Mom must be at home tonight, Dash thought. He carefully tiptoed towards his father and nudged him on the shoulder. “Dad . . . Dad, wake up,” he murmured into his father’s ear, so as not to wake the human that snored nearby on his bed.

 

The hybrid groaned, but his head rose, seeing the sight of his son by his side. “Oh . . . Dash? It that you?”

 

“Yes, Dad,” The son nuzzled his father happily. “I’m here, but now’s not the time to explain myself. We have to get to Aleu’s.”

 

“Why?” Balto asked, completely confused by the way his son was acting. “What’s wrong with Aleu?” He soon let out a gasp, realizing what it could be. “Is she in labor?”

 

He had heard the news that Aleu was expecting another litter some time after learning of his daughter Saba’s mysterious return to life, as well as seeing her new figure. Naturally, he was ecstatic to the good news – Aleu was right about her father’s love for puppies, and it never seemed to fade, even in these difficult times.

 

“We’ll talk about it on the way, but yes, she is,” Dash responded as he passed through the dog door towards the bushes. “By the way, Shadow’s with me too.”

 

“It’s good to see you again, safe and sound,” Balto smiled at the red wolf. “Why aren’t you with Aleu? Doesn’t she need you more than ever?”

 

“I was getting in the way,” Shadow replied as the threesome began to walk out of town. “Melody’s with Aleu right now, taking charge. She’s really somewhat of a spitfire, even at her age.”

 

“That’s my sis, alright,” Dash commented as they approached the outskirts, but his composure quickly shifted to serious mode. “But come on, we’ve got to get moving.”

 

“Wait!” Balto halted them, remembering something at the last minute. “I need to tell Jen what’s going on.”

 

“No, Balto,” Shadow stopped the hybrid. “I’m afraid she’ll have to wait.”

 

Balto gave the wolf a yearning gaze. “I don’t want her to be worried about me if she wakes up in the morning and I’m nowhere in town.” He turned to Dash, still with concern in his eyes. “You know how your mother gets panicky when she can’t find me. She may hurt herself . . . or get lost while searching for me . . . or . . .” He shook his head at the thought of what other horrible things could happen to his mate without any notice.

 

“I understand your concern, but we just can’t do that,” The dark-red wolf refused to waiver. “I’m sorry, but Aleu asked for you personally. We must get you to our territory immediately.”

 

Defeated, Balto accepted. “All right.” He turned to his son. “Dash, I’ll go with Shadow. You can tell your mother what’s going on, all right?”

 

“Sure, Dad. Be careful, you two . . . and give Aleu my love, okay?” Dash nodded, running back towards Nome as the other two ran the opposite way towards where new life would soon begin.

 

Hang in there, Aleu, Shadow thought as he and his father-in-law treaded the snow that covered the forest glen, making their way towards the dangerous outskirts. I’m on my way back to you . . .

 

Be safe . . . please be safe . . .

 

 

Chapter II

 

Dash made his way to the home of his birth – Jenna’s house on the other side of town from Balto’s. This brings back loads of childhood memories, he thought. He remembered when he used to play with his parents and sister, Melody, before he met . . .

 

“Oh, I can still feel your presence here, Shasta . . .” He murmured into the softly-breathing wind with a solemn sigh. The wind suddenly rustled through his fur, causing him to sigh again. “It’s like you never left me . . .”

 

It had been several years since the then young yearling first met the gray she-wolf. It was an instant connection for both of them . . . actually it was her that made Dash decide to stay with the Clan and live life as a wolf. He was in love with her, and soon, Shasta gave birth to their only litter of pups. They were so happy together, and despite the dangerous battles that both of them had fought side-by-side, the two of them felt that nothing would tear them apart.

 

However, Shasta was brutally killed while on duty . . . and Dash blamed himself for her death, seeking revenge for her sudden murder. She didn’t want to die, he knew that – she was too beautiful to deserve death now that she had a family and a loving mate, . . . but after a while, he learned to move on. Now, Dash had June, another widowed wolf like himself who had taken an interest in calming his grief, and together they continued to watch over the children that Shasta had left behind.

 

June’s no substitute for you, Shasta, Dash thought at the memories. But I know you’re always here, watching over your mate and just waiting for me to join you and Aniu once this hard, cruel life is over . . . He sighed deeply. Gosh, just seeing your beautiful face again will be worth the wait.

