"Oh, Well next time your going to be gone all day be sure to tell me" Jenna said

"sorry mom" Aleu said laying down.

"oh and we're going to anchorage for a week in the morning" Jenna said remembering no one had told her yet.

"WHAT!" Alue almost shouted jumping back to her feet.

"we're going to anchorage tomorrow" Jenna repeated

"What do you mean going to anchorage?" Alue asked

"we're going on a trip" Jenna said

"im not going" Aleu said and ran out the boiler room.

She sighed. It seemed that Kalgorn was the only one that really wanted to go on this trip.

Balto awoke just then. He looked over at jenna. "Jenna?" Balto said sleepily

"balto i dont think we should go on the trip" Jenna said

"what? why?" Balto asked getting to his feet.

"Judi, Kodi, Aleu, and Kyle dont want to go" Jenna said

"how do you know Aleu doesent want to go?" balto asked "did she come back?"

"yea but she got angry and ran once i told her" Jenna said

"Kalgorn is going to be so upset" Jenna said

Chapter V

The Trip Begins

Kalgorn accidentally slept over at Misty's house that night and he had to get up extremely early to get back before they left. What he found there when he got home got his curiosity. It was Just Balto with a pack on his back. He looked around and spotted Kalgorn.

"hay get over here son" Balto said smiling

"dad whats going on?" Kalgorn asked when her reached Balto

"plans have changed. It's just me and you" Balto explained

"Why?" Kalgorn asked

"Your brothers and sisters dont want to go and i knew how much this would mean to you so i decided to just go alone with you" Balto said

"How far from Nome have you been? Kalgorn asked

"not far just Ninnan" Balto said

"how long would it take to get there?" Kalgorn asked eagerly

"couple days" Balto said

"you think we can go there" Kalgorn asked

"maybe, Since its just two of us we can cover more ground then with 7 of us" Balto said smiling at his son.

Kalgorn smiled back at his dad and they ran. They raced all the way to Kalgorn's favirote perch, The Mountain and climbed up it and went down it the other side.

Balto really wanted to talk with Kalgorn, It had been so long since he and Kalgorn had just talked. Kalgorn wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He had never been so far out before and he was loving every second of it.

"Kick those feet son" Balto said as he started to pass Kalgorn

"Where does this race end?" Kalgorn asked

"Whenever one of us quits" Balt said smiling.

"watch where your going dad" Kalgorn said sticking out his paw and Balto tripped.

"That's a foul" Balto said once he got up.

"winning is winning dad" Kalgorn said laughing

Jenna rolled over in her sleep. She couldn't feel the warm body of Balto that she had fallen asleep curled up with anymore. She opened her eyes and saw Balto was gone. Jenna sat up and looked around.

"Balto?" Jenna said curiously

Kodi woke up.

"Mom what is it?" Kodi asked from his corner

"Your father is gone" Jenna said standing up.

"Hay where is Kalgorn?" Kodi asked seeing only 2 of his siblings asleep on the ground.

"I think i know where they are" Jenna said smiling.

"Where?" Kodi asked

"On there way to anchorage" Jenna said laying back down.

"oh" Kodi said "weren't we supposed to go with them?"

"i guess your father only took Kalgorn becouse Kalgorn was the only one who wanted to go" Jenna said

Kodi fell back asleep a minute later and jenna started to doze off.

"Hay dad what is that?" Kalgorn asked standing on the top of a hill Balto was still struggaling to get up.

"Road" Balto said seeing the long brown dirt path that Kalgorn was looking at.

Kalgorn ran over to an muddy area and pressed his paw down in it. When he pulled his paw away there was an imprint of his his paw. He then went over to some of the snow that hadnt metled away yet and pushed some over the the imprint. He the pressed the snow into the imprint.

"what are you doing?" Balto asked walking over to Kalgorn.

"Leaving my mark" Kalgorn said

Balto laughed.

Kalgorn looked to his right and saw a large wolf pack headed towards them. Kalgorn squinted at the pack. He thought he had just seen... But no it couldnt be. He thought he had just seen his sister with those wolves. and as he squinted he could make out the shape of a female gray wolf. It was Aleu.

"Aleu!" Kalgorn said shocked

"what?" Balto asked looking at the wolves too. He gasped. Then he ran towards the pack. Kalgorn took off after Balto.

After Aleu had been told about the trip to anchorage she had ran out of the room and all the way back to the wolves cave. She had slept there and now that it was around mid-day she was out a good 3 hours from Nome, with a pack of wolves. Having joined the pack she was now helping then hunt for food. Suddenly she heard the sound of her name being called. She looked behind her.

"One of yall same my name?" aleu asked. They all shook their heads.

