wolves, Cloud Runner had given a speech calling the four fallen ‘heroes of the White Mountain pack.’ They had been carried to the river bed and set adrift as a pair of young warriors sang The Prayer for the Dead.

Soon after, and long into the night, the pack celebrated with a midnight howl. Cloud Runner was congratulating her troops when Desai came up to her.

“We did it! I don’t believe it!” he was saying, “We won!”

“You were wonderful, Desai.” Desai’s eyes twitched. Usually, Cloud Runner would compliment an entire unit, or at least a group of individuals, but this time she was talking directly to him. More than that, he noticed a peculiar look in her eyes as a smile crossed her face. The troops, guessing at what would happen, chuckled softly and moved away. Desai, not knowing what else to do, smiled back at her, and for reasons he couldn’t know, a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. He looked away, embarrassed, but glanced back and saw that Cloud Runner was still watching him, and her smile had grown. Turning back, he struggled with words for a moment before he managed to say,

“Th-than-thank you.” Cloud Runner laughed and he smiled sheepishly and watched as her fur rippled in rhythm with her laughter. Somehow, it held more meaning, more feeling, now. For a while, he had secretly admired her in a personal way that exceeded his loyalty to her as a leader. At first, he was sure it was just friendship, but now, it seemed to be something more… Could it be love?

“What’s come over you, Desai?” she asked him playfully, walking past him toward her den, but keeping her eyes on him, “Losing control of our emotions, are we?” Desai could only follow her with his own brown eyes.

“N-no.”

“Oh please, Desai,” she sighed, shaking her head, “You don’t think I’ve seen you watching me?” Desai blushed more than ever. “I think you’re a fine wolf, Desai, and we’ve been friends for a while... And I was hoping you would be my mate.” For a moment, the breath caught in his lungs, but then Cloud smiled at him, and his anxiety left him.

“Really?” he whispered. She nodded. “I-I don’t know what to say…”

“Say yes.” Suddenly overcome with happiness, Desai burst out.

“Yes, Cloud Runner, I love you, and I would die for you.”

The two walked briskly toward each other and nuzzled for a long moment, sealing their union. Then, they slowly pulled apart, and gazed into each other’s eyes, smiling and tearing with joy. Their moment was interrupted when one of Cloud’s lieutenants shouted,

“Look! Across the clearing.” At once, all of those present turned their heads toward the opposite tree line and saw two wolves approaching. A black male and a white female. Cloud Runner gasped.

“It can’t be….”

Chapter Eight

Three days. It had been whole three days since Jenna had last been given food, or had even caught a scent of it for that matter. She had once gone without food for five days, before she and Balto had met, when Rosie and her parents had gone to Anchorage for a week and the boy who was supposed to care for her never showed. She had survived; she had nearly knocked Rosie over when she came home, but she had survived. But that was when she had been merely an adolescent, and in better physical condition. Now, she wasn’t sure how long she would last.

“Balto,” she whispered, “please come soon.”

“Your hero isn’t coming for you,” said a cold, triumphant voice, “Not this time.” Jenna turned to look at the entrance just as Steele padded in. She tried to stand, or at least face him with dignity, but her body was just too bruised and weak to do much of anything. So she remained where she was, lying prostrate on the dirt.

“Get away from me, Steele,” she said. This time, however, her usually determined voice sounded more like the complaint of a hurt child. Steele laughed.

“No, I don’t think I will,” he replied, lying down beside her, “I like the view from here.” Jenna drew a shallow breath as he leaned closer and prayed that the glint in his eyes was just a trick of the light, a vain hope. Suddenly, Steele leapt on top of her and held her there with his firm paws. Before she could cry out, he clamped his muzzle roughly over hers, silencing her. All she could see were his piercing black eyes…

“How did you escape?” Echo said, looking with a mix of excitement and joy at the two wolves seated in front of him. He, Cloud Runner, Kaltag, were lying in a semi-circle in Cloud Runner’s den and listening intently to the story of two friends who, until that very night, had been presumed dead. Cloud Runner’s cry had brought them all running, and before long the two had been introduced and fed.

