the gravelly voice said. Balto instantly recognized the voice as the musher from the serum run, another one of the many lives he had saved.

"Same here Gunnar. How's your head holding up?" Eric asked.

"It's doing great, thanks for asking," Gunnar replied, "The doc insisted that I have it checked out every few days to make sure that everything is still working fine."

"That's doctors for ya, always wanting to check and recheck," Eric chuckled, "So, I hear that you've made ol' Kaltag the lead of your team."

"You heard right," Gunnar replied, "With Steele missing, I need a good dog to lead my team, and Kaltag's got a pretty good head on his shoulders."

"He must be a pretty good sled dog if he meets your standards," Eric said.

"He is, but he isn't at the level that Steele was at," Gunnar mused, "I'm still trying to find out what happened to him."

"I know what happened to him. I know it all to well," Balto thought.

"Oh, but the mystery only adds to the fun of the story. There's the fact that you managed to get home through that fierce blizzard at all, along with how you were found by Balto, who took Steele's place to get you home," Eric continued.

"Now that's the part that just doesn't make sense to me. How did that stray mutt manage to find us?" Gunnar asked, "We were far from home and off any trail. The odds of a stray wandering out and finding us are…"

"…Astronomical," Eric continued, "The only way I can think of anyone or anything coming to your rescue is if they knew what was going on."

"How would a mutt like him know that we were in trouble?" Gunnar asked, "Besides, why would he even help in the first place?"

"Who knows what goes on in a dog's head," Eric replied, "I'm just glad that you guys made it back in one piece. After we heard that you missed your checkpoint, we started to lose hope. We thought that you wouldn't come back at all."

"That's right, I almost didn't come back, considering I'd been knocked out. I guess the major turning point happened after I was knocked out. That must have been where Balto came in," Gunnar said.

"Which brings us back to the first question: What happened to Steele that prevented him from returning with the team?" Eric asked, "Maybe when you were knocked out, Steele was hurt too and he couldn't go on."

"Maybe," Gunnar said, "Or maybe… that Balto had something to do with it."

"What are you saying?" Eric asked. Balto perked his ears up as well. He wanted to know what he had to say as well.

"Well, it's just that the team could've easily come home with Steele and Balto together. However, Steele didn't come home, only Balto did." Gunnar started.

"What exactly are you getting at?" Eric asked.

"I want you to think about it Eric; Balto isn't exactly the most trustworthy dog out there, and more than once he has shown hostility towards humans and dogs," Gunnar said, "I mean, after the race to choose who would fetch the medicine, he snarled and looked ready to snap at me."

"That was only because Steele stomped on my paw. Trust me, it wasn't personal," Balto thought.

"Plus, the butcher caught him breaking into his meat locker the day before, along with all the scuffles that he got into with the other dogs in years past," Gunnar continued, "Wolfdogs are known to be unstable, and they are known to have an animosity towards other dogs. I think… I think that mongrel did something to my lead dog. He did something to him while I was knocked out."

"But what about your other dogs? He could've hurt them too, but he didn't," Eric said, "Besides, they seemed to accept his leadership pretty well if you ask me."

"That's the other thing; normally sled teams don't just let another dog take over. They follow only their pack leader, and will only follow another if the current leader is… forcibly removed, if you get my meaning," Gunnar said.

"You're not actually thinking that… Balto might have killed Steele are you?" Eric asked.

"Maybe, or maybe he just hurt him enough to prevent him from running. I wouldn't put it past him, considering what he's done in the past," Gunnar replied, "A year ago, he roughed up Steele so badly that he couldn't run for two weeks."

Balto felt his stomach knot up as he heard this; they were actually thinking that he might've attacked Steele out there, when in fact it was the opposite, "I don't believe this! I saved your life too; doesn't that count for anything? Don't my good deeds count for anything in this town?" Balto thought, "Would you still be thinking that he had been hurt if another dog came for you, or is it just because I'm half-wolf?"

