charmer," she replied and started eating while he went back to the box to get another piece for himself. By the time they had finished their meal, night had fallen.

"Amak, thanks for everything today. I had a great time today," she said as she started to get up. 

"Wait, why do you have to go so soon?" he asked, "C'mon, stay the night. I haven't seen you in a while. Please, stay with me."

Aniu felt the same way he did. She hadn't seen him in a while and she didn't want to leave him yet. Part of her warned her that the others may become suspicious if she came back quite late, but her desire for Amak was much stronger.

"Well…. okay, why not," she replied, "I haven't seen you in a long time either."

His eyes lit up at this, "Great! Follow me," he said and she followed him through the dark and empty streets. Soon, they had reached another building, this one smaller than the shops in the middle of town, and went around the side of it, "Here, this is my place," he said as they rounded around to the rear of it. Nearby was a small shed, and since the house was on the edge of the town, they had a wide open view of the surrounding plain and forests.

"I'll be right back, just wait here," he said as he dashed towards the nearby shed. While he rummaged inside it, Aniu gazed up towards the sky and saw that the northern lights were out, shining in all their glory. Soon Amak came back to her with a blanket from the shed, "It can get quite chilly at night, so I thought we'd need this," he said.

"Thanks," she replied, "Look, the lights are out tonight."

He looked up and saw the lights as well, "Just when I thought this day couldn't get any better," he said, lying down on his back to get the best view. Aniu lay down beside him and cuddled up against him, rubbing her muzzle into his neck. Once she had settled herself with him, he pulled the blanket over them, keeping them warm in the chilly winter air. As the lights continued their dance in the sky, the two lovers started to doze off, snuggled up with each other like mates.

"I love you Amak," she said.

"I love you too Aniu."

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The next morning, Aniu woke up to the sound of the birds chirping away. It was still early and the sun had just started to peek over the horizon. As she came out of her drowse, she breathed deeply to take in Amak's scent. His chest rose and fell with his breathing, and it was quite soothing for her to listen to. She got out slowly from under the blanket and stretched herself out. While she had enjoyed the time with Amak, she knew she would have to return to her pack to avoid rousing too much suspicion. Amak was still asleep, snoring softly. Aniu came up to him to say her goodbyes.

"Amak," she said while poking him with her paw, "Amak, it's morning."

"Zzzzz… no, five more minutes ma…. it's Saturday…. zzzz," he mumbled in his sleep. She rolled her eyes and leaned down to lick him on his neck, in the hopes of waking him up. It took a few tries, but soon, he started giggling and woke up, "Hey, hey, I'm really ticklish there!" he cried out.

"Oh really? Maybe I should do that more often then," she teased.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said as he got up and stretched out while giving out a large yawn, "What time is it?" he asked. 

"It's early in the morning, I really must be getting back to the others," she said as she turned to leave.

"Wait up. Let me walk you at least part of the way," he said.

"You don't have to do that," she replied, "I can make it myself." 

"I know you could, but I insist. It's only polite for me to walk you home after a date," he said, "Besides, my humans aren't early risers. I can make it back before anyone notices."

"Okay, come along," she replied and they set off, finding the river and following it down to where her pack had settled. They walked along the ice, and Aniu could tell that the weather was warming. Soon spring would come and the river would thaw out, along with the rest of the world. 

"It's getting warmer, summer will be here soon," she said.

"Yeah, that means the snow will be gone and there won't be any more sledding for a while," Amak replied.

"But the summers are short. You'll be back out and sledding in a few months," she said. 

"I know. Besides, I could use a vacation," he continued. "I could take the time to visit you." 

"I'd like that," she said, "Though, I don't know when I could sneak off to see you next."

"There's no rush. I'd say wait a few days," he replied, "However, my advice would be to come at night, when there's a lower chance of anyone seeing us."

"Ohhh, planning secret nighttime visits are you?" she teased, "I never thought of you as the 'bad boy' type."

"Heh, you're one to talk," he teased back, "You're the one claiming to go on a scouting trip when you really went off to have a fun night with your secret lover; and you call me bad."

They continued walking through the woods until they reached the edge of the pack's territory, and once again bid each other goodbye, "Thanks for yesterday Amak. I'll try to come back in a few more days," she said as she nuzzled him.

"You're welcome, and I'll see you then," he replied, "In fact, I might have a little surprise for you."

She smiled at him before continuing into her territory while Amak turned back towards his home. As she ran, she wondered what sort of surprise Amak would have in store for her.

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Chapter 5: If You Look to the North…

Aniu had hoped that she would be able to return to her pack before they woke up in the morning, but unfortunately, her long absence would not go unnoticed. Mayak had waited for her clear through the night, and by the time she returned, he was quite cross, "Aniu, where have you been?!" he yelled as she came over a small hill. 

"So much for an easy getaway," she thought, "I was out scouting, just like I said I would be," she snapped back. 

"You sure took your time. You left yesterday morning," he said.

Aniu knew she would have to explain her absence, and quickly thought up a cover story, "Look, I got caught up and I had to spend the night to rest," she said.

"Oh really? Just what would you get caught up with?" he asked.

She figured that she might as well tell him about the town. In a way, she did explore it, and she would have to give him something to throw his suspicions off, "I found a human settlement after I followed the river to the south." 

His expression suddenly changed from anger to fear, "Humans? How far?"

"I'd say, twenty minutes by walking," she replied, "There was a point where I had to duck for cover to avoid being seen. It took me awhile before I felt safe enough to come out; that's why I'm late."

"Are you sure you weren't seen? They could have followed you here, to us!" he said, as panic started to add to the fear in his voice.

"Don't worry, no one followed me. I made sure to stay out of sight," she replied, "You sure get jumpy whenever they are mentioned."

"Yeah, well you'd be jumpy too if you went through what I had to," he mumbled.

They started walking back to the others through the woods and on the way, Mayak asked the question she knew would come eventually, "So, you've had a little more time to think about my proposal. Do you have an answer for me now?"

This was it, time to see if her plan would work, "Actually, I have thought about it Mayak. I'm sorry, but my answer is no."

Mayak stopped, "No?" he growled as he glared at her.

"Unfortunately. I think it would be best if we took more time to know each other. After all, I've only known you for about a month now," she said, hoping that reason would satisfy him.

Mayak continued to glare at her, but he also appeared to be thinking it over. Finally, he gave his response, "Alright, we don't have to mate this year. We'll take another year and get to know each other better," he replied, and then he came right up into her face, "But in the meantime, I don't want you trying anything with anyone else you hear me? I am the alpha of this pack, and so you will be MY mate! You won't be the mate of another wolf, you won't even be the bitch of one of those spineless dogs. You will be mine, and if I can't have you, then I'll make sure no one will!" he shouted. He stormed off, and Aniu realized that she had been holding her breath the entire time. She had a feeling that he would be disappointed with this, but his sudden outburst frightened her. The fact that he was being so possessive put her off. Amak would never act like this. 

"Amak. What if he suspects that there is another? No, he didn't ask anything about it. He doesn't know his name, or even that he exists. But why does he keep mentioning dogs? What is going on in his head?"

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She found the other three from her pack around a fresh kill and