thought. “And I will, but first, I want you to see something, someone.”

He laughed quietly again.

“If finding your sons head shook you up so badly, then what will waking up next to your daughter Aleu, without a head do to you?”

He laughed again, he just couldn’t help it.

“I’ve got one other person to hit first though, there’s one side of your family that I have yet to touch, and I’m going to play with them, it’ll be so much fun…”

Steele walked over to Jenna.

He knew it was a risky chance, but he couldn’t help himself.

He sat his head just centimeters away from her chest, and listened to the steady thump-thump of her heart.

“Oh how great the day will be when that stops.” Steele thought. “Then all the pain and hardship that you’ve caused me will be taken care of.”

He picked up his head and did another very risky thing.

He licked her cheek.

She was too exhausted to wake up, and he smiled.

Then, Steele walked slowly from the chambers, fading into shadows.

Shasta heard a whisper and woke up.

She heard it again.

“Is that just the wind?” She thought.

She stood up.

“Shasta.”

There it was again.

It sounded like…..

“… like Talkeet, my,,,, my son.”

She stopped.

“Wait! The kids are supposed to be with Shadow?”

Then she remembered what had happened to Dalchei.

“Maybe they got attacked!”

Shasta looked down at Dash.

“I wonder if I should wake him? No,”

She decided.

“If I’m just hearing things…. he’s had a rough day, and I don’t want to wake him.”

Shasta ran out of the chamber.

The chamber was dead.

No one was out this late, only the sentries, and they were outside.

Shasta stepped carefully through the silent main chamber.

“Shasta.”

The voice came again.

Then…. Laughter echoed through the large space.

Dark laughter.

Shasta began to get scared.

She turned around and started walking slowly back toward her chambers.

The laughter came again.

Shasta quickened her pace.

The laughter seemed to get louder the closer she got to her chambers.

Shasta made it up about four of the shelves, her chambers were on the sixth.

As Shasta jumped up on the fifth shelf, the figure of a black and white dog materialized in front of her.

“Steele?” She asked, backing away.

The laughter continued, and it was so loud that Shasta wondered how it didn’t wake everyone up.

“Pretty nice touch, don’t you think? Using your son’s voice to get you out here?”

Shasta began to shake in fear.

Steele was blocking her way to her chambers.

Shasta started to take a step back, but found herself at the edge of the shelf.

She looked down.

It had to be at least twenty feet to the ground.

“Pure genius.” Steele said.

Then he jumped at her.

Shasta had nowhere to go, and Steele slammed into her.

She tried to keep her balance by rearing up on her back legs.

Steele smiled.

“Bye, bye wolfie,” he said.

He turned and kicked Shasta in the stomach with his back legs.

Shasta was thrown off balance, and fell off of the shelf.

She crashed to the rock floor, landing on her back.

Shasta felt something give, and it felt like bone.

Steele laughed again, and jumped down to the floor.

“How?” Shasta thought. “How did that not hurt him? It certainly hurt me.”

Steele laughed as he walked slowly toward the injured wolf.

Dash woke up.

He couldn’t explain it, but he felt as if he would be sick, and his head hurt.

Dash stood up.

“Where’s Shasta?” Dash thought.

Suddenly, he heard a scream.

“Shasta?” Dash thought.

“Shasta I’m coming!”

Then he ran out of the chamber.

Steele heard Dash’s yell, and looked down at the young female wolf.

She was hurt, bad, she probably wouldn’t make it.

He thought of killing her and then leaving, letting Dash stumble on her body…. But then he thought better of it.

“I’ll let him talk to you.” Steele said.

He laughed.

Steele knelt down close to her head.

Her eyes were wide, and her breath came in ragged gasps.

“It’s been fun.” he said, “but I have to go now.”

He laughed.

“We’ll… we’ll do it again sometime.

Shasta couldn’t answer him, as it took too much effort.

Steele laughed again, and then faded away.

Dash ran down the next few shelves, more falling than descending, somehow he kept from breaking his neck.

