Stephen was sitting yards away from the waterfall den. He was a full-grown wolf. His fur, which used to be close to light brown, was now a smooth gold. His father, Stone, was a couple of feet away from him. Stone was sitting in his thoughts. He was going to be a father, not a fake father of Stephen but a father of pups with his own blood.
Stephen couldn't wait to have brothers or sisters. He wondered what they'd be like. He wondered what they would look like. He couldn't remember his real siblings nor if he had any. He just knew that once he saw the new pups, it would be like looking at himself two years ago.
"Aww... Stone. We're parents now," said Rhys. "Do you think we should name them?"
"Remember?" said Stone. "We did it already."
"Oh..." Rhys could not believe she forgot. "Stephen, you can come in now." He went in. "Meet your siblings."
"Which ones are male and female?" he asked.
"Well, this one that is white with light brown is..." She stopped. "Oh, no."
"What is it?" said Stephen. She picked up the pup from its sleep. It was a boy. He was missing an eye. There was just a socket. Stephen wasn't too bothered by it. He had lost his entire family.
"Stone! Could you come over here?" Stone was busy sniffing the ground. He looked a lot older now. His spots had become a darker brown. His voice was also deeper.
"What is it, Rhys?"
"Look at our pup, Kris." He gasped. Stone studied his son.
"Oooo... I hope this doesn't affect his hunting skills." Stephen then noticed something.
"There's another oddity." He was right. The pup they named Chance was missing one of his dewclaws. Although dewclaws weren't necessary for survival, they helped when digging.
Chance was named after the manner of his birth. For the first few minutes after he came into the world, he wasn't breathing. Luckily, he coughed and survived. He was a dark brown pup with his eyes not opened yet. There were three pups: Kris, a dim white pup; Chance; and a female light grey pup named Jane. Stone was surprised by her fur color. Neither Stone nor Rhys had any grey on them. They guessed it was from Rhys's father, who was grey, but there was a chance it came from Stone's family. Stone, like Stephen, was an orphan. Nobody knew if either his mother or father were grey or not.
But that wasn't important. They had other family matters. But the family was part of a larger plan, a plan Rhys just realized they kept forgetting about. Last time they checked, Stormfast was still sick.
"Stone?" said Rhys. "How long has Stormfast been ill?" Stone thought for a minute. He realized it too.
"Two years?" he answered in a sarcastic tone.
"You know what we must do, right?"
"Yes, I do now."
Later. . .
It was night. Stephen was dreaming... that it was a couple of moons in the future. A random event played out.
"Stone! Stone! I have found your family! You were never an Eastern but a Western!"
"Foolishness, Stephen! I was an orphan, you dull creature! I didn't come from the Grand Pack," said Stone's Pack chieftain, Stone.
"Dad, you are misunderstanding this. How would you know? Do you remember?"
"No, but what I'm saying makes sense. Since Easterns are related to Westerns since they originated from the same lone wolf ancestor nearly thirty years ago, it means that if I'm not an Eastern, I can't be a Western either."
"Well, all I know is that I can prove you wrong. I've met your brother."
"Foolishness! Impossible!" he yelled.
"No, really! His name is—"
Stephen woke up. What was that? he wondered. Whatever it was, I wonder what it meant.