A/N: This story has been inspired by the Wild Wolf, written by Vimesenthusiast!

The Young Wolf

A Family of His Own

Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, pulled on the reins of his steed to slow it to a trod, which allowed the man to take in the town and castle that was his home.

The castle from which he would rule the North from this day forth.

He hadn't anticipated that he would ever become the Lord Paramount of the North. He never would have dared to hope either, as that would mean that he would have wished for his older brother to die before getting the chance to leave behind an heir.

Eddard loved Brandon fiercely, and it was because of that that he couldn't help but also want to curse his elder brother for his foolish and headstrong ways. When news of Lyanna's kidnapping had reached Brandon, the foolish...foolish man, decided to ride down to Kings Landing, where he then stormed before Aerys the Mad, a man known to put to death everyone for even the slightest of provocation, and demand answers from the then King.

'Just what were you hoping to gain from that brother?' That was something Eddard pondered often, and he never came up with any satisfying answer.

It was impetuous, and his elder brothers actions directly led to his death, and the death of their father Rickard Stark. True it was Aerys that killed them, but Brandon might as well have tied the noose himself.

These last few years, they were madness, utter and complete madness. So much went wrong, so much blood was shed, and Eddard, in less than a year, had to say goodbye to more than half of his family.

His father, his older brother and his dear, sweet sister, all dead because of the Dragons.

And now he was a Lord, a title that brought him no joy, only a bitter acceptance, and a cold sense of duty.

His younger brother Benjen Stark, had been ruling Winterfell in his stead while he was away at war, but Eddard well knew that his younger brother wanted to take the black and join the Night Watch.

In fact he would likely leave soon after Eddard took his place here at Winterfell, so great was his desire to join the watch.

Which was something the new Lord Paramount didn't look forward too. It would be hard to say goodbye to his last remaining sibling, but at least they would see each other again.

As a Stark Eddard knew the importance of the Wall, and Benjens desire to serve the watch. In fact, had Brandon survived, then Eddard too would more than likely have taken the vows and worn the black.

After passing through the town of smallfolk around Winterfell, Eddard passed underneath the portcullis of the main castle into the courtyard beyond to see the castles servants and guards, his wife and his brother waiting for him.

It had been as Lord Stark that he had married the Lady Catelyn Tully, Brandon's former betrothed. Eddard wondered what the woman thought of him now, after he left her here for over a year as he campaigned the South against the Targaryan forces.

He also wondered what she would think of the little bundle that a young main following behind them carried in her arms. He hated the fact that he would need to lie to his lady wife, and he hated that he would have to make her believe that he was unfaithful, but he had no other choice. He just hoped that the Lady Catelyn wouldn't make the boy's life even more difficult than it would be already.

Alas, Eddard may not have wanted for any of this to be thrust on him, but he was a Stark and he would do what was right.

As his horse trotted closer, Lord Stark looked at his wife and gulped as her merely standing there caused a need to rise from within. 'The lady Catelyn is indeed most beautiful.' He thought, and once more he hoped that the two of them could come to love one another.

Such thoughts were reinforced even more when he took note of the little bundle his wife held within her arms.

He pulled on the reigns of his horse to make it stop, and then wordlessly Eddard swung himself off the steed before walking forward. His face, which had been carved from granite for so long, cracked at long last. He reached his family and quickly wrapped Catelyn up into his strong arms, pressing a gentle kiss onto her brow, not commenting on the slight flinch that he felt from the woman in his arms.

"Welcome home, my Lord…" His lady began and Eddard listened with rapped attention, "may I present to you our son?"

The woman made to step away from him, and Eddard did not stop her. Far to enraptured was he with the small bundle his lady held against her bosom. Lord Stark peeled back the bundle of blankets to look at the babe beneath, and then he smiled, true and bright when he laid eyes onto his son for the first time.

His smile while small was infinitely warm and his dark gray eyes were filled with such joy that it stilled Catelyn's heart for a moment. Seeing that smile, and that look of joy on the otherwise cold and measured face of the youngest Stark, quelled many of the worries that the young woman had had about her marriage.