Aleu looked forward again and saw her father and brother running toward her. She gasped.

Balto skidded to a halt in front of Aleu.

"Aleu what are you doing out here? Why are you with these wolves?" Balto asked before a full brown wolf stepped infront of aleu and said "Who are you?"

"Im Aleu's father Balto" Balto answered the wolf.

"Dad look im part of this pack" Aleu started.

"Your what?!" Balto said surprised

"I joined recently" Aleu continued.

"Aleu can i talk to you alone?" Balto asked

Aleu looked back to the wolves then walked a few feet from them with balto.

"Aleu how long has this been going on?" Balto asked

"a long time" Aleu answered

"Is this where you've been all those times you dissapeared?" Balto continued

"Yes" Aleu said

Balto sighed.

"Dad look i never told you becouse i was afraid yall would hate me for it" Aleu said

"Aleu i don't hate you but i wish you had told me sooner" Balto said

"Im sorry" Aleu said lowering her head

"Aleu i want you to tell your mother when you get back home" Balto said

"I know, I will" Aleu said

"Just be careful with this pack thing, they can be pretty cruel sometimes" Balto said

"Ok" Aleu said walking back to the pack.

"Kalgorn come on" Balto said.

As Kalgorn walked past his sister he said to her "Bye" and then cought up with his dad.

"Dad what is aleu doing?" Kalgorn asked knowing what but hoping he was wrong.

"Aleu joined the wolf pack" Balto said starting to walk again.

"Oh" Kalgorn said then they walked for awhile in silence.

Jenna sat wondering about Aleu for most of the day and when Kyle apprached her he asked "Mom, Have you seen Aleu anywhere?"

"no, i havent seen her at all today" Jenna answered

Jenna was about to go look for Aleu when she appeared walking out of an alled and onto the street.

"Mom" she started

"Aleu where have you been?" Jenna asked jogging over to her

"Mom i have to tell you something" Aleu started

"What?" Jenna asked

"I joined a wolf pack" Aleu started. "ive been sneaking off to go around with them for awhile now and just recently ive joined the pack"

"You WHAT!" Jenna said shocked

"Mom its not that big of a deal" Aleu said

"Of course it is. Aleu your PART wolf not an entire wolf" Jenna said putting emphasis on part wolf.

"I know that but that doesent mean i can't join a wolf pack" Aleu said

"Aleu what did you join the pack for?" Jenna asked

"I love being with them. I feel like im where i belong when im with them." Aleu said

"so you don't like it here?" Jenna asked

"no its ok here i just like being surrounded by wolves, by my own kind" Aleu said

Jenna didn't have anything left to say. This had come as a real huge shock. She would have never seen it coming.

"Mom im sorry about not telling you sooner" Aleu said then walked away.

"How did she take it?" Anorg asked. A thin, black wolf.

"not to well" Aleu said as she returned to the pack.

"Come on we have to get this back to the cave" Kenti said jesturing to the large caribou they had managed to kill.

Aleu helped them take the animal back to the cave and set it down inside then went back out to think.

"Aleu" came Platinum's voice from behind her.

Aleu looked behind her and saw him. "Hi" Aleu said

"whats up?" Platinum asked seeing her troubled face

"it's nothing. Aleu said "thanks for saving my life the other day by the way.

"No problem" Platinum said.

Aleu sat there for several minutes before she decided to go back in. Platinum followed her inside then Aleu went to the beds and layed down.

Platinum left Aleu alone sensing she wanted to be alone.

Balto and Kalgorn ran for several hours before the sun started to set so they found a nice place to rest then balto taking out several chunks of meat from the pack on his back they ate them then went to sleep for the night. When Kalgorn woke up again it was still dark. Kalgorn sat up and looked around, trying to figure out what had awoken him. Unable to figure out he layed back down and yawned. Then he heard it. Two sharp rapid clicks. He looked around. He saw a red light appear on the ground then go over his body and stop at his head. He jumped out of the way as the hunter fired. It hit the snow just over his dad's back. Balto jumped up.

"What the" Balto said the hunter fired again and missed again. Balto and Kalgorn ran from the hunter They kept going until he was out of sight then slowed to a walk.

"darn hunters think they can kill anything with 4 legs" Balto said angrily.

"That was close" Kalgorn said taking deep breaths.

"We better get away from this place before another hunter decides to try and kill us" Balto said picking up on running again.

Kalgorn sped up along with him.

"Alleyou" came the pup elijo's voice.

"Hmm" Aleu said waking up.

"what's wrong?" elijo asked

"what? Oh nothing just tired" Aleu said

elijo smiled at aleu and aleu couldn't help but smile back.

"how do you keep getting out of the 2nd level?"