Chapter One

The wind howled in a dark sky. A black husky pushed against the snow and gales, her eyes tightly shut. She was heading towards the cover of the trees. Then the dog, having reached the forest, buried herself in the snow, curled up, and slept.

                                x     x     x

This was similar to what a small pack of wolves were doing at that moment. Thier leader swept his gaze around his surroundings. Seeing that he was safe, he lay down, closed his gold eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

                             x      x      x

The next morning, the dog rose her head and sniffed the air. There was not much to smell, with the gusting wind to strong to carry a scent. But, the dog managed to pick up a faint whisper of smell.

              " Rabbit!" she whispered. Smelling again, and, pinpointing the animal, pounced on it. With one quick bite, the rabbit was dead. The husky tore hungrilly into it. The meal was her first in days.

         The husky's name was Kianu. The black and white dog had set off four days earlier to find the origin of a mysterious shadow that had loomed over her town since she was young. The shadow had somehow been cast over her town, making everyone terrified of everything. Kianu had gotten tired of the skittish ways of her family and friends. She belived the shadow was nothing to fear, and now, here she was, blinded by snow, having eaten once in four days.

                   This is great, just great. I'm stuck in the snow, I don't know what to do, and all I can see is snow--

"Like Balto..." Her father, Nevu, had told Kianu of the great Balto when she was just a pup. She rememberd it well, and carried the tale in her heart where ever she went. After all, Balto was her uncle. ( *Nevu was Balto's brother, but that's another fanfic*)

" If Balto could do it, than I can! I never even thought about.... why would I even THINK about giving up?" Kianu questioned herself. Lateley, she had had feelings of foreboding, like something terrible was going to happen. Like someone was watching her. She didn't know why, and the feelings came and gone.

   Kianu stood up and streched her black and white legs. The force of the wind was great, and made her wobble on her small, delicate, yet dtrong, paws. Splaying her legs and pushing forward, Kianu was off again. She walked on, following the shadow. It seemed to never end, and Kianu began to wonder if it ever would. Deeper into the forest, though, there was someone who knew the answer to that question.... and more.

                            x x x

The small and thin female wolf yawned silently and called to her sister. " Nomo! Nomo!!!" she whispered. She kept her voice barely detectable in order to not disturb Shaukwo, their leader. He did not let anyone, ESPECIALLY the females, talk or even make asound, without his permission. With out a noise, a malnourished brown wolf cautiously made her way towards the speaker, Cabad. " Cabad, what could you possibly be breaking the rules for at a time like this?" Nomo wondered.

What she ment was, that the pack had been in constant watch ever since Kianu had departed on her quest. Shaukwo was determined to make Kianu his mate, and would stop at nothing to make it happen. He had cast an evil, dark, spell over her town to form a shadow in the hopes of her evacuating to the forest. It was then that the black wolf would launch his mission -- he would capture Kianu and teach her the ways of the forest, and how to live like a wolf.The female pack memebers had especially felt the pressure of the mission. Shaukwo had been treating them more and more like servants, rather than wolves, lately. He claimed it was to prepare them to the duties of adjusting Kianu to their pack, but Nomo knew better.

.......The conversation between the two wolf sisters would not finsh, as Shaukwo had arisen......

                         ---------------

Shaukwo had launched phasetwo of his great scheme. It was to release a spell of disease into the forest, in the hopes of it infecting Kianu. When she became infected, he would send out Aski, the pack's best tracker. Aski was talnted, and specialized in finding the "sick scent", or the diseased hint of sickness, in and animal's smell. This skill came in handy while hunting. But this time, she would sniff out Kianu's sick scent-- and not for a good cause.

                           x x x

The next afternoon, with an empty stomach, Kianu smelled a strange scent lingering in the musky forest air. The scent was everywhere, and as she followed it, she noticed, every few feet, there was a dead rodent, or other small woodland creature. It was strange, and for that reason, Kianu did not eat any of the prey.

      She walked on. The snow and wind had died down, but the scent grew unbearably strong. Soon, Kianu began to feel sick. Extremely sick, like nothing she felt before.

                                Chapter Two

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Kianu tried to bark out the words, but her voice was crackly and stiff. She sniffed the air, thinking to herself,

How did I get so sick..and so sudden?

wondered Kianu. Then-- everything went dark. Kianu had been knocked unconsious.

                                     x x x

The wolves gathered in a circle around a limp body of a husky.Najii, Shaukwo's personal assistant, had whacked her in just the right spot , as to knock her out.Aski had done an excellent job, and Shaukwo was proud. Now, it was time to wake the husky up. Najii's paw poked the dog,using encouraging words.

          Kianu's eyes soon fluttered open.Her body was racking with the cold, but Shaukwo took care of it.

                              x x x

Kianu had woken to a warm smile above her, with two gold eyes staring into her own. She blinked, suprised.

"Uh-- Where am I?" she asked, grogilly.

"You are with my pack. I am Shaukwo, thier leader. I'll be happy to show you to your den!" he said happily. Getting off her back, he slipped into the undergrowth. He kept looking back, as to see if Kianu was following. She was.....but very slowly.

 "Come on!Just a little further!" Shaukwo cried.He was anxious to get her into her den. There, the explaining would begin.

                                     x x x

A rabbit was placed in front of Kianu. She sniffed carefully before eating the prey.

"So, why amd I in this bush? And....who are you??" Kianu said, perplexed at who this wolf was and why he had pushed her into a bush.

"Well.  I am Shaukwo, leader of the forest pack. The others are Najii, Aski, Nomo, Cabad, and the half- husky Linny. And, you're in this bush because it is warm and dry. The best den out here." he replied.

"Why is it called a den?" she asked.

"Because.... I don't know!"

"But how is a bush a den?"

"Okay, enough!!!!" Shaukwo bellowed.

"Sorry......" Kianu shrank back.

Next, the black wolf went on to explain why and how Kianu was there with his pack. When he was finshed, Kianu was scared. Why would anyone try to hurt someone just to be thier mate?!

"Uh, that's a really sick thing to do! Almost kill me just to make me like you? Well, I don't, and I'm leaving! I'm on a quest, and you can't stop me!!!!" she shouted angrilly. Then Shaukwo suprised her once again.

"I have your answer. I am your answer."

Kianu was puzzled once more, but curious. What did the black wolf know? And how much. Cautiously, she began to speak.

" You know where the shadow came from?"

Shaukwo slowly answered , "Yes".

"Then, what do you mean... you have-- you are the answer?" she asked.

" Come. I will show you." he simply replied, and padded out of the den.

                         x x x

"You see, this spell book has been passed down for generations in my pack. No one knows about it except the alphas." Shaukwo told Kianu, pushing an old and tattered collection of bark panels towards her.