Cody: Wow, new chapter's up already! I know, unexpected, huh!? Gotta say right now, I didn't get "BoltandMaybelle4ever" into this one, but I will in the beginning of the next chapter! Sorry, buddy...Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Get ready for something rather unexpected!

Two Days Later – Crystal's POV

"Come on, Mom, we're gonna be late!" Alexis said, trying to push me out of bed. Donna had set up a meeting with a boy named Garrett yesterday, and Alexis was really anxious to meet him. "Honey, we don't need to be there for another hour! It'll only take us like fifteen minutes to get there, if that." I said, giggling a bit.

"Yeah, but if you go back to sleep, we'll never make it on time!" She said, nudging me again. I smiled and rolled my eyes, grabbing her and saying "Honey, relax a little. I know you're excited, but you can't expect he'll be your perfect guy immediately. All you can expect is you might like each other." She worked her way free and said "I know, but I'm just hopeful! Who knows, we might end up REALLY liking each other!"

I giggled again and said "Yes, you're right, that could happen. But, don't just expect it to….What're you gonna do if you can't stand each other?" She shrugged and said "We'll leave, I guess. Nothing I really could do, I don't think." I nodded and said "True. It all just depends on how you both connect to each other, good or bad."

"I know….Okay, Mom. I guess I'll lay down for a little bit." She said, going over to her and Chase's bed and laying down. I smiled at her and said "It'll be time to go before you know it. Is your heat bothering you at all right now?" She shook her head and said "No, not really. I had a little personal time last night while you and Dad were out."

I nodded and said "It's good you're learning to keep it under control. Promise me you will today, okay?" She nodded and said "I promise, Mom. It hasn't bothered me all day, so I'm sure I'll be okay." I smiled again and said "Good, you don't want things getting awkward with Garrett because of that…." She giggled a little and laid her head on her paws, closing her eyes to rest for a little while.

I let out a happy sigh and rolled onto my stomach, stretching out as I did with a groan. "Mom, when's Dad gonna be home?" Alexis suddenly asked. I turned to look at her and said "Sometime soon, I'm sure. He'll be going with us, trust me." She smiled and nodded, closing her eyes again and eventually falling asleep.

I smiled to myself and got up, going out to the living room after a few minutes to see Chase curled up and asleep on the couch. I went over and nudged him awake, saying "Chase, honey, wake up." He lifted his head and yawned, saying "Hi, Mom….Something wrong?" I shook my head and said "Course not, just wanted to know if you'd like to go for a little walk with me."

He smiled a bit and nodded, saying "Okay, that sounds good. Where are we going?" He got up and hopped down off the couch, stretching out as I said "Just around the neighborhood a little. Not too far." He nodded again and we went over to the front door, opening it and going outside. We went down the stairs and out into the warm sunshine, walking off down the street together.

"Something you wanted to talk about, Mom?" He asked as we walked, making me smile. "Well, sorta….You know we're going over later to meet Garrett, right?" He nodded and I said "Are you gonna come with us?"

"Yeah, I think I will. I mean, it'd be nice to meet him, too. Make sure he's nice to my sister…." He said, chuckling a little. I giggled a bit as well and said "Yep, gotta make sure of that! Who knows, Donna might be able to set you up with a nice girl as well…." He smiled and shook his head, saying "Nah, I'd prefer not." I looked at him and asked "Why's that?"

He shrugged and said "I'd rather find a girl on my own. As hard as it might be to find another wolf in this town…." I smiled and said "Not as hard as you might think. It's good you wanna try on your own, though." He smiled again and said "Thanks, Mom. Can I ask you something, too?" I nodded and he asked "Did Alexis….tell you what we talked about the other day?"

"Yes, she did. She told us everything and your father and I aren't against it. Weird as it may seem right now, but your Uncle Shadow and I used to do the same thing when we still lived in Glacier." I said, blushing a little bit as was he. He shyly nodded and said "Alexis did that last night, I think. Our bed had that scent again….Is it wrong that it makes me feel….I don't know how it makes me feel….

