Hey, I'm back. -.- I'm so tired...

A MYSTERIOUS SONG

Lilly, her back fur spiked in fear, backed away, narrowing her eyes at the dark figure. "What's...what's a lone wolf doing here? This isn't their territory!"

Kate turned to Humphrey, her face urgent. "Come on. Let's go take 'im. We'll teach him a lesson."

Humphrey's face fell, looking panicked. He flattened his ears and hunched his shoulders. "Wha...me? Why me? Why can't we go get Winston or Tony or...someone a little more experienced?"

Kate snorted, puffing air through her nostrils. She cuffed his shoulder with a paw. "Humphrey, seriously! You're Alpha now. You have to start being..." She searched for the right words. "...well, you have to start acting less like an Omega. Lose the fun-loving and adopt the fight-loving."

Humphrey stared at the wolf, snout still tilted to the sky, thundering a howl. He winced. Truthfully, fighting wasn't exactly his top priority. He could break things up. Cease a scrabble. But he wasn't very skilled with Alpha stuff. It was easy for Kate...she'd actually been to Alpha school, and knew all the basics. But for Humphrey, skating around on logs all his life? Not so much.

Garth butted him from behind. Of course, he was being his burly self. "Come on, Humphrey! Take it with style. Some scrawny lone wolf is no match for us."

Humphrey sighed reluctantly. "Okay, fine. I just wanted to party. Celebrate! This is one night in our lives and we can't waste it trying to convince some random loner to get off our land."

Lilly adjusted the flower, its stem slipping from her fur's grip. "Well...okay, I guess. Maybe...maybe he'll just leave if we tell him too. Maybe he's nice. Maybe we're just being judgemental. Maybe..."

"Okay, Lilly, enough!" Kate said, flicking her sister in the muzzle with her tail irritably. "The bottom line is, we've got a wolf howling here that doesn't belong in the packs. And that's a problem."

Kate silenced and leapt nimbly onto the pearly-surfaced rocks, Garth and Humphrey tagging along with her. Lilly followed them tentatively. She didn't like fighting. Even arguments made her shiver. She wished everything could be peaceful, and all conflicts could just settle. At least for one day. She just wanted one day of freedom and pristine tranquility. Nothing at all to bother her, no battles, a day full of turtle impressions and Humphrey and Kate and Garth...just one day. Just one.

The foursome cleaved through the couples, who hadn't noticed the intruder. (In fact, they were howling along nonchalantly to his song.) Lilly's ears perked as they edged closer. If you listened closely, you could hear calm tweets flowing with the mystery wolf's music, as if even the birds were singing along to the sound. It was quite beautiful, actually. The voice was heavy and strong, but also very syrupy and high. It almost sounded like it belonged to a...

"A girl!" Humphrey hissed, observing the wolf. "That's no 'him' we have here...that's a girl!"

"That's because she's got her fur all over her eyes," Garth said, his voice disapproving. You couldn't tell. And it sounded kind of deep at first, so I guess we just assumed..."

Kate flattened herself closer to the rock, hiding herself. She slipped furtively onto the platform, paws emitting no sound.

"Hey," she barked firmly, and the wolf turned around. In full view, her hair trailed halfway down her neck, choppy, jutting out in all directions. She was very lanky and thin, with long legs and a white-splashed chest. Her ears sagged, poking out from her head fur, and shaded white spots over pale blue eyes. Tresses of hair blocked one eye, even worse than Lilly had it previously, and her tail was curvy.

She didn't seem fazed by the fact that she'd been caught. She smiled at them. "Hello," she said warmly. "Come to howl along?" Her voice possessed slight sarcasm. It was almost a boastful tone, but not quite.

Humphrey cocked his head, looking nervously to the side. "Well...not exactly. Truth is, uh, this isn't really..."

The mystery wolf stared at him, perplexed. "...really...?"

Kate interrupted, stepping boldly in front of the mystery wolf. "This isn't your territory. You're not supposed to be here."

The mystery wolf looked even more puzzled than before. "Territory?" She looked around, glancing at the wolves, howling their harmonies. "Is this...is this a territory?"

"Don't play dumb, loner," Garth snarled. "Why're you here? This land belongs to the Eastern-Western Pack!" He brought his paw down, scattering pebbles.

