replied.

“Just because he starts something doesn’t mean you need to finish it.”

“Why not? Am I supposed to just let him say those lies about me and my parents?”

“The only reason he says those lies is because he knows it will provoke you,” Amak replied, “He wants to show that wolfdogs are dangerous, and he will do that by provoking you into a fight. If you attack him, you’re only proving that he is right!”

“But if I don’t fight back then it would make me look weaker!” she said, “Why can’t I show him I’m dangerous? Maybe it’ll make him back off and leave me alone.”

“No it won’t,” Amak replied, “Bullies like Steele don’t give up easily. If anything, fighting back will make him want to get back at you, and soon you two would be locked in a never-ending cycle of fighting and revenge. You’re lucky I was there to make Steele back off.”

“So what you’re saying is that he’ll pick on me if I fight, but he’ll also pick on me if I run. Is there any way to escape him?” she asked.

“I….. I don’t know,” he replied sadly.

“It’s not fair,” she said, “Why does everyone have to hate wolves. They’ve done nothing to them.”

“I know, and it is unfair for you because other than this little tussle, you’ve been so well behaved,” Amak replied.

There was a pause until Sonya spoke up, “Amak, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you so tolerant of wolves while the others seem to hate them?”

“Well, I suppose it’s partly because of how I was raised. My parents always told me that you never truly know someone until you meet them face to face and talk to them,” he replied, “I’ve never met a wolf, so I have no idea if I would hate them or not. However, if I did get the chance, I’d love to able to talk to them and get to know them.”

“But what if they didn’t like you? What if they thought you would hurt them, like how dogs think wolves will hurt them?”

“Well, if that was the case, then I’d back off. If they think I’m going to hurt them, then it would be best to prove them wrong by not fighting them,” he said, “Just like it would be best for you to prove Steele wrong by not letting him provoke you.”

Sonya thought it over, and realized that he was right, “I’ll try,” she replied.

“Good. You should be more careful with the fights you pick, because you may end up getting someone you care about caught in the crossfire.”

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Present Day

That was how Steele had acted towards her since day one. What he thought of her did not come from what he knew, but from what he thought he knew. He had been raised with the prejudice against wolves that was prevalent in dogs, never taking a moment to question it. When Sonya was younger, most of the dogs just avoided her, but Steele would actively seek her out in order to bully her. It was for this reason that she hated him more than the others and it was for this reason that she wanted him out of town last night. She didn’t want to have to go through his taunting again, after the years of peace she had enjoyed since he had moved away. Steele was going home whether he liked it or not.

“Sonya! There you are girl,” Marcus called out when he saw her and she knew that this would be her chance. Instead of coming to him, she dashed the other way, back towards the general store, “Hey Sonya, come back!” he called, but she kept on running towards the store, leading Marcus to give chase. Finally she reached it and crept in the door with Marcus following her.

Steele had started to settle himself down for a midday nap, but was jolted out of his doze by Marcus barging in, “Gah! Sonya! What is it now you mutt?” he growled.

“Oh nothing,” she replied, “I just wanted you to be found, that’s all.”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” the store owner asked as he walked in, alerted to the sound of Marcus coming in to the room.

“Sorry, my dog got away from me,” Marcus replied, grabbing onto Sonya’s collar.

“Is he yours too?” the owner asked, indicating Steele.

“No, he isn’t,” Marcus replied and the store owner took a closer look at Steele.

“Hmm, he seems familiar…… could it be…” he trailed off as he went back into the office to find something. He came back a few minutes later holding a photo that looked as though it had been clipped out of a newspaper. Steele’s stomach turned as he realized that it was his photo from the race a few weeks ago, “Oh wow, I don’t believe it,” the owner whispered, “It’s Steele. It’s actually Steele,” he said as he patted the black and white husky on the head. Steele knew he’d been found out. He had hoped to stay hidden for as long as possible, but thanks to Sonya, he had been found after less than a day.

Excited, the store owner ran to the telegraph office to have the news relayed to Nome. Steele’s owner had noticed when his prized dog went missing and had sent out messages asking for any information. While they waited for a response, word spread around the small town and it wasn’t long before a crowd had gathered to see Alaska’s champion dog. Sonya didn’t mind that Steele was, once again, the center of attention. She knew that with this, he would be out of her life again. She peeked through the crowd of legs, expecting to see Steele with his usual ‘cute dog’ face as he received all the attention, but she got a big surprise. Instead, Steele was fuming and barely responded as people scratched him behind the ears and rubbed his belly. This only confirmed her earlier suspicions. He wasn’t surprised when he had found out that his team was safe, and he wasn’t happy about going home to them. Did he even like them?

Soon, a response arrived. His owner was glad to hear he was safe, but it would be a few days before he would be able to make the trip over to get him. In the meantime, he asked Jonathan, who was an old acquaintance of him, to look after Steele for him.

That evening, the town dogs had gathered again to celebrate. A few were disappointed that Alaska’s champion would be leaving so soon, but most were happy that he was going back home. However, Steele’s thanks to them always seemed to be half-hearted. Finally, Sonya’s curiosity got the best of her and she went up to him, “So Steele, are you happy that you’ll see your buddies again soon?” she asked.

“I guess…,” he mumbled.

“You guess? That’s not much of an answer.”

“You didn’t need to interfere like that you mongrel. I would’ve been just fine on my own,” he replied, “You did this just to get rid of me.”

“Oh sure, it's all about you," she replied sarcastically, "Can't I do something to help you?”

“I don’t need any help from a mutt like you. I can do just fine on my own,” he replied.

“Oh, come on, there’s got to be something about this that’s bothering you,” she inquired.

“Yes, there is. It’s that your kind is always meddling around,” he growled.

“Just what is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Never mind, it’s none of your concern,” he replied.

“I think it is my concern,” she retorted, “From the second you got here, you’ve been acting like you're hiding from something.”

“I’m not hiding from anything,” he hissed, his tone becoming more aggressive.

“Well something had to have happened that’s making you less than enthusiastic about seeing your team. What happened, did you have a fight with them?”

“Nothing happened!” Steele snapped, grabbing everyone’s attention. The last thing Sonya needed on her paws was a public argument with Steele, so she decided to back off.

“Fine, be that way,” she replied and left the boiler room for home, still thinking about that exchange.

“Wow, he seems really tense now,” she thought to herself, “It does seem like he was trying to hide here, but what was he hiding from? He got upset when I mentioned his friends, so maybe something did happen between them. Maybe they did get into a fight? Then again, does all this really matter? He is going home in a few days.”

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Chapter 3: The Divide Widens

Four Years Earlier

In the past year, Sonya had started her training as a sled dog. While she hoped that it would mean that she would be able to go with Amak on his sled trips, that would not be the case. Instead, Jonathan had thought that she would be better at hauling freight around town. While Amak and the team went out for long trips or prepared for sled races, she would have to stay behind and help Marcus make deliveries around the town as part of his new part-time job. However, Sonya was capable of much more than just pulling cargo around. The one thing that Jonathan had always missed was that there was wolf breeding in her. She had inherited the speed and endurance of her father and would use it frequently to complete their deliveries as quick as any racing team. Despite her skills, and Marcus’s suggestions, he was still reluctant to use her on his main team.

“I don’t think I should son,” he said,