"Though, I still have some hope that I'm wrong. Steele was always my favorite, and I'd love to get him back. I even sent out a telegram asking for any information about him, in the hopes that someone else can find him," Gunnar said, sending another shot of alarm running through Balto. If Steele managed to come back, it would all be over.

"And if you don't find him?" Eric asked.

"Well, then I suppose I can train Kaltag to serve as his replacement," Gunnar said, "I'm only hoping that he's up to the job."

"Well if thing's don't work out with ol' Kal, have you ever thought of taking Balto in?" Eric asked, giving Balto one last ray of hope. If you could be accepted into the sled team, then maybe that would finally make things start to turn around. Unfortunately, like all of his previous hopes today, it would be dashed before he could even start to enjoy it.

"Absolutely not," Gunnar replied, "I don't care what he did, I still don't trust half-breeds. Wolves don't make good sled dogs."

This was the last straw, and Balto stormed out of the crawlspace. Despite everything he had done for them, not even the human musher that he had saved trusted him. Instead, he suspected him of harming Steele and taking over the team by force. He was still viewed with suspicion, meaning that he had gotten his hopes up for nothing, "Despite what I have done for them, they still suspect me of wrongdoing, all because of what I am. From day one, this is what I've had to put up with. Even when I was a pup, they never saw me as a lonely stray; they only saw me as a dangerous wolf, and made sure to treat me as such."

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

Two and a half years ago

Steele led Nikki, Kaltag and Star through the town, occasionally stopping to sniff at the ground, "Hey boss, what are yous looking for?" Nikki asked.

"That little half-breed," Steele replied, "He's around here somewhere." At first, the three dogs were a little confused as to what he meant, but they would get their answer when Steele picked up the scent he was looking for, "Aha! I've got you now you little whelp," he growled and followed the scent. The group followed him until the reached a small alley and peeked around the corner. In the alley was a young pup, probably no older than when they had started their own sled training, which would put him at about six to eight months old. He had a very skinny build, which was a clear sign of living as a stray.

"Is that him?" Star asked, "He looks so young; what's wrong with him?"

"It's quite simple Star," Steele replied, "That pup over there is no ordinary up; it's actually a half-wolf. I think one of the human kids started calling him 'Balto' or something like that." This instantly got the attention of the trio. Ever since they were young pups they had heard the tales of vicious wolves and wolf hybrids who preyed on unsuspecting dogs. The fact that that there was a wolf hybrid living right on their doorstep sent waves of fear through them. Despite that, Kaltag still had his doubts. A full grown wolf was one thing, but this was only a pup they were dealing with. That hardly seemed fair.

"Uh, boss, I'm wondering if this pup really is worth it," Kaltag started, "I mean, he's just a little guy - we'd have an unfair advantage."

Steele looked at him with a scowl on his face, "What? Don't tell me you're one of those lobo-loving pansies," he said, causing Nikki and Star to chuckle.

"No, I'm not. I'm just wondering why him; what has he done to us?" Kaltag asked.

"He's done plenty; that little pup bit me unprovoked and I'm sure he'd do it again to me or any of you if given the chance," Steele replied, "Besides, little half-wolves eventually grow up into big half-wolves. Then we'll see just how much damage he can do!" The three of them gulped at the thought of having a big half-wolf chasing them around town. None of them wanted to face down a full-grown hybrid, "Besides, we're not going to do much; we're just going to scare him off, that's all. He has to know that there's no room for wolves in a dog's town."

Despite his misgivings about going after a small pup, Kaltag thought that it would be okay if they simply chased him off, "Besides, I'm not some lobo-loving pansy. Chasing him around might be fun too," he thought as they crept around the corner and started to approach Balto. He was simply sniffing around, but when he saw Steele and his companions, he froze for a moment before dashing away from them, while Steele and the others gave chase. Balto may have been small, but his legs carried him quickly across the ground, before turning into