be the one that I love. Even though she’s clearly forgotten everything that we had together, Saba’s name is permanently etched in my soul as a part of me, and I can never forget how much she means to me . . . as a sister, as a friend, . . . and as my forbidden lover.” His mother was in tears once more, while Balto let out another growl, upset about his son’s passion for his own little sister.

“Dingo,” Being the proud patriarch that he was, Balto clearly spoke to his son with a bold voice. “I can’t allow this to go on.”  

Jenna let out a cough, adding in an important word to her mate’s sentence as she sniffled slightly. “We . . . we can’t allow this to go on.”

The wolf-dog nodded at his mate, continuing his plea. “Yes, both your mother and I forbid your relationship with Saba to continue. Your sister’s never coming back once she leaves, and you’ll have no choice but to move on. You have a bright future ahead of you with your training to become a sled dog; I just don’t want you to make such a big mistake by moping about losing Saba’s love.” Balto leaned up to his son, whispering into his red ear. “It’s the best thing to do right now, Dingo. We really care about you and want you to experience the best that life has to offer.” 

“Please, Son,” Jenna had calmed down by now, but she begged Dingo with a worried voice. “Please, please do it for Saba’s sake.”

I can’t believe that they’d ask me to do this when I clearly told them how I felt about Saba . . . The young pup thought to himself as his head collapsed towards the ground. I mean, I know it’s not right for me to want her, but deep down, I can’t help it. I love Saba . . . If I could make it so that we weren’t siblings in order for our relationship to have been able to be acceptable, then by God, I would! I’d do anything to have her back . . . the Saba that I fell in love with . . . . 

Oh God, why did you take her away from me? Tears dripped onto the snowy dirt ground that was underneath his clawed paws. Was it because I lusted after her when I knew our love would always be seen as taboo . . . or was it because she fell in love with me? He let out a sigh.

But . . . I guess they’re right – I really can’t do anything about this, and I just have to accept it . . . for them . . . for Saba . . . for myself. Oh forgive me, my beating heart; this is difficult for me to say, A tear sparkled as it tricked down his white nose and dripped onto the ground. I must remember the Saba whom I loved, knowing that she has passed away . . . The Saba I knew from birth is gone, but her figure remains the way it was before, only knowing who her parents and owners are . . . Perhaps I shall never love another girl as much as I had loved Saba ever again. That is my promise . . .  

He gave in, speaking in a quiet, melancholy tone. “All right. Saba is gone, and she will never be the same ever again.” His sigh was deep, a show of how painful this moment was for him, but he knew that if it made his parents happier for him to admit his sin of incestuous lust for his baby sister, this was the right thing to do. “I can’t live life without knowing that she is still my sister, but at least I’ll know that she’s safe with a human like Marilyn.”

For once, Mother and Father were pleased to hear this, smiling slightly over their son’s admission of his wrong-doing. 

“Please forgive me for what I’ve done to you, Mom, Dad,” the young husky concluded. “It won’t happen again.”

“Good,” Balto lifted his head up proudly, accepting his son’s words. Jenna now had now calmed down as well, standing by her mate’s side with pride in her heart for her son. “I’m proud of you, Dingo.”  

“Now, you should head back home now to your human,” Jenna added. “He’s probably worried about you, especially since you just got back from training last night.” She leaned over to her son, nuzzling and licking his nose.

“Thanks, you two,” Dingo faked a grin to his parents. “I’ll be fine now.” He sighed. “At least I know Saba will be happy now and that her humans are there to protect her from harm.” He ran away quickly, heading back to his house without looking back at his relieved parents; little did his parents know, his faux grin returned to a frown as tears returned to staining his white cheeks. 

“I think that went well,” Jenna turned to her mate after taking a deep sigh.

“I don’t know, Jen,” Balto looked back at her worriedly. “As much as I still can’t believe that Dingo was once in love with Saba, I . . . oh, I’m not sure if I can truly believe his apology.” 

