idea Hawk was your brother,” he muttered quickly, “He lived in Nome and made fun of my sister Kaila for looking part wolf, and I got into a fight with him in Nome after he bulled her one time. We saw each other at the Northern Fights. He killed my friend Storm there. I just kept thinking about how he had teased Kaila his whole life, and now he had killed Storm, and before I knew it…” He risked looking up, and saw Taya was frozen in an unbelieving stance. A lump rose in his throat. He coughed, and looked down again and hastily continued. “And before I knew it, I had sunk my claws into his neck and sent him spinning across the ring.”

The astonished silence around him was the world’s weight on his shoulders.

“Right after that the police stormed in, Carson put you under the building in that cage, and then he was arrested, and I rescued you. I’m really sorry, Taya. I let my anger control me. But I hated Hawk. Revenge seemed like the only thing left to do. I’m sorry.” Copper braced himself for the torrent of anger he was sure Taya would unleash upon him. He waited for all hell to break loose as Taya lashed out with rage. He waited…but nothing happened.

He cautiously looked up, and was surprised to see Taya standing very still as if the slightest movement would be the death of her. Her blue eyes shone with a dim light, like two dying stars. Copper felt almost like a ghost of his former self as Taya finally saw him for who he truly was: her brother’s murderer. But also her rescuer. And her love.

Copper’s skin crawled as her eerie calm stretched longer and longer. “Taya?” he whispered uncertainly.

Taya closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. When she spoke, her voice was low and level with a slight tremor running through it, as if she knew flying out of control was still entirely possible. “From what you told me and from what I remember, Hawk was a lot like Steele. He was my brother, but he was cruel and enjoyed hurting others. The last thing this world needs is another Steele. Hawk deserved to die.” Taya opened her eyes and padded up to Copper quietly and leaned against him.

Copper stared down at her in disbelief, her words flashing through his brain over and over. Taya looked up at him with a steady gaze. Astonishment and love blasted through Copper like frigid waters. He was frozen, not really sure what to do.

Taya nuzzled him as she mumbled, “I forgive you.”

Copper dipped his head to look at her, not sure of what he was hearing. Taya stared up at him, and suddenly a smile barely touched the corners of her mouth as she rubbed her nose against his cheek.

Copper slowly worked himself up to the truth: he was forgiven.

Gently he nuzzled Taya back. Sweet surrender washed over him as the burden he had been carrying ever since that night at the Fights was swept away.

Chase and Ketch were greeted by the surviving street dogs of the battle.

“I trust your family made it through, Chase?” Smokey, a male Keeshond, inquired.

Chase nodded. “Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. You risked so much for me.”

“Anything for you, Chase,” Bear, an American Eskimo dog, said sincerely, “Even our lives.”

“Is there anything we can do for you, Ketch?” Smokey said, “You look awful.”

“Thanks,” Ketch joked, “Guys, I’ll be fine. Trust me. But battles are bound to be hard on one’s complexion, you know?”

Chase pushed him playfully, but was careful to be gentle. “Listen, you. A lot more than your complexion got messed up…but at least now your outside matches your mind.”

The five street dogs chuckled a little as Ketch pushed Chase back.

“We’re going back to Nome now,” Smokey said, “The battle’s over, and if we don’t leave soon it’ll be night before we get back. Will you be coming with us?”

“We’ll catch up,” Ketch said, “We’ll need to get Chase’s family all rounded up to go, and Chase needs to say goodbye to her sister.”

“I think we’ll ask Ava to come back with us,” Bear said.

“I think she would appreciate that,” Ketch said with a soft smile. His expression changed when a sudden thought hit him as the dogs turned to go. “Wait! Do you know if Matt…made it through?”

The group paused halfway in turning around. There was an awkward silence while Ketch looked on anxiously, and Chase’s heart sank.

At long last, Belle, Bear’s sister, hesitantly faced Ketch and with her eyes downcast said, “No…Matt didn’t make it. The only ones left are us…I’m sorry, Ketch. Really.”

Chase watched as Ketch’s hopeful face grew from shock, to anger, to nothing, as slowly as a cloud cloaks the sun. Ketch set his mouth in a tight line, neither smile nor frown. “Right. Um, thanks. Yeah…see ya.” His usually shining hazel eyes were devoid of light. He stared down at the ground and traced a figure eight through bloodstained grass.

