The trek up the mountain seemed rather tedious, as the terrain always seemed to maintain a fine layer of snow, even with the changing season. That's not to say that every few feet the family of traveling wolves wouldn't find a few spring flowers in the midst of all the white. Even with the beautiful scenery and cool, refreshing mountain breeze, the traveling party was becoming weary from the uphill trek.

"Sam, honey," Terra called to her mate, who was leading the formation. Said wolf stopped in his tracks and looked back to his mate, accompanied by their young daughter, Anna, who looked like the physical definition of exhausted. His wife didn't look that well either. In fact, she looked just about as exhausted as when she had to carry Runt during that unpleasant winter. Not needing to hear his wife's observation, as it was evident by the looks of fatigue on their faces, Sam voiced what she must had been thinking.

"It's about time for a break, isn't it?" The auburn colored female slowly nodded to her husband, who gave her an understanding smile. The group had left early in the morning, just before sunrise, in order to get a head start on their family vacation to Banff, and had been traveling all day, with the sun now starting to set on the horizon.

Anna, upon first waking up, was so tired that Sam and King had to take turns carrying her on their backs while she got a little extra sleep. Speaking of King, Sam noticed that with the walking most of the day, and it being early in the evening, that King, with his aging body, appeared to be more tired than rest of them. Terra looked back to her father, concern on her face.

"Are you alright, Daddy?" King, although tired, sent his daughter a reassuring smile. Sam, however, not wanting to push any of his family too much on the first leg of their journey, decided that a nearby rock ledge would do nicely as a place for them to rest for the night.

"Alright, everyone," he called, "we'll camp here for the night."

Leading everyone to the ledge, Sam let out a soft chuckle as he watched his family plop down on the surface, and hard, letting out moans of relief at finally being able to rest, even though there had been brief respites for food and water, as well as when nature called, along the way. Before long, Sam's own aches and pains from the journey caught up with him as he popped a few stiff joints and vertebrae in his legs and back.

"S-seems we a-aren't the only o-ones who need a b-break," rasped out King, laughing half-heartedly from exhaustion. Sam merely rolled his eyes at his father-in-law's comment.

"Well, we're not all old farts like someone I know." King, not in the best condition to offer a retort, simply snorted as he rolled his eyes. Terra, having recovered some, decided to interject.

"Now boys, play nice," she mock-scolded, earning a round of chuckles from both males. Anna, after having rested for a few moments, decided to add in her two-cents to the conversation.

"Seriously guys," she began, a playful smirk on her face, "how is it mom and I are the mature ones." Soon the whole group was laughing, the exhaustion from the day's journey quickly being forgotten. Soon, the unmistakable rumble of several empty stomachs chorused, signaling the party that it was time to catch dinner.

"Anna, you stay with your grand-dah," Samuel instructed his only child, "Your mother and I will go catch dinner." Anna, however, actually wanted to take part in a hunt for once, what with her soon being old enough to manage such a feat.

"But daddy," she whined, "I wanna go hunting with you. I may be smaller than you guys, but I am fast and flexible." Samuel and Terra simply smiled at their daughter's enthusiasm, but knew that however ready she may feel, even with practice hunting with squirrels and rabbits, she wasn't quite prepared for big game hunting.

"Patience, sweetheart," her father consoled, "your time will come, trust me on that." Turning to face his daughter, Samuel leaned down and offered a gentle lick on her forehead, an action that was soon repeated by her mother. Chuckling softly, Anna pushed the faces of her parents' way.

"I'm practically old enough to be on my own. When are you guys gonna stop treating me like a pup?" she inquired still chuckling. Samuel and Terra smiled sweetly at their child.

"You'll always be our pup," Samuel spoke softly, gently nuzzling his daughter, who returned the affectionate gesture with a hum of content. Soon, the happy couple left the ledge to go search for the groups' evening meal. Looking to the top of the mountain ridge, Anna could see that the top was a good 200 yards away. From what her father told her, Banff would be about another few hours journey when they woke up in the morning, which would put them their around mid-morning or early afternoon. And the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't wait to see everyone from the Tranquility Pack again, including her best friend Elise.

Looking to her grandfather, Anna's smile soon fell when she saw her "grand-dah," as Sam would often refer to him with his brogue, with a faraway look that was directed toward the top of the mountain, or rather what lay beyond it. Deciding to offer some company, Anna approached her grandfather and soon plopped down by his side.

King's attention was brought away from the mountain top and to his young granddaughter who beamed brightly at him. King's own worries soon melted as he rewarded the chipper youth with a warm smile. King greatly loved his granddaughter, so much so that he was willing to die for her if the need arose.

"Are you okay, grand-dah?" inquired Anna, with an Irish brogue that as the adults observed would come and go; no doubt she has picked it up from her father. King, a bit unnerved by the question began to come up with an excuse.

"Yes, Anna, sweetheart," he began, "just a little tired from the trip. I will be fine after some rest." Anna knew her grandfather was keeping something from her, but decided not to push him on the topic. Truth be told, Anna had noticed her grandfather acting rather strangely upon her mother's idea of traveling to Banff; he seemed skittish, and almost afraid of something, especially upon learning that the would be traveling past Jasper. Anna decided to bring it up to her father or mother once King had gone to sleep.

