moments just to nuzzle her or give her a few licks on the cheek, which she gratefully returned. Finally, she felt his grip relax and he let her go from his embrace. With nowhere else to go, they started to walk deeper into the woods, leaving the gorge behind.

"Okay, what now?" she asked. "We have to find a way home."

"I know, but the sun's starting to set," he replied. "We need some shelter for the night, and I think those foothills would be a good shot," he explained, indicating towards some low mountains a short distance away. "We'll have to wait for tomorrow before we can try to go back home. However, we'd need to find a way to cross the gorge first, and that will take some time."

"How much time?"

"It… I don't know. It depends on how long it takes to find another crossing, and we'd also have to avoid Tikani's pack on the way there," he replied. "We've got a bit of a way to go on our road home, but we have to find that road first. It doesn't help that I don't know the area very well either… if only Maska was here, he'd know where to go."

"And I was just with him too," she continued. "Maska and I were leading the group that came to rescue you."

"I had a feeling you'd be leading the charge," he mused, grinning a little. "Where are they? Are they still back there?"

"I don't think so. Most of them came just as decoys to draw the pack away - you can thank Kaltag for that idea," she explained. "They're probably with Maska and the others, wondering where we are."

"Well, we may not be with them but their efforts weren't in vain," he said. "We got away safely and we can start to find a way home."

Jenna looked over at him, admiring his confidence under pressure. She was still troubled that an entire wolf pack was out to get them, but she pushed that thought out of her mind. Their first priority was shelter for the night. At first, their search didn't yield anything useful; not even a hollowed out tree. The light of the day quickly faded, causing the trees to give out long shadows. As he looked from side to side, Balto could have sworn that he saw some of the shadows moving…

Finally, they came across a fortunate find - an old cabin. It had been abandoned long ago and the elements had taken their toll on it. The door was knocked off its hinges and holes had been worn in the walls, but it was still standing and could offer some shelter. Stepping inside, they found very little except a thin, threadbare carpet and the remains of a cast-iron stove.

"Ugh, this makes my boat look like a luxury liner," he observed. "But, it's only for one night. After that, it's home; Rosy and the others are probably worried sick about us."

Rosy… in her rush to save Balto, Jenna had forgotten that Rosy wouldn't know where she was. The hope was to be gone less than a day so that her owners wouldn't notice, but now they were out in the middle of nowhere. Being a stray, Balto didn't have to worry about such things, as he wasn't tied down to any one owner. Rosy didn't mind, as she was used to him going off on his own every now and then, just like he did yesterday.

Yesterday… that had been a rather peaceful day, with the doctor's visit as the only highlight. However, it would turn out to be a rather big highlight thanks to what she, along with her owners learned. It was something that she had hoped to tell Balto when he got back yesterday, but his abduction pushed it out of her mind. Despite their current situation, she knew it would be best if she told him now. She'd missed one chance to do so and she wasn't about to miss another.

Pulling the thinning carpet over, Balto used it as a makeshift blanket and crawled under, motioning for her to join him. She lay down with him, rubbing into his side before resolving to tell him what she had learned. "Balto… you know how I had to visit the doctor yesterday, right?"

"Oh yeah, your checkup. I didn't get a chance to ask you how it went," he replied.

"It went quite well. In fact, the doctor found something wonderful. It's… he found… I'm…" she paused, trying to find the right way to say it.

"You're… don't leave me hanging, I'm not the best at guessing games," he said. "Just say it. The doctor found that…"

"I'm carrying pups," she finished, smiling at him before adding, "Our pups."

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Chapter 4: A Brief Respite

By the time the moon hung high in the dark sky, Jenna was fast asleep, pressed up against a still awake Balto. He stared off into a corner that was as empty as the rest of the cabin, the moonlight providing some illumination. It was completely silent, but he was still unable to sleep. His insomnia was because of the news he'd received, along with what it meant for them. They were going to be the parents of a litter of pups, and once the news broke, they did the typical happy dance and cheer that most expecting parents do. Others might consider their timing to be quite quick for a young couple, but for them it had been the right time. They were now mates in every way possible, but it wasn't long before the reality of their situation set in. This was wonderful news, but it still came at a time when they were in danger.

Balto held up his outward cheer long enough to get Jenna to settle down for the night. Once she was fast asleep, his smile fell into the worried stare he presently wore. They got away this time, but he knew Tikani wasn't going to let this go. Even after they returned to Nome he would still pursue them, with Jenna as his main target. If he got to her, he would not only take away his loving mate from him, but his future family as well. The mere thought of it scared Balto more than anything before in his life. If Tikani succeeded, he would never recover from the grief. He had to protect her first, but he had to be careful with himself too - she would need him for support when the pups came.

Despite his attempts to calm his thoughts, they still raced along in circles, keeping sleep away from him. Frustrated, he slowly got up, taking care to not jostle Jenna. Thinking that some fresh air would help him out, he stepped outside, his paws padding noiselessly along the cold floorboards. The moon bathed the land and reflected off the snow, giving the area a greyish hue. The only thing breaking the monotony was the cabin, but it was just as dark and quiet as the rest of the land. There was not even a breeze to rustle the branches, but despite the peace of the scene, his thoughts and fears still remained. "It's all on you again Balto," he said to himself. "Lives are at stake and you can't mess up."

"Mess what up?"

The sudden voice made Balto spring up and cry out in surprise. He whirled around and bared his fangs, snarling at the new arrival. His first thought was that it was another of Tikani's wolves, but instead he found an old husky dog that was just as surprised as he was. "Woah, don't bite my head off sonny! I was just askin' a question," the old dog exclaimed. Still on alert, Balto gave him a visual once-over. Most of his fur looked like it had been brown at one point, but it had dulled and greyed, with only the white sections on his chest and around his paws retaining their color. Some tufts of fur were missing as well, while new tufts grew out of his ears. When he spoke, Balto could also see that one or two of his teeth were missing. He looked quite raggedy, and if push came to shove, Balto knew he would have the upper hand. Overall, this dog seemed to mean no harm, so Balto calmed himself, returning to a more relaxed posture.

'Gee, I hope I never end up like him when I'm that old,' he thought. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked in a flat voice.

"Heh, I could ask the same thing of you," the old dog replied. "After all, you're not exactly supposed to be here."

"No argument about that," Balto mused. "Believe me, we wouldn't be in that creaky, broken old cabin if we didn't have to."

"Creaky? Broken? That's my home you're talkin' about," the old dog said indignantly. "Ugh, all you young dogs, never willin' to rough it out like their forefathers… wait, we? Who're you with, pup?" he asked. "And you still haven't told me why you're here, or who you are in the first place."

"My name's Balto and I'm with my mate Jenna… and at the moment we're kind of lost," he replied and brought him over to let him see her inside. "Can I ask you who are?"

"The name's Mackenzie, but I prefer just Mack… Oh, she quite the catch sonny, good job," Mack commented. "You said you're lost, eh? What happened, did you make on a wrong turn while out on a… romantic interlude?" he asked, giving Balto a very sly smile.

"I wish," Balto replied. "It's actually a long story."

"Well, if you plan on stayin', I'd suggest you start talkin'," Mack urged. "I make it a point to know why I would have unexpected guests in the night."

"Alright… the truth is we're kind of on the run," Balto started, and told Mack the entire story. He told him how he had tried to smooth things out between the dogs in Nome and Tikani's pack, only to have everything fall apart around