"What's going on?" she asked.

"No, Sonya don't. Get out of here," Amak cried, but Sonya did not listen. Instead, she faced Steele directly.

"Steele, what are you doing?" she asked. 

"Well Sonya, it seems like your pal Amak seems to enjoy things on the wild side, if you get my drift," Steele sneered, causing Amak to snarl at him, "Oh, did I hit a nerve there? I guess your wolfy friend must have had more of an influence on you than I thought."

"So what if I am with a wolf?" Amak replied, "You guys never got this upset when I was sticking up for Sonya and she's half wolf."

"That's true, but in order for there to be any half-wolves, a wolf and a dog have to come together," Steele said, "There's more than enough of those mutts running around our towns, so if you want to keep yourself and your sweetheart safe, you'll get out of here."

"NO!" Sonya screamed and tried to lunge at Steele, but two of the dogs with him caught her and held her down before she could reach them, "You can't do this! Let me go!" she yelled as she struggled to break free.

"C'mon, lets get that wolf!" a stocky malamute called out, but Amak reared up, knocking him down. However, that was only one dog and two more started to advance on Aniu. She snarled at them, and Amak tried chasing them away, but that allowed the first malamute to get up. They were completely surrounded, and both of them were quickly running out of options.

"Steele, stop this!" he called out, but his plea was only met by cruel laughter. Steele was taking much pleasure in seeing his rival in such a tight spot.

"No way lobo lover. This town isn't big enough for wolves," he sneered. His team was getting closer, Sonya couldn't get up and no one else was coming to their aid. In desperation, Aniu lunged at one of the dogs to make an opening, but instantly, four dogs were on her, biting and scratching at her. Amak jumped in to pull them off her, but there were too many for him to fight off, and he ended up getting swarmed by them as well. Aniu struggled with her assailants, but there were too many for her to handle at once. Finally, as suddenly as the attack had started, it ended when Steele barked to call them off. Amak shakily got up from the attack, and Steele approached him, "I'm sorry it has to be this way Amak, but you know the rules. We can't have wolves and their spawn running around town."

"Steele, please, don't hurt her. You can do what you want to me, but don't hurt her," he pleaded. Aniu got up as well, and glared at Steele with contempt. The larger husky smirked as he watched Amak shakily plead for her. He had finally found a way to defeat him.

"Alright Amak, we won't hurt her," he said, "But you have to get out of this town with that fleabag. You can run around in the wild all you want. In my eyes, you're not a sled dog anymore," he finished. 

"NO!" Sonya screamed, but Amak knew that this would be only way to protect his mate and unborn children. He looked over at her, and his expression told her that this was the only way they would be together.

"…Alright, I'll go. Just let me say goodbye before I do," he said, defeated.

Steele nodded, calling the two dogs holding Sonya off. She got to her feet, livid, but Amak held her back as she tried to lunge for Steele, "Sonya don't, it won't change anything," he said sadly.

"But you can't leave Amak, you can't," she said.

"I don't have much choice here. It's the only way I can keep her safe," he said, pointing his head towards Aniu.

"But why? Why her?" she asked.

"She's very important to me, and I'm important to her. Right now, she needs me," he replied.

"I need you too," she said, her voice sounding like she was close to tears.

"Sonya, you've come a long way since I found you. You've grown up so much," he said and he too looked like he was about to break down crying, "But you're a real sled dog now. You're one of the team, and I know you'll do fine without me. You're tough - no matter what you'll always make it through."

"But what about the rest of the team? Who will lead them?" she asked.

"You will," he replied. Using his paw he managed to loosen his collar - the same silver-studded collar he had won only a few weeks before - and pulled it off his neck before placing it on Sonya's shoulders. 

"Me? But I can't…... I don't know if I'm ready," she said.

"Trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think you were," he replied, "You have what it takes to lead and I'm sure the others will follow you."

Finally, Sonya broke down crying while Amak nuzzled her to comfort her, "I don't want you to go," she sobbed, "I won't let them do this. I'll make him pay for this!" 

"No Sonya, it won't change anything. You can't change the past. Taking revenge won't undo what has already been done. It never has and in most cases has only led to more hurt," he replied. Aniu had to admire this; even having suffered a terrible defeat, he still held on to his morals, "I know you're going to miss me, but I want you to know this: I have always thought of you as my baby and I always will. You'll always be my little baby," he finished.

For Sonya, this was the final blow and she raced out of the room, sobbing her eyes out. Aniu could only feel for her as she had just lost someone who had been very close to her. Amak looked back at Aniu sadly, and they started to walk out of the room. The dogs glared at them as they left, and a few knocked Amak around as he walked past. Finally, they reached the door and stared out into the night. 

"Remember, if I see either of your sorry hides in this town," Steele growled, "I'll tear you apart."

Without another word, Amak and Aniu dashed out of the building and towards the forest. They did not stop until they were deep in the woods, and Amak collapsed, not out of exhaustion, but out of misery. Aniu could hear him start to sob over what had happened, "No, I'm so sorry Sonya," he cried, "I'm so sorry I failed you." She came over to comfort him by nuzzling into his side, licking away his tears, "She was like my own daughter Aniu. She was my little baby and now she's on her own," he said, "Oh why did she have to see that?" 

"Amak, it wasn't your fault," she said, "You said it yourself that she'll be fine." 

"I know, but still…. I'm going to miss her," he said, "She's so much like her mother."

After taking a few minutes to regain his composure, he wiped his nose with his paw and got up to plan their next move, "Well, where do we go from now?" she asked.

"I don't know. We could try to tough it out here in the woods, or we could try to make it to another town," he replied, "The closest town is Nome, and it'll be a bit of a walk to get there. However, it will have shelter for us, and our pups. I still remember the way, and I can take you there," he finished.

"You won't take her anywhere, dog," a voice called out, causing Aniu's blood to run cold. It was Mayak. She turned and saw him approaching, his face contorted with rage.

"Ah hell," Amak said, realizing that they had been caught for the second time in a row, "Tonight just isn't my night."

"A dog…. it all fits now," Mayak growled, "All those times you would disappear, all the time you spent trying to stay away from me. It wasn't because you weren't ready for me; it was because you had another. All this time I thought you were playing hard to get, when really you were out mating with a dirty husky!"

"Mayak, it's not what you think," she said. 

"It's not what you think," he taunted, "That's what all cheating whores say!"

"HEY! What gives you the right to treat her like that!?" Amak shouted.

Mayak turned to him, "Shut up you dog! I am the alpha male of my pack and I can do what I want," he turned back to her, "Oh, I know what I heard. I know about your little half-breed pups. I know about your plan to run off with this dog and I won't stand for it!" he yelled, "I won't let that weak dog in my pack and I'm certainly not going to let any half-breed whelps in either. There's only one way to deal with something like this..."

"Mayak, please don't, don't do this," she pleaded, "I beg of you, don't hurt them."

"Beg? So you're begging now? Begging like one of the dogs for scraps. Oh, I'm going to hurt them all right. It's what the little mutts deserve and it's what you deserve for cheating on me with this dog," he growled.

"Hey, we don't need to rush things here," Amak cut in, "Hurting her won't change a thing. Look, I can tell that you don't like me, but let's talk this out, one on one." 

"And if I don't want to talk?" Mayak asked.

"Then you should know that I'm willing to do anything to protect her," Amak said flatly, "I won't lose my pups or