Mato sighs, and to Quincie's confusion, she walks up to Mitch, and rubs her head against his side. Quincie shakes her head, and walks to the rest of the pack. She walks over to Yukki.

*What's up with Mitch and Mato?* Quincie asks, looking over her shoulder at the two of them.

*Mitch dominated her...he chose her to be the mother of the pack.* Yukki says, looking at Mato.

*That explains it.* Quincie says nodding her head with her eyes closed.

*Yeah well...and unfortunately, he's already mated with her...* Yukki says, shaking her head.

*So they already have-* Quincie begins, but Yukki cuts her off.

*Yeah...* Yukki says with a sigh.

*How many?* Quincie asks, looking at Mato with sad eyes.

*Seven.* Yukki says. Quincie turns to look at her with wide eyes.

*Wow...what a good sized litter...how many were girls?* Quincie asks.

*Five.* Yukki says with a shrug.

*If you guys are done...we need to get going.* Mitch says, causing the two to spin around and look at him with surprise. Quincie look past him to Mato.

*Poor Mato.* Quincie mutters.

*Yes...poor Mato. Hahaha.* Mitch says, closing his eye. *Don't feel sorry for my bitch.* He commands, glaring at them before walking away from Quincie and Yukki. As he walks away, Yukki looks at Quincie.

*Yeah, you might not want to show any kind of pity for Mato when Mitch is around.* Yukki says, a hint of seriousness in her voice.

*His bitch, huh?* Quincie mutters, looking toward Mato with a faraway look.

*Yeah.* Yukki says, shrugging.

*Mitch sure has changed.* Quincie says, shaking her fur out.

*Not really. He's always been that way. It's just that whenever his father was around he never showed how he truly was. You should have seen how much he used to beat her.* Yukki says with angry eyes.

*...*

Meanwhile, Mato sits up, and stands next to Mato.

*Come along, everyone.* Mitch commands, motioning forward as she begins to run. Everyone else runs after him. They run for hours. When they finally stop, they go into a cave that's going to be their home for the night. Mato follow Mitch out of the cave, leaving everyone else in the cave.

*Why did you really bring Quincie back?* Mato asks, looking at Mitch with quizzical eyes.

*She's family.* Mitch says with a shrug.

*Since when have you cared about any of that?* Mato asks, looking at him with confusion.

*It doesn't matter.* Mitch says, shaking his head. He leads her to the edge of a small forest. Mato slowly backs away until she's a good nine yards from where she was standing to begin with. *Hahaha! What's wrong, Mato?* Mitch asks, looking at her in confusion. She lays down, and whines.

*I can't go in there.* Mato says, covering her face with her paws.

*Still can't overcome the fear, huh?* Mitch ask, looking at her with critical eyes. She closes her eyes, and shakes her head. *Too bad.* Mitch says with a sigh. He walks up to her, and licks her nose. *You'll get over your fear eventually.* He says in a gentle voice.

*It's not the fear...its regret.* Mato says, wining.

*You mean for father?* Mitch asks, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

*Yeah.* Mato says, nodding her head.

*There's no reason for that!* Mitch says sharply. Mato lifts her head to look at him.

*Why?* Mato asks, looking at him with questioning eyes.

*Because I'm sure father's just fine.* Mitch says, choosing his words carefully.

*You're making that up!* Mato says, looking at him with suspicious eyes.

*Am I?* Mitch asks, looking at her with a cocked head. He grabs her by the scruff of the neck, and makes her stand up. *I'll give you a while to get over your fear.* He says as he pulls her forward slightly. Mato sigh before following him into the den.