they wouldn't accept him either, "Still, I have to hope that there's at least some place where I can belong." As he walked through the snow, the feeling that there was another presence still remained. A few times he could have sworn that he had heard footsteps a short distance away. However, when he looked around he saw nothing. It was as though he was being stalked… stalked by a predator… stalked by something that knew how to move in the woods quietly… stalked by a wolf.

That was it; he may not have found the wolves, but the wolves had already found him. He knew that making a run for it would only lead them to give chase, so he simply sat down in the snow. If they were following him, he wanted to show that he meant no harm, "Whoever you are, I know you're out there!" he shouted, "I don't want any trouble; I just want to meet you!" His call echoed through the woods, but there was no reply. Finally, he decided to arch his head back and let out a loud howl. Anything within five miles would have heard his howl ring out, but those listening were only five yards away. Within moments, he was tackled by a red-brown blur and knocked to the ground. Before he knew it, he was staring into the amber eyes of a full-fledged wolf.

"Who do you think you are, howling like this place is your territory?" the wolf asked with their teeth bared. The voice was that of a female, and while she held Balto down, more wolves came in to surround him. This was it, the moment that he had been waiting for. He would have to act quickly to show that he only wished to join them, "Well, speak up! What is your business here?" the wolf asked him. He stared straight into her eyes and summed up his courage. He knew who he would have to deal with if he wanted to join them.

"Take me to your leader," he said, "I want to ask him something."

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Chapter 7: Telling Their Stories

Balto was escorted by four wolves through the woods until they reached a clearing that had at least half a dozen more, each of them staring at the newcomer. In the side of a nearby hill was a cave that had a small cub poking its head out. Balto figured that was the den for the pack's pups. The red female that had first caught him broke off from the group and entered the den briefly before coming out with a brown male. He was larger than the other wolves, and carried himself with confidence, "This must be the alpha male," Balto thought, all the while feeling like this wolf was familiar to him. The alpha approached him and Balto could feel his heart pounding in his chest in anxiety.

"I was told that you wanted to meet me, stranger," the wolf said in a commanding voice, "What is your business here? What did you want to ask of me?"

"I have come here because I wanted to know if there was a place for someone like myself in your pack," Balto replied.

The wolf looked at him curiously and started to walk around him, looking over Balto, as if he was studying him. Balto didn't react, and only followed the wolf with his eyes. Finally, the wolf finished circling him, and seemed to be contemplating something. Soon, a small grin formed on the wolf's muzzle, "So, you thought that you could just waltz in here and ask to join our clan?" he asked, slightly amused. A few of the other wolves chuckled as well.

"Pretty much. I have been trying to find where I belong in this world," Balto replied, "I thought that I might belong with the dogs in the human town, but now, I am not so sure. I thought that I could try my luck with the wolves in the wild."

"Hm, you have been drawn to both the world of the dogs and the world of the wolves," the wolf said, "In most cases like that, it is because the one in question is half and half, unsure of what they are." Balto grew a little more nervous; would they treat him a little better than the dogs in town if they knew he was half dog? "Is that true with you, because you certainly look like one of us," the wolf asked.

Balto hesitated, but he knew that he might get in even more trouble if caught in a lie, so he decided to be truthful, "Yes, it is true," Balto replied, "For so long I rejected my wolf side, thinking I was meant to be with the dogs in town. However, I have recently come to accept the part of me that I pushed away for so long. I've accepted that I am half wolf."

"You rejected your wolf side; could that be why you also rejected our previous invitations?" the wolf asked, catching Balto off guard.

"I don't think I know what you mean," he said.

"Don't you recognize me?" the wolf asked, "I know I recognize you. I was the one who howled for you while out with a couple of my packmates several days ago." At this, Balto now recognized him, along with a few of the other wolves.

The day of the most recent dogsled race, Balto had come home after being picked on once again by Steele and his gang. The taunting only furthered his rejection of his wolf side, and as he approached his boat, he caught a strange scent in the air. He sniffed for a moment before finding out what it was. Standing at the top of a nearby hill were a group of four wolves, led by a brown male. The lead wolf arched his head back and let out a long howl. However, Balto did not reply; he did not want to accept his wolf side, and refused to howl back to them. Seeing that he wasn't going to respond, the brown wolf left with his companions.

Now, Balto was in front of the same brown wolf, this time as someone who had accepted their wolf side, "You… it is you. You were the one who howled for me," he said, a little dumbstruck at this revelation.

"Yes. While some were wary of inviting an outsider, I didn't want to leave you out there," the wolf replied, "You would have been a target for the humans, and enough of our kind have fallen victim to their devices." It was true; in the past, the humans didn't react too kindly to having a half-wolf in their midst. There was one incident in particular in which the butcher had thrown his meat cleaver at Balto's head in frustration, almost taking Balto's head off in the process, "What is your name friend?"

"My name is Balto," he replied, feeling more secure around this wolf, "May I ask what your name is?" he asked.

"My name is Maska," he replied, "It's nice to meet you Balto. Everyone, come say hello to Balto," he called out, and all of the wolves came up to greet him. Most gave him a simple hello, while some also gave him a quick sniff to learn his scent. Even the pups came to meet him, with one nipping at his tail before being scolded by its mother.

"I hope I wasn't too rough with you there," the red-brown female said to him, "I'm Anya by the way."

"It's nice to meet you Anya, and no you weren't too rough with me. I'm a pretty tough guy so it's going to take more than that to rattle me," he replied, causing her to smile.

"Balto, when I last saw you, you seemed to be out on your own; what happened to your parents?" Maska asked.

"Truth be told, I don't know the fate of either of them," Balto replied, "My father was a husky, but I never knew him, and I only knew my mother from when I was very small. She was a snow-white wolf, and I remember her telling me about how my father was a champion sled dog. She said he had gone to somewhere that she couldn't follow. To this day, I have never known what she meant by that."

"It could mean that your father was taken far away," Maska suggested, "Or it could mean that he had been killed."

"However, she always spoke highly of him, so they must have loved each other," Balto continued, "She said that my pop would have been proud of me if he ever saw me. Then one morning, she went out hunting and never returned. I was only a couple of months old at that time."

"My goodness, to have survived on your own without anyone to look after you is astounding," Anya said, "You must have been very resourceful for one so young."

"I was, though I did have some help from a few who took a liking to me," Balto replied.

"Earlier, you mentioned that you had rejected your wolf side for most of your life," Maska said, "Tell us, what caused you to change your mind?"

"Well, that's a bit of a long story," Balto said.

"Ah, but we wolves love hearing stories. It is how we learn about life and about each other," Maska replied, "Everyone, gather around. Our new friend has a bit of a story to tell," he called and the rest of the wolves gathered in a circle, with Balto in the center.

All eyes were on him, but this time it was not out of spite. Instead of the dogs who gathered to pick on Balto, these wolves had gathered to listen to his story; to learn more about who he was, "I have only known them for five minutes and they're already giving me the chance that most of the dogs never did," he thought, "Alright, this story actually begins shortly after you last saw me," he started, "Several of the human children had fallen ill, and they needed medicine from far away…"

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Kaltag and Jenna continued following Balto's trail, all the while listening for any sound of him. The trail was a few hours old by now; they would have to move quickly if they wanted to catch up with him. At first, they walked in silence, until Jenna finally asked something that had been on her mind, "Kaltag, I want to know something," she