The mystery wolf raised her eyebrows. "Uhh...well, I don't have any idea where I am. I just saw everybody howling here, and it looked like fun, so I..." She shrugged, sealing her sentence. She went over to the edge, tapping a pebble off the side with her tail. "Don't any of you like fun?"

Humphrey raised his paw. "I like fun!" he piped, his tail wagging.

"Humphrey!" Kate said, shooting him a glare.

"Sorry," he said, grinning apologetically.

Kate huffed in annoyance and turned her attention back to the mystery wolf. "Look-you're not allowed to be here. You have to howl somewhere else."

Lilly felt a tingle shock her spine, and she bounded up to the mystery wolf, changing the subject hastily. "What's your name?"

The mystery wolf looked obliged, beaming at Lilly. "I'm Serena," she said, her tail waving in consent. "What's yours?"

Before Kate could protest, Lilly placed her paw on her chest. "I'm Lilly." She brushed Kate's paws with her tail. "That's my sister, Kate. Over there, in the silver, that's Humphrey, Kate's mate...and in the brown, that's my mate, Garth." She switched her eyes, locking them with Serena's. "It's very nice to meet you."

Serena flashed another smile, her insicors gleaming. "Well, it's been great talking to you all, but really, I've got to get back to my song..." She rotated back to the moon, took a deep breath, and let go a high note. "Ooooaaaahhh..."

"Wait...!" Kate started, but Humphrey placed a paw on hers reassuringly. "Wait, Kate, hold on a sec," he said, watching Serena sing. "Don't stop her. Just listen for a moment."

Kate, despite her worries, cupped her ears to Serena. The song was like a lullaby. Something about it made the moon shine brighter, made the stars twinkle with more strength. Something about her voice was indescribable, like it was some sort of magical sound.

In the background, she could hear a thin, tinkling sound. She turned around, and Lilly's eyes were shut tight, her mouth shrunk into a pocket, letting her vocal chords roll. In a moment, Humphrey joined in, then Garth. With four harmonies, it was mystical, magnificent. Kate looked down at the ground. It made all her concerns fall away, catch on the breeze like a loose feather. And, before she knew it, she was howling, too.

As all the other wolves on the rock sang, it was unbelievable. Kate had never felt so calm, so wonderful, so...so serene. Serena had lived up to her name. Like spirits had named her, located the gift in her heart, and entitled her with something that described her perfectly. She was mysterious, strange. Kate felt like she was floating, and she never wanted the night to end, Humphrey's fur pressing against hers, howling at the moon with the wolf she loved most. Nothing to worry about. It was like everything, absolutely everything, had been purified by the sound of blended voices.

Kate didn't know how long it lasted. In the midst of it, she felt a twinge, as if something had been taken away. She ignored it, and sang her duet with Humphrey, howling swirling all around her. She had felt nothing but the cool wind in her coat, so when Humphrey's cold, wet nose met hers, it startled her, as if she had been tugged back into reality. It was enough to make her open her eyes, and when she did, Serena's dark figure had vanished.

Humphrey had opened his eyes too, and looked confused. "She's gone," he said.

Garth growled angrily. "That sneak! She slipped away when we were distracted."

Humphrey shrugged. "Ahh, it's one less thing we have to worry about. Come on, everybody! Howl some more!" He continued his song.

Kate was embarassed that she had let an intruder get away, but hearing Humphrey's voice calmed her. She sang the duet until her throat was sore, until she was unable to howl any longer. At long last, when the wolves began to file down the hill, she left, her heart still beating swiftly.

Lilly yawned, the petals on her lily slightly drooping. "That was one of the best Moonlight Howls I've ever done," she said sleepily, her eyes lethargic.

Kate, as she withdrew from the Howling Rock, felt composure drain back into her. The dreamy feelings from before were whisked away. "We still need to tell Dad about Serena," she said. She pronounced "Serena" bitterly, shooting Lilly a petulant look, as if blaming her for knowing the loner's name.

Lilly shrank back from Kate's sharp glower, her thick fringe of eyelashes flashing as she blinked. "You're pretty sour tonight, Kate," she said, taking care not to sound too straightforward. If there was anything she knew, it was that if Kate was in a bad mood, you had to exchange discourse with her carefully. "We can tell Dad about Serena later. What's important now is that we get food into our stomachs. It's been a long night, and I'm sure we're all hungry."

A muffled growl split the air, and Humphrey nodded agreeably. "Yeah, I sure could go for a leg of caribou."

