day. She talked on and on, words gushing forth like never before. Feelings about Ketch overwhelmed her as she turned to her sister for guidance…

“Kaila, what do you think? Kaila?” She looked over to see her sister completely relaxed, her head between her paws, breathing deeply. That fact alone hurt Chase for a moment (here she was pouring out her heart, and her sister had fallen asleep listening to it) but she forced herself not to dwell on it. Kaila had had a rough day. Everyone had.

Chase looked around at the sleeping wolves and dogs and wondered when they would all be able to return to a normal life. She longed to be by Ketch’s side, strengthening the alleyway dogs, making new friends and becoming closer with her family…

The alleyways…

The dogs…

Steele…

Chase sat up. The pieces fit together so perfectly, she could feel her chest tighten and her breaths become faster. Why hadn’t she thought of it before?

She heaved herself up, and her eyes settled on one particular sleeping figure: Taya. Chase showed her teeth even though she knew Taya wouldn’t react. She could kill Taya right now if she wanted to…

Chase glanced at Kaila. Oh, there wasn’t much danger of them being attacked tonight. She darted out of the cave and across the landscape, her back prickling with apprehension. She would be spotted, she knew that. She just had to concentrate on escaping–

“Who goes there?” A gruff shout rang from a few feet behind Chase. Immediately her legs kicked up, breaking away as fast as she could. She could hear more shouts behind her, spreading quickly down the line. Approaching paws drummed on the thawing ground, and Chase tried in vain to speed up.

‘I need Ketch,’ she thought desperately.

Out of nowhere a canine zipped right past Chase, followed by three little canines. Before she could remember where she had smelled those scents before, she realized the canine would confuse her pursuers, and she gained some power in her stride at the thought.

Wolves were yelling and screaming at each other, and a couple even crashed into each other when one wolf tried to go for Chase and the other tried to go for the canine and the little ones. Chase knocked a few wolves out of the way as she sprinted across the tundra, and when she heard more pursuing her she started weaving and twisting and hiding behind anything she could find. Once she fell down hard, landing on the side with her good leg, her stump sticking up in the air. She struggled to get up, but she couldn’t seem to gain the right amount of leverage. Her eyes flashed angrily as she heard the Northern Hills wolves catching up.

“C’mon!” she hissed at her leg in frustration, but of course that didn’t make the situation any better. In a panic she saw a wolf coming to stand over her, and when he came near she grabbed onto one of his legs. Before he could react she pulled herself up, butted him in the head, and left him lying in the dirt. “Thanks, pal!”

Chase tore across the tundra with her heart beating like a hummingbird’s wings, and felt an ocean of relief wash over her at the sight of Nome. Her legs were flaming on the inside, and her chest hurt from running so hard for so long. She knew if she didn’t rest soon she would collapse.

Sharp teeth caught on her tail, and with a gasp of surprise she wagged it as hard as she could, throwing her attacker from side to side. He started pulling her back, and with all the power she had left she yanked out of his grip and flew towards town. A howl of pain jumped out of her mouth, but she bit it back. This was no time to act weak.

Her tail and paws throbbed as she jogged through the streets, catching her breath, and turned into the alleys. Chase walked quietly through, catching glimpses of dogs she knew sleeping behind dumpsters, on garbage cans, etc. The smell of old trash had hit her full-blast when she had padded in, but somehow she had to smell past it to find who she was looking for.

She searched the alleys for a couple minutes before sitting down with a quiet sigh and letting her tail heal in a patch of snow that luckily had not melted yet. Her eyes flicked over the alley. Where was that daughter of –?

“Chase?”

Chase spun around to see Ava standing on top of a garbage can, peering down at her. She scrambled up. “Ava! Where were you?”

“Following you,” Ava said calmly, jumping down from the trashcan but still keeping a fair distance from Chase. “When I said I would protect the troops, I meant it. Now what are you doing here?” Her brown eyes darted nervously. “Where’s Ketch?”

Chase blew out a long breath. “Look, Ava, I’m not here to hurt you. I…I need your help.” She stretched out her paw to indicate all the street dogs. “I needeveryone’s help…”

Jenna sat up suddenly as if singed by a red-hot coal. Her exhausted mind struggled to regain full consciousness. Had she just heard a wolf howl? Had it been Balto?

