underestimated the “lazy” wolves? Was this some part of Hiatus’s plan? Everest plunged down until he had reached the eastern border. The first thing he saw was Quick. The grey wolf was in full flight and was making a beeline for a few Ublureak wolves holding onto an unknown female.

“Quick! What do you think you’re doing?!” Everest yelled.

Quick plowed into the wolf holding the female and Odin wasn’t a step behind.

“Odin!”

Odin skit to a stop and smiled sheepishly.

            “It was his idea!”

Everest dashed after Quick who was viciously attacking a wolf and dragged the Ipiktok off.

“Get a hold of yourself!” Everest ordered furiously.

Quick stood to his feet, breathing hard and shaking with rage, blue eyes on the wolf he had just attacked. Everest turned to the intruders.

“What business do you have here?”

The Ublureak wolves exchanged glances.

            “Everest?” the wolf in charge asked.

The golden wolf nodded.

            “Hiatus has given us orders…”

“I know what his orders are. All he wants you to do is guard.”

            “If you know his orders, give the girl back”

Everest glanced over his shoulder at the silvery female, now standing quietly behind Quick. Quick growled low in his throat.

“What do you want with her?” Everest asked suspiciously.

Suddenly, yells erupted from the upper trail and from out of nowhere, a grey wolf crashed through the brush and charged at Everest. Everest dived out of the way just in time to see the wolf miss him and sink its teeth into Quick instead.

            “What the-?! Where-?! Get off me! I’m one of the good guys!” Quick snarled, fighting back.

More yells followed and a few more Ublureak wolves followed by Tempest and Will, echoed down from the upper trail as well.

“What’s going on?” Everest demanded.

            “Someone’s a little too brave” Will panted.

                        “Or doesn't know who she's dealing with” Tempest snorted.

            “We want her too” the Ublureak leader stated. “Hiatus’s orders”

“And what exactly are these orders?” Everest squinted.

The Ublureak wolves exchanged glances again, but the leader turned back to Everest with a twisted smile.

            “To round up any stragglers. Pups, yearlings, females, loners, anyone we can find. What Hiatus wants to do with them isn’t our business”

Everest furrowed his brow.

“Let’s go back to the den” Everest growled, turning around.

            “What about the females?” the leader yelped.

“What did you think I was going to do? Listen to Hiatus?” Everest snorted.

            “Why you little-!” the leader snarled, lunging for the golden wolf.

Everest whipped around so that they were eye to eye.

“Don’t give me an excuse to attack. I will. And if I ever, and I mean ever catch you in my territory again, I will. Now get out” Everest muttered quietly, fur bristling.

The Ublureak wolf stumbled backwards, trying to maintain his appearance, but hurried along as he got farther away. Once they were out of site, Everest whirled around to face Quick.

“And what were you thinking?!”

Quick blinked.

            “That I just saved her life!” Quick argued, motioning to the silver wolf. “Or at least her dignity… did you even know what they were planning to do to her?”

“Then you should have jumped in and out but instead you stayed back and fought. You lost control. You never lose control like that! That’s how you get killed or kill someone else. Violence is the whole reason we’re in this mess in the first place and if we kill, it’ll never stop”

Quick clenched his jaw and his eyes dropped to the ground.

“Now let’s head back before they return with backup”

The group hurried away from the border, traveling up the snowy trail until they reached the dried riverbed. When she heard them coming, Mataki peered out but stepped out with more confidence when she caught sight of Everest.

“Everyone, this is Mataki and her pups…”

                        “Maliky and Phantom” Mataki filled in.

The pack said a quick hello and introduced the grey spotted wolf, Altea and the silver streaked wolf, Comet, before slipping into the den. Before Quick went in, Everest stopped him.

“Quick, stay out here for a second”

Quick paused and glanced at the cave, as if deciding whether or not to listen to Everest, but slowly turned around anyway.

            “What?”

“I can let anyone have a second chance but I’m not soft. I’m not Hiatus either. It might’ve been okay for you to kill anyone you wanted to back there, but you’re in my pack now and I don’t give second chances for anything like that”

Quick furrowed his brow.

            “Who says you’re in charge anyway?”

“You did when you sucked up your pride for once and decided to help. I don’t kill. My pack doesn’t kill. That means you won’t kill either. Got it?”

Quick clenched his jaw and mumbled something.

“One more fight like that and you can go right back to Hiatus” Everest uttered in a deadly tone.

With that, Everest turned around sharply and headed into the cave. A few moments after Everest had settled down, he heard Quick enter the cave. Odin started to snicker.

“Go to sleep Odin” Everest said sharply.

Then the cave was dead silent. As soon as the cave was filled with the sounds of sleep, the two pups nestled beside Mataki slowly stood up.

            “I think he’s asleep now” the female pup, Maliky whispered.

Phantom, the male, glanced over Everest.

                        “I think we should just stay with Mataki” Phantom mumbled.

            “But there are bad guys out there! We could beat them up! Just think how proud everyone will be!”

                        “Yeah…” Phantom added. “They’ll think we’re brave!”

The pair of pups eagerly rushed out of the cave, accidentally bumping into Tempest along the way.

            “Hurry!”

The pups scrambled out of sight and Tempest lazily opened an eye. The two pups were easy to see out of the opening of the den and even easier to see against the moonlit snow.

“Oh don’t all get up at once!” Tempest mumbled to herself. “I’ll go get ‘em…”

Swishing her tail grumpily, she followed the paw prints leading up the side of the dried riverbank and towards the trail. Tempest yawned before picking up the pace to catch up with the two young pups. She brushed past the trees and found the pups in a clearing. Both were huddled together on the ground, staring at something. Tempest froze, suddenly wide awake. As soon as they saw her, Maliky and Phantom scrambled over to Tempest. The fur on Tempest’s back stood on end and a low growl grew in her throat.

“Whoever you are, show yourself! You’re in Everest’s territory!”

            “Don’t you think I know that?” came a cold, familiar voice.

Tempest growled louder as Hiatus’s white form came out of the shadows, cold grin playing across his face.

Chapter III

            Everest jolted awake. Heart racing, he frantically glanced around the cave.

“Must have been a bad dream…” he mumbled to himself, setting his head down on his paws. Once again, he tried to get himself to fall asleep, eyes sweeping over his pack again, but it seemed… smaller. Everest’s eyes widened. Where was Tempest? Everest sat up stiffly, noticing Mataki’s pups were missing too. Without a word, Everest dashed out of the cave. The scent of Tempest and the pups was still strong so Everest knew they could have only just left. As he quietly snuck down the trail, the voice he had come to hate vibrated through the trees.

            “Do you really think I just stumbled into this territory?” Hiatus sneered, tsking his tongue. “Everest really hasn’t taught you anything has