maybe not. But still, she could now live in relative peace. Shiraea continued to struggle, but her breaths became ragged, forced and weak, and soon stopped altogether. Finally, apart from the measured panting of Aniu and the trembling of the three pups, all was still.

XVIII

“Mom,” Galena asked, “what just happened? Where’s Dad?” She walked over to his bloody form, the enthusiastic bounding gone from her stride, and sniffed at her father. Tears entered the gray pup’s striking blue eyes as she saw the blood that trickled down her father’s face. “Dad,” she said, a single tear rolling down her muzzle, “stay alive. Don’t die. Don’t die.”

By this time, Balto and Lyrie had also noticed what had happened to their father. “Come on, Dad,” Lyrie said, echoing what her sister had said. “Stay alive. You can make it. You won’t die. Everything will be all right. You’ll survive. Don’t worry.”

Balto could only stare down at his unmoving father with a sense of sorrow. Why had this happened, anyway? Why to Sango and no one else? What could Sango have done to deserve this? Someday, he knew, he would understand, but someday would never be good enough. He wanted to understand now—not in a year, not in a few months, not even tomorrow—now.

Ignoring the actions of Balto and Lyrie, Aniu closed her eyes and brushed the end of her muzzle softly across Sango’s cheek. She studied the still expanse of his gray fur, willing him to wake, to move, to do anything. Then she shifted her gaze to the dog’s frozen, unmoving eyes, longing for the life and color to return to the shallow blue orbs.

“Th…thank you, Sango,” she cried, tears flowing openly down her muzzle. Ignoring both the pain from her own wounds and the blood that dripped from her mate’s, Aniu sat and laid the left side of her face along Sango’s motionless head, allowing the full length of their muzzles to connect for one final time. She leaned forward slightly, shivering as her cheek brushed across his muzzle, and began to lick his face, caressing his soft fur with her warm tongue.

Then she retreated, pulling back to gaze into her mate’s eyes once more. She imagined the life that one filled those glittering orbs, the love that had once emanated from his face, the compassion that had compelled him to save her from that hunter so long ago. For a second, just a second, she thought she saw the spark of life flare up in Sango’s eyes. But no—that would never happen again.

Finally, as one last goodbye to her beloved mate, Aniu leaned in once more She placed her mouth next to Sango’s ear, and her lips one sorrowful. “Sango,” she said, “I…love you.” Then, her vision clouded by the tears that spilled from her eyes, she exited the cave and let out a long, loud, mournful wail that drifted through the twilight sky. Sango, goodbye.

“C’mon,” Aniu said, reentering the den after a moment of silence, a hint of sadness in her voice. “We need to go.” Ignoring the sorrowful cries of protest from her son and two daughters, she escorted them out of the cave.

Only a few minutes passed before Aniu arrived at Meno’s den.

Meno’s jaw dropped at the sight of Aniu. “What…what happened to you?” He lifted a paw and motioned at the wounds on her face.

“Long story,” she said, her voice cracking, “but I need to leave, so I’m making you leader until I return.”

Meno looked stunned. “What do you mean? You just became Alpha less than a year ago! You can’t leave now!” Then he noticed the expression on Aniu’s face. “I’m sorry. What’s wrong?”

Several tears began to flow openly down Aniu’s muzzle, and the three pups had similar expressions. “It’s…Sango,” Aniu finally began, “and—and Ara. Anok…. And…Sh-Shiraea…. They—they killed them.”

“Treason,” Meno muttered under his breath. “Killing an Alpha, punishable by death or    wor—”

“I—I killed them,” Aniu interrupted. “Or—or Lyrie killed A-Anok. See—see her face? A—Anok did th-that to her.” The wolf broke down, sobbing hysterically on the ground.

Meno glanced downward and was shocked to see several wounds that mutilated the right side of Lyrie’s face. There seemed to be an unnatural bulge in the side of the pup’s cheek, and there was little doubt, Meno thought, that the bone had been shattered.

