her family follow close behind the physician as they entered the back office together. They whispered amongst each other, wondering what all of the worry was all about, but no dog was closer to hearing the severity of the matter than the hybrid himself.

He had leaned through wooden boards and planks, dodged cobwebs and everything else that was always down there before reaching the space that he and Jenna always spent their romantic moments.  

He turned to his right, quickly smiling at the broken bottles that his mate always made fun of since the beginning. “The polar ice caps . . .”

To his upper left was the bright light that stood for the sun. “The sun . . .” 

“And to the North, . . .”

The words came out like normal routine as he stepped aside and watched the aurora dance against the wall. As he continued to gaze at the make-shift Northern Lights, he sniffed the air, the recognizable scent entered his nostrils. 

“Jenna . . .” he closed his eyes, praying that she was alright. “Oh, Jen . . . Please be okay . . . both you and our pups . . . please be alright . . .” He could hear the sound of footsteps slowly clacking against the wooden flooring and recognizing the scents of the local doctor, Rosy and her parents.

The light suddenly went out, causing the aurora to fade out. The wolf-dog silently panicked, walking towards the sound of the sniffling young child. He lowered his ears with worry when he realized that they were inside the same room as Jenna’s scent, but he could still make out their conversation of words. 

“Oh, the poor dear. She’s just so young!” Rosy’s mother.

“This is truly a shame. Is there anything you can do for her now, doctor?” Rosy’s father. 

“I’m afraid not, Sir. She’s fading fast and I fear . . .” the doctor let out a deep sigh before continuing. “I fear that we’ve lost her.”

At those words, Balto ran from the under-floor area and out of the boiler room. He couldn’t stop the flow of tears from drowning his emotions. The hybrid turned the corner and saw the now-large crowd of local canines awaiting him by the windows and the stairs of the office. They spoke no words for the gray-brown half-wolf’s tears and sullen expressions told them everything that they wanted answers for. In respect, they lowered their ears and dropped their heads in mourning as Balto’s ears pricked up a bit at the sound of the door opening; Rosy, still wiping tears away from her eyes, stood in the bright light of the waiting room, gesturing her hand to the wolf-dog without speaking a word. The gathering of canines stepped aside, creating a clear path for Balto to pass through; without expression, he slowly climbed the stairs and entered the doorway, hearing the forlorn howl of a couple of deep-voiced canines from behind him. Balto didn’t look back as he remained by Rosy’s side, walking through the waiting room and through the entrance that contained a sad sight that made Balto’s heart almost feel like stopping. 

On an examination table, a bloody sheet lay underneath the burgundy and white husky. Her body looked frail and beaten, for dried splatters of blood covered her hindquarters and the upper parts of her hind legs. She was on her side, her sides were barely able to rise and fall, but her belly was thinner again. She must have given birth already, the wolf-dog thought to himself, but the pups were nowhere to be found. Her trademark bandanna had disappeared as well, but that sparkle that she always had in her amber-hazel eyes was still there when he stood up and looked at her face. She could barely speak, but she still had enough strength to greet her mate.

“B – Balto . . .” 

The chilling weakness in her whimpering made Rosy break down, collapsing onto the floor as teardrops stained her clothes and the wood floor beneath her. Balto, also was moved to tears, placed his paw on top of hers.

“Don’t speak, Jen.” He hushed the fragile purebred, still not giving up hope that she could still be saved. “What happened? Where are the pups?” 

She had enough strength to give him an everlasting smile before answering in a soft voice, groaning a little bit when she tried to move her nose closer to her mate. “I love you, Balto . . . Doc took them all away . . . problems during the birth . . . Please –” A sudden choking sound came from her throat, causing Rosy to leap from the floor to her pet’s side.

“Oh, Jenna!” She gave her a quick stroke with her hand, feeling for a pulse. After a couple of moments of no movement from her chest and sides, the young girl’s face turned pale and flooded with tears as she ran out of the door, screaming. “Doc! Doc, it’s Jenna!”

Balto’s eyes were open and filled with tears. “Jen! Jenna! I love you! Please don’t leave me!” He placed his paws on her side, attempting to shake her awake again. “Remember our dream to raise a family? I need you, Jen! Please come back!” Once the doctor flew the door open, Balto heard her final words spoken in a deathly murmur . . . 

