Chapter 1

A few weeks later

“Come on, at least try to eat it.”

Tovah tried not to look at the scrap of meat that Sitka pushed over to her. Her gut rebelled and she curled up in a ball as she faced the other way. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t." She groaned. "I know you worked hard to get it by yourself, but I can’t eat it. It won’t stay down.”

Sitka ate the scrap himself and stared worriedly at his mate as she fell asleep. It had been only two weeks since they had become mates, and now he really hoped that she wasn’t becoming sick. It had been three days since she had been able to keep down anything.

After a little while of thinking he padded to her side and nuzzled her awake. “I’m going for your mother or father. Maybe they can figure out what’s wrong with you.”

Tovah nodded and watched him leave. She tried to stay awake for his return, but suddenly she awoke to her mother’s touch. “Tovah? Sitka said you were sick.” Jenna said as she peered at her worridly.

Tovah moaned as she tried to sit up, battling the sudden wave of nausea. “I feel terrible. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

Jenna scrutinized her daughter and then began to smile. “I need to ask you some questions so I can find out for sure what might be wrong with you. The first thing I need to know is whether or not you and Sitka have been intimate recently.”

Tovah frowned. “You mean the talking kind of intimate, or… that kind of intimate?”

“That kind of intimate.”

“Do I have to answer that?”

Jenna chuckled. “It would help me find out why you feel sick.”

Tovah nodded. “Yeah, I could say more then once. I began to feel really bad the day before yesterday.” She willed her stomach to calm down before looking curiously at Jenna. “Wait, you mean I’m pregnant? Why would I feel so bad then?”

“Ever heard of morning sickness?”

Tovah’s eyes widened as she looked at her waist. I’m pregnant! She felt a slight wisp of a sensation within her as if a feather’s tip had brushed her, and she felt happy. But then she frowned. “What if Sitka isn’t happy about it? And how will I ever be strong enough to give birth if I constantly have to fight to keep anything but water in me for more then an hour?”

Jenna frowned thoughtfully. “I know that Sitka will be happy, but I’m not so sure how long morning sickness lasts. Some dogs get it for a whole week, while others don’t get it much at all. When I had my first litter, I was so tired and nauseated that I just wanted to sleep. But when I had you and the others in the second litter I was feeling just fine, only I was hungry for the strangest things.” Jenna made her lay down again. “I think the best thing to do for now is rest, then when you feel better you can break it to Sitka in your own way. I’ll tell the others at home.” Her mother’s eyes sparkled with mischief, and Tovah wanted to laugh. She thought of the perfect way to break the news to him.

Chapter 2

Kodi wandered around town, looking for something to do when he heard some dogs talking. They were in the alleyway near the barber shop, and he stopped to listen. “…Listen, Kodi and his family can’t hear of this, or we’ll never accomplish our-“

“Accomplish what?”

The dogs jumped in surprise as they caught sight of Kodi. “Kodi! What are you doing here?”

Kodi glared at the strays, and felt his ears fold back. These four strays were well known wolf haters, and he had gotten into more then one fight with them. “I think the real question is what are you doing? What is it that I’m not supposed to know?” He waited as they shifted nervously around. “Sorry, classified information. We can’t let you know about it."They retorted. Suddenly one of them looked up, a sly look forming across his face. "...Why don’t you ask Kirby about it? He knows more then we do.”

Kirby? “Fine then, just don’t let me catch you around here again, got it?”

The dogs slunk away, and Kodi went out to look for Kirby. What in the world did he do this time? Kirby was notorious for saying the wrong thing, and getting dogs into trouble when he didn’t really mean it. It had happened once before, and almost ended in a disaster. Kodi vowed after that to never again let Kirby plan things behind his back.

Deep inside his troubled his thoughts, he didn’t notice his mother until they bumped together. “Oh, hi Mom.”

“Hi Kodi. Where’s your Dad? I’ve been by the boat house already, but he wasn’t there.” She looked at the rather irritated expression on his face and frowned. “What’s up? Something I should know about?”

“Nothing’s up.” Kodi snapped. “I don’t know where Dad is at the moment, and I don’t have time to look for him. I have things to do.” He pushed past her, but Jenna stepped in front of his way. “Kodi! All I asked was where your Dad was so I could tell him the news.”