Humphrey remembered, back when he was an Omega, the problems between ranking and food. The alphas always got plenty, of course, since they played an important role in the pack. Betas got enough to sustain themselves, but they almost never went hungry. Subordiantes and pups got their share, too...but in times of crisis or caribou scarceness, the Omegas were expected to fend for themselves. It usually meant nights of gobbling snow and eating bitterberries. He also remembered when he'd tried to salvage some bites from a caribou when the alpha wolves were eating-that'd been a long night of wound-licking. As a result, now, as an Alpha-he was constantly hungry.

Kate removed the flower from her head fur and placed it outside the den entrance. Inside, she could see the shaggy gray fur of her father and Eve, who had sliced meat into portions and were gnawing at some scraps themselves. Eve revolved her ears towards the door, and twisted around, her eyes crinkling merrily at the sight of them all.

"Hello...returned from the party, I see?" She gestured to the platters of meat to her right. "Everybody dig in. I can practically see you all salivating."

The four wolves' faces brightened, and they lunged for the food, gulping ravenously.

Eve chuckled as she watched them eat. "Isn't it delicious? Your father and I went hunting for you when you were away." Eve polished off the last of her share and swiped her tongue around her muzzle. She glanced at Lilly, who was busy chewing on a soft mouthful of meat.

"Now, Lilly, remember to brush out your tail before you go to sleep tonight," she said. "It'll be terribly frizzy in the morning if you don't. You've already destroyed enough bristlecone brushes."

Lilly nodded obediently. "Yes, Mom. I'll remember." She bent down, swallowing down her meal.

There was a brief pause, the only sound for a while the chewing and ripping of robust caribou meat. When they finished, they all compiled the clean white bones in the center of the den, to bury as a snack later or to give to the pups.

Garth, after grooming his paws, stood up and looked at Eve.

He pawed at the ground nervously, his round jungle-green eyes flicking back and forth from Eve's gaze. "Uhm, I was wondering...if I could have your permission to share dens with Lilly tonight?" From the other side of the cave, Lilly's small silvery-white ears perked at this.

A monstrous craze struck Eve's expression, replacing the warm and welcoming one from before. Instantly, without hesitation, she pounced on Garth, knocking the younger wolf to the ground, and began snarling in his face, her paws seizing hold on his throat.

Humphrey sighed. "Here we go..."

Lilly bolted towards them and tried to pry her mother off. "Mom! He...he didn't mean that way...he's just asking for your permission to be in the same den with me when we sleep tonight! Just being responsible, since we're mates now, and you're the mother-in-law..."

Eve sucked up the rage and swept across the den with a flounce. "What a sweet and honest boy!" she chirped. Garth breathed heavily, trying to refill his lungs with air.

As Eve's golden-brown tail disappeared around the corner, Winston eyed Garth and Lilly wearily, chortling. "I apologize for her behavior," he said, shaking the mane of fur around his scruff. "She just loves Kate and Lilly so much, she wouldn't want anything to happen to them..."

Garth spouted a dry laugh. "Yes, ha-ha. Very funny. She almost choked me to death. Maybe humor, but not Funny-Omega humor." He turned to Lilly and licked the side of her snout affectionately, producing a giggle from her.

Kate sighed, watching Garth groom Lilly's well-tapered face. He was obviously in love with her...more than he could ever be in love with Kate, or more than Kate could ever be in love with him. Sure, at first, he'd appeared to be just her type; well-trained, muscular...but show-offy. And way over-confident. In the journey back home she and Humphrey had gone on, it seemed she was more into goofy, bubbly wolves. And no singing voice could top Humphrey's...not even Serena's. Humphrey's was special.

Thinking over this, she recalled the loner who had been singing at the top platform. It stung at her to know that she had howled along, completely careless. She was forgetting her duty as Alpha. Alpha school was supposed to change her. One of the first rules was Do not howl with an Omega, but howling with an outsider? Even worse. At least Omegas were in the pack.

Eve rounded the corner, clutching two rabbits in her jaws. "I brought dessert," she said, smiling as widely as she could with a mouth full of rabbit.

"Wait," Kate said firmly. "There's something I have to tell you."

000

"There was a lone wolf on our territory and you didn't tell me?"

