Lilly's POV

When we got back to the den we'd be using, Cody and I decided to get a little bit of sleep since we were kinda tired from everything happening so far. I fell asleep laying on his chest and he had his arms around me.

When I started to wake up, it was already dark outside. I yawned and gently moved off him, stretching out before laying down in the cool dirt. I felt my stomach suddenly growl and smiled, saying "Don't worry, you guys will eat soon enough." I laid there for a couple minutes staring outside the den until Cody started to stir.

He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw me and said "Hi, love. How'd you sleep?" We kissed real quick and I said "I slept great. How about you since you were laying in the dirt?" He chuckled and said "Not bad, but my back is a bit sore now."

"Told you you'd want the mattress..." I said, giggling. He sat up and said "Maybe, I don't know yet. So, what do you think Eve was talking about earlier before we came back here?" I shrugged and said "No idea. Think we should go ask?"

"Yeah, good idea. Hopefully they're still awake." He said as we got up and walked over to Mom and Kevin's den. We looked inside to see him awake, but she was asleep. He saw up and smiled before nudging Mom.

"Mmmm...Hi, honey." She sleepily said, stretching out. He kissed her cheek and said "Hey, you! Lilly and Cody are back." She looked over at us and said "Oh, hi, guys! What time is it?" Cody pulled his phone out and looked at it, saying "Almost 11. Just wondering what it was that you said we should come back for."

"I can't tell you, but trust me, you'll love it!" She said, sitting up and her tail wagging. I giggled and said "Well, alright...Should we go see if everyone else is up for it, too?" Mom quickly nodded and said "I was about to suggest the same."

We all walked out and over to the other dens, Mom and Kevin going to Todd and Naomi's while Cody and I went to the kids'. When we got there, we could hear Crystal and Lupa talking inside.

"Yeah, she definately she wants to, but not nearly as badly as Alexis." Lupa said. I knew instantly that they were talking about Alexis and Fable being in heat. "Well, I talked to Alexis earlier about it...She decided to relax in the water for a bit and that seems to have helped calm her down." Crystal said.

As we walked in, I said "Hey, you two! What's going on?" Lupa looked over at us and said "Oh, hi, Mom! Not much, just chatting." Dakota, Shadow, Aatu, Fable and Alexis were all asleep in the back of the den. I could hear Alexis loudly purring and could smell what seemed like the smell of sex in the air.

Crystal saw me sniffing the air and said "I know what you smell. It's Alexis." I nodded and said "Something...happen earlier?" She smiled and said "No, not that we know of. Probably dreaming about something..."

"Ah...Well, Mom and Kevin said that there was something we'd all wanna see tonight. They went to see if Todd and Naomi were awake." I said. Lupa nodded and said "Yeah, they mentioned it to us, too. Did they say anything about what is was?"

"No, just that we'd love it." Cody said. Crystal smiled and "Well, I hope so! Must be pretty nice if they're excited about it." I laughed and said "Yeah, good point! They should be coming back anytime now..."

Right about then, Aatu started shifting around in his sleep. He rolled over and, because of where he was, his head landed right next to Alexis' butt. As soon as his head hit the ground, we could see him started sniffing the air, obviously smelling her scent of heat.

Lupa ran over and pushed his head away, saying "Oh, hell no! Aatu, wake up!" He shot awake, saying "Wha-What!? Huh!?" He looked around to see Alexis' rear right in his face and shot up, running out with his tail between his legs. Shadow was awake too and ran out after him, kissing Lupa's cheek on his way out.

"He's not gonna be a happy puppy..." Cody said, smiling. Lupa giggled and said "Yeah, probably not...I should probably go after them and make sure Shadow doesn't get mad at him for the wrong reason."

"Good idea. We'll be here when you get back." I said. She nodded and ran out too, going the same direction as they did.

Lupa's POV

I started following Shadow and Aatu scent and finally found them after a couple minutes by the lake. I could hear Shadow yelling at him. I quickly ran over toward them, not liking what I was hearing...

"What the fuck is wrong with you!? She's family and you have the audacity to be doing that!?" Shadow yelled. I heard Aatu loudly whimper in fear as I got closer and finally saw them, but not how I thought I would. Shadow was over Aatu, holding him down to the ground and growling at him.

"Shadow, stop!" I yelled, finally getting to them. He looked at me and said "Lupa, do you know what he was doing!?"

"Yes, I do. It's not his fault, though. Let him up." I said, glaring at Shadow. He could see my anger with him and quickly got off Aatu, who jumped up and cowered in fear. I turned to him and said "Aatu, honey, it's alright. We know you didn't mean to do that."

"But he still-" Shadow started when I glared at him again, baring my teeth to him. He instantly shut up and backed away some. I turned back to Aatu and said "Are you okay, honey? Wanna talk about it?"

"Not with him here!" He yelled, surprising us. I looked at Shadow and said "Go back to the den. Now. I still need to talk to you, too..." He looked at Aatu and then back at me before he nodded, saying "Alright...I am NOT happy with you, Aatu!"

