“Yeah,” Talon said, “But you know I’ll be back soon. In the meantime…” He kissed her tenderly, and he could feel her warming to him sleepily. He broke away, and she smiled as he padded away.

          “I can’t wait.”

          Checking the alleys as he did every morning, he came across a curious sight.

          “…That’s interesting,” he said finally, after staring open-mouthed at Sanctus’ dead body for a few seconds. He nudged it with his foot, and the cold stillness made his skin crawl. The scents were there, of course; Balto, and Ruby. He doubted that either of them would commit such a crime. But the other scent– the other scent was so much more likely.

          Talon found her in an inconspicuous corner, licking her wounds. Without even looking up, Lila said evenly, “Talon. Did I forget I invited you to my quarters? Or did you simply come uninvited?” She tipped her head up to glare at him. “And unwelcome.”

          “Cut the crap, you murderess,” Talon hissed, “You know what you did. I know what you did. The only question is, how were you so stupid not to hide the evidence even a little?”

          Lila blinked. “Because I didn’t do it,” she said calmly.

          “Oh, c’mon, Lila,” he sneered, “Who else could have killed him but you? You two were always whining and scrapping at each other. Though it’s kind of hard to believe you actually killed him.” His voice ran low, his body crouched towards the ground. “But that’s the kind of girl you are, right? Unpredictable.”

          Lila pushed herself backwards as his paws crept closer. “What do you want, Talon?” she spat, but her voice shook.

          He shoved her against the wall, his breath icy-soft against her face. “What do I want?” he chuckled, “I want to know what you’re doing, Lila. You always need a guy around, someone to protect you. Who are you going to cozy up to next? Cooper? I protect every single dog in this town. If there’s a threat to any of them…” His paw shot to her throat. She started choking, her eyes wide and her legs thrashing weakly. Talon’s hazel eyes were hard and cold, glinting with malice. “…I eliminate it.”

          Lila coughed harshly at the words. Her claws scrabbled at his paw on her throat, but his grip was tight and growing tighter. “It-was-BALTO!” she gasped, “Balto-killed-Sanctus!”

          Talon smirked. “What? Of all the lies–”

          “She’s right.”

          Talon whirled around, ripping his paw away from Lila’s neck. She gasped, slumping to the ground, and lay there panting.

          A brown-gray dog with glowing eyes stood behind Talon.

          “Balto?” Talon barked in disbelief.

           The dog grimaced. “My name’s Tumak. But Balto did kill Sanctus.”

          Talon’s face flushed. “But why?”

          “Sanctus was beating up on Lila.” Tumak shrugged. “Balto stepped in; dead dog.”

          “He’s trying to do my job for me again,” Talon growled, “He’s trying to take over! Didn’t anyone ever teach that mutt some manners?”

          “If this keeps up, he’ll have all the dogs turned against you in no time,” Tumak said, hiding a triumphant grin. This was going better than he expected. “You have to get rid of him.”

          Perhaps he was too eager, because Talon suddenly became suspicious. “Wait. What’s in it for you?”

          Tumak grinned. “Something that would only matter to me.” And to Balto.

          That bleak morning Jenna woke early, and brushed a kiss over the cheek of her sleeping mate before she slipped out of the house and headed towards the street where they had met Talon the day before. Even with the little sleep she had gotten, her dreams had been plagued with memories of her mother, and always on the edge there was a brown-gray dog with bronze-colored eyes, standing, watching. The pressing matters of her life were making her head hurt and her heart ache. And she knew there was one dog who could help her, and who would not be offended by the problem she had to solve.

          The street was silent and empty. Jenna stopped for a second, shivering, and then called, “Cooper?”

           A voice behind her made her jump: “So. You couldn’t sleep either.”

          She turned to see Cooper grinning crookedly at her with tired eyes. She smiled at him. “Cooper! You scared me! Don’t do that.”

          “Sorry,” he said. He tipped his head to indicate the slushy streets and the dreary gray sky. “So, what brings you here on this lovely morning?”

          “Well, as a matter of fact, I could sleep,” Jenna said, “A little. I had these dreams. None that I would want to call for a rerun.”

          “Ah. I see.” Cooper began padding towards the end of the street. “Well, as long as you’re here, step into my office.” He led her to a small lean-to made out of sides of a broken crate and stationed against a dumpster. Inside lay two ragged gray couch cushions with the stuffing hanging out, and Cooper flopped down on one of these.

          Jenna sat down gingerly next to the other cushion and looked around sadly. “Don’t you have a home, Cooper?”

          He looked at her hard. “I have a house, and an owner, if that’s what you mean. But this, this is where my real friends are. And so, this is my home.” He shrugged, and then his grin returned. “So, what’s up?”

          Jenna sighed, and shifted uneasily. “Well…there’s this dog Rosy rescued before we came here. His name is Tumak. I think…” She felt heat flood to her cheeks. “I think he’s in love with me, and–”

          Cooper groaned. “Relationship problems!” He flopped back onto the sagging cushion in distaste. “Why don’t you go ask Ruby about this? She’d be happy to do ‘girl talk’ with you.”

          “Because Ruby’s too smart to get into this kind of mess, and she’d tell me so,” Jenna said matter-of-factly. She placed an urging paw on his leg. “Come on, Cooper! Please.”

          He sighed, rolling his eyes. “You want me to help you?”

          She nodded emphatically.

          “Isn’t there anyone else?” he asked.

          Jenna’s face instantly became sad and lost. “Not anymore,” she said softly.

          Cooper looked at her. He knew she meant Jewel.

          He sighed again, but this time resignedly. “Alright,” he conceded, “Just tell me how it happened…”

          Balto woke to a dull ache in his head and cold guilt racing through his gut. He groaned as he rolled over and shook his head. Why did he feel so terrible? The memories of last night pounded through his brain, and he wondered desperately if it all could have been a dream. But no, the scenes in his head were too vivid: Sanctus and Lila, then himself and Sanctus, and then the icicle…the flight to Ruby’s house, and then the long, lonely, awful trek back to Jenna.

          Balto sat up. Jenna. Where was she? He had fallen into a tortured sleep beside her in the early hours of the morning. He pawed the carpet where she had lain. It was still warm from her body heat. She hadn’t been gone long. He had to find her, and tell her. She would understand, and maybe she could help him assuage some of this burdensome guilt.

          He heaved himself to his feet and trotted to the doggy door, where he slid out through the flap and then stopped, wondering where Jenna would go. A light snow dusted his fur, and when he shook it off a coolness remained on his coat.

          “Balto! You lost?”

          Balto looked up to see