Belle’s brown eyes were sorrowful as she gazed at Ketch, then Chase. Chase subsequently noticed their grief-stricken faces and the scars that carved too deep to be seen from the outside. She realized Smokey had lost all of his family and all but seven of his friends – all the street dogs had been friends with Smokey. Bear had lost his mother and six of his seven littermates. She had lost nearly all the dogs who had become her second family. And Ketch had lost his best friend and many others.

The pain in the eyes of her friends probably mirrored the anguish in her own. She had almost forgotten the price of war: death.

Smokey, Bear, Belle, and the other two dogs turned and trotted away before it became too much for Chase. She watched them go with a heart as heavy as lead. They had sacrificed too much for her. She knew it had been their choice, but she still felt guilty. She had sacrificed her own feelings to protect her family. Had it been worth it?

Chase watched as Smokey padded up to Ava and said something. Ava seemed uncertain, and glanced back at Copper and Taya. Taya said something and Copper nodded. Ava got to her feet, but she still lingered. At length, she bent down and whispered something into the ear of the dead chestnut dog at her feet. Then she stood up straight and followed Smokey as he led her back to the rest of the remaining alley dogs. She hugged them all, and began to lope away with them back to Nome.

Chase had a thought so sudden it tore through her like an electric shock. Before she knew it she was galloping towards Ava at breakneck speed, shouting, “Ava! Wait! Ava!”

Ava pivoted around and stopped in surprise, her shoulders up and tense.

Chase skidded to a halt with a shower of red and faced Steele’s daughter resolutely. “Ava, I’m sorry I acted so hateful towards you earlier. Steele…was your father, but I was too caught up in my hate to think that you could be different. I grew up hearing the story about my dad saving Nome, so in a way I grew up hating Steele. I guess I didn’t really know how to act towards you if I didn’t hate you. But you managed to put up with me, and you came to my rescue when I needed help. You sacrificed so much for me. I don’t deserve a friend like you.”

Ava listened carefully, her head tilted and her eyes squinted as if to aid her concentration. Chase studied her. She still saw Steele in that black and white fur, that thin face. But she also saw Ava’s mother in that purple Chow tongue and those brown eyes. And in the kindness behind her eyes, Chase saw Ava. Ava was not Steele. She was herself and only herself. And Chase had no reason to hate Ava.

“You are my friend,” Chase finished, “And I hope I can be the same to you.”

A smile grew quickly on Ava’s face, and she beamed at Chase. “Chase, I’ve always admired you for your strength and strong opinions, but I honestly thought your opinion of me would never change. I’m glad it has. And yes, we are friends.” Ava’s smile slipped, and she laughed sadly. “As for the sacrificing part, dying to save your family in this battle is not as bad as it could be. Street dogs don’t have a future. We’ll be born as street dogs, we’ll have pups that will always be street dogs, and we’ll die as street dogs. The only things that matter in our lives are friends and family. Our lives are the only thing we have to give, and since they’re worth so little we give them gladly for the ones we care about.”

Inwardly Chase was reeling. Whathad Ava just said?

Ava looked at Chase with a steady gaze. “Many dogs gave their lives for you because they knew you and your family had more of a future than they. They showed you they cared about you in one of the few ways they could. Do you understand, Chase?”

“I-I think so,” Chase stammered. The truth was so startling her brain was having trouble grasping it. “Thanks, Ava.”

Ava broke into a happy grin. She glanced behind Chase. “Oh, Ketch! Is there anything I can do to help?”

Ketch came up to Chase’s side. “Actually, I think that little speech of yours helped more than anything.” To Chase he muttered, “And to think I thought I was going to have to drag you over kicking and screaming to talk to Ava! I’ll never get you figured out, Chase.”

She poked him. “Confusing you, that’s how I have fun now,” she whispered back.

“I’m glad to see you and Chase finally made peace,” he told Ava.

“Yeah. Me, too.” Ava grinned wider. “Well, see you at the alleys.” She turned with her little gang and ran across the white. The street dogs vanished into the distance.

Ketch whistled long and low. “Now that’s what I call a miracle.”

“Hey, Ketch,” Chase pondered, “How were you able to trust Ava so completely? I mean, when I was so suspicious of her.”

“I think I could relate to her from both of us having tyrannical fathers,” Ketch explained, “I had Shadow, and she had Steele. I think I turned out okay, so I was willing to trust her because I knew what she had gone through.”

Chase shook her head in wonder. Ketch’s way of thinking would never cease to amaze her.

Footsteps brushed through the grass behind her. She spun around to see Taya padding up to her, with Copper just behind.

Taya stopped and stared with determination into Chase’s eyes. Chase held her