a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Protect him, Misty," he prayed with closed eyes. "Help him arrive to Nome safe and sound. His destiny is calling, just like we all planned so long ago." By the time his blue eyes opened once again, the form of his son had vanished from sight. "Creek, my first-born son . . . the future of our family's lineage is in your paws."

- - - - - - - -

The winds were whipping across his back and sides, slowing his strides to a walk as the blinding snows gathered around him. He was bred to withstand extremities such as these – harsh winds, bitter cold and constantly dropping temperatures, total whiteouts of snow – but never before in his two years of life had he ever witnessed such fury from Nature.

The brown dog shivered almost violently, nearly closing his eyes to shield his sight of the piercing snowfall.

I can’t . . . give up yet . . . The husky urged himself onward, never to let the storm claim him as yet another victim. I must . . . I must do what Father said . . .

I must find that she-dog in the red-orange cloth . . .

The one named . . .

 

 

 

Chapter I

One week later . . .

It was only the two of them together that evening at the shoreline, watching the moon start to rise and shining its silver reflection against the surface of the sea. The figures laid their long forms out against each other, close enough for their fur of brown-gray and rust-red to offer warmth to the other as the cold late-winter wind rustled over their heads.

Truly, anyone could tell that these two were love-birds - a young couple that had fallen head-over-heels in love with each other in only a matter of days. It wasn't exactly traditional for two younglings to just hit it off so suddenly, but it was 1925 after all - times were slowly starting to break away from even the oldest traditions . . .

The male, the brown-gray with tan markings on his face, legs, and body, opened his eyes, turning to gaze red and gold at the sleeping figure of his companion. He couldn't help but to smile at each sight of her, not even noticing that his cheeks were now painted in a thick coat of pink.God, she's such an angel . . . His eyelids fell slowly, stopping halfway as he watched her stomach slowly and steadily rise and fall while she breathed in her sleep. Her white-marked features were so detailed and lovely, nearly perfect like a purebred of her stature should be. Her slender form, her bushy two-toned tail, her elegantly sculpted muzzle . . . oh, just thinking about pressing his nose to hers once again made him tingle all over! I swear, sometimes I feel she's much too good for some stray half-wolf like me . . . He let out a sigh, releasing his worries into the chilled winter breeze.

Somehow, that breath and soft noise was enough to rouse the female from her deep slumber, nearly startling him as she moaned softly. The male gasped in surprise, but quickly grew more relieved once she fluttered her eyelids open and looked at him lovingly.

"Mmm . . . Hello again, Balto . . ." Her amber-hazel eyes shone nearly like yellow quartz in the rising moonlight as she smiled, chuckling a little while she did so.

However, the male was far too mesmerized to respond to her with words - what words could possibly be enough to describe what he was experiencing right at this moment?

She's beautiful . . . so precious