Nome.

Dusty flew across the beach and clambered up the ramp to the deck. Balto, Jenna, Chase, and a stranger stood waiting.

Dusty’s eyebrows went up at the sight of Chase’s companion. “Uh…who are you?”

“Ketchikan,” the mangy brown mutt said, “But by all means, call me Ketch. Please.”

“Ketch is just my friend,” Chase said emphatically, “He wants to help find Kaila. If he had any brain at all, he would be staying behind.” She nudged him with her foot, and he looked down at her imperiously.

“With Kaila’s stubbornness, we need all the help we can get persuasion-wise,” Balto said warmly, “I went on the beach and caught her scent. She went alone. She ran away, but at least she wasn’t kidnapped. Dusty, how is Kira?”

“Fine,” Dusty told him, “Annoyed she has to stay behind, but fine.”

Jenna sighed quietly. Balto shook his head and turned to her. “Jen, I told you. I can’t risk you getting hurt–”

“I know,” Jenna said coldly. Dusty stiffened. He had never heard his mother use such an angry tone before. It was unsettling.

Balto slowly turned away, his eyes downcast. “And Silver and Gail? And Robin?” Balto had visited the pups many times before. He was related to them more like a half-uncle, and they called him Balto, but he was more like a grandfather to them than anything else.

Dusty smiled. “Kira’ll be able to keep them in line.”

“Alright,” Balto announced, “We have to catch up with Copper, and then find Kaila. Let’s hope it’s a short quest…I’m getting too old for this.”

Jenna embraced each of her children. “Goodbye, my girl,” she whispered to Chase. She stepped away and gazed hard at Ketch.

“Mom,” Chase hissed, “Don’t.”

“Alright,” Jenna said. As she walked past Ketch she muttered, “Take care of her, Ketch.”

“I will, ma’am,” Ketch murmured.

Chase smacked her forehead. “Mom, I told you…!”

Jenna hugged Dusty. “Don’t get lost out there again.”

“I won’t, Mom,” Dusty reassured her, “We’ll all be fine. Don’t worry.”

Jenna kissed Balto goodbye, but she couldn’t hide her anger over being left behind. Balto gazed at her sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, Jen.”

“I know, I know,” Jenna said with a voice as hard as bone, “Just go. Find Kaila and bring her back!”

One by one the rescuing foursome scrambled down the ramp and across the beach, Balto leading the way as they followed Kaila’s scent. Jenna watched them go, and with a stung heart she plodded down the ramp and back to town.

No one saw the black and white dog lurking in the shadows of Balto’s boat. It chuckled, and then turned this way and that as if deciding which way to go. Finally it slunk after Balto, carefully keeping to the shadows, which were shrinking faster and faster as the sun rose.

Kaila crouched behind the snow-flecked tree, sizing up the lone moose plodding through the clearing before her. She caught glimpses of the other pack members behind the rest of the trees, and she saw Lakota’s green eyes glint as he gave a swift nod. She tightened her leg muscles and waited for exactly the right moment to attack.

The moose stopped as it caught the scent of the predators circling it. It moaned, and as a last attempt to escape it began to gallop away.

Kaila shot forward and sprang into the air, feeling the lift as the adrenaline rush kicked in. Out of the corner of her eye she spied Cheyenne rushing forward, and her eyes narrowed. This kill was hers.

She flew to the moose’s side and prepared herself to taste blood. She leaped towards her prey, her claws inches from its sweaty hide…and then something came down hard across her back. Kaila hit the dirt, her eyes snapping shut and her skull jittering against the ground. Her attacker slashed her across the back, ripping open her skin. She gasped with pain, and without thinking flipped herself to her feet and slammed her attacker to the ground.

“What…?” The Northern Hills wolf looked up in confusion. “A wolf-dog? You’re a wolf-dog?”

“Very observant, smart one,” Kaila growled. From around her she could hear the separate battles raging between the Anvil Creek wolves and Northern Hills wolves, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the wolf at her feet in case he got any ideas. “Here’s my thanks to Silver Arrow for his ‘loyalty’ to the Anvil Creek pack,” Kaila snarled. She swiped the wolf across the face, raking red claw marks over his muzzle. A sudden wave of disbelief stunned her. Had she really just hurt someone? Willingly?

The wolf scowled and kicked her away. She stumbled back, and he whirled to his feet and struck her across the face. She wheeled back, and collapsed in a pile of watery snow. Her face stung, and everywhere burned.

“I guess that means ‘you’re welcome’,” the wolf snickered, and loped away.

Kaila took a moment to get control of herself. Aside from anything that had just occurred, Silver Arrow would know shortly that there was a wolf-dog fighting in the Anvil Creek pack. She didn’t know whether he would take her as a threat or simply an annoyance, but she knew she would have to get past her fear and shock if she was going to be part of this war. She couldn’t freeze up like she just had. She had to fight.

