all the times that she’d listened to him when no one else would, the redness in his eyes faded, replaced by his own cool blue.

“What have I done.” Talkeet thought. “Is it only now, only in death that I realize…”

A tear came to his eye.

Dash walked over to Aleu.

“Come on,” Dash said, “I’ve got to get you out of here, you’re hurt.”

Aleu nodded.

“Dash picked her up on his back, just as Shadow and his few followers ran into the chamber.

“Shadow!” Dash said, “how did you…”

“No.. no time to talk now.” Shadow said, out of breath from his retreat up the side of the cave.

“We’ve got to get out of here, there’s too many of them.”

Shadow walked over and looked down the side of the cave.

Then he ran back to Dash.

“They’re coming!”

Dash nodded, and handed off Aleu to Shadow.

Then he turned to the wolves who had survived the climb.

“We’ll hold them off for as long as we can.”

“No.”

Dash turned to see Talkeet standing, with some effort, behind them.

“Talkeet!” Shadow said.

“Son please…” Dash started.

Talkeet shook his head and interrupted his father.

“Let me do it.”

“What?” Dash asked.

“Lead them, you go with Aleu and Shadow, that’s where you belong.”

“No, son…” Dash started.

“Dad…” Talkeet said. “I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, all of this is my fault, Aleu….”

Talkeet hung his head.

“This is where I belong.”

Dash nodded, a tear coming to his eye.

Talkeet limped over to the remaining soldiers.

They were all members of his old unit.

“Tell mom…”

Dash smiled, wiped the tears away from his face with his paw, and then placed it on his son’s shoulder.

“I will.”

Talkeet shrugged his father away.

“Now go!”

Dash and the other’s ran out of the cave.

Talkeet looked around at the wolves who surrounded him.

“To all of you… I’m sorry.”

One of them smiled.

“That’s alright sir, this is what we live for.”

Talkeet laughed a bit.

“It was an honor to serve with you.”

“And you sir.” They all said as one.

Talkeet turned and faced the Uniea as they poured through the View.

“It’s Talkeet.” He said.

Then they charged.

A few days later, Rayne was in extreme pain.

She never thought it’d be like this.

She heard whimpering, and saw Dash pick up a little pup.

She smiled.

I wish you were here Talkeet.” She thought.

The pain kept getting worse, and Rayne didn’t know if she could take it anymore.

Then it stopped.

Rayne felt like she was floating.

She looked down, and found that she was floating about twelve feet above the ground.

She saw herself on the ground… she wasn’t breathing.

Aleu was trying to talk to her, and everyone was gathered around her.

She looked up, and saw a bright white light, in the blackness of the sky.

Rayne looked back down, and saw that she was now above the earth.

“It’s beautiful.” Rayne thought.

She looked upward.

The light was still there.

“Come here my child, follow my voice, you need not be afraid anymore.”

The voice seemed to surround Rayne, to wrap her up in it’s warmth.

Any fears that Rayne had had disappeared, and she floated toward the light…

Chapter 14

Balto was sitting in Jenna’s house, talking to her, when he heard a scratching at the door.

He went to it, and stepped through the doggy door.

“Aleu?!” He said.

She nodded.

“What happened?!” he asked, when he saw the injuries that still remained from her battle with Talkeet.

“It’s… It’s a really long story.” Aleu said.

“Well, I’ve got a lot of time.” Balto said. “Why don’t you come in?”

“No, dad, I’m… I need a home, for me and about twenty others.”

“What’s that?” Balto said. “What’s going on?”

“There was a battle, and we had to retreat…”

“Well, I suppose you can stay in the small forest behind my house.

Aleu nodded.

“I was hoping…”

“Oh I’m sure that Luke would understand, if I introduced you to him, and then the others… he’d probably be okay with it.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Aleu said.

“Well let’s go there now.” Balto said, “you can tell me about it on the way there.

Aleu nodded.

“Jen, something’s come up with Aleu, can you come to my place?”

Jenna came to the door.

“Oh my gosh!” She said.

Aleu nodded.

“Well… yes, yes, let’s go!” Jenna said.

She turned to Aleu.

“What happened to you honey?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.” Aleu said.

It was about a week later, and Balto was worried about Melody.

His daughter hadn’t moved from Timbre’s side in the entire time that the remnants of Aleu’s pack had been staying behind his house.

He watched as Melody laid down beside Timbre’s unmoving body, and closed her eyes.

Balto shook his head, and walked back to the house.

Melody had realized that Timbre wasn’t going to wake up. Why he continued to breathe, she didn’t know, but that was all he did, he hadn’t moved since he’d been shot.

She closed her eyes, and cried silently.

“Oh, Timbre.” She said through her tears. “I’m so sorry. I wish that… I wish that I could see you again, so that… so that I could explain… I love you Timbre. I always have… I don’t know why…”

“Do you mean that?”

Melody sat up abruptly.

Timbre’s eyes were open!

She gasped, and instantly, her eyes were so full of tears, that she couldn’t see, everything was just a blur.

He smiled at her.

She couldn’t talk either, so she just wrapped her paws around him, and hugged him tightly.

His smile vanished, replaced by a grimace of pain.

“Ow.” He said. “Gentle, gentle.”

Melody pulled away from him.

“Sorry.” She said.

She smiled.

“Oh Timbre, I… I love you so much…”

Timbre smiled.

“I know, I heard it all.”

“What?”

“I’ve been somewhat conscious this whole time.” Timbre continued. “I just… I was paralyzed I guess, I couldn’t move.”

“So the whole time…” Melody said.

Timbre nodded.

“Every minute, or well, almost every minute, there were some black spots.”

He yawned.

“Oh, you’re tired,” Melody said, “let’s get some rest, and then we can talk more in the morning.”

Timbre nodded.

Melody laid her head on his neck, and wrapped her paws around him, careful not to squeeze this time.

She looked up at him, an licked the side of his nose.

‘I love you Timbre.”

He smiled, which turned into a yawn, and smiled.

“I love you too Melody.”

Then he laid his head on top of hers, and soon, both of them were fast asleep.

Balto met Aleu around the front of the house.

“So what now?” Balto asked.

“I don’t know,” Aleu said, “at some point, I’m going to have to try to get the pack back, but…”

She sighed.

“I don’t know how.”

“Are you going to be alright?” Balto asked.

Aleu sensed something behind her, and turned.

There, on the snow of the front yard, four shimmering figures sat.

Aniu…

… Snow…

… Rayne…

… and Talkeet.

Talkeet smiled at her, and Rayne put her paw on Talkeet’s shoulder.

Then the four of them rose off of the ground, and floated upward, until they joined the many other bright lights in the sky.

Aleu turned back to him, and smiled.

“Yeah… Yeah, I have a feeling everything is going to be fine.”

Balto and Aleu walked into the house, and Aleu went to sleep that night, beside Shadow and the new addition to their family, Talkeet, and her mind was free of worry or regret.

There was but peace.

THE END