Epilogue:

A year and a half later…

Scotland in the fall. Chilly, dark, and home. Neither of the first two mattered for a Wolf, and the third was what made all the difference. Maybe eventually he'd get around to visiting his old haunts in London for a while… but not just yet. Right now, that wasn't the place to be.

Sparky sat atop a cliff looking out over a small city. Lights were flickering on in homes and off in stores and offices as he watched dusk fall. His day was just beginning.

He supposed he should head to the meeting. It seemed a shame to waste a beautiful night such as this, so perhaps he could convince them to end early. Hopping off of the dark boulder that still retained some of the sun's warmth for hours after sunset – one of his favorite lounging spots – he headed downhill, towards the carefully camouflaged tunnel entrance.

A short run through a dark but solidly built tunnel lead him out into an uninhabited valley. Uninhabited by humans, that was. There were all sorts of other creatures there. Turing of onto the third path on the right, Sparky came up to a stone circle of the same dark material as his favored boulder on the other ridge.

"So, where is everybody?" He asked to the empty night air.

"Gone. You should be too." A familiar silver form flickered into view on the other side of the clearing.

"Oh?"

"Yep. You've been out pulling your Lone Wolf thing, so you haven't heard…"

"What?" A dozen possible happenings ran through Sparky's mind. For the meeting to be summarily dismissed…

"Sparky…" She drawled his till unofficial name languidly. "Go home."
Could it be that? Sparky twisted around and bolted in the direction of his old Clan homestead. In the distance, he could hear Beca snickering at his retreating tail, causing him to flatten his ears to his head in irritation. His personal anxiety was no laughing matter!

He was lucky his feet knew the path; otherwise he would have run off of several sheer drops in the blurry darkness. He made it to his own doorstep uneventfully however, blasting through the Wolf-designed architecture without any trouble. He made it up the stone staircase in a few bounds, leaping off on the third floor.

Down a dark hallway and around a corner and he came upon a beautifully crafted sun room-slash-observatory. An excellent view, but closed off from the elements. The sight of the valley spreading out below, as the room was located upon a sheer cliff, was why Alex had chosen this place as her own.

At the back of the room was an arched doorway, leading into a small chamber that Alex had pretty well confined herself to for the last few days. Before Sparky could move towards the entrance however, he was tackled by a very familiar white and black form.

"Ouch!" He yipped as he found himself sliding across the stone floor rather gracelessly.

"Sparky!" Nathan yelped excitedly. "You're finally here!" He stopped in mid thought-train and looked around quickly, probably getting some whiplash from the motions he was putting his own head through. "You didn't bring Beca with you?"

"No…. why would I?" Sparky drug himself out from under Nathan's forepaws.

"Because- well, I… don'tknowwhattodo." The last words came out in an apprehensive rush as he danced around in a tight circle, overflowing with energy.

"So, it really is…?" Sparky tensed anxiously.

Nathan nodded spastically. "Yeah! I think so!"

"You think so? Or do you know so?" Sparky shot back as he began to pace semiconsciously. "Because if you know so, then-"

"How should I know?!" Nathan barked, his voice rising in panic. "I've never done this before!"

"Me neither!"

"Both of you… shut up." Growled a seriously pissed, feminine voice from the dark room whose door they were still fighting in front of.

"Alex!" Both males turned towards the voice instantly.

"Are you okay - ?"

"Is it time - ?"

"I told you to shut up!" She snarled back. Both immediately fell silent, exchanging glances as they both felt the urge to go belly-up in submission at her tone. It was rare that Alex got nasty with them, but when she did…

"And just as I was on my way to put them in their place for you!" Beca's still irritatingly amused voice came from the stairwell before she even appeared on the landing. Ignoring the two still prostrate males, she stepped up to the doorway beyond which female wrath incarnate currently resided. "It occurred to me after I finished watching this fool – " She gestured towards Sparky with a motion of her head, " – run off like an idiot, that they would be completely useless in this situation."

"I see. Thank you for coming." Apparently members of the same gender were immune to Female Wrath ™. But now that her voice wasn't overridden with ire at the bickering Sparky-Nathan duo, heavy strain was easily detectable.

Before the boys could work themselves up into a tizzy again, Beca took charge, stepping into the room with Alex. "Sparky, guard the staircase. Nathan, you make sure no one comes or goes through this door. Neither of you move until I tell you to. Got it?" Rather than reply, they simply assumed their posts as ordered. She nodded once, and then disappeared.

What followed was one of the most nerve wracking periods of Sparky's life. Being forced to remain at his spot no matter what he heard due to fear of Alex, Beca, and also some inner instinct, what his selfish, human personality wanted was to be in there, controlling things. This was something he couldn't be in command of though. He was sure Nathan had it worse, anyway, being closer both emotionally and physically. He was actually starting to look pretty out of it.

Four hours later and Sparky was practically vibrating with nervous energy. He had already dug some very nice furrows in the stone with his talons, and was now working on a matching cross-hatch pattern to make them more decorative. No one had come near, which was no doubt a good thing, for he probably would have done some damage before he could stop himself.

He was painfully jolted out of his blank minded state of anxiety by Beca slipping out into the sun room once again. Twisting around to face her, he managed to mess up his neat little scratch pattern, and after all the hard work he did on it too…

Nathan had already disappeared into the room, no doubt as soon as Beca had left. Sparky took that as a cue that he could also move, finally. Bouncing up to Beca, barely restraining himself, he almost ran her over in his eagerness.

"So?!" She smirked at him – gods damn it that was annoying! "Tell me!" he growled, hackles rising.

She sat down and lazily licked the fur on her right shoulder before answering. "Well, it was quite difficult, and I honestly felt it was rather touch-and-go a few times there…"

Sparky felt his lips twist into a snarl. Why was it that the one Wolf who held absolutely no fear of him was the one who was holding this most important piece of information? She was enjoying torturing him, he knew it!

Taking a look at his face she must have finally taken pity on poor Sparky. He probably looked like he was about to have an aneurism anyway. Sighing loudly, she closed her eyes and smiled at him.

"Four pups – two male and two female." She stated. "You're an uncle now. Welcome to responsibility."

She probably wasn't expecting him to pounce on her in joy. She didn't immediately maul him for it thankfully. He didn't stay long, bounding off of her and into the previously forbidden room. Apparently her statement had somehow given him permission to finally go see his sister and the newest members of his family.

He didn't go any farther than the doorway, Beca silently stepping up beside him. Interestingly enough, every single pup had a bright white patch running from the top of its head down the back of its neck to its shoulders, apparently a contribution from their half-white father. Who knew something like that would be passed on? It would certainly make them recognizable, and was a fitting tribute to Nathan's bravery in battle.

As Sparky observed an exhausted Alex, an ecstatic Nathan, and their four brand new children, he realized that his Clan had just doubled in size. Perhaps the days of the Wolf wouldn't be too long in coming after all.

Finished Nov. 28th 2005 – 10:45 pm