asked.

“Great, now we’re never getting home,” Tom put in.

“Don’t say that, there’s got to be a way out of here. We’ll go another few miles and try again,” he replied, but before he could go, he noticed that Sonya was still rooted to the spot with her nose in the air. “Sonya, they’re too far ahead to smell them. C’mon, lets go.”

“But I think I can smell them,” she replied. It was true, she could faintly pick up the scent of another team, carried by the winds of the storm, “They’re ahead, but to the right a little,” she said, pointing her head in the direction she meant.

“Just what makes you so sure?” Jake snapped, “I mean, you’re the least experienced of us and you’re not even all dog.”

“Hey, I’m not hearing you give any better ideas!” Sonya replied, “I know they’re there, I’m picking up their scent on the wind. Amak, I know it’s your call in the end, but they’re there. I’m sure of it.”

Amak thought it over and without any better alternative, decided to take her advice, “Alright guys, were changing course. Hopefully it will get us back on the trail,” he said, and the dogs followed him in the direction that Sonya had laid out, “Sonya, I need you to keep sniffing for them. See if they change direction anytime okay?” he asked.

“You got it boss,” she replied.

“I hope you know what you’re doing Sonya,” Jake muttered, but she ignored him. She focused on running ahead, all the while trying to get a better fix on the team ahead of them.

“I hope I know what I’m doing too.”

----------

They followed the scent trail for hours through the woods. The storm had cleared, giving them clear visibility on all sides, but they still could not see the trail. The scent was much stronger now and everyone knew that they were getting closer, “C’mon, where are you?” Amak muttered.

“They’re really close. It’s almost like we’re on top of them,” Sonya said and she would find out how true her words were when they burst through the brush, almost slamming into Steele’s team side-on. Steele screamed in terror from their sudden appearance, but fortunately the two teams were able to swerve away from a collision and were now running side-by-side.

“What do you think you’re doing you maniacs?!” Steele yelled at them.

“We’re beating the tail off of you, that’s what,” Sonya retorted.

“Oh my god, she did it! That wolfdog actually did it!” Misha cried.

“We’re going to win!” Jake continued.

“It’s not over ‘till we reach the finish,” Amak said.

“That means MUSH you guys!” Sonya finished, and the team obliged, stepping up into a higher gear. Not one to be outdone, Steele’s team also stepped up their game and the two teams were running as fast as they could towards the finish. They burst out of the woods and onto the snow-covered plains that surrounded White Mountain. Both teams were running with all their heart for the final dash. Steele and Amak were neck and neck, with neither one able to get a clear advantage over the other. They entered the town surrounded by the cheers of all the spectators. There were only a hundred yards to go - this would be an extremely close race.

It was in this final dash that Amak’s team started to pull ahead of Steele. It was gradual, but they were creeping up on him, and soon Steele was level with Sonya, who blew him a raspberry as she ran beside him. This was what she had dreamed of, to win a race and prove to everyone that she could be a racing dog. The finish was getting closer and closer; they only needed a few more seconds and they would win.

“Not so slow now am I Steele!” she called, and Steele only growled in response. He was so close to winning and wouldn’t let anyone, let alone a wolfdog, take that from him. Unfortunately for Sonya, Steele had a nasty trick up his sleeve. In one sudden motion, he reared up and snapped at Sonya’s paws, not intending to hit her, just scare her. She saw him lunge and tried to jump out of the way, but she stumbled on her landing. Her stumble caused her to lose speed, affecting everyone else as well.

It wasn’t a drastic change, but it was what Steele had wanted to happen. By causing Sonya to stumble, he had managed to slow down her team just enough for him to pull ahead. Sonya regained her footing and the rest of the team raced to regain their lost ground, but the damage had already been done. Steele crossed the finish first.

Sonya was crushed. She had been hoping for so long that this would be her chance to show that she could be a real sled dog and she had blown it. She held her head low, sure that this foul-up would push her back to where she had been before: a target of ridicule. The dogs were unhooked while the judge awarded the prizes, “The first-place golden collar is awarded to Mr. Kassen and his lead dog Steele, while the runner-up silver collar is awarded to Mr. Vance and his lead dog Amak,” the judge placed the new collars, having gold and silver studs respectively on Steele and Amak while the crowd applauded. After receiving his prize, Steele proceeded to prance around the street to show off his new collar, while the female dogs swooned. Amak knew Steele had pulled a dirty trick and glared at the husky while he paraded himself in front of his fan club, seething.

Sonya trotted away from the scene and down an alley. She was sure that the team would surely blame her for their loss. After all, she was the wolfdog and the outcast of the team. She had stumbled and had lost the team the race that had almost been theirs.

“Hey Sonya!” she heard Jake call out, but she didn’t reply, “Sonya! Hold up!” he continued, followed by the calls of the rest of the team. She kept on walking, so they had to chase after her to catch up, “Sonya, wait, there’s something we want to say,” Jake said, and she finally stopped.

“You want to say that it’s my fault we lost, don’t you?” she replied.

“No, Sonya…… you were brilliant today. You sniffed out Steele’s team and got us caught up with them. Not even Amak was able to pull it off, but you did. You got us home for the final dash,” he said.

“Haha, did you see the look on his face when we almost hit him?” Bruno laughed, “He looked like he was about to wet himself!”

“But we still lost,” she said.

“We only lost because of Steele’s dirty trick,” Felix replied, “We saw what he did and had he not cheated, we would’ve won.”

“Yeah Sonya; as far as I’m concerned, we won that race, thanks to you,” Jake finished, “It’s too bad the humans didn’t catch Steele in the act.”

“I wanted so badly to win. I wanted to show that I could be a real sled dog,” she said.

“Sonya, you did show us that with what you did today,” Jake replied, “Look, I know we haven’t always been on good terms, but after today, after all we’ve been through, I’m willing to give you another chance. What do you say? Can you forgive some foolish sled-dogs for their stupidity?”

While Sonya may not have won the race, she would still get something else that she had wanted; to be accepted by her entire team; “Yes!” she cried and play-tackled Jake to the ground. The rest of the team joined in too, all of them barking and laughing in joy. After that, they spent the rest of the day goofing off and having fun with each other. Amak may have been missing from the celebration, but Sonya barely noticed. It wasn’t until the evening that the team decided to retire to their barn, and relax after a full day.

Sonya couldn’t believe it, but then again, it was what she had wanted all along. She had wanted to prove herself to the others and she had done just that, “Hey Jake, do you know where Amak is?” she asked.

“Not really, but he’s probably at home resting,” he replied.

“Ah yes, the lead dog gets to stay in the house while we have to tough it out,” she said.

“Yeah, but it’s not so bad. Besides, at the rate you’re going you just may become lead dog yourself,” he said.

“Do you really think so?” she asked.

“Hey, if you could sniff out a team in a blizzard, then why not?”

----------

Present Day

Steele remembered the day that the men were talking about as well. It was the day that he had first won his prized golden collar, a trophy he had managed to keep until one of his mutinous teammates ripped it from his neck, “I was able to catch up to you because my dogs were able to sniff your team out, something I never would’ve been able to do. They did it without me ordering them to,” Jonathan continued, “Somehow, my dogs knew that we had to win and they acted accordingly.”

“I see,” Gunnar replied, “That’s some story you’ve got there. Though, I’ve always wondered why you haven’t run in the derby in the years since?”

“Well, I suppose it partly has to with how my old lead Amak vanished. Without him, I don’t think I would’ve stood a chance in a race that big. Granted, I still run some of the smaller races, but I’m taking a break from the derby for a little while.”

“Well, now that you have Steele with ya, you might