Meno trotted over to Lyrie and lowered his head to meet her gaze. “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

Lyrie pulled away. “I’m fine,” she replied, turning her back to Meno. But a second later, her eyes filled with tears. “It hurts,” she cried, lifting a forepaw to her face.

“Everything will be okay,” Meno told the pup encouragingly. Then he looked at Aniu. “Could I ask why it is you’re leaving?”

Aniu shot a glance at her pups, as if debating whether to answer, but evidently decided that he should know. “After Anok and Shiraea attacked us, you’re really the only one I trust around here. Now that Sango is…gone, who else can I go to for help? You were really close to Soren, weren’t you? Can’t you lead this pack? Can’t you restore the Shiok to what it was?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Meno replied. “Soren never really told me how the pack was run. I think you know it better than I do—you are the Alpha, after all.”

Aniu glanced downward. “I can’t lead the pack,” she said, a hint of despair in her voice. “I need to protect my pups, and there really isn’t anyone else I trust. I don’t know what to do. Please, Meno, you need to take my place as Alpha.”

Meno was silent for a minute. “Okay,” he finally said. “I’ll see what I can do.’

Aniu brushed her head across Meno’s chest. “Thank you,” she responded. “You have no idea what this means to me.” Then she turned, gathered her pups, and began to travel northwest.

Meno watched Aniu leave and then made his way to the Alphas’ den. He gasped as he saw the three bodies strewn across the floor. Two of them were unmistakably those of Anok and Shiraea, and the third was Sango. A few seconds later, though, a fourth form near the wall opposite Sango caught his eye. Upon closer inspection, Meno realized that the figure was a pup—female by its scent—presumably Ara. The pup’s brown fur was difficult to make through the blood that covered her head and body. After a few seconds, Meno crossed the den to sniff Sango’s body. There was something, he noticed, that did not belong to the other bodies.

Anok, Shiraea, and Ara had smelled of death and cold decay, but Sango was…still warm. The thoughts raced through Meno’s mind. Could he be—could he still be alive?

Dismissing the thought, for he knew there was no way he could find Aniu now, Meno left the body and proceeded to set up the den. Tomorrow, he decided, he would call a council and inform the rest of the pack of this news.

XIX

Aniu glanced over her shoulder for what seemed like the hundredth time since they had left to reassure herself that her pups were still following. The miles and hours that were now between the small group and the Shiok wolf pack had been uneventful—little more than snow and trees and sky.

She had to admit it to herself, Aniu though, that despite the lack of excitement of the past few hours, the scenery around here was beautiful.

The snow that blanketed the ground was soft and light, and the falling flakes drifted down from the gray sky with a calm, listless air. The conifers that dotted the landscape were tall and green, and thin dustings of snow laced their branches. The occasional bird would flit between the trees, and their shrill calls could be heard cutting through the chilled air.

A cloud changed position somewhere in the sky above, exposing the white sun and allowing its warm rays to seep through to the ground below. To the west, the mountain ranges of the Alaskan Interior rose above the ground, their peaks rivaling the clouds in terms of altitude. A third of the way up the mountains, the snowy rock gave way to a faint tree line that seamlessly bonded with the dark gray of the mountains.

Aniu paused as she glanced backward once again and noticed that Balto and Galena were wandering uncomfortably far away. Blinking a snowflake out of her eye, she called for them to come. “Come on, guys,” she told them once they were by her side again, “if you keep playing around, we’ll never get to where we’re going!”

“But Mommy,” Galena asked, “where are we going?”

Aniu thought for a second before replying. “We’re going to the nearest town. Once we get there, though, I’m not quite sure what we’ll do. Maybe we can try to live there.”

“Why can’t we just find another wolf pack?” Balto inquired. “I kind of liked the Shiok.”

“I’m sorry, Balto,” Aniu responded, “but we can’t go back to the Shiok. There’s too much of a risk that they won’t like us, and other packs just don’t accept random wolves that just happen to show up on their doorstep. We were lucky with the Shiok. Soren told us that they