Listen to the song^^^  it'll set the mood

Autumn was settling in. The green leaves fading to red, orange, yellow, and brown. The air turned crisper and cooler, a much pleasant one compared to the heat of the summer.

Howler passed not long after the attack. His mind was no longer in the right place, causing himself to die of malnourishment, refusing to eat. That left the duty of alphas to Skylark and Ella, the two becoming the new leaders of Stone Hollow Pack, choosing Stone as their second-in-command. Things were quickly put back in order due to the young alphas, more hunting was done, and the borders were marked daily. The lost Pack was slowly building itself back up.

Flame Woods returned to their old home. Fixing the broken dens that went under the flood, and clearing away loose debris and fallen trees. Blossom and Moondancer could finally restock their medicines, Isaac and Tyrant slowly turned things around with encouragement and hard work. Some of the young wolves improved on their training, which was a delight to the Pack. New, youngsters to carry on the legacy of the wolves before. Twilight and Ripple decided to stay with Flame Woods, claiming that when they had no home, the newfound Pack was theirs to keep. Life was finally moving on.

Leaves crunched under Storm's sure-steady paws. The gentle sun and cool breeze mixed well to ruffle his dark pelt. He lifted his head, taking in the changing season.

After a long morning of hunting lessons with his siblings, he was ready to sleep the rest of the day away. Ash argued with Frost about how to stalk a deer while River and Clover chased bugs. It had been a long lesson.

Storm crested a hill. He got to the top and flattened his ears, holding back a sigh. The emotions coursing in his veins almost too heavy to handle.

In the shade of sturdy oaks, sat Misty. Her shoulders slumped, eyes fixed on a mound of dirt–a grave resting peacefully under the shield of the trees.

Storm approached her cautiously. She turned around and exhaled painfully, burying her face in his fur. He held his mother close, giving her every ounce of comfort he could offer.

"I miss him..." Her shaky voice was bound to break.

Storm swallowed the knot in his throat. "I do too."

She straightened up, pulling herself together. "You never know how much you miss someone until..." Her voice trailed off, ending in a shaky breath.

Storm wished there was a way he could comfort her, let her know that things would turn out better in the end. But the words wouldn't form. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't speak. It was when his mother looked at him, he realized he had tears in his eyes, fighting his own emotions.

Misty smiled weakly. "It's not easy, I understand. But," she sighed and shook her head. "We can't spend our entire lives dwelling over something that we couldn't control or stop. Bad things will happen, no matter the choices we make. Whatever path you choose, you will have obstacles that will make you want to give it all up and quit trying. You're stronger than that. You pick yourself up and show life that you're better than you think you are." Misty's eyes darkened. "I've been tested before by life. Way too many times. I've lost my brother, my parents, my best friend, and now, my sweet Rascal. But, I won't let that stop me. Because I have a reason," she stared long and hard at the mound of dirt which held her mate. "You and your siblings, of course. And, my destiny isn't complete, which brings me to the next subject."

Misty stood and glared into the distance, powerful enough to cut the air in half. The wind ruffled the beautiful silky locks of white fur, unbeknownst to Storm, was calling her name.

Storm's expression changed. He stood beside her, unable to feel the presence of something big and powerful, too much to stop.

"What do you mean?"

"Rascal was one of the few wolves that I could completely trust, without a doubt. And it isn't fair that he, of all creatures, had to die in such a disgusting way, due to filth like..., " her claws curled, "Mystique..." She turned to her son, eyes a raging green fire. "There are wolves who should die for what they've done."

"What?!" Storm couldn't believe his ears. "W-what about that long speech you just gave about learning to accept and let go?"

"It doesn't apply to every wolf. Especially for wolves like me." Her voice quieted to a whisper. Inside, she was itching to fight, to take her rage out on anyone that deserved it.

"Ma?" Storm came to face her, silver eyes shining moons of concern and confusion. "What are you saying?

Misty looked down at Rascal's resting place, then back up at Storm, eyes sparkling with angry, unshed tears. A storm was brewing, a crackling whirlwind of blood and revenge ringing in her ears. She let the darkness consume her, and, instantly, she knew what she had to do.

"I'm going to find Mystique and kill her. Even if it's the last thing I do..."

The Three-Way War is complete!!! And I guess I left you all on a painful cliffhanger *insert evil laugh* >:D

I am working on ideas for a fourth book, but it may not even come out for a long time. I'm gonna try a new thing: where I write the whole story, edit, and revise it before I publish it, so I don't complete a book I've already published then find a bunch of mistakes I need to fix. I'm gonna guess it'll come out sometime early next year because I've got some new ideas for a totally different story/novel.

Annddd I actually cried writing Rascal's death and this chapter. I'm going to confirm it now so there's no confusion: Rascal is (as much as I hate to admit it) officially dead. He died young, but he died after completing most of his life goals.

What's Misty going to do now? She is ANGRY and ready to strike! The next book will be about Misty getting her revenge >:3 and I'm excited to start on it. We'll also see Storm, Ash, River, and Clover as teens learning about love, betrayal, courage, and rage. I think it'll be pretty cool!

Also, I want to thank all of my readers from the bottom of my heart for all the love, support, and patience that came with writing this book! I had many writers blocks and unsatisfied moments, but, finally, after all of that, I completed it and am trying to continue the story as best as I can!

I'm looking forward to what comes next!

Catch Ya Later!
-15thSoccerGirl