Chapter 1 - A New Friend

"Oh, Balto... it's so beautiful! You're so sweet!" Jenna exclaimed, licking Balto unstoppably as she gazed at the snowy scene before her.

"Hey, I told you I had a surprise vacation spot for us!" Balto exclaimed, with a smile from ear to ear. Jenna eventually pulled away from Balto and started to explore the site. "And the best part is... the weather is supposed to be clear until we get home. That means no snowstorms."

"Good. Because you remember what happened last time," Jenna said, referring to Balto's journey to find Aleu, getting caught in a snowstorm on the way home.

Balto put on an innocent smile and said, "I love you, honey."

Jenna rolled her eyes and said worriedly, "Oh, please... don't even try that, Balto. I was very worried about you! And then I was mad because you got so sick. And to top it all off, I didn't get to say goodbye to Aleu!"

Balto sighed and licked Jenna to comfort her. "Jen, I'm sure we'll see her again."

"I can only hope."

Then Boris walked onto the scene. "Oh, please, Balto, you and I both know that she's ne--"

Balto interrupted him by sitting down on his head hard. "Say one more word and you're wolf chow."

He then sat up and glared at Boris. "Understood?" he asked.

Boris gulped and said, "Yes, whatever. I'll be over there," he said, pointing to the small icy cave. He then walked over, mumbling something about pickled herring. Balto smiled and rolled his eyes and then turned to Jenna.
"Why is Boris even here? We were supposed to have a quiet vacation."

"I know, honey... he must have followed us here." He then licked Jenna again comfortingly and said through gritted teeh, "He can be very frustrating sometimes. But you get used to it."

"Yeah. Right."

Then they saw a ram coming down the mountain... well, falling, rather.

"Ouch- oof! Ah- ow!" he cried every time he hit something. He eventually fell down onto the ground right in front of Balto and Jenna.

"Uh... sorry about that. I... kinda fell," he said worriedly. "You're not gonna hurt me, are you?"

Balto smiled at him and stuck out his paw. "Not at all. Name's Balto and this is my wife, Jenna." The ram shook his paw and then shook Jenna's.

"Oh, that's great. Usually the wolves I meet wanna rip me apart."

"Well... actually... I'm only part wolf."

"How is that? That's impossible."

"No it's not... my mom was a wolf, my dad was a dog."

"Oh. Well that's not so bad. I'm not gonna judge you for what you are," the ram said nicely.

"Thanks. Most people do, though."

"Well that's just not fair. Not fair at all."

"Yeah. Anyway, what's your name?" Balto asked.

"Oh, sorry, I plum forgot. My name's Aries."

"Where did you get that name from"
"I really don't know."

"And what about your wife? she sure doesn't look like a wolf."

"She's not. She's a purebred husky."

"Oh, that's nice. You are very pretty, Jenna."

"Aw, thank you, Aries!" she exclaimed.

He smiled and then said to Balto, "So how long do you plan on being here?"

"About four or five days."

"Oh... you need to leave now."

Balto and Jenna furrowed their brows uncertainly.
"Why?" Jenna asked.

"Because... this is a volcano. And it is active."

"So you're saying it could erupt any minute?" Jenna asked. Aries nodded his head slowly.

"But what are the chances of that happening?" Balto asked.

Aries said nothing as Balto and Jenna heard a rumbling sound. They looked around and saw some snow falling.

"Oh my dog... Aries, can you--" But he stopped in mid-sentence. Aries had disappeared.

Chapter 2: New Additions

 

"What the... Balto, where did Aries go?" Jenna asked, raising her voice over the sound of the rumbling mountain.

"I don't know, Jen, we just need to get outta here!" he exclaimed. Then Boris came waddling out, yelling, his tail feathers burnt to a crisp.

"For herring's sake, let's get out of here!" he yelled as he ran down the icy path that led out of the mountain.

Balto and Jenna looked at each other worriedly and then ran out of the pass.
About thirty minutes later Jenna began to grow cold and it was hard for her to move. But that wasn't the only reason.

"Balto... I... can't... move," she said slowly. Balto's eyes grew wide with worry and he turned around quickly to her as she collapsed in the snow.

"Jenna, what's wrong? Are you cold?"

"Yeah, that, and... my stomach... it... it hurts."

"Oh my dog... no, you're not... you're not having the puppies, are you?" Jenna looked up at him and nodded slowly.