“He’s our son, Balto; we heard what he said and we just have to believe that he understands the situation.” The purebred husky’s nose grazed the side and bottom of the wolf-dog’s head. “It’ll be hard on him at first once Saba first leaves, but I’m sure he’ll grow out of it within a year or so.” She felt Balto return the nuzzle as they both closed their eyes lovingly, sharing a romantic moment together. “He’s almost old enough to be grown-up by now, and we are only his parents. Sometimes pups have to learn things the hard way, and although it may be difficult for us, we have to let them live their lives on their own.”

Balto let out a loud breath; he knew his mate was right, but he and Jenna hadn’t experienced having a child move so far away from the land of their birth before. “You’re right, . . . oh, you’re right.” He huffed again. “but I think I realize that Saba’s departure is going to be hard for all of us.” 

“Most especially for Dingo,” Jenna included in a quiet murmur that was inaudible to her mate, as she and Balto went back up the stairway into the small town hospital to see if they could get more information on Saba’s condition and details of her human family’s exodus from Nome.

About a week had passed when a loud TOOT of an iron steamer blared out at the Nome harbor by the western border of town. The Freighter “Marina Star” was parked at the long pier with a long ramp keeping it steady between the sea and the town nearby, and the captain of the ship was preparing to move cargo onto the boat’s storage floor. The three humans were all dressed in their traveling outfits with long-coats and hats to keep them warm from the chilly late Spring winds as they stood by several medium-sized chests of red, brown and black. A red and white she-husky was by the side of the smallest human, almost full grown with a thin pink scarf tied around her thick two-toned neck. The child was hugging the husky, as if she were glad to see her own dog once more.  

Balto and Jenna made their way to the dock with their four children behind them. The mother clearly had streams of tears in her eyes, for she was saddened to hear that her youngest child, Saba, was leaving Nome forever, never to return for her safety. Her brothers and sisters had learned of her run-in with a threatening lupine, the accident with the hunter, and the permanent damage to her brain and memory; each of them had their reasons to say their farewells to Saba.

Once the parents and children were reunited for their final goodbyes, they moved their party to the beach beside the dock, where they would have lots of space to run and play together once last time.  

The eldest child approached Saba first to offer her well wishes in her new home. She was the different one of the litter, with her mousy brownish-gray fur, light beige markings, and almond-shaped eyes that glowed like blue and gold glass. Her much larger paws stomped towards her much more dainty sister, and the two sisters nuzzled gently.

“Oh, Saba!” the eldest broke down in tears, burying her nose underneath Saba’s chin. “It just won’t be the same without you here.” 

“It’s okay, Aleu,” Saba replied. Over the past week, she was visited frequently by the other siblings that Dingo had mentioned to her. She learned their names and order of birth, making sure that she would remember them once she and her humans began their new life in St. Michael. “It’s possible that we may visit in a year or so. Marilyn is Rosy’s cousin, so it’s very likely that we’ll meet here again.” She reassured her with a final nudge.

“I hope so, Saba,” the wolfish child stepped away, allowing the next sibling to give some words to their little sister. “Take care of yourself!” She quietly howled to Saba as the next pup made his way forward. 

The next pup was mostly a dark shade of burgundy, only wearing a patch of white down his chest, the bottom of his tail, and surrounding his muzzle. His knee-high white paws moved forward, also nuzzling his little sister.

“You remember me, your big brother, Denali?” The brother asked.  

“Of course I do,” she nuzzled back. “We all called you ‘Den-Den’ for fun whenever we played on the beach.”

“Just remember that when you come back,” Denali reminded her. “I’ll be waiting . . .” He turned to the rest of his siblings. “We all will wait for you to return.”  

“Okay, I will remember,” Saba promised him as he began to move backwards; once he was back in line, Denali nudged his little brother forward to meet his sister.

The next pup was red and white, a perfect clone of Saba and Jenna with his markings and colors. The only differences was that the little brother had a jagged dark mark near where his muzzle touched his brown eyes and his paws were large, perfect for covering long distances – both clear features of his wild heritage from his father’s side of the family tree. 

“Hey there, Kodi, . . . or is it Kodiak?” Saba greeted her second brother with a smile, except for the her confusion on what to call him.

“Kodi’s fine with me, Saba,” the shy pup answered back in a quiet voice. “Hey! Maybe by the time you get back, Yukon and I will challenge you to a race, huh?” His voice clearly showed his excitement on the subject of running, even though he was