youngest daughter as close as she could. “I can’t believe this! Are you all right? You weren’t shot at, were you? I never understood why–”

          “Ruska?” Shaila’s soft voice cut in.

          Ruska pulled away and backed up a few steps, feeling the heat rise to her face. Even she could admit she had missed them, but that didn’t mean she was ready to drown in sentiment. “Hey, Shaila,” she said.

          Shaila smiled. “I’m glad you’re all right…You are okay, right?”

          “Yep,” Ruska said, “Especially now that I’m back.”

          Remus suddenly stepped out of the crowd, and the packs became quiet. Ruska caught and held her gaze, and there seemed to be a mental energy rift between them as they continued staring each other down. They both had strong personalities, and they had never been the closest of sisters, so anything could happen in a conversation between them.

          Finally Remus spoke. “So…The Last Lone Wolf?”

          Ruska managed a small nod.

          “Is that why you ran away? To chase away those hunters?”

          Another nod. Ruska gritted her teeth in anticipation of disapproval.

          A wry smile crept across Remus’ face. “Well, it’s not my style…but I guess it kind of worked out in the end.”

          For some reason Ruska felt her spirits fall. “So…you didn’t miss me?” The silence made it sound childish and whining, but she was surprised to find she was truly disappointed.

          Remus lifted her head. “Are you kidding?…Of course I did. I’ve been starved for sarcasm this whole time!” She grinned, and Ruska found herself grinning back.

          A black and brown streak shot in from the other side of the valley. Shade skidded to a halt at his mother’s side. “You wouldn’t believe–” He stopped mid-sentence, frozen at the sight of his prodigal sister. She almost laughed at the surprise unfolding inside his eyes, and then the complete joy. “Ruska? Holy…” He started padding towards her, his eyes shining. “It’s you. Oh, my–” He stopped short, his gaze locking on Teke.

          Ruska spun around, confused. Teke’s eyes widened in fear as Shade shot him a glare of pure hatred. He started backing up fast, and Shade advanced on him, fire in his eye.

          “You saw it,” Shade said softly, “You saw it all…” His pace quickened, and still retreating, Teke stammered, “Listen, I– this wasn’t–”

          “Did you enjoy it?” Shade whispered harshly, “Did you watch her blood spill? You bastard, idiot, soulless, gutless MURDERER!” With that last word Shade backed Teke right up against the mountain with a crash.

          “Shade!” Ruska was shocked. She swiped at his shoulder to get him to back off, but he brushed her off. Angrily she bared her teeth. “What are you doing? What’s Teke done to you?”

          “He watched her die,” Shade muttered hoarsely, “And I bet anything he enjoyed it, the dirty mutt–”

          “Who?” Ruska cried impatiently.

          “KESTRA!” Shade burst out. His eyes were filled with agonized fire.

          Ruska blinked. “Who?” she repeated.

          There was an awkward silence, filled only by Shade’s heavy breathing.

          “Shade’s…girlfriend,” Shaila said slowly.

          Ruska’s surprised gaze jumped from face to somber face. “What?”

          “His girlfriend!” Remus cried out bitterly, “His crush, his heart’s blood, the love of his life! She was killed by a hunter and his pack of dogs a few weeks ago. Apparently, Teke was one of them.”

          Ruska turned back to Teke just in time to see Shade’s claws creep up to Teke’s throat. Teke struggled to get away, stammering, “It’s not what it looked like! It wasn’t, I swear! Just let me explain–”

        Shade slammed him against the mountain again. “Then you better do it darn quick,” he growled in a low voice.

          Teke’s brown eyes were wide with fear. He swallowed nervously, and his eyes rolled towards Ruska, then flicked back to Shade. He swallowed again, and started in a shaky voice. “The gun misfired. That was all. My owner, Jake, he’s a member of the APAA. He had been looking for wolves for weeks, to try and figure out where they were all hiding. When he saw you two, he completely forgot about his gun. He was disguised as a hunter, so he had to have a gun. Well, he must have leaned on it or pulled on it or something, because the gun fired. And he was so surprised he jumped up and ended up firing it again. And then he swore, remember?” Teke stared hopefully at Shade’s fierce expression. “Remember?” he repeated, sounding a little desperate.

          Shade’s reply was cut, clipped, but he eventually he shot back, “Yes.”

          Teke had the courage to look slightly relieved. “He swore because he almost hit you, not because he missed you. You know what I’m saying? He was afraid of hitting you. The last thing he wanted was to hurt anything, especially wolves.” Teke shifted uncomfortably under Shade’s grip and coughed dryly. “Whatever happened back there was an accident. Just a stupid mistake. And…I’m sorry.”

          Shade’s head fell to his chest. “A stupid mistake,” he mumbled softly, his eyes burning. His claws tightened around Teke’s throat, and Teke started choking. But then his paw loosened and dropped to the ground, and Shade looked away. “A stupid mistake.” His voice was as distant as his eyes.

          Teke heaved in a huge breath and leaned against the mountain, gasping.

          Ruska unfroze and ran to him. “Are you all right?”

          He shrugged. “Once I get my breath back,” he panted.

          Ruska stared at him with so much concern flashing through her. Without thinking, she threw herself around him in an embrace. A stifled gasp magnified his surprise, but after taking a step back in dismay he didn’t pull away. For a breath something changed between them again, and then Ruska pushed away.

          “Sorry,” she said, aware of the hundreds of stares digging into her back. Heat swept into her cheeks, and she hoped her red fur hid it. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

          He looked at her. “…Never better.” A hint of a smile teetered on the edge of his mouth.

          A golden glow whipped up inside Ruska that left her as breathless as Teke had been moments before.

          “Hey, I’m the one who’s just given birth, I should be getting all the attention,” a female voice called out with what could only be described as cheerful sarcasm.

          A path parted wide enough to let Ruska see what everyone had been gathered around when she had entered. A brown-gray female wolf-dog with white paws and white across her back lay in the tender grass, nursing six newborn puppies. The gray and brown father stood over them protectively, his startling blue eyes shining with pride and happiness.

          A lump rose in Ruska’s throat. Unconsciously she padded over to the mother and her litter, and stood there gazing down in rapture.

          Flint padded up beside her. “Ruska, this is your great aunt, Destiny,” he explained, “And this is Cyan, leader of the Midnight Sun pack.” Now he chuckled, a bit more at ease. “You’ve got six fine new members, Cyan.”

          Cyan smiled. “Thank you. At first we didn’t know if they were going to make it, but…well, everything seems all right now.”

          Ruska was still absorbed with watching the pups. They were so tiny, so small and perfect. A mix of white and brown-gray on each one, they mirrored their parents and yet achieved a mark of their own. “Beautiful,” she