the body of the black male was cast into the smooth watery hands of the river. It took all she had for Sena not to slap her leader as he stood in front of her, addressing the rest of the pack. Could he be so naïve as not to see the blood caked on the wolf’s throat? No, she answered herself silently, he’s covering it up. Disgusted, she turned and padded back toward the clearing. As she passed a trio of females talking, part of their conversation found her ears.

“He makes seven, if we consider him part of our pack,” one said.

“Once a member, always a member,” another interjected.

“The caribou have gotten so much more aggressive than last year,” the last one said, “Why could that be?”

“I don’t know, but if we’re to survive the winter, our hunting parties have to start coming back with meat instead of corpses.”

How could I have been so stupid? Sena thought, I had the same feeling when I saw the others’ throats, but I didn’t think enough of it to check. Then, another question flashed through her mind.

What made this one different?

As she debated with herself, Sena absent-mindedly wandered to the entrance of the same den where she had last seen the mysterious black wolf. Paying no mind to the guards, she went inside, and only snapped out of her trace-like state when she noticed that she was not the den’s only occupant.

Curled up near the wall and crying softly to himself lay a young brown wolf. He vaguely reminded her of someone, though she couldn’t quite place a name with his face. The pup looked up at her, exposing a bruised and cut muzzle, and inched away from her.

“Don’t worry,” Sena said, “I won’t hurt you.”

“That’s what the other guy said,” the pup whimpered, backing up even further against the den wall.

“Who?”

“I don’t know his name. He was black and white.” The pups suddenly whimpered as his eyes looked past her. Sena turned just in time to see a white paw connect with her face. She hit the wall. Before she could make sense of what had just happened, a growled voice answered her question.

“You just can’t help but mess with other people’s business, can you?” A paw pressed her muzzle to the ground and she began to whine softly when she recognized Steele’s voice. “The only reason you’re not dead too is because I wouldn’t be able to pass off your death as an accident. If you want to keep it that way, I suggest you keep your muzzle shut.” With that, he released the pressure on her muzzle and walked out. Sena slowly lifted her head and tried to blink back the tears forming in her eyes. Getting to her paws, she whispered to the pup,

“I’ll do my best to get you out of here.” The pup nodded and she left to find a soft place to lie down and clear her head. Curling up near a bush on the edge of the clearing, she fell into a troubled sleep.

As the sun rose above the Alaskan tundra, a small band of wolves and huskies walked single file among the trees. The leader, a strong white male, was beginning to regret his decision. He was worried, not just for those following him, but for the three pups he carried on his back. When he and the others had set out the night before, it had been hard enough. Abandoning his pack’s traditional home and land had weighed heavily on his mind, and for the first few hours they had walked in no particular direction.

Thankfully, Balto had marked their trail in the same way he had when he went out to look for the lost sled team. Then, another thought had hit Echo: Their adversaries could follow their trail just as easily. So he had asked Balto to make his marks more sparsely, and Balto had agreed.

They had stopped to discuss where to go when a clap of thunder signaled a coming storm. Rather than fight their way through it and risk not finding a safe haven, Echo and the others had curled up close together to wait out the storm. The next morning, a new challenge awaited them.

Though the storm had blown itself out, the snow was now far too deep for the pups, and almost to the top of the adult’s legs. Echo had considered stopping where they were, but Balto, Jenna, Kaltag, and Krystal all urged him to continue; they would follow him anywhere.

Now, many hours later, he plowed his way through the waist-deep snow with all three his pups sleeping on his back. Echo his muscles beginning to tire. One glance behind him at the others was all he needed to see that they were also becoming exhausted.

“We’ll stop here,” he said as they reached a small grove of trees, “This should hide us very well if need be.” The others nodded and curled up in a small circle; Balto beside Jenna, Krystal beside Kaltag, and Echo between Kaltag and Balto with the pups safely surrounded in the middle. The eight member pack slept for most of the day and into the evening, when Echo jerked awake. Balto’s place in the circle was empty. Worried at this sudden disappearance, Echo got to his paws and followed Balto’s scent to a clump of bushes near a young tree. “Balto?” he whispered. There was flash of movement, and then Balto stepped out of his hiding place to meet him.

“What are you doing?” he enquired

“Someone has to keep watch.”

“Let me, then,” Echo said. Balto shook his head from side to side.

“After what’s happened, you need sleep more than any of us.” Echo started to argue, but he had to admit that his friend was right.

“Alright,” he said, “but then wake me when the moon comes up. We’ll do this in shifts. We’re still a pack.” Balto nodded and crept back into the bushes while Echo padded back to the others and lay down once more.  

Jenna’s ears twitched as she woke with a start. She could have sworn that she’s heard a yelp. Everyone else is still sleeping, she thought, I must have imagined it. As she laid her head back down on her paws, a voice she knew well floated through the trees.

“Jenna,” it moaned, “help me. Help me.” Jenna sat up straight and spun her head toward the sound.

“Balto…” She glanced quickly down at the others, but then padded quickly off into the forest. “Balto, where are you? Balto?”

“Over…here…” the voice replied weakly. Jenna stopped for a moment. That almost didn’t sound like him, she thought, I hope he’s not hurt bad. She followed the voice and sure enough, there he was. Both his back legs were trapped under a fallen tree and his back was to her.

“Balto?” she said, padding up to him. As she neared him, she stopped again. Something about him seemed unfamiliar. “Balto?” she said again, putting a paw on his shoulder and turning his body to face her.

It wasn’t Balto at all.

The stranger’s throat was torn wide open and his fur soaked with blood. She felt someone tackle her from behind and hold her muzzle shut before she had a chance to scream. Then came a strong blow to the back of her head, and she faded slowly into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw were the wide eyes of the wolf she had thought to be Balto, but who was only a young brown pup.

Chapter Five

“He’s still alive! Here, help me move him.” Balto felt himself being dragged slowly and gently through the snow. He opened his eyes to see the concerned faces of Echo and Kaltag above him.

“What… Where am I?” he mumbled.

“You’re still with us, thank Aniu,” Echo replied.

“We thought you were dead at first,” Kaltag added, “With Je-” Kaltag cut off abruptly, not wanting to continue, but he had already caught Balto’s attention.

“What’s wrong with Jenna?” Kaltag sighed, unable to put off what he was going to say any longer.

“Balto, she… she’s disappeared.”

“Wh- What?”

“We lost her scent by the old log over there,” Echo said, nodding at a fallen tree, “The place reeked of wolves, very unfriendly wolves.”

“And… there’s something I think you should see.”

“By Aniu!” Balto exclaimed, “He was just a pup!”

“Look at his fur, Balto,” Echo said, sweeping his paw in an arch over the body. Balto looked the young wolf from head to tail and stood speechless for a moment. He glanced at Echo, and then back at the body.

“He…he looks just like me,” he said, almost in a whisper. Echo nodded. “Do you think it’s a message?”

“Most likely a warning,” Kaltag put in.

“A warning…” Balto repeated, his eyes fixed on the corpse at his paws, “Who would…” The thought had hardly crossed his mind when he had the answer.

“Steele.” Echo and Kaltag nodded in agreement. Balto took a few short steps before sinking to the ground. “How? Why do I keep letting this happen? I should have been next to her.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Balto,” Echo said, putting a paw on his friend’s shoulder, “We’ll get her back.”

“No,” Balto said, “I can’t ask you to risk you lives again. With all that happened…” He trailed off, not wanting to renew his friend’s suffering, but Echo quickly replied, saving him from having to.

“That’s why I’m coming with you. They took away my mate and they took away my pack. I