After about a half an hour of waiting, Anna and King's nostrils were filled with the unmistakable sent of freshly caught caribou. Soon, Samuel and Terra came into view with a rather small caribou, most like a juvenile. The size didn't matter as they were sure to find more once they reached Jasper. Before long, the caribou was picked clean and the wolves, save for Sam, went to sleep, wanting to be plenty rested for the final leg of the journey.

Upon surveying the area to make sure that his family was safe, Samuel turned to join his wife and daughter in sleep, placing his body on the other side of his daughter, who at this point was nuzzled against her mother, whose back served as a headrest for King, Samuel gently placed his head atop of Terra's and, after a few moments, drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately for Terra, sleep would not come so easily, for in the dark of the night, painful memories haunted her dreams. Soon, the dreams became nightmares of what might have been.

In the dream she was having, Terra was once again with the Tranquility Pack, only before the uprising. Looking around, Terra could see the demonic forms of the evil Alpha's she and her family had dealt with.

But soon, she felt the weight of a wolf atop of her, their stomach pressed against her back as the unmistakable tip of a wolfhood pressed against her opening. Looking behind her, Terra froze as she saw the Dark Wolf himself, a sadistic smile on his face as he prepared to defile her.

It was at that moment that Terra realized that she was reliving the moment she was nearly violated by Cain, only to be saved by her mate and allies at the right time. But, as she continued to look around, her eyes widened with horror at the sight of the twisted and mangled bodies of her mate and father, their blood soaking the ground as she screamed in sorrowful agony.

"One way or another," Cain whispered in her ear, "you will be mine."

And with that, Terra let out a scream of pain as Cain roughly thrust into her.

"IT-HAS-BEGUN."

In an instant, Terra awoke with a gasp, her eyes wide and frantic as she looked around, quickly taking in her surrounds as she tried to gain back her sense of reality. But luckily, upon taking in the forms of her sleeping family, Terra slowly began to calm down. She was actually thankful that king had moved his head off her back in his sleep, otherwise he would have been in for a rough wake up call. Unfortunately, her rapid breathing had roused Sam from his sleep. Looking around groggily, Sam's tired eyes focused on his mate, a look of concern slowly etching it's way onto his face.

"What's wrong?" he inquired sleepily, slowly rising to his feet. "You OK?"

Taking a moment to steady her breathing, Terra locked eyes with her mate, a small smile on her face as she did. Leaning forward, Terra caught Sam's lips in a tender kiss, the two wolves moaning as their tongues met in a sensual dance of pleasure. Before long, Terra's fear had diminished greatly. After about a minute, Terra pulled away from Sam, her eyes glimmering with love and affection.

"I'm fine, dear," she cooed softy, "just go back to sleep."

With a hesitant nod, Sam complied, laying down and closing his eyes, sleep quickly consuming him once again. Before long, Terra joined him, her nightmare a distant memory as she joined her mate in slumber, unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching them from the mountaintop.

As the night carried on, Sam found he was having difficulty sleeping, often being plagued by dreams that he would rather not have. Before long, he found himself engrossed in another dream, or rather, a memory.

Looking around, Sam found himself back in an all too familiar setting; the territory of the Northern Pack of Jasper. His attention was then brought to the sound of childish teasing. Looking to the source of the sound, Samuel was met with site of a group of pups tormenting another pup he recognized only to well;

Himself.

"Look guys," mocked a male pup, "it's the Meg."

"Leave me alone, Nars," whimpered the pup, much to the amusement of the other pups.

"Leave me alone, Nars," the pup mocked back, over exaggerating his victim's Irish brogue. Before long, the small group of bullies began jostling their victim around. Sam could only watch in horror as one brought their paw down on his younger self's face, leaving a few nasty cuts on his right cheek. At that moment, Sam had had enough.

"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

All the pups turned to face the direction of the older wolf, but for some reason, Sam knew they weren't looking at him. The first indication was that when Sam yelled out, the voice wasn't his, but rather a female teenage pup who began racing toward the group. They had the same fur color on her body as Sam, but instead of ginger streaks, she had brown highlights in her mane, with bangs that hung over her blue eyes, as well as brown socks on both her fore and hind paws.

"Allison," rasped out Sam as he lay eyes on the pup that was rushing to his younger self's defense, eyes that were slowly filling with tears. The group of bullies soon scattered as the female approached the scene. Upon approaching the young pup before her, the wolf called Allison felt her heart break at the site of the nasty cuts on his cheeks. Helping the crying pup to his feet, the female began to walk away from the area.

"Come on, Sam," she said, a hint of an Irish brogue in her voice as well, "let's get you home."

The tears were now freely flowing down Sam's face as he watched the tender scene, smiling softly as he watched the two pups walk away.

"I knew I could always count on you, Big Sis," he sobbed out, a sad smile on his face.

