way justice would be served is if you feel my pain."

"Of course… I should've known that even after what happened, you'd still be the same wolf that thinks an eye for an eye will solve everything."

"And you're still the same meddling half-breed who doesn't know when to not stick his nose in," Tikani shot back, baring his teeth. "You don't know what I've been through… do you have any idea what it's like to have someone you love ripped away from you while you're too far away to do anything about it?" he asked, his voice wavering with emotion. "Do you have any idea what it's like to love someone with all your being, to have someone be a part of you, then have that part destroyed by reckless negligence?"

Balto could see that Tikani was fighting hard to contain his grief. The wolf was in a very emotionally vulnerable state, but Balto knew that was an opening he could exploit. "I may not know what its like to lose a mate, but I do know what it's like to lose someone close to me," he started. "When I was just a pup, my mother… vanished. Without any warning I was left alone, with no one to support or love me." Tikani stopped for a moment and Balto went on, hoping to get through to him. "I do know what it's like to lose someone you love and it's something I wouldn't wish even on my worst enemy. There's been enough hurt to go around; you don't need to make it any worse," he finished, hoping his words would sway him.

"You lost her… but you never knew what happened," Tikani said softly. "Was it easier to not know?"

"A little. There's always the hope - however slim - that she's okay and that she's out there, waiting to find me," Balto replied.

There was a pause, but Tikani's neutral expression soon turned to anger. "Well aren't you so damned lucky! You have some hope but I have none! I know she's dead because I saw what happened to her! She still died after you swore that she would be safe!" Balto's optimism faded when he saw that Tikani had gone right back to being angry and unstable, lessening his chances of escape. "You may think we're the same but we're not. Kisa's death was preventable and someone has to pay for it. You have to pay for it."

"Fine; I tried to reason with you but it's obvious you've let your anger and grief consume you," Balto replied. "You know what, I pity you Tikani but it's not because of Kisa's death. It's because of what you've let yourself become."

"Don't you dare try to take the moral high ground on this!" Tikani shot back. "You're here because of what you did and you're going to face the consequences soon enough."

"Maybe… but you should know that this won't go unnoticed. Jenna and the others will notice I'm missing and figure out what happened. When that happens, they'll come for me with force," Balto said, playing his last trump card. "That won't end well for your pack. If you don't want anyone else to get hurt, I'd suggest you'd let me go before Maska or Jenna storms the place."

At this, Tikani started to smile. Balto thought that it was because he loved the idea of a fight, but he was in for a surprise. "You're sure that the husky you adore so much will come for you?"

Balto was a little surprised by the question, but he was sure of his answer. "I'm positive - in fact she'd probably be leading the way."

Balto knew that Tikani was not one to be easily rattled by threats, but he didn't expect him to grin so evilly, nor did he expect him to start laughing. "Jenna will come here… perfect, just as I hoped." Balto gave him a puzzled look, which only increased Tikani's sadistic joy. "Oh, I thought you were smart enough to figure out what I meant when I said I'd make you feel my pain," he started. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you or even harm you in any way. Far from it; in fact I want you to stay alive… while I kill Jenna."

This revelation made Balto feel as though he'd been kicked in the chest. Losing his own life was one thing, but he never thought he'd be able to cope if Jenna was killed. "No… you can't…" he gasped as his ears fell flat and his eyes grew wide in shock.

"I can and I will," Tikani replied. "You took away my mate… so I'm going to take away yours."

"NO!" Balto yelled while having his charge held back by the two guards. "I won't let you! You can't do this! We have to-"

"Find another way?" the wolf taunted, using the words Balto used so often a month ago against him. "Oh believe me, this is my other way. This is the fair way."

Balto growled as he struggled against those holding him. He had to get free, stop Tikani, stop the dogs, just do something to stop what was going to happen. His heart raced as he fought hard to get away and save his one and only love. Finally, Tikani tackled him and slammed him hard against the ground, knocking the wind out of him. The guards also attacked, quickly rendering him unable to fight. As Balto gasped in pain another wolf came in, panting.

"Our scouts have spotted a group of dogs and wolves approaching our borders," he reported. "The husky you want is with them."

"Perfect," Tikani cooed and started to leave, pausing at the entrance. "Oh, and I'll remember to bring her body over to you… after all, that's what your dogs did to me," he finished, laughing maniacally as he left the cave. As he lay there broken and facing a deranged lunatic, a curious change started to occur in Balto. Tikani was going to cross the line on this one and that smothered Balto's pragmatism, replacing it with raw, unfiltered rage. His beaten body couldn't do much now, so he focused on recovering himself. The faster he got up, the faster he could stop Tikani's mad plan.

A few feet away, the wolves guarding him started to chuckle. He strained his ears to listen while he started to collect himself. "It's too bad that we can't be there when it happens. Everyone else gets to have fun while we're stuck here."

"Yeah, but someone has to make sure the half-dog doesn't cause any more trouble than he already has," the second one replied. "I'll be glad when this is over."

"If you ask me, I'd rather catch the husky and have some fun with her," the first one added with a chuckle, not knowing that his words pushed Balto to rise to his feet, a growl forming in his throat.

"Even though she's one of those stupid, begging dogs?" the second one asked.

"Why not? I'd love to make the little bitch beg for me," the first one said, chuckling again.

"She wouldn't do a thing for you," Balto growled behind them. His guards turned to see him on his feet, fur bristling in anger.

"Oh yeah? Well what would you do stop me?" the first guard replied, walking over to be right in his face. "You don't know how to stop someone. You just know how to talk their ear off, but I ain't listening!"

"That's fine, because I don't have any words for you… only this," Balto spat, and in a flash, he lunged. He snapped his jaw around the wolf's leg, catching it at the joint. In one swift jerk, he twisted his head and the wolf shrieked as his leg snapped apart at the joint. He collapsed, unable to retaliate due to the pain. With one foe incapacitated Balto turned his focus to the second, who turned out to be nowhere near as bold as his comrade. He only stood there in shock at the swift brutality that had been unleashed. Balto looked from the first wolf to the second with a cold stare. "I may not have any words for him, but I have five for you," he growled, baring his fangs. "Get out of my way." It needed no further convincing and stepped aside, allowing Balto to dash out of the cave in pursuit of Tikani. He was a half-wolf with a mission, and that was to save Jenna… no matter what.

----------

After reaching the riverbed, Jenna knew they would have to act quickly. It wouldn't be long before Tikani's scouts would catch them and send reinforcements, but that was part of the plan too. They split off into groups of two or three, each taking a different direction. Once they were spotted, they would turn around and lead their pursuers away. It would mean having to run for their lives to prevent being caught, but Maska gave them directions towards his own territory, telling them to go there for safety afterwards. The hope was to divide the wolves attention and confuse them enough so that they wouldn't notice their final move.

Out of ten dogs, only two would make any attempt of a rescue: Jenna and Maska. Since the light of the day would make cover almost impossible, they would have to rely on the diversion from the other eight. Everyone else would draw the wolves away in order to clear a path for them. Once that path was open they would make a beeline into Tikani's territory, following the faint trail of Balto's scent. The hope was to get him quickly and then rush south to escape before anyone realized it. Any improvisation would have to be made on the fly if something went wrong. Right before entering they split up, each taking a different direction into Tikani's territory while Maska and Jenna waited for the coast to be clear. The alarm howls from Tikani's