Deep in the Canadian Rockies, one would find a massive cluster of mountains, rivers, lakes, and lush, green plains. One would call it the picture of perfection. In fact, a certain family of wolves feel just that amount of sentiment.

Tucked away in the recesses of a nearby mountain ridge, lay a den, which had a miraculous view of the surrounding plain, with its spring flowers finally blooming from under the thawing frost. The brisk spring breeze carried the fresh smell of the fauna into the den, hitting the nose of a single, teenage pup.

The wolf, who was mostly auburn in color, with a cream underbelly and "socks" on its forepaws, as well as dusty-blonde streaks in its mane, began to stir from a very restful sleep. After briefly stretching her lithe body, the teen let out a high pitched whine as she yawned, revealing her sharp fangs. After shaking off the last bit of grogginess from her mind, the young wolf opened her eyes, revealing beautiful hazel-blue irises.

Looking around the den, the young wolf saw the still sleeping form of her mother, the former Princess of Banff, Terra, who was nuzzled against her father, and the pup's grandfather, the former, and reformed, King of Banff, King. However, the young girl noticed that her family was accounted for, save for one wolf.

Looking toward the entrance of the cave, the pup began walking toward the opening. However, when she was just a few feet from the entrance, she was startled as a male wolf with cream colored fur with ginger streaks in his mane and tail, as well as markings around his hazel eyes, entered the den, dragging behind him a sizable caribou.

Relaxing from her slight surprise, the girl bounded happily toward the male, who dropped his kill at the sight of the young girl, a broad smile forming on his muzzle. The young pup, upon reaching the male, nuzzled her head under his chin sweetly, only having to crane her neck slightly, taking in the comforting aura that radiated from him.

"Good Morning, Daddy," she greeted sweetly, "I hope you slept well." Looking down to his daughter, the adult wolf let out a hearty chuckle, as he rubbed his nose against his daughters forehead as he spoke, his lite Irish baritone providing comfort to the young wolf.

"Good Morning to you too, Anna," he said, laughing warmly, "And yes, I did sleep fairly well." A mischievous smile soon crossed his face as he thought of a way to embarrass his daughter.

"But, every night is a good night when I'm near your mother."

The pup pushed herself away from her father, playful disgust on her face as her ears flattened on her head.

"EWWW DAD, THAT'S GROSS!" She laughed out, as she began to move toward the caribou, unaware that she had just roused her mother and grandfather from their sleep. However, Anna and her father didn't notice as they continued their conversation.

"I don't know," the adult said in a matter-of-fact tone, "You may not think that when you find yourself a strapping young lad," he finished, wiggly his eyebrows at his daughter, who merely shoved his face away from hers as she felt he was a little EXTRA annoying this particular morning. Soon, a voice interrupted their little "Father-Daughter" talk.

"Sam, Honey," began Terra as she and her own father moved to join the other two around the caribou, the two females facing each other, and the two males vice-versa "The moment she finds a boy she is even remotely interested in," Terra continued, her own playful smile on her face, "You'll keep her holed up in the den until she is my father's age." King chuckled as he added his own two-cents to the conversation.

"And God help the boy when you get your paws on him," he said, letting out a hearty laugh at his son-in-law's annoyed expression.

King had truly come a long way since Sam and his family found him the previous winter; he had gone from a cold-hearted, Omega-hating tyrant, to a warm, caring, and compassionate wolf who cared deeply for his Alpha daughter and her Omega mate, and greatly adored his Alpha-Omega granddaughter.

"I actually thought that would have been you, King," Sam quipped back, "Once I told you that Terra and I were mates." Terra couldn't hold back as she suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, accompanied by her young daughter. King himself found it difficult not to hide amusement at his son-in-law's quip as he, too, began to laugh, with Sam following suite. Soon, the whole family was having a great laugh. Soon the laughter died down and, before long, the family began to enjoy the fresh caribou before them.

"So, Sam, sweetheart," began Terra in between bites. Said wolf turned to his mate, his own mouth full of caribou meet, making his cheeks appear rather puffy much to the amusement of his daughter. King simply rolled his eyes, while also allowing a small smile to grace his features. Terra merely chuckled as she remembered that her mate's childish tendencies were part of the reason she fell in love with him. Sam, slightly embarrassed, swallowed the food in his mouth, before offering a sheepish smile to his wife.

"Yes, Terra, dear?" he inquired.

"I was thinking," Terra began, her gaze turning back to the caribou, her mind running rampant at how she was going to speak it. "Perhaps, with spring practically here, we could take a little trip...as a family." Terra's nervousness soon subsided as her husband was sporting a very broad smile. Her father and daughter also looked excitedly to each other at the idea of a family vacation.

