his eyes on that golden collar for a while, but we’ll have to wait another year before we get another shot,” Jake finished.

“A shot that we might not get if our local wolf decides to turn on us,” Misha shot in.

“Hey, I have never done anything like that and I won’t,” Sonya replied.

“Guys, lay off her,” Amak continued, “I’m sick of all of you putting her down like that. A dog from another team I can understand, but you? I expect better of you guys. Sonya is on our team and she is one of us now so I expect you to treat her as such.”

The others didn’t say anything and only nodded, albeit reluctantly. One by one, they left the barn, leaving Amak and Sonya alone, “They still aren’t going to trust me aren’t they?” she asked.

“Maybe not now, but give them time. It can be hard for a dog to overcome their distrust of wolves,” he replied, “However, one good thing did come out of this. You made the team kiddo. I’m so proud of you.”

“And I got to one-up Steele,” she continued.

“Hehe, that’s true, but a full blown race is much more challenging than what you just did. There will be long days of non-stop running, while having to deal with storms, dangerous trails, along with the competition from other teams. It’s not something that’s for everyone; are you sure you want to do this?”

“Of course I would! I’ve always wanted to run on a team with the other dogs. I’ve always wanted to belong with them. Besides, I could outrun any of them easily!” she said.

Seeing her determination made Amak grin from ear to ear. He too knew how the racing spirit burned in a dog's soul, “I had a feeling you would. You truly are Sierra’s daughter.”

That day would be a major turning point in Sonya’s life. She would finally get the opportunity to run on a team with the others. While it would still be a little while before the others would fully trust her, it was a start towards her dream of being a racing dog.

----------

Present Day

Today, Marcus was in for a real treat. To help him prepare for his first big run into Koyuk, he was going to take the entire team out for a practice run. It would only be a few miles but it would help him get used to handling multiple dogs. Marcus knew his dad’s dog team was experienced, but he had never led a team of so many dogs by himself. Usually all he needed was one dog for his short trips, not the half-dozen or more needed for long distances. He had just finished putting the harness around Sonya when his father came over with Steele following at his heels. Sonya couldn’t help but notice that Steele was wearing a standard sled collar around his neck now, “What is he doing here?”

“Well son, are you ready to handle the whole team?” he asked.

“I think so,” he replied.

“Good. Now, do you have room for one more?”

“One more? Who?” Marcus asked.

“Steele. His owner asked me to look after him until he got here and I thought it would be best if we gave him something to do while he’s waiting,” he replied. Sonya looked back in shock. She would actually have to run on the same team as him? “Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke.”

“Okay…. where should I put him?” Marcus asked.

“Oh please put him near the back,” Sonya thought.

“Well, Steele is a lead dog too. Why don’t you put him near the front, right beside Sonya?”

“Ugh.”

Jonathan led Steele over to the sled while Marcus rearranged the others to make room for Steele. However, Steele did not enjoy the idea of being anywhere near Sonya and tried to wiggle and squirm his way out of the harness. It wasn’t until Sonya nipped him in his rear did he sit still long enough for Marcus to attach the harness to him, placing him to the left and slightly behind Sonya, “Hehe, you show him girl,” Marcus whispered to her, causing Steele to growl slightly. He was so used to being his owner’s favorite, he hated seeing Marcus favor Sonya over him.

“I’ll show that kid what a real lead dog can do,” he thought as Marcus took his position on the sled.

“Alright son, you know the basic commands right?” Jonathan asked.

“’Mush’ or ‘hike’ to start them or to go faster. ‘Whoa’ for stop, but I may need to use the sled brakes too. ‘Gee’ to turn right, ‘Haw’ to turn left,” Marcus recited.

“That’s right. Now, you can also assist the turn by leaning your body as well. Also, don’t push the team faster than you can handle them. Keep it at a pace you find comfortable.”

“Alright dad,” he replied.

