Juneau.

“I’m seeing doubles!”

“Brothers, actually,” Juneau said, “I’m Juneau, pleased to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Balto replied. Kaltag cleared his throat.

“Well, we’ll just leave you two alone now. It was nice seeing both of you again.”

“Nice seeing you too,” said Jenna. With that, Juneau and Kaltag left for their home. When all was quiet, Balto turned to Jenna and asked if he should walk her home. Jenna shook her head.

“Why didn’t you want to come earlier?”

“Bad memories,” Balto said, his eyes on the floor.

“Tell me.”

“Jen…”

“Balto, please, I want to know.” Balto sighed.

“It was a couple years ago, during a real bad storm, and I wandered into town for the first time; you see, I hadn’t found the old freighter yet…”

* * *

Young Balto struggled down the street, slowly sinking in the deepening snow. Blinking to shield his eyes, he curled up by a pile of boxes as the flurries swirled around him. He shivered as it stuck to his fur and melted, soaking him just enough for the whistling wind to take its toll. Balto felt like crying, everything he knew, his whole world, had vanished with his mother. He’d searched and searched for her, but found nothing. He sighed and curled up into a tighter ball, bracing himself against the wind. Maybe he could keep searching tomorrow, he just needed to rest. Balto closed his eyes and slept.

The next thing he heard was a voice, a canine voice.

“Hey you, wake up!” Balto opened his eyes. A black and white husky stood glaring down on him.

“W-what?”

“You heard me, get up! What’s your name?”

“B-balto.” Balto stammered.

“Balto, eh? Some name.” The stranger paused for a moment and sniffed him, and his eyes opened wide. “You’re a wolf!” Balto got hastily to his feet and backed slowly away.

“N-not entirely!” he whimpered. And it was true. It had been the first thing his mother had told him. He was part wolf, but he should be proud of his heritage. But now, he felt anything but proud.

“Don’t matter, wolves aren’t allowed anywhere near this town, so get lost.”

“B-but I’ve got nowhere to go!”

“You wanna be a wise guy, eh? Fine by me.” The husky swung his paw and knocked him into the wall. Before young Balto could move, he felt sharp teeth grab him and he felt the sensation of flight again, before hitting another solid wall and sliding down to the floor. That’s it, Balto thought, I’m going to die. He closed his eyes and let the darkness close in. When he came to, he was surrounded by chatting dogs. His first instinct was to run, but he could barely feel his legs. He turned his eyes and noticed a large metal heater that seemed to be giving warmth to the small room. Suddenly, he heard the same voice from earlier somewhere nearby.

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

“You should know better!” a stronger, deeper voice replied, “It is unforgivable to attack a pup.”

“But he’s just a lousy wolf.”

“That doesn’t matter. From this moment on, you are banished from this town. If you ever return, the penalty is death.”

“But what about my three pups?”

“You should have thought of that earlier. Go.” Out of the corner of his eye, Balto saw the black and white husky storm out of the room. Just then, a nearby husky noticed he was moving.

“Hey, he’s awake!” All eyes turned to Balto, who looked from one face to another. Too many new faces, and they were all staring at him. Some one reached out to comfort him, but Balto dashed between two huskies only to run smack into a much larger dog. A wise old St. Bernard by the name of Doc looked down on him and smiled. He put a reassuring paw on Balto’s trembling shoulder and said,

“Its okay son, we’re here to help you. That dog won’t bother you any more. Are you alright?” Balto hardly heard a word the old St. Bernard said. His mind was overwhelmed with all that had happened. His mother…the storm…the husky. He had to get out of this town fast.

“I have to go,” he said quickly, ducking around Doc and racing out the door and down the street. As he ran, Balto ignored Doc’s calls and headed toward the edge of town. A short time later, he stopped to catch his breath at the crest of a large hill. He looked back at the town and thought of the black and white husky. He considered running, but then remembered that he had nowhere to go. Then, a gust of wind made him turn his head to one side and he spied an old human ship beached on the shore. Oh, why not, I’ll stay here for a while, and maybe I’ll make some friends after all…

* * *

Jenna sat facing Balto on the hard wood floor as he finished his tale.

