said.

Melody just sighed.

Everything was silent again.

Balto stood up, looked down at his daughter, and started to walk away.

His daughter’s voice stopped him.

“She was too young.”

Balto turned around.

Melody still lay on the ground, but she looked up at him.

“Hey…” Balto said slowly.

He walked back over to her.

She sighed, and put her head back on her paws.

“What happened?” Balto asked.

Melody sighed, and her voice was amazingly steady when she spoke.

“Jadze was on sentry duty outside, she volunteered, so that her dad could stay with me, if she hadn’t…..”

Melody’s voice finally cracked, and she started to cry again.

“She… she was shot… in an attack.”

Balto hung his head.

“I know…” he said.

He sighed.

Balto laid down beside his daughter and put his paw on her shoulder.

Melody lifted her head and looked at Balto.

Her face was just…. Balto didn’t know how to describe it, only that he knew exactly how she felt.

“I.. I know how you feel, exactly.” He said. “And I… I know it’s hard, but… but you shouldn’t do what I did, and seclude yourself. It only makes it hurt more.”

Melody sighed and laid her head back down on her paws.

“I… I remember when the pups were born, she was the first one to go out of the chamber, she wasn’t ever afraid of anything…”

Melody smiled.

“…even when she could hardly walk, and her siblings were cowering at the door, she stumbled out into the middle of the cave…”

Melody looked down at her paws.

… she was so proud of herself.”

“It’s good to remember her,” Balto said, “that will help.”

When Melody looked back up at him tears were rolling down her face.

“Oh dad!” she said.

Her voice fractured, and she collapsed into tears.

Melody laid her head on her father’s shoulder and cried.

Balto just sat there and comforted his daughter as best he could.

Melody’s voice was muffled by Balto’s fur, and her sobs.

“I miss her so much.”

“I know…” Balto said “…I know…”

Chapter 5

Steele made it to Nome in no time, and began his search for Balto and Jenna, by first going to their house.

They weren’t there, so Steele went to Luke’s.

He’d been keeping tabs on Balto and his family, without their knowledge of course, so he knew about Balto’s new owner.

They weren’t there either.

He was starting to get frustrated, when he saw something that took his breath away.

It was a dog.

A white husky.

She was beautiful.

It had been a while.

Steele walked over to her.

She was alone.

“Hello” Steele said, “what’s your name?”

The husky looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed and smiled.

“Juli.”

Steele smiled at her.

“Are you alone?”

Juli nodded/

“I was with some friends at the old mill, but they ran off and left me.”

“Good for them,” Steele thought.

“Well, do you have somewhere to stay?”

Juli shook her head.

“I don’t know my way around here, I’m not from here.”

“Where are you from?” Steele asked.

“Applegate,” Juli answered.

“Hey,” Steele said, “I used to live there too.”

“Really?” Juli said, “that’s cool, so did you like it in Applegate.”

Steele nodded.

“It wasn’t bad.”

He looked up at the lights.

“Hey Juli,” he said, “you.. you want to take a walk with me?”

“I.. I don’t know,” Juli said, “I don’t even know your name.”

Though the dog was backing away, Steele had her. He could see it in her eyes.

He stepped up closer to her.

“It’s Steele,” he said.

“That’s a nice name,” Juli said.

She looked like she was thinking about something, then smiled.

“Okay, lead the way Steele.”

She giggled and the two started walking down the street.

In his mind Steele laughed.

“Soon that stupid little grin of yours will disappear, how soon depends on how useful you turn out to be. This is going to be fun.”

Steele woke up and looked beside him.

Juli was sleeping beside him.

He smiled.

He wasn’t done with her yet.

He got up.

“Oh yes,” he thought, “I think you’re going to enjoy what I have in store for you very much.”

Juli woke up.

She yawned.

“You know Steele last night I….”

She stopped.

“Steele?”

She looked around.

“Where’d he go?” She thought.

She stood up.

“You…!” She yelled.

She couldn’t even think of what she wanted to say to him.

