they walked along the ice, she couldn't hold it in any more. She had to say something, "Amak, if I haven't already, I want to thank you for all of your help," she started, "I'm very grateful for everything you've done for me."

"You're very welcome Aniu," he replied, "I'm happy that I got to meet you too."

"Yes, if only we had a little more time together," she said, "Time I could use to tell you how I feel." "I wish I could see you again after this."

He stopped walking, but it was not because of her comment. She looked at him and saw that he was looking around the area with an expression of wonder, "Oh my... I don't believe it..." he muttered. 

"Amak?"

He looked back at her, and took a deep breath, "Actually Aniu... there is something that I want to ask you," he started, with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well, it's just that... I've really come to enjoy your company and... if you wanted to see me again... I might have a way to make that happen..." he said nervously, "That is... if you don't mind."

"I... I'd love to see you again," she said, "Please let this be true; don't let this be a dream." "But how? How could we see each other after this? Don't you have to leave with your human soon?"

"I do have to leave here, but soon I'll be heading back to my home town. Have I told you about it?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so," she replied. In all of their discussions, she had forgotten to ask him where he lived, and she mentally kicked herself for overlooking it, "That's what you get when you spend all your time staring at his eyes Aniu."

"Well, I live in a town called White Mountain. It's actually not that far from here," he continued, "In fact, this riverbed leads right towards the town... so if you want to come..."

Aniu's jaw dropped. Amak would be within touching distance of her. This couldn't be real; this was way to easy, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am. Some of our trips have taken us to a town called Nome, and one of the legs of the trip is this riverbed," he said, "So, if you wanted to drop by..."

Aniu was thrilled; she would have more time to be with Amak. She laughed in joy and came up to nuzzle into his chest, "Oh thank you. Thank you so much for this," she said.

"Woah, well… you're welcome," he replied, a little surprised by her outburst, "Do you remember that race that I told you about earlier? The Trans-Alaskan Derby?" he asked.

"You mean the race that you told me about shortly after I met you?" she said.

He paused as he remembered that day... the day he had first laid eyes on her, "Keep it together Amak, you don't know if she feels the same way... then again, she is pressed up into my chest," he thought, "Well, right after my owner finishes his hunting trip, we're going to be taking part in that race. The start is quite a distance from here, but the finish is in White Mountain, the town I live in," he said, "If you want... you can come by and watch. You can see me... do what I do best. Maybe you'll even see me become a champion."

"I'd love that Amak," she replied, "I'd love nothing more than to see you race."

"Really? I mean... that's great," he continued, still a little anxious, "I wasn't sure if it would mean that much for you to see me," he said.

"Oh it does, you have no idea how much it does," she said. 

"This is wonderful," he whispered. He had to say something; something that would show how much he cared.

"I can't believe it," she whispered as well. She couldn't hold back any longer; she had to tell him.

"Aniu..."

"Amak..."

"I love you."

They both froze when they realized what they had said. At the same time, they had both uttered those three little words that carried so much weight, "You… love me?" he asked.

"And you... love me too?" she asked and he nodded, "Yes Amak, I do love you. It started small, but now, after our time together, I don't want to be away from you. You're the most caring and handsome dog I have ever met and I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too," he replied, "I love you Aniu, but I was afraid to admit it because I thought you'd be gone soon. I love everything about you. You're the most beautiful sight I've ever seen and you have a wonderful spirit to match," he said, "I wasn't sure about how you would react, but ever since that night we first watched the lights, I've been feeling like we were meant to be together."

"I wasn't sure how you would react either," she continued, "I didn't want to say it, only to leave you so soon."

"Well, now we've said it, and we don't have to worry about being apart," he said. Once they had both gotten what they wanted to say off their chests, they both breathed in a huge sigh of relief. Aniu no longer felt conflicted and Amak was no longer anxious about holding in what he wanted to say. She continued to nuzzle into his chest and he returned it with his own.

"So, what now?" she asked, "What do we do now?" 

"I know what we should do. We should make sure that our love doesn't fall apart. If you want to find my home town, you have to follow this riverbed to the south," he instructed, while pointing his head in the proper direction, "The riverbed will eventually lead to a wide open plain. The town will be smack in the middle of it, so it won't be hard to find from there," he said, "Now, I won't be there for the next several days, as I'm going to be in the race, but once I come back, we can visit each other as much as we want."

"When will you be back?" she asked.

"Let me think… we're not leaving for another couple of days. It'll take us some time to get there, but we'll be booking it to get back. I'd say about ten days before we come back home for the finish," he said.

"I'll be cheering for you there," she replied. They remained there, leaning against each other, and Aniu felt as though a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had been able to tell him how she felt, and he had returned her feelings. Better yet, even after she had returned to her pack, she could continue to see Amak in town. Everything she had prayed for had come true, "Thank you, to whoever or whatever was looking out for me." 

Suddenly, a howl cut through the woods. It was quite distant but Aniu recognized it as Atka's; they were close to her pack.

"Is that a friend of yours?" Amak asked.

"Yes, it is, I really should go now. I guess that this is goodbye," she said.

"Hey, at least it's not goodbye forever," Amak replied and Aniu gave him a parting lick on the cheek before she dashed away in the direction of the howl, "Remember, south along the riverbed to the town in ten days!" Amak called out.

"I won't forget if you don't," Aniu replied. Amak chuckled and after seeing her disappear in the brush, he turned back towards his own team, "With her watching, I'll make sure I finish first. I'll be a champion for you Aniu." 

----------------------------

Aniu continued to trot through the woods and soon she picked up the scent markers of her pack. As she got closer to them, she wondered what she would tell them. The most obvious thing would be to tell the truth, but would they believe it? Their old pack had been hunted by humans and dogs, so the idea of a dog saving her and keeping her safe would sound preposterous to them. She thought about telling them everything she had learned from Amak, from the time she spent with him…

"We must never associate with them. They are almost as dangerous as the humans themselves!"

She stopped running and realized that her pack would probably look down on her if she told them she had made friends with a husky. She might even be banished, just like how Sierra was banished when she was found with a wolf, "Would that happen to me? Would I be labeled a 'husky-lover' and cast out from the pack, or would they attack Amak to ensure I would never be able to see him again?" It was clear that in order for her and him to stay safe, she couldn't tell them about her time with Amak, "Maybe I could tell them what had happened, but remove any mention of Amak. I could tell them that I had been injured by a moose, and had to wait a few days to recover, and that it took me some more time to track them down," That story was still mostly true, and it didn't make any mention of Amak. She continued running, but another thought came to her. How would she cover her time when she left to see Amak's race? Getting lost and injured is easy enough to explain, but running off for no reason would be much harder to cover. Packs always stayed together, and if she disappeared again, they might start to get suspicious. However, Amak did say that he wouldn't reach the town for another ten days; hopefully by then she could think of something.

She knew that she would have to announce her presence sooner or