Collapsing back onto the deck, Jenna rubbed her cheek against the cold, hard wood. She had started the night out trying to sleep at her house, but she was so worried for Balto and her children that she had gone out to Balto’s boat to watch for any sign of her family returning.

She shivered violently, and wished her bandana was more like a full-length blanket. She knew below deck would be warmer, but she couldn’t bear to think of missing her family’s return. She knew she wouldn’t freeze; her thick coat and restless shifting protected her from the cold.

With a shaky sigh Jenna got up and stood limply at the railing. The tundra looked the same as ever: gray, and empty. As shivers racked her body, she felt a new anger swirl up inside her. Why was she always the one left to worry? When had she gotten so useless and weak? Balto had tried to explain to her as gently as possible why she couldn’t go get Kaila back, too, but the injustice burned her throat and made her eyes sting.

When she had been the most popular girl dog in Nome, so much attention had been lavished upon her that she always felt wanted and needed. When the news had spread that she had become Balto’s mate, every eye was trained upon her either in admiration or jealousy when she strolled down the street. The attention had swelled her pride and put confidence in her step, but now the novelty of either situation had worn away, and she was left with a hot lump in her throat that choked her.

Jenna remembered the pain in Balto’s eyes when he told her to stay behind while he went to search for Kaila. The fact that he was right to leave her behind only made her angrier. She was a town dog, and not very strong; she would be more trouble than help. Yet her pride cut her to the quick as her mind flipped back to the time she had saved Balto’s life by going after him into the wilderness and attacking a bear. Her heart beat wildly at the memory. She had been scared out of her wits, but her love for Balto had outshone everything else.

A dark shine quivered on her eye as she refused to let the furious tears fall. What had happened to that courageous teenager she had once been? When had she stopped listening when her heart said to go, and let her fears overshadow her love? When? And then she knew: Aleu.

Jenna suddenly swallowed her self-pity and stood straight and tall. Certainty lit a flame inside her; she would not take this lying down, literally or figuratively. Because of her cowardice, she had lost one daughter to wolves without even a goodbye. She wouldn’t let that happen again.

Before her courage could cool or her certainty waver, Jenna clambered down the ramp and took off across the snow. She ran to the other side of town and scrambled up the side of a certain hill. When she reached the top, she gazed down reverently at the broken colored bottles and lantern that awaited her. Ever since her son Dusty’s return, they had no longer been needed to light the skies at night to guide him home. She shuddered to remember Lucas’s blood staining the broken glass when Kira had killed him. Thankfully, the blood had been washed away by the snow, and now they were to serve an even greater purpose.

Jenna lowered her head and let her bandana slip over her head and onto the ground next to the broken bottles. Frowning thoughtfully, she gingerly brushed the pieces of glass onto the cloth, and winced when she felt a shard start to cut into her foot. She examined it once more, and then slowly folded the corners around the glass so they met in the middle. She pinched the corners together between two paws and then clamped her mouth around them so the shards were carried in a small orange sack hanging from her mouth. Jenna was proud of herself for coming up with the idea; her only concern was whether the cloth was thick enough to hold the glass.

Next, she swiftly clenched her teeth around the lantern handle before the sack had a chance to come apart in her mouth. Jenna laughed inwardly at her situation. She would just have to hope she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone!

A use for the ‘polar ice caps’ had been blooming in her head, and now she thought it might bring the family back together. Who knew? The bottles always had a special effect on dogs. And they contained so many memories for Jenna, Balto, and their pups. If worse came to worst, the soft lightshow would be her farewell to Kaila.

Jenna trotted out onto the tundra, sniffing for the trail. Finally she found it; the scent was there, if faint. Her shape blurred into a red smudge on the horizon, and slowly seemed to suck into the dark sky as she padded farther and farther away from Nome.

Dusty awoke to the sound of whimpers and the feel of little paws scrabbling at his face. He opened his eyes, and shot to his feet when he saw Kira, Silver, and Gail. “Kira!” He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her. He wanted to kiss her with pure joy, but his happiness drained away in a second. “What are you doing here?”

“Dusty!” Silver and Gail jumped at him, and he caught them and playfully wrestled them to the ground. Even as he tickled