I stood, my paws frozen to the cave floor as my mother whispered one word, one name. "Lileona..." But why would she call me that? My name wasn't Lileona.

"Lily?" The silver wolf stood up and cautiously stepped toward me. I still stood frozen; my muscles wouldn't move even if I wanted to and my heart was beating faster than the beating of a humming bird's wings. It was like liquid nitrogen was flowing through my bloodstream, freezing everything in its path on its way to my frantically beating heart. "Lily, is that you?" She was right in front of me, her sky blue eyes staring into my brown ones with hope and confusion at first when suddenly they changed to ones of recognition. "It is you!" She yelled as she leaped back with a beautiful smile. "It's Lileona! She's back! She came back!" She cheered.

As the silver wolf danced around excitedly, Mighty began to grin as his tail wagged behind him, my mother was still staring down at me but now in wonder, and finally, the sandy-colored wolf was glaring at me. Surprisingly, she didn't seem nearly as pleased as her siblings at my being here.

"Bella," my mother turned to look down on her cheerful daughter with a commanding, but calm voice. Bella froze but quickly went back to her spot on the pelts and sat down obediently.

My mother turned back to me. "Lileona, I can't believe it's you." She climbed off of the pelts to pad over to me.

"It's Kate," I stated simply. My mother froze as she asked, "What?" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "My name, it's Kate, not Lileona."

Everyone stood in silence. "Kate," my mother whispered, but she wasn't calling me. She seemed to be looking at something that I couldn't see as she tried out the name. Finally, her eyes focused back on me again. "Your name now is Kate, but we named you Lileona."

Now it was my turn to try out the name. It was a beautiful name, I'd give it that. But it just felt...weird. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to it, maybe it was because this was all a strange experience, or maybe I'm just crazy.

"I guess we should properly introduce ourselves," my mother broke the silence as she looked around at her pups (even though we are not pups anymore) with a gentle smile. "I'm Hannah, your mother, that's Mighty, that's Bella, and that's May." She gestured to each of the wolves. I knew all of their names already, except for May who was the sandy-colored female. "Now," -my mother started back to the pile of pelts- "let's talk."

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

"An Alpha? Wow...that's extremely impressive, Lileona," my mother commented as Bella and Mighty stared at me in awe, Mighty more than Bella though.

I knew they were amazed that I was an Alpha because I was a runt and there had never been a runt who was an Alpha before and that should make me proud, but it didn't. I felt slightly angered; I mean, it was everything I fought for and the way they looked at me almost broke me.

And it didn't help that May continued to stare at me with a resentful glare. She never spoke, not one word, just stared. At first, I wondered what her problem was, but then I realized a little bit later that it was because of what I was. A runt.

It angered me even more, but I kept my expression as cheerful as I could manage while we all described what we were doing with our lives.

As Bella was telling me a story from her puphood, I suddenly got a question stuck in my head. "What happened to our father?"

As soon as I asked they all went silent, frozen as statues. Pain, sorrow, and misery filled their eyes. Tears brimmed my mother's eyes and she turned away. Bella was the one to answer me. "He's...gone." I stared at her in confusion. She had her head down, her eyes glancing up at me in sadness.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and raised her head to stand up tall and confident. "Our father, Austin, was caring and compassionate. He cared about all of us with all his heart.

"Mighty got sick when he was little." She gave her brother a quick, nervous glance. "A disease. A harsh and dangerous disease. It wasn't contagious; he was born with it. But as he got older, it worsened. He would become exhausted easily, he wouldn't be able to breath, his muscles wouldn't move..." Bella visibly swallowed a lump in her throat. "He almost didn't make it. Over and over again he would get so close to death, and we knew it would only get worse. So our father left...to find the cure."

Bella's voice began to shake as she choked on her words. "We waited for him for so long to come back. We were so worried about him. And then one day, we received news." Bella closed her eyes; she looked like she couldn't continue anymore.

I heard a gentle sigh from behind Bella as our mother came to her daughter's side with a sympathetic look. "It's okay, baby. I know it's hard," she whispered in a soothing voice into my big sister's ear. Bella was starting to sob softly, but she just went back to her spot on the pelts, collapsing down with her back to us.

My mother turned to me with warm, chocolate brown eyes, the same color as my own, filled with pain and pity. "He was gone. He went missing. No one ever saw him again. And of course, what else could we think except that he was dead?" My mother shook her white head, her fur swaying slightly with the movement.

"We have tried to move on ever since. A rogue came to our territory one day, and he just so happened to have the cure we needed for Mighty. He's been in great health ever since," she said with a loving, proud look at her son but not before a tear slid down her cheek and fell to the floor.

