this," Aleu said.

"Please don't be angry with me." Said Siear.

"Siear," Aleu said, "this may sound cold alright, but I don't have time to do this right now, you've endangered my family, with this alright?"

"But..." Siear said.

Aleu cut her off.

"If you want to help, help them."

Then Aleu took off up out of the cave.

"Shadow get over here!" Aleu yelled.

Shadow ran over.

"What’s up Aleu? What's with the.."

"Shut up for just a second okay!"

Shadow took a step back.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Aleu said, "look... Siear got in a fight with a sled dog in town, he attacked her.. but..."

She sighed.

"Shadow she killed him."

Shadow nodded.

"So..." she started.

"Humans are on the way, huh?" Shadow asked.

"It was Aleu's turn to nod.

"Shadow, I hate to ask you to do this, but... you're the only one who can really fight.

I want you to take two other's from the pack, and wait up here for them. Wait until they get here and then ambush them, maybe, I don't know lead them away... or take them out, I don't know, just... just buy the rest of us some time."

Shadow nodded.

"I want Dash and Melody." He said.

"What about me?" Aleu protested.

"You're staying with the kids," Shadow said, "understood?"

"Woah," Aleu said smiling, "I'm the one who gives the orders around here."

"Yeah you keep thinking that Shadow said returning the smile.

"Shadow.... be careful." Aleu said quietly.

"I will," he responded, "now you go in the cave and send out Dash and Melody."

"Yes sir," Aleu said as she turned and ran back into the cave.

"Shadow wants you two outside," Aleu said to her Niece and Nephew.

They both nodded and took off.

Aleu walked down into the cave.

Siear was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd she go?" Aleu thought.

She walked over to her kids.

"Sheik, Lima, Thunder, get over here."

The three ran up.

"What can I do to help mom?" Sheik asked.

"Yeah," Thunder said.

"We want to help," added Lima.

Aleu smiled.

"You can stay right here."

"Mom, we're old enough out be out there with you," Thunder said.

Aleu was about to reply when she heard Shadows howl.

"They're here!" Aleu thought.

Then a gunshot pierced the night.

"Shadow?" Aleu thought.

"Sheik, Lima, Thunder" Aleu said, "you guys want to help? Watch the cave."

Then she ran out of the room.

"Is aunt Aleu going to be alright?" Talkeet asked.

"I hope so," Lima said, "I really hope so."

Aleu shot out of the cave to see two humans with guns outside, a sled team sat nearby.

One of the humans was tracking something, and fired.

Aleu saw a cloud of snow explode in front of Dash.

"He missed," Aleu thought, "but where's Shadow?"

She saw someone running toward the humans.

It was Siear.

"What are you doing out here?"

She ran at the human, knowing as she ran that she'd never make it in time.

When Siear was about three feet away, the man pulled up his shotgun and fired.

Siear was blown backwards by the blast, and rolled, Aleu saw her rolling on the ground.

"She's still alive," Aleu thought as she leapt at the man.

The human never even saw her coming.

She hit him in the back, almost knocking him down. She bit down on the barrel of the shotgun and wrenched it from the man's hands as she fell.

Then she took off running, dragging the cumbersome weapon.

"Hey Elmer," the man said, "that wolf just stole my gun, ain't right, ain't right no wolf should run off with ma gun."

He pulled out the .375 Magnum revolver that was tucked into the waistband of his jeans, and pulled the trigger.

Aleu felt the shot crack by her head.

She ducked as another plume of snow erupted to her left.

She dropped the gun and hightailed it toward the cave, shots cracking through the air all around her, and getting closer.

She jumped for the entrance to the cave.

The man knew he had the sights lined up perfectly, he wouldn't miss this time.

He pulled the trigger.

Aleu heard a loud ClicK as the hammer fell on an empty chamber.

Aleu flew into the cave, landing on the slope and sliding, rolling down to the bottom.

Shadow saw her fall.

"Was she hit?" He thought.

He jumped at the other man, and the man fired his pistol, having run out of ammo for his rifle.

Shadow felt the bullet pass through his hair.

"How did that not hit me?" Shadow thought.