It was then that Catelyn truly knew that there was a possibility for love to bloom between them, because she knew it in her heart that she could come to love that small smile and those warm eyes set into Lord Stark's comely face.

The baby boys eyes opened, showing eyes the color of the bright blue sky, and then he began to move and wriggle around in his mothers arms, and Eddard's smile became wider still. He looked at his son, and didn't that thought fill him with the pride that only a father could feel, and took note of his boy's features.

The babe's eyes were clearly of the Tully House, but deeper, darker, than any he remembered seeing before. Yet the rest of his boy was all Stark, the light tone of his skin, and head of black hair, and were those birth marks on his cheeks?

'Wolf Born indeed!' Eddard chuckled before looking at his lady wife, "A lively one, isn't he? He is perfect my lady, truly perfect. Does he have a name?"

"I thought to wait until you were home to name him, my lord." Catelyn smiled down at the bundle in her arms and the babe giggled at the sight of his mother, something that caused her smile to become a small grin.

Benjen chuckled, reaching forward to claps his hand onto his older brothers shoulder. "He is already crawling about all over the place. He'll be a right terror once he starts to walk." Benjen then caught sight of the single small wagon that carried a closed casket at the back of the procession of soldiers that had arrived with Eddard. "Is that Lyanna?"

Eddard nodded, broken from his happy moment, "yes, I brought her home as she would have wanted. She'll go into the crypt to join the rest of our family." He looked over his shoulder at Benjen, "I know that you want to leave for the Watch as soon as possible, but you'll stay for her funeral, won't you?"

Benjen nodded, his face grim and wrought with untold grief, "Of course I will stay, Ned. I wouldn't miss my sisters funeral for anything in this world."

"Thank you." Ned nodded at his brother, "I would also wish to speak with you later."

Benjen nodded again, "right, just give me a moment alone with Lyanna." With that the younger man walked off towards the casket, intending to pay his respects to his dead sister.

Eddard sighed sadly as he watched his grief stricken brother walk away before very visibly turning back towards a much happier subject, the choosing of his firstborn son's name.

"Now then, where were we?" He thought for a moment.

He was tempted to name him Robb, or perhaps Robert in honor of his good friend, both good and strong names, but then at the last moment, just before he opened his mouth, another name came to him. One so strange and outlandish that he briefly wondered just where it had come from, but the more he pondered that name and looked at his son, the more it seemed to just fit.

"Naruto."

When he said that name, not just the lady Catelyn looked at him quizzically, but it seemed as if his son too had reacted to that name in ways that a babe should not have been able too. He looked down and he could've sword that his son was radiating a sense of approval of the name.

How utterly strange.

"Naruto…" Eddard heard his wife mutter, "what a strange name, where did you learn of it?"

"I…" He honestly wondered the same, "I do not know, my lady, it just came to me as I stared at our son, and it seemed to just suit him so well."

"Naruto…" Again he heard his wife mutter the name, tasting it on her tongue. "It does roll of the tongue well. And I cannot deny that it somehow does fit our boy."

His wife looked down at the boy and nodded her head, "It does indeed fit him well my lord." She rolled her eyes as the newly named Naruto wriggled in her grip like the little devil he was, "especially since this little bundle of chaos seemes to enjoy the sound of his name."

Eddard chuckled lightly, and then sobered up, knowing that it was time to tell his wife about his other son. "I have something to show you, milady." A nod from him and the maid holding the babe he'd brought back with him, a girl he had hired to care for the boy, came forward.

~XxX~

As his mother began to freeze at the sight of her husband's bastard child, Naruto's eyes locked onto the other baby. It had been a few weeks since he regained his consciousness, and he had begun to think clearer now. Not by lot mind you, but he was able to think slightly better, and some of his former life came to him in dreams. He could also understand his name, and was quite happy that he somehow was able to keep it, and he could also understand some of the things that his mother said.

He wondered if it was fate or something that he was given a new life but was able to keep his old name, but he would not complain about that.

Not one bit.

But that didn't matter now as he locked eyes with the other little baby, or rather the his comrade stuck in a small body, who had gray eyes and a rather amusingly serious face for a baby.

