by the snow. Uneasy, Sonya stepped behind the crates.

"TALTO!" she screamed.

It took about five seconds for the male to respond to his mate's cry. Talto was soon at the back of the house, his fur bristling. "Sonya? What's wrong? What happened?" he asked, looking around for any signs of other dogs.

Sonya was starring horror struck at something on the ground, and Talto trotted over to see. He felt his stomach drop.

Laying in the snow, partially covered now, was a wolf with fur as white as the fresh snow. It was female, and her white coat was stained with blood. A pair of ice blue eyes starred blankly ahead, glassed over and un-blinking.

As Talto looked closer, he saw that the wolf wasn't the only thing Sonya was starring at. Near the wolf's chest, a small clump of white fur was moving, barely, but enough for Talto to lean down to look. He was shocked to find himself looking at a pup. It couldn't be more then a few hours old, maybe days, but the fact it was still alive, even if it was just barely, was surprising.

"Sonya, take the pup inside, I'll go get Duke," Talto said.

Sonya looked at him, then nodded and gently took the pup in her mouth. Talto waited until she was around the corner of the house before taking off. His brother, the only other male from his litter, had recently joined the poilce force, and he had taken to the job like a fish did to water. Talto just hoped he'd be able to wake him up. Duke had always been able to sleep like a rock.

Luckily, Duke woke up easily for a change, and after giving him a brief explanation, the two brothers were back at the scene. Sonya joined them shortly.

Duke stood looking down at the body, frowning in deep thought. "Wolves come through all the time, but, as far as I know, this is the first time one's died in town," he said, though the thought aprently wasn't satisfying him, "She had a pup?" he asked.

Sonya nodded. "It's inside with the others."

Duke circled around the body once, still frowning. "I don't like it," he muttered, "Too much blood for an acident. must have been personal."

Sonya winced and Talto's tail twitched uneasily. Finnaly, Duke huffed and turned to them. "I'll take care of the body, you two take care of the pup. Let everyone think you had a late one, okay Sonya?"

Sonya blinked, but nodded. Duke turned to his brother. "I'll dig around, see what I can find. I doubt the pup's in danger, it looks like whoever it was was after the mother, but I'd rather be safe then sorry. This whole thing smells rotten, and I hate rotten."

Talto nodded. "Allright."

Duke told them both to go back to the house, which they did, and once they were inside, Sonya went over to the basket where the pups were sleeping. Talto joined her, and they both looked down at the new pup. It's fur was snowy white, while its ears were tipped soft tan along with the tip of its tail.

"It's a girl," Sonya said, "I, named her Lune," she added quietly.

"Fitting name," he commented. Sensing her unease, Talto could tell there was something she wanted to tell him. "Sonya?"

The gold female bit her lip, then nudged the white pup until it was facing them. Talto frowned, wondering what she was doing.

"Look at her forehead," Sonya told him.

Talto blinked, confused, but did as he was told. Leaning down, he looked at the white pup's forehead. He jerked back in shock and starred, bewelderd, at Sonya. "She, she has..."

"She has my mark, Talto."

Talto blinked, looked at the pup, then back at Sonya. "But how? Have, do you know if any of your siblings...?"

Sonya shook her head. "Ron's the only one besides me that has pups as far as I know. None of the others have said anything. And none of his pups have my mark."

Talto looked down at the small pup.

Where had she come from, and whose was she?

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Balto, Jenna, Rosie, Rosie's parents (c) Universal Studios

Other Characters (c) Me