The Battle

          It was an afternoon over the Alaskan lands. It was snowing hard, and the winds blew merciless. Dan was walking with Luna, leading the pack behind them. Dan called Chaska, who came immediately to his side.

- Chaska, how far is it now? – the now alpha asked.

- We're only a few yards away from Ohanzee's refuge, sir. – the wolf answered, respectfully.

- How is it like? – Dan asked, reminding he never knew where or what the refuge was.

- It's a cliff, with lots of caves. – Chaska explained. - It's a perfect hideout, seeing that no one will know where to look first.

Dan got a bit apprehensive.

- We have to be careful. Ohanzee probably knows we’re coming. – he alerted.

- We need a strategy. – the light brown wolf wisely said.

- I’ll need your help, Chaska. I may be good with prep talk, but I don’t have experience in battle strategies. – the hybrid said. – I name you the beta of this pack.

Chaska widened his eyes, in surprised and flatter.

- It’s… an honor to help you in the lead, sir. – he thanked, regaining control over himself.

- You must divide the pack in groups. The hunting party, the scouts… - the alpha ordered.

- Right away, sir. – the now beta assured, and rushed to do his work.

Luna approached the thoughtful hybrid, smiling.

- Liking to be an alpha? – she asked, playfully.

Dan smiled back.

- Yeah. Liking to be the alpha female? – he asked back.

- Loving it. - the husky replied, chuckling. – So, what are you planning for the battle? Because you know, those fights are… bloody.

- I’ll do whatever it takes. – the alpha replied, but stared concerned at his girlfriend. – But I’m afraid for you. You know, wolves are… more used to this.

Luna chuckled.

- Two reasons for you not to worry. – she started, smiling. – First, you saw how I beat those wolves back there. Second, you know the rumors I mentioned about my grandfather being a wolf? – she watched Dan widening his eyes. – They were not rumors. It was true. I am part wolf, like you.

- Why didn’t you tell me that before? – he asked, raising an eyebrow.

- I don’t know. I didn’t want you to think I was just being with you because you were the only hybrid around. – she admitted, lowering her head. – I’m sorry.

- Hey, it’s okay. – Dan tranquilized her. – It doesn’t matter. We’re together, aren’t we?

Luna raised her head, still a little embarrassed.

- So, about the battle. – the gray-brown hybrid continued. – I’m planning a divided attack. Each group will be leaded by someone. I want you to lead one of them. I’ll see which when Chaska’s finished dividing the groups.

- Remember. – the female alerted. – We have to finish this quickly. Aniu will open the portal tomorrow.

She was right. They should end that quickly.

- Sir - Ahanu called from behind them, joining them in some seconds. - We're approaching the cliff.

Dan looked to the land ahead of them. Then continuous snow rain blurred the view, but he could distinguish the silhouette of a tall cliff, which with some moments, he recognized.

- That's the cliff from which Balto fell in the serum run. – he commented to Luna. - But I never knew it had caves.

The light gray hybrid looked at the place.

- He fell from that and survived? Wow. – she admired.

- Sir, the groups are set. – Chaska said, joining them.

Dan stopped walking and looked at the pack. The groups were already divided, waiting for orders. The alpha stepped ahead.

- I’ll select some of you for a special mission. – he said, as he started walking among the wolves, looking at each of them, followed by Chaska, who would tell him the qualities and weaknesses of each of them.

When the wolves were chosen, Dan instructed them for his plan, and told the other groups to keep walking.

The leader stayed in front of them again, beside a confused Luna.

- Why are they staying behind? – she asked, looking at the chosen wolves disappearing in the snow rain.

- You’ll see. – he answered, with a grin.

The pack was finally in front of the caves. Dan warned the leaders of each group to assume their positions. There were four groups, each of them leaded respectively by Chaska, Adahy, Luna and Dan himself, in the first group. Dan ordered his group to stop, while he kept going with two other wolves. He stopped when he was at a considerable distance from his group behind.

- Ohanzee! Get down here and face up your crimes! – he shouted to the cave so the sound of his voice could resound to the other caves above.

The black wolf's voice came from many of the higher caves, echoing, sounding cruel and cynical.

- What crimes, Wolf-dog? I just did what was right to keep the order in my pack!

Dan got angry seing how the black wolf was not showing any regret for his actions, and how he sounded to be having fun from that.

- Then why don't you get down here? Unless you are the coward! - he yelled back.

Dan waited for an answer for a while, until he heard paws walking. And there he was, walking out of the lowest cave, in front of him, with three other wolves. The three minions stopped, and let Ohanzee proceed alone. Dan told his companions to get back to the rest of the group, and they obeyed. The black wolf approached Dan with his already known cruel grin.

- Then, wolf-dog, what's the reason for this little rebellion? – he asked sarcastically, hypocrisy spilling from his words. - You're not planning to