keep herself as close together as possible. Her tail swished between and out her legs in a nervous fashion, and she whimpered helplessly every few minutes.

When she came to the end of her path, her legs stopped for her. It seemed she could control her own body, but her legs she could not. They had brains of their own in this strange world. She looked to her left, hearing a crow’s caw resound throughout the area. Her ears pricked towards the source where it sounded loudest, and her eyes couldn’t help but wander to a patch of ground that the mist had left untouched.

What she saw horrified her. There, on the ground in a heap of blood, was her mate. He was lying dead, cold as ice. Her legs refused to move for a while, making her take in every splitting detail. But eventually, they decided to take her closer. As she progressed to the body, Kay found she didn’t want to see a better view. She wanted to run away. She wanted to tell herself that Caden was alive and well. She wanted to convince herself that he was still out there – that this was merely his twin or some other nonsense she could grasp onto.

Inevitably, she came and stood straight over him, towering in comparison to the flatness of his corpse. She had kept her eyes closed since five feet ago, but now she found her own brain betraying her. It was screaming at her to take a look. Her own mind was beginning to turn against her. ‘Peek! Go on. You know you want to,’ It seemed to say, in the most enticing voice anyone had ever imagined. She couldn’t help herself from sneaking a glance. She had originally meant to open her eyes and shut them again at the horrific sight, but once she had let her lids slide, there was no keeping them shut anymore.

Kay took in everything. There were cuts and slashes everywhere. They were ragged tears. You could tell they were made with claws and scratch marks. In other places, especially around his neck, there were smoother penetrations. There, the blood flowed most. They must have punctured a major vein, because that’s where the crimson was gathered the most: around the smooth marks. Kay could tell that those smoother holes were made by lethal teeth. She pictured thousands and thousands of fangs coming at her mate all at once. She felt a tear escaping her eyes. Kay became frustrated with herself. She nearly never cried. It was the rarest thing. But here, in this circumstance, seeing her dead mate murdered in cold blood, it horrified her. It shocked her to the point of no return. And as the facts settled in, Kay finally broke down and sobbed.

Her legs seemed to lose their minds. For, she gained control of them again. Not for long, however, because she let her muscles go and completely collapsed at his side. She was crying for what seemed like hours. She ever left her mate’s dead side. And after a while, she found it even harder to cope with the loss. Her cheeks were wet to the skin with tears. There was no stopping the stream of water flow. When finally, she heard a crack behind her. The mist had gotten ever foggier since. She could see that around her there seemed to be some kind of force field that the mist couldn’t get through. However, the trees were covered in the thick white and gray smog. And so, she couldn’t see the wolf coming towards her. All she could see was a bright yellow pair of eyes advancing.

Her legs were too stiff. Her mind was locked tight on other emotions. She only felt the fear in a massive wave when she saw the fur and the vicious expression. “We’re not through with you yet, pup,” He said in a hideous, cruel voice. The mere hearing of it sent chills down Kay’s spine. “Get ready to join him!” He called, and as he ran towards her, a flash of sharp white yellow teeth was the last thing she saw before she blacked out and came to reality.

Kay jolted awake. Her breathing was quick and unsteady. She couldn’t find a way to calm herself. Before she knew it, she had hauled herself up and began pacing once more. So much for a good night’s sleep… that had been a nightmare. The worst she’d ever experienced. She needed to do something about it and fast. She chose to turn to the only dogs in town that she thought could truly help her. Ones who had driven through the wilderness numerous times to save lives. Balto and Jenna.

The wolf pack had gotten back to their dens. Upon arrival, however, they were forced to have a change of attitude. Originally, they had been feisty and reckless against the strange prisoner. When they came, though, one of the elder wolves had recognized this male. Astonishingly, she had known who he was and it took all the other wolves’ known self control not to burst at this fact. They had to listen to their elders. If not the alphas or the betas, they had to listen to the elders.

