violation of which shall be punishable by death, is hereby repealed. The accused shall be allowed to assume her previous status in this town, with the knowledge that should she commit another crime against this town, or it’s inhabitants, in violation of our laws, she shall be banished once again, and that this banishment will never be rescinded.”

Blaize stopped.

“I have here with me Gemeni, the victim in this case’s mother.”

He looked at Gemeni, who was sitting near the front of the crowd of dogs.

“Gemeni, will you please come up here.”

Gemeni stood and walked up next to Blaize.

“Do you have something to say?” Blaize asked.

Gemeni nodded and turned to the gathering of dogs below.

“This decision was made with my approval. It is my opinion that my mate…”

Gemeni stopped as a tear came to her eye.

“I’m sorry…”

She took a moment to recompose herself, and continued..

“…that my mate, Drake, made a prejudiced decision in this case, because of the involvement of our son. It is my wish that the accused, Jenna, be allowed to return to Nome.”

Blaize turned to Gemeni.

“Thank you.”

He turned back to the crowd of dogs.

“That was the purpose of this meeting. If there is nothing further, you may all return to your homes. Please be safe, watch for cars and have a good night.”

Chapter 14:

Early the next morning, Saba opened her eyes about half-way, and became aware of an intense burning pain beginning in her shoulder and stretching all the way down her left foreleg to her paw.

She shook her head.

The room was extremely blurry.

She looked down and saw a fairly good sized puddle of dark red blood beneath her. It coated the white fur of her leg and shoulder as well.

“I should wake dad…” Saba thought. “…this can’t be good…”

She turned her head slowly and saw the fuzzy brown form of her father on the other side of the room in his bed.

She stood slowly, and her vision swam.

Saba took a few steps forward and stumbled, almost falling.

“I need to move slower…” She thought. “…apparently I’m hurt worse than I thought.”

She took a few more steps forward, favoring her injured limb considerably.

After those few steps Saba felt the leg shake and almost fold under her.

She stopped and shook her head, trying to aid her worsened vision.

All of sudden Saba felt very light headed, as if enshrouded in a fog.

As it lifted she stumbled forward and fell on her left shoulder, sending a violent, bursting pain all the way from her paw to the tip of her left ear.

Saba felt a warm fluid spreading slowly beneath her and realized with a sudden alarcity that her fall and torn her wound open again.

Now she was bleeding worse.

Saba realized then that her eyes were closing, and she could do nothing to stop it.

The edges of her vision went black.

“…no…” She thought. “…no… got… to… get… dad…”

Saba raised her right paw and stretched it toward her father, amazed at the effort even this small action required now.

“…dad… help…” she choked out.

Saba’s strength left her then, and her paw dropped to the ground as her head rolled to the side and was still.

Saba didn’t move.

Balto was running through the snow.

Jenna was just ahead of him, her red bandanna flapping like an angel’s wings behind her.

She looked back and laughed, trying to run harder.

Balto smiled.

“You should know you can’t outrun me.” He thought.

Balto shifted his position to the right a little bit and gained a few inches on her.

He sprinted forward, and pulled even with her.

Balto looked at her and she squealed, as Balto leapt sideways, colliding with her shoulder and sending the two of them rolling across the snow.

The two slid to a stop, and Balto came out on top.

Balto stayed still for a moment, just looking at her eyes.

“Her beautiful brown eyes…” Balto thought.

Jenna smiled.

“What?” She asked.

“…nothing…” Balto said. “…just you.”

Jenna smiled again and did something Balto was completely unprepared for.

She twisted sideways, unbalancing him, and threw her right leg sideways, over his head, and pushed, tripping him over her and rolling on top of him.

The movement threw her bandanna all askew, the knot was now on the left side of her neck, and the tail of it hung on her right shoulder.

She smiled at Balto’s wide eyed look.

“You see, two can play your game Balto.”

He smiled, and she bent down, until their noses touched and she nuzzled him.

Balto closed his eyes and nuzzled her back.

