avoid Balto's gaze after that question, but Kari came over and nudged him. "You should tell him; it might be important," she whispered.

"But it's… alright, this morning wasn't the first time we've seen these wolves," Spitz started. "A few weeks ago, we were looking for a new range for our human to hunt caribou. After a few days, we finally found a valley to the northeast where they were plentiful, but soon after we started hunting, they started to appear. It started small, with them just stalking us, but then they became bolder, charging at us and snapping at us while our human was away. Today was the worst when they full out attacked us, warning that it wasn't over when they fled."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Balto asked. "If we had known, then we would've had some warning of what they would do tonight."

"You didn't ask," Spitz snidely replied, earning a cross look from Balto. "Besides, this is something that concerns only my team, not you. If you're so smart, then tell me why they've been doing this to us and why they decided to attack our supplies as well?"

"Hm, that's a good one," Balto mused. "They went after your harnesses and traps, both of which you use when hunting and… oh that's brilliant," he said, his face lighting up as a new idea entered his head.

"What? What's so brilliant?" Spitz asked.

"The wolves plan; they came in response to your hunting and tried to stop it," Balto explained. "After all, it'd be pretty hard to go out hunting if you didn't have any traps or if you couldn't tie yourselves to your own sled. You gotta hand it to them, they sure are crafty, but we wouldn't have this problem if you hadn't gone on their property."

"That's not my fault!" Spitz exclaimed. "How was I supposed to know? It's not like they have big, lit-up signs saying 'no trespassing'."

"I know, and it's okay Spitz," Kaltag reassured him. "Look, it's been a hectic night. Maybe we should all go home and get some shut-eye." All the dogs agreed. They started to mill out, but as Balto and Jenna started to leave he held them back. "Guys, there's something I want to ask you," he said. They stayed back waiting until they were the only ones left. "Wolves… it seems like since the serum run we've been running into them more and more," he started.

"True... the first was Maska's pack," Balto continued, referring to a wolf pack he had sought out a couple of weeks ago. He had been having trouble adjusting to the town and had started to wonder if his place was actually in the wild. He went out and encountered a friendly pack, led by a wolf named Maska. They were willing to accept Balto, but when Kaltag and Jenna realised he was missing, they followed him and met the pack as well. Jenna and Kaltag convinced Balto to come home, but he still promised to keep in contact with the wolves that had made him one of their own. "Now we have this group that's coming after us."

"You don't think that these wolves are with Maska do you?" Kaltag asked.

"No. When I last saw Maska, I got a good look at all of them - none of them were here tonight," Balto said. "Besides, going after dogs like this doesn't seem like Maska's style. He seemed okay with you two when you came to find me, so I don't think that he'd want to hurt any dogs. These wolves are a different pack, one that we don't know."

"They may not be from Maska's pack, but maybe he does know them," Jenna suggested. "If anyone would know who the wolves in the area are, it would be him."

Balto nodded. "I agree; first thing in the morning I'm going over to ask him."

"Alright, in the meantime you two take care," Kaltag said before they left the mill and went their separate ways, with Balto accompanying Jenna home. Their walk passed in silence, as both were still on edge from earlier. A rustling in one of the alleys caught their attention, causing Jenna to jump back, but it was nothing more than some paper blowing in the wind. As she watched it flutter away, she realized that she had jumped back into Balto, leaning into his side. He reassured her with a nuzzle and they continued on.

For Jenna, having Balto around was very comforting, especially considering the events of that night. He had been there for her before, and she knew that he would continue to be there for her, acting as her protector and her friend. Soon they reached her home, stopping at the entrance to the shed that she stayed in. "Good night Jenna," he said as he nuzzled her again. "Don't worry; I'm going to find out what's going on soon."

"Balto, wait," she said. She paused a moment, as if uncertain what to say. "I was hoping that you'd… stay with me tonight. With everything that's going on right now, I'd appreciate having someone there in case...," she trailed off, pressing into his neck. She broke the nuzzle and he nodded, following her into the shed. He settled himself down first and she leaned into him, feeling his side rise and fall with each breath. He leaned over and rubbed her neck with his chin. The effect was soothing enough that both canines were soon fast asleep with each other, snuggling just as they had the night after he returned with the medicine.

---

The rest of the night passed quickly, and as morning broke, Balto woke up with his head resting on the still sleeping Jenna. "She always looks so peaceful when she sleeps. It's as though she thinks the world can't hurt her... although part of that might be having me around," he thought as he got up and stretched the kinks out of his body. Spying a nearby water dish, he went over and found the cold from the night had caused a thin film of ice to form on it. It gave way when he pressed his paw down on it, revealing some water that he lapped up to quench his thirst. As if by magic, Jenna woke up moments after Balto had left her side and looked over to see Balto taking a morning drink. "Oh, I hope you don't mind, I was just thirsty," he said when he saw her awake.

"It's fine, just make sure you leave some for me," she replied as she got up. "I take it you're leaving soon?"

"I should; the quicker I can get answers, the quicker I can resolve this for everyone," Balto replied. He noticed the slightly disappointed look on her face, and thought that she probably didn't like him leaving her so quickly. "However, if you're available… you could… come with me," he suggested.

"Well, today is a weekday, so Rosy would be in school and her parents would be working or in town," she replied with a hint of a smile. "I think I could slip away and get back before they got home."

Balto grinned. "Then it's settled. Besides, it's probably best that I don't travel alone, considering what happened last night. I'm sure Maska would be glad to see you again too," he added and she broke into a grin. They waited to make sure that everyone in the house had cleared out for the day before slipping away and out of town. Jenna had met Maska and his pack once before, and while they were a little on edge about having a dog come into their territory, once they found out that she was a friend of Balto's they graciously let her in. Maska seemed like a very kind wolf, and his pack definitely had a gentler disposition than the group that had raided Nome last night. As they walked, Jenna wondered if most wolf packs were like Maska's, or the ones that came in the night.

After a couple hours of walking, Balto found himself in the same place that he had first encountered the wolves in the area. That time, he howled out to catch their attention and ended up getting caught. Knowing that it would be best to announce himself, he arched his head back and howled; a canine way of ringing the doorbell. He wouldn't have to wait long, as he soon heard a reply only feet away. It turned out that someone had been waiting for him to come, and he recognized the red-brown wolf that answered his call. It was Anya, one of the wolves who had first found him. After howling back, she rushed towards him, tail wagging and with a giant smile on her muzzle. "Balto!" she cried as she crashed into him, knocking him over. "It's about time you came back! I missed you! You too Jenna," she exclaimed, acting like a puppy who was happy to have her parents home.

"It's nice to see you too Anya… but could you please get off my chest?" he groaned and she let him up before giving him a quick tap on the muzzle with her nose. Balto knew she was being friendly, but it caused Jenna to raise her brow at the young female.

"So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?" Anya eagerly asked. "Did you want another hunting lesson from your favourite teacher?"

"Her-hem," Jenna coughed. "Actually, we're here because we need Maska's help with something," she said, slightly annoyed with the attention she was giving Balto.

"Alright, just follow me," she said, and Jenna and Balto followed her deeper into the woods. There were a few things that Jenna wanted to make clear to her, so he went ahead to talk with her one on one.

"Well, you sure are happy to see Balto," Jenna said to her.

"Of course I am; I haven't seen him in a while and he's such a nice guy to have around," Anya said.

"I