 

Somehow, he was able to smile as he closed his eyes. In his mind was the gentle gray face of his beloved, returning the grin back at him with love with those calm eyes. Dash could only howl a soft cry of joy, sorrow, and complete memory of the mother of his children, not realizing that his mother had heard him.

 

“Dash? Is that you out there?” The soft, nurturing tone responded from an open window.

 

“Mom! Come down here for a minute, will you?” Dash asked her, feeling a bit embarrassed for getting her attention like that.

 

Within a minute, a bright-burgundy and white appeared, running towards him. She was aging, but still elegantly shaped with her slender figure and tiny paws. Around her neck was that signature red-orange bandanna, although from the look of it, it had been beaten and soiled so much that it would probably have quite a lengthy story to spin if clothing could talk. There were still a few spots that remained, but most of the cloth was clean, despite the signs of wear and tear. The husky had been through many hardships lately, especially since she had recently returned back to home once her previous punishment of lifelong exile from Nome had been revoked by her son Blaize, the new Keeper of the Law.

 

Of course, the reasons why she was exiled from Nome – well, that’s a completely different tale.

 

“Dash, what is it? What’s going on?” Jenna asked her son after a nuzzling welcome. “You could have had a human to wake up and shoot at you!”

 

“Sorry, Mom,” Dash’s ears twitched down to his neck. “But Dad wanted me to tell you that Shadow’s taking him to see Aleu. She’s expecting, you know . . . and . . .” His tone began to tremble nervously. “. . . and it’s time.”

 

“Already?”But that means . . . Oh, no! They’re too early! Jenna gasped. They might not survive being born! Naturally, she had knew many things about whelping pups and the many dangers that awaited females of pup-bearing age. For a husky, Jenna was quite wise on those sorts of things. She had had four litters of pups thus far – the stinging pain and rough pressure of delivering pups was completely worth it once the end result was there, suckling on tiny pink teats on the female’s belly.

 

“Yeah,” Dash nodded. “I didn’t get a chance to see how she was doing, but Shadow reassured me that Aleu’s in good paws – Melody’s assisting the delivery with her.”

 

“Oh, why didn’t your father stop back to tell me?” The husky ignored her son’s reassurance, still rather heated about Balto’s sudden flight to their daughter’s side. “I could have gone with him to see her if he told me!”

 

“There wasn’t any time to stop, Mom,” her son explained. “Besides, Aleu was persistent on having Dad be there; I don’t know why though, but that’s what she said. I stayed behind to inform you on what was going on before making my way back.”

 

“Well, this can’t wait – we have to go too,” Jenna began to move forward, but Dash leapt in her way, stopping her in her tracks.

 

“No, Mom,” Dash said. “You’ve been through so much lately; it might be dangerous for you to travel now that you’ve just gotten home again. You should rest and relax. Dad’ll make sure that Aleu’s okay, I promise.”

 

“I don’t care and I’ll completely fine, Dash,” Jenna suddenly barked. “I’ve lived a couple of months as a wolf before, so you don’t have to worry so much about me. Besides, Aleu’s my first-born and I want to see her pups as badly as your father does.” If they can survive the birth, that is, she added to herself. There was no way she would tell her son that pups born this early were more likely to perish, but Jenna felt that the time to reveal that may come soon enough. She didn’t want to worry Dash any further. “Maybe I can offer to help Melody with Aleu’s labor – it’s the least I can do while I’m there. You know I have tons of experience with having pups.”

 

“I know, Mom, but –” Dash tried to agree with his mother’s statement, but she took her son’s tone as a positive, ending the conversation.

 

“All right then,” the husky in the bandanna smiled eagerly towards her skilled wolf of a son. “Come on now, Dash – lead the way.”

 

Dash had no choice – he couldn’t argue with his mother about his older sister. She loved Aleu as much as Balto did, so it was a easy win for the family matriarch. Without anymore hesitation, Mother and Son began the journey into the wilderness.

 

 

 

“Aleu, please calm down,” Melody hushed her sister. “You’re not ready to push yet.”

 

The light brownish-gray did not respond with words as her large belly heaved as she breathed steadily and rapidly. The pain within her made her want to push – she had to get her pups out of her and the sensation burned her tail-end. Aleu could feel the presence of the

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