and I – were in love and we made you three out of our love. The only problem was that . . . I wasn’t born a wolf.”

We all gasped in shock. When I was growing up, I had thought my father was a rebellious male wolf, mainly because his fur was wild-looking like my own. I never would have thought he was anything else. 

“So, what are you then, Papa?” Nukka asked. “If you’re not a wolf like us, what else could you be?”

Mother took over after this. “Allow me to continue, dear,” She received a nod from Father, then she continued to speak the truth. “What your father is trying to tell you is that he was not always in the wild like he is now.” She sighed quickly. “He was born and raised in a human town not far from here . . . Your father is a husky, not a wolf like me.” 

“But why does he look like us wolves?” Sura interrupted. “Does this mean that all huskies look like wolves then?”

“Well, some huskies do have wolfish qualities about them because we are all closely related to each other. All dogs, no matter how odd they look, somehow descended from wolves.” Mother answered her question. “However, unlike your father, most huskies and many other tame dogs just aren’t meant for our world.” I noticed my father show a forlorn expression.  

“At first, I thought I was meant to be a champion sled dog, but I never would have realized what wonder and adventure lay out here in the wild.” The black and white patriarch spoke softly. “I have your mother to thank for showing me how amazing life could be. She saved me from certain death a year ago in a terrible blizzard, and after getting to know each other, we . . .” Father paused, lowering his ears and muzzle towards the ground. “We accepted each other’s budding affections and soon became one.” They nuzzled each other affectionately. “I chose to leave that life behind me in order to stay with your mother as she gave birth and raised you three. That was all that mattered to me then, and it still continues to matter now.”

Mama and Papa really do love each other . . . even though they’re both different. I thought. I don’t see why this is so important right now . . .Little did I know, the news was just going to get worse and worse. 

Mother continued to tell us about our father’s world. “Huskies and wolves may look alike, but both types of dogs are taught this one main rule: A binding union between tame and wild is forbidden; if this rule is to be broken, their children shall be forever cursed to a life of hardships and discrimination – never to be truly happy.” I saw another tear slip down Mother’s eyes again as my father licked her tears with his tongue. “Although I had learned this as a young pup, I still fell for your father. He needed me and I needed him . . .” She sobbed almost uncontrollably, placing her head between her forelegs. “I knew that our union was a taboo and he knew it too, but this is the way things are supposed to be – it’s our family’s fate.”

Shock went through my body as their words encircled my thoughts. 

Taboo? Dogs and Wolves can’t be together . . . in love? I couldn’t understand this at all. Why would we be learning about this now and not earlier? As much as I didn’t want to learn more about the truth, I realized that it had to be done.

“So,” I began to quietly ask my mother; each word I muttered made me quiver in fear of what our parents just told us. “Are you saying that something’s wrong with us because you two fell in love and broke this taboo?” 

“No . . .” Mother sniffled, nuzzling me and my sisters. “No, nothing’s wrong with any of us.” Her face glowed with pride. “The three of you are going to lead normal lives as wolves, just like I did at your age.” I breathed a sigh of relief when she said that. I hoped that I would still live a normal life – that’s all I really wanted.

“It may not be so simple – you know that very well, dear,” The black and white dog turned his words to his ivory-colored mate. Then, Father spoke a sentence to us that scared us to death. “Although you may look like wolves, you will still have my husky blood flowing within you. Each of you is a hybrid – half husky, half wolf.”  

Nukka, Sura and I gasped. Just hearing the truth made us fear for our lives. We are wolves . . . but not wolves at all. What were we then?

“That can’t be true!” Sura cried, tears also pouring from her face. Nukka and I were by our sibling’s side, either sobbing with her or drying tears from each other’s faces. “Tell me it’s a lie, Mother!” 

“I’m afraid it is all true, Sura,” Mother sadly nodded, accepting her fault in allowing her mate to tell them that truth. “But each of you should take note of this: In your young lives, you will all deal with other creatures – dogs, lupines, maybe other animals that you have never met before – that may tease, bully or even exile you for being born as half-breeds. Just remember that you should never allow them to judge you by your breeding and looks alone; you are meant for much better things in this life than persecution by others. Show them who you really are by proving to the world that you are more than just a hybrid – deep inside your heart lies your true self.”

