told us that they were one of the only packs that would take us, so it was a good thing that we chose them.”

Galena lifted a forepaw and rubbed her eyes. “I’m tired.”

Aniu glanced upward and saw that her daughter the right: the sun was now low on the horizon, and the sky was bathed in a pink hue. “Yeah,” she said. “Let’s find a place to sleep.”

“Can’t we keep going?” Lyrie asked.

“No, we need to rest for tomorrow. There’s a chance we’ll be walking all day, so we need to need as much energy as we can get.” Then Aniu led the pups over to a spot of deep snow. She showed them how to dig a hole in the snow to use as a bed. “We’ve never had to do this before,” she told them, “so pay attention.”

Making sure the pups were watching, Aniu crawled into the small den and covered herself with snow. Seconds later, she dug herself out and proceeded to help Balto, Lyrie, and Galena with their dens. The last rays of the sun were peeking over the horizon when Aniu finally covered herself with snow for the last time that night.

The sun was low on the purple horizon when Aniu awoke the next morning. She dug herself out of the den and looked around. There was nothing for miles, save for the occasional tree and distant mountains. A few small mounds of snow nearby suggested the places where her pups were still sleeping. She decided against waking them so early, so there was nothing to do but kill the time until they awoke.

Only after several minutes of wondering what to do did she decide to plan the rest of her journey. She already knew that they would go to the nearest town—Kolkrines—but after that, what? What would she do? Where would she go?

Eventually, she realized that before they could move on, they needed to rest and allow their injuries to heal. Most of them, luckily, had been minor, but Aniu knew that they could inhibit the pups’ strength and therefore mean the difference between life and death for them all.

She ran a forepaw down the side of her muzzle, tracing the gash Shiraea had inflicted the day before. A few traces of blood still clung to her paw, but the wound had stopped bleeding.

A whimper from somewhere behind her told her that Galena was awake. Aniu turned and saw her daughter emerge from under the pile of snow that had marked her den. A few small bruises dotted the pup’s face and body, and there was a scrape on her left shoulder, but she was otherwise unhurt.

“Morning, Mom,” Galena said, stretching to relieve herself of an ache in her back.

At that moment, Balto awoke. After a quick breakfast, they resumed their journey.

XX

Several days passed before Aniu and her pups came upon a town, with a rushing river just to the north. Even from their close proximity to the town, it was evidently small, merely a group of buildings clumped together in a dense packing of wood and stone. The sounds of barking dogs drifted through the streets, and soon the canines became visible, their forms roaming about the town with little to care about but food and protection. Many hundreds of lanterns dotted the dark expanse, and the occasional human could be seen traveling the various alleys that crossed the city.

As Aniu, Balto, and Lyrie ventured closer to the town, a few shouts could be heard from within the city’s boundaries, clearly amplified by the extreme cold. Somewhere a wife was calling for her husband to come in for dinner; somewhere a mother was calling her children in, and the general noises of daily life echoed throughout the town.

A dog—a large malamute— suddenly came rushing up to meet them. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” he asked, a hint of a threatening air in his voice.

Aniu was cautious in responding. “We’re just passing through,” she explained. “We don’t want to fight. Just let us by, and we promise not to harm you.”

The malamute was slow to answer, and he retained the intimidating look in his eyes. He began to lift a forepaw, but he evidently decided better of it and replaced his foot on the ground. “Come with me,” the dog said after a pause, stepping backward and motioning for them to follow him. “By the way,” he continued, “I’m Duran. Who are you?”

Aniu, once again, did not reply immediately. “I’m Aniu,” she said after a pause, “and these are my pups, Lyrie Balto, and”—she glanced around, searching for Galena, who was running around for what seemed like the hundredth time—“that’s Galena,” Aniu finished.

Duran smiled slightly at the sight of Galena. He called her name, and the pup looked at him, bewildered.

“Come on, Galena,” Aniu called. “Come here.”

