probably due to his husky side, along with the memories of his mother describing his father as a great sled dog. Curious, he trotted ahead with Jenna following closely behind. The sled carried a rifle along with a caribou carcass; the team must have been out hunting. Most of the dogs he didn't know personally, but there was one that he did. It was Spitz, a smoke-grey husky who was in the lead position, and not a dog he was on the best terms with. As he got closer, he noticed that the team appeared a little roughed up. Their fur was mussed up, and a few dogs had scratches on them. "Hey there, is everyone okay?" he asked.

On hearing him, Spitz looked up with a scowl. "We're fine, it's none of your concern mutt," he snapped. However his remark caused the dog behind him to nip his rear.

"I told you to be less hostile," the female hissed at him before turning to Balto. "I'm sorry, what he meant to say was that yes we are fine, and we do appreciate your concern," she said, while Spitz rolled his eyes.

"Hello there!" Rosy's father called out to the team's musher. "Do you need any help with that?"

"Actually, some help would be fine," the other man replied. The two picked up the body before carrying it into the nearby home while Rosy stayed behind with the dogs.

"So what exactly happened; did that caribou beat you guys up?" Balto asked.

"No, we just had a run-in with a few wolves. Hey Balto, you're a wolf, why don't you tell me why your flea-bitten relatives are causing us so much grief," Spitz replied snarkily.

Balto grumbled at Spitz's remark, but decided to take the high road and simply answer him. "I may be only half wolf, but I know that a wolf or any animal would only attack if it was provoked. Did you say or do anything to these wolves before they attacked?"

"No, they just rushed us, claiming that we were in their territory," Spitz said.

"Did you check to make sure that you weren't?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah, if you were they would see you as intruders," Balto agreed. "Maybe it'd be best if you went somewhere else?"

"I don't tell you how to do things, so don't tell me how to do my own job! I know how to look after my own team!" Spitz snapped.

"Hey, no need to turn nasty on us," Jenna replied, "We only wanted to see if you were okay and if there was any way to help."

"I don't need your help; I've dealt with enough wolves today," Spitz sneered before his human came back and started removing the dogs from the harnesses. Once he was free, he stormed away, but the female behind him remained.

"I'm sorry for how my brother's acting," she said. "We didn't exactly have the greatest day out there. He's probably just venting."

"You're his sister?" Balto asked.

"Yep; Kari's the name," she replied. "I've heard quite a bit about you from Jenna and I'm glad to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, and I'm glad Jenna's already put a good word in with you," he said, smiling at Jenna before turning back to Kari. "Does your brother always act like this, or it just because of me?" Balto asked.

"It's not just you; he always gets antsy when he's wanting to protect those he cares about," she replied. "He means the best, but his methods are sometimes off. He may not be thrilled about your help, but I appreciate you looking out for us."

"Are you sure that there isn't anything we can do for you?" Jenna asked.

"… I don't know… but thanks anyway for the offer," Kari replied, albeit a little hesitantly. Balto and Jenna didn't have time to dwell on it as Rosy's father soon returned, taking them away to finish their walk.

"I hope that this thing with the wolves isn't too serious," Balto thought. "I'd hate to have this undo all of the trust I've earned here."

---

Balto got to finish his day with Rosy and Jenna by chasing a ball around their yard, and soon the afternoon gave way to evening. Balto accepted some treats from them before bidding Jenna goodbye to make his way back to his own home. Balto lived in a beached fishing trawler on the coast outside of town, but he wasn't alone. Rooming with him was an old Russian goose named Boris, who had acted as a mentor for him since he was small. Also with him were two polar bear cubs named Muk and Luk, who could be quite rambunctious if they weren't adequately entertained. As he walked down the dark streets, he took a moment to sniff the air. The townsfolk had mostly turned in for the night, but Balto could still smell traces of them. There were multiple signals, but Balto had managed to hold onto his wolf side's keener sense of smell, allowing him to sort them out. As he reached the edge of town, a new scent caught his attention. It stuck out because it was so different from the usual scents of the town and it was much fresher than the other scents on the ground. Taking a few more whiffs, he found that the scent was a slightly wilder musk… not one of a dog… but more like a… wolf.

This immediately struck Balto as very odd. Wolves were normally wary of humans and weren't known to wander into towns, preferring to stay in their own familiar territory. "Why would they be around here?" he thought. Taking another sniff he found that the scent wasn't anyone he knew, so it wasn't some friends coming to say hello. This was a group of strangers, and it put Balto on alert. He started to follow the scent, noting that there were maybe four or five different signatures traveling as a group. The trail led back into town and through the alleys, using them for cover in much the same way that he had in the past. Winding through the alleys, he eventually found himself near the backyard of a house where several sled dogs were fast asleep in the snow. That was where the trail ended; it didn't double back, nor did it turn another direction. "What? They can't have vanished into thin air," he said out loud, but a snicker soon answered his question above him. Before he could react, he was tackled from above and slammed into the ground.

"Heh, you dogs sure are stupid," a voice said above him and he looked up to see that he was staring at a wolf. Behind him was a stack a crates; he must have climbed up them to avoid detection. Soon he was flanked by two others. "It's a little late to be out doggy; shouldn't you be cozy at home with your masters?" the wolf holding him down taunted.

"I'm not exactly a housedog," Balto replied. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to repay a favour. You see, we've got a bone to pick with some of your friends. They've been causing some trouble for our pack," one of the flanking wolves explained, this one a female. She indicated to the dogs, and only now did Balto recognize them; it was Spitz and his team. "We're going to ensure that they think twice about invading our territory again."

These wolves were obviously here for Spitz and his team, and it made Balto wonder if these were the same wolves that Spitz had mentioned earlier in the day. Before he could shout out a warning to them, the wolf holding him down pressed his jaw shut with a paw as the other two started to advance on the dogs, teeth bared. Balto tried to squirm free, but the wolf holding him held firm. Knowing he couldn't force his way out, he quickly devised a new plan.

"Oo no, youref nof a mart af oo fink," Balto mumbled, catching the wolf's attention.

"What? What did you say?" the wolf asked, easing up on his paw.

"I said... you're not as smart as you think," Balto replied, grinning. Before the wolf had realized his mistake, Balto let out a piercing howl, instantly waking up all the dogs in the area. Spitz bolted awake and found one of the wolves only inches away. He screamed out and while the wolves knew their cover had been blown, they were still going to cause as much trouble as possible. The female wolf instantly jumped on Spitz, biting his leg before two other dogs jumped in to pull her off him. The wolf that had been holding Balto down rushed in to aid his comrades, but his departure allowed Balto to get up and chase him down. He bit into his hindquarters and pulled him to the ground, holding him there. The wolf thrashed around before kicking Balto square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and allowing him to escape. The third wolf joined the other two, but they soon realized that Balto's alarm, combined with Spitz's yell had alerted the rest of the dogs. A short distance away, they could hear the barking of more.

"So much for our surprise attack," the female wolf mused.

"Just what did you hope to accomplish?" Spitz barked, "You know that we outnumber you, so you'd never beat all of us."

"You're right, that's why we were hoping to surprise you," the female replied. "Besides, there are more ways to fight than a direct confrontation. A small group can do more damage than you think."

"Unfortunately, it seems our surprise has worn off early," one of the other wolves said. "I can hear more of them coming. What do we do now Kisa?"

"We'll have to get out of here," the wolf named Kisa replied, and all three instantly turned tail and ran. "We'll meet up with the others; maybe they had more luck."

"Oh no you