Mulu and nudged him with his nose. "I don't blame you either. He did what he did for his love of you, me, and our way of life. We don't leave our pack brothers to die."

"He told us to stay there while he drew the bear away," Mulu said sadly. "If... if I had gone after the bear instead, then maybe..."

"Then maybe you would both be dead," Dakarai said, more harshly than he intended. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Mulu. I don't blame you. My son was my beautiful shining star, but he knew as well as you do that in my pack every wolf's life has equal value. And you know that if given the choice I would also gladly give my own life for any one of yours, just as he did. We are too few in number to believe any differently if we are to survive."

Dakarai got up and turned to sit in front of Mulu. "He died doing what he had to do, and that's enough for me. It should be enough for you too."

Mulu looked up at Dakarai, and saw the pain in his eyes. "Yes, my alpha," he said meekly, not willing to push the matter any further. He got up and approached Nightfall, who was still quietly sobbing into her son's coat. "I am unable to express how sorry I am, my lady," he said. "I owe your son my life. I will never forget what he did for me."

Nightfall didn't respond, and Mulu lowered his head and walked over to the bear. He wasn't hungry either, but he tore a chunk off with his teeth, then slowly walked back to his den as the first snowflakes of the oncoming storm blew through the air.

###

Chapter 3: Late Last Night

Balto had been running for almost eight hours, and he had been slowed down by the increasingly bad weather. He was very tired now, but refused to slow down or rest. He knew he couldn't rest in White Mountain either, because his son's life was at stake. He was close though, and he pushed through his exhaustion and the snow flurries to finish the last stretch into White Mountain.

Finally he saw the lights of White Mountain in the distance, and ran for everything he was worth against the storm to get there. At long last, he had arrived. His only thoughts during his journey there had been of Jenna and Kodi, and he was determined to save his son at any cost. He ran into town and down the main street, and found the vet's office. There were no lights on and the door was locked.

Balto began to panic, as he wasn't planning on waiting until morning for the vet's office to open. He began to scratch the door and whine, and then he began to bark. After barking for a minute, he saw a light moving around inside the office. The door opened, and an older man with white hair and a beard stood there with a lamp in his hand.

"Balto? Is that you?" he said as he brought the lamp down to get a better look at the dog sitting on his doorstep."It is you, isn't it? You are one amazing dog, my boy. Come in, come in. I've been expecting you." He stood aside and motioned Balto to come inside, and shut the door behind him.

"Now, I want you to come over here and lie down. You must be absolutely exhausted." Balto whined, and pawed at the man's arm. He slid the leather bag off his neck and picked it up in his mouth, holding it towards the vet. "What's this?" the man asked. He took the bag and opened it, and read the prescription and the note the vet from Nome had written.

"Uh huh... uh huh... all right," he said as he read the note. "Don't you worry my boy, I'll get you what you need. But in the meantime, you lie down here on this bed. I've been waiting for you, and I've got some nice hot food for you. You lie down and I'll be right back."

Balto licked the man's hand, and he scratched Balto's head in return. "You're a good dog, Balto, and a good papa to do all this for your pup." He went into the other room, and Balto lay down on the bed. It felt so good to lie down after running for so long, and he allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment. He was woken up by the smell of something hot and delicious under his nose.

"There you go my boy, a nice bowl of beef stew for you. This will help get your strength back for the trip back to Nome." Balto was suddenly very hungry, and ate like he hadn't eaten in days. The vet rubbed Balto's head and back while he ate. "You're a very brave dog to come all the way here in the middle of a storm," he said and continued to rub Balto's back and shoulders. "But doing crazy things for your children, this is something I can understand. I would do anything for my kids. We're not so different are we, you and I?"

Balto, who had finished eating, turned to nuzzle the doctor. "I didn't think so," he said with a smile. He patted Balto's head and picked up the bowl that was now empty. "You rest now, my friend. I'm going to get the medicine ready for you." Balto lay his head down between his paws and relaxed. The bed was so comfortable and warm, and he felt so good he could barely keep his eyes open long enough to watch the vet take the antibiotics and put them into the leather bag, then put the bag down on the floor near Balto's head.

"Good night, my friend. I can see now why you're called the hero of Nome. You're something special, and they're lucky to have you."

###

"Please come back to our den, my love," Dakarai implored his mate. Nightfall had not allowed anyone to touch her son's body, and she refused to move from him. The storm was in its full wrath now, and the temperature had dropped to a deadly low. She and her son's body were covered in snow and visibility had degenerated to almost nothing.

Dakarai lay down next to his mate. "Please, my love. You can't stay out here, you'll die."

"Better to die than to live without my son," she said with a bitterness that Dakarai had never heard in her voice before. Taken aback, he looked at her with pain in his eyes. She would not meet his gaze.

"Nightfall... I have already lost a son today. I can't lose my mate, too. I won't." She lowered her head at hearing this. "Please... please come back to our den." His voice was strained from crying. "I... Kantu's death is hard enough on me as it is, I don't think I can face it without you."

Nightfall turned to face her mate. "I... I'm so sorry, Dakarai." she wept. "I didn't think about how hard this is for you too." She nuzzled his face. "I will come back, but we have to bring our son with us. I will not leave him out here alone."

Dakarai got up and went to the mound of snow that was covering his son, and he put his head under Kantu's body and lifted it onto his back. He shut his eyes against the storm and struggled back to his den with his mate at his side.

When they arrived back at their den, Dakarai placed Kantu's body on his bed against the back wall where it would be safe from the storm. Nightfall sat down next to her mate and lay her head on his shoulder. They sat quietly together as they watched their beloved son's motionless body lying on his bed as though he was just sleeping and might awaken at any time.

Dakarai sighed and went to lie down on their bed of furs in the back corner of the den. "Please, my love, come lie with me. We both need to get warm, and I need to feel you near me." Nightfall responded by going to their bed and curling up inside her mate's embrace. "I'm sorry, my love," she said as she nuzzled his face. "I wasn't thinking about anyone but myself. I am ashamed of how I spoke to you."

"It's all right," he assured her. "As long as you're with me now, that's... that's all that matters," he said as the tears he had been holding back began to come to the surface. "It's just the two us now, and we have to... have to stay close to each other. I miss my son so much," he began to sob. "I - I only wanted to tell him how much I loved him one more time."

Dakarai cried into his mate's fur. She began to cry with him, as they held each other. The storm continued to rage outside, growing more fierce with every passing moment, with winds that threatened to blow through their caves and freeze them all. And yet for all the storm's fury, there was not a member of the Falling Leaf Tribe who did not hear their alpha's howls of sorrow that night.

###

It was a warm, sunny day, and Balto was running around on the beach with his children. The pups loved the sand and the water, and they alternately ran between Balto and the ocean, attacking each with equal vigor. Balto laughed as he watched his pups splash around and attack his legs. He walked back up to the warm sand and lay down, letting his pups climb all over him, yipping and growling. He loved this feeling, the feeling of being a father. There was nothing like it in the world, and he couldn't be happier.

He closed his eyes and felt his pups climbing over and around him, and he laughed. Suddenly he stopped laughing and listened. He could hear whining coming from his boat house just down the beach. He got up, focused on the boat and listened intently for any other sounds. He leapt up to the deck and looked around, then turned into the cabin and saw Kodi, lying motionless on his back on the floor.

Balto gasped and ran to his son. Kodi turned and looked right at him.

Papa, help me! I'm dying papa... save me...

Balto woke with a yelp, his heart beating so hard