I smiled and said "Like a boy around a girl, unable to think straight and make sense of anything, right?" He nodded again and said "Yeah, pretty much….I know it's wrong, but the scent….It gets me excited." I giggled a bit and said "Chase, that's all a natural thing, believe it or not. You may know in your head she's your sister, but there's nothing else that listens to that, especially your….Little friend."

He blushed much more and said "Yeah, I know….Alexis said we could do "that" together, but….I don't know if I could…." I nuzzled him and said "If you don't want to, you don't want to. And if you're uncomfortable if she starts doing it, ask her to stop or just go to a different room." He smiled a bit and said "Okay, I'll remember that…."

Cody's POV

I loudly yawned as I stretched out, leaning back in the chair I was sitting in at the desk. Lilly was asleep in the bed next to me, audibly snoring away. I chuckled to myself and looked up at the clock to see it was almost 3PM now. "Only a little longer until they get here." I said to myself, hoping everything would go nicely when Alexis meets Garrett soon. The way Donna talks about him, he sounds like a really nice guy! She's sure they could be a good match, but it's all up to how they connect together.

"So, when's Alexis gonna be here?" Donna asked as she came out of her office. I looked up at her and said "Dakota said they'd be here a little before 3:30." She nodded and said "Well, I just got off the phone with David and he said they'd be here right about then." I nodded too and said "Sounds good. Any chance you know where Garrett came from? Where he used to live before here?"

"That's actually a fuzzy part….He has memory loss. When he first came here, there was obvious trauma to his head." She said, making me wonder. I slowly nodded and said "Something must've happened….I wonder if he remembers what." She shrugged and said "Possibly." With that, she went back into her office with a small stack of papers and I turned back to the desk.

After a couple minutes, Lilly started to stir awake with a yawn. I looked down at her as she stretched and I said "So, decided to wake up, huh sleepyhead?" She looked up at me and smiled, sleepily saying "Hi, babe….What time is it?"

"A little after three. They should be getting here soon." I said, rolling the chair over to her. She sat up as I got to her, saying "Think it'll go good?" I nodded and said "I'm sure it will, but it all depends on how they get along." She nodded too and got up, saying "I'm gonna go outside for a minute. Be right back!" I smiled and kissed her nose, making her giggle and she walked outside to do what she needed.

About ten minutes later, the front door opened again and I heard her come back in along with Dakota, Crystal, Alexis and Chase, all of them laughing and talking. "Hey, guys!" I said, waving at them. Dakota smiled and said "Hey, Dad! Not TOO early, are we?" I chuckled and said "Nah….It'll probably be about ten more minutes. How're you feeling, Alexis? Scared?"

She smiled too and nodded, saying "Really nervous, that's for sure." Crystal giggled and said "Just remember, we'll be here still, but let you two have your space." Alexis nodded again and said "I know, Mom. Thanks." Crystal smiled and said "Alright, honey. Cody, is there some water back there?"

I nodded and said "Yep, right down here next to me. Come on back." She came over and I opened the door, showing her where the bowl was. "Oh, thank you! It's a bit of a walk here, that's for sure!" She said, quickly going over to get a drink. Dakota and Chase came back as well, Dakota going back to Donna's office while Chase just looked around.

Alexis got up on the couch and laid down, her tail flipping around and I could see she was pretty nervous just by how she looked. That's when I noticed she had a flower in her hair against her ear and I said "So, you decided to get a little dressed up, huh?" She smiled and blushed, saying "It was Mom's idea….I like it, though!" I chuckled and said "I'm sure Garrett will, too!" She giggled a little and laid her head down to wait.

Right about 3:30, the door opened again and they came walking in. I looked down at Garrett and immediately thought he looked REALLY familiar for some reason, but I stood up and smiled, saying "Hi, there! You must be David and Garrett, right?" The man nodded and came over to the desk, shaking my head and asked "That's right, and you must be Cody then?"

