suddenly had a few of their dogs give out due to exhaustion. Another passing team helped them limp to Koyuk, but they were in no shape to continue on. That would have put Balto's team in the lead, but they wouldn't be the first to run into Koyuk. Thanks to some chance shortcuts, and good navigating on Sonya's part, Steele and his team had squeaked by Balto, pulling ahead of them. Normally the race positions were the hot topic of conversation, but thanks to Balto, his big achievement had been reduced to nothing more than a footnote in the gossip mill. Because of that, Steele felt like a pup who'd just had their favourite toy taken away. 'It's not fair. Throughout this whole race, it's been Balto this and Balto that. It's like everyone's forgotten that a previous champion is also running the race - and has just taken the lead too! Then again, I suppose it would only matter if I actually was the lead dog… but even then, he's still getting more attention than me. Stupid wolfdog; he took my glory before, and he's taking it again now.'

Some relief came to him as the teams finally settled down to sleep outside, but there were still a couple from his own team still whispering between each other about it.

"Is it true that wolves can summon other animals to help them?"

"I don't know, but I did hear from a friend of a friend that Balto howled out and called a bear to help them fight the wolf."

Steele grunted and rolled over; by now the stories were really pushing the limits of reality. His grumblings caught Sonya's attention, and she looked over to see the large husky trying to bury his head deeper in the snow.

"Hey, can't sleep?" she asked. He grunted again, which she took as a yes. "Me neither; hearing about what happened in the mountains has gotten me all excited."

"Ugh, not you too," he grumbled, rolling again so he was facing away from her. "I've heard enough about that wolfdog to last a lifetime."

"Well sorry," she shot back. "Out of all the dogs, I thought you'd be the happiest - it means you're off the hook."

"True… but it doesn't change the fact that Balto's just slid himself in and took all the glory he wants for himself."

"Is that really all you think about? Who's the most famous?"

"What else is there in these races?"

"Much more. Take a look around you; are most of the teams stressing out because they aren't in first?" There was only silence from him, so she continued, "Do they act like winning is the most important thing? Well, it is at least a little important, but if they don't win they don't mind either. They can swallow their loss and move on. The most important thing is not to win everything, but to do their best," she explained. "IN all honesty, even though you're a stubborn jerk sometimes, you still run your best every single day, and I've always appreciated that. I'm sorry you're not getting all the attention you used to, but a lot of us never got any of it in the first place."

Steele thought her words over, but no matter how he tried to resolve them, nothing improved his mood. He still felt like he was being pushed to the sidelines, ignored by those who used to care about him. They'd already moved on to the next big thing, while he was left behind, nothing more than a swing dog. 'Even if we keep the lead, win and they finally pry their eyes away from Balto, it still won't help,' he thought. 'Sonya will be the one who will get the prize. No matter what she says, I know that it's always the lead dog that gets the most attention. It's far easier to focus on one rather than half a dozen. No matter what, I'll still be just a swing dog, and not even my old owner notice if I'm not the one leading.' That thought caused an idea to pop into his head. It was a simple idea, but the hope it gave him helped boost his spirits.

"Hey, Sonya, you really think I run my best every day?" he asked.

"Of course - you may get tunnel vision sometimes, but it gets the job done," she replied.

"In that case, then maybe I could help the team in another way," he continued, before uttering the words he never thought he would get to say again. "It's just that… maybe I could… be lead dog of the team for a bit?"

There was silence as the gravity of his request washed over Sonya. Sure, there had been many times before where he'd boasted how it'd be better if he was in lead… but never before had he actually asked about it, much less asked as nicely as he did then. Despite that, alarm bells immediately started going off in her head. 'Can you really trust him with the lead position? I mean, I would still be there, but who knows what he might pull,' she thought, before trying to think of a reply. "Um, I don't know… I haven't really given something like this much thought."

"Oh come on, I can do it. I have the experience, and it's not like I haven't led your team before," he protested. "It's just because you don't trust me, isn't it?"

"I didn't say that," she said, even though she certainly was thinking it. "I just said I haven't thought about it much. Besides… these things are Jonathan's decision anyways," she said, hoping that would deflect his frustration away from her.

"Yeah, sure," he grumbled, making it clear he didn't believe her. "I should've expected as much - you're no better than that other half-breed," he grumbled, before rolling over and fuming in silence. Not wanting to drag the issue further, Sonya shut her eyes to try to fall asleep, but his new request only added to her already buzzing mind.

'Even though I've worked hard for this, would it be so bad if I let him do it? Would it really help him… or would it just open the floodgates for the old Steele to return?'

----------

There was an added spring in their step as Sonya and her team departed Koyuk that morning, because their next stop was none other than White Mountain. They were eager to get back home after so long away. Their mirth was only boosted by their position in the lead, which gave them a good chance of winning when they finally pulled into Nome. Already they were starting to become sore from the long days of non-stop running, but for most, it was easily ignored because the end was in sight. As long as they held on, they had a chance to win for the first time in their lives.

Despite the excitement, there was still something missing for Steele. The recent hoopla surrounding Balto, combined with Sonya turning down his request to be lead had soured his mood. Reality was starting to close in on him, and his hopes for what victory in this race would bring were thrown into doubt.

"Mark my words, I'll be the one crossing the finish first, and then they'll see who the real champion is. They'll see that I'm not some has-been; that I'm still the greatest sled dog in Alaska. Even my old owner will see that and when he does, he will take me back. Everything will be back to the way it was, just you wait."

Steele hadn't just been trying to rattle Kaltag's chain. He actually hoped that victory would get him noticed enough to allow his return to Nome. In his mind, that was where he belonged, and would still be had Balto not intervened on the serum run. However, recent events had somewhat dulled his hopes of that happening.

Their path took them through a trail that was very familiar to them. The Darby Mountains were a small range that sat between White Mountain and Koyuk, not usually a challenge for sled teams as long as the weather was good. It was only in a storm that there could be trouble, and the possibility of getting lost was very real. It was in these mountains that Steele had his first run with his new team, but that run almost ended as badly as the serum run. He'd been placed in lead, but gotten lost, requiring Sonya to go out and guide them home. Since then, he'd never had another chance to run as lead, making him wonder if Sonya still held it against him. However, he wouldn't get the chance to ask, because on the downhill side of the mountains, Sonya went on alert. Immediately she started sniffing the air, as some scent had caught her attention.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "It's not one of the teams…"

"I can't smell anything," Steele added, which was affirmed by the rest of the team. "Are you sure something was there?"

She took a few more sniffs, before replying, "Hm, it's gone now. It's strange though, I could have sworn there was something around here." With nothing else to go on, Sonya decided to just shrug it off. They were deep in the Alaskan bush, so she was bound to pick up more than a few unfamiliar scents.

They soon emerged from the woods and onto open tundra, the land clear in every direction. Even though they were already in the lead, they still stepped up the pace a bit. They were so close to home, all eager to see their friends after all this time away. Like everyone else, Steele kept his eyes forward, focused on their goal… until something flashed in the corner of his eye. The dark shape contrasted with the white land, and when he looked to his side, he found something else running across the tundra with them. It looked quite a bit like a wolf, with jet-black fur; a solitary hunter running across the land. It