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come until later in the story.” He let out a small laugh. “Back then, I thought his words were just crazy talk, but at the time, there was no necessary time to ask what it meant; they started on their way back to Nome using my tree markings as a guide while I ran the other way, heading right into the blinding blizzard that awaited me in the mountain range. The days passed by slowly as the snowy wind whipped through my fur as if I were nothing. My mind raced, contemplating on my current situation: ‘Balto, are you crazy? Why are you risking your skin for some dogs and a whole town that hates you?’ ‘But Jenna, Boris, Rosy and all the others – they’re all counting on me to pull through. If I don’t help the team, who else will?’ I remembered how the other dogs acted in the water tower’s boiler room; they weren’t going to risk their safety just to save so many sick people. I could hear their voices, barking and whining their doubts and lack of faith . . . Just the thought of those sick children and the many others that were close to death kept me going . . . and of course, I thought of Jenna’s warm face welcoming back home once I returned.
“Whenever I needed a little boost to keep me going, I glanced back at my chest – the bandanna . . . the sign of Jenna’s faith in me . . . was still there. I felt as if she had left a mark on my cheek where she had grazed my face; it was heated, smelling intensely of her scent. With that and the happy memories of Rosy and Jenna still in my mind, I knew I had to keep going no matter what. Besides, I had no other choice – I promised her that I would make it back home . . . with that serum too, so I had to keep strong.”
Geona let out a slight yawn – not out of boredom, but out of exhaustion.
“Geona, you go back and sleep,” Aleu advised her friend. “You still sound tired and as a friend, I suggest you get some rest. I’ll be fine by my Papa’s side.”
“But what about the Alpha?” Geona asked. “If you’re seen together like this, . . .”
“I’ll be fine,” The quarter-wolf repeated. “I care about you after all you’ve been through, so you deserve it. I can figure my way out of a sticky situation.” She gave Geona a wink.
The light-gray sighed in defeat; she knew that Aleu was not going to back down so easily now that her father’s life and safety was at stake. “All right – I give. I’ll head back to my den; come by and see me after you check with White Feather, okay?” Aleu nodded in response. “I also left you an extra piece of Thin Leaf, in case Balto needs it. You saw how I put it on the wound, so you should know what to do.”
“Okay. Thanks a lot, Geona,” Aleu bade her farewell.
“Please be careful, Aleu,” Geona murmured to her prior to leaving. “You’re taking quite a risk, and I don’t want anything to happen to both of you.”
Balto’s ears twitched at the light-gray’s words as Aleu gave her a reassuring nod. Is that what she meant? He thought as he watched his daughter see Geona off. Will something bad happen if either of us . . . or worse, both of us, reveal the truth of our relationship to the Alpha?
He let out a shudder just thinking about something happening to his only child. No, I just can’t risk her safety, . . . not after everything that she’s done for me since I was taken as this pack’s prisoner. Aleu’s just fine out here, and I thought I’d be worried about how she would survive out in the wild . . . She really has grown up over a matter of several hours . . .
But right now, I need to figure out how we can get out of here and back home . . . together . . .
“Papa?”
The voice of his daughter’s call made Balto snap out of his dazed thoughts. “Huh, what?” He shook his head and looked back at Aleu. “What’s up?”
“You looked worried about something . . . and you were shuddering,” Aleu gave her father a worried gaze. “You’re not catching a cold, are you? I’m afraid I’m not trained in curing sickness.”
“No, not at all; I’m fine,” Balto replied; actually when she made that comment about his health, he was quite surprised that Aleu would actually care about him so much, especially since she was so angry and confused only a day ago about learning his secrets. He paused as he decided to trust his daughter’s heart for once. “I was just thinking about that thing we were arguing about earlier . . . the secret of us being Father and Daughter . . .”
“What about it?” Aleu let out a slight gasp. Her ears quickly lowered as a growl slipped through her teeth. “You’re not going to tell her, are you?”
“I’ve changed my mind about it,” Balto reassured her, not telling his daughter about the fact that he had heard what Geona had said before leaving. “I promise, I won’t tell her when she comes to talk to me.”
“I’m so glad that you finally understand, Papa,” Aleu nuzzled him with a smile. “What made you change your mind?”
“I don’t know,” the wolf-dog tried to smirk off any suspicion that Aleu may have had. “I guess I’ve had a change of heart about the idea.”
Aleu nodded happily. “That’s a good thing.” She actually was thinking about asking him about what he was going to tell White Feather, but the quarter-wolf decided to not ask about it; Aleu realized that perhaps she should give her father the benefit of the doubt and let him handle the situation on his own. “Anyway, I should be getting back now. It’s starting to get a little late.”
“I understand, Aleu,” Balto smiled softly, nuzzling his daughter. He didn’t know when the white Alpha she-wolf was going to make her way back to him, but he knew that his daughter was tired as well. “I’ll be fine here until you come back. Perhaps you can ask this White Feather to allow you to come back later tonight to tend to my wound. Will that work for you?”
“I think it might . . . or at least I could try,” Aleu predicted. “I’ll suggest that to her right away. Maybe I’ll see if she can bring some food for you when White Feather comes to speak with you.” She smiled softly back to him as she got up and returned to the door. “You should get some more rest too, Papa. That Thin Leaf seems to be working well, but sleep may help it heal quicker.” Balto nodded his head. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”
“Be careful, baby,” he whispered into the wind; as if she could hear him, Aleu smiled back before stepping through the doorway. Balto, his confidence reassured, returned the grin and placed his head down on the ground with the rest of his body and began to rest.
She really has grown up,Balto told himself as his eyelids began to cover his large gold eyes. I guess I never noticed that before . . . especially since I was always protecting her. Maybe . . . A yawn slipped from his lips as his eyes closed fully. Maybe I’ll just have to trust her in order to survive . . .
I just hope I can, Aleu thought as she took one last look at the wounded patriarch and made her way out of the room and down the hallway back to Geona’s den to rest for a while. Hopefully things will work out for now . . . and I’ll get you on your way home, Papa . . .
(Part IV – completed 2/26/08)
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