I nodded as well and looked back down at Garrett, who looked around the room and saw Alexis laying on the couch. She was blushing cherry red and her tail was flipping around more as she shyly said "Hi….Um, Garrett, right?" He smiled and nodded, saying "That's me! I take it your Alexi, then?" She smiled too and said "Alexis."

"Oh, sorry! I uh….I thought it was Alexi…." He said, his ears back. She giggled a bit and said "It's quite alright! It's nice to meet you!" He smiled again and said "It's nice to meet you, too!" She blushed again and Dakota and Crystal walked back out to the waiting room to meet him as well. "Hi, Garrett!" They both said, getting his attention.

He turned to look at them, saying "Oh, hi there! You must be-….Her…." He quickly trailed off as his eyes went wide when he looked at Crystal, making us all wonder. "Her….Parents. That's us. I'm Dakota and this is-" Dakota said, cut off by Garrett saying "Crystal…."

Her eyes went wide and she stepped back a little, asking "How….did you know that?" He stammered for a moment, not making any sense before saying "You're….Crystal….I…." Her and Dakota looked at each other and she asked again "How do you know that?" He took a breath and quietly said "I don't believe this…." Lilly quickly walked out to them and gasped when she saw him, saying "Oh my god! Garth!"

His eyes shot over to her and he said "N-No….My name's Garrett…." She shook her head and walked up to him, causing him to take a step back and she said "Your name is Garth….Your real name….But….You don't sound like….you." He looked between them all and stammered "H-How do you know me?"

She sat down and studied him, looking up and down and saying "We came from the same pack. I can't believe this…." He looked shocked and said "….Jasper Park?" Her eyes went wide and she nodded saying "I was in the Wes-"

"Western Pack…..And I was in the….Ea-Eastern Pack…." He stammered as he looked back at Crystal. She looked completely confused and he walked up to her, saying "You're….my daughter…." Everyone gasped and Crystal said "N-No, my father was killed….In a war….He and my mother left us with-"

"Humphrey." Garrett, err, Garth said, shocking her. She slowly nodded and said "It can't be….You're….our….f-father…." He slowly nodded too, reaching out and hugging her. She was too stunned to do anything and everyone was still trying to understand what was going on. "Where's Shadow?" He suddenly asked, making her eyes go wide.

"He's in Glacier Park….with his mate and kids…." She said as he released her. He sat back and nodded, saying "That's where Humphrey took you two." She sat there for a moment, taking it all in before a look of rage crossed her face and she slapped him, and hard! He stumbled back a little, holding his paw to his cheek and saying "I had no choice….The war…."

"You pawned us off! You left us!" She nearly screamed at him, walking up to him. He backed up more and said "If I didn't get Humphrey to take you two, you would've died just like almost everyone else!" She raised her paw to slap him again, but Dakota grabbed her and said "Crystal, don't! He's not lying…." Her head whipped around and she said "I know he's not!"

Alexis' POV

I got up and hopped off the couch, going over to the front door and going outside to the grass. I laid down under a tree in the shade, taking the flower off my head and saying "Well, this was a waste of time….Can't believe I thought it would be a good idea…." I let out a sigh and laid my head down, feeling upset and sad at the same time.

I felt like I was going to cry when I heard the door open again and looked back to see Chase coming out. "Hey, Alexis…." He said, coming over to me. I weakly smiled and said "Hey….What's up?" He laid down next to me and said "Making sure you're okay." I smiled more and said "I'm fine, thanks. Little upset, but fine."

He nodded and said "I don't doubt it. All that kinda went south real fast…." I lightly giggled and said "Yeah….Is that really our….grandpa?" He shrugged and said "Seems so….Grandma Lilly knows him from when she still lived in Jasper and he immediately knew Mom and Uncle Shadow. So, I guess that means he is…." I sighed again and said "Well, might not be all that bad. He seems nice enough."

"Yeah, he does. They're all in sitting down and talking now, more civilized too." He said, chuckling a little. I giggled again and said "Well, that's good. And to think I had thoughts of he and I getting together…." He smiled and said "Can't blame yourself, you didn't know any of this would happen." I smiled too and said "Yeah, you're right….Thanks, Chase."

