Whitebark Stream This is a world of dreams and reverie.

He dozed, basking in the warmth and glow of his family that'd grown so suddenly from two to six. There was a new beauty in the hollow he shared with Dawn, soft sounds and scents that swept each of his woes aside the moment he entered. Artyom knew, the first moment he saw them, that he would treasure each moment.

A golden ear pricked at the sound of a cry and, ever-attentive, the hunter shifted his weight to investigate immediately. Earthen eyes swept each slumbering babe, settling on the boy who'd inherited his mother's cool-toned pelage.

A smile bloomed, one that glistened in each warm iris as he reached over to touch his nose to the puppy's tiny head. "Помолчи," the new father crooned in a whisper, "Ты в безопасности со мной."