images were permanently etched in his mind forever, haunting him with the reality that it really had happened. 

Jenna saw the troubled look in his fire-red eyes and only rubbed her nose against his neck. Cheer up, dear. Aleu will learn about me one day, and if she doesn’t understand when that time comes, she will soon. I’m sure of it. Just give it some time, Balto . . .

But . . . but . . . Tears dropped heavily down the wolf-dog’s face, staining his fur and her own as she tried to dry them with her nose and cheeks. It is my fault, isn’t it? 

Huh? Jenna took a sudden step back, surprised by the comment. What is your fault? I don’t understand, Balto . . .

You died because of me, didn’t you? Balto blubbered out while tears quickly flowed down his face. Because I had to physically show you how much I loved you that night . . . because I thought you were ready to start a family . . . because I’m half-wolf . . . He paused to let out a sniffle, then he spoke with a harsh tone on himself. My wolf blood took your life, and I can’t help but blame myself for that . . . That’s why I can’t speak a word of you to our daughter. She’ll only blame me, I just know it . . . 

Jenna’s slender form began to vanish like a tiny whirlwind of silver glitter in front of him. He could still hear her voice and her final words of wisdom as the shimmering she-husky disappeared from him.

It’s not your fault, Balto; it was just my time, I suppose. Please don’t blame yourself anymore, okay . . . and it’s not Aleu’s fault either. I will always be here beside you, even though you’ll probably be unable to see me. I still love you with all my heart . . . and remember my final wish: Make our family full of love . . . and always remain my hero, Balto . . . Farewell for now . . . 

Jenna? Balto called out once the husky’s body disappeared from his view. Jen, please don’t leave me again! There was no reply. He called out once more, Jenna! I need you! Again, she did not respond, but there was a voice calling him from the outside world beyond his mind.

“Balto! Here, boy! Lunch time!” 

The wolf-dog opened his eyes, returning himself back to the real world, the world where Jenna was no longer there. He could see the small form of Rosy standing beside his wolf-like daughter about a hundred yards away from where he was sitting. Aleu let out a couple of barks herself.

“Come on, Papa! Your lunch is waiting for you!” She cried out, no longer upset by her father’s discussion with her only minutes ago. “What are you sitting around there for?” As Rosy walked back towards the house, Aleu made a gesture with her head before walking beside her adoptive human. 

Balto suddenly had a smile on his face, feeling a sense of happiness in his heart. “Maybe the time is right after all,” he thought aloud, hoping his mate could hear him wherever she was now. “I think she would understand.” He began to walk away from the forest and decided to eat his fill of food that Rosy had offered for him. “I’ll tell her tonight.”

The day passed quickly after the sun reached its apex, and Father and Daughter went along their normal lives for the afternoon. Balto was taking a nap up in Rosy’s room after he ate his lunch on the porch. He was also keeping an eye on Aleu, who had eaten earlier and was playing with Rosy as he enjoyed his food; the wolf-dog trusted that his little girl wouldn’t get in any trouble within the next couple of hours, so he left her to roam outdoors, thinking she would find a safe place to take a rest as well. 

She’ll be fine, Balto thought to himself as he gazed back at his daughter when he began to make his way back into the house. Aleu was smiling brightly, the early afternoon sun above her made her coat begin to appear in a mousy brownish-gray hue. I’m sure of it now; she’ll be okay on her own. He continued to grin as he passed through the front dog door and headed straight for his napping place.

However, Aleu was not ready to take a break for the day. Since Rosy was now being taught her home-school lessons by her mother, the yearling had no one else her age to play with. Being the curious and naïve pup that she was, Aleu felt that there must be someone else out there that she could play with. 

Aleu had mainly played with only Rosy and the polar bears for most of her life, so she was unsure that there any other yearlings that were born around the time she was. Eagerly, she trotted down Main Street, where sure enough, there were other yearlings and their parents chatting to each other underneath the shining sun. Altogether, there were about twelve to fifteen huskies of an assortment of black, red, brown, and gray coats, each with neatly-groomed fur and leather collars to prove their authority over the local strays.

One of the huskies, a mostly black Malamute-husky mix female with a white muzzle, paws and a curled two-toned tail, quickly noticed the intruding quarter-wolf, glancing her ice-blue pupils at Aleu. 