Suddenly something didn’t seem right.

Jenna’s soft fur felt wirey and tousled beneath his touch.

Balto opened his eyes and jumped up in surprise at the creature before him.

It was a white wolf.

Balto looked around franticly, but there was no Jenna.

He looked back to the white wolf before him.

“…mother?” He said, stepping forward.

The wolf nodded curtly.

“You must awake my son. Awake!”

The world swirled and Balto felt himself fall to the snow, seeing the scene now as if he were observing it outside his body.

His mother’s yellow eye filled his vision.

“Awake!”

Balto’s eyes snapped open several minutes later.

“Mother?” He said, standing and turning around to take in the room.

“What a strange dream…” Balto thought.

He turned back around and yawned.

“I guess I need to get more sleep…”

What he saw sapped the tiredness from his body with a quickness he’d never imagined.

“Saba!” Balto cried, running to the side of his fallen daughter.

The blood had spread beneath her by this time, and now coated the floor in a shallow pool.

Balto knelt beside his daughter and nudged her head with his nose.

He got no response.

“Oh no…” He thought.

He turned and ran up the stairs.

There was but one hope for his daughter now…

Balto ran square into Luke’s door, slamming it open and leapt from the bedside, landing right in the middle of the sleeping young man.

Luke was startled by this and opened his eyes quickly.

“Balto!” Luke said groggily. “Have you lost your mind boy!”

Balto nudged Luke’s arm, and the young man realized something wasn’t right.

“What is it boy?” He asked.

Balto jumped down from the bed and ran to the door.

Luke repeated his question.

Balto barked in response and ran down the stairs.

Luke grabbed the .45 from his nightstand and slid the silver clip home, jacked a round into the chamber, and followed Balto down the stairs. 

Luke followed the sound of Balto’s paws into the living room, where by the light of the fire in the fireplace, Luke could see a good sized white wolf.

Luke jerked the .45 up and heard Balto bark.

Balto ran in front of the wolf.

“Move boy!” Luke said.

Balto stayed where he was.

“Move boy!” Luke said. “What’s gotten into you? If that thing wakes up, it will kill us both!”

Balto stepped over the wolf protectively and whined, nudging it’s still form.

Luke noticed the pool of blood beneath the wolf then.

“Oh I get it…” Luke said.

He dropped his arm and slid the safety of the .45 to it’s on position.

“You don’t want me to kill it… you want me to help it.”

Balto looked up at the young man and barked.

Luke sighed.

“What is it doing here boy?”

Balto barked and nudged the wolf again.

Luke smiled and walked to the fallen wolf’s side.

“Alright boy, I’ll see what I can do.”

Luke stretched his arm toward the wolf, noticing that it was trembling slightly.

He felt a dull, almost imperceptible pulse on it’s neck.

Balto moved to stand beside Luke as the young man worked.

Not noticing any wounds on it’s right side, Luke carefully rolled the wolf over.

He ran his trained hands gently over the wounds on the wolf’s left shoulder and leg.

Then he sighed.

Balto looked up at Luke and whined.

Luke smiled and patted Balto on the head.

“It’ll be alright boy.”

He looked back down at the wolf.

“It’ll be alright…”

Saba’s eyes opened slowly.

She groaned and tried to stand, then realized she could not, something was on top of her.

She looked up and saw her father’s paw on her side, he was sleeping soundly beside her.

She smiled, and then winced as a single shot of pain ran through her.

She blinked a few times as the pain subsided.

The last thing Saba remembered was passing out on the floor of the cabin.

She looked around.

“I think I’m still in the cabin…” Saba thought.

She looked down and saw numerous layers of white bandage on her leg and shoulder.

“Then how…”

Saba looked across the room and saw a young man on the chair against the wall he was sleeping soundly, a pistol in his lap and an olive drab bag with a red cross on the background of a white circle embossed on the flap.

Saba looked back at her father.

“He must’ve woken up.” She thought. “…and the man