he walked with authority towards the kill. He examined the elk and looked over at the yearling wolf, who was panting and covered with blood.

"You killed and brought the elk back on your own?" the alpha asked.

The yearling nodded, still breathing hard.

"Can anyone prove that he was not alone, or that he was assisted in any way?" The members of the pack all shook their heads.

The alpha walked closer to the yearling wolf, and took a close, hard look at him. "Didn't get him without a fight, did you?"

The yearling wolf smiled and shook his head. "He was a fighter."

The alpha looked at the younger wolf for a moment, and smiled. "You have done well, my son. I am proud of you." He turned to address the rest of the wolves. "As you should all be proud of him. He has completed the rite of adulthood, and is now a full fledged member of the pack and will be given all the rights, privileges and responsibilities thereof."

He turned to look back at the yearling wolf, who was now smiling broadly. "You have earned your place in the pack, not by right of birth, but by proving your worth through deeds and action. You are Kantu of the Falling Leaf Tribe, and on this night, we howl for you."

The pack erupted into a chorus of howls, long and clear, signifying their acceptance of Kantu into the pack as a full member. As the howls died down, the alpha nuzzled his son's face. "I am so proud of you, my son. I knew you could do it."

"Thank you, papa," Kantu replied happily.

"And now," the alpha addressed the pack, "the feast may begin." He walked to the center of the feeding circle and took the first bite, and nodded to the others to begin. The wolves descended on the elk, tearing it to pieces. Kantu watched from outside the circle, happy that he would finally be accepted as a full member of the pack, and proud that he was able to prove himself without his father's or anybody else's help. He had heard the muffled conversations, the hushed words that expressed doubt about his ability to contribute to the pack. "It's only because he's the alpha's son," they said. "He wouldn't be able to complete the rite of adulthood."

Now he had left no doubt as to how well suited he was to be a part of the pack, and the hushed conversations would stop. He picked up some snow to try to clean his head, and an older female approached him. She was beautiful, and as black as the night sky. Her eyes shone like two bright blue diamonds from the recesses of her face, and she dropped a large chunk of meat at his feet.

"Thank you mother," Kantu said. The black wolf sat down next to him and began to clean him. "I was scared you wouldn't return, but your father assured me you would. I am so proud of you, and so glad you're okay." She leaned against him and nuzzled him.

Kantu nuzzled her in return. "I'm fine, mother. I'm just happy I was able to complete the rite."

"That you did, son," said the alpha wolf as he sat down next to Kantu on the other side. "Now eat the meat your mother brought you. You earned it." Kantu's parents both leaned in to nuzzle their son, and left him to eat in peace. "Thanks mother, papa," he said. They turned to smile at him and went back to the feeding circle.

Later that night, Kantu lay awake in the alpha's den as his parents slept nearby. He looked out at the stars and thought about everything he had been through in the last couple days to become a real member of the pack. "It was all worth it," he thought. He finally felt like he was pulling his own weight, and not just being carried along because he was the alpha's son. He sighed and stretched. His leg still hurt a little but it was healing. Life was good, and right now, Kantu was going to enjoy it. His eyes slowly closed and he drifted off to sleep.

###

Chapter 2: Yesterday

"Jenna?" Balto asked quietly from the doorway. He nosed the door open and looked inside. Jenna was in her bed, licking one of the pups. Balto smiled and walked up behind Jenna and nuzzled her neck. "Good morning, beautiful," he said softly.

Jenna didn't respond, and she continued to lick one of the pups. "Jenna?" Balto was beginning to sense something was wrong, and he went around to the front of Jenna's bed to see what she was doing. She was licking one of the pups who had vomited, and he was just lying there.

"Balto, help me," she said. "There's something wrong with Kodiak."

"Kodi?" The pup was breathing, but he wasn't moving. Balto licked the pup's face and was surprised to feel how hot it was. "Jenna, he's got a fever," Balto said. "We have to get him to the vet."