I was at a loss of words. All I could manage was a small "wow..." before we fell into silence again. Bella wasn't sobbing anymore and May had her back turned on me.

"Are you happy in your pack, Kate?" Mighty finally broke the silence. I nodded and gave him a puzzled look. "I was just wondering...how can they accept you? And then to make you an Alpha? It just makes no sense." His head tilted to the side in a curious way as he awaited my answer.

I knew he didn't mean to offend me; everything he was taught in this pack told him that runts were weak and useless. But I knew different.

I squared my shoulders back, standing as tall as my small form would allow. "Because my pack accepts any wolf, big or small, young or old, runt or not." I emphasized on the last part with a passionate voice. "Just because I'm a runt that doesn't mean I'm 'weak and useless'." Subconsciously, I clenched my teeth together.

The others saw how tense I had become and their eyes widened in surprise, except for May. Instead her eyes started to blaze a slightly dangerous fire. I unclenched my teeth, my expression softening to an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. This is just really important to me. I have been fighting for this my whole life. It's not right to judge a wolf based on what they are."

My mother nodded. "But it is the way we live, the way we were taught."

Then an idea, a crazy one but an idea all the same, came to mind. "Then live a new way, learn a new way." I paused as my passionate voice turned gentle. I almost whispered, "Join my pack."

Their already widened eyes widened even more. Looks of disbelief covered their faces as they stared at me in silence. Finally, for the first time since I'd arrived, May spoke. Well, more like screamed. "Are you crazy?! We have a pack to live for! We have friends and family who care about us! We have a home! Not to mention the fact that have you not noticed we are at war?!" May was enraged, but her voice... it was majestic, elegant. It suited her perfectly.

"May," our mother snapped out of her trance and glared at her daughter. "This war is because of our pack; this is not our home."

I looked at her surprised and confused that my mother had said such things. She turned back to me, her eyes gentle, apologetic. "I don't support the war. But we had to come here." She hung her head as she sighed before she started telling the story. "The River Valley Pack is named after where we lived. It was a beautiful, peaceful valley with a river running straight through the territory.

"One day, a young wolf went down to the river to drink, but the water was...different. It was dark, almost black, and the smell..." -her nose wrinkled at the memory- "He drank it anyway. A few days later, he became extremely sick. The illness killed him. More and more wolves became sick after drinking from the river. That's when we realized...the river was poisoned."

My mouth fell open in shock. My mother continued, "The land was destroyed without fresh water. We couldn't survive there anymore. So we left. But there was no where to go...except here."

"You only came here because you had no where else to go," I whispered, more to myself than to my mother. It was their fault but at the same time it wasn't. They had caused this war by moving here, but they only moved here because their home was destroyed. Their pack had been dying. They had had no other choice.

My unfocused eyes looked back at my mother. "I understand. That is why I offer this: that you join my pack."

My mother's eyes were filled with pain. "Kate..." She trailed off as she looked past me with surprise and fear.

Then I heard it. The growl. A low, rumbling growl, viscously ringing through the air. I knew that growl, I knew it all too well...from my nightmares.

I jumped around to see the black wolf with dark brown eyes towering over me, eyes blazing, lips curled back, fangs flashing dangerously at me. "Fang..." I whispered.

"Runt!" He snarled before he launched himself at me. Bella screamed as I ducked underneath Fang, my claws slipping on the cave floor. I scrambled away, running out of the cave and into the tunnel. I heard the commotion behind me, my mother and Mighty yelling at Fang to stop, Bella still screaming and now sobbing, and finally, Fang racing after me down the narrow tunnel, growling, snarling, barking...

My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I ran down the tunnel, panting. I threw a useless glance over my shoulder; of course it was useless since I couldn't see through the almost pitch black darkness. But I could hear. And I could hear Fang.

I could hear the thumping of my beating heart in my ears, my paws gaining speed as the light at the end of the tunnel appeared, and my frantic breathing as I pushed myself to the limits.

I burst out of the den and into the light. Gasps and wild barking followed. As I ran through the village towards the Deep Woods, dodging wolves and dens. I heard a deep howl that I guessed was Fang. I could hear the pounding of other wolves' paws on the ground as they chased after me.

"Come on, Kate," I said to myself as I tried to push myself faster. I ran out of the village through the side, but I was immediately met with another issue. "Oh, no," I whispered. I had run into a cliff valley, a dead end.

I heard the barking get closer and I looked over my shoulder to see the River Valley Alphas exit the village with Fang in the lead. "You're dead, runt!" Fang snarled.