Balto closed his eyes and breathed out slowly while Jenna said, "I don't think we should have gone on a vacation when I was PREGNANT, Balto!"

"Well, sor--ry! I thought you might wanna go"
"When I'm pregnant, no. When I'm healthy and kicking, yes." Balto sighed as Jenna cried out in pain. She tried to stand up, but it was no use. Balto began to get worried. He looked around and saw a deserted cabin up ahead, not too far away.
"Jenna, look! There's a cabin up ahead. Do you think you can make it?"

Jenna looked up from the snow at the cabin and sighed. "I might be able to." Balto smiled and helped her up.

Once in a while she cried out in pain, but they eventually got there, her water breaking on the way. Balto, Jenna, and Boris climbed through the doggie door. The cabin was perfectly furnished with chairs, a bed, and even a dog bed.

Through all the dirt and grime on the dog bed, Balto, Jenna, and Boris could not see the name of the pet engraved on it. It read "Anaiu."

Jenna dragged herself into the dog bed. After at least an hour, she had had three puppies, as healthy as ever.

"Oh, Balto... I'm never having kids again."

"Oh, darn!" he said. Jenna laughed but then got what he was trying to say and she kicked him in the leg.

"Ow!"

"What do you think we should name them, Balto?" Jenna asked. Balto plopped down on the floor and thought about it, but thought of the perfect name for the white puppy that was crawling around on the floor.

"I have a great name for the white one."

"What would that be?"

Balto smiled and nudged his small daughter. "Anaiu," he said. "Her name is Anaiu."

Jenna half smiled at him. She thought it was a great name for her daughter, but she also felt a bit of sorrow in her heart that everytime Balto called out their daughter's name, he would think of his mother.

"That's a great name, honey. Anaiu it is." Balto grinned at her and they nuzzled each other lovingly.

"So what are we going to name these two rascals?" Balto asked, glancing at his new children. But for some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of Anaiu.

"Hey, I like Rascal! For our new little boy." Jenna said, licking the puppy softly.

"Yeah, okay. That works. Rascal it is."

"Let's see... one left to name," Jenna said. She looked at Balto, but he was still looking at Anaiu.

"Balto?" she asked him. She nudged his shoulder and he looked at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jenna... she just reminds me so much of my mother."

"It's okay, honey. But what do you want to name this one?"

"Uh... you pick."

"Okay... do you like Rosie?" Balto turned to Jenna and she frowned. "Every time I call out her name I'll remember her," she said sadly, referring to Rosie's unsuspected death.

"As I will with my mother. Yes, I do like it"
"Good. Anaiu, Rascal, and Rosie," she said, scanning her eyes over them. Balto did the same.

"Well, it's kind of weird that there was a cabin out here in the middle of nowhere," Jenna said, looking down at her puppies as they rested by her side.

"Yeah, I know," Balto said as he walked over to the window slowly and looked up at the moon.

"It's as if it appeared out of nowhere," Jenna said.

"Yeah. I think we have a guardian angel protecting us," Balto said as he gazed at the moon. As he heard a wolf howl off in the distance, he smiled. It was as if the sound was coming from the very stars above their heads.

Then he said, "Infact, I know we do. And I know who it is."

Chapter 3 - Lost and Found

As Balto crawled onto the rough bed and tried to sleep, he thought of Aleu and how she was doing as a leader. He missed her dearly, and he wished on a star every night that she would return. There were so many thoughts racing through his head that sleep simply would not come to him.

Balto also thought of his past children. How were they managing with their humans? Were they being taken care of properly? Did they miss their parents and their other siblings?

And what about the dreaded Steele? Would he ever return to haunt Jenna? Has he left for good? What if he has hurt one of their family members?

Then there was his mother... where was she? Is her spirit watching over them, keeping them safe, blessing them? Is that how they got through to the cabin, or was it pure luck? He was then rescued from his troubling thoughts by Jenna's soft voice.

"Balto? What's the matter?" she asked worriedly. She looked down at her puppies to make sure they were asleep before getting up to jump onto the bed with her husband.

"Oh... nothing, Jenna, nothing."

Jenna gave him a knowing look and said, "Balto, I always know what's wrong with you." She then paused for a brief moment and changed her voice back to an understanding voice and said slowly, "Now... please tell me what's wrong. I'm the only one here who can help you."

"Hey, I can't help him?" Boris asked sarcastically as he waddled towards them.

"Do

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