"Enough! It was NOT his fault! Now GO!" I yelled. He quickly ran off back to the den, leaving dust behind him. I sighed and said "Honey, come here." Aatu nervously came over to me and I pulled him closer, saying "I know what happened, but your father doesn't. All he was was your nose...there."

He blushed madly and said "I-I'm sorry, Mom! I don't know why that even happened!" I tightly hugged him, saying "Shh, it's alright...I know why. You rolled over in your sleep." He looked up at me and said "Th-That's it? Just rolling over caused all this mess!? I'm such a freaking idiot!"

"No, do not say that. You are NOT an idiot!" I said, nuzzling him. He cried into my neck for a couple minutes, making me almost start crying too. He eventually started to calm down and wiped his eyes, saying "Is Alexis mad at me?"

I smiled and said "She doesn't even know what happened. Or at least I don't think she does. She was asleep too." He nodded and said "Okay...Can we not tell her? I don't know if I can face her again if she knows..."

"Don't worry, I won't say a thing. I'm pretty sure Crystal or Lilly won't either." I said, rubbing his back. I suddenly heard someone make a sniffing sound like they were crying too behind us in the bushes. I quickly turned around, saying "Who's there!?"

They started shaking a little and then I saw Shadow crawl out from under them, tears running down his face. "I told you to go back to the den!" I said, getting mad he didn't listen to me. He got up and nervously came over to us, saying "I'm so sorry, Aatu! I had no idea what was going on..."

I felt Aatu pull away from me and turned to see him backing up, trying to stay away from Shadow. "You're not sorry! I know you're not!" He yelled. Shadow took another step toward us and Aatu quickly turned around and ran off.

"Aatu, come back here!" I yelled, but he was out of sight within seconds. I turned to Shadow and said "See what you did!? He's lost all trust in you and you made it worse by coming back!" He was shaking and said "I'm s-sorry, Lupa! I n-never meant..."

I angrily sighed as I walked past him back toward out den, leaving him where we were. I heard him drop to the ground and start crying heavily, but I was too mad at him to even care at the moment. I got back to our den a couple minutes later and walked in, laying down in the back and curling up.

"Lupa?" Mom asked, a worried tone in her voice. I looked up at her and said "Aatu ran away...All because of Shadow!" Her and Cody looked shocked and she said "He what!? Why, what did Shadow do!?"

"He didn't know what was going on when I woke Aatu up. He completely blew up on him when I found them. He didn't hurt him, physically anyway, but I know that Aatu does not want to be around him." I said, tears in my eyes.

"Oh my god...Where's Shadow?" Mom asked. I shrugged and said "I suppose still where we were. I left him there. I'm just so angry with him right now. Probably be best if he spends the night away..."

"I suppose so...Are you going to stay with him, though?" She asked. I sighed and said "Right now, I honestly don't know. I can't tell you anymore then that." She sadly nodded and said "Okay, honey...We're gonna go back to our den for now. We'll tell Mom and Kevin you'd like some space right now."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm sorry about all this..." I said, laying my head down. She weakly smiled and said "It's not your fault, honey. We'll come back in the morning and help you look for Aatu if he doesn't come home tonight."

"Okay. See you guys later." I asked, curling back up. I heard them walk out and back toward their den and I sighed, thinking "Dammit, Shadow...If you would've just waited until I got there, none of this would be happening!" I suddenly heard a depressed howl come from far off and knew it was Aatu. It brought tears to my eyes and I quietly said "Please, Aatu, come home...Please come home..."

Aatu's POV

I brought my muzzle back down after letting out a depressed howl that threatened to make me explode if I didn't let it out. I hung my head and stared down into the lake, my own reflection staring back. I saw it suddenly start shifting until it looked like Dad, which only enraged me.

"Stupid...Piece...Of CRAP!" I screamed, smashing my paw down into the water over and over again. I kept at it for at least ten minutes until my paw was in pain. I looked at it to see a little blood coming from two of my claws where they'd broken out. I washed my paw off in the water before turning around and walking off, not sure where I was going.

I suddenly felt something weird inside me, like it was pulling at my heart. It felt almost like something telling me I needed to go back home. "No, I can't. HE'S there..." I thought to myself, trying to ignore it, but it didn't work.

I eventually gave into it and said out loud "Alright, fine! But if he's there, I'm leaving..." I started walking in the direction of the den. It was about a half hour walk back, only taking so long because I had ran off. My paw was hurting like crazy, but the bleeding had finally stopped about halfway home.

When I finally got there, I silently crept around the side and looking in, seeing everyone asleep in the back except for Dad. "Alright, I guess I'll stay..." I thought, quietly walking in to the back. I saw Mom asleep in a ball, dried tears on her cheeks. I felt so bad knowing that she'd been crying over all this. I carefully laid down next to her and snuggled close, trying not to wake her, but it didn't work.

"Shadow!?" She asked, almost yelling. "No, Mom, it's me..." I whispered. Her head whipped around and she saw me laying next to her, a weak smile on my face. "Aatu! My little boy..." She said, quickly jumping up and pulling me into a tight hug. I chuckled a bit and said "Hi, Mom...I'm sorry I ran away."

