Ice hunt it down and now is dragging the meat to his den?”

But in the same moment Aleu froze. Looking in town’s direction. Her daughter followed that stare and noticed silhouettes of three she-gods on road to Buckland’s square. Two were young bitches with red and grey fur but oldest one was beautiful husky with cherry coat.

“Ow... somehow she looks familiar to me...” murmured Ami.

“Darling, stay here!” instructed Alue with decisive, however still tensed voice.

She started to sneak in deep snow, trying to stay unseen. She set off in cherry-furred direction, slowly marching under white cover. Ami was looking on that with amaze, but she obeyed mother instruction.

Cher was looking on working sled team from road. She nor her daughter didn’t try to help pullers – fragile constitution of bitches made them unable to such hard work. Although once Julia avidly wanted to became a sled-dog as her brothers, Ice forbid her to seek training with humans. “Some dogs are destined to be useful.” He said. “Some just to be beautiful, like you.” Julia had left her pup’s dreams but she always wanted to see pullers in work. And she always took mother and sister with her.

“Look, mom! That thing is huge!” she pointed on biplane. “But dad and team are pulling it so fast...” added with dreamy voice. “I wonder if they are stronger that Mike’s team...”

Mike was husky in Daniel’s team, owned by Ralph Fitch, second musher in Buckland. Since some time Mike and Julia were highly attracted each other, so she event didn’t know which team she have to cheer in local rivalry.

“I hope they won’t try it by contest of pulling that junk around...” snorted Cher and then she disappeared.

Just like that: in one second she was standing in snow next to the road and in next moment there were no one there, just a moderate gap in white layer. She-huskies looked on that hole, looked on each other, then once again on hole and screamed.

“MOM?!”

“Tsch!” sounded a hiss from below the snow. “Silence, he will hear you!”

“Mom!” yelled Julia and ran to gap.

Downthere she saw a confusing scene. Chew was lying on the ground of snowy-den, pressed by brownish wolf with blue eyes. She was looking on husky with terror in her eyes.

“Lay low! Quick!” whispered newcomer.

“Who... what’s going...”

“QUICK!”

“E... eee...” gasped Cher, who fried from wolf’s grasp. “What the hell you’re thinking by... Aleu?!” Husky looked on her sister with amaze on face. “Sister, is that you?”

“Quiet! The monster...”

“Call Ice!” barked Cher aloud. “My sister is here!”

Soon after that a clearing drowned in excited barks of sled-dogs. Shocked Aleu tried to escape but she was stopped by Cher and her daughters.

“Cher, we must hide!””

“Come, Aleu... that’s nothing!” replied airily husky. “Just some human’s machine. Ice will finish that route and will be here any moment...”

And then came Ami. She sneaked to dogs, convinced that her mother was caught by enemies. In her first pounce she pushed Cher off from Aleu side, then she jumped on Diana, knocking her on the ground. They all still were in snow-pan, dug by Aleu and extended by her wrestling with sister, so apart of some barks, no one from team noticed any alarming signals. But when Julia pounced on Ami, who was holding Diana in steel grip, wolf-bitch kicked her hard with rear-paws, throwing her few yards away. Town-dog yelled loud, what heard the sled team.

“Ami, wait!” cried Aleu. “Those are friends!”

Her daughter froze with jaws on Diana’s nape, than slowly got loose her grab. Cher stood up carefully, looking with confused stare on whole scene. Aleu came to sister and licked her cheek.

“Cher...” she whispered. “I thought...”

“No, we’re all right.” Replied cherry-furred. “But who...”

“That’s Ami, my daughter.”

“Ow, I’m sorry, ma’am.” Said dark-furred, standing up and coming to mother. “I thought you attacked mom and...”

Than wave of dogs jumped down to snow pan in few seconds immobilizing Aleu and Ami with fast and decisive grabs. Cher screamed with terror.

“Ice, no!” Greenland stood, with jaws on Ami’s nape. It was a strange reply of recent situation, when dark-furred was holding town-dog in grasp. But there was a one difference – to immobile agile and strong dark-furred, Ice required help of Armand and Ari.

“What the hell...” growled Arashi Tazaku, running with rifle, aimed in dogs mass. But then she stood, seeing that creatures, just second earlier fighting, stopped and started to uncertainly sniffing on each other. “Ow... who are those strays? Wolves?” He was examining newcomers with curious stare. “Don’t you eat yourself? May I leave you alone?”

“Everyone, wait!” barked Cher. “That is my sister Aleu and her daughter. They are friends.”