Mother’s words touched me at that moment. Her spiritual wisdom and soothing tone calmed my angry, young soul; I felt as if she was mainly speaking about me, especially since she always was there to protect me from something I couldn’t see. I was so dependent on her that perhaps these powerful words were just her way of telling me that it was time to move on. 

“Your mother’s right, children,” Father sighed. “Life is never easy, and now that you know the truth, it’s just the beginning of a difficult obstacle that you have to conquer on your own.” He turned to me and patted my head with one of his white paws. “Especially for you, son.”

I wondered what my father meant by that, but I would understand his words sooner than I thought I had hoped. Before I could ask him why, a flash of lightning lit up the clearing outside, where two shadowy creatures were creeping up to our cave on a hill. I heard a gasp escape from my mother’s mouth, almost as if she knew what evil was approaching our humble home of love. 

“Children, we have to go now,” Mother whispered to us. She looked at Father, slightly nodding her head with a straight expression on her face. “Quickly! We are not safe here.” I felt her nudging my behind with her nose, which she did the same for my sisters, hurrying us to the small exit in the far back of the cavern. Father guarded the rear of our group, making sure that we and our mother escaped safely.

After dodging the crumbling rocks and pebbles that lined the rear of the cave, my sisters and I touched the cool grass of the valley behind our home. Mother hushed us as she continued to gather us to someplace safe from this unknown harm that was coming for us. Once we arrived at a tall bush, she acted as a shield, covering us with her tail and body. 

“Mama, what are we –” I asked softly to her, but she quickly placed her paw over my mouth.

“Shh!” Mother told us. “Hush now, children. It’s not safe yet.” 

“Where’s Father? Why did he leave us?” Sura whispered into Mother’s ear. I could hear her loud and clear, but I was wondering about the same thing. Where was he? Why would he leave Mother and us alone?

“Your father will return to us soon, don’t worry,” She reassured us with her words, but her face again worried me. She wasn’t smiling anymore; her mouth was straight and slightly frowned, matching with her lowered eyes of concern. From the way she showed herself, it seemed as if she knew something bad was going to happen to Father. 

Over the next few minutes, I laid in wait with my mother and sisters, waiting for Mother’s prediction to come to pass. Through my nose, I could recognize Father’s scent . . . and two other wolves – their stench was quite musty and strongly smelt of blood and revenge. Mother continued to hide us from the outside, hoping that soon her beloved would return and not these two strangers that I had smelt. After ten minutes of suppression, I could smell his presence and recognized his walking gait. He was limping once he came into view; one of his hind legs was drenched in dried blood and mud, mixing from his fierce battle with the intruding lupines and the moist ground around us. Before any of us pups could ask him what happened to him, Mother and Father did something that I could never forget. I could only hear them whispering a little, but it scared me to the bone.

“Tulu, we can’t risk the children’s lives anymore out here,” Mother told my father quietly. “We have to separate them in order to save them from those two wolves . . . and from what will happen to us.” Her voice was calm yet mournful – I could tell she had a feeling of what would take place within the next few moments. 

“Do we have to, Anyu?” Father’s eyes were filled with tears, open widely in shock. “Please, there must be another way to end this!”

“Oh, I wish there was another way, darling,” The white she-wolf nuzzled the black and white husky for the last time. “But we will be together again very soon. Our children – the result of our everlasting love – must be our first priority.”  

Father’s ears lowered and he let out a sigh, understanding that destiny had to take its course for his small family. “If this is the way the spirits say, so be it.” He closed his eyes and thought of what he was about to do. “I’ll take our son somewhere safe, I promise.”

“And I’ll give our daughters to my brother, Kamik,” Mother shed a thin tear as she closed her eyes also, enjoying what was to be their final show of affection in front of us. “He knows what the situation is, so I’m positive that they will be safe with my birth Clan.” 

“I love you, Anyu,” Father began to pull away from