Lakota I wonder why Dad wants us to meet him, but I am not going to question him. If he wants us there, he will have his reasons. We run out of the tree line, and I see a reason I hadn't thought of for why he needed us here. I see a Lycan holding two newborn Pups, and I instantly understand why I had to take Darrius and Matt with me. "This is Armand," I hear Dad say, and without hesitating I jump into the arms of the male that found me under my Mother's body all those years ago. He had already been informed that we would have Crystal Blood Pack reinstated, and he had asked Armas if he could tag along because he wanted to see me again. He handed me an envelope when Dad wasn't looking, and I placed it in one of my pockets before I turned towards Darrius and Matt to look at the two little Pups. I introduce myself to the huge Wolves that stand next to Dad, and I realize that they are gay, just like Darrius and Matt. I take Conan and Kanoa with me to meet up with the rest that is helping out today with the overgrowth. It doesn't take long before we are laughing and chatting while we clear the trees from vines and moss. It isn't the easiest job, but we all know it has to be done, and the sooner it is done the sooner we can focus on our Pack. Of the twenty-two foundations we found, sixteen have been rebuilt, but I am still not sure if this is the official territory. I still think that the hidden territory holds the key to this Pack, and if my suspicions are correct, I will have to contact Council-member Armas. "Lakota, tell me that Lance is kidding about this hidden territory," I hear Kanoa call out from behind me, and as I start pulling on a few vines I tell them what the Council was able to tell us. "They could have used that as a ruse," Conan replies, and I ask him to explain himself. "If this is the territory, the only territory that Pack had, it would have been a small Pack and someone could have tried to overtake them. By telling everyone there is a hidden territory, it might have looked as if this was a large Pack, and not informing the Council of details would enhance that idea. Not being able to determine the size of a Pack means you shouldn't attack it, unless of course you have a death wish, and I can guarantee you that most Alphas would leave them alone," he answers as he rips some shrub out of the ground. I let his explanation run through my mind, and I have to agree that he has a valid point. I never looked at it in any other way than a second territory connected in some way, but it might have just been a ruse to keep others away from trying to take over. It is pretty normal for an Alpha to try and take over smaller Packs, and they don't always have enough Warriors to fight them off. "Conan, I hate to admit it, but you might have a point. Not that it will stop me from hoping I am correct and that one day we will find a hidden territory. However, I do have one question though. If this was the only territory, why wasn't the Council able to find the Pack's Archive?" I ask as I look over my shoulder. Conan asks me a few questions about the Council's search before Kanoa asks a question of his own, "Why didn't the Council ask the remaining Pack-members where the hidden territory was?" It is a question we have all asked, but none of us has found a satisfying answer to it. "What if they didn't know how to get to it?" Conan asks, and again I am surprised as he might have found the answer. It could be that the Alpha or the Pack's leadership decided not everyone was allowed to know the location of the territory, or maybe these Pack-members volunteered to be left in the dark. "Okay, let's talk about this. I can think of two reasons why those Pack-members were unable to answer that question," I say before I grab another handful of vines, and I start giving them my thoughts as I pull the vines away from the trunk, tossing them behind me. It doesn't take long before we are in a full-blown discussion as to why someone would choose to be kept in the dark, and it is Josy that answers that question. "I wouldn't want to live out here in the open with the knowledge of how to get into the Pack; if someone would torture me, I would give that information up very quickly." Josy might be right about the Omegas choosing not to know, but why would a Warrior make that decision willingly? I ask that question out loud to the Warriors around me. "Is there a way to find out if those Warriors and Omegas were mated?" Colton asks, and I realize where he is going with his question. Those Warriors were all mated to the Omegas that lived in this part of the territory, and they willingly chose to be kept in the dark. They wouldn't be able to get it out of them, and it would have taken an Alpha mere minutes to figure that out; not that it would have saved their lives, but at least their death would be quick. "I will ask Dad to ask Armas next time they speak," I answer Colton as I walk to the next tree, and Lance is right beside me clearing another tree. Lance is never far away from me, and with any other male, Lotus and I would have been creeped out, but there is something about Lance and Bolt that makes us feel at ease around them. "Lakota, I think I found another foundation," Josy shouts in my direction, and as I walk towards her, Lance makes a marking on the mountain. We all look at the piece of foundation Josy uncovered, and the six of us start to remove more and more of the overgrowth that is covering the foundation. Soon I find out it ends a few feet away from the mountain near the trees Lance and I were clearing. I start working parallel to the mountain to uncover more of the foundation. "Lakota, dinner is ready," Dad links me, and I tell the others to mark their worksites. "We will continue tomorrow after breakfast. Right now I need some food, and I want to know what Darrius and Matt named their Pups."Three heads snap in my direction, and Conan and Kanoa just smile as I realize I forgot to mention it. "Yeah, sorry about that. Council-member Armas brought twin Pups with him, and that is why Conan and Kanoa are here instead of them," I say as we make our way back to the Pack-house. We catch up with some of the others that are clearing another stretch of the territory; they didn't find anything special, and when I mention that Josy found another foundation, their attention shifts to her. Josy tells them what we found so far; she is no longer the shy female that joined our Pack, and I am happy to see that she is getting more comfortable around everyone. Dinner is chaotic and good as always, and Darrius and Matt officially announce their Pups to the Pack. They named them Joshua, after Darrius' Father, and James, after Matt's Father. Neither male is alive anymore, but both never had a problem with the sexual preference of their Sons. The next morning we return to the foundation with a larger group of workers, and by the time we stop for lunch, Lance and I have cleared the foundation that runs along the mountain. Conan and Kanoa have cleared most of the overgrowth on the front part of the foundation. The rest had been clearing the inside of the foundation, and as I look at the cleared area, I can see this was a pretty large structure, but I am not sure about its purpose yet. We found the backdoor in the foundation, and Lance and I both wondered why it is at the far side of the structure. I would have expected the backdoor to be on the other side of the back, closer to the Pack-house. The front door is located in the middle of the structure, and Colton has been standing in it looking around for a while now. "What are you looking for, Colton?" I ask him as I walk towards him. "We are at the back of the territory, and I am trying to figure out why they placed it here. It doesn't seem to be the most logical place for Warriors to be stationed," he answers as he keeps looking around. Lance, Conan, and Kanoa join us as they take in their surroundings as well. "Maybe this is near the entrance point of the hidden territory," Lotus says to me, and I start looking at the foundation we have uncovered so far. I imagine how it would look if the trees were taken down that are between the mountain and the foundation; it would be wide enough for Warriors or Wolves to run through. As I eat my lunch, I walk towards the end of the foundation Lance and I uncovered. From there I walk towards the front of the foundation, and I am surprised that I can't find any foundation with my feet. I double back to see if Lance and I missed something, but we didn't, as I feel the foundation under my feet and it stays parallel to the mountain. I keep an eye on the others as I slowly follow the foundation until the end, and when I turn towards Colton, I can imagine how this building stood here. "I found the entire foundation; if we're lucky we might have it all uncovered by tomorrow afternoon," I say as I look at them with a smile on my face. The next day we finally manage to uncover the entire foundation, and with all the overgrowth gone, we can see it was a massive building. "Lakota, get to the infirmary. Quinn is in labor," Alice says in my head. I grab Lance's hand as I pass him and pull him with me as I yell at the others that Quinn went into labor. An hour later, Cian walks out of the room with a huge smile on his face. "It's a boy," he says as he hands the little bundle in his arms to Kobal, and I hug him before I walk into the room to see Quinn. "Congratulations, Quinn," I say as I hug her, and even though I will never have this, I am truly happy for her and Cian.