Above him, Naruto could hear the voice of the man that had arrived at the head of a large force of men, the man who was apparently his father in this world, say some things. He had to try hard to understand what was said, but he did get the gist of it.

"This is your younger brother, Naruto, his name is Jon, I hope that you two get along."

Naruto could feel a rush of emotions shoot through him after he managed to decipher the words that were spoken, and this time those emotions came straight from his old life as Naruto Uzumaki.

Brother, he had a brother now.

Not just a brother either.

He had a mother and a father!

He wasn't an orphan anymore!

Naruto did the only thing that he could do given the strange situation he was in, he began to clap his pudgy hands together and giggled madly with all the innocence only a baby could possess.

'A mother, a father, and a brother! I have a FAMILY!'

~XxX~

The years passed, and as they did Naruto began to be able to think more clearly with each passing month. Motor control came back to him first, and it did so quite easily, guess that shouldn't have been that much of a surprise when considering that he did train for most of his old life.

By the time Naruto was eight months old, he was walking easily under his own strength. By the time he was two years old, he was running, and by the time he was four, he had the speed and dexterity of ten-year-old.

Naruto also conducted some experiments in secret, which revealed that he had retained the ability to use and channel chakra, and his control of it was far better than it had ever been during his old life. The sealing-formula on his stomach was gone, which probably meant that the Kyuubi was gone as well, and honestly, good riddance, he would not be missed.

But that discovery led into his theory about the better chakra control he now had. He could remember that Kakashi-sensei had once told him that people who had less chakra had an easier time controlling it, which would make sense given what evidence he had.

Naruto secretly trained himself every night in his room. He didn't do anything fancy, only some chakra control exercises and he did try if he could still walk up solid surfaces, which unsurprisingly worked just fine.

He also did some mild physical exercises in the mornings, whenever he could sneak away from his minders, which was always a real barrel of fun. Fun for him at least, it was a real headache for everyone else. He was so good at getting away from his minders that they started to call him all kinds of funny names; 'Wild Wolf', 'Young Wolf', or just the good old 'Little Devil', and it was honestly nostalgic and just plain fun.

Even more so because whenever no one could find him, his mother, Lady Catelyn Stark, would. That woman, his mother, was better at finding him, and then scolding him than Iruka-sensei, and that was saying something!

And as he grew, Naruto managed to determine a few things about his new life. First, he was definitely not in the world he had been born into in his previous life. He had seen a few maps in his fathers room, when his father had played with him one time, and the map had not a single landmark that he could recognize.

The continent they were on was called Westeros, and it looked nothing like the Elemental Nations. Then there was the language that was spoken, the common tongue, which was again nothing like the language he knew from his previous life. Luckily enough he did get a grasp on the language easily enough, thanks to his mother and father constantly talking to him.

And still Naruto wondered how he had been sent here, or rather why he retained his memories and the ability to use chakra when clearly no one else could.

But beyond those few questions that he had, Naruto was content to just enjoy his childhood with his family. His mother, the Lady Catelyn was an utter joy for him to be around, for he had no memories of ever enjoying a mothers love. A part of him loved her all the more because he knew what it was like to not have a mother, which had caused him to become quite clingy at times.

And yet he wasn't quite certain why she was so nasty to his brother Jon. In a way she treated Jon the way that some villagers would treat Naruto Uzumaki and that was...disheartening to say the least.

But moving on, his father too, was fantastic! Eddard Stark was a stern man, yet warm despite his cold exterior, and he always made time for both his sons. He played with them whenever he had the time to do so, and when he was busy, he still put away some of his work to simply spend some time with him, if only for a few minutes.

Ned truly was everything that he imagined a good father to be, and he also didn't seem to share his mother's disregard for Jon, quite the opposite really, Ned seemed to be as protective of Jon as he was of Naruto himself, and he could sometimes overhear his father scold his mother for her treatment of Jon.

He really wanted to find out why his mother was so mean to Jon.

Though overall he had enjoyed his childhood very much so far, and much of that was thanks to his wonderful family.