The pup reluctantly returned to the rest of her family, still staring up at Duran with a confused expression on her face.

“Here,” Duran said, once again addressing them all. “I’ll show you around Kolkrines.” He turned the town and began to walk toward it, and Aniu and the pups followed him wordlessly.

“So, Aniu,” Duran continued, adopting a more casual tone of voice, “where’re you from?”

“South, Aniu answered. “I was born in the middle of the Interior, but my family is dead. My mate died only about a week ago, though, so my pups are the only ones I have left.”

“You’re a wolf?” Duran asked, caught off guard.

“Yes,” Aniu answered, “but Sango was a husky. So Balto and Lyrie and Galena are half and half.”

“Sorry about your family,” Duran said. “So why are you coming here? I mean, why are you going so far north?”

Aniu grinned dryly. “I know this sounds insanely weird, but I had a dream a few days ago that told me to come north. I think my mate sent it to me, so I decided to follow it.”

“That’s interesting,” Duran said, looking puzzled. “I had a dream just the other night. It told me someone I’m looking for would come here in a day or two.”

“Sorry,” Aniu said. “I’m not looking for another mate.”

“No, not like that,” Duran corrected. “It’s just that I think my owner wants to adopt another dog, but he hasn’t found one yet. I thought the dream meant he would find one, but he hasn’t.” The dog sighed. “There’s always another day, I guess.”

“Weird,” Aniu said, raising her eyebrows. “Sango told me in the dream to leave Galena here. Maybe…maybe that means you were supposed to adopt her.”

Duran paused for a second. “Maybe. You said her name’s Galena, right?” He pointed toward Galena, who was still glancing at him shyly.

“Yes,” Aniu replied. “That’s her.”

Now Galena spoke for the first time. “Why are you leaving me, Mom?” she asked, looking up at Aniu with a pained expression. “Where are you going?”

Aniu sighed. “I don’t want to leave you, Galena. I really don’t. But—but I feel like somehow it was…meant to be. Sango wants me to.”

Galena stared up at her with pleading eyes, and Aniu saw her daughter begin to cry. Son Galena looked down and then back upward. “How do you know what Dad wants you to do?” she suddenly snapped. “He’s dead, gone! He’s never coming back! How could you know what he wants?”

“Galena—” Duran tried to say.

“No,” Galena interrupted. “How could you know what my dad wants? He’s dead! He died a week ago!”

“Galena,” Aniu tried to intervene. “It’s not like that. You don’t understand. Sango didn’t tell—”

Leave me alone, Aniu!” Galena screamed. “At least Duran wants me!” She ran to Duran, tears streaming from her eyes, and buried her head in the dog’s chest fur.

Duran glanced at Aniu sympathetically.

“Galena—” Aniu repeated. She stepped forward and nudged her daughter’s shoulder. But Galena pulled away wordlessly.

A chord was struck in Aniu’s heart as she saw Duran comforting her daughter. She fought back a lump in her throat as she finally accepted the fact that Galena was really leaving. “Good—goodbye, Galena. I guess…you can have her, Duran. Good—goodbye.” She lowered her head and placed her tail between her hind legs, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Galena,” Balto asked, running after his sister and Duran, “what’s wrong?”

“Just—just leave me alone!” came the muffled response; Galena’s head was still buried in Duran’s fur.

XXI

“C—c’mon, Balto, Lyrie,” Aniu said, turning her head to the north. “Let’s…go….” She began to lead then north again, veering slightly east to bypass Kolkrines. As they passed the city, Aniu stole one last glance at her daughter, at Duran leading her away to a new life. “Goodbye, Galena.” Then she followed her pups silently, adopting their somber mood.

Two hours later, the wolf and her progeny decided to settle in for the night. The full moon was high in the sky as Aniu dug her den. She looked up to see Balto approach her.

“Where’s Galena?” the young dog asked innocently. “Why did you leave her?”

Aniu inhaled deeply and