want." Iron sped up and was right behind Tomohawk. They stayed next to each other the entire way and the people cheered as they stayed in a neck and neck status.

   "And the winner of the finals are Jason's team in first, and John's team in second!" The crowd cheered as Jason walked up to the pedistol once again to give a speech. Tears slowly formed in his eyes.

   "As many of you can see, I started with seven dogs and only came back with six. In a tradgic event involving my first wheel dog Tiger, i dedicate this trophy to his strength and kindness for a great sled dog and wonderful friend. He was a part of our lives that could never be changed, and now that he has pasted away, I will remember him always through this trophy of honor." The crowd cheered and took a moment of silence for the long lost sled dog. The dogs took the next few days off and had a ceremony in Tiger's honor. As the days went by, Tomohawk grew more and more impatient to see Aniu again.

   "I'll go see her tomorrow. She can't live too far away. Can she?"

Chapter 7: Secrets Out

   Tomohawk woke up earlier than usual.

   "If I go know then I can make it beore dawn, hopefully." He went to the doggy door and sniffed at it. "Locked. Good thing I have a back up plan." He went through the kitchen door and hopped up on a chair near the window. "Bingo. Time to see Aniu." He opened it easily with his muzzle and he looked around befor he hopped out. He spied the trophy dedicated to Tiger on shelf above in an open cabinet. "You were a great friend, old buddy." With that goodbye he left.

   "I wonder where he went?" Pearl had got up from the window opening. She had seen Tomohawk head into the kitchen and not come back. She looked around and saw the open window. She immidiately snaped out of her daze. "He didn't!," She ran over to the window. "He did. Well, it was a few minutes ago, I'll get to him first." She threw off her individual cover and hopped up on the chair. She sniffed the window sill and looked out. His footprints were almost faded in the falling snow. As she hopped out, the wind blew in her face, as if it was telling her to go back. She ignored it and pressed onward.

   Meanwhile, Tomohawk had entered the forest and the snow seemed to fall slower. The trees looked as if they were huddled together for no snow to enter. He looked at his surroundings, trees, bushes, and more trees. He sniffed around the area for a faint scent of anything. Just then, he caught a whiff of Aniu. 'This is her scent, that's for sure. Though it's more than I expected, she must have been near here earlier in the day!' He barked once and stuck his head to the ground. He sniffed all around the trees and paths for her scent, and her scent alone. Tomohawk only looked up when he came to a clearing. The wide open space seemed welcoming, too welcoming. He dared to stick his head out of the forest for safety. As he scanned the meadow, a small group of creatures were playing farther out. Seeing them out there, he decided to head towards them.

   "You can't catch me!" One of the balls of fluff said as it rolled around in the snow covered grass. The snow had lightened up when he entered the forest. Tomohawk wondered over to the creatures cautiously. He'd never seen these kind of puppies before. Their ears went up as they heard him coming.

   "Cloud, what's that sound?" One said in a frightened voice to the older of the three.

   "Don't be such a scardy-cat. You big baby." The young female pup snickered at the sight of her youngest brother, as he coward be his older brother.

   "Stop fighting you two." He spred them out away from each other and kept his tail up in alert and authority. Tomohawk stepped closer, his head pushing through the grass and snow.

   "Um..excuse me, but can you tell me...." He looked over at the three frightened pups. The oldest, Cloud a white and grey pup, stood in front of his siblings protectively. Mirra, the middle pup who had a white spot in the middle of her basically brown body, hid behind Cloud and peeked her head out once or twice. Kami, the youngest of the three with all chocolate brown fur, hid completely behind his siblings and dared himself to peek out once. Tomohawk stopped in his tracks.

   "What do you want! Outsider." Tomohawk backed a few feet away and saw the pup calm down.

   "I just wanted to know if you guys have seen a pure white wolf around here." Cloud stopped growling and looked over to his siblings. They huddled in a group and were whispering amoung themselves.

   "Do you mean our leader?" They came up to him and sat down. Tomohawk thought back to when he met with Aniu.

   "She did say something about being an alpha of a pack." The pups started barking and yipping repeatively, whle running around in circles.