A short, sharp howl pricked at Kaila’s ears, and she looked out to see the Northern Hills pack filtering out, looking quite pleased with themselves. The quiet they left behind was so eerie, Kaila filled it by getting up and checking on her pack.

Lakota emerged from the woods with a bloody left front leg and scratches twining themselves over his back. Sage dragged herself over and fell to the snow, licking her bitten paws and flicking blood out of her eyes from her ripped ear. Sarai rolled in the snow to wash away the moist earth and blood stuck in her fur. Nilak’s pale fur was flecked with red, but the scarlet drops blended right in on Cheyenne, and most of the blood seemed not to be hers. Aniu seemed mysteriously unhurt, but Kiowa lay in an unmoving heap in the middle of the clearing. They all gathered around her, their heads down and their hearts heavy.

“Mom!” Cheyenne shrieked, flinging herself down beside Kiowa. She looked over her mother’s wounds, and Kaila could hear her mumbling over and over, “Not you, too…Not you, too…”

Nilak stood in stony silence. Only his eyes betrayed the sadness and rage roaring through him.

“We need to get Kiowa back to the cave,” Sage said firmly. She ducked under the still body and hoisted Kiowa onto her back. Cheyenne did the same so Kiowa lay over both their backs. They began to walk carefully towards the cave, and the rest of the pack followed quietly.

“An ambush,” Lakota muttered, “That’s all it took for them to bring us down. We need better defense, and a plan to attack them.”

“Already working on it,” Nilak murmured.

“Will they attack us again, Lakota?” Sarai whispered. She stayed close to Aniu, and her face showed everyone that all she wanted to do was bury her head in the old wolf’s fur and whimper like a pup. Thankfully, she kept walking.

“Yes,” Lakota told her, “But we’ll be ready for them. We should have been ready today, but…” He shook his head.

“We just weren’t careful,” Kaila finished quietly.

“Courage,” Aniu said, “We can be thankful only one of us was seriously injured.” Cheyenne shot her a sharp look.

They arrived at the cave. Sage and Cheyenne sloped their backs so Kiowa slid gently to the ground. The black and white wolf groaned quietly, and her pups were immediately at her side.

“Mom?” Cheyenne murmured, “Mom. Say something. Say anything!” Nilak stood silently.

Kiowa moaned again and rolled over until she was facing her daughter. Her blue eyes were cold and blank, and her mouth barely moved as she mumbled one word: “Sirius…”

“Dad isn’t here, Mom,” Cheyenne whispered, “Dad isn’t here. I know it’s hard without him, but…don’t die. Please. Without Dad, we can’t lose you.”

“If you can’t live for us, live for the pack,” Nilak said, breaking his silence, “We need you now. To fight with us. If you die, you increase the chances of the whole pack getting killed. We need you, Mom. More than ever.”

At the sound of Nilak’s voice, Kiowa looked up quickly at both her children. Warmth flooded her eyes, and she seemed to emerge from a place far away. “I will fight. For the pack. For you two. It’s not time for me to join Sirius yet. Soon, but not yet. First I need to protect my family.”

Looking at them, Kaila marveled at how fragile family really was. A pack was a family, and in this pack alone a father and mate had died, leaving four children fatherless and three mothers without mates. She remembered how she had taken her own family for granted most of the time, and how easily it had broken apart. But she pushed that out of her mind. All that mattered was her second family, her pack. If she had to fight a war to protect it, she would.

The wolf that had attacked Kaila flew across the tundra ahead of all the other Northern Hills wolves. Panting, he ran into the pack cave and dipped his head to the beta wolf and the alpha male discussing something.

“We might have a new obstacle in this war,” he said.

The gray beta wolf stared at him. “How so? We outnumber them two to one.”

“Let him finish, Silver Arrow,” the dark brown alpha male said sternly.

“They have acquired a new member,” the wolf continued, “It is a female, and a wolf-dog.”

The alpha male threw back his head and let out a long, loud cackle. “A female? A part-dog female? Hardly a threat, soldier!”

“Still, we should observe her, just to be safe,” Silver Arrow reasoned, “I don’t mean to be forward, but I think that would be the ideal plan, Dark Moon.”

The wolf who had brought the news shivered. Only Silver Arrow was able to call the alpha male by his name without being struck. This showed a rise of power the Northern Hills pack hadn’t seen in a long time.

Dark Moon considered it, and slowly nodded. “Alright. Take a unit of wolves to the enemy’s cave and…observe this wolf-dog. Silver Arrow, you will be my eyes and ears.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t trust some of these soldiers to notice