again?

            During the next few weeks, I started to feel funny. At random times, it felt like my insides were starting to shift. The first few times it happened, I gasped but it would go as quickly as it had come. Then I felt heavier and lost all my endurance, almost to the point where the only things I could catch were injured birds, mice and the occasional fish, which used to keep me full until now. Other mornings I would wake up feeling like I’d never want to eat again…

But overall, I felt like I was starving… the winter was at its coldest and spring was right around the corner but I couldn’t make it on my own anymore. Trying to find Tundra would be foolish; I’d freeze or starve for sure. There was only one place left for me to go… home.

            First, I found where I had left Tundra, and then I started to trace my steps back. I traveled the race trail backwards, catching stale smells of Tundra and his team. I passed by the town called Nenana and started my trek into the mountains. Winter seemed determined to not let me through: snow, although not heavy, was whipped by the wind so that they became tiny crystals shooting by. The wind itself kicked up the snow that had already fallen and created drifts that were near impossible to get through. But through all of it, I discovered a very familiar trail that ushered me onto the main path leading to the den. No one was around, so I assumed that my father was fighting some other wolves somewhere… but someone was always guarding the den. No scouts stopped me, nor did there seem to be any around, but that only encouraged me. I bounded clumsily up the trail and reached the cave. I hesitated for a moment; my father was going to be VERY angry when he found I was back. I ducked into the cave and stepped out of the storm.

“Hello? Is anyone here?”

            “Aniu!? Aniu!  I never thought I’d see you again!”                 

My mother rushed from the back of the cave and nuzzled me. I was so happy to see her! She stepped back for a second and looked at me.

            “Since when did you have a mate?!”

“How did you know?!” I replied, equally as shocked.

            “You’re pregnant!” my mother glowered.

The word pregnant dropped like a rock but I found that I liked it. I was going to have Tundra’s pups! Not being able to contain myself, I blurted out the whole story between me and Tundra, who was unknowingly going to be a father… which reminded me…

“Where’s dad?”

My mother rolled her eyes.

            “Fighting a pack off of our territory. We never get peace anymore. But he should be back soon anyway”

I plopped down on the cold, stone floor and waited at the mouth of the den. My mother squeezed next to me and groomed me like she did when I was a pup. Soon, a large white silhouette loomed out of the snow followed by the rest of the weary pack. I felt my ears lay back and I lowered myself as low as I could. Ataneq greeted mother but did a double take when he saw me. I prepared for the worst…

            “Aniu!” he rushed forward and nuzzled me, sniffing me all over to make sure I was okay.

            “Are you having pups?!”

“Is it that obvious?” I replied sheepishly, wagging my tail.

Ataneq smiled, but his expression changed to serious.

            “You need to stay in the den though- not because it’s dangerous for you, but for the pups…” he added quickly.

I nodded, noting the sense in that. After my journey, I was ready for a rest anyway.

            In the next month, I expanded until I felt like I was as big as a moose. I continually ordered pack members to catch various animals, some of which were very difficult to find. But as the snow started to melt a little and the month came to a close, I could tell my pups were about to be born. It happened on a chilly night when the moon had reached the middle of the sky…

I felt stressed and tried to scratch up and reorganize the nest that had been built originally for my mother. The stress built up until the point where I felt like I had actually passed out. My mother helped me as best as she could  but by the time my pups were born, I had fallen into a deep sleep. My mother ended up having to clean the pups, but by the time the sun lit the earth, I had two strong, dry, male pups.

            The older pup was black but had a white chest. The younger one was the same mousy color as Tundra but had more wolfish markings. I wanted both of these pups to be named after Tundra. The first name that popped into my head was a city Tundra had traveled through called Buckland. That was going to be the black pups name, I smiled. The second pup was harder to name since I couldn’t remember what other places Tundra had talked about. Tundra had talked about a two legged who had been a friend of John’s named Samuel Balto that Tundra said was very kind to him… that was going to be the pup’s name! Balto!

Having the pups should have made me happy… but it didn’t. As soon as I was sure the pups were safe enough to leave, I always stood at the edge of the cliff, staring off into the inky, star filled sky, wondering what my mate was doing at this second. One night, as I sat, my father sat down next to me.

            “I may not be your mother, but you weren’t this sad even before you ran away” he said quietly.

I tried to smile but it probably looked as fake as it felt.

            “You miss him don’t you”

I sighed and nodded, never taking my eyes away from the sky.

            “Then I guess we’re just going to have to bring him here” he said casually, turning away.

My jaw dropped and I whipped around t see if he was serious. His smile said he was. Typical of my dad to drop something this big like that.

“Oh dad!” I breathed nuzzling him. “I’m going to tell the pups!” I said, bounding to the den.

            “They’re coming too!?”

“You can’t expect me to just leave them here! It’s almost summer anyway so they won’t freeze. And both can walk and run too!”

My father could see that fighting me was pointless and sighed, giving me a sloppy smile.

The next day, we made arrangements for our beta, Talon who was only a little older then I was, to watch and control the pack until we had gotten back. I woke the pups and we started our long journey east. We didn’t get very far before both pups were pooped, so we ended up each carrying a pup in our mouths and when our mouths were sore, our backs. The sun rose and set four times before we had found the town of Nenana. Now the tricky work bagan. Tundra had told me when we first talked that he lived in a town called Fairbanks, but I had no idea where that was.

“I have an idea!”

            “What?” my father replied, trying to entertain Buck and Balto.

“I just need to go into town and ask somebody! Someone’s bound to know”

My father’s head snapped up.

            “No way!”

“Dad you have to trust me!”

He lowered his eyes to the ground.

            “Fine… just please be careful and if you’re not out soon, I’m going in to get you”

I smiled and took off towards Nenana. I didn’t have to wait since it was dark, but I still took caution. I wandered around aimlessly, but eventually, I heard barking and came upon an open door with heat escaping from it. I pushed the door open with my nose and saw two huskies and a bigger kind of dog I’d never seen before.

“Um, excuse me?” I asked.

The two huskies took one look at me, screamed and dived under a blanket. The bigger dog was wiser.

            “What do you need miss?” he replied kindly.

“Do you know how to get to Fairbanks?”

The dog shook his brown and white head.

            “But there is a team of mail dogs heading out that way tomorrow morning. You could follow them”

“Thank you! What does the team look like?”

            “It’s led by a big red, male husky and has five other huskies on it’s team.

“Thank you!” I repeated graciously again.

            “My pleasure” the big dog said warmly.

I dashed back to my waiting father and pups.

“All we have to do is follow the dog tem that heads