“Well,” Resco began, “when the attack started, Nevia and I were coming back from the east, up the steep hill. We heard screams and came running, but when we looked in through a slit in the wall, it was already over.”

“Then we heard voices approaching, so we ducked back into a small opening in the outer wall that lead to a crevice just big enough for the two of us,” continued Nevia, “We waited there until the voices and even the foreign scents were gone. And when we looked in -- by Aniu, I’ll never forget the sight! -- we thought we were the only ones left.”

“So we turned and ran off into the forest,” finished Resco, “and we’ve been hunting small game ever since.”

“All this time…why didn’t you try to find us?”

“After the massacre, we just tried to disappear,” Resco said, lowering his head in shame, “We weren’t thinking. We were tired, alone, scared. We didn’t know where to go or who to turn to. We just sort of depended on each other for support.” He cast a sideways glance at Nevia and she blushed. Cloud Runner, however, was the only one to notice. She smiled.

“For more than just that, I think,” she said. Her smile faded.

“What is it?” Nevia asked.

“Jenna has been taken by Steele and his Dark Mountain pack. Balto went out after her. We haven’t seen head or tail of either of them for almost five days.”

“She’s- She’s been taken? What could they want with her?”

“Yes. And now, if he gets a hold of Balto too, there’s no telling what will happen.”

Jenna gagged and threw up on the cave floor. Silently, she cursed Steele for what he had done to her, and for what was sure to happen. This, she thought, is just the morning sickness. It won’t belong before they start growing, and then what? He’s already taken me twice! What’s going to stop him from doing it again? Her mind filled with despair, Jenna started to cry.

“Balto…” she whispered.

Suddenly, a warm, mysterious voice filled her ears.

“Be strong, my child, for deliverance is coming.”

“Wait, who are you?”

“A friend,” the voice said, “Have faith, for though you may walk in the shadow of death, I will always be with you.” The voice faded, and Jenna lay in silence, drifting quickly off to sleep.

Outside, the two guards shifted their weight and cracked their necks in boredom. Despite their keen ears, they had heard nothing.

Morning came without event for the White Mountain pack. Two couples, Kaltag and Krystal, and Desai and Cloud Runner, lay curled up together and sleeping peacefully in Cloud’s den. Elsewhere, Kur woke his mate with a kiss and went out to inspect the borders. On his way out, he spotted Echo up early and once again and gazing at the sky. With silent respect for this wolf who had gone through so much heartache, Kur padded on, and left Echo to his thoughts. Echo looked over at Kur and smiled slightly. He’s a one of the good ones, he thought, as he resumed his conversation with an unseen friend.

“I can’t stay here anymore, Vella,” he said, “There’s too many nice young females, a lot of them single, and I’m afraid I might forget your sacrifice and go with one of them.” He sighed and continued. “I wish I could see you again, be next to you.”

Suddenly, as if an answer to his prayer, the wind whistled through the trees, and a white lupine female sat before him, but it wasn’t Vella. Echo’s eyes widened in recognition and he bowed his head low in respect.

“Aniu…!”

“Hello Echo. Lament not the death of those you loved. Rejoice, for it is they who will soon be the messengers of faith.” Echo, with his head still bowed low, shed a few tears in remembrance.

“I understand.”

“Stay strong; though someone has been lost, they can still be found.”

The wind blew again, and then all was quiet. Aniu had vanished.

Jenna woke with a start and once again strained forth the meager contents of her stomach. As she coughed up the last bit, her malnourished body began to shake. This isn’t just the day-after-sickness, she thought, something isn’t right. Just then, her nose twitched at the scent of meat. Sadera stood before her, a fresh section of caribou side in her mouth. She set it down and nudged it toward Jenna with her nose. Jenna clamped down hard and began tearing ravenously at the meat.

“Thank you,” she said, after gulping down a sizeable section. Sadera nodded silently,