Mias shot him a nasty look for the remark, he still let a small grin form at the corners of his mouth. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't deny there was some truth in that. Balto started to depart while a female wolf passed him, heading towards Mias. He surmised that this was Sami, and when he saw her, he felt a peculiar desire to listen in on them. Normally he would leave himself out of other's personal lives, but this time he felt compelled to learn more about what was going on. He silently backtracked, tuning his sensitive ears to pick up what they were saying while hiding behind a nearby bush.

"Hey there handsome, how are you?" he heard her greet. He risked a glance over the bush and saw her gently nuzzling his chin with her nose. His eyes were shut from the feeling of bliss her touch brought him, and he sighed while his tail wagged back and forth.

"I was okay until you showed up," he replied, feigning annoyance. "But now I'm feeling really great," he finished with a smile.

"Oh you," she muttered, rolling her eyes at his humor. "So, where are we going tonight?"

"I was thinking we'd go out by the river," he replied. "It's a full moon tonight, and I've heard that the ice can sparkle on nights like this."

"I'd love that. Plus it'd give us some privacy from… you know who. We wouldn't want him stumbling in on us, now would we?" Balto ducked back behind the bush and it didn't take him long to infer that she was referring to Mayak.

"Actually, there's something about that I want to talk to you about," Mias put in. "I can understand wanting to keep this from Mayak while he was trying to court you, but we can't hide this forever."

"What are you saying?" Sami asked, sounding a little hurt.

"I'm saying that I don't want us to be looking over our shoulders forever," he explained. "I want us to be together with no strings attached. Above all, I want to be honest with everyone… including my brother."

"But if Mayak finds out I really left him just to be with you… he could see it as a betrayal and come after us. I don't want him to hurt you."

"I know he's upset, but it could be even worse if we do nothing and he finds out anyways," he stated. "Finding out that we were keeping something like this could break all of the trust he has in me. Lying would be even worse than telling him the hard truth."

"Then we won't let him know the hard truth," she said. "We won't let anyone know about this. It'll be just us."

There was a pause, before Mias added, "Sami, be honest; is that what you really want to do? Live a lie?"

There was another pause, before Sami quietly replied, "No. Truth be told, this whole thing is starting to get to me already. I want to be able to shout about how much I love you to the land and the sky, not keep it bottled up forever."

"Neither do I," Mias replied. "I want to howl out how beautiful you are, and what a spirited wolf you are… and that means we'd have to be honest with everyone."

"Do you think they'd accept us… the pack I mean," she asked.

"You know, I've talked with so many of them, and I think they would," he replied. "They would know that we are together out of love, and if there's anything that can warm a wolf's heart, it's a good old love story between two unlikely mates."

She giggled. "Yes… kind of like that story you told about the two wolves from warring packs who were sent to kill each other, but fell in love instead, ending the conflict."

"And they all lived happily ever after," Mias finished. "That one's actually one of my favorites… but life doesn't always end like a story. Things can go wrong."

"So what should we do? Do we tell the truth or keep this our secret?" she asked.

"I – I really don't know," Mias replied. "Mayak's not one to take rejection very well-" There was a small whimper from Sami, so Mias reassured her, "But I know my brother and he would never do anything rash, especially if it involves me." There was another lengthy pause, and Balto took another peek to see that she was pressed up against his chest, while he nuzzled her with his chin. "Look, we'll figure something out, don't worry. We don't have to tell them now. Maybe we could wait until things cool off and then we can come clean, okay?" she nodded, earning him a smile. "Now, I don't want this to ruin our evening together, so why don't we go off and forget our worries?" They broke off and took a moment to gaze at each other, with him tapping his nose to hers to cheer her up. They started to walk away from the clearing, side by side, two wolves in love and hoping to have much ahead of them.

"Well, if all else fails, we could always go out on the land like you used to, just the two of us with a fresh start," she suggested, her voice growing fainter as they moved away.

"We could, but I'd like to avoid that if possible," Mias replied. "I just got here, and this place is starting to grow on me…"

----------

Balto was now with a large group of wolves, some muttering to each other while others just watched silently. Once again time seemed to fly by, but this time he was more aware of the sudden time skip. He could have sworn the last thing he saw was Mias and Sami leaving on their date. Now he was behind a crowd in a completely different spot in the woods. However, he wouldn't have much time to dwell on it because the crowd hushed as Mias and Sami walked over together, but with troubled expressions.

"I'm sure that you're all expecting me to tell you the usual stories, but tonight we have something much more important to tell you," Mias started. A few groaned, while others muttered as they guessed what Mias had to say.

"As some of you might know, it is time for an alpha like myself to choose a mate," Sami continued, confidently, but with a slight waver that showed she was nervous. "And after some very careful consideration, I have chosen… Mias."

There was a stunned pause, followed quickly by more muttering. To his left, Balto saw some movement and turned to see a jet-black wolf that greatly resembled Mias staring at the couple intensely. He barely noticed as Balto approached, focusing more on Mias as the rest of the pack came over to him and Sami. Some gave him words of congratulations, while others simply expressed their surprise, but the lone wolf didn't budge, leering at the happy couple.

"An alpha and a beta as mates - what could this mean for our pack?" one wondered.

"This is wonderful Mias. Does your brother know yet?" another asked him.

"Yeah… he kind of caught us first," Mias replied sheepishly. "It's actually more embarrassing than anything."

"Don't try to be so cute about it. You can enthrall the crowd with your words, but I know what I saw. I caught you and Sami in the lie that you'd been giving to the entire pack… and to your own brother," the lone wolf growled to himself. Balto surmised that this was Mayak, the one they had been concerned about. "I won't forget this, brother… and I won't ever let you take my rightful place from me," he finished, before turning away. As he did he briefly locked eyes with Balto, and that caused a very curious sensation in him. He didn't know why, but he immediately felt an impending sense of danger, far stronger than anything he had felt with Steele. The feeling lasted only a moment and passed when Mayak walked away from the celebration, but it still left Balto mystified. It was like Mayak wanted to hurt him, even though they'd never met before.

----------

Balto found himself in yet another stretch of woods, but only now did he really realize that things were jumping around. 'Hang on, wasn't I just with Mias and the pack a minute ago?' he thought. 'Wait, the pack? What pack? I'm not a part of any pack in Nome… where is Nome?' He tried to recall how he got here, but he could only go as far back as when Mias first confided in him his feelings for Sami. 'That had been so long ago… but it feels like I jumped forward in minutes. Wait, why would Mias confide in me? Do I know him that well? It feels like I've just met him.' As Balto tried to sort everything out, he heard raised voices nearby. He recognized them as Mayak and Mias, and peeked around a nearby tree to find the two brothers arguing.

"I never wanted to take your authority!" Mias barked. "I don't care what the others say; you're the alpha and I don't want to take what you worked so hard for away from you… which is why I'm leaving." This caught Mayak and Balto by surprise, but Mias was sincere in his claim. "I talked with Sami, and we agreed that's it's best for you and everyone else if we weren't around."

"Mias, I never thought you'd… wait, what do you mean 'we'?" Mayak asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I mean Sami and I," Mias replied. "It's obvious that having us around is causing you a lot of grief, so we're gong to leave and find our own way. You can lead your pack and find a new mate. We won't bother you any longer."

While at first everything before was obscured by a