The feeling in his stomach was getting worse and worse, and though he couldn’t explain it, he was nearing full out panic.

He finally lost his footing on a pile of loose rocks and fell down the last two shelves.

Dash lay on the ground for a moment and shook his head.

“Ouch.” He thought.

He opened his eyes.

“What the….”

Dash stood up rather quickly, and forgot about the pain.

There was a hole in the ceiling of the cave, some two hundred feet up.

Moonlight shone through the hole., and illuminated a wolf, which was laying on it’s side.

Dash couldn’t tell who it was, but somehow…. he knew.

“No!” He thought.

He ran over to the wolf, half limping, half dragging his back leg, as he’d hurt it when he fell.

He finally made it next to her, and fell on the ground.

Shasta was hurt, and she was hurt bad.

Seemingly thousands of small bites, covered her body.

Most of them were deep.

Dash couldn’t even see any of her beautiful gray fur, as she was drenched in her own blood.

Tears came to Dash’s eyes, as he realized what was going to happen… if it hadn’t already.

Dash looked at her chest, and was surprised to see it rise and fall.

“She’s breathing!” He thought.

Shasta’s eyes fluttered open, then closed half way.

“D… Dash?”

Dash tried to stop crying, so that she wouldn’t see him.

“Shasta?” He said.

She tried to smile, but wound up wincing instead.

Dash leaned down and nuzzled her, shivering slightly as he felt the amount of blood that was in her fur.

“I’m going to kill him Shasta.” Dash said.

Shasta’s strength was quickly being sapped away, with every beat of her heart, more of the precious fluid, and her life with it drained out on the cool rock.

Shasta tried to pick up her head, but could not.

Dash watched his mate… his best friend in the world, as she tried to move, but she couldn’t even roll over.

Shasta opened her mouth as if to say something, but all that came out was blood.

Dash closed his eyes,

He opened them again, as he heard a hoarse cross between a gurgling sound and a whisper.

Shasta moved her head, trying to pick it up out of the pool of blood that had formed beneath her.

Dash scooted over and let her lay her head on his legs.

She looked up at him, it took her several tries, before she was finally able to.

Her mouth moved, and a barely perceptible sound came from her.

Dash leaned his head down near her nose.

“Lo…love…. Yo…. I… lo.. love… y…you…”

Tears streamed down Dash’s face, as Shasta’s head rolled off of his legs, and was still.

Her eyes stared back at him, as they would for all eternity.

Dash couldn’t believe what he was looking at.

He stood up slowly.

“Steele!” he yelled.

A fire burned in his eyes.

“I’m gonna kill him!” Dash thought.

“Aww,” a voice behind him said, “you didn’t like my gift?”

Dash turned around.

Steele was there.

Before Dash could say or do anything, Steele hit him……

Then blackness.

Balto woke up and looked over at Jenna.

He stood up and walked over to her.

Her eyes were open.

She turned and looked back at him.

“Balto?”

Balto smiled.

“Hey Jen, you back?”

Jenna nodded.

“I think so.”

He walked over to her laid down.

“I’m glad.”

Jenna sighed.

“I… I just don’t understand it,” she said. “I mean, we were just talking to him before we left to come here, how can he be….”

Jenna couldn’t say it.

“I know Jen,” Balto said. “I know how you feel.”

Jenna nodded.

Nothing was said for a while.

“Look Jen,” Balto said, “I’m going to go see Aleu, okay, you stay here, and get some rest.”

Jenna nodded.

“Okay Balto,” she said.

She smiled.

“I love you.”

Balto smiled back.

“Same here Jen.” He said.

Then he walked out of the chamber.

Chapter 14

Aleu was alone.

Her children had all gone to help Shadow on the hunt.

Steele watched her from the shadows.

He laughed softly.

“This is too easy,” Steele thought.

Aleu found herself in the cave again, and Alai was standing, along with Aniu, in the center of the room.

“Aleu wake up!” Aniu yelled.

Aleu eyes snapped open, and she rolled out of the way as Steele’s paw slammed into the