"Sweetheart, that's a wonderful idea!" he exclaimed. "But, where should we go?" Terra's anxiety soon returned at the prospect of telling her mate her idea. Deciding that not saying anything would prolong the inevitable, she decided to just blurt it out.

"Banff."

Samuel was wide eyed, as was King. Anna, on the other hand, was actually quite curious as to why her mother chose a place that she thought was just like the one they currently lived in. Sam, sharing his daughter's confusion, decided to inquire as to why his wife would want to return to a place that was the home to such horrid memories.

"Why would you want to go to Banff, Terra?" he finally inquired. "Needless to say we have not had the best experiences there."

Terra decided to explain her reasoning.

"Truth be told," she began, "I had wondered near the human trail a few days ago, and I overheard them say that their 'trip to Banff was so lovely.'" She ended in an overly obnoxious feminine voice, which earned a round of chuckles from her family. As it turns out, Samuel's Omega traits seemed to rub off a bit on Terra. After the round of giggles had died down, Terra continued.

"As it turns out, since the Rogues disbanded, the caribou population is starting to make a come back."

Samuel nodded his head at this good news. After a moment of thought, he decided it might not be such a bad idea to visit Banff.

"Plus," Terra added, getting everyone's attention once again,

"We can attend Rex and Jenna's wedding."

"What are you talking about, Sweetie?" King inquired, wondering if he had heard his daughter correctly.

"Well yesterday," Terra began to explain, "a messenger bird from the Tranquility Pack stopped by yesterday while you three were at the lake. As it turns out, before Rex became pack leader..." Tera suddenly paused in her explanation, a phantom expression of fear and sorrow faintly seen on he face as she did so. With a warm and knowing smile, Sam gently nuzzled his mate.

"It's alright sweetheart," he cooed gently, "take your time."

Taking a deep breath, Terra sent her mate a grateful smile before she continued.

"Before Rex became pack leader...HE showed no restraint when hunting. So by the time Rex took over, the entire caribou population had either be hunted or moved on. The Tranquility Pack had to find a new home...and they happened upon Banff. I think it's pretty self explanatory from there."

Taking a moment to think it over, Sam decided that the trip would actually be a lot of fun. And with the Rogues disbanded, there was also less of a chance of them running into old pack mates, since a majority of them had be captured after King's attempt to take the Bear Kingdom two springs ago. However, a thought did cross his mind, one that might be very unsettling for King to hear.

"You do realize Terra," Samuel began tentatively, "that to get to Banff, we have to travel near Jasper?" The very mention of Jasper sent a chill up King's spine. Terra simply smiled at her mate.

"I already have that figure out," she said, "we will travel along the mountains. Since they are still covered with snow, it will give us plenty of protection from the wolves in Jasper."

"We should have no problems from there on out."

Samuel smiled widely at his mate. Although the smile slightly faltered when he realized he would be breaking a promise he made to Rex. But deciding not to fret over it at the moment, Sam began stepping closer to Terra, leaning his head in as he spoke, his eyes half-lidded in a loving gaze.

"How did I ever get so fortunate as to have such a beautiful, brainy girl like you as my mate?" Terra simply rolled her eyes, a small smile on her muzzle.

"If you haven't figured it out by now," she teased, leaning in herself, "then it's a wonder we're still together."

Leaning in the rest of the way, Terra pecked her mate on the lips, which a second later, was reciprocated by said mate. Anna merely turned away and began to make gagging noises, grossed out by her parents display of affection. However, her attention soon turned to her grandfather, who had what appeared to be a very distant look, almost as if he had seen something he hoped he would never see. Concern soon overtook Anna as she stepped toward King.

"Are you okay, Grandpa?"

The inquiry soon brought Samuel and Terra's attention to the latter's father. Sudden realization dawned on them as they quickly remembered that the wolves of Jasper would not be so willing to forgive King as they had. Moving closer so that she was sitting beside her father, Terra brought her head up under his chin, nuzzling him in a way to comfort his inner feelings of anxiety.

"It will be alight, Daddy," she spoke softly, having decided a long time ago that "father" was too formal. "We will be beside you every step of the way."

King then felt another body press against his other side, and smiled at the sight of his granddaughter offering him support as well. Looking to his son-in-law, King was relieved to the small smile that had formed on his lips. However, even though he had his family beside him, King could not quell the dread that he was feeling for the proposed trip.

The next morning, the family set off on what would be perhaps be the greatest adventure of their lives.