He nuzzled me and said "Don't mention it. Are you just gonna lay out here for now?" I nodded and said "I figured I'd give them all a while to talk." He nodded too and said "I think I will, too. It's all rather confusing right now…." I smiled and laid my head down again, saying "Sure is…."

I started to doze off after a little bit and I must've fell asleep because I was woken up by something pushing my shoulder. "Alexis, honey?" I heard Mom say as I slowly opened my eyes. I looked up to see her smiling at me a little and I said "Hey, Mom….Everything okay?"

"For now. How're you doing?" She asked, laying down where Chase was before I fell asleep. I shrugged and said "Okay, I guess….Just….disappointed." She weakly smiled and nuzzled me, saying "I'm sorry, honey….We had no idea this would happen…." I smiled too and said "It's alright, Mom, I know you didn't…." She sighed and said "So, what do you think you wanna do?"

"Right now, I'd like to go home. I'm pretty upset and just wanna go home." I said, laying my head back down. She rubbed her nose on my cheek, saying "I know, honey….We will soon, I promise. Grandma's in talking to Garth right now. He doesn't remember a whole lot….I guess he was captured and hurt pretty bad during that war."

"Wow….That sounds horrible!" I said, feeling bad for him. She nodded and said "It must've been pretty bad….He had some bad injuries to his head when he first came in here." I felt tears coming to my eyes and Mom nuzzled me again, saying "But, he's a lot better now. Still has spots of memories missing, but a lot seem to have come back recently."

I nodded and said "Well, that's good. If you don't mind, Mom, I'd like to get a little more rest." She smiled a little and nodded, saying "Of course, honey. Again, I'm sorry…." I weakly smiled and said "It's okay, Mom." She got up and started to walk away, but stopped when she saw the flower she put on my head now on the ground.

She picked it up and set it in front of me, saying "You look even more beautiful with this." I giggled and blushed a little, as did she before going back inside. I laid my head down, staring at the flower inches from my nose and let out a long sigh, closing my eyes and falling back asleep after a couple minutes.

Chase's POV

I was quietly listening to Grandma and Garth talking and laughing about where they used to live in Jasper. There were some things he didn't remember, but it wasn't surprising considering what happened to him. He did remember a lot though, mostly the more important things, like his family and pack. He was joking about his father some, how he was kind of an uptight jerk a lot, but he still loved him of course.

"I can't believe how long it's been….The last time I remember seeing you, you were still pretty much a pup…." Garth said, smiling at her. Grandma giggled and said "And you weren't much older. So, real quick, just settle my mind….Did you have a crush on me?"

He immediately nodded and said "Big time, too….I knew it was a silly crush though, since we were different ranks. No way we could've been together." She smiled and I asked "What were ranks?" They looked over at me and Grandma said "They were the way of establishing order in the pack. I was an Omega, the jokesters and peacekeepers."

"And I was an Alpha, the hunters and protectors." Garth said, smiling as well. I nodded and he said "Now that I think back, it was a pretty dumb way of deciding who could be together and who couldn't." Grandma nodded and said "I think so, too. But, you know what? It doesn't matter anymore….We're not there anymore."

"I still do miss Jasper at times." Garth said, smiling a bit again as did Grandma, who said "Well, yeah, so do I. I'd still rather be here any time, with my mate and kids…." Grandpa chuckled and kissed her, making her purr a little. "I gotta be honest, Lilly….I'm really surprised you have kids. I don't mean that in a bad way, though."

She nodded and said "I know, don't worry. Believe me, Kate was too when we first saw her again in Glacier Park. Which reminds me….Last time we were there, she told us all she's pregnant too! Her mate's a human as well and he got her pregnant." Garth smiled more and said "Wow, you don't say!? That's amazing!"

She nodded and said "I know, isn't it?! Makes the world pretty small….Probably can't tell yet, but I'm pregnant again, too!" His eyes went wide and he said "You are!? Lilly, that's amazing! Congratulations!" She giggled and said "Thank you, Garth. You can feel the bump in there already…." He nodded and asked "Could I feel it?"

