Chapter 1: A New Beginning

The sound of howling wolves filled the air once more. Stinky and Runt rushed to the edge of the valley.

“They’re back!” Runt exclaimed.

“I told you this victory was too easy,” Stinky replied. “We should never have sent Claudette and the others back for the caribou.”

“It wasn’t my idea to send her back.”

“Could you two stop arguing so I can kill something?” Mick shouted at them. “You’re really starting to bug me.”

“Alright, everyone,” Stinky said to the wolves behind him. “Second wave incoming.”

Runt slid down from a tree as a group of wolves burst out of the forest. They were met with stiff resistance by the wolves waiting behind Stinky.

“It’s about time,” Mick said as he rushed into battle.

The ensuing fight was harsh, although soon enough, the Western Pack began to get the upper hand.

“Hey, you know what would be great?” Jax asked Stinky.

“If we stuck with what seems to be working?” Stinky replied.

“Uh, no, that wasn’t it at all,” Jax said. “I was thinking-“

“Save it, Jax, that’s what we’re doing,” Stinky said.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the attacking pack turned and retreated back into the forest.

“That’s right,” Mick shouted after them. “Run, you cowards!” He then turned to Stinky. “Nothing like a good attack to start the day.”

“Yes, well, these attacks are getting more and more common and I don’t like it,” Stinky replied.

“Speak for yourself,” Mick said.

“I don’t get it,” Runt chimed in. “Ever since dad died, it seems like everyone has been targeting us.”

“It’s simple,” Mick replied. “Other packs clearly see us as a threat and they’re trying to take out the biggest competition first.”

“It’s not just other wolf packs that have been attacking us,” Runt said. “Bears, groups of coyotes and foxes too.”

“Luckily, they haven’t been able to get a step up on us,” Stinky added.

“You’re welcome,” Mick said.

“How great were we out there?” Jax said, butting in.

“You were very great,” Stinky told him. “You guys really were.”

“Oh, preach brother,” Jax said.

“Well-“ Jonas began, when Jax stopped him.

“That was a rhetorical preach.”

“Listen, guys,” Martin said to his brothers. “I get that you’re omegas and it’s your job to lighten the mood, but you just pick the worst times.”

Garth and Lilly walked up to them as they came out of the forest.

“What happened here?” Garth asked.

“Second attack while you were gone,” Stinky replied.

“It was awesome,” Mick said.

“We were so great, dad,” Jax said, turning to look at Garth.

“You weren’t that great,” Martin said. “You played your part like everyone else.”

“Yeah, and if I was weak and girly, I’d be Jonas,” Jax said.

“Yeah,” Jonas replied, then paused. “Wait, what?”

“Ignore them,” Runt said. “Where are Claudette, Kenya, and Lisa?”

“They’re right behind us,” Lilly said. “They had to take a rest.”

“Why?” Stinky asked.

“No reason,” Garth said.

Stinky and Runt gave them a dirty look.

“Claudette told me not to tell you,” he finally replied.

“Great,” Runt said.

Meanwhile, Steven and Adam were standing near the logboard in the middle of the pack, looking at it.

“You know,” Adam said. “No matter how many times I come here, it’s still hard to believe that he’s really gone. We had just gotten him back and then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone again.”

“I should’ve been here,” Steven said. “I should’ve come back sooner, when you guys needed me. When he needed me. Instead, I held on to some stupid grudge and hid in my own pack far away.”

“Steven,” Adam said. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

“I should’ve,” Steven said. “I should’ve been here. And now Humphrey’s gone.”

“Whoa, are you crying?” Adam said as he saw a tear roll down Steven’s face.

“What, no,” Steven denied. “It’s just the dust. Can’t you see how dusty it is here?”

“Steven, there’s nothing wrong with being upset,” Adam told him. “It just means that you care.”


“He was my best friend, Adam,” Steven said, looking up at him.

“I know, Steven,” Adam replied. “He was mine, too.”

It had been 17 years since Humphrey’s death. In the wake of the battle with the humans and Humphrey’s fight with the General, Adam’s pack, which was still fairly small, moved out of the sandstone cliffs and joined the Western Pack. The tragedy of Humphrey’s death also reignited Steven and Adam’s friendship. If anything, it made it stronger. Steven appointed a new leader of the Southern Pack and also joined with the Western Pack. King and the Rogue Wolves had rejoined with the Western Pack but continued to live in the Eastern Hills since their numbers had grown significantly since they had first seceded.

Lilly gave birth to Jax, Jonas, and Martin just a few months after Humphrey’s death. Jax and Jonas were omegas and tried as hard as they could to be the best omegas they could be. However, they had terrible timing and would usually try to lighten the mood at the worst of times. But that never stopped them from trying. Martin was an alpha and did his best to put up with his brother’s shenanigans.

Adam and Emily never lost the young love they had for each other and had gotten married a year or so before Humphrey’s death, however, she was away with a hunting party when everything had gone down with the General. Steven had also found new love with Garth’s old friend, Lydia, and they even had a pup together who they named Luke and was only about five years old.

The Western Pack had started getting attacked regularly around twelve years prior and it hadn’t let up much since. The burden of leading a constant war had taken a toll on Kate, so she decided to retire early and made Stinky the leader of the pack only three years ago when he was twenty-one.

One day, there was an attack and in the end, a wolf named Lisa had been wolfnapped and the pack sent a team to rescue her. Stinky tracked down the pack that had taken her and while most of the group created a diversion, Runt snuck in and fled with Lisa. However, the two became lost deep in the Western Region and spent a couple of weeks trying to find their way home. By the time they had returned home, the two had developed a relationship and Runt joked about how finding love this way must run in the family, since something similar had brought Kate and Humphrey together.

The years since Humphrey’s death had been filled with more than enough trouble and they marked a new beginning for both his pups and the pack. However, this latest attack would be the start of the path leading toward a much bigger threat that would send their lives spiraling into complete chaos in the weeks and months to come.