yourselves - I'll stay and buy you whatever time I can. You need every second you can get."

"Are you insane!" Balto exclaimed. "Trying to stand against them would be suicide!"

"Don't you think I don't know that," Mack barked. "I may be old, but my mind is still sound. I've lived my life and done everythin' I wanted to. If I'm goin' down, I may as well help give you a chance for the same life I had. I want you to live with your family, but the longer we sit here arguin' about it, the less time you will have."

"Are you sure?" Balto hated the idea of leaving someone behind, but Mack still nodded. Balto could tell he wasn't about to change the old dog's mind, and was grateful for the show of courage on their behalf. "And I thought I was brave."

Not wasting any more time they exited, taking one last look at the old dog. He had a small smile on his face, and urged them to get moving. He knew what was coming but accepted it. Not needing to share any more words, they turned away and broke into a run, finding the path to the mountains.

"He doesn't have to do this - he could try to save himself as well," Balto muttered.

"He could, but this is his choice. We may not agree with it, but we should respect it," she told him, echoing Maska's words from the previous day. He understood her meaning and as they disappeared into the dark wood, they both vowed to never forget the kindness and bravery of the old dog they'd only just met.

Mack took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he knew would come. He knew his time would come eventually, but he'd always thought he'd go out alone, peacefully in his sleep. In a way, this was a little more comforting. This way, he'd help someone else live their life like he had. 'Well, I guess I'll be seeing you soon Marion,' he thought as he heard the sound of paws heading towards him. He faced the door and sat down as a large, dark-furred wolf poked his head in. Without a word, he entered, followed by four other wolves. The first one led the way, so Mack surmised that this was Tikani, the one behind all of this. He simply stared at them, showing no emotion towards the intruders as they regarded him with curiosity.

"You aren't the one I'm looking for," Tikani stated.

"Maybe not, but I should tell you that you're trespassin' on my property… I thought wolves were supposed to be respectful of other's territories."

"Don't talk to me like that if you want to keep your mangy fur, you dog! You can make this easy and tell me where those two went."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about… and if I did, what makes you think I would tell you?"

"He's lying, they were here," another wolf added, sniffing at the rug Balto and Jenna used as a blanket. "Recently too - I'd say they left no more than a few minutes ago."

"Is that so?" Tikani said. "There's no point in lying old timer. They were here and I will find them. The question now becomes whether you want to help me, or if you just want to waste my time."

"I ain't goin' to help a sadistic bastard like you hunt them down. I won't let you slaughter two innocent dogs and their future family. If you had any decency left in you, you'd turn back and leave them be. If not… then let's just say that only a true monster would harm an expectin' mother."

Mack's reference to Jenna as expecting caught Tikani's ear, along with the ear of at least one other wolf, but none of them reacted on it. Inwardly, Tikani didn't care whether or not Jenna was pregnant, only that she and Balto were caught and brought to justice. "This is your last chance dog. What do you say?" he demanded, ignoring Mack's demand.

The old husky started coldly at him, without any fear as he uttered his response. "I say… You can go right to hell."

That was it. In one swift motion, Tikani grabbed Mack's neck in his jaws and swung his head, snapping his neck and throwing him at the old stove. He slammed into the cold metal before crumpling to the floor, but he never felt the impact. With a broken neck, he was dead before he hit the ground.

"Old fool," Tikani sneered as he left the cabin. He knew they wouldn't be far away, just leaving the question of where they went. Waiting outside was the rest of the pack, there to ensure that he had all the backup he would need. His party searched the area, and it wasn't long before one of them found a trail.

"Tikani, over here! There are footprints!" one of them barked, and sure enough, there were two sets of prints, one larger than the other. The prints led along a narrow, unused path. The prints were fresh as well, so they weren't far behind.

"Excellent - soon we will be able to finish this," he gloated, grinning widely.

"Wait, before we go, there's something that I want to talk with you about," a voice beside him requested.

Tikani turned to see it was Atka again, and he rolled his eyes. "What is it this time?" he grumbled before taking him a short distance away from the others.

"You heard everything that old dog said, right?" he asked. "If what he said about Jenna is true, that would mean she's with puppy."

"So what?"

"If she's carrying pups, then you must know what it means for this chase. I know you want justice for Kisa, but what about the laws of our kind when dealing with a case like this? They explicitly forbid-"

"I'm not stupid! I know what you're talking about, but I'm not going to abandon this chase either. We may be forbidden from harming pups or a mother with pups, but the way I see it, our laws don't apply to them. This isn't a fellow wolf pack - these are vicious dogs that we're dealing with!"

"But… what if-"

"If she has pups, that means there will be more of those dogs around!" Tikani continued, not stopping his tirade. "Is that what you want? Do you want more of those flea-bitten mongrels running around?" he growled. Atka opened his mouth to counter, but he was cut off again. "All I've heard from you are doubts and second-guesses and my patience is starting to run out! I had high hopes for you as my beta, but you're starting to disappoint me."

"I… I'm sorry. I only wanted to make sure you knew what we were getting into… but I see that you have everything covered," he said in defeat, looking towards the ground.

"Good. We've come too far to give up on this, and if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you keep your reservations to yourself. I'm going to need everyone focused on finding them, and not worrying about the husky's mongrel spawn. Can I hold you to that?"

"Of course," Atka replied, not bothering to lift his head back up.

"Good. You always were the loyal one Atka, and I appreciate it if you kept that up. The same goes for those two friends of yours. The three of you have proven to be invaluable to my pack, especially you as my beta," Tikani said, much calmer this time.

"Thank you," Atka replied, but his misgivings remained, hidden to maintain his show of loyalty. He remained quiet as they returned to the pack. Tikani called for everyone to move, and they started their journey up the mountain, while he said nothing. The morning sun was rising, but it soon became obscured by cloud cover and a new snowfall. Atka could sense a storm was starting to blow in, probably the last big burst for the winter. He may have owed much to Tikani for allowing his friends to join his pack three years ago, but that didn't stop him from doubting his alpha's actions. No matter what, he thought that the killing of a mother with pups was wrong, even if they were the pups of an enemy. His doubt was fuelled not only by his belief, but by his experience as well.

There was one thing about his past that no one except him, Faro and Salin knew. The three of them had been down this road before… and that road did not end well for a dear friend of theirs…

----------

The midday sun was high in the sky, but neither Balto nor Jenna would have known thanks to the driving snow they were fighting against. True to Mack's word, the path led to a mountain pass, but soon after they started their ascent, clouds obscured the morning sky. Snow started to fall, and the higher they went, the worse the snowfall became. Driven by fierce winds, the snow was a blowing white haze, obscuring anything more than a couple feet away. On either side, Balto could faintly see rocks rising up on either side, forming the walls of their path. He trudged forward through the thickening snow, his rugged build able to withstand the conditions and block out most of the cutting winds. He looked back at Jenna, but she wasn't faring as well. She was able to keep up, but was shivering from the biting gale, and the snow was hampering her progress. Despite the conditions, she was determined to keep moving. Her body would stay warmer while in motion, not to mention that it would keep them one step ahead of Tikani. If there was any silver lining to this storm, it was that it would help conceal them from their pursuers.

"Ugh, it just had to storm now," she grumbled, loud enough to be heard above the winds. "It always has to storm when you're out in the middle of nowhere."

"Heh, no argument here," he replied. He saw her stop and he backtracked to her,