Spark looked at the wolf she had collided with. "Ripple?"

  "Spark!" ripple jumped up and howled. The they saw two other wolves.

  "Howler!" they cried. "Sandy!"

  The two looked at them. "Ripple? Spark? GUYS!" A red dog with a white underbelly raced towards them.

   "Howler?" he whispered. "Are you okay?"

  "this is my family," Howler told the dog. "I've finally found them."

   "I'm so glad for you," whispered the dog.

  "Who's that?" Spark growled, pointing with her muzzle at the dog.

  "This is my mate, Dingo," Howler replied.

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  The idea sunk in slwoly. Mate? howler had a mate? Their Howler?

  "Howler?" Ripple whispered. "what happened while we left?"

  "Well, I met Dingo and he saved me," Howler murmured.

 "got a problem with that?" snarled Dingo.

  "No," snorted Spark. "I got a problem with your face."

  "STOP!" growled Howler. "Listen. I fell in love, live with it!"

  "We aren't against it!" Sandy exclaimed.

  "Really?" howler snorted.

  "Howler," Spark began, "where'd the Gray Shadow go?"

  "i don't know," admitted Howler.  "but she's here and if you don't like Dingo, I don't want to hear about it, alright?"

  "okay," Spark agreed. "We get it."

  "So, what happened?" Howler asked.

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 months passed. Sandy introduced her sisters (plus Dingo) to Andrew. Dingo and Andrew ended up becoming fast friends.

  "Okay, so where are Mom and Dad?" Howler asked, expectantly.

  "Oh right. Ya see, when I was gone, meeting all youy again, they ate... uh this bird thing. And it had this little round, hard, shinny thing in it. Mom ate it. And now she's dying. Uh... and Dad... drank out of a murky puddle, with another shinny thing it.... Ah! All in all, they're both dying!" Sandy cried. Seh ahted telling them that.

 "What?" Ripple and Spark howled. Howler was silent.

 "Come on." Sandy led them to their parents' cave. They walked inside and saw their pare3nts throwing up.

  "This is it," their mom weezed.

  "NO!" they cried out. it wasn't... couldn't be time yet!

    "D-dad?" Ripple whispered. Her father had sudennly gone limp. She howleed ot the sky in anguish.

  "Mom?" Spark asked. Their mother was now limp as well.

  "Let';s give them a proper send off," Howler murmrued. They begant ot howl in unison. Even after the others stopped, Ripple continued.

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 Howler yawned the next morning. Dingo was beside her. He hadn't left her side since her parents' deaths.

  "Thanks." She licked him imbetween the ears and walked out of the cave.

  "Howler." She felt Sandy's presence. "I missed ya."

  "I missed ya too. It's lonely being a loner." Howler turned to her sister. We were always close, huh?"

 "Yup!" Sandy proudly said. Then, her ears drooped. "I feel bad that you guys couldn't have spent more time with Mom and Dad."

  "Don't." Ripple walked to them, Spark behind her.

 "It's not your fault," Spark agreed.

  "We go together, np matter what happens, from now on, right?" Howler looked at the rest of them.

  "Right," the rest of the four agreed.

  Ripple's ears pricked when they heard howls.

  "Another pack?" asked Howler.

  "Justin," breathed Ripple. she raced throught the trees, her sisters following, until she ran into a wolf pack.

  "Ripple!" cried Kiyu.

  "Hey, Kiyu." Ripple grinned. "Where's my trouble making partner?"

 A wolf that Ripple had seen but never really met said, "He died."

 To be continued.... How will Ripple take the death of her friend?