   "You do mean Aniu, right?" Mirra was wagging her tail as B.J. did.

   "Yes! I do mean Aniu! Can you take me to her?" His tail wagged as the pups nodded their heads. Then they stopped, time seemed to freeze as the pups cheerful facial expressions turned into faces of horror. Their seemed to be something behind him. As Tomohawk went to look, the pups were grabbed by another being. Mirra, who was forgotten tried to run away from the massive pile of fur that approached Tomohawk. As it got closer, its claws and teeth were exposed in the harsh, vibrant sunlight.

   "Run away!" She screamed for Tomohawk to move, but she tripped in the process. Still he sat there, waiting for the fur to come closer, so he could see what it was. Then, he saw it.

   "GRIZZLY!" Another yell came from the forest around him. At that moment, his legs began to move quickly. A giagantic paw missed him by inches. He recklessly ran to get to the forest that was approaching him. The thick bush could keep the bear out long enough to escape. His feet reached the forest, and the bear colided into a massive row of trees and bushes. Its giant body could not fit through the small rows of trees, not like a dog or wolf. He went to retreat deeper into the forest, but found himself surrounded by a pack of confused wolves.

   "An outsider!" Some called, then a sudden shriek came from the back of the circle.

   "Mirra! Where's my daughter! Please let her be here! Mirra!" The mother of Cloud and Kami searched endlessly for her daughter.

   "What is wrong Streak?" A familiar voice said, stepping into the middle of the comotion. Her white fur glistened by the sun's rays shining through the trees.

   "My daughter was is still out there!" She held Cloud and Kami close to her. Tomohawk looked over, spotting Aniu. She spotted him too.

   "Aniu?"

   "Tomohawk? What are you doing here?" He went up to her side.

   "I'll tell you when this is over. Your daughter is Mirra, right."

   "Yes, I'm begging you save her! I don't care who it is, just save my daughter!"

   "Why aren't the slodiers doing anything!? Soldiers!" Aniu raised her head high, as the others lowered theirs. The four soldier wolves were huddled in the back, cowering behind the trees. Another arge paw swept at the bushes, nearly knocking over a tree.

   "Cowards. Aniu let me go get the girl. This grizzly can't keep up with me. I'm a husky leader, remember." She shook her head firmly.

   "No one is going out there. Not unless it's me." Everyone stood in shock and in horror. Another white wolf apeared from the wolves huddle.

   "Sister, let me go. Without you the pack will have no leadership or guidance." Aniu turned toward her slightly larger sister.

   "I must go it alone. I can mannage to get Mirra to safety and fight the bear. It will give you time to run."

   "Sister?" Tomohawk repeated out loud, everyone seemed to ignore him and retreat back to the woods.

   "Alright, but I wish you safety from the sun god." They snuggled against each other.

   "Thank you." But with another strong swip, the bear was almost through. Tomohawk went towards it.The massive paws nearly grabbing him. Aniu grabbed him by the tail and pulled him aside and away from the bear.

   "Don't do this. You can go with my pack and be safe. Then you can go back to Nome and live with your human. Safe and sound, without a care in the world."

   "No. I'll never live peacefully again if something happens to you." She was struck with a strange feeling. Then a small birch tree fell between them. She was shocked to look back up and find Tomohawk gone. She looked around and saw him head outside the forest.

   "Tomohawk be careful." She whispered to herself and retreated farther back into the forest with the pack. She pushed them to a cave where they could stay, for know. Aniu looked back out into the forest, hoping and praying that Tomohawk would be safe.

   He rushed out of the safety of the forest. Seeing the bear still swipping at the trees he barked. It seemed to get its attention. He barked again and growled high enough for the bear to hear him. His fur rustled on the back of his neck as the bear turned toward him. Its massive jaws opened to show the sharp teeth inside, as it let out a terrifying roar of its own. Tomohawk took that chance and ran in the direction of Mirra's low yipping. He could see her little brown body in the grassy snow. Then he felt an enormous amount of pressure on his back. The bear's mighty paw nailed him to the snow covered ground. Then out of a mist of hope, Aniu jumped onto the bear's muzzle. She clamped down hard and held on for dear