“Ow, My God... what a mess.” Murmured Ice, letting Ami’s nape go. “Sorry, we though you are forest wolves on hunt... But darling...” he looked on his mate. “Is everything all right?” Cher nodded her head. “So we will be back in minute, when we finish to pull that blasted plane.”

Arashi waved his gun and sled team ran back to it’s harness. Meanwhile Cher and Alue in scattered talk tried to understood what happened and how it could be, they met there. Julia was hurt, thanks to Ami’s fast teethes grab. But when that misunderstanding was gone, dark-furred went to her victim with lowered ears.

“No, it’s nothing.” Said she-dog. “Just a scratch.”

“May I...” asked Ami and started to lick a cut.

“Wow... you fighting like... like a wolf.” Whispered Diana.

“Old family tradition.” Smiled Ami.

After just few minutes, calmed and reconciled creatures were talking like friends.

*

Finally – when plane was already in garage and all dogs were unharnessed - whole group came to Arashi shed. That was the building made in place of old storage next to doctor’s house. But Tazaku decided to extend his own kennel and keep there sled-team of his brother-in-law, to provide them better medical care and just for company. Then it was a quite big warehouse made of metal plates, with own heating system and bedding for almost twenty dogs living there. So host and guests entered doctor’s kennel and laid in pleasant warmth of boiler.

“I still can’t believe it.” Murmured Ice. “So we are all the family! Hot it could be, that we heard no word about you for all those years?!”

“I don’t know, Ice, it has just come this way.” Replied Aleu.

“And Steele... God, I thought he died that night when wolves killed Sky...” Ami instinctively narrowed her eyes. She knew that her pack was responsible for that. And she had to say it to her new-found uncle. “You must tell them... all of them – Steele and your children to come here. We even didn’t know each other, running with the same forest for all the time...”

“Steele made sure that no wolf pack would harass sled-teams from Buckland.” Said Aleu. “And of course, from Nenana too...”

“Nenena? What do you mean?” asked Ice, but then he smiled in understanding. “I know! Those siblings from Nanana’s team: Spark and Shadow are your pups! I know it... so similar to Steele...”

“Indeed.” Confirmed Aleu. “Although boy is called Mark. Just humans gave him that strange name...”

“Right... Next time we meet on the route, we will greet them warm... But now... You said you are here because on some quest. Does Steele need our help?”

“Not only father.” Replied Ami. “We all – predators of peninsula are in trouble. Dad said us that your master is special person who could understand us and help us.”

“It would be hard, but if any humans could understand us, he is the man.” Said Ice. “But now rest. Tomorrow you will say about it on our town council.”

Dogs laid to sleep on hay, prepared as beddings. Buckland line of family occupied theirs usual places, leaving for guest the honorary beds next to the stove. But mother and daughter, used to forest’s frosts were unprepared to heat from fire and after few minutes took places nearest to the door. After that all of them fell asleep. However - not all to easy sleep.

Aleu woke with cold sweet just an hour later. Her dreams were full of planes, shooting and angry humans in uniforms. She sobbed quietly, reminding companions fallen during journey over the strait. Cher heard that and stood immediately.

“Sis... what happened?” she asked with real concern.

“Those... planes...” whispered Aleu with shaking voice.

Without any more words Cher laid nest to sister and cuddled into her side. They both fell asleep instantly.

*

Beyond the wall, in house, Arashi Tazaku was still awake, with Gunnar Kaasen looking on maps given by Canadian woodskeeper. Table where Japanese was eating, operating his patients (four and two-legged) turned to be a temporary HQ of their private environmental crusade. On plan were indicated the eventually areas of new wolves activity.

“That’s a job for some federal authorities. I don’t know how much can Phillip and John do in Anchorage.” Said Tazaku with serious voice. “So I propose to start gathering some evidence right now. We will fly over peninsula, especially in Cape Prince of Wales to locate those new packs. When we get them, we will land, if it’s possible or prepare a land expedition with sleds.”

“Sure thing.” Replied Norwegian. “I send to academy my final abdication. After all I’m a trapper, not some bloody scholar!” he looked on Arashi with ashamed face. “No offence...”

“I get your point.” Said Japanese. “I miss for some action too. So I will prepare cameras and maps and you help Sara and Ralph to prepare both sled teams. If the weather is good tomorrow, we will fly our first flight west.... But this time we will get some bigger clearing for landing.” Both men burst in laughter, but after several seconds Norwegian stopped.

“Who is going to pilot?” asked Gunnar uncertainly.

“We will see.” Smiled Japanese and put his glasses off. One think he hadn’t told his friend was that his sight wasn’t as