up and howled triumphantly, the notes bouncing off the cave walls and out across the tundra. The Anvil Creek pack wasn’t the same, but it was whole.

Copper could barely hear his own muttering. He didn’t even know he was saying anything out loud. His mind buzzed. He watched dully as Chase said something, but her speech was a wordless roar he heard from a million miles away. His mind had shut down until all he could think of was a single word: ‘Kaila Kaila Kaila Kaila Kaila Kaila…’

He couldn’t take it anymore. Words erupted from him and shot holes through the uneasy silence that encircled them: “Why are we all just standing around like this? Kaila is out there somewhere, and we don’t even know why! Maybe she ran away; she could have been kidnapped! Worrying and complaining isn’t going to bring her back! If no one’s going to snap out of it and get out there and find her, then I will!” He turned on his heel and without a second thought bolted across the beach and out into the wilderness.

He inhaled the scents of the morning, and was relieved to find only Kaila’s scent mingling with the smells that lay over the ground. So she had left of her own free will. That was a comfort, if a small one.

The reason for her moonlit escape troubled him. His chest burned, and he stopped to catch his breath and consider something. Had it been something he had done to make her want to leave? It seemed silly, but his concern ran too deep to let any ponderings rest. He ran through the past few months in his mind, but no events jumped out at him that could have been the cause for his sister to become a runaway again. Even despite his grown tendencies, he had managed not to be so overprotective; for that Kaila had thanked him. There was the slight possibility that Kaila had gone because she wanted to be with “her pack” again, but Copper could hardly believe that. How could she love the Anvil Creek pack more than her real family?

He straightened up and looked out towards the tundra where Kaila’s scent led. He squinted hard, then shook his head and stared again.

An orange dot was growing larger and larger in the distance. It seemed like a second sun, rising up until its bright form could be seen clearly.

Copper’s heart almost stopped. Air was no longer a need for him. All he needed was his nose to smell the scent that rolled through him like sunshine, his ears to hear the hard, steady drumming of paws getting closer from across the tundra, his eyes to see the orange dog zooming past him without a glance, and his speech to say the word that was pounding through his blood. He opened his mouth and let the word drop out: “Taya!”

The dog wrenched to a stop and froze there, her back to him. She cautiously turned around, but the minute she saw him her face lit up like the Northern Lights. Copper wished he could freeze this moment in his mind and store it away where he could never forget.

“Copper…” Taya’s face changed from wonder to alarm. “NO!”

Copper followed her gaze to see her father, Steele, standing over him with a confused expression on his face, but a paw raised to kill anyway.

Blasting cold whistled through Copper’s blood. He ducked the blow and pushed Steele into a melting snow mound, and ran away as fast as he could. He sprinted to Taya, but she ran back to her father. This stunned Copper so much he stopped. “Taya?” he said, alarmed.

But then she was behind him, hissing, “Go, go!”

He galloped, and he could feel her breath ruffle his tail as she followed. He forced himself to think about losing Steele, and looked around to find something to cover their scent and pawprints.

Water. The beach.

He charged across the gray sand, the icy water nipping at his feet and making him jolt and stumble as the tide rushed in and out. The saltwater masked any clue that they had been there, and as their pawprints were washed away by the waves Copper fled behind a sandy hill and stopped, inhaling as much air as he could in one breath.

Taya stood next to him, but even as she panted her blue eyes flashed with a fierce energy. Copper regarded her in amazement, and she finally looked up at him. They stared at each other for a minute, and then Taya broke the silence.

“I met Steele in White Mountain. I tried to avoid him, but he started chasing me, and…and all I could do was run.”

“Why did you run here?” Copper asked hoarsely. ‘Chase’s alleyway friends must have chased Steele to White Mountain,’ he thought, ‘Thanks, guys. Thanks alot.’

Taya shrugged and looked down. “I just ran. Nome was the closest place, so I just ended up here. It was at random.”

Copper hadn’t expected her to say she had wanted to see him, but it still hurt. He tried to dull the blade and looked straight at Taya. “I’m glad you’re back. I mean, I’m not glad Steele’s after you, but…I missed you.”

“Yeah,” she replied softly, “Me, too. I never wanted to see my father’s ugly face again. But I did. And everything’s a mess again. Weird, huh?”

Copper wasn’t sure what to say. Taya’s words were going in circles. It was like she wantedto confuse him.

She stared at him. “Why were you waiting there?”

