hearts to fall instantly.

"What? Why?" she asked, "Balto's a good boy and he should have a home after being on his own for so long. Besides, he's the town hero!"

"Look, I know you like Balto and all," her mother started, "And what he did for all of us was wonderful, but your father and I talked about it. We don't feel comfortable having a stray like him in our home," she replied, "Besides, he probably doesn't know how to act in a home. He may cause trouble down the road."

"No he won't. He might not know everything, but maybe we could teach him," Rosy protested.

"Rosy, we've made our decision," her father said, "I'm sorry, but Balto will have to stay out."

"No," she said as she held onto him tighter. Jenna too had started to whine, and rubbed against Balto to try to show them how she felt too. However, their efforts would not convince him, as he grabbed Balto by the scruff of his neck, and Rosy was forced to let go while her father led him away. Unable to take this injustice, Rosy stormed off, sniffling while her mother followed to try to console her. Balto whined and tried pull away, but the man's grip was firm, and kept pulling him.

"No, please give me another chance. I saved your daughter's life for goodness sake and this is how you repay me? You were so willing to let me see her after I came back, and yet you're dragging me away now? What changed?" Balto thought as he was led out of the house and onto the street. He was left there while Rosy's father went back inside, shutting the door behind him. As Balto stood there, he realized that he had already seen this coming, "I knew it, I knew that it wouldn't be that easy; humans don't just take dogs off the streets into their homes, let alone half-wolf strays. I may have been the hero, but that doesn't change what I am. I'm still a wolfdog, and that's how most of the people in this town will always see me," he thought as he started to walk down the street, "Maybe Spitz was right, maybe my fifteen minutes of fame are over. I had my fun, but after that, it's back to being the same old wolfdog; the same old outcast." As he walked away, he failed to notice the dog that had crept out the back door and was following him.

Soon, Balto had trotted down an alley not far from Rosy's house, and lay down behind a stack of lumber as many conflicting emotions started to bubble up. There was the disappointment and sadness, but it was mixed with frustration and anger. It was a combination that he was all to familiar with by now, as it was how he usually felt whenever Steele or another dog picked on him, "I saved the day but everything still feels the same. They still treat me like an outcast."

He heard footsteps crunching along the ground, and he perked his ears up to listen. The footsteps approached the lumber pile, and soon, he saw Jenna poke her face into his hiding spot, "Balto, are you okay?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he replied solemnly as she came over to sit beside him. She nuzzled him to comfort him, but it had little effect on his mood.

"Balto, I'm so sorry about what happened there," she started.

"You don't have to be sorry," he replied, "In the end it wasn't your call."

"I know, but I wish that there was some way that I could convince them. Humans can be so stubborn about change sometimes," she said, "Why won't they see that you're a good dog?"

"They won't because in their eyes, I'm still half-wolf," Balto said, "I could do many good deeds; heck, I could even save the president's life, but it still wouldn't matter because I'd still be half-wolf."

"That shouldn't be what decides who you are Balto. They should look at your actions instead of your breeding. Then they would see that you were good, even before all those kids got sick," she replied.

"Are you sure? Face it Jenna, I wasn't exactly a saint in the past, and most of what people remember of me are the times when I got into fights with the other dogs," he replied.

Jenna thought for a moment, and remembered that there had been a few instances where Balto had gotten into fights, but it was mostly because he had been provoked. However, that didn't stop him from being labeled a dangerous mutt, "There is that, but most of those weren't your fault. If you were simply left alone, you were fine; then again, no one wanted to leave you alone... I guess what my parents said was true; life can be very unfair at times."

"Tell me about it; it's the story of most of my life," he replied.

"Well, if my owners won't take you in, then there has to be someone who would," she said, "Maybe someone else in town would take you in? It may not be with Rosy, but at least you'd have somewhere to belong. Everyone should belong somewhere in this world, and that includes you. I'm sure that somewhere out there is a place where you'll be accepted for who you are. It just might not be here."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe my place is somewhere else," he said.

Balto and Jenna gave each other another nuzzle before they heard a voice call out, "Jenna! Where are you? Come in girl!" It was Rosy's father.

"I'm sorry Balto, I really must go. I hope you have more luck elsewhere," she said before dashing off. As he watched her depart, he remembered that this was how their meetings had always ended in the past. She would always have to be called away by her owners, and he was never allowed to follow. Even recently, before the serum run, their time had been cut short by the calls of her owner. After all, she was a housedog, who was supposed to follow her human owners.

"In the end, we'll always be from two different worlds. She'll still be a housedog and I'll still be a wild half-breed. What kind of life would that be for us?" he thought, "Always having to cut our time short, never being able to spend all the time we wanted together. That's no way to live with each other," he thought before turning the other way and trotting out of the alley.

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Chapter 4: Seeking Guidance

In just a few short minutes, Kaltag had gone from feeling like the top dog to feeling like the town fool. He hadn't meant to say anything hurtful to Balto, but he couldn't deny that what he said was not the most flattering about him. However, what bothered him the most was what Balto had said before leaving.

"You can take charge and make things right…. but I guess you're more comfortable with following the status quo than being a leader."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums me up right there," Kaltag thought, "I've never really been much of a leader, always a follower. This morning was a wake up call to how much I have to change in order to make things better between us." Kaltag knew that he would need help on this, and he knew just who to go to. He made his way to his owner's home, which was a quaint cabin with a large yard in behind it. The yard had several dog houses set up, as the dogs that Kaltag's owner used for his racing team weren't the only ones that he had in his possession. He also had several other dogs that he used as alternates, along with a few older dogs that had grown too old for sledding, and now lived a comfortable retirement in his care. Kaltag entered the yard and passed by each of the small shelters, looking for a particular one. As he walked, he passed by one with the name "Steele" printed into the wood. The house was empty, but there was still a food bowl with some kibble sitting in front of it, "Our human must still be expecting him to come home. Though, if he knew what had really happened, he would know that he's not coming back," Kaltag thought. Passing a few more, he found the one he was looking for, with the name "Cain" marked into the wood, "Hey, Cain," Kaltag called, "Cain, are you home? I really need to talk to you."

Soon, the head of a dark grey husky poked itself out of the house, "Kaltag? I wasn't expecting you to come around. It's certainly been a while," he said as he slowly got out of his doghouse. Cain was one of the older dogs whose time as a sled dog had come and gone, but their owner still loved him for companionship. While his age had limited his mobility, he could still sometimes be seen around town, trotting along at his own pace.

"I know, but I'm here because I need some help from you," Kaltag replied.

"Oh really? That's interesting, because the last time I checked, you didn't want any of my help; you already had what you needed," Cain said flatly. Kaltag knew precisely what the old dog meant. Cain had offered to help Kaltag in the past, but he had shot him down, mostly due to Steele's influence.

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Two and a half years ago

It had been a few months since Nikki, Kaltag and Star had made their deal with Steele, and in that time, Kaltag had grown accustomed to following his lead dog's orders. After all, a team was supposed to follow the lead dog, and if you wanted to challenge him, you had to be ready to fight. Only the dominant dog would give orders on Steele's team, and he made it quite clear that only those that could beat him in a fight would take his authority from him. However, Kaltag had no reason to challenge him; Steele had turned out to be a great friend and so he trusted his judgment.

By now, Kaltag, Nikki and Star had grown past the point where they trained only with the other rookies, and were able to keep up with most of the older dogs. While he was still some time away from running his