And so, they had set the stranger in one of their unused dens, watching him day by day. Now, at day three, the elder, an old wolf named Alda, came to see how he was doing. “How are you holding up, young one?” Caden was a bit nervous around the others, but this one he could handle. He had known her before. “I could be better,” He answered.  Alda nodded. “I understand. I’m so very sorry for the circumstances. Had I gone with the hunting party I would have been able to help. Alas, my legs are becoming old on me. They cannot support so much distance.”

Caden nodded. “Yeah,” He said with a slight tone of bitterness in his heart. “Why did they do it anyway? They were so hostile… I’m surprised I lived.” Alda shrugged, followed by a dragging sigh. “Our people have been plagued by the Crimson Fangs Pack for a while now. Last season, they killed the alphas’ newborn litter. Most of the pack has been eager to seek revenge ever since. Seeing two canines on our land, perhaps they did not think to look closer. They were blind with rage, and you had to pay for it.” She seemed to be disappointed. Her voice sounded tired and sullen.

Caden took all this in, and began to feel a real anger in his heart for some strange reason. “It wasn’t right for them to do that. What reason did they have?” Alda shook her head. “None. They did it to ensure our pack never had a future. How very wrong they were.” The old wolf managed to give a faint smile and walked out of the den. “I hope you become better soon, Caden. It’s been nice chatting with you after so long.” And with that, she disappeared out of view.

Caden sighed, a sound mixed in with a quiet growl. He muttered incomprehensible things under his breath. As another guard came to watch him, he grew increasingly agitated. Every day, he heard them talk of how angry they felt. He figured out eventually just how closed their hearts had become. They would do everything and anything to protect their pups this time.

It was wrong of the Crimson Fangs to do that… How could Caden look at dogs the same? In fact… why was here alone? Kay hadn’t come to see how he was doing. She didn’t even care. He had put his life on the line for her and now she could care less if he died in cold blood. Well, he’d show her what for. He’d make sure she understood just how wrong and vile she was.

The feelings becoming entwined into Caden’s heart over the next few days were ones of anger, vengeful menace, and no mercy. He began to let all of the feelings of the wolf pack get to him. And eventually, his mind began to push away the ones who cared for him most because of it. In his heart, he knew he should love them.  But his brain told him otherwise. It was screaming, ‘Leave them behind! Tell them what for! Do what you must to make them regret it.’

And because of that, he thought of his sister, Cali. She had forgotten him entirely. She wished she never had a brother. She wanted to be alone. He thought of his ‘mate’, Kay. She never loved him. She was waiting for the chance to see when Caden would be caught in a situation like this. One where he looked dead and good for nothing, just so she could go back home and cheat on him like the rotten mutt she was. No. They wouldn’t be allowed to treat Caden like that. He wouldn’t stand for it. And over the next weeks, he allowed himself to revel in hatred.

Kay ran as if her heart had an expiration date. She couldn’t help herself from panting as she felt the cold Alaska wind hot on her tail. She skidded to a stop right in front of the telegraph station, looking around for any signs of the ones she knew could help her. “Jenna?” She called. “Jenna, where are you?” There was no answer. Kay couldn’t stop herself. She sat down on the fresh snow and slid a tear down her cheek. From that one tear came another. And another after that. Before she knew it, she was crying in desperation, hopelessness, and fear for what might have happened to Caden.

After what seemed like hours on end, Kay heard a voice somewhere nearby. “Kay? Kay, is that you?” It was slightly gruff. You could tell that the dog who owned it wasn’t necessarily in his prime anymore. However, he definitely made the most of the youth he still held. Kay looked up, her face dry and scratchy from all the water that had run down until recently. The mutt turned her head his way, looking distressed, sullen, and irretrievable by any force but the love of her lost mate. “B-Balto?” She asked hesitantly. When she saw his figure appear, she faked a smile.

Balto trotted towards her slowly. He made very careful moves, as if each paw step that brought him closer to the sad girl would depress her even more. “Kay? It’s me. …What’s wrong? You