Her eyes burned with indignation as Kodi still had his back to her. “What is wrong with you? You’ve been awful moody these past few weeks. I think I have the right to know, since I can help.”

Kodi bit back a growl as he turned around. Why is she being so darn stubborn? “Sorry, sorry. I just have things on my mind is all. I have to find Kirby and see what he said to make the dogs around town act strange when I’m nearby. I have a feeling that he said something really stupid, and now I’m going to find out for myself.”

Jenna nodded. “I see. Well, I have some news that’ll cheer you up a bit. I went over to see Tovah this morning when I bumped into Sitka. He wanted me to help him with something, so I went to see what the problem was. I found out that Tovah and Sitka are expecting puppies!" Her smile was so wide Kodi thought the corners were bound to meet at the back of her head. "Isn’t that great?”

“Tovah’s expecting what?” Kodi tried to hide the horror that he was sure was trying to sneak onto his face.

“Puppies! I know that Dingo and his mate had pups already, but Tovah is the youngest so far. It’s making me feel older then what I am!” Jenna chuckled. She didn’t notice Kodi slowly backing up. He laughed a little, though to him it sounded hollow and nervous. “Uh, wow! I guess I ought to go and congratulate her.”

He whirled around and dashed away as fast as he could to his kennel. How could Tovah do this to him? She was still a teenager right now, and of all the ones she chose to have pups with it had to be a wolf. Jealousy and hurt swirled inside him. He hated the fact that Sitka was always with her. He hated the fact that her mate was a wolf. And Kodi also hated the fact that his parents didn’t mind. Had Balto and Jenna forgotten that if Tovah had puppies they would be half breeds? Did they already forget that it hurt to be a wolf dog, and it was a hurt that would never ever go away, even for pups?

Still, he thought privately that it would be fun being an uncle to his favorite sister’s pups, but he didn’t want to think on that right now. He shook his head and peeked into the kennels at home. It’s time to focus on what I was supposed to be doing, looking for Kirby. I hope he didn’t say or do anything stupid.

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

Kirby was busy chewing on a bone when Kodi strode up. “Alright Kirby, what did you do this time?”

“Do? What do you mean?” Kirby was a little confused.

“Do as in what did you say to get every one acting weird around me? I have a lot of dogs acting strange around me, and when I was trying to get information out of them, they said to ask you.”

Kirby suddenly stiffened. “Hey, I didn’t say or do nothin’ to rile anyone about you. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” He spread his paw out innocently. “Really! I just told some buddies of mine about your little problem is all. They said they were going to help.”

Kodi groaned. What was Dusty thinking in telling Kirby about this? I told her to keep quiet about it! “You mean that you told them about Tovah and Sitka?”

“I told them what I understood from it. Don’t worry, it’ll all turn out! You’ll have everything back to normal soon.”

Kodi was about to ask Kirby what he meant, but then Mr. Simpson came out of the house. “Come on boys, let’s hitch up! Mail doesn’t deliver itself you know.”

Kodi wagged his tail for his Master, though he eyed Kirby with suspicion. What in the world had Kirby said?

Chapter 3

Sitka was surprised at how much Tovah improved in two evenings. She was able to sit up, and she actually was able to keep down a little meat, though she ate only a tiny bit. He laid next to her once darkness fell. “I’m surprised at how fast you recovered, luv. I suppose it was just a bug.”

Tovah had an odd smile that she tried to suppress. “Well, it isn’t a bug, but it was temporary. I guess by tomorrow night I should be over my nausea.”

Sitka nodded, though he began to wonder why Tovah looked as if she wasn’t saying what she wanted. Her bright eyes gave away the fact she had a secret. “Ok, what is it? You’re keeping something from me. You have that evasive look about you.”

Tovah’s look suddenly dimmed, as if she was suddenly afraid of something. “Ah, I was going to tell you about a wonderful… surprise, but…I wasn’t sure how you would react to it.” She didn’t know if she could spit it out with out acting like a fool, so she rolled over on her side. “I want you to feel something. I’m not sure if you can feel it as well as I can, but…”

Sitka paused, and then he allowed her to guide his paw over her stomach. He wasn’t sure, but he thought for a moment he felt something move. He turned to her with wide, shocked eyes. “You’re