more sorrow lay in wait for her there.

Everyone back at the cave, was dead.

The other clan had massacred them, killing some of them, while they slept.

Gia ran over to the place where she had left her children…. All dead.

She was overwhelmed with grief, grief for Jiurus, grief for her children, for her pack, for everything.

Gia decided to leave, with her nine survivors, to strike out on their own, in the traditions of the rovers, which she had been told about countless times by Jiurus.

As this memory ended, Gia opened her eyes again.

She knew that she probably wasn’t going to make it, but… but she wanted take out this Aleu before anything happened to her.

With that thought in mind, she leapt at Aleu.

Lightning dodged yet another wolf, returned the blow, and watched the wolf slump to the ground.

Another shot sounded, and a wolf, from the other side, dropped.

“Geez,” Lightning thought, “we need to get out of here, before we end up like….”

He couldn’t even finish the thought. he’d known Lima all of her life, as Shadow’s best friend, Lightning was close to all of his family.

“I was so stupid,” he thought, “this is all my fault. If hadn’t helped Aniak take down Aleu, then Gia wouldn’t be here, and nearly two hundred wolves would still be alive.”

Another shot sounded, and another wolf dropped, this one a member of the Onasie clan.

“Yep,” Lightning thought, “we need to end this thing soon, or those humans are going to wipe us out.”

Aleu and Gia were back in the midst of battle.

The constant fighting of the last few days, had brought back a little of Aleu’s former skill, and since Gia was hurt, Aleu was actually winning.

Aleu backed Gia up against the cliff edge, keeping her from advancing.

Gia tried to throw herself at Aleu, but she was slow.

Aleu turned and used both of her rear legs to kick Gia in the chest.

Gia flew off of the cliff, but turned in mid air, grabbing onto the edge.

She hung there, suspended over three hundred feet to the ground.

One of her paws, on her injured leg, slipped, and she was hanging by one paw.

Aleu ran over to the side.

Gia looked down.

The ground looked so small from up here.

Gia looked back up at Aleu, who held out her paw.

“Gia! Grab on, I’ll pull you up, and you and your band can go along your way!”

Gia looked back down at the ground, and then back up at Aleu.

“Kid,” Gia said, “I’ve never lost.”

Then Gia let go.

Aleu watched as the silver wolf plummeted to the ground, over three hundred feet.

Aleu saw her hit the bottom.

She shuddered, and stepped back from the ledge, almost running into Shadow.

“Aleu? Aleu are you alright?”

“Yes,” Aleu said, “I’m fine.”

Shadow started to nuzzle her.

“We still have some business to attend to, a slaughter to stop,” she said, as she pulled away, “they’ll be time for that later.”

Aleu walked into the cave.

The wolves down below had stopped the fight, to watch the battle between Aleu and Gia.

They also saw Gia fall.

All of them looked around, some of them realizing for the first time, that they were fighting, and even killing friends.

Aleu ran out of the front of the cave, and the Onasie clan, as well as most of the wolves before her, cheered.

Aleu waited for the noise to die down, then she stepped forward.

She looked among the crowd as she spoke.

“It is time to bring an end to this…” she stopped. “Oh no.”

Aleu ran over to where Kacto stood, a shocked look on his face, at his feet, on the ground, was Tiru.

The wolves all parted to make way for their new leader, and crowded around, anxious to see if Tiru was going to be alright.

Aleu knelt down, by her friend’s side.

Kacto took a few steps back, and turned away.

It sounded to Aleu, like Tiru was having a hard time breathing.

“Aleu?” she said weakly, “did.. did we win?”

A tear came to Aleu’s eye, as she looked down at her friend.

She nodded.

“Yeah Tiru, yeah we won, Gia’s dead.”

Tiru smiled.

“If… if anyone could’ve done it… I knew it’d be you.”

Aleu didn’t respond, just nodded.

“Aleu… I’m… I’m starting to fade out, I’m not gonna.. gonna make it am I?”

A few more tears came to Aleu’s eyes, and she shut them, wanting to appear strong in front of the pack.

“Listen to me.. Aleu.”

Tiru paused here, unable to continue.

“Aleu.. please, take care of Kiluane and Baranof for me, please?”

“Don’t… don’t tell them how this happened, that… that it was their father… please?”