He slammed into the man and made him drop the .45 he was holding as he did so.

"This is going bad, we need to get out of here!"

"Shadow howled and jumped off of the man.

Dash and Melody took off, headed for the cave.

"Let's get out of here Elmer," the man said, as he got up.

The two humans ran to their sleds and with a cry of Mush, they were gone.

Shadow crept out of the trees, he saw Siear on the snow not too far away.

He walked over to her.

"She's in bad shape," Shadow thought.

Siear wasn't breathing too well, her breath coming in short gasps.

Shadow sighed.

The shotgun had ripped away most of her right side, taking her right leg off at the shoulder.

Her eyes fluttered open and Shadow knelt down next to the young wolf.

"Sh... .Sh... Shadow?"

"Yeah," he said.

"I'm... I'm not... not going... going .. to... going to make it.. am I?"

"You'll be fine," Shadow said.

"Y...yo...you don't.... don't lie... very...very well.. Shadow," she said, a smile coming to her face.

"Ple...Please.... tel....tell ...Al...Aleu that... that I... I never... I... never meant... for... for this.. to...to happen...tell...tell her...plea..se.

Then Siear's head fell back into the puddle of blood that had formed under her.

She didn't move.

Shadow wiped a tear from his eye.

"She was so young."

Then he walked back into the cave.

"Shadow are you okay?" Aleu asked, as he came down into the cave.

Aleu limped over to Shadow's side.

"Aleu?" Shadow said alarmed, "are you hurt, you're limping?"

Aleu smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I landed on it wrong when I tumbled in, it hurts a bit, but I'll be fine.

She paused.

"Siear?"

Shadow shook his head.

Aleu sighed.

"Shadow we... we need to be better prepared, what if that had been Aniak? Those wolves wouldn't have stopped short of the cave like the humans did. The fight would've gotten bad in a hurry."

"I agree," Shadow said.

"Can you teach us how to fight, I mean fight well?" Aleu asked.

Shadow smiled

"I probably can; I taught you."

"Yeah," Aleu responded, and since the kids have been born, I've fallen out of practice. I guess being a mother made me lazy."

"You could use a little sharpening up," Shadow said.

"Hey!" Aleu said, laughing and hitting him playfully on the shoulder.

Shadow began to walk away.

"I'll start the class tonight, the sooner the better right?"

Aleu watched him go.

"Shadow."

He stopped.

"How many other's ?"

"As far as I know Siear's the only one that got hit," Shadow responded.

He suddenly felt very strange, a distinct pain starting to form in his stomach."

"Aleu?" he said in a somewhat pained voice. "I think someone else got hit."

"Who?" Aleu asked.

"I hope the kids are okay," she thought.

He looked back at her.

"Me."

Then he collapsed.

Aleu ran over to him.

"Shadow?"

She stopped beside him.

"Oh Shadow," she said.

A tear ran down her face.

In Shadow's side was a jagged hole about the size of an oak leaf. The hair around the hole was matted in blood.

"Shadow?" Aleu asked again.

He didn't respond.

More tears came to her eyes

"SHADOW!?" she yelled.

She laid down beside him, tears streaming down her face, unwilling to believe what was happening, what had happened.

She covered her face with her paws.

"How am I going to tell the kids?"

Her thoughts drifted back in time to a place that seemed so far away now.

"Home...." She said.

Aleu looked down at the two little pups that cuddled up next to her.

"Wow," she thought, "and I thought it hurt messing up my leg fighting that bear last year."

She was still recovering from the events of the last few hours.

"But you guys are worth it," she thought, "Sheik and Lima."

She laid her head down beside the two small fur balls.

Aleu closed her eyes and started to drift to sleep...

Then she heard someone.

She snapped her head up, and was rewarded with a throbbing pain in her head.

"You've got to not move so quickly," she told herself.

Shadow stepped through the door.

He smiled and walked over to Aleu.

"How're you doing?" He asked.

She rubbed her nose against his.

"Pretty good."

She smiled.

"I'm tired, but..."

She yawned.

"..I'll be fine."

Shadow laid down beside her and looked at the little pups.

"They're so small," he said.

He sighed.

"Sheik and Lima," he