She let go of me, saying "It's okay, as long as you're alright. Where did you go?" I shrugged and said "I don't know, really...I was on the other side of the lake, I know that." She nodded and happened to look down and saw my paw, how it was injured.

She gasped and said "Oh my god! What happened!?" I smiled a bit and said "I got angry..."

"And what? Did you tear a tree down!?" She asked, smiling a little too. I chuckled and said "No, just hit the water a bunch of times. Might've been a rock in there..." She sighed and said "God...I take it you were mad at your father?"

I nodded and said "More like enraged. Where is he anyway, not that I want to see him..." She sighed again and said "I left him where we all were earlier. I don't want him coming back right now because we all need a little time to cool off."

"Yeah, I agree. I'm gonna go to sleep now, okay?" I asked. She nodded and said "Okay, honey. I'm just so glad you came back!" She licked my cheek and I smiled, saying "Yep, I did...Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, Aatu." She said as we laid down, both of us curling up next to each other. She moved around so I was laying at her stomach and put her foreleg over me, making sure I didn't go anywhere. I closed my eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep, hearing Mom start to purr.

Shadow's POV

I was feeling horrible after what happened with Aatu. I couldn't believe that I practically attacked him without knowing what was really going on! Lupa left me by some bushes where her and Aatu were talking before he ran off. She was definately angry with me and I couldn't blame her. I was angry with myself after all...

After I heard Aatu's howl, I started crying even more, but fell asleep for a few minutes. When I woke up again, I got up and walked back toward the den, knowing full well that Lupa would not want to even look at me right now. I got there a few minutes later and quietly laid down by the entrance where I'd sleep for the night.

"I hope she can forgive me for this...Aatu as well..." I thought as I laid my head down on my paws. I sadly sighed and closed my eyes, wanting to go back to sleep, but just couldn't. I started to see what looked like dancing green lights behind my eyelids. I shook it off as my mind messing with me since I was so tired, but they never went away and seemed to get brighter and brighter.

I slowly opened my eyes to see something that looked like pure magic in the sky. "Woah..." I said to myself, watching the lights dance around the sky. They were rather calming and definately interesting since I'd never seen them before.

"What is this?" I asked myself in complete awe. They lit up the entire park, the lake shining beautifully in their glow. I sat up and continued to watch them, oblivious to anything else going on around me.

I suddenly felt something next to me and looked down to see Lupa there, watching them too. I weakly smiled and looked back up at them, gently inching closer to her. She leaned up against me a bit and started quietly purring and I laid my head against hers. She happily sighed and whispered "I'm still mad at you..."

I smiled and said "I know you are...Let's save it until morning, okay?" She slowly nodded and we sat there watching the lights for a couple more hours, just loving every second of it. I could hardly keep my eyes open any longer and looked down at her, seeing the lights shining in her eyes.

"Lupa, I still love you, no matter what. I know you're upset with me, and that's good, you should be after what I did." I said. "Shadow, I-" She started when I stopped her and said "No, just let me talk...You and Aatu have every right to hate me right now and I won't hold it against either of you. I love you both very much and would HATE to lose you guys over this. I'm going to go over to Eve and Kevin's den for the night to let you have some space."

She nodded and I smiled, saying "Okay. I love you, Lupa..." She nuzzled me and said "I love you too, Shadow...Goodnight." I nuzzled her back before walking off to the other den where I'd stay for the night. I heard her sniff and walk back into the den behind me.

When I got there a couple minutes later, I saw Eve and Kevin both outside watching the lights too. I smiled and said "So, you guys saw them too?" Eve smiled and said "This is what we wanted to show you all tonight. What're you doing here this time a night?"

"I was hoping I could stay here for tonight. Something happened earlier with Lupa and Aatu and I don't wanna upset them more if they'd want me to sleep somewhere else for tonight." I said. Kevin nodded and said "Of course, Shadow, come on in. What exactly happened?"

"You know, it's been a long night and I'd rather not go over it all again right now...I'm about to fall asleep standing here anyway. We'll explain it all tomorrow after Lupa and I talk for a while. All I can say right now is that Aatu is very upset with me and...ran off." I sadly said, hanging my head.

"Alright. Well, let's go inside and get some sleep then." Eve said as we all walked inside the den. They went to the back while I laid down near the front where it stayed a bit cooler and so I could watch the lights a bit longer. I stayed up for about a half hour longer before finally just passing out from exhaustion.

Well, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Took me about three straight hours to do, but I think it turned out great! An idea popped into my head about something happening between Lupa and Shadow, but then Aatu came into play, so I rolled with it. Then came the Northern Lights, not that they know that's what they're called...Yet. Someone does know, but do you know who?

As always, Read & Review! Can't wait to hear how you all liked this chapter! Probably gonna have a new High School chapter up within a couple day. BTW, I'm still taking suggestions for the name of the story! High School is just a temporary title until someone sends me one really good! Please, shoot your idea to me and I'll put a poll up and let YOU vote on it! Aren't I nice that way?