the other two wolves were still petrified with shock.

“These three are with me,” he growled deeply. He bared his teeth at them.

The brown wolf grunted as he righted himself. He looked at him and lowered his head, growling, and baring his teeth also. “I see you’ve made friends, Drifter. No soft spot for wolves, I see?’

“The wolves taught me not to have soft spots, Tonrar.”

Ambyr gasped.

The brown wolf called Tonrar smirked. “You never should’ve left. You would’ve been a great leader. Now look at you – skunking around in human filth!”

Drifter snarled. “At least these humans leave me alone! I don’t need anyone to keep me company, unlike you.” He looked at the two wolves staring at him from behind Tonrar. “Iqniq, Yakone...I see you’ve moved up in the pack...from scouts to bodyguards.”

The grey wolf, Iqniq, and the black, Yakone, growled at him. Drifter returned his attention to Tonrar. “How’s your leg?” he said, smirking himself. “I hope I didn’t scratch it up too badly.”

“ENOUGH,” yelled Tonrar. He snarled one last time, and lunged at Drifter. Drifter did the same. The two suddenly became entangled in a raging whirl of teeth and claws. Ambyr growled herself, and tried to step in, but Yakone leapt forward, and shoved her off her feet. It went on from there as Blitz took on Iqniq, and Haywire pretty much slashed back at any wolf that got too close to him.

Tonrar opened his mouth and latched onto the back of Drifter’s neck. With a small howl and a toss of his head to the side, Drifter threw him off and snapped back at him. Ambyr aimed for Yakone’s feet, hoping his sheer weight would throw him off balance. But she quickly had to change techniques when Yakone lowered his head, snarling, and trying to counter her every attack. Blitz had a bit of trouble trying to see through the tiny droplets of blood that were starting to run down his eyes, and into his face. Iqniq was quick to attack. He’d snap at Blitz from one side, then jump out of the way to attack from another. But Blitz had one advantage: his size. Since most of Iqniq’s attacks were quick, Blitz could easily lower his head and dodge the snapping teeth, allowing for an easy counter.

The battle seemed to rage on endlessly, but that started to change when Ambyr heard a loud wine coming from Drifter. She turned to see Drifter laying on the ground, in a small puddle of blood, next to the heater. Tonrar snickered and stood over him. “Now you’ll get yours, Drifter!” He lowered his head and took Drifter’s neck in his mouth. He lifted him off the ground, and slowly started pushing him towards the burning coals of the heater. Drifter was powerless to do anything.

“NO!!!” screamed Ambyr. Suddenly taking no notice of Yakone’s continuous biting, she lunged at him and rammed Tonrar’s side with her head at full speed. Tonrar let go of Drifter, and flew back, crashing into a wall. The commotion caused a single ember to fall out of the heater, and flutter down to the floor. A spark flared, and the floor started catching flame. In that instant, the fighting stopped, and Blitz and Haywire took advantage of the opportunity to help Drifter to his feet. Drifter’s eyes were half-open, and he had to lean entirely on the two for support.

In a few minuets, the entire boiler room was ablaze. Flames leaped up and attached themselves to the walls, and everything unlucky enough to get in the way. Tonrar, Yakone, and Iqniq were at the back of the room, trying to fend themselves from the inferno that was only getting bigger. With a loud CRASH! part of the ceiling gave way, and a mass of burning wood came roaring its way to the ground. It landed with a horrendous noise followed the sound of Ambyr’s name being called.

“Ambyr! Ambyr,” called Blitz, still supporting Drifter with his shoulder. “The door’s blocked! We need you to clear it!”

Ambyr couldn’t help herself to turn from the fight, she looked at the three wolves; how they were desperate enough to even use their bare paws to swipe away the incoming flames. Her and Tonrar’s eyes met in that moment, and for a brief instant, Ambyr could feel the inferno in her eyes burn with an even more intense flame and hatred that the fire around them burned with. In that brief instant, Ambyr thought he could sense a tiny hint of fear in Tonrar’s gaze. Fear for what will happen...fear for his life. Ambyr wanted so much to go over there and end his misery before the fire did, but Blitz’s voice called to her yet again.

“AMBYR!! WE NEED YOU TO HELP US OUT OF HERE NOW!!!” Ambyr wrenched her eyes away and darted for the blocked door. She imagined it was Tonrar as she rammed it with unfathomable force. The door gave way, and Ambyr tumbled head over heels onto the cold and frozen snow. She saw as a crowd of humans had already started to coagulate at the fire, their voices worried with panic.

“Is someone in there? Isn’t that our boiler room? Look! There are dogs in there!”

Not soon after she found herself outside, Blitz and Haywire grunted and growled as they heaved Drifter’s body out of the building. They, too, flew out as the building crackled and smoldered. Through the flames, Ambyr could hear something...it was a mournful howl, sounding off in the night, that sent chills even colder than sub-zero temperatures up and down her spine.

In that split second, it was all over and gone. The building coughed and sighed one last time as the gargantuan bonfire swallowed it whole. It fell to the ground in a heap of burning wood and smoldering debris. Looking up at the specs that fell from the sky, Ambyr couldn’t tell what was snow...and what were ashes.

The humans were in a panic as they tried to flush the flames out with water and snow, but a groan on the ground made Ambyr turn her attention. She looked over at Drifter, who was lying on the ground, struggling to get back on his feet. He stood for a few seconds, but the wobble in his paws soon had him back on the ground again. Ambyr walked over to him. Drifter was angrily muttering to himself.

“Dirty, rotten, no-good, son of a –“ he turned to see Ambyr looking at him.

Blitz and Haywire looked at each other. Haywire was about to say something, but Blitz closed his muzzle with his paw, and they both walked away to help the humans put out the fire.

“You...knew them?” Ambyr asked him.

Drifter tried once more to stand. Ambyr held her paw to him and helped him up. The side of Drifter’s face was smothered in blood, and he had a horrible-looking slash mark on his muzzle, but he somehow managed to let go of Ambyr and stand on his own.

“I did...once,” he said. “But that was...a long time ago.” Through the blood on his face, he gave a light smile to Ambyr. “Thanks...for the save back there...I owe you one.”

Ambyr turned away and tried not to smile herself, but she couldn’t resist. She shrugged at him, and then quickly turned her head away. What the heck are you DOING, she thought to herself. I’m acting like an even bigger idiot than Haywire!

Ambyr was so caught up in her thoughts, the fur on her back raised on end when Drifter nuzzled her. Ambyr quickly got over her shock, and nuzzled back. That’s more like it, she thought with a smile.

A few yards away, Blitz and Haywire pretended to be tending to the fire, but they turned away from the scene they were secretly watching of Ambyr and Drifter. Haywire looked at the heap of rubble, then looked at Blitz.

“...We’re gonna need a new hangout.”

Despite all that happened, Blitz smiled. Then, his smile became a laugh. He punched Haywire lightly on the side as he held his own stomach. Soon, Haywire started laughing as well, and they laughed and watched as the fire reduced their boiler room to dust, and their worries of tonight along with it.

GET TO KNOW THE ENEMY:

TONRAR (tun * rar); Iñupiaq for “devil” or “divine evil spirit”

YAKONE (yack * own); Iñupiaq for “red aura”

IQNIQ (ick * nick); Iñupiaq for “fire” [Can we say, irony?]