“You!” She leaped from her group of other huskies, landing in front of the surprised Aleu. “You don’t have a collar! What gives you the right to enter our territory when you have no owner?” The other huskies formed a line behind the larger one, as if to prevent the young female from going further into their territory.

“W-w-well,” Aleu stammered in fear, but quickly glanced at the Malamute-husky’s dark leather collar, reading her name from the silver nameplate. “E-e-ebony . . .” She looked back up at the large yearling, trying to get out of the situation. “I-I-I wasn’t causing any trouble. Honest! I just wanted to play with someone, that’s all!” 

One of the other huskies, a dark brown one, spoke up from behind. “Hey, Ebony, does that stray know you?” It seemed that the dogs put extra emphasis on the word ‘stray’ whenever they said it.

“No!” Ebony answered back loudly. “I don’t hang with strays! My father, Steele, says that hanging out and talking with stray dogs only leads to trouble.” 

Aleu lowered her ears against her neck. “I’m not a stray! Rosy’s my owner and my father’s name is Balto! Can I play with you or not?”

The group of huskies chortled and laughed at the quarter-wolf’s response. “Oh-ho-ho, so you’re the daughter of the famous Balto, eh?” Ebony chuckled menacingly. “Aleu, isn’t it?” 

Aleu didn’t understand the fact that she called Balto ‘famous’ because he had never mentioned it to her when she was a pup, but she was still angry at the yearling’s sudden change of tone. Actually, she was a bit shocked by the fact that this large, strange dog even knew her name. “Yeah, and what about it?”

“Well, where’s your mama, yearling? Hmm?” Ebony began to tease. “Everyone else has two parents; what about you, wolf-dog?” They also liked to increase their tone on the word ‘wolf-dog’ as well. 

“Wolf-dog . . .?” Aleu repeated. She had never heard the term used before, and she didn’t know what it meant. “Well, I haven’t a clue what a wolf-dog is, but I know I have two parents: Rosy and my Papa!”

The crowd laughed loudly again; some of them even collapsed on the ground, rolling or hitting the ground with their paws as they laughed out loud that their bodies ached. 

“You really had no one to tell you the truth, wolf-dog?” Ebony began to circle Aleu. “Not even your hero of a father had the nerve to tell you his secret?”

“What secret?” Aleu got curious and asked. “If you know something, tell me! I want to know!” She let out a growl. “And why are you calling me ‘wolf-dog’ for? I’m not one, so stop calling me that, okay! You know my name, so call me by that!” 

“Oh, really?” Ebony continued to tease, still circling around the clueless youth until she halted in front of Aleu’s nose. “You really have no clue at all, huh?” Aleu shook her head, causing the yearling to laugh. “Well, guess what? You’re a wolf-dog because your father is a half-wolf! Your Papa’s a wolf-dog, just like you!” She laughed then threw her head back and let out a horrid howl. “Hey, I think I can hear your ancestors calling you!” She howled again; this time her friends followed suit, joining Ebony in wailing.

“It’s not true! Stop that!” Aleu yelled, silencing them for a moment. Once they were quiet, even though most of them still had giggles in their systems, she barked again. “If my Papa was a wolf-dog, he would have told me!” 

“Yes,” Ebony chuckled softly. “He would have, wouldn’t he?” A smirk began to grow wide on her white marked muzzle. “Unless . . . he was hiding something from you, of course.” Her cohort began to snicker as they began to surround their leader and the quarter-wolf. “Maybe like, something you should have learned about a long time ago . . . something about . . . your mother perhaps?”

Aleu’s eyes lit up. Her father had never brought up the subject on her mother, it seemed, especially since she had never seen her before. The only people that she had mainly known in her life were Rosy and her family, Boris, Muk, Luk and her father, Balto. How can I trust her? Aleu thought. I really want to know the truth, but . . . but Papa never told me anything, and I really, really want to find out about my mother! 

If she knows the truth, . . . then I’ll trust her words . . .

Her curiosity got the better of her. “All right, Ebony. What do you know about my mother?” 

“She really doesn’t know? That wolf-dog must have been in hiding if she has no clue about it!” The murmurings and giggling of Ebony’s gang began to make Aleu’s ears burn, but the black and white yearling only sneered evilly.

“I know more than you obviously,” Ebony laughed. “I’ve never seen her myself, but I tend to overhear my father’s sudden daydreams about her.” She paused, adding a snicker. “He says she was beautiful, one of the most stunning dogs that had ever lived in Nome. Her coat was as red