Family, that one word still made his body and soul brim with utter joy. He always thought that having a family would feel great, but even Naruto Uzumaki's wildest dreams didn't even come close to how great it truly felt to have a real family.

If this all was just an elaborate dream, then he hoped that he would never wake up.

And then there was Jon, his brother and partner in most crimes. He was fun to be around, even if they couldn't do much yet, their playtime was always great fun, even if Naruto was mentally far older than his younger brother.

And soon enough his family would grow even bigger!

It was a little after his fourth 'name-day' as they called birthdays here, when his mother suddenly got a lot bigger. He had foolishly asked his mother if she was getting fatter, and that was not a good day to be Naruto.

Though it was also the first time that he had heard his father truly burst out in uncontrolled laughter.

But how should he have known!?

He knew some woman from his old life that ballooned out like his mother did, but he never thought much of it, or if he did then he couldn't quite remember it. Anyways, his parents had explained to him that his mother was with child, which meant that he would soon have another sibling!

He couldn't wait!

When his parents announced that his mother was carrying another child, the whole of Winterfell and even the town beyond held a grand feast that seemed to last for a whole entire week.

His family was truly loved here in the North, and everyone was joyous and happy for his parents. Many of the other Noble Lords of the land came to personally congratulate his mother, and Naruto was able to meet some of them, though he couldn't quite remember all of their names, there were just too many of them.

And after that feast time passed by quickly, and soon enough his mother was giving birth to his little sibling.

Even if this was a good day, hearing his mother's screams during the birthing was horrible. His handlers had kept him well away from the room his mother was kept in during the later stages of her pregnancy, and yet he could still hear her wails that echoed all throughout the castle.

His handlers had continuously reassured him that his mother would be fine, and that pain was normal for a woman that gave birth, but still, it didn't make it any easier for him to accept.

But as luck would have it, the birth of his little sibling didn't take long at all, the midwife had said that the babe simply slipped out of his mother, and that Catelyn would be fine in no time at all.

And then Naruto was taken to see the newest addition to his family.

His heart was hammering against his chest as he stepped closer to the bed his mom was lying in, and then he looked down at the little pink baby that was his sister, Sansa.

He swallowed dryly, and he could feel his eyes become moist. Even with her reddened skin and pudgy face, Sansa was beautiful. Naruto had never seen a newborn baby before, but he could tell that his baby sister was perfect.

He felt a warm feeling in his chest and then he realized something. He was an older brother now. He had a little sister, and he knew that he now had a job to do. It was then as he looked at the scrunched up and pudgy face of his sister, that he swore to protect her. Her and Jon too. They were his little siblings, and he would not fail them.

He would be the best big brother that he could be, no matter what!

Gently, ever so softly he reached out with a hand and began to stroke his sisters little cheeks, and he smiled when she scrunched her nose in a manner that shouldn't have been as cute as it was.

"She is so small…" Naruto whispered with an awed tone of voice before looking up when his mother let out a sweet laugh.

And did he mention that his mother looked utterly radiant right now?

"All babies are that small, my dear." She reached out with a hand to ruffle his hair.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed," his father said from behind him, making Naruto look over his shoulder to stare at the tall man. "You and Jon were both so small that I could pick either of you up with one hand."

Naruto pouted as both his parents chuckled before he looked at his little brother who Naruto had insisted should also be allowed to come here, much to his mothers displeasure, and both boys too joined the adults in laughter.

Yes, Naruto would cherish his family, and he would do whatever it took to protect them.

That was his new promise of a lifetime!

~XxX~

A/N: And here is the second chapter of The Young Wolf.

Naruto is getting his bearings, made some discoveries and once more made a promise of a lifetime! I guess Joffrey better prepare himself because I can't see Naruto taking the fact that his sister is crushing on somebody well.

Anyways, this chapter was an interlude if anything, and don't worry, the chapters will get longer starting with the next chapter. Starting next chapter I'm also going to create my own 'plot-lines' if you will and I'm going to move away from the story that my fic was inspired by, as I#ve been following Vimesenthusiast story quite closely so far.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep now.

See ya all next time, and leave me a Review if you like.