Winston's eyes had slanted down angrily, evidently irate. His tail lashed like a snake, writhing from side to side. Though he was a retired Alpha, he still had that vibe, that compact leadership that made you seem the lesser. He was elderly, but still, an orb of strength lie in the pit of his stomach, the guidance of a pack leader still coursing through his veins. When he and Tony had retired, they had made an agreement-Kate and Humphrey would become the Alphas, and Garth and Lilly would be betas, the second-in-commands. Garth hadn't taken the position he was to originally, but Lilly's rank had gone up significantly. Wolves had treated her differently before. She was barely noticed. But now, in everyone's eyes, she was a snow princess-the white wonder.

Kate stood tall, meeting her father's eyes evenly. "I understand my mistake, but...we didn't want to leave the celebration. And her howl, her howl was...mystifying..." She left out the part of the join-along howling. She didn't have to experiment to know what her father would think about that.

Winston groaned, shaking his head. "Kate, Kate, Kate...this isn't about howling. This is about being Alpha! You've got to start being more responsible." He scratched a mark in the earth. "And that's our custom...our law. Alphas act like Alphas!"

Kate kept steady, though the guilt swelled up in her chest. She dipped her head respectfully. "I know, Dad. It was my fault for neglecting my duties. I'll be better from now on...I promise."

"Better isn't good enough, Kate," Winston said, his voice strained. "You've got to be the best."

The words were like a signal, a cue. Her heart lurched. She knew what her father said was true, but how could she possibly be the best? She had trained. But with everybody having such big expectations for her all the time, with everybody wanting her to strive to do her best-it kind of left an empty, lonely feeling inside her chest, as if there was something missing there.

Eve shot a spiteful glance at Humphrey. "But don't blame it entirely on our daughter, Winston, dear," she growled. "Remember, Humphrey's an Alpha, too. He should've convinced her not to let it go. He is her mate, after all."

Winston shifted his tired gaze to Humphrey, who grinned in...rueful defiance, was it? Those blue eyes looked blameless, but he knew he was in trouble.

"Believe me, I know what's expected of wolves. Every wolf, everywhere." Winston waved his tail, lacking energy. "Humphrey is a new Alpha-he doesn't really know better. He's still got his fun spirit telling him what's right and wrong. And that's not always the same as an Alpha's decisions." He swept his paw across the ground again, leaving thick claw marks. "Clumsy and silly. Immature. But you're right in some ways, Eve...Humphrey is an Alpha now, so he should know that his goal now is to try to be more like one."

Humphrey sealed his ears to his head politely, knowing his rank. Winston towered over him, even if he had taken place as Alpha. "I'm sorry, sir...I'll try to be less...uh, less of myself." He tucked his tail between his legs. "And then maybe things will be...more...organized."

Winston nodded in approval. "Good," he said. He swiveled his head to the entrance, where a dusty brown wolf had appeared. Following behind him, a brown wolf with a clay-colored face looked with serious eyes.

Winston padded over and licked Tony's ear in greeting. "Hello, Tony, Duster," he said, his voice a mere whuff.

Tony blinked slowly, his face leisure. "What seems to be the problem, Winston? I heard arguing."

"There's a lone wolf on our territory, and we need to get rid of it." He turned to Kate. "What did this wolf look like, Kate?"

"Female," Kate replied quickly, "Black-furred, with long strands of fur over the left eye. A white chest and eye spots, with blue eyes." She finished off with a flourish, hoping she sounded official enough for her father.

It seemed to pass his likings. Winston focused on Tony once more. "Tony, alert some of the wolves. Tell them to look out for a lone wolf. And if they confront her..." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "...tell them to attack."

Tony nodded and retreated, Duster at his heels. "Thank you, Winston."

They had launched a lookout for Serena. They were expecting it to be so, but it would not be the last time they saw the strange wolf.

Erg. I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. I made a few flaws...

1. I kind of made them out of character. Sorry about that.

2. I added new characters. (You can look 'em up on my profile, as my Avatar.)

3. I put in more wolf-like terms. You know, like the formal greetings and how the Omegas aren't allowed to eat as much...

4. I made Humphrey a little less outgoing. (Is it cute how he cowered or not? I don't really know.)

5. I think I made it rushed. ...Did I? And also, if Serena sounds too "perfect", tell me.

That's all. Tip: If you make the characters have the same voices as the movie in your head, it might sound a little better.

Thanks for reading, if you read it. I hope bolded letters catches people's attention...so, um, read and review. Yeah.