“He was just like all the others, just like Ron and Joe, and all the others…”

“I thought you were different!” She yelled. “I actually liked you! I can’t believe I was so stupid!”

Juli started to storm out of the barn, when something slammed into her shoulder.

She was thrown to the ground and rolled , hitting the wall.

A yelp of surprise escaped her.

Steele landed where she had been standing.

“Steele?” She said, “what are you doing?”

Steele smiled, but this wasn’t the kind smile that had drawn her to him last night, this smile made her shiver.

“What are you doing Juli?” Steele asked.

She stepped toward the door.

“I… I was just leaving.”

Steele kicked the door shut with his back leg and laughed.

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

Juli was now very afraid; she didn’t know what Steele intended to do.

He walked towards her.

Juli held her ground, unsure of what else she could do, there was nowhere to go.

Steele stopped in front of her.

He could almost smell the fear she was feeling.

In one swift motion, his paw shot out and smacked the side of her head.

Steele had forgotten how strong he was now, and she was thrown into a sideways somersault, landing hard on her back.

Juli stood up and shook her head.

She’d been beat up before.

“He really is like the others…” She thought, “how come I seem to attract them so much.”

Steele walked over to her again, this time mindful of the force he was using, and hit her again.

Juli felt her teeth dig into the inside of her cheek, and subsequently tasted blood, as it flowed into her mouth.

This was not a new thing either.

She was unprepared for the next five strikes, that pushed her back against the wall.

She shook her head again, trying to clear her vision, but it didn’t work this time.

Steele laughed as he approached.

Juli decided that enough was enough, them treating her like this was going to end… today.

When he got close to her, she reared up on her back legs and tried to hit him in the face with her paw.

Steele snapped out and latched his jaws around the upper part of her front leg.

She screamed as his teeth dug into her.

But he wasn’t done, and didn’t let her go, instead he started shaking his head, sawing deeper into her leg, through the muscle and into bone.

He finally turned his head and tossed her through the air.

Her back smashed into one of the wooden posts that supported the loft, and she went through it, snapping the six inch beam in half.

Juli kept going until she hit the wall.

Her back hurt bad, as well as her leg. She could feel blood running down her side, where the broken wood had cut her.

She tried to stand, but found she couldn’t get her back legs to move.

Steele started back over to her.

“Oh God,” she thought, “he’s going to kill me!”

She started trying to crawl away, dragging her back legs.

It was very slow going, and Steele stood over her, watching her try desperately to get away, and laughed.

Then he snapped at and caught her back paw.

He bit down, feeling the bones snap and grind together, as he mangled it.

Juli screamed again, and tried to get away, but found that just made him bite harder, so she tried to kick him with her other back leg.

She hit him but not very hard.

He just bit down harder, shaking his head side to side.

Juli felt her leg snap at least three times.

She couldn’t even feel it anymore.

She finally tore lose from his grip, and rolled across the floor.

Her paw hurt badly, and she looked down at it to find…. it wasn’t there!

Her back leg had been bitten in half!

Blood matted the hair that covered her leg, which a jagged piece of bone was sticking out of, and ran on the floor.

Juli knew then that she was done, there was no way she could recover from something like this.

She started to cry then.

Steele just laughed and bit into her other back leg, swinging her around and letting go.

He spun around himself, so he didn’t see her hit the shelf of tools he’d aimed at, he just heard a loud yelp.

Steele turned around.

He laughed.

“That’s just perfect.” He said to himself.

Whomever had used it last had left a pitchfork propped up against the three foot fence, and Juli had landed right on it.

Since the handle was against the corner of the wall it didn’t give at all, instead Juli gave.

The tines punctured through her back, and came out of her belly, there were five of them, spaced about an inch apart.

Blood was everywhere.

Steele walked slowly over to where Juli was hanging.

She was still moving, squirming around.

“Like a worm on a hook.” Steele said.

He laughed.

Juli’s eyes were frightened, glancing around the room.

“Don’t worry darling,” Steele