said.

"I could tell; you seem to enjoy giving him attention," Jenna replied dryly.

"Oh that? I was just being nice and saying hello to him," Anya said. "It's how wolves greet each other, nothing more… wait, did you actually think I was trying to woo him?"

"… Maybe a little," Jenna admitted, looking away.

"Oh… don't worry it wasn't meant to be like that, honest," Anya said. "I already know that you two are together and I would never try to ruin that. Maybe you should come here more often; you'd learn a few more things about how wolves act. As I said, you're lucky to have such a… dashing hero like him to sweep you off your feet."

This caused Jenna to giggle a little. "Hm, you may know we're together, but it still sounds like you have a bit of a crush on my Balto," she said in mock suspicion.

"No… okay maybe a little," Anya said, a little embarrassed. "You have to admit, the story of his journey to find the medicine is very exciting. It has everything someone would want in a great story: Adventure, danger, friendship-"

"Not to mention a little romance," Balto cut in, catching them by surprise.

"When did you start listening in on us?" Anya asked.

"I never stopped listening; my nose isn't the only thing that's sharper than average," he replied, before trotting up to catch up with them. "Yes, a budding romance with a certain red husky that I'd never leave, so she doesn't need to chase away every female that gives me a little attention," he continued, grinning. Jenna knew he was right, and felt a little foolish for jumping to conclusions.

"And it ends with the hero saving the day and winning his lady love," Anya finished.

"Hehe, look I think you have a fan," Jenna chuckled.

"Great, that's just what I need," he groaned.

"Oh, there's no need to take it like it's some burden," Jenna teased. "Besides, there was a point when even you needed to be saved. I recall jumping in to help you just before a bear took your head off."

"That you did, but that just shows how well we go together," Balto replied.

"Yeah, unlike our last town 'hero'," Jenna muttered.

"Steele?" Anya asked, and the two dogs nodded. Anya had heard all about Steele from Balto and knew how that pompous dog had managed to foul things up during the serum run, making it worse in his attempt to keep his glory. Eventually, the group reached the clearing that Balto remembered as the pack's rendezvous site. In the clearing they spotted Maska, who was a large, brown wolf, along with another female and two cubs. The adults were sniffing the ground and urging the cubs to do the same, teaching them how to hone their senses. When he heard them approach, he looked up, smiling.

"Ah, Balto, Jenna, it's good to see you," he greeted. He turned briefly to the others. "Excuse me while I go talk with my friends, okay?" he said to them. They nodded, and the female continued to instruct the cubs. Maska grinned broadly as he approached. "I was starting to think that you might've forgotten about me."

"Forget about you? I wouldn't be a very good wolf if I did something like that," Balto replied with a chuckle. "It's good to see you too."

Maska nodded to Balto and also gave a quick tap to Jenna's muzzle, just as Anya had done to Balto. Jenna was a little surprised at the greeting and she heard Anya whisper. "See, I told you; just a way of saying hello," before stepping away to let them talk with Maska.

"So, what brings you around to our parts?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, it's some trouble the town has gotten into," Balto said. "We were hoping that you could help us out with it."

"Oh? For a problem that affects dogs I'm not sure how I can help," Maska replied.

"Trust me, this one is right up your alley," Balto said, and he told Maska about the group of wolves that had attacked the town last night. He told him how they had harassed Spitz's team in the past, and how they tried to sabotage their future trips. "We managed to chase them off, but I have a feeling that they aren't going to let this go. After all, Spitz and his team will have to continue going out to provide food for themselves."

"Hm, that is a bit of problem," Maska mused. "I'm sorry that it had to be your town that got caught up in something like this."

"Thanks, but I want to know what we should do," Balto asked.

"First, I need to know what pack we're dealing with," Maska replied. "Where exactly did these earlier skirmishes occur?"

"Well, when Spitz told us about it last night, he said that they had started going to this valley to the north-east because game was plentiful," Jenna replied.

Maska frowned, thinking it over. "Hm, northeast of the town would place them roughly east of us, which would make it…" He stopped, and his troubled expression told them that he did not like the answer he had come up with. "It would make it... oh no, not them," he groaned.

"What is it? Do you know who attacked the town last night?" Balto asked.

"Yes, I do know them as they're one of the more difficult packs I've had to deal with," Maska replied, provoking a confused expression from Balto and Jenna. "Over the course of my life I've had to deal with a few neighbouring packs. With most of them it was easy as we promised to keep out of the way of each other, and to not poach their prey. However, there is one that currently sits to the east that is…"

"Violent?" Jenna asked.

"Not exactly; they tend to overreact when they feel threatened. That's probably why they turned hostile so quickly when your neighbours strayed into their territory," Maska replied. "Their alpha is a wolf named Tikani. He has a bit of a short temper, but he is not unreasonable. You just need to get his attention at the right moment."

"The only chance we have of stopping this is if we go and talk to them. Maybe if we explain ourselves, we can prevent anything more from happening," Balto said. "Can you take us to them?"

"I can take you… but I'm not so sure about bringing Jenna," Maska said, turning to her. "I'm sorry, but with Tikani's short temper I don't know how he'll react to having a dog like you come along."

"What? But I think I should come. I can help you two," Jenna replied and looked to Balto for support.

"I'd like you to come too… but so much could go wrong," Balto said.

"It could, but I'm willing to take that risk. As a citizen of Nome, I could provide the dog's perspective on this. I could help explain our actions to them," she said. "Besides, it's not like I'd be unprotected if you were there too.

"Well... you have a point there," Balto said, turning to Maska.

Maska thought this over for a moment before relenting, "Alright, but stick close to me. I don't know exactly what kind of mood Tikani will be in today." With that, he called another wolf over and told him where he was going before they departed to find, and hopefully reason with their quarry.

---

Chapter 3: The Face of the Enemy

As they walked through the woods, none of them knew what to expect when they would meet this other pack. Not even Maska knew what their disposition would be when faced with a dog and a dog hybrid. The alpha wolf was wary about bringing them, but he trusted them enough to follow their wishes. "I hope you two don't begrudge me for not wanting Jenna to come," he said. "I only wanted to look out for your safety."

"It's not a problem," Jenna replied. "I know you meant the best and I'm glad you cared enough to make it known, even though we're not a part of your pack."

"Just because you don't live and hunt with us doesn't mean I don't think of you as one of my own. You two will always be welcome with me, and while you are with me as guests, I consider your safety to be my responsibility," Maska said. "If anything were to happen to either of you on my watch, I'd never forgive myself."

"Oh, you don't have to have to go that far," Balto replied.

"I don't have to, but I want to. You're my friends, and my land is open for you anytime you want to visit, or if you need help," Maska said. "Speaking of helping, I'm wondering how well things are going in town for you. The last time we saw each other, you came to us because you were having some trouble in town."

"I was, but things have slowly improved," Balto replied. "I still get the odd look but… I guess with the support from Kaltag, Rosy, Jenna and others it doesn't seem so bad anymore. It's mostly Spitz that I get the attitude from, but after a while it's looking more like he's just full of hot air."

"He may be full of air, but he's also the one who's causing this trouble for you," Maska continued.

"Partly, but those wolves have their part in this too," Balto replied. "After all, they decided to come into town and make trouble."

"True, but that husky must still be quite a headache for you," Maska commented thoughtfully. "Who knows what else