“Did all that really happen, Balto?” Balto nodded.

“For a long time, I didn’t want to come back in here. Nothing but bad memories.” He shook his head. Jenna smiled.

“But now we can make some good ones.” She nuzzled him and kissed him gently on the cheek. He blushed and kissed her back. Jenna curled up against him and laid her muzzle on top of Balto’s. Not long after, they both fell asleep.

Much later, as the moon hovered overhead, a stranger padded up to the boiler room door. He’d seen Juneau and Kaltag leave, but after several hours, Jenna had not. So she’s sleeping here tonight. Perfect… He pushed the door open gently, so as not to rouse Jenna…and Balto? No! He’s not supposed to be here! The stranger looked back at the two, sleeping close together. How easy it would be, I could just…No, another time. Another time, Jenna. He turned and left the boiler room, already planning their next meeting…

Chapter Three

Balto woke to the snapping of new wood on the fire. He smiled and looked at Jenna, cuddled up against him. Her muzzle was curved into a smile as it rested on his shoulder. His front leg, deprived of blood, was beginning to tingle with numbness and Balto considered moving it to get the circulation going again. But one look at Jenna’s face changed his mind. She looks like an angel… He decided to forget about his tingling leg and laid his head down to sleep again. How rare moments like this must be, he thought. Balto’s ears shot forward at the sound of a content sigh. Jenna woke beside him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Hey Jen,” he whispered. Jenna smiled at him.

“What, no kiss?” Balto turned to face her and their noses touched. Both blushed and smiled, but they held each others eyes. Just then, whispered, excited voices caught their attention. Not a moment later, Sylvie and Dixie appeared in the doorway. Dixie gasped and fell silent, but Balto and Jenna pretended not to notice them.

“Well?” Jenna whispered, “what about my kiss?”

“Jen, what about your friends? They-”

“Let them look,” she interrupted, pressing her lips to his. After a long moment, they pulled back and got to their paws and looked at Sylvie and Dixie. The two gossipers stood staring at them from the door, eyes wide in disbelief. Pretending to notice them for the first time, Balto and Jenna smiled and walked right past. Before they could reach the edge of town, a jeering voice reached their ears.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the two lovebirds.” A brown husky marched out of an alleyway with a black husky and tan husky at his side. The stronger, tan husky joined in, “Hey half-breed, why don’t you go back to your pack and leave the pretty gals to us?”

“Aww, give it up guys,” the black husky said, “Can’t we just leave ‘em alone? They like each other, and we can’t change that.” The other two ignored him and continued.

“Before you know it, they’ll be kissin’ and stuff.”

“Yeah, I bet their pups are born howling. AWOOOOOO!”

“Balto, forget about them, let’s go,” Jenna said. She and Balto turned to leave, but the brown husky grabbed her bandanna in his teeth, holding her back. Balto took notice immediately.

“Let her go.” The brown husky shook his head and grinned.

“Make me.”

“If you insist,” said a voice from behind him. THWACK! A tan paw came down on the brown husky’s head, forcing him to release his grip on Jenna’s bandanna. Kaltag stepped up beside Balto and Jenna.

“Come on guys,” the brown husky said, “let’s go.” He and his two companions disappeared into the alley.

“Thanks, Kaltag,” said Jenna.

“Don’t mention it. Those guys are just jealous ‘cause at the rate their making friends, they won’t have any pups.”

“Speaking of pups, shouldn’t we check on Echo and Vella?”

“Why not? It’s been a couple days; everything should be settled by now.”

“Who are Echo and Vella?” said Kaltag, “Friends of yours?”

“Yes, wolf friends. You can come along if you want.”

“Sure, beats lying around here all day.” With that, the