Strong Boulder could not be bothered to listen to his mother's calls to calm down and stop making a ruckus with his sister. He and Tall Willow were wrestling each other throughout the den, making a mess of their coats as they rolled through the dirt.

"Who wants to hear  story?!" Shining River finally exclaimed.

That shut him and his sister up. Strong Boulder could never resist a story, especially when it was from his mother. He thought her to be the best storyteller. Of course, no one else told him stories, not like how Golden Sun would take his pups aside and talk to them. Feather Wings was far too busy for that, Shining River would say.

"Did I tell you two about the recent rogue battle?" Shining River asked.

Strong Boulder had heard it already, as had Tall Willow, but they shook their heads, desperate for a form of entertainment.

"Well, for months there had been these strange rogues wandering around the forest. They had killed a wolf or two and threatened others, but some wolves thought nothing of it and decided to take no action. But my mother knew something was up, as did I, and when the day of the battle came, we fought valiantly! We drove those rogues out and protected the pack. There was blood everywhere and the sound of howls went into the night, but we won. There were a number of deaths for sure, but for the time being, the pack remains safe. But the threats of the survivors still remain..."

"Why did they attack anyway?" Tall Willow asked. 

"They do not like the customs of this pack," Shining River answered, her tone taking on one of disgust.

"What?" Strong Boulder asked.

"Well, it's no surprise we have dogs roaming around this pack. They're the alphas of all things. Most wolf packs are pure, with wild wolves living here. Thank goodness the alphas' pups never had any of their own. I can't imagine what it would have been like if a hybrid came out of this. Then, no one would tell the difference between dog and wolf anymore."

Strong Boulder was confused for a moment. "But...do you agree with the rogues then?"

"I would never attack this pack," Shining River argued with a growl that made Strong Boulder whimper. "I only understand where they're coming from. The battle was a mess anyway. And I'm sure they'll be back."

"When they do, I'll be big and strong, and I'll take down all of them!" Strong Boulder exclaimed. He could see himself now as one of the strong, valiant wolves of the pack. He often dreamt of himself as alpha, imagining the day when all attention would be turned toward him, especially his--

"But I hope no more wolves die!" Tall Willow exclaimed. "It was bad, wasn't it, Mama?"

"Too many good wolves lost, and some beyond hope past that. Like that one omega, Lily Petal. Her mate died in battle, and it drove her insane. She's with her sister now, so I suppose it runs in the family. Thank goodness I rescued your father before it was too late," Shining River said.

"Dad was gonna be an omega?!" Strong Boulder exclaimed. He could not see how it would be possible. His father was strong in his eyes with a strong sense of duty for the pack. Otherwise he would visit more often.

"No, no. Your father has always been the best wolf," Shining River explained. "But two of his sisters are omegas now, and whose to say the third that died as a pup wouldn't have? Your father used to hang around the den when he was younger, or so I heard, and sometimes he lingered there even as an adult. It's good that she-wolf he used to visit went missing one day. Otherwise he may have still lingered there."

Strong Boulder felt like he was receiving a history lesson on his father's past, but he found it interesting. Feather Wings was often an enigma to him. He knew the wolf was his father and that he loved his pups, but Strong Boulder did not know his father the way he knew his mother or Tall Willow. Feather Wings was always shrouded in mystery in a way Strong Boulder could not understand.

"Good thing you saved him!" Tall Willow exclaimed.

"It would have been a disgrace. He's the only good one to come out of his family, but what can you expect when his parents are so close with the alphas, when they convinced the old alpha to let them in to begin with. I'll say this quietly to you pups, but we have strayed far from tradition. When my mother becomes alpha, she'll make things right again, and when I become beta, I'll make sure to hold to that promise. We won't fight like those cowardly rogues, but we'll work from the insides of the pack."

"I never knew those things," Strong Boulder murmured. "Is Dad a bad wolf?"

"Of course not! He may have had a troubled past, but he knows his place now, and he loves me and you two dearly," Shining River stated.

Tall Willow was nodding vehemently, but Strong Boulder only shuffled his paws.

"Will he visit sometime soon?" Strong Boulder asked.

"Maybe...if time allows it. He's doing great things for this pack, great things. Once you're a big, adult wolf, you'll understand. It's hard to make time for family," Shining River explained.

"But Golden Sun--"

"No mention of those wolves, Strong Boulder. We don't compare to others, isn't that right?" Shining River asked. She lowered her voice down to the pups and said, "It is no secret your blood is elite. You are above many of these wolves. So treat yourself like the royalty you are."

Strong Boulder nodded. Who was he kidding? His father loved him. One day, when Strong Boulder was older, he would protect the pack alongside his father. He would be alpha one day. It only took telling himself that to calm him down. He was unsure why he had doubts to begin with.

His good mood must've been showing because Shining River smiled at him with love.

"You two are my special pups. I know none of you have the lightning mark, but you have it in my hearts, and I'm sure in Feather Wings' as well," she said.

Strong Boulder nodded, though he was slightly irked by her comment. Every time he took a glance at Feather Wings' foot, where the lightning strike lay, he shuddered in jealousy that he could not have had that mark. It was the last thing that would have made him special, that would have made him stand out, and yet he and his sister had been denied it.

Trying to hide his frustration at this fact, he smiled at his mother and laid down, curling up close to her. He needed to stay out of his mind, to listen to his mother and mother alone. 

As Shining River soothingly curled her tail around him, he closed his eyes and let a wave of content wash over him.