head.

 

But to Felicie, that was enough.

 

——

 

 

The next few days were strange for Felicie. On one paw, she was still devastated over the loss of her brother, and longed to see him just one last time. But at the same time, she was relieved to know he was at peace now, rather than freezing and starving in the forest. Athos’s family and friends had a memorial service for him, and when grandpa Balto howled into the night at the end of the service, it finally hit Felicie that her brother was never coming back. She leaned onto Aslak, who had graciously come to pay his respects, and she felt a little better when he nuzzled against her.

 

Felicie had also just been under the weather ever since the loss of her brother, and was too depressed to do her job. Another dog had been put in her place for the time being, and Felicie trusted that he and the rest of the team were doing well. She knew she had to get her life back to normal eventually, but she just wasn’t ready to go back to her normal self. Part of her felt guilty for being alive while her brother probably starved to death, if he wasn’t mauled by a bear or some other hostile animal. However, she wasn’t completely isolated from the world. She visited her family often, and spent time with Aslak as a way to keep her mind off the loss. Outside of her family, Aslak was really the only friend she had spent time with since Athos died.

 

About a week or so after Athos’s service, Felicie went to visit Aslak who she knew was probably at his house. She was glad that Aslak’s owner, Mr. Karlsson, was lenient about letting other peoples’ dogs in the house, especially since he knew how close his dog was with Felicie. So, Felicie slipped through the doggy door so find Aslak chewing on a bone.

 

“Hello, Felicie,” Aslak said, looking up and smiling. “How are you?”

 

“Doing better each day, I think,” Felicie said truthfully as she laid against a pillow.

 

“When are you going to return to the sled team, Felicie?” Aslak said. The question caught Felicie off guard; they hadn’t really talked much about the sled team in the past week or so.

 

“O-oh, I don’t know,” Felicie said a little nervously, “I guess… I guess when it just stops hurting.”

 

Aslak’s expression softened, and he leaned a little closer to Felicie, which caused butterflies to float in her stomach. “It’s not ever gonna stop hurting, you know.”

 

Those words threw Felicie for a loop, and she mulled over them momentarily. “I guess you’re right,” Felicie said, her voice wavering.

 

“Athos wants you to keep doing what you love,” Aslak pointed out to her, his eyes shining earnestly. “You always will miss him, but he would not want your world to stop because of his death.”

 

Felicie tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. Her eyes grew misty, and she gave Aslak a look that told her she understood what he said.

 

“You can do it, Fel,” Aslak said, and Felicie’s legs suddenly felt like jelly when she realized this was the first time he had ever called her Fel. “I believe in you.”

 

Felicie sighed, and stared down at her paws. She imagined those same paws drumming through the snow, the wind whipping her face as she dashed through the wilderness with her team. She then looked up at Aslak, and smiled for what seemed like the first time in forever.

 

“You’re right,” Felicie said, a sense of determination welling up inside of her. “I think I’m ready to go back, Aslak. Tomorrow will be my first day back.”

 

——

 

Felicie stayed true to her word. The next morning, she made her way over to the sled dog kennel with Aslak as her escort, jumping up on her musher’s knees to let him know she was ready to run again. She was actually more thrilled than she thought she would be to get back to dogsledding; she missed running with all her friends.

 

“Good to have you back, girl,” her musher said, happily patting her head and giving her a treat.

 

Felicie slipped into her harness and smiled as she saw how happy the other dogs were to have her back.

 

“Hey, look, Fel’s back!” Sanak cheered, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

 

“We missed you, Fel!” exclaimed Helyana, the only other girl on the sled team whom Felicie was close friends with.

 

“I missed you guys, too!” Felicie said, her tail wagging in excitement. “I didn’t think I’d be this excited to get back in the harness.”

 

Meanwhile, Flash was about to get into his own harness and greet Felicie, when all of a sudden, he spotted Aslak standing next to her, apparently bidding her goodbye. He let out a low growl deep in his throat as he realized he had walked her here… and was probably the one Felicie had been spending time with all week. She was hanging out with that weird old European mutt instead of him, and it made his blood boil. As Aslak padded away, Flash trotted up to him.

 

“Hey, Weirdo!” he jeered.

 

Aslak looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of Flash approaching him.

 

“You stay away from Fel, okay?” Flash said, baring his teeth.

 

“I-I don’t understand…” Aslak said, cowering away.

 

“Felicie was my friend first,” Flash explained through gritted teeth, “and I’m not letting you get in the way of what we have. If I spot the two of you together one more time, you’re paying big time. Is that clear?”

 

Aslak wanted to protest, but he was paralyzed with fear as the large crimson dog towered over him.

 

“Am I clear?” Flash said more emphatically this time. “Sorry,” he said in a mocking tone, “I should have spoken a bit slower, seeing as you don’t speak English very well.”

 

Aslak wasn’t sure if he should say something, or if she should just break off in a run and hope Flash didn’t catch up to him. But thankfully, he didn’t have to decide, as Flash’s musher beckoned him over to have him get in the harness. Reluctantly, Flash stalked away, but made sure to look over his shoulder one final time at Aslak.

 

“This isn’t over, mutt,” he warned Aslak cooly.

 

Meanwhile, Felicie was catching up with Helyana as the two waited for Flash to get into his harness.

 

“So, tell me about you and the new guy,” Helyana said knowingly, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

 

“Aslak?” Felicie couldn’t help but laugh. “There’s nothing to tell,” she replied. “He’s just a good friend of mine. He’s been my rock ever since Athos died.”

 

“Well, by the look on your face, he seems to be more than just a friend,” Helyana quipped.

 

“What!? No!” Felicie cried out, her face suddenly heating up. Ugh, stop doing that, she mentally scolded herself.

 

“Come on, you’re blushing brighter than the Northern Lights,” Helyana said with a wink. “I think you have a little crush on Aslak.”

 

As Felicie ran with her team that day, running out in the cold air helped Felicie to really hone in on her thoughts and evaluate her feelings. She loved spending time with Aslak, and whenever he was affectionate with her, her heart skipped a beat. She always looked to spend her free time with him, and always thought of him at random times throughout the day. Aslak was kind, supportive, and a huge sweetheart, and, if Felicie was being honest, he wasn’t so bad on the eyes either. Her eyes bugged out when she realized that maybe Helyana was right.

 

Oh my gosh, she thought, I’m in love with Aslak!

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 5

 

For the next few days, Felicie mulled over what to do about her crush on Aslak. How do I tell him? she thought. Wait, do I tell him? If I don’t, then… oh, but if I do…

 

What will the others think?

 

Her mind traveled back to the day she first met Aslak, when he was being bullied by her teammates in the alleyway. Flash, Sanak, and Hyder were all her good friends, and if they found out she was going out with the “European mutt,” they would probably give her endless grief for it. Plus, Flash had been holding a grudge against Aslak for a while now, and Felicie had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t get any better if she and Aslak started going out. She knew she shouldn’t care what the others thought, but she also didn’t want to lose her friends. It would make work so much more difficult, and her life would be quite empty without them.

 

“What do I do?” Felicie lamented, this time out loud. She rolled over on her back and stretched as thoughts raced through her mind. Suddenly, it hit her. “I know,” she said, “I’ll go talk to Grandma.”

 

So, Felicie slipped through the doggy door and entered the streets of Nome, heading towards her grandmother Jenna’s house. Jenna had once been exactly in Felicie’s spot; she too had loved an outcast… Felicie’s grandfather.

 

Felicie finally made it to her grandmother’s house and hopped up the front porch. She let herself in, knowing Rosy and her parents

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