"Kate, focus!" Max yelled at me, furious when I missed a rabbit, the third prey I had lost during the hunting patrol.

I hung my head with shame. "Sorry," I whispered as I slowly padded back to the group. Max was an older, lighter colored wolf with green eyes that bored holes through my head with fury.

We had been hunting for a few hours, and I still hadn't caught anything. I was letting them down, but at least I wasn't the lead patrol wolf in this hunt. Max was. If I were the lead patrol wolf right now, then I would be an even worse disappointment.

I just couldn't focus. My mind was still in turmoil about the tawny wolf and Hannah, even after a week of the enemy patrol spending time in the vine cages.

The vine cages are actually in a big cave with vine stones on the wall. The green stones can only be used by certain wolves that take control of the stones, which I'm not going to get into how that works. When those wolves put their paw on the stone, vines appear from the stone and create a sort of cage for our enemies.

But I was still stuck in my thoughts through all of my patrols and hunts. Wolves were starting to worry or get angry at the way I was acting. I didn't mean to do it! I just couldn't stop!

"Kate," I turned to look up at Max sadly, "go home. You aren't able to work today."

"But..." I started in dismay but stopped when Max gave me a glare that said, "That's an order." I hung my head again as I slowly padded away into the forest.

I felt tears well up in my eyes. Not in all of my patrols had I been dismissed because I couldn't work properly. It hurt to know that I had let them down: Max, my patrol, my friends, and... my pack.

The tears began to flow freely down my white fur. A piece of my soul felt wounded and broken. Suddenly, I broke down, falling to the ground as I erupted into violent sobs. I lost track of time that I spent laying there, silent and broken. I know I was acting like a pup right now even though I'm twenty two. I just couldn't help it. My life revolves around being the best Alpha I could be and serving my pack to the best of my ability. But this time, I failed.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was waking up under the light of the moon to a familiar, gentle voice whispering my name. I looked up to see Leo's concerned, deep blue eyes looking down at me. "Kate?" He whispered.

I staggered to my paws and stretched. "Hey," I said back as I nuzzled his head against mine. To my surprise and dismay, Leo moved away. I looked at him with hurt in my eyes as I felt the tears begin to well up. Leo refused to look at me, causing the tears to flow freely. I started to sob softly and laid back down on the ground. Leo noticed and quickly rushed to my side. I continued to sob as Leo tried to comfort me. I jerked my head up angrily. "No! Get away from me!" I sobbed.

Leo looked at me in surprise and hurt as he backed away a few steps, almost in fear it seemed. "Kate, I'm sorry," he whispered as he looked into my eyes. "We-I-you..." Leo groaned in frustration. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried again. "I was just so worried about you. When you didn't come home, I began to worry. I went to the village to find that your patrol had returned, but Max had sent you home because you couldn't focus. But you never came home." I watched as a single tear slid down Leo's face.

Leo took another shaking breath, and he closed his eyes to control himself before he continued. "I went looking all over the territory for you. Lonnie agreed to watch Katy, and both of them and our friends were worried sick." Leo walked over to me and pressed his face against mine. He whispered softly into my ear, his warm breath ruffling my fur slightly, "And so was I."

I wrapped my head around Leo's neck in a hug. "I'm sorry." I pulled back to look at him. "I just can't stand it," I chuckled as I looked down at my paws with nervous eyes (And it was not a funny, happy chuckle, I must tell you).

Leo nudged my head to make me look up at him. "What can't you stand?"

I almost panicked. I couldn't tell Leo, even if he was my mate. But then again, I didn't have to tell Leo about the flashes and visions. I could just tell him about what the tawny wolf said and about what's been going on with me lately. I took a deep breath. "Remember the other day, when I was on patrol, and we found that River Valley patrol led by the tawny male?" Leo nodded his head for me to continue. I continued to explain what had happened that day, my inability to concentrate afterwards, my dismissal from the hunting patrol, and my break down after that.

When I finally finished, Leo just sat there in silence while he looked to be elsewhere in his mind, even though he was sitting right in front of me. His eyes were looking at me, but at the same time... they weren't.

I started to hang my head as the tears felt like they we're going to break out at any moment when I felt Leo's strong form against mine. He held me tight, his body pressed against mine with his head wrapped around my neck. I held him tightly back as the tears finally broke through. I softly sobbed as Leo whispered comforting words into my ear, "Everything's alright. It's going to be okay."

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Leo and I sat in silence in the clearing I had broken down in. We just sat side-by-side with a little distance between us but not much as we looked looked up at the starlit sky. My mind was buzzing with questions, thoughts, and fears. "Why do I act like such a pup?" I finally voiced without taking my eyes off the night sky.

"Kate," -I turned to look at Leo- "you're not a pup."

"Well, I know that!" I snapped. "But... I was crying, sobbing over something so ridiculous!" I growled in frustration and hung my head, ashamed.

"It's not ridiculous." I slowly raised my head to look at Leo, puzzled. "Kate, you are the most wonderful wolf I have ever met. You have been through so much in your life, much more than most. You weren't upset over something ridiculous. I know you, Kate. You hate to let others down. You want to prove yourself, and you always put others before yourself, no matter the situation. That is one of the best qualities about you." Leo's deep blue eyes were filled with such passion and love, one of the most powerful I've seen them. "You're a small runt, Kate. But your spirit and heart are bigger than anyone else's. You're selfless, kind, caring, strategic, quick-thinking, fast, agile, a quick learner, strong at heart, determined, and beautiful." Leo stood up and padded as close to me as he could get. "And I love you."

I started to cry tears of joy. Leo was so amazing. He always made me feel better; he always knew how! "That's a lot of qualities," I giggled, causing Leo to laugh with me. I said with a small, loving smile, "I love you, too." I stopped crying and smiled warmly as I hugged Leo with my head around his neck.

Leo pulled away to smile lovingly at me. His deep blue eyes shone his love as his dark black fur glowed under the moonlight. Leo slowly raised his head to the sky and let out his amazing, deep howl. I joined in, and I felt my soul begin to dance alongside Leo's among the stars. I felt myself smile beneath the howl. My eyes were closed, but I felt more aware of Leo's and my emotions and spirits.

We howled for who knows how long. But when we finally stopped, we just curled up on the ground next to each other. I nuzzled into Leo's side with a small smile and a relaxed sigh. I glanced up to see Leo's blue eyes and gentle smile trained on me. I licked the side of his face before I let sleep take me away.

However, my sleep was not peaceful. I dreamed of the tawny male, the white flashes, and finally... Fang.

When I woke up the next morning, Leo was still sleeping. I sat up and watched the sky light up with orange light. As I watched the sun rise that morning, I made a decision. I needed to find out about Hannah. And I knew just who to ask.

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Hey, you guys! Sorry this took so long! I have been writing so much when I'm bored at school on notebook paper. I swear, I have like three or four pieces of paper filled with these chapters at a time in my purse! Now, I just need the time to transfer it to Wattpad! 😂😝 Okay; well, I hope you guys liked this chapter! The picture is of Kate and Leo, of course! See you guys later! Vote and comment! :)