sudden destiny that he was now given, one other thing was more important to him than saving the Clan.

 

One wolf, a male like himself except that his coat was a dark almost muddy-red with white markings on his face, and down his chest to his tail, quickly noticed the half-breed’s worried expressions and approached him with his tail lowered as a sign of respect for his new leader. “Are having second thoughts, Balto?” His dark gray eyes, surrounded by white patches, also looked out onto the land that he had once called his home, not knowing what internal struggle was going through the half-breed’s mind. He let out a sigh. “I don’t blame Niju for his anger. I going to miss my home too, for I was born by the river, just like all of the others. That’s why the Great Aniu dubbed us as the ‘Kawa’ – the Clan born of the River.”

 

For some reason, the male’s words touched him. He remembered his own home of Nome. He wasn’t born there – he was born in the wild: the accursed offspring of a white she-wolf and an ebony husky in a forbidden romance in a time when wolves and huskies were meant to be enemies – but he had always considered it as home. The brownish-gray vaguely remembered his life in the wild though – a tragedy suddenly struck his family, causing his parents and siblings to be separated from him – Soon, the half-breed found himself all alone at the edge of the small Alaskan town. He was saved by Boris, a stray snow goose from Russia who decided to raise the young pup as his own, and made some new friends and enemies. Life was difficult being a half-breed in a town where wolves were feared by most humans and he was outcast by many of his own kind; however, when all hope was lost less than two years ago, he realized that he was the only one that could save the town from a tragic epidemic, thus earning the respect that he had always wanted from everyone in Nome.

 

Afterwards, the most important thing that kept him there was the love of his life, a beautiful purebred husky named Jenna; after that winter, they had just begun to settle down and start a family together and now he was about to leave them all behind . . . all because of some prophecy that he had never expected to come from his mysterious dreams about ravens, wolves, and ice. The half-breed had been having those dreams ever since that fateful day when his mate revealed that he was to become a father; all he knew was that a mysterious voice had told him that the totem spirits would lead him to something . . . but what, he did not know at the time. Later on, he realized what that something was, thanks mostly to the elder alpha’s announcement the previous evening.

 

But, no . . . No, he couldn’t do that . . . he couldn’t accept the totality of this duty that everyone believed he was summoned to fulfill. During his quest in the wilderness, he had forgotten what was most important - he had promised Jenna that he would bring their eldest daughter home, no matter what. He knew that this had to be done.

 

The brown-gray hybrid turned back to the lupine, closing his eyes. "I have to go back.”

 

“What? Why?” The wolf’s ears sprang up in disbelief. A couple of others pricked up their ears at the sound of their brother’s voice and began to quietly whisper to each other as the red one queried him, wanting to understand him. “You can’t just leave! If the Great Aniu has summoned you here to save us, why would you want to leave us so suddenly?”

 

Balto let out a sigh, knowing that it would be difficult for the wild wolves to understand his tame patriarchal intentions if he had enough time to tell them his reasons. “I have to protect my daughter. I’m sorry, but I have to go help her."

 

Sadly, the red-brown wolf nodded and watched sadly as the gray-brown hybrid took a final glimpse at the life he could have lived and then leaped into the dark blue sea below, quickly paddling towards the icy island where his beloved wild child needed him. The red wolf let out a sigh and whispered into the wind, “Please guide him, Father.”

 

The wolves lowered their ears at the sight of their newfound leader turning back as they murmured amongst themselves as some began to howl and whimper on their floating iceberg. There was about twenty of them - mostly females and the rest were males. Their colors of black, gray, brown, and every shade you could find in-between turned to their so-called leader and began to speak behind his back; their gossiping conversations between each other revealed that they couldn’t understand why he abandoned them.

 

"Hmph! That Balto, . . . he's still nothing more than a tame house pet. Maybe he doesn't belong out here as our leader."

 

"All to save his daughter? He's not worthy to be the Kawa Clan’s leader if he's just gonna leave us for her!"

 

“He may look wolf, but his actions are clearly all dog. He wasn’t worthy enough to be alpha anyway.”

 

“But why would the Great Aniu lead Balto to our Clan if he’s not meant to lead us? Surely Aniu couldn’t have made a tragic mistake such as this!”

