inside, he was born human, and had lived more than she would probably live. That thought was disturbing. Despite all that, he was unique. She had never met a male that cared so much about her for real. She couldn’t give up on that. She liked him, and he liked her. Who cared that he was a human before? It was more than clear, according to what he had explained her, that he was always a dog inside, and that he had never been a true human after all. And even if he had lived fourteen years, that just made him a teenager just like she was. It would be stupid to let that stand in their way. And suddenly she realized how confused he must have been when all that happened... just like she was now. She stopped walking, thoughtful. He needed her now, more than ever.

Dan just sighed, rose and started making his way down the mountain. Staying there sulking wasn’t helping. Well, it was all just another lesson to learn and live. He reached the base of the mountain after some minutes, and headed to Balto’s boat, with his head down. He should be starting thinking about a new place to live. He couldn’t be depending on Balto. The dog already had his own life, and Dan had just popped out of nothing and got in his life. He had already given him and Boris enough trouble.

He saw far away Balto’s boat, the town and the beach. He decided that he wasn’t tired, and headed for the beach. There, he just sat down on the snow and looked at the full moon.

Not too far, Luna was walking towards the beach, unaware that the hybrid was there. Suddenly, Dan heard Luna’s steps and turned back, being seen by her.

They stayed there, in an awkward silence. Dan then just rose.

- It's okay. You don't have to say anything. - he said as he started to walk away.

- No. Dan, wait! - Luna called him back.

He stopped, and approached again, unsure if he should do it.

- Dan... - the female started. - Hiding the truth from me wasn't right, but now I know you just did that because you were afraid and confused, just like I am now... - she made a pause. - And that just proves how much you really like me. So, if you were never an actual human, and you wanna stay here forever, what's stopping us?

Dan remained silent for a moment, pondering that.

- Luna, it's much more complicated than that...

- No, it's not. - she interrupted, decided. - Do you like me?

The hybrid looked at her blue sapphire eyes. By them he saw that she was determined, and that she really loved him. He thought for a moment, uncertain.

- Yes. - he finally answered. - But Luna... would you date a human?

- You're not a human. - she replied. - That's more than clear. Then it's all solved. Deal. - Luna finished the discussion, and approached to give him a nuzzle on his face.

Dan accepted the gesture, and returned it. The huskie was right. If Aniu had left clear that he was never a real human, and he had chosen to stay, there was nothing standing between him and Luna.

- Deal... - he said, giving in to the moment.

They snuggled together, in a hug, forgetting all about what had happened earlier and about Dan's past. He was a wolfdog, and that was final. Nothing would stand in their way.

~~~

           Dan felt great the next days. Things were finally going right for him. He had great friends, he had a home, and he had the girl of his dreams. How could it get any better? He started to develop an interest in racing, so he started to meet with Kodi and the rest of his team to play-race through the beach every morning when they got back from their mail run.

One week after Dan and Luna’s declaration, in a morning, Dan, Kodi, Ralph, Kirby and Dusty were at the frozen beach. They were racing again. The hybrid had become friends with the sled dogs, though he didn’t tell them about his human past. It was not a real problem now.

- And don’t forget using your tail to balance yourself. – Kirby warned when he passed by him.

In front of Dan, Kirby and Kodi were disputing the lead, while Dusty and Ralph were falling behind. The hybrid accelerated, and soon was tied with the first two dogs.

- I thought it was a race, not a walk in the park. – he mocked, playfully.

- You haven’t seen anything. – Kirby grinned, and accelerated, leaving the hybrid and the red husky behind.

- You didn’t tell where the finish line was. – Dan reminded Kodi, still not accelerating after Kirby.

Kodi looked ahead of them, looking for a good place.

- We'll have to reach the woods and head back to Nome. – he suggested.

- So, try to catch up. – Dan joked, and accelerated, trying to reach the light brown dog in the lead.

Kodi accelerated too, following his friend. Dusty and Ralph were close to them, but would need much energy to surpass the other dogs. Kirby noticed Dan tying with him, disputing the lead. Kodi reached them soon after. Dan noticed an flat ice trail on their way ahead.

- Check this out. – he said to his contestants.

When the ice trail was close enough, the hybrid leaped, and landed on it, sliding smoothly. The sled dogs, which were running beside the ice trail, got wide-eyed when they saw him leap again when the frozen trail ended, restarting running normally.

- Show-off! – Dusty complained behind them.

They saw the woods getting closer, and all of them increased their speed, wanting to let the others behind and to gain advantage. Dan got a little apprehensive about the time when he would need to turn around. The gravity effect would be strong because of their speed, but he couldn't stop, and he didn't want to anyway, he wanted to prove he was a good racer. The first tree was approaching, and Kodi took the lead, and made his turn around the tree almost without needing to decelerate. Kirby did the same then. Dan's turn was coming. He decided to do the same way Kodi did. He made his turn around the tree, fighting against the inertia, but he started to slide on the snow and crashed on a tree in his way. Dusty and Ralph stopped, and stood beside him, worried.

- Dan, are you okay? – Dusty asked.

- I’m fine, I’ll be right with you guys. – he said, getting up, recovered from the impact, still trying to ignore the stars that were swirling in front of his eyes.

The huskies rushed after the other dogs. Dan got up, and restarted running after them. It didn’t take long until he was surpassing Dusty and Ralph again.

- I told you I would be back. – he said, remaining in their speed for a moment, grinning, and accelerated again, leaving them behind.

They were about to pass beside Balto’s wrecked boat when Dan finally reached Kodi and Kirby again. Kirby grinned.

- Ya took your time to catch up. What happened? – the light brown dog asked.

- I was watching the landscape. – Dan joked.

They saw, beside the boat, Boris, yelling at the bears Muk and Luk, not noticing their arrival. Kodi and his team made a detour to avoid hitting the bears and the goose, but Dan kept heading that way.

- What are you doing? – Ralph exclaimed from far, concerned.

Dan just grinned, confident, and when Boris noticed his presence, starting to scream in shock and cover himself with his wings, he leaped over him and the bears, taking advantage from the impulse of his speed. Her rear paw passed inches from Luk’s head, but didn’t touch it. When he landed and kept running, he looked back at the angry goose and the confused polar bears.

- Look where you are going, lad! – Boris yelled, furious.

Dan joined his friends again, and they all laughed at the goose’s reaction. They saw Nome getting closer, Dan, Kodi and Kirby always trying to gain the lead. In a mute deal, they decided that the first house in their way would be the finish line. Dan