She giggled and said "Of course you can…." He went over to her as she laid down on her side, letting him feel her stomach. After a few moments, he smiled and said "I did feel it….Again, congratulations!" She sat up and they hugged, making us all smile. "I've missed you, Garth…." She said, tears in her eyes.

"I missed you, too….Where's my son, Shadow?" He asked as they let go of each other. "He lives up in Glacier Park with his mate and kids. I said that earlier…." Mom said, giggling a bit. He chuckled and said "Oh, right….So, he's got kids, too? Wow….I'm so proud of you both!" Mom smiled and said "Thanks, Dad….I know he'd love to see you!"

"I sure hope so….I hope he understands why I did what I had to….I never wanted to leave you two, I promise you that. Your mother on the other hand….She didn't care one way or another." He said, looking upset thinking about it. Mom shook her head and said "If she didn't want us, then we don't want her." He smiled a little and said "After you two stop nursing, she basically dumped you onto me and ran off."

"Don't worry about it. At least you did…." Grandma said, smiling at him. He nodded and said "More than anything in the world. You and Shadow were the best thing to ever happen in my life…." Mom smiled again with tears in her eyes, saying "Okay, we got it….Enough of that or I'm gonna cry." He chuckled and then Mom said "We should probably be heading home soon. Alexis is pretty upset and wants to go home…."

"Why's my granddaughter upset?" Garth asked, a confused look on his face. Grandma smiled and said "Well, she's been wanting to find a mate recently, so that why we were here. Since you're her grandfather, I seriously doubt that would happen now." We all laughed a little and he said "Poor girl….If you guys need to be heading home, we probably should too. We still need to catch up a lot, but we can only take so much at a time."

"That's a good point. It was so great to see you again, Garth…." Grandma said, hugging him again. He smiled and said "You too, Lilly…." They let go of each other after a few moment and he looked at Mom, saying "Come here, my little girl…." She smiled and got up, going over to him with tears in her eyes and hugged him.

"I love you so much, Crystal….I'm so happy to have you back…." He said, nuzzling her. She started to cry a little and said "I love you too, Daddy….Promise you're never leaving again!" He nodded and said "I promise with all my heart. I'm never going anywhere again…." She smiled again and nuzzled him before they broke apart, wiping her eyes as they did.

"Bye, Dad….We'll see you soon!" Mom said, coming back over to us. He nodded and said "Definitely. See you all soon!" We all said goodbye and walked outside, seeing Alexis still asleep under the tree. Mom went over and woke her up, telling her we were heading home now. She nodded and got up, picking up the flower that was in her hair and we got in the car, pulling out of the parking lot and heading home.

It was only a few minutes until we got home and the sun was starting to set already. We walked up to the apartment and went inside, Alexis saying "I'm gonna go lay down. I'm still sorta tired." Mom smiled a bit and said "Okay, honey. You get some rest." Alexis nodded and went down to the bedroom, going in and closing the door down behind her.

"She's pretty upset, huh?" Grandma asked, weakly smiling. Mom nodded and said "Yeah….First time ever meeting a boy and it doesn't go nearly like she wanted it to. I think she'll be okay, though." Grandma nodded and said "I know she will. Won't be too long until she asks when she can meet another one."

Well, how was that for shaking things up a little? Never expected to see Garth again, did ya? Turns out he's been living in Kalispell for a while now. Gotta feel bad for Alexis, too...So hopeful that she'd meet a really nice boy to (possibly) be her mate, and that was killed in an instant. But, like Lilly said, it won't be long until she's past it and ready to try again. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! May not have the next one up for a little while...I gotta work on One Of The Pack some more.

Oh, little after note...I'm starting to consider reviving High School. Nothing's definite right now, but I'm considering it. I've gotten a few ideas that would work and want to try and put them into action, so I'll keep you updated on that. For now, it's still shut down...Anyway, that's all for now! Remember to drop a review!