While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly I heard paw steps at the entrance of the den. I lifted my head, and opened my tired eyes. The sky had become dark, and the disc in the sky was gone. The silhouette of a large, male wolf blocked the moonlight from outside. The faint glow of his brown eyes cast lights on his nose, showing semi fresh scars.

"Sol." Mist said quietly, lifting her head.

He walked up to her, and laid himself down by her. His russet fur cast blood red cast shadows on Mist's black gray fur. "Have they caused you any trouble?" He asked.

"No. Leopard just learned to walk, and his eyes finally opened." Mist said, not smiling.

"That's wonderful!" Sol said. "Why the long face?"

Mist choked down a sob. "His left eye is blue... the other is brown."

Sol didn't say anything. He must have been too shocked. "Can I see?" He asked doubtfully. "Surely it can't-"

"It is." Mist said, interrupting him. "And no, you can't see. He is sleeping."

I put my head back down, and closed my eyes quickly.

"But... he'll be banished! Or killed!" Sol said urgently. "He can't be! He... he has a legacy to fulfill!"

"I know." Mist said, her voice cracking. "They promised my... our pups would die. All of them."

"I know you feel guilty about Silver's death, but there is nothing we could have done about it. Not even Oak could have saved her. Brisngr hasn't banished a pup in his lifetime. The only wolf he banished was Liken, and he betrayed us all."

"That's because a double eyed pup hasn't been born since the drought. That was nearly two decades ago, and I am the first to conceive one."

Sol sighed miserably. I peeked one eye open, but quickly closed it because Mist was crying.

"I'll see what I can do about it." Sol said as he got up. "But I have to do border patrol now."

"Again?" Mist asked, sniffling. "You've been out since sunrise on hunting patrol."

"I have over thirty wolves to protect and feed. They need me, even in times of peace. And I can tell that by the time winter sets again, the peace will be severed. The Trembling Mountain Pack haven't been very good neighbors recently."

"Well, good luck. And sleep if you get the chance; I don't want you collapsing from exhaustion while chasing something." Mist said.

Sol barely managed a smile, then he ran from the den.

Sol must have been my father. But who was Silver, and did mom kill her? If so, why?

I wanted to ask Sol, my father, what he was doing and if he could stay with us, but I guessed that wouldn't happen. He was probably too busy for us.