another corner, close to his destination, and rammed right into what seemed to be a furry wall of white. He started to apologize, but then his words caught in his throat as his eyes met a sight most amazing. Standing before him was one of the two wolves he had seen before, the white-furred female. He was about to give a greeting, but before he could speak, the wolf rushed past him toward the end of the ally.

 "Wait!", he called. The female hesitated and glanced over her shoulder briefly, but then she started to run again. Unfortunately, she took a wrong turn, and ended up at a dead-end. Lance rounded the corner and the wolf crouched in a defensive stance. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you.", he said.

 Her eyes narrowed; she still didn't believe him. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" 

 "Do I look like I'm not telling the truth?", he asked. The female took a moment to scrutinize him. Evidently, she decided to believe him, and she relaxed, but kept herself on-guard. 

 "What do you want?", she asked.

 "I'd like to know your name." This was so exciting. He was actually talking talking with a wolf!

 "My name is Winter,", she said. "and I really must be going. There is something urgent I must do, and I must find what I'm looking for, so if you'll excuse me..."

 "Well I could probably get you where you need to go.", Lance said. "I know this town like the back of my paw."

 Winter seemed like she was about to decline, but then she considered it. "Could you get me to the boiler room?"

 "I sure can."

 Winter nodded. "Alright. Lead the way." A few minutes later, they stood at the corner of the building that housed the boiler room. Winter turned and smiled at him, "You have no idea how big of a help this was. Thank you." 

 Lance felt a rush of pride at such praise coming from a wolf. "It was nothing.", he said. "My name's Lance, by the way."

 Winter nodded, "Well thanks again, Lance. You've been most helpful." Then, she rushed off in the direction of where she entered town, but Lance knew that he'd have one last chance to see her, for he could tell that she'd be coming back. Then he rushed off to tell Leah and Zack.

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 Winter found Twilight again and then they returned to the others. Winter briefly told them of her encounter with Lance. Nightfall was only an hour away by the time she finished, and they formed a plan. When night fell, the group snuck back into town, with Jared carrying a now rapidly weakening Veena, and stole into the boiler room when nobody was watching, except for the one dog in town that knew they would be there. 

 Over the next three days, Veena thawed out and regained her strength. On the fourth day, she announced that she was ready to go. Winter checked to see if they were clear to leave without being seen, and was surprised to see Lance standing there. He looked surprised as well, but he quickly recovered and said, "Winter, you have to leave now."

 "Why? What's wrong?", she asked. She would've liked to ask other questions like 'How did you know I was here?', but the urgency in his voice told her to ask the more important questions. 

 "A sled team from our town just came back from a race, and they plan to use the boiler room as a meeting place to discuss what they could better next time.", he replied. "You get yourselves out of here, and I'll go see if I can stall them."

 "You don't have to do that."

 Lance gave her a smile, and said, "I know." Then he turned and left to keep the team busy for a little while, This, he knew, would be easy to do, because the sled team was one group of dogs who delighted in picking on him. As he rounded the corner and nearly ran into the lead sled dog, he wondered if he would ever see Winter or the other wolves again. Then he had to deal with the insults that were now being thrown at him.

 As Winter and her siblings left the town, she silently thanked Lance for all his help. She was sure that if they'd been discovered, the dogs would have attacked them, for it isn't uncommon knowledge that dogs see wolves as a threat and wouldn't hesitate to kill one. Then she had no more time to think on this, as she took the lead and they once again began their long trudge through the snow, heading west. She was sure that if they'd been discovered As they resumed their journey, Winter looked back at Veena, and felt greatly relieved that she was alright, and so she smiled, feeling that for once, everything seemed to be going their way.

 Later that night, Veena looked around at her siblings and thought of how they had risked their lives for her, and knew that with such caring family, nothing could do her harm without them trying to stop it first. She gave contented sigh, laid down, and got her first night of good sleep in a long time.   

 Far away, by the icy river, the flower had fully bloomed...

Closing: ... and so disaster has been avoided, but our tale is far from over. What new dangers and challenges await these brave adventurers? Meet me again when darkness falls upon the land, and I shall share with you the next chapter in the lives of these four young wolves.