explained. "This… doesn't quite fit him. This required a little thought."

"He's smarter than he looks, though," Kaltag said.

"You both have good points," Sonya added. "He acts before he thinks, but he's not completely stupid. My thinking is that he'd probably be smart enough to not cheat because he'd risk getting caught."

"You never know," Kaltag mumbled, still unconvinced.

"The big question I'm having is whether or not this is connected to what happened the first day of the race," Balto said, shifting gears.

"It might be - that would make this the second team to have to pull out of the race," Sonya said. "The motive's there… but this is a completely different attack. Instead of hurting dogs, it was just supplies this time."

"And since we were all asleep, they certainly would've had the chance to take an easy bite out of one of us," Kaltag continued.

"So we've got a situation where it's either two separate attacks, or they are connected. If they are connected, then it could be anyone around here-"

"Like Steele," Kaltag cut in.

"Hold on, if it is a dog pulling off these attacks, it could just as easily be another one of the dogs running the race," Sonya added.

"Or it could be some wild wolf who's really got it in for sled dogs," Balto continued. "I know it sounds weird to have someone like me saying it, but I've met enough wolves who don't like dogs to know it's possible. Or, these incidents could be completely unrelated, which brings us back to the first question: who destroyed the harnesses?" Kaltag opened his mouth, but Balto was quick to cut him off. "Kal, I know what you're going to say, and we have no proof. Whether it's Steele, or another dog, or something else, we need evidence before we can pin it on something." Kaltag shut his mouth, before slowly nodding.

"I'm sorry to have this trouble happen to ya," they heard Gunnar's voice say a short distance away. He was walking with the musher of the affected team, who looked definitely crestfallen. "Are you sure there's nothing we can do for you?"

"No, you've done all you can. Thanks anyways, but it looks like we'll have to pull out early," the man said. "I just can't understand how this could have happened."

"I wish I had an answer for you too, but for now it looks like it will remain a mystery."

"Yeah… well you should get going, you don't want to lose any time in the race, now do you?"

"Alright, take care," Gunnar finished, before noticing Balto and Kaltag nearby. "C'mon you two, lets get going."

They followed his request, leaving yet another team behind. They may have been competitors, but that didn't mean they were enemies. Rivals maybe, but sled dogs rarely bore ill will towards each other if one ran a better race. The only one that either of them knew that thought that way was Steele, whose drive to win pushed him above all else. He was the type to be the alpha dog in any way he could, and that was why Kaltag was suspicious of his former boss. 'I know you don't want to think Steele's all bad, but it make the most sense!' he thought to himself as the harness was put over him. 'I don't think it could be one of the dogs here. I've talked with them, and even know a few of them from past races. They aren't the types to pull something like this. They're in it more for the thrill than the prize.'

He looked forward as Balto stretched himself to get ready, before being hooked up last. 'Then again, Balto may be right. It could be some wild animal that's doing this… but Steele is much more likely.' Their musher got on the runners of the sled, and Kaltag knew it would almost be time to go. Right before the order was given, he noticed Steele in the corner of his eye, watching them depart. Both dogs looked at each other with a cold expression. The memory of his old lead's betrayal burned fresh, and if he wasn't tied up, it was very likely that he would've charged at him. He'd vowed to never let anything like that happen again, because a lead dog should never turn their back on their team like Steele did to them.

'I don't care if there's proof or not - if there's any chance Steele is behind this, I'm going to stop him. We almost lost our lives two years ago because of him, and that's something I won't ever let happen again.'

----------

Chapter Eight: Tempers Flare

"Could you at least pretend to care about what's going on?"

"It was just a bunch of harnesses."

"But the team needed them to run. Without them, they'll have to pull out of the race too!" Sonya exclaimed, trying to make Steele understand how serious this issue was.

"So? It's just one less competitor to deal with," he retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Considering how easily you say that, it's no surprise that some suspect you."

"Yeah, I'm actually wondering when Kaltag finally grew a pair big enough to get him to say that to me," he said. "He's probably getting it from Balto - that mutt never did know his place."

"Her-hem," Sonya coughed loudly, shooting him a nasty glance.

"I wasn't talking about you," he protested, but she was still frowning. However, by now he'd grown tired of constantly kissing up to her, and didn't bother with an apology. "Balto's probably doing it just to slander me."

"Actually, it's just Kaltag; Balto still isn't sure himself," she corrected. "Besides, he seems like too nice a guy to do something like that. You'd know that if you actually sat down and talked with him."

Steele just snorted, before mumbling, "Yeah, I'll get right to that when pigs start flying."

There was a pause as the team continued running along the trail. The road to their next checkpoint in Ruby took them along the frozen Yukon River, with a high rising mountain range on one side, and flatter tundra plains on the other. It was truly a sight to behold, with the rugged peaks gradually rising up from the river valley. It was seeing places like these that made Sonya feel truly in touch with her wolf side - this was as untouched as the wilderness could be. Steele on the other hand was more focused on the road, and getting to his eventual prize. A mountain to him was just that - a mountain. He either went over them or around them.

"Are you sure you didn't see or hear anything last night?" she asked, breaking the silence. "Anything at all?"

"No," he stated. "What, don't tell me you think I had something to do with it too?"

"No, I'm just asking because if you did see something, it could help us find out what happened."

"Well I'm sorry, but I didn't. Happy?"

"Happy enough… though I'm wondering why you accused Balto like that."

"I was just thinking out loud," he replied. "Personally, I don't care who or what did it, but if I can make that wolfdog squirm, then why not?"

"So you were just saying it for kicks?" Jake, another husky on the team put in. "Man, that's cold. You know, it looked like a few other dogs believed you too."

"Whatever," Steele said. "As I said, if I can make it harder for him, then all the better for me." No one else said another word, though they were all thinking the same thing. None of them approved of Steele being purposely divisive for his own gain, but the best they could do by now was to simply minimize the damage already done, and hope he wouldn't do anything worse.

The thin layer of snow on top of the frozen river provided enough traction for them to easily grip with their strides, but was also thin enough for the runners of the sled to easily skim along the surface, reducing drag and allowing them to keep an easy pace. This benefited not only them, but every team running that day. Steele knew that somewhere ahead of them was Balto, and wanted nothing more than to charge ahead and shoot past him. Unfortunately, that was impossible for the moment, as Sonya was setting the pace. The best he could do was to make small, almost imperceptible increases in speed that would pass under the radar.

Another team taking advantage of the good trail conditions was close by, and they'd since gotten a second wind, allowing them to make great gains that day. Steele heard them approaching and it instantly made him want to step into overdrive. His first reaction would be to floor the gas and prevent anyone from ever passing him, but that would only happen if Sonya allowed it.

"Sonya, heads up," he said, bringing her attention to them.

"Yes, I see them."

"So… aren't we going to do anything about it?" he asked, his legs itching to work to their full potential.

"We're fine Steele - they may have a bit of a boost, but it won't last," she said as the team inched closer and closer, making him more anxious by the second. He never let anyone pass him before and he wasn't about to start now. His breathing became low growls as the team inched closer and closer, something Sonya quickly noticed. "Don't you dare think about it," she snapped.

"Think about what?" he said, taking another glance at the other team.

"You know what I mean - keep