It was the first time that morning he had really felt like smiling. “It isn’t what it looked like. I had no idea you were going to show up here! I was out looking for my sister, Kaila. She ran away…again.”

Taya snorted. “It seems like everyone’s running away these days, doesn’t it? Your sister ran away, I was running from Steele, you were running to find your sister–”

Copper was smiling wryly. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?”

“Would you want me to?” she asked suddenly, rounding on him.

Copper considered it for a moment. “It would be much easier if your family relations were different, but as for you yourself…Not for the world.”

Taya smiled, and for a few seconds that smile just lit up the world. Copper was hit by a wave that urged him to embrace Taya, to make sure she was really there and smiling, but then her face flooded with her trademark determined expression. The wave hit and was gone with barely a whisper.

“So,” Taya said, “While my father is searching for me to rip me limb from limb, do you need any help finding your sister?”

Copper blinked. “Um, sure,” he said, and shook himself. He led the way around the other edge of town and managed to find Kaila’s scent again, being careful to get Taya as far away from Steele as possible.

Chase listened as, after Copper’s abrupt exit, the decision was made.

“Copper’s right,” Dusty said into the uneasy stillness, “We need to go find Kaila. And we all need to go. If Kaila’s been kidnapped, it’ll take all of us to get her out of there. If she left because she wanted to, it’ll take all of us to convince her to come back. And if she won’t come back, well…at least we’ll all be there to say goodbye.”

“I’m coming,” Jenna said quickly.

“Jen, I don’t know…” Balto sighed.

“I need to go tell Kira,” Dusty announced quietly, and left.

“Same with Ketch,” Chase said when she knew her parents weren’t listening. No one knew about Ketch – or they had somehow forgotten about him – and no one needed to know. They would all get the wrong idea about him.

She left her parents to argue, and she found herself trotting down an alley, wondering how she was going to break this to Ketch. She found him helping a dog who was paralyzed on one side walk to a puddle for a drink. The old dog bent her head and lapped at the swill, and Ketch stood quietly while she drank. He caught sight of Chase, and called, “Hey!”

“Hi again,” Chase replied, padding up to him, “Long time, no see.”

“Is this your girlfriend, Ketch?” the old dog asked. Dirty water dripped from her muzzle.

“Well, uh…um, you see, she’s–” Ketch stammered.

The old dog stared at Chase. “You’ve got yourself a fine young dog right there. A fine one.”

Heat swirled up Chase’s body and into her face. She could feel her cheeks coloring pink to red. A few months ago she would have erupted in rage, but now she used all the self-control she had ever accumulated to bite her tongue and hold back the angry and embarrassed words threatening to burst out. She waited until the old dog had been led away by a friend, and she and Ketch were alone.

Ketch stared at her scarlet face. “Chase, breathe!”

She obediently opened her mouth, and as air rushed in sputters of words leaked out. “Look what she–! I never–! You saw–!...I’ll bust–”

“You would have busted if I hadn’t told you to breathe,” Ketch said, “You scared me for a minute, Chase! I really thought you were going to hurt her!”

“Be glad I didn’t,” Chase growled, “If that had happened a couple months ago, she wouldn’t have known what hit her.”

“Don’t think I wasn’t embarrassed, too,” Ketch said, “But forget about her, Chase. Please? I want to be sure you won’t murder her in her sleep tonight or anything.”

“She’s so old, I doubt it would matter if I did,” Chase muttered. She grinned at Ketch’s surprised laugh, but his eyes were stern.

“Chase.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled. She ducked her head to hide her grin, and she knew Ketch was smiling and rolling his eyes. His paw tousled her head, and he laughed softly.

“What am I going to do with you, Chase?”

She stepped back from his paw. “Well, you could say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” Ketch’s face was fully alarmed. “Why?”

Chase looked into his hazel eyes. “My sister Kaila ran away. Again. And this time everyone’s sick and tired of her acting like the idiot she can be, so we’re all heading out to drag her back.” She shrugged. “What’s family for?”

Ketch’s amused smile was small. “All of you? Do you mean your dad and the rest of your litter? What about your mom?”

“I’d bet anything Mom’s going to end up staying here,” Chase told him, “She wants to come, but Dad wants her to be safe. Don’t tell anyone this, but I think it has something to do with Mom being kind of weak. We can’t be taking care of her out there when it’s hard even with out her. I think Dad knows that, but he’ll put it in the nicest way possible.”

Ketch’s