let him be part of the family?" Rosy protested. "You just think he's going to do something bad because he's a stray."

"It's not that simple. You remember a few weeks ago when your mother mentioned how Balto does like going off on his own quite a bit, right?" She nodded and he continued on, "Well, we talked about that a bit more, and we realized that it's probably because he's lived as a stray most of his life and is used to roaming around. You sometimes see some of the sled dogs in town do this too. They all like getting out on their own and stretching their legs. It's part of how they were bred, and that's something we can't change completely."

"Are you saying… that maybe Balto wouldn't like it as much in our home?" Rosy asked. "But how could you know for sure?"

"I don't, but if we let him come to see his pups, then maybe we can see if he's interested. If not, we can leave him be and still let him come by," he finished.

Rosy thought it over, turning to Balto to gauge his reaction. "What do you think, boy?"

Balto tilted his head a bit as he thought it over, before giving his tail a few wags and nuzzling her sleeve to communicate his approval. With that, Rosy nodded and accepted her father's compromise. They edged forward to see the pups, and Balto let them approach, just as long as they didn't try to remove any of them.

"What do you think Balto?" Jenna asked him.

"I'm just happy I'm going to be able to see my pups. That was what really mattered to me through this whole thing," he replied. "Come to think of it, he does have a point. While I love coming by to see you and Rosy - and now our pups too - there are actually parts of my 'off the leash' life that I would miss. Visiting Maska, exploring new places… I don't know if it's because of my wolf half, or just because it's the life I'm used to, but I feel happy about this."

She smiled, glad to see that he no longer felt like he was being pushed away unfairly. "Alright, just as long as you don't forget to remember your responsibilities too. The pups will need their poppa to help look after them… and their momma might need some company at the end of day too," she added, grinning at him.

"I know, and I won't forget. You need love and attention just as much as they do," he replied, nuzzling her softly. "Besides, how else are they going to learn how to run like their old dad?" he added, causing her to chuckle a little.

While they chatted about how best to schedule things between them, Rosy and her father were starting to think about names for all of the pups. "Well, it looks like there's three girls and three boys in that bunch," her father observed. "I was thinking that Saba would be a good name for one of the girls, while Kodiak would be good for one of the boys."

"Okay, how about for that one and that one?" Rosy suggested, pointing to the smaller male and smaller female of the group, both of whom had bright red coats. He nodded, and she started to think of names for the other four. "Um, this one could be Dingo," she pointed to one of the darker furred males. "And this one would be Kara," this time to the burgundy female, before going over to the last red male. "And this one would be… uh… let's go with Rex for that one."

"Okay, so it's Dingo, Kara and Rex, so that just leaves this one," her father recited, before reaching over pet the last tan pup. "You take quite a bit after your father, so what would be a good name for you, little one?" The pup squirmed a little under his touch before letting out a short, tiny puppy howl. It sounded more like a small 'aroo' sound, but it was enough to give Rosy an idea.

"Hey, it sounds like she's saying something like… Aleu. Let's name her Aleu," she suggested.

"Alright, Aleu it is," he replied, rounding out the set. Balto overheard them though all that, and he quickly learned the names they'd given the pups. After weeks of waiting it was now time for them to begin a new chapter in their lives. He didn't know what was in store for the pups down the road, but at the moment he wasn't worried. Kodi, Saba, Kara, Dingo, Rex and Aleu were all healthy and safe, and he would do everything in his power to ensure they stayed that way.

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Chapter 5: Seeking Guidance

The pups were actually quite easy for Balto and Jenna to take care of during the first few days. They didn't move around much, preferring to stay in the company of their mother. It wasn't until almost a week later that they started to toddle off and explore their surroundings; that was when more constant supervision was needed. It was decided to move them inside the house in order to keep them safer, but that ended up giving them more opportunities to cause trouble. It started small, with some of them poking around and exploring the interior. At first they thought they could handle them, but the pups were surprisingly crafty, able to slip away even when their father was around for his regular visits. Unlike Maska's group, who seemed to prefer to stick together, their pups loved to scatter. They were capable of causing trouble in six different locations at once, leaving their two parents unable to stop all of them.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were co-ordinating themselves," Balto said after catching Dingo and preventing him from testing out his new milk teeth on the sofa. Now four weeks old, the pups were eager to use their emerging teeth at any opportunity. Jenna was also lecturing Saba on the importance of not destroying the human's socks before they heard the crash of a vase shattering, followed by Kodi and Aleu dashing out of the parlor, half running, half wrestling with each other, barely aware of their surroundings.

"You know, I think you might be right," Jenna agreed as they heard the cursing of Rosy's father about the destroyed vase, quickly followed by a pained groan from Balto. Since he was prevented from using his teeth on the sofa, Dingo instead decided to test their potency by sinking them into his father's paw.

"That's it, time out," Balto grumbled, picking his son up by the scruff of his neck and carrying him out to the porch. "You've got to watch where you use those sharp little fangs of yours - though I wonder where you get them in the first place," he lectured.

"Hey, he might be a chip of the ol' block," a voice called. Balto turned and found it was Kaltag, with Nikki and Star at his side. "So, having fun with your little bundles of joy?"

"Sure, fun, lets go with that. A bunch of teething pups on a rampage is really fun," he grumbled, before grabbing Dingo and preventing him from breaking away from his time out. It wasn't long before they could hear sharp voices coming from inside, and the front door swung open with the adults urging the pups outside.

"That's it - if they can't stop destroying everything in the house, then we'll have to keep them out!" Rosy's mother said sharply. Jenna was soon to follow, scolding Saba for creating the hole in the woman's sock. The door quickly closed, leaving the exasperated parents outside with the three sled dogs.

Kaltag giggled a bit, "If this is a bad time, we can come back later and - hey, watcha doing there?" he asked when he felt a small tug on his collar. Kodi had broken from the group and started to poke at the metal ring on Kaltag's collar, grabbing it in his jaws to pull on it. Kaltag gently nudged him off, before replying, "Sorry buddy, this one's mine - but you might get your own in the next couple of years."

On seeing Kodi do it first, the rest of the pups were quick to follow, coming over to the new arrivals to see if they were willing to play. Of course, by play, that meant being rammed head on, or nipped with their emerging teeth. Balto and Jenna were quick to come in to save their friends from the swarm, while the pups yipped happily at the new arrivals. The excited sounds hit a crescendo, before suddenly being cut by a sharp, high howl. The howl came from Aleu, but her inexperienced voice meant that it came out very shrill, making Kaltag grit his teeth until it was over.

"Ack, that one's certainly got a set of lungs on her," he observed as the pups scampered away from the howling. Jenna quickly followed with Aleu to keep an eye on them, leaving the males around the front. "I've gotta say, that was the highest, the shrillest, the most piercing-"

"She's certainly no wolf like Balto!" Star cut in, and in that moment, Balto's head snapped towards him, locking an icy glare onto the smaller husky. Kaltag could tell that some nerve had been hit in Balto, and was half afraid that he'd strike Star upside the head like he himself used to do so many times.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Balto said, his words carrying a hint of a growl.

"Well, I, uh… it's just that… she doesn't howl as well as you do… you can belt it out like a real wolf… and maybe she'll be able to do the same when she's older," Star explained, growing anxious under Balto's piercing glare.

"How do you know she'd grow up to be like a wolf? She could grow up to be a dog, just like her siblings."

"But she looks so much like you… but maybe the rest might howl a bit too… after all,