day before, he had woken up with her at his side. He loved the companionship she gave to him, the warmth of having her pressed up against him. However, this morning she would be in her home, and would have to stay as long as her owners commanded it. She would have to stay in, while he had to stay out, "Jenna hasn't betrayed me, and I can't leave her like that…"

"If the town still doesn't accept you, then it will be much harder to see her. We'd have to meet in secret… could you really do that to her?" his wolf side shot back, "Do you really want to go back to that? Always having to look over your shoulder while in town? Do you want to continue living in fear?" This was the final straw for him. He remembered how scared he used to get whenever he went into town, and if had a chance to avoid it, he would take it. He quietly got up and trotted down the gangplank and onto the snow. To the left was the town, which had Jenna, but also had many who were against him. To the right was the wilderness, which were mostly unknown to Balto, but could possibly hold where he belonged. Finally, he made his choice, and turned towards the woods, "As much as I don't want to leave you Jenna, the town may not be where I truly belong. I don't know where I'm going, but I hope that I will be able to see you again," he thought as he dashed across the tundra and stole away into the woods.

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Jenna woke up that morning, thinking that she was nuzzling against Balto's warm side. However, when she opened her eyes, she was disappointed to find that she had only been rubbing into her pillow. Balto hadn't been with her that night, probably because he was still upset over the previous day's events, "Well if he can't come to me, then I'll have to go to him," she thought as she crept out of her shed, taking in the crisp morning air. She walked out onto the street and started in the direction that would lead her to Balto's boat outside of town.

Near the edge of town, she saw Kaltag, and while he started to approach, she didn't acknowledge him; Balto wasn't the only one who was sore about what he had said yesterday, "Jenna!" he called out, "Hey, wait up!" he said, but she didn't respond. Kaltag caught onto this, and it didn't take long for him to figure out why. "Okay, I know that you're probably still upset from yesterday, but I was hoping that you could help me find Balto this morning. There's something from yesterday I want to clear up with him; something that I want to set right."

"Oh, so now you want to do the right thing," she replied dryly.

Kaltag frowned, but maintained his calm, "Yes I do, and I always have. I'm sorry about what happened and I want Balto to know that too."

She looked at him with a scowl, but decided to give him a chance, "Okay, I was just on my way to see him too, so you can come along," Jenna replied, "However, you'll have to bail yourself out."

"If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time with him," a voice called out. Kaltag and Jenna turned and saw that it was Spitz, along with Carla.

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm not you," Kaltag growled, "You are the meanest, the sourest, the most stuck-up-"

"Say what you want," Spitz cut him off, "What I am saying is true. You can try to visit that wolfdog, but you'll find that won't be answering your calls."

"Spitz, what did you do!" Jenna snapped, "If you did anything to hurt him, I swear I will-"

"Relax Jenna, I didn't do anything to that fleabag you adore so much," Spitz replied, "This morning, I was taking a bit of a walk and I saw him run across the tundra and into the woods."

"That doesn't mean anything," Kaltag said, "What if he's just out taking a leak?"

"If he is, then he's taking his time, 'cause I haven't seen him come back," Spitz replied.

"Even if that is true, why would he run off into the woods?" Jenna asked.

"I don't know," Carla put in, "Maybe he finally realized that he'll never fit in with a town of dogs. Maybe he went out to find some wolf friends – though I don't know if even they would want a half-breed like him."

"He only feels that way because dogs like you make him feel unwelcome," Kaltag retorted.

"Oh, you're going to pin this on me, eh?" Spitz replied, "Face it Kaltag, you're not exactly a saint when it comes to acting around Balto." Kaltag knew that Spitz had a point; he had also had a hand in Balto's current frame of mind.

"No, he wouldn't leave," Jenna said, "He wouldn't leave me like that. Why would he leave without even saying goodbye?"

"Who knows?" Carla said, "Maybe you weren't wild enough for him? After all, you're still a housedog, bound to your human family. Maybe he wants a girl that he can… chase sticks in the wild with," Jenna was becoming more agitated by the second. The mere idea that Balto would leave her like that stabbed at her heart, "After all, he is a pretty famous dog now. That fame could help him shop around for someone else… you know, like the last dog who had a fancy for you," Carla finished.

In an instant, Jenna lunged out towards Carla, but Kaltag grabbed her bandanna in his jaw and held her back, "How dare you compare him to a dog like Steele!" she screamed, "He is nothing like that glory hound! You take that back! Let me go Kal!"

"No Jenna, she's not worth it," Kaltag replied. Jenna barked out at Carla for a few more moments before calming down. Kaltag let her go, but she still seethed with anger, before taking off like a rocket towards Balto's boat. Kaltag followed soon after, leaving Spitz and Carla behind.

"Balto!" she cried out, "Balto, please tell me you're there!" However, there was no response as she ran towards the shore. She dashed up the gangplank, but when she reached the wheelhouse, she found that Spitz had been right all along. Balto was gone, and there was only a bleary eyed goose that had been awoken by her shouts.

"Oy, can't an old bird get some rest around here?" Boris asked.

"Boris, where is Balto?" she asked.

"You mean he's not with you?" Boris asked, and Jenna shook her head, "Then vere is he?"

"I don't know… though I may have an idea," Jenna replied, and told Boris what she had learned from Spitz.

"Oh dear, I was afraid something like this might happen," Boris said, "Balto came home in such low spirits last night, but even though he was going on and on about how he might not fit into the town, I never thought he'd actually run away."

"Jenna! Over here!" Kaltag cried out, and Jenna left the wheelhouse to see what he had found, "I think I've got a trail we can follow," Sure enough, Kaltag had found a set of large prints that led away from the boat and towards the woods, "So Spitz was right, Balto went off into the woods," he said.

"Well then we have to find him!" Jenna replied, "We have to show him that dogs like Spitz are wrong… and you still have to apologize to him."

"I know, but what if it's not as bad as we think? Maybe we should wait for a while and see if he comes back?" he said. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, mostly because he didn't entirely trust Spitz's word.

"Sit and wait… that's your plan?" Jenna asked, "You think that we should sit on the sidelines and do nothing to help Balto while he is going through a tough time? If this is how you always help out friends, then I'm surprised that you still have any!" Kaltag winced from this; Jenna sure knew how to give a good verbal lashing, "If you want to just sit here like nothing's wrong, then be my guest! In the meantime, I'm going out to find Balto," she finished.

"You're going out alone? Are you nuts?" Kaltag exclaimed, "There are wolves and bears and other animals out there that might want to take a bite out of you."

"Well, if you're so concerned about it, then maybe you should come along," she suggested, "I'm going with or without you Kaltag, so you'd better make up your mind now." Normally Kaltag was wary of going out into the woods without the team or a human for protection, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Jenna out there… or to Balto. So, he followed her across the snow towards the woods, remembering how this wasn't the first time that he and Jenna had butted heads.

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Eighteen months earlier

For the past year, life had been very good for Nikki, Kaltag and Star. They continued to gain experience as sled dogs, having trips either for training or other jobs their owner had been assigned. When they weren't out on sled runs, they usually walked around the town, enjoying the sights and having fun with each other. Every now and then, their fun would involve chasing Balto around the town. While Kaltag had a few reservations about going after him when he was a pup, those disappeared as Balto started to grow older. His rough fur and wolfish appearance started to make Kaltag a little nervous. He certainly looked like he was capable of doing quite a bit of damage to them, but whenever they appeared, Balto would dash off to try to escape them.

"We're doing a civil service here guys," Steele would say, "By making that wolfdog run, we're keeping the town safe from him. Though, I wouldn't mind catching up to him and showing him what we're