I zipped around and ran towards the cliff. There was no where else to go. The cliffs were too steep to just climb up fast enough, and the others were right behind me.

Then I saw it. A birch tree that was maybe twenty feet away from the cliff. I smiled as I changed my course to head towards the tree. As I neared it, Fang growled while laughing menacingly, "We've got you now, runt!"

Then I bunched up my legs and launched myself at the tree. I hit the trunk, my claws digging into the bark. I grunted as I started to jump and pull myself higher up the trunk.

"What the heck?!" I smiled as I heard one of the Alphas yell in disbelief.

I was almost to the top. "Get to the top of the cliff!" Fang yelled. The Alphas split up as they tried to find different ways to get to the top of the cliff. But I had to get there first. It was the only way I could escape.

I tried to climb the tree faster when I heard the scraping of claws on the bark below me. I glanced down to see Fang and some of the other Alphas trying to reach me from the ground and climb the tree.

I reached the top of the tree. I crouched, gripping tight to the tree. I was going to have to jump. It was a good twenty feet away, but I had no time. This was the only way. I jerked my head to the side when I heard the sound of the Alphas climbing up the side of the cliff. I jerked my head back to look ahead of me. It was now or never.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and jumped. I went flying across the large distance from the tree to the cliff. I reached out with my paws, my eyes widening as I realized that I might have jumped too short. "No, no, no!" I yelled as my paws missed the edge of the cliff, and I fell.

"No!" I yelled, falling. Suddenly, a sharp pain shook through my body as my side hit hard rock. I was dizzy for a few seconds before I jumped back up to all four paws. I had landed on a ledge sticking out from the cliff. It was only a few feet beneath the top. And the Alphas hadn't made it to the top yet.

I smiled as I leaped up onto the side of the cliff with ease. This is what I was meant to do. I was a cliff jumper. I could jump farther than most wolves, and I could use the cliffs easily. And this section wasn't too steep for me either.

I leaped from rock to rock, ledge to ledge. Quicker than lightning, I was at the top. As soon as my paws hit the flat, rocky ground, I flew across the ground, running as fast as my legs could carry me.

"Get her!" I heard Fang snarl behind me as the Alphas gave chase once again. But I was well ahead, and then I reached the border. I was zipping through our section of the Deep Woods. They wouldn't chase me through here. They wouldn't dare. They would put both themselves and their pack in danger.

Suddenly, a mournful howl rose in the air, stopping me in my tracks. I had never heard it before but I knew who it was. I dashed to the nearest tree, quickly climbing it to the top. I stood on the branch overlooking the Deep Woods and part of the cliffs at the edge of the River Valley Pack village. Even from this distance, I could tell the silver shape standing on the cliff howling. Bella.

I closed my eyes and raised my head to the now setting sky, letting a howl rise up from me and release. Bella's mournful howl changed to one of hope and longing, and I returned it.

I smiled as I lowered my muzzle and looked at Bella's distant form. "I'll see you again. I promise," I whispered.

The wind blew away from me towards Bella. Then it blew back to me, and it seemed to carry her familiar voice. "And I promise that I will be there for you." My mouth dropped open in surprise as I listened to her words. Then my lips pulled back into a sweet smile.

I began to climb down the tree and run back towards home. All the way, I smiled. I had found my family, my mother, my brothers, my sisters. The only problem was one of my sisters didn't approve of me and one of my brothers was Fang, the Captain of the pack and a wolf who wanted me dead because I was a runt.

But I didn't let those thoughts dwindle in my mind. I had found my family. And they loved me, even though I was a runt. That's all that mattered. Nothing else in the world mattered at that moment except that I had a family, both my old one and my new one I was coming home to.

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Hey, guys! It's over! School's over! (Well, at least for me.) Now, I'm on my way down south to stay with my grandmother for three weeks. In a car for three hours! Yay! (Not really.) But I'm really excited about seeing her. I wanted to get this chapter out today. I worked on this for several hours trying to get it out tonight. It's a little long, but I hope you enjoy! Oh, and the song is Edward's lullaby for Bella, Bella's lullaby, from Twilight. I just finished reading and watching the whole series, so I am so happy! It had a great ending, and it was a great series! I totally recommend it! Also, Bella's name is coincidental. I didn't name the wolf after Twilight. I had planned to have Kate's sister named Bella over a year ago, before I had ever even considered reading the series. And the picture is my new iPhone 6 case! Even though I cracked my phone last week. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it fixed. But the picture on the case is my profile pic and my lock screen pic! I was sooo happy! I loved it! Anyways, I'll talk to you guys later! Have fun! Summer is here! Vote and comment!