretted it ever since. Promise me you won't be like me."

Liam, who at this point had tears rolling down his cheeks and onto the cold ground, his mind trying to wrap itself around what he had just heard. Finally, after several minutes, Liam looked into Jake's eyes, his filled with a fiery determination as he gave a strong, firm nod, a clear sign that he would do just as Jake asked.

"Good boy," Jake said with a laugh, only to rise to his feet, followed closely by everyone else.

"Come on, we best get movin' again."

And with the that, group set off on their journey, unaware that they had been watched by a pair of determined, yet tear-filled golden eyes.