More tears came out of Aleu’s eyes, and she opened them, not caring what anyone thought.

Aleu stared down at her friend and watched, unable to do anything, but let her die.

Finally, Tiru stopped breathing.

Aleu stood up.

“Kacto?” She asked, “how… how could you do this?”

Tiru’s blood still coated his muzzle.

Kacto said nothing, just started to back away.

“Kacto,” Aleu said again, “how could you do this to your mate of five years, you have kids for goodness sakes, how could you do this?”

Kacto turned around and ran off.

He was never seen again.

Aleu turned to the wolves gathered around her, tears still running down her face.

“What was this about?” She addressed them.

“Why, what made all of you turn against us?”

Was it peace, the threat of.. of peace?”

That is all that came out of me returning Raye, or rather my father returning her. The Onasie clan are wolves too, and we should do our best to maintain peace with them.

Aleu looked at the body littered battlefield before her.

“Do you enjoy this, is this something you want to do often. Look around you.”

All of the wolves did.

“Hundreds of wolves have died here today, why?”

Aleu paused and sighed.

“I can’t really tell you why, because there was no good reason, no good to uphold, what we did, we did to ourselves. Everyone of us out here has probably lost a loved one on this field”

Aleu paused again.

“Hiluck?”

Hiluck walked through the wolves, and up next to Aleu.

“I am sure that you all know Hiluck, for a long time, all we feared, was war between our pack and his. However, today, I want to be the first, to welcome him, to a peaceful situation, there is not even a need for a boundary between our clans anymore, we have progressed past that. I hope that in the times to come, that we can out aside our differences, our prejudices, and come together, for it is true there is strength in numbers, but there is also strength in friendship.”

Aleu turned to Hiluck.

“Good morning brother wolf.”

Hiluck smiled.

“Good morning sister.”

Aleu turned back to the wolves before her.

“I don’t know, if you want me back as leader or not, if not, fine, I am sure that we will be more than welcome in the Onasie clan.”

Hiluck stepped forward.

“Without a doubt,” he said.

“So?” Aleu said.

One of the wolves near the front spoke.

“We want you Aleu.”

All of the other wolves cheered, and started calling Aleu’s name.

Aleu smiled, as Shadow walked up beside her.

Lightning came out of the group then.

“I am truly sorry for the way that I have treated you, I was wrong, in fact all of this is my fault.”

“Don’t say that,” Aleu said.

“No, it is,” Lightning said, “I won’t go into the details, but… it is.”

He sighed.

“Shadow I don’t deserve to even live in the clan, much less protect our leader, so…”

“Nonsense,” Shadow said, “you’ve proven your loyalty here, today.” He looked at Aleu.

“With your permission…”

Aleu nodded at him, and Shadow looked back at Lightning.

“I’d be honored if you’d stay… friend.”

Lightning smiled, then his smile faded.

Aleu, I… I have some bad news.”

“Oh my gosh!” Aleu said, “hold on Lightning, I’ll be right back!” Aleu ran by him.

“Aleu,” he said, turning, it’s about…”

“Lima?” he said.

The young female, limped over the hill.

Aleu reached her then.

“Oh Lima, how did this happen?”

Lima gritted her teeth.

“It hurts.”

“I’m sure it does,” Aleu said.

“Well, let’s get you inside; let you lay down for a while.”

Lima nodded.

Sheik ran up then, followed by Thunder.

“Hey sis, you made it!” he said, “I thought you were a gonner!”

Thunder stepped forward.

“I didn’t even see you get hit.”

“Yeah,” Lima said, “why.. why is it that I’m the one who gets shot?”

Sheik laughed.

“You’re always the one in trouble.”

“Ha ha very funny,” Lima said.

Shadow walked up to the group, just as they turned to go back to the cave, and the three walked together, a family.

Balto met them about half way there, Blaize in tow.

“Dad!” Aleu said, “what happened to you?”

“I got beat up,” Balto said, “that’s what happened to me.”

“That leg looks broken,” Aleu said.

Balto nodded.

“Yeah, I think it is too.”

“Well, you want to go inside for a while, I’m sure there’s going to be some sort of celebration here in a bit.”

“I’d really like to Aleu, but I’ve got to go check on Jenna, make sure that she’s okay,