“Oh, and one more thing. If some of the dogs start acting up, don’t be afraid to rearrange them. Sometimes they need to be demoted a little to smarten them up.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Meanwhile, Sonya was giving the team her own little pep talk, “Alright guys, let’s remember to keep it smooth for Marcus; he isn’t the most experienced with a full team. Just remember to follow my lead and we’ll be fine.”

“I don’t need to be led around by any mutt,” Steele growled. A few of the team members groaned; another argument was the last thing they would need, “I can show this kid what a true lead dog is like.”

“Steele, you’re only here as a guest. I’m the leader of the team, okay?” she snapped back.

“You’re no leader. You’re only half-dog, so at most, you’re half a leader,” he sneered.

“Mush!” Marcus called out.

“Steele, now is not the time for this,” Sonya replied as the team started moving. They were starting out at a slow pace, but while Sonya was trying to maintain their speed, Steele kept trying to pull ahead, yanking on the harness to try to go faster, “Steele stop it, you’re going to pull the harness apart,” she said.

“Shut up wolfdog. I’m the better lead so I can go as fast as I want,” he replied, still trying to pull ahead of her.

“No you can’t. One, you’re not the lead, I am. Two, we have to follow Marcus’s commands and he hasn’t told us to speed up yet,” Sonya replied.

“This kid doesn’t know what he’s doing. You said it yourself that he’s inexperienced. I can lead this team better than he can,” Unfortunately, the dogs behind them mistook Steele’s constant tugging as an order to go faster, so they picked up speed. Sonya was forced to match their pace to avoid being run over by Jake, who was directly behind her. Marcus however, had no knowledge of Steele and Sonya’s little spat so he just enjoyed the fun of running a dog team himself, laughing all they way, “See, your kid doesn’t need to give out orders. He’d probably have more fun with me as the lead instead of you,” Steele said.

“Haw! Haw!” Marcus called out, signaling the team to make a left turn. Steele happily obliged, yanking harder than Sonya could take, almost pulling her right off her feet. Fortunately, she didn’t trip or else the entire team would have come to a crashing halt.

“Watch it Steele! You almost knocked me over!” she screamed.

“Heh, too bad I didn’t succeed,” he smirked. Sonya scowled at him and decided that if he crossed the line one more time, she would take matters into her own paws.

“Alright guys, Gee!” Marcus called, this time to signal a turn to the right. Sonya started out the turn smoothly, but that wasn’t enough for the impatient Steele.

“Move it wolfy!” he growled and slammed into her side, knocking her off her feet and setting off an unstoppable chain reaction. Sonya crashed to the ground and Jake had only a split second to brace himself for the collision with her, and another for when Misha slammed into his back. The dogs running in the second row beside them, including Steele, were yanked to a sudden stop through their harnesses and fell too. Fortunately, Marcus was able to slam on the sled’s brake before it ran over his crashed team.

Seething, Sonya was on Steele in an instant, sinking her teeth into his shoulder and slamming him to the ground. However, Steele was quick to retaliate, rolling himself free of her grasp. The two lunged at each other again and soon the thrashing of their fight had completely tangled the harness around them and those directly behind them. However, their fight would be cut short by Marcus, who came up to separate the two. He held each of them by their collars, but they still tried to lunge at each other. Knowing he couldn’t untangle the lines with them snapping at each other, he unclipped Steele and shooed him away. Steele took advantage of his freedom and ran a short distance away, out of Sonya’s reach, “Haha, you can’t catch me half-breed!” he taunted, infuriating her even more. She tried to lunge for him, but her harness held her back.

“Hey! Hey! Stop it Sonya! Look what you’re doing to poor Jake!” Marcus yelled and Sonya looked back to see what he meant. During the crash the line had become entangled around many of the dogs, including Jake. When Sonya tried to lunge at Steele, it only tightened the lines that had wrapped around his neck. By the time Marcus had calmed her down, she had already half-strangled him.

“Oh no, Jake. I’m sorry. I’m