“Balto . . . Make our family full of love . . . Always remain my hero . . .”

He watched her eyes roll slowly backwards, her eyelids of faded white closed for the last time as her muzzle gently fell onto the sheet. The doctor closed his eyes in silence, turning to the wolf-dog, and finally placed another white sheet on top of the lifeless husky’s body. Afterwards, he led Balto out of the room where Rosy, her family, and the crowd of dogs outside of the windows awaited the news. Just a silent shake of his head told them everything, causing the family to embrace each other in sorrow and the canines to have a moment of silence for their lost local beauty while the gander outside the window’s light honked a quiet version of “Taps” in the background.  

No one in the world felt worst at that moment than the wolf-dog. Only less than an hour ago, he was eagerly awaiting the birth of his first litter and making sure that his mate was okay; now, his mate had died before his eyes, moments after just giving birth, and he was unsure that the pups were even alive themselves. Tears of loss stained his brown and tan markings into dark as he felt a pat against his head. It was the doctor, who had a straight look of sadness in his dark eyes.

“Come on, Balto. I thought you should see this as well.” He led Balto into the next room near the one that Jenna had just lost her life.  

It couldn’t be any worse than me seeing my one and only love die in front of me . . . The wolf-dog thought as he walked, not realizing what scene awaited him beyond the wooden door.

Inside the room was more bloody sheets, most of them covering tiny lumps on the room’s examination table. Rosy and her parents had just calmed down and entered the room, only to be moved to tears once more. 

“Oh . . . The pups . . .” Rosy gasped and suddenly got choked up. She couldn’t finish her thought as she leaned onto Balto’s neck and let his fur soak her tears.

The doctor nodded. “I’m truly sorry that this had to happen to Jenna, Rosy. I guess the stress on her young body during her delivery was just too great on her.” 

“What about the pups, Doc?” Rosy’s father asked, holding his grieving wife in his arms. Balto pricked his ears up too, for he had a promise to keep. It was Jenna’s dying wish.

“Make our family full of love . . .” 

“She delivered six pups . . . All of them died at their moment of birth . . .” The doctor’s words struck the wolf-dog like knives stabbing him in the heart. Six pups . . . dead? Balto’s tears were like waterfalls, uncontrollable and unstable, just like his emotions. I have nothing left of her . . . nothing left of my beloved Jenna . . . Oh, why must God take away all that I truly love? All that I care about? All that I hoped for my future to become? Is there even a God at all?

He was about to leave the room with his head slumped down from his neck when the physician’s next words made him turn around and lift his ears up slightly. 

“But,” The doctor reached for a bottle of warming milk on a nearby counter and a folded red-orange piece of fabric that looked so proverbial to the humans and made Balto whine in confusion and sadness, still with tears in his eyes. “But, we were able to successfully revive one . . .” He opened the bandanna, revealing the blind and deaf newborn to the human owners. “The others weren’t as lucky – they were pretty much lost when they emerged from the womb – but this one, . . . this one is a true blessing.”

One survived . . . only one was spared, while the others were touched by death far too soon . . . He looked again at the remaining five bundles of blood-stained white cloths in which laid the children that he was destined to never know. Balto was still not fully happy, especially with his sorrowful farewell as he watched his mate dying in front of him only a couple of minutes ago, but knowing that he still had someone to carry on Jenna’s legacy made him feel both proud and slightly guilty.  

“Oh, darling, it’s a miracle.” Rosy’s mother, still with tears of sadness in her eyes, began to spill tears of joy from her eyes. She leaned towards her husband’s face and kissed him on the lips. The doctor handed the warm bottle of milk to the taller man afterwards, who quickly held it gently in his palms.

“Yes, a little wonderful miracle,” The father also started to tear up with a bit of happiness.  

Rosy wiped tears from her eyes after standing on her tiptoes to peer at the surviving quarter-wolf puppy. “Oh, Balto. You’re a father now . . .” She was still crying over the loss of her pet of four years, but she hugged Balto tight as she thought about the new life that her previous husky had left behind. “And we’ll raise the puppy together . . . for Jenna.”

Balto returned the gesture, licking her cheek in a slightly happier mood.