"We need to get Rosy, so she can tell her parents," Jenna said. "I'll get her," said Balto as he got up and bolted out of the shed. He ran up to the front door of Rosy's house, and barked loudly. He barked and scratched until Rosy came down to open the door. She was still in her pajamas, and she rubbed her eyes at seeing Balto.

"Balto? What are you doing, boy? Why aren't you with Jenna in the shed?"

Balto barked in response, and gently grabbed Rosy's sleeve in his teeth and pulled. "Balto, let go!" she said as she stumbled outside onto the porch. Balto let go of her sleeve and whined at her, turning towards the direction of the shed.

"Wait... you want me to come with you? To the shed? What's the matter boy, is something wrong with Jenna?"

Balto barked and ran to the shed. "Wait for me!" Rosy yelled as she ran after Balto. She got to the shed and walked inside, and Jenna looked up and whined at her.

"What's wrong, girl? Is something–" Rosy got close enough to see Kodiak lying motionless on his back, as Jenna licked him to try to get him to wake up.

"Oh no..." Rosy whispered. Jenna whined and looked up at Rosy again. "I'll be right back you guys, we'll get him to the vet." Rosy ran out of the shed and into the house. "Mom! Dad! We have to get one of Jenna's puppies to the vet! He's not moving!"

###

"He's sleeping now, but it looks like he has Parvo," the vet said after examining Kodiak. "It can be pretty serious, and right now we need to keep him separated from the rest of the pups because it's highly contagious. I'll keep him here for now, but there's more bad news."

"Balto... " whispered Jenna.

"I'm right here, Jenna," he said. Jenna leaned on him and buried her face in his fur.

"I don't have the antibiotics I need to treat him. I can keep him on fluids, but that's not necessarily going to cure the virus. The most I can do right now is to try to bring his fever down, but if I can't get rid of the virus..."

The doctor didn't have to say anything else.

"No, Balto... no," Jenna began to cry. Balto felt his heart shrink in fear at the thought of losing his son, and he nuzzled Jenna gently.

Rosy's father began to speak. "But isn't there any way to get more antibiotics?"

"I could telegraph White Mountain, they're the closest town that might have something like that. But we need it quickly, the first few days are absolutely critical for treating this virus. If he survives past three or four days, his chances of pulling through will be much better. If White Mountain doesn't have a mail run scheduled to Nome in the next three days, it will be too late."

"Please do what you can, doctor. If there's any way to save little Kodiak, we have to do it."

The doctor nodded, and went to put on his coat. "I'm going to the telegraph office right now," he said. "I'll let you know when I hear back from them." He put his hat on and left, leaving Rosy's family, Balto and Jenna alone with Kodi.

"My baby," Jenna wept into Balto's fur, and a tear slid down his nose as he nuzzled her. Rosy sat down to hug them both. "He'll be okay, you guys," she said as she petted them. "I know he will."

"Come on Rosy, let's go home. There's nothing else we can do but wait," her father said. She gave Balto and Jenna one more hug and stood up to leave.

"Are you coming, girl?" she asked Jenna. Jenna whined in response and nuzzled Balto. "I understand. You can stay here with Kodi, I'm sure the doctor won't mind, right dad?" Her father nodded approval. "We'll see you later then, girl. Don't worry, Kodi will be fine," she said as they went out the door.

An hour later, the telegraph operator stopped by the vet's office to give the doctor a reply from White Mountain. Balto and Jenna's ears perked up as the doctor began to read the telegram.

TO VETERINARY OFFICE NOME - STOP - WE HAVE ANTIBIOTICS BUT CANNOT DELIVER - STOP - BAD STORM APPROACHING WHITE MTN - STOP - CANNOT RISK SLED TEAM - STOP - WILL SEND WHEN STORM CLEARS - STOP -

Jenna gasped. "No! Balto, it will be too late if they wait for the storm to clear!" Balto nuzzled her. "I know, Jenna."

He looked at Kodi lying on a blanket next to him, sleeping but breathing in shallow, labored breaths. "I won't let anything happen to my son. I won't. I don't care what I have to do."

The doctor put his coat on and went to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at Jenna and Balto. "I'm