Soon, the scene began to change to another moment in Sam's past. As the transition occurred, Samuel could make out glimpses from his pup-hood; playing with his sister, spending time with his parents, and of course, sneaking off to play with his friends in the Western Pack. Soon, the scene settled on Sam, as he recognized, from three years prior.

"Hey Meg!" called out a rather obnoxious voice. Both Sam's turned to see the ever smug face of Nars, who had just be named pack leader of the Northern Pack following the passing of his father, approaching the Sam of the past.

"What do you want now, Nars?" The Past Sam groaned as he turned to face his childhood bully. Nars, was not impressed by the so called "Alpha's" attitude.

"First off," he began, "You can start by treating your new leader with respect." The Sam of the past rolled his eyes at this statement, further annoying the wolf before him. Sam remembered this day well, as it was the day that would lead to the events that changed his life forever.

"Second," Nars continued, "If you want to stay here, you better start behaving like an Alpha. I won't have your Omega antics jeopardize everything my father and his father worked to build here." The past Sam soon took on a look of slight fear.

"And if I don't?" Nars smiled as he could see the hint of fear in his subordinates eyes.

"Then you and your family are out of this pack."

"NO!" cried Sam, "you can't do this!" he begged in a pleading whisper. Nars simply smiled.

"Your choice."

With that, the Northern leader walked away, leaving Samuel with his thoughts.

The scene began to change again before Sam's eyes. Before long, he found himself at the moment he made the hardest decision of his life;

Leaving his family.

Assembled around the front of a rather large cave, the past Sam was saying goodbye to his loved ones. His mother, a French wolf named Amelia, who had traveled to Jasper from Quebec, held her son close has she sobbed into his chest.

"Do try to come back, Mon Efant!"

Sam smiled down at the brown furred female, her white socked forepaws wrapped around his middle, afraid to let him go. She smiled as she looked up to her son, her brown eyes overflowing with tears.

"I'll try Mama."

Stepping away from his mother, Samuel moved onto his sister, who was standing by her mate, a brown furred wolf, with speckles of grey and black in his mane, as well as around his brown eyes. Samuel had grown to love his brother-in-law Ewan very deeply. Using one of his paws, Samuel brought his sister's face up so that her tear-filled eyes met his.

"It'll be alright," Samuel reassured his sister, "once this all blows over, I'll come back." Looking down at his sister's stomach, Samuel smiled as he placed a paw on it. "Besides," he continued, "I have something to look forward to when I do."

The family had only found out a few days ago that Allison was going to have her first pup with her mate. Allison smiled as she leaned in and gave her brother's cheek a tender lick. Smiling, Sam nodded to his brother-in-law, who in turn nodded back with a small smile on his muzzle.

Samuel watched as his past-self moved to their father, a proud brown furred Alpha who had black socks on his forepaws as well as black streaks in his mane that greatly contrasted with his cream underbelly. Alan looked down to his son, a steely expression on his face. Sam had learned long ago that just because his father didn't express himself a lot, it didn't mean that he didn't care.

"We'll be here waiting for ye when ye get back, son," Alan said, his thick Irish drawl carrying much weight with his words. Sam watched as his past-self smiled at his father, who offered a warm wile in return. With that, Sam turned away from the only home he'd ever known.

"NO! GO BACK YOU FOOL! DON'T LEAVE THEM!"

Sam ran to tackle his past-self, but just as he landed on him, the wolf turned into a mangled corpse of a grey furred wolf. Looking around him, Sam saw that he was back in a place that could be defined as the very definition of hell; Caribou Mountain, one of the conquered territories taken by the Rogue Wolves of Banff.

"THAT'S RIGHT MY ALPHAS! SLAUGHTER THESE OMEGA LOVING FILTH LIKE THE SWINE THEY ARE!"

Looking behind him, Samuel was met with site of a crazed King, flanked by his daughter, Princess. Samuel then turned toward the carnage, and could only watch in horror as he relived this brutal massacre over and over in his mind.

His mind then went to his time with Runt...

Then to Cain...Only this time, the Dark Wolf said something that had not be said to the Omega before...

"This is far from over."

With that, he couldn't take it anymore.

"NO!"

Sam bolted up right as he began to take in his surroundings; he was back on the mountain side, his daughter and mate still beside him, sleeping with King, who had resumed his earlier position of resting his head on his daughters back. Relieved that he was back in reality, Samuel resumed his position by his family, closing his eyes as he drifted back to sleep.

As soon as Sam drifted off to sleep, three wolves emerged from the shadows. A rather small wolf eyes the party, especially King.

"Let's just end him and be done with it."

"No, Candu!" whispered a muscular wolf with an extravagant mane, as well as a unique marking across his muzzle, "We have to report this to Winston." A brown furred wolf with multiple scars on his body rolled his eyes as he scoffed at the wolf.

"Do you always have to be the buzzkill, Hutch?"

"Nip-it Scar!" snarled Hutch. "Come on, we better get back." With that, the three wolves left the group to sleep, unaware that a certain pup had overheard the whole conversation.