 

"Perhaps Niju was truly right: this prophecy was leading us only to doom . . . and now Balto has led us to our deaths!"

 

However furious the others were, the red-brown male still had hope, though he dare not speak it aloud to his Clan. I’m sure Balto had a good enough reason to leave us, he thought to himself. He only wanted to protect his daughter, like every parent hopes to do to their children. Perhaps this is all Aniu’s will – our true leader shall save us from the darkness, becoming our light. That’s what Father always told me recently. He sat down, continuing his vigil on the edge of the slab, hoping that the true leader would arrive soon.

 

A minute or so had passed before they heard the cawing of a raven echoing off the walls of nature. It began to circle the ice island where Balto had swum to in order to save his beloved child, then it flew past them, soaring in the direction of the iceberg of wolves. They didn't understand the meaning of the call or the reason why the raven was flying to them, but they felt the urge to begin their howling, as if to call their true alpha out from within the shadows. Led by the reddish-brown wolf that spoke with Balto, they began to sing with all their hearts, hoping that their melody and prayer would be heard.

 

Help us, O Leader . . .  

 

‘The one who is wolf and does not know’ . . .  

 

Fulfill your destined purpose . . .  

 

Save our Clan . . . ‘the Clan born of the River’ . . .  

 

The Kawa needs you . . .

 

As if the four canines understood their howling tune, one female wolf on the Clan’s iceberg let out a yip as she looked out towards their old territory, announcing exciting news of what she saw with a youthful voice of cheer. "Look! From the iceberg! One of the wolves just jumped back in, and he's headed this way!"

 

The expressions of the other pack-members turned from furious anger into inexpressible joy. They weren't sure who was returning to them, but they were sure it was either their elder, Nava, or the destined half-breed, Balto.

 

“Who is it? Who is it?” A thin wolf of brown and patches of tan fur peered out to sea, eagerly wondering who had returned to lead them. He panted excitedly as he sat, helping himself with a scratch using his left hind leg.

 

“I can’t tell . . .” Another wolf that sat beside the scratching one, a still thin but normal-sized dull gray-blue male answered back. “but he’s getting closer!” He also began to scratch, for his friend’s itching was quite contagious and his fleas were leaping from tan fur to faded navy.

 

“Quickly, pull him up when he arrives! He’ll be exhausted after such a strenuous swim.” The red-brown male ordered the two wolves.

 

However, a large, furry male with slightly darker navy-gray fur heard the order; since he was near the other two misfits, he sat straight up and nodded to the temporary leader. “Will do, Scarlet,” After the red male left to gather the rest of the pack, the husky-sized wolf laid back down onto the ice and let out a sigh as a muttering was released from his large jaws. “I just hope he has enough strength to still lead us to that caribou . . .” He licked his lips for a moment and then heard his companions shout.

 

“He’s here! He’s here!” The small blue-gray wolf stood up at the sight of the figure.

 

“C’mon!” The thin tan one looked at his friends, calling them by name. “Nuk!” He turned to the large male. “Yak!” He spoke to the other blue wolf. “We have to help get him onto the ice!”

 

Nuk nodded to his friend. “Don’t worry, Sumac! We’ve got ‘em!”

 

Closer and closer, the figure paddled quickly to the waiting Clan. As if by instinct, the two wolf misfits lifted the soaking-wet lupine out from the water and onto their current abode called a cracked sheet of ice, not realizing for a moment who they actually picked up.

 

"You!"

 

One wolf growled at their "leader", realizing who it was they had taken in. The furious wolf was a female - her coat was covered in light gray, with exception of her piercing eyes, paws and tail, which were navy-black. In looks, she resembled the rebel male that was their former leader’s rival since the time of his own birth. "You're Balto's daughter, are you not? Aren’t you just a tame-born?"

 

The wet female, shaking her light-brown and beige-white fur dry, turned to the Clan and nodded; although she was born in the world of humans and now ran away into the land of her ancestors, she had never heard the term of ‘tame-born’ used before . . . not even while she and her father were amongst the Kawa. However, her newfound confidence in

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