thought facing down a wolf that wants to kill you would be one of them," he started.

"It shouldn't be such a surprise. I took on a bear that was at least twice as mean for you," she replied, and Balto couldn't help but chuckle a little. Not only could she handle these things quite well, she ended it with a smile when the day was won.

"Now that's the Jenna I fell in love with," he said, tapping his nose to hers and taking a moment to enjoy their reunion. It felt like they had won the day, but that joy vanished when they heard a loud howl ring out a few feet away.

Tikani was howling for his pack and they could hear more barks and howls in the distance, coming towards them. He was still shaky from the blow to his head, but he was able to get to his feet, chuckling softly. "You fools. You should have killed me when you had the chance," he said, his breath coming in gasps from the pain in his head. "Now my pack will come and end you, all because you had to be so forgiving."

As fear rushed into both of them, Balto knew he was right. Tactically, leaving an opponent able to call for help was always a bad decision... but it was one that Balto would have made anyways. "That may be, but that's because killing isn't my way."

"Weak fool…" Tikani spat, but Balto could see he was still too hurt to follow. With the pack closing in by the second, he took off with Jenna without a second thought. They didn't know which direction they were going, only wanting to get as far away from the pack as possible. The sounds seemed to come from all sides, echoing between the trees as they raced away from them. Jenna's legs burnt as she tried to keep up with Balto's sprints, even though he was holding back. He was capable of running faster than he currently was, but if he tried to, he would have left her behind. They had a head start on the pursuing mob, but they would have to keep moving to keep it up.

"What is going on here?" she asked. "What does he want with me? I thought you were the one he had the problem with."

"I am, but he wants to use you to hurt me," he replied. "He wants to make me feel what he felt with Kisa's death. He thinks the only way for justice to be served is if I go through what he did by killing my mate… by killing you," he finished.

"Me? But I've done nothing wrong and neither did you," she countered.

"That's not how he sees it. He doesn't care about what you did, only about hurting me. His grief has turned him into a mad wolf on a crusade."

They weaved around trees and rocks, trying to stay ahead of the howling mob, but the sounds were growing louder and closer. It wasn't long before it sounded like they were just past the last hill, their pursuit aided by Balto's chest wound. While it only let out little drops, it was enough for a good scent trail. Adrenaline surged through them, pushing them beyond their normal limits to keep them alive and running. It was a much-needed boost, but even that boost would run out eventually, leaving them at the mercy of their pursuers. Jenna remembered the plan to run to Maska's territory for safety, but she didn't know which way to turn – the rush to get away meant she didn't have her bearings in this unfamiliar territory.

"Balto, we have to get out of their territory," she cried. "We have to get to Maska or back to town."

"I know, but we can't go with either of those," he replied. "The sun is setting behind us and a bit to our left. That means we're heading northeast, while they're coming from the southwest. If we try to go south or west, we'll run right into them."

He heard her curse under her breath. "Just when I thought this plan would work, it falls apart around me," she said with annoyance. The hope was to draw the wolves away and scatter them to open a path to Balto, solving one problem, but causing another. Most of the distracted wolves would have been to the west and once called, they closed the gaps, blocking their escape.

"Hey, I know the feeling," he replied, giving some comfort to her. The collapse of his plan for peace a month ago was still fresh in his mind. Last time they had the backup from Maska's pack and their friends, but this time, there was a line of vengeful wolves between them and any support.

"If we can't go back then what can we do?" she asked.

"Just keep running and hope they stop when we leave their borders," Balto replied.

"And if they don't?"

"Then I don't know," he replied. "I know it's a dumb plan, but it's all I have right now. I don't know what else we can – WHOAH!" he cried, skidding to a stop when he saw the ground drop off sharply into a steep gorge. Jenna halted right beside him and stared across the abyss with wide eyes. The opposite side was at least fifteen feet away; much farther than either of them could jump. Looking back, he saw a few wolves start to come over a distant hill. They were trapped between a rock and a hard place; trying to jump would mean death, but surrender would mean death as well. Running was useless with the gorge blocking their escape, but fortune would still be on their side that day.

When he looked up and down the gorge, he saw a fallen tree spanning the gap. "Over there!" he called out, and they rushed towards it. A quick push test proved that it was stable enough to cross. In ideal conditions they would have only crossed one at a time, but these were hardly ideal conditions. Sending her over first while he followed, they walked gingerly along the trunk, trying to maintain their balance - along with resisting the urge to look down. The tree creaked and groaned under their weight, and a couple of times it slipped a little from its hold on the other side. The sudden jerks almost made them lose their footing, but she dug her claws into the wood to keep from sliding off while he grabbed a branch that stuck out to steady himself. The howls were almost on top of them when Jenna made it over to the other side, landing on solid ground. She turned and saw four wolves were already at the gorge, heading towards their bridge. Balto was a few feet behind her, but he was running out of time. The tree was wobbling and if the wolves tried to cross it, they would send it hurtling down the gorge, taking him with them.

"They're coming!" she cried. "Jump!"

Wasting no time, he complied, springing the last few feet onto the opposite ledge. He knew that there was nothing stopping the wolves from using the bridge to follow them… which meant that there should be no bridge to cross. Rearing up, he slammed his paws on the tree, using his weight knock the already unstable tree down. It shook and dropped a few inches on the first blow. By the time the wolves reached it, he slammed it a second time, sending it off its perch and crashing down to the bottom of the gorge below, leaving only open air between them and the wolves.

Their advance had been halted, and the wolves paused to stare at them, sending over a few angry barks before departing back into the woods. They knew they couldn't cross the gap so they went to regroup with the others and plan their next move. When they vanished, the surge that their fear and panic gave them wore off, and the exertion from their escape caught up to them. Balto's legs felt like they were on fire and he panted rapidly, but Jenna was worse off. Her chest heaved as she gasped in air and her legs collapsed from under her, completely spent. He saw her stumble and came over to help.

"I'm fine, I'm okay," she said as she tried to get up, but her limbs still shook under her.

"No you're not, you're exhausted," he replied, sitting close enough to allow her to lean into his chest for support. "You're not okay… neither of us is okay. Tikani wants to kill you and he probably wouldn't hesitate to do the same to me," he continued. "He was so close to it too… I almost lost you," he finished, his voice cracking slightly. Now that the immediate danger had passed, his bold bravado faded, replaced by his usual caring demeanor that hated to see those he cared about hurt. Raising his front legs slightly, he placed them around Jenna, pulling her closer to him. For a canine like him, it was the closest thing to a hug he could do and it let him hold Jenna securely, without feeling like anything would take her from him. "He almost-"

"But he didn't," she replied, nuzzling his chest and feeling his still-racing heart. "You came through for me, just like you always do. You came at the right time and that's all that matters." She started to break away, but his grip tightened.

"No, wait… just let me hold you... please," he pleaded. She'd almost slipped away from him once and he wasn't going to let that happen again so soon. "You came for me too… I had a feeling you would. It's like nothing scares you."

"Believe me, I was scared about this... but I was even more scared about losing you," she replied. "You and I, we're one now and I would do it all over again if I had to."

"I know you would," he said, smiling and softly rubbing her head with his cheek. "You were always there to lend a paw when I needed it most."

"That's why we're so good together… we never give up on each other, no matter what."

"Yeah, no matter what," he mused, still holding her close to him. He took a few more moments just