voice said at the back of the team. It was Spitz, but not the Spitz he was used to. Gone was the cocky, puffed up husky that loved getting on his nerves. Instead there was someone who looked like his heart had been broken. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Kisa? Kisa, wake up love, you're home," Tikani said.

"Didn't mean for what to happen?" Balto asked. "Spitz, what did you do?" Balto looked over at the still wolf just as Tikani rolled her over, revealing the bullet wound in her neck.

Tikani stood with his jaw open, before looking at Balto in shock. Balto's heart skipped at least ten beats when he saw Kisa's dead body. He didn't know if he had been staring at Tikani for only a few seconds or if it was hours; it all felt the same after this defeat. Their only stake in this had been killed. He had promised Tikani he would bring her home safely, but even he couldn't have prevented this. Tikani started to make a pained groan, which grew into a low wail before climaxing as a cry of anguish. "She's dead! My Kisa is dead!" he bellowed.

"What in the world happened?" Balto demanded.

"She tricked me," Spitz replied in defense. "She said she could lead me to Kari, so I let her out. The humans spotted her and… shot her."

"You killed her! You killed my mate!" Tikani yelled. "YOU LIED TO ME!"

"No, it wasn't me! The humans spotted her and shot her. It was an accident; it wasn't my fault," Balto replied, starting to panic, but Tikani charged and head-butted him.

"Why did the humans spot her? I thought you said she was safe and hidden!" Tikani asked. "I trusted you, but you had your dogs set her up for slaughter!"

"No, it wasn't like that. She said that she would help me, but she was only trying to escape," Spitz explained. "I was the one who let her out and I'm sorry. I just wanted my sister back so badly."

"I told you to wait until I got back!" Balto growled. "I told you that I would get Kari back in time; why didn't you trust me to do that?"

"Because… because I've never trusted wolves," Spitz replied.

"I guess the feeling's mutual; I should've known that I couldn't trust any dogs," Tikani seethed. "We should've stormed the town and killed anyone our way to get her back... and I never should've wasted my time with this sham deal."

"No, that would've only made things worse," Balto protested. He could feel as his plan fell apart at the seams before him. It had taken hours to reach this agreement, and in only seconds, the actions of one dog had thrown a wrench into it. He knew he would have to act quickly if he was going to salvage the situation. "Tikani, I swear I didn't want this to happen to you. I feel terrible about what happened, but we can't throw away all the hard work we put in. Please, is there any way I can make up for thisl?"

"You think you can simply push this away? My mate is gone, and nothing, absolutely nothing can make up for that," he said angrily, fixing Balto with a burning gaze. "My Kisa's dead… and so is our deal."

"No, don't do this," Balto pleaded. "You can't quit now!"

"Yes I can! Remember Balto, you came into my territory and I only agreed on the condition that Kisa wouldn't be harmed. You promised that you would ensure her safety, but you didn't make good on that promise. This is on you... and you will pay for this."

"No… it's not my fault," Balto said.

"For your treachery… you will all DIE!" Tikani yelled out to his pack. "They killed Kisa, and justice must be served!" On his order, the wolves started to advance on them and the dogs on the sled jumped out of the harnesses to put some distance between them. Balto looked from side to side, but his group was outnumbered three to one. The wolves came in from all sides; there was nowhere to run.

"I'm so sorry Kari," Spitz said as the pack moved in closer.

"Spitz… why did you do this?" she asked.

"I never thought we'd go out this way guys," Kaltag said to Nikki and Star. "To know you has been the greatest, the most fun, the most exceptional-"

"We know," Star cut in.

"You didn't have to come Jenna; you didn't have to put yourself in danger," Balto said.

"You know I'd never leave you alone at a time like this. I'm with you all the way to the end," she replied. Tikani howled out, and the entire pack jumped at them at once, leaving the dogs no escape. Tikani slammed into Balto, knocking him over. While Balto tried to bite Tikani's leg to get him off, the wolf grabbed his neck, unable to finish him in one stroke, but still able to slowly suffocate him. Balto tried desperately to throw him off, but he was getting weaker from the lack of air. He had lost track of Jenna and everyone else in the fray, only hearing barking, growling and yelping.

"No, it can't end like this," Balto thought. Just as his vision started to darken at the edges, he felt another wolf violently impact him and Tikani, knocking the wolf off him and throwing him off to the side. He sprang up, ready to face this new attacker, but when the wolf turned to him, he saw that it was not a foe. It was… "Maska?" Balto cried out.

"I was afraid I'd be too late; a little birdie told me that you were in trouble," Maska replied.

"We?" Balto asked, and as he looked around, he saw that there were many more wolves than earlier. Some wolves were fighting each other, leaving the dogs alone. Finally, they broke away from each other and Balto realized that it was Maska's entire pack. They pushed Tikani's pack back, and formed up to act as a barrier in front of the dogs. "A birdie… oh thank you Anya."

"Masksa, what in the spirits name are you doing?" Tikani asked.

"I'm helping out a good friend here. I know what happened to Kisa, but that's not a good justification to murder all of these dogs, most of whom had nothing to do with her death," Maska replied. "You may not know this, but I've actually accepted Balto as an honorary member of my pack. At first, I thought this conflict between you and the dogs didn't have to involve me, but now that Balto is involved, I'd be a poor friend if I didn't look out for him. He's with me, and if you want to harm him or any of his friends, you'll have to answer to all of us." Tikani looked around, and saw that while Maska's pack was smaller than his, the dogs with them made up for that. The dogs had been encouraged by Maska's aid and now stood boldly against them, side by side with Maska's pack. "You don't have to do this Tikani; you can do what you could have done when the dogs first arrived. You can walk away with your pride and keep your pack safe from harm. Enough good creatures have been hurt in this and it's time to stop and walk away," Maska suggested. Tikani didn't want to let the dogs go, but he couldn't risk open war now: the casualties on both sides would be too great.

"Fine… you win this time wolfdog," he growled at Balto. "We'll let you go, but our deal is still off… and I won't forget what you've done to me," he finished before signaling to his pack to retreat. They left quietly, and it was then that Balto realized he'd been holding his breath the entire time. They had come so close to disaster, and it was only through Maska's actions that they were saved.

"Come, we should go too. I think everyone here has had a long day," Maska said. All present agreed and started to follow him out of Tikani's territory.

"Maska, thank you for coming, and thank you Anya for getting help," Balto said to them. "But I thought you wanted to stay out of this conflict to protect your own pack."

"I only wanted to stay out of things that didn't concern me, but you almost getting killed does concern me," Maska replied. "Remember, I did say that I would come and help if you were the one in trouble."

"Ya hear that Spitz; we were saved because Balto did have some wolf friends out here," Kaltag said. "I believe there's something you should say to them."

"… Thank you," Spitz said quietly; as someone who distrusted wolves, thanking them was something that seemed a little strange to him. The rest of their walk continued in silence, and it wasn't long before they had reached the edge of the woods. With a nod, Maska bid goodbye and his pack turned back into the woods, while the dogs trotted back towards their homes. Balto looked back and saw that Spitz was taking up the rear, with his head held down. As the initial shock of their peril and rescue wore off, Balto thought more about what Kaltag had told him. Spitz had a hand in this, and he wanted an explanation.

"Wait guys, there's something I want to know first," he said and they stopped just outside of the limits of town. He walked over to Spitz, staring at him coldly. "Is it true; did you let Kisa out and lead her to her death?" he asked.

"Yes… but I didn't want her to die. I never wanted her to die," Spitz replied.

"Then what did you want?" Balto said, trying his best to maintain his calm, as part of him demanded that he strike Spitz in retribution.

"I just