I’?”

          “I can’t tell whether or not you’re a wolf or dog.  I smell both on you.”

          “If you really need to know, I’m a wolf-dog, and so is my father.  My mother is a husky.”

          The wolf studied her for a few moments before asking, “Who is your father?”

          As if on cue, Balto padded towards them from an alley and looked down on the wolf.  “I am.  My name is Balto.”  He half expected the wolf’s face to light up at the sound of that famous name, but the wolf’s expression did not change.

          “What are you doing here?” said Ember as she looked up at her father.  “I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

          “So did I,” replied Balto, “but I just couldn’t, so I decided to check up on you.  Anyway,” he turned to face the wlf again, “Who are you?”

          The wolf closed his eyes and tried to gather up any sort of memory that would give him a clue, but nothing came to him.  He finally admitted, “To tell you the truth, I have no idea who I am, where I’m from, what I’m doing here, or anything else for that matter.”

          Balto and his daughter looked at each other in bewilderment.  Their faces seemed to read, How does he not even know who he is?

          Balto started to say something, but then held his words in, not knowing exactly how to reply to that.  The two wolf-dogs just stared at the imprisoned lupine hardly able to speak.

          Finally Ember stepped closer and asked, “Really?  You don’t know?”

          The wolf looked down on his paws trying to come up with his own answer and whispered, “I can’t remember anything.  I’m just so…confused.  The only thing I do remember is lying in the snow looking up at two humans.  Nothing else.”

          “Those two must have been the hunters we saw bring you into town,” said Ember as she walked around the cage.  When she saw the back of the wolf’s head, she grimaced at the sight.  “I think I know why you don’t remember anything.  Dad, come take a look at this.”

          Balto padded over to his daughter to observe the wolf, and what he saw answered every question he had about him.  On the back of the wolf’s head was a large gash and several bruises.  Balto knew that the wolf’s head must have been hit by something extremely hard at a very large speed.  Balto then returned to the wolf’s front and said to him, “It looks like your head hit something hard before the hunters took you.”

          The wolf reached back to feel his head, then whimpered and almost collapsed from the immense pain.  He opened his eyes to see Ember and Balto looking at him in concern.  All he did was nod his head and say, “I guess that explains it.”

          The wolf again tried to dig into the depths of his mind but alas he failed again and again.  With these failures came bits of frustration, and with each morsel of this frustration, his anger grew to the point where he lashed out at the cage with his injured leg and almost screamed in agony.  He looked up at the two wolf-dogs and whispered, “I need to get out of here.”

Chapter 2

          The sun rose in Nome to signify a new day.  Although, Ember was a little reluctant to wake up and start her day.  She had been up with the wolf for hours that night, working with him to find a way to open the cage and set him free.  Determination was not enough, alas, for the wolf had to spend the night in the cold, steel prison.

          During the night, however, the two talked about more than just escape.  When Balto left, Ember began to tell the tale of her father’s heroic deeds only a few years ago, before she was born.  She also told of her mother, Jenna, her two brothers, Riko and Turu, and her other brothers and sisters from Balto and Jenna’s first litter.  She told the tale of her older sister Aleu, and how she came to lead a wolf pack after her father kept her wolf heritage a secret from her.  She also told the story of how her brother Kodi was able to keep his job as a mail dog after winning a race with his companions against a human-made flying machine.

          The wolf however had no stories to tell.  He knew nothing of his mother nor his father, if he had any siblings, nor if he even belonged to a pack.  He was given hope, though, when he thought that if he was a pack member, other wolves may have been out looking for him.

          As Ember remembered the events that took place in the previous night, she finally stood up and padded over to the front door to check up on how the wolf was doing.  However, she was bewildered to see a crowd of people standing around the cage, and they all seemed to be listening to a man shouting out to them. 

          As she got closer to the humans, she saw that the man speaking to them was none other than one of the hunters who stole the wolf from his home in the forest.  His voice rang out, “As you know, me and my partner have been tracking down and killing several wolves around the area.  These animals need to be taken care of in order for us as humans to live more comfortable lives.  They are vicious and kill whatever, whenever, and however they want to.  To make my point clear, we’ve brought in one live one to show what we are trying to eradicate.”

          With that, he took a piece of raw meat from a bag and walked over to the cage.  The wolf tried to ignore it, but the smell of meat combined with his hunger made his instincts take him over.  His captor held the piece of meat inches from the wolf’s muzzle and waved it around in the air to get the wolf to make an attempt at grabbing the food.

          He couldn’t take it any more.  The wolf lunged out at the hunter’s bait and crashed against the cage as a soft whimper came from his throat as the pain in his leg pulsed like his own heartbeat.  As the whimper subsided, a slow growl took its place.  He could not hold it back, and the townspeople were beginning to talk amongst themselves; most of which were in agreement with the hunter. 

          When the wolf realized what he had done against himself, he immediately shut himself up and slid into the far corner of his prison.  The humans now hated him for what he was, and he knew that there would be consequences.  Although, nothing prepared him for what his tormentor said next.

          “We are going to kill him in three days.  Until then, he will be on display right here for you to observe.  If you want, torture him as much as you please.”

          Ember’s eyes grew wide in horror at his words.  Now there was a time limit, and neither knew how to get him out.  As she thought about her next action for the wolf’s benefit, the mob began to pick up various items and began to throw them at the caged wolf.  Rocks, sticks, trash, anything on the streets was used against him.  Only some of these actually made their way through the cage, but the loud clanging against the metal was deafening for the wolf. 

          Ember ran toward her friend, desperate to help him in some way.  When she was close enough to see the wolf’s golden brown eyes, his gaze locked with hers, and his eyes said, “Don’t try to help me; you’ll just get yourself hurt.”  Reluctantly, she swung left and away from the crowd of humans and ran toward the old boat outside of town.  Perhaps her father would know what to do.

                               ****************

          “Cruel.”

          Balto could say nothing more after his daughter had explained what had happened.  He could only imagine the hurt that the wolf must have felt emotionally and physically.  His daughter’s quick story left a lasting impression in his mind.  “Everyone in Nome accepts me, you, and your brothers and sisters…but why not him?  Is it just because he has no dog in him?”

          “It’s ridiculous, I know,” Ember replied shaking her head, “What has he ever done to them?”  From the boat, Ember heard the cries of the humans calm down until all was silent.  “I think they stopped now.  We should check up on him.  I’m worried about him, Dad.”

          Balto nodded in agreement and the two jumped off the boat and ran towards Nome.

          They turned a final corner before