“Beautiful,” she breathed, and immediately felt embarrassed. It sounded corny, but it was the truth. She couldn’t think of any other word that would better suit them.

          “Thanks,” Destiny said, “After all that work there better be something good about them!” She laughed quietly, and her eyes softened. “Hey…would you like to name one?”

          Ruska was caught completely unawares. “Really?” She looked to Cyan, and he seemed uncertain, but after a moment he nodded.

          Ruska thought hard, her heart pounding. What was the most radiant name in the whole universe? What name would mean so much to them, to everyone? She turned, searching for ideas, and her eyes landed on Shade. Something clicked.

          She whirled back around and said the one name that would follow one of Destiny’s pups the rest of her days: “Kestra.”

          There was a sharp intake of breath from Shade. Everyone else was too shocked to do much but stand open-mouthed. Ruska stared fiercely at Destiny, certain that her choice was right.

          It took awhile, but eventually Destiny was nodding, and Cyan did, too.

          “All right.” Destiny placed her paw next to a female pup with brown-gray fur with just the slightest ripple of red. “Her name will be Kestra.”

          “She’ll continue the legacy of the one who was lost,” Quicksilver murmured gently.

          “The pups will all replace the wolves whose lives were lost in this great struggle,” Everest proclaimed, emerging from the crowd with the rest of the pack leaders. Though Ruska had never before seen them face to face, she knew their names and the extent of their power: Swift; Jaydor; Iceberg; and Silver Arrow. “The humans have proclaimed and proved their protection of us,” Everest announced grandly, “There’s no more need for hiding. Starting tonight, each pack will return to its original territory, with the exception of the Midnight Sun pack, which will need to stay until their pups are grown enough to travel. But the rest of you may return home.”

          Ruska couldn’t have imagined the collective sigh of relief that rustled through the valley from the wolves. Remus and Flint exchanged glances, and Ruska knew Remus was silently handing back the responsibility for the Northern Lights pack to him. Ruska wasn’t sure how she felt, but it was Shade who quietly proclaimed, “It’s time.”

          Stars hung like dewdrops from an indigo night sky. Under them, APAA men in their dark gray uniform and the few APAA “hunters” who had remained stood waiting expectantly at the edge of the trees. There was an anticipating silence, and then a gray wolf glided out from the shadows of the cave.

          His golden, glowing eyes traveled over each human’s face, and then he raised his head and howled. The song that had been missing from the Arctic tundra for weeks on end, the sound that was the frozen North, echoed around the clearing and across the wasteland. Wolfsong chorused back from inside the cave, the strength and power of the calls causing the mountain to tremble.

          The gray wolf padded purposefully forward, his head still tipped back in a howl, and behind him marched his pack, spreading out beyond the cave until the next pack leader howled for his clan. The wolves slid past the humans and dogs with silent majesty except for the pack leaders’ triumphant song.

          One of the APAA associates pressed his earpiece hard against his head and murmured into the tiny mic, “They’re out.”

          The procession continued this way as the packs marched by and then broke into a run as they exited the clearing and headed back to their own territories. Four packs passed by: the Red Aurora, the Pacific, the White Storm, and the Anvil Creek. And last of all came the Northern Lights pack.

          Flint sent up their clan’s song and steadily led them out into the clearing. After Flint there was a line of three made up of Aleu, Linder, and Quicksilver. Behind them was another line of three made up of Remus, Shade, and Shaila. Ruska and Teke hung towards the back in their own line of two.

          Teke halted when he saw the would-be hunters on the sidelines. Ruska stopped, too, and glanced at Flint. He threw her a look over his shoulder and nodded, but then he faced front again and continued leading the pack towards the tundra. They had offered Teke the option of staying with the pack, since he didn’t seem to have much place else to go, and Shade had finally said that he didn’t blame Teke for Kestra’s death.

          Ruska felt a tugging inside her that hoped he would stay, but ultimately it had to be his choice.

         Teke’s brown eyes searched until they found a dark-skinned hunter and three dogs. His tail rose in recognition, but he stiffened as if he wasn’t sure he was glad to see them or not.

          “Hey, is that Teke?” the dark gray and white dog cried.

          “I think it is,” the white female whispered.

          “Hey, Teke!” the gray and white male cried, “It’s me, Bullet! With Angel and Moody Blue! Come on back with us, Teke! You don’t belong with those wolves!”

          “We won’t boss you or hurt you anymore,” Angel called, “We promise! We’re not even hunting anymore, Jake’s taking us home!”

          “Stop dragging a dead dog into the ground and get over here!” Moody Blue bellowed, “If you don’t come back to Jake, the fan’s gonna hit the roof!”

          “…What?” Angel sputtered.

          “He knows what I mean,” Moody Blue growled.

          Teke’s head lowered until he was staring at the ground. “Do they honestly think…?” He stopped and shook his head in disbelief.

          “Think what?” Ruska blurted out, taking a step closer to him.

          He looked at her through wide eyes. “With our special breeding…with this company’s goal…our work is never done.” He raised his head, and to Ruska’s surprise and disappointment he took two steps toward the dogs. He left pawprints in the dirt, and his decision weighed on Ruska as heavily as his paws on the crushed mud. But then he stopped and raised his voice: “Well, Moody Blue, it’s like you always say: Just because you lead a horse to water doesn’t make it right.”

          Ruska’s head shot up, her heart confused but daring to hope.

          Teke whirled around and grabbed Ruska and kissed her softly on the mouth. She sucked in her breath in astonishment, but the world wasn’t spinning because of that.

          Teke gazed fiercely into her face. “You mean more to me than any of them a thousand times over.”

          She stared at him, star-struck, but then she smiled.

          He grinned back, and ran a few steps forward. “Now let’s go, before they start chasing me or we get left behind!”

          Ruska looked back at them, then gazed at Teke and nodded and smiled.

          “What the heck was that?” Bullet yelled, “Where are you going?”

          “Teke!” Angel cried angrily, “Get back here!”

          “Never has my logic been so used against me,” Moody Blue mused gravely. He sighed. “Well, at least we have all our ducks on the same page.”

          Angel groaned, and Bullet nearly clobbered him. “Just shut up, okay?”

          Listening to them, Ruska and Teke looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ruska nudged Teke under the chin, and he licked her ears.

          “Ready?” he asked.

          “As I’ll ever be,” she declared.

          Teke and Ruska shot off at the same time, racing towards the Northern Lights pack and their new life together.