awkwardly.

"I thought the northern lights were outside," Aniu whispered to him, bristling as his tail touched hers.

Iron smirked. "You'll see, Aniu," he walked ahead of her, giving her a bit of room. "It's just up ahead."

Aniu was confused, but kept following the husky.

An opening in the tunnel relieved her, and she stepped ahead, thinking she'd be outside. But she was in a rather large opening, a stream of light coming in from a vent in the ceiling. The reek of humans pricked Aniu's nose and he whipped around to face Iron.

"Are you crazy? We're practically inside a human den!" She hissed.

Iron chuckled. "They're called houses," he said, pointing with his muzzle to the vent, "that's where my human lives, Mark. He's very kind, and he trained me to run and be a sled dog."

Aniu wrinkled her nose, but said no more about that matter.

"So, when are we going to see the northern lights?"

Iron smiled at her question and walked off into the darkness. "Right now."

Aniu heard a tinkling noise, and found Iron pushing broken bottles and glass of all colors towards the light.

"Pretend that these," he grunted, arranging them neatly, "are the polar ice caps. And that," he gestured to the lamp above, "is the sun. Now all I gotta do is push them a little further..."

A burst of color came onto the wall. Aniu gasped and smiled widely, her eyes shining with every color as though she wanted to keep them in.

"Iron..." she whispered.

He smiled silently. "Yeah, I know. And the real thing's even better."

Aniu shook her head, her jaws agape slightly. She had thought this was it...what could really be more beautiful?

"It's this way," Iron prompted gently, walking ahead of Aniu. The tunnels, she now realized, led outside as well. A slight breeze of cool air blew to her fur, ruffling it softly. Iron looked back at her, golden eyes alight. He smiled, stepping outside.

"Only a bit further," he murmured, stepping aside so she could walk out. He looked to the sky, pausing a moment. He flicked his tail, as if dismissing a thought, and moved on.

The two passed through the town of Nome, which had now grown quiet. Most of the humans were asleep, Aniu knew, and that alone made her fur lie flat on her back.

Iron was now leading her out of town, but in a different direction. Hills dappled this side, and Iron walked easier. They were almost there.

They climbed one of the tallest hills, and by then colors of the Aurora Borealis had spilled across the black sky. Green, crimson, and blue were mingled in together, and as the two sat down their breath was taken away. Iron sighed softly as Aniu leaned on him, and they both smiled, enjoying the warmth of each others fur.

Aniu looked up at Iron to find him looking at her. Their eyes met, and for a moment it wasn't the Aurora Borealis that quickened their hearts. Iron nuzzled Aniu gently, and they found themselves closer together than they had been.

Aniu licked Iron's cheek, and she buried her nose in his chest fur. "I love you," she heard him murmur as he rested his chin on her neck. Aniu was taken aback, of course she felt the same way, but it still made her heart leap. She drew her face close to his. "I love you, too, Iron."

***

Iron was awakened by a streak of light shining in his face. He stretched, and for a moment he forgot where he was-until he saw Aniu laying close to him, a smile still visible on her lips.

Iron licked Aniu's fur gently, as not to disturb her, and watched her until her eyes fluttered open. They had a dreamy, loving look upon them. Her face was glowing, bright with pure joy.

"Good morning," she said quite groggily, rolling onto her back and stretching out her legs into the air. Iron smiled even wider and replied with the same. He had just noticed he was still on the hill, and he furrowed his brow.

"Let's go back to the boat," he suggested. When Aniu gave him a flirtatious look, he blushed. "I mean, if the humans are going to wake up, we should get out of here before they do-they're not the biggest fan of wolves."

Aniu's face changed, but the glimmer in her eyes was still there as they walked together. Iron kept a hold of her by twining his tail with hers, and she seemed to like that, pressing herself against his flank gently.

***

Weeks Later...

Iron and Aniu were laying in the small captains' quarters, wrapped in the crimson blanket as snow fell silently outside. Iron kept Aniu close to him, as if the white snow, so like her, would whisk her away. Her silver eyes glittered as the snow danced around them.

"Don't you love snow?" Aniu said suddenly, softly.

Iron snorted a laugh through his nose. "If it was warm, I would."

Aniu grinned. "I mean, it's beautiful, the complete gentleness of it. And it's so frail that when you touch it, it melts." She looked over to Iron. "Sometimes I feel that way. Frail, you know? Like you just wanna-"

"Dissapear." The both of them said it together.

"Yeah," Iron understood, nodding. "When everyone pays attention to me, I don't like it. I mean, at first I really did, but now I just really want space. I want to be free to do whatever I want for a change."

Aniu nuzzled him and buried her muzzle in his neck fur. "Try being the Alpha's daughter," she groaned. "My father wants me to be perfect. He's shaping me to be this strict, stern leader that I don't want to be. It makes me sick." Her mind flashed back to when they were fighting over the loss of prey.

"He's probably worried to death now," she said, "he must've sent the whole pack after me." She laughed harshly. "It's probably the only time he's ever thought only about me."

Iron comforted her with a soft lick. "He cares about you, that's all," he said, "when I was starting out as a sled-dog, I was just a pup. I tripped up a lot, and some of the older dogs teased me. Once, I got so angry that I bit one of them. Our owner, Mark, was mad that I had bit another dog, so he punished me. But that doesn't mean that he's not a good person."

Aniu wrinkled her nose. "True, but you don't know my father."

Iron chuckled. "No, I don't. But I have a feeling I'll have to meet him."

"Why?"

"Well, one of these days you'll have to-"

"Go back?" Aniu inquired, cutting him off. Before he could answer, she shook her head. "I can't! Do you know what my father, not to mention my pack, would think if I told them that I was mate to a dog? He'd cut me off from being Alphess!"

"But he's looking for you!" Iron whispered, "he's going to search everywhere, you know that? He knows that you go into Nome. He's going to send the pack there if you don't return!"

"He's not stupid, Iron, he wouldn't-"

"If he's desperate, he will."

Aniu looked defeated. She sighed heavily and shook her head again. "But...but I can't go back..." She lowered her head to her paws. Her silver eyes reflected a feeling of shame.

"Why, Aniu?"

Iron waited for her answer, and finally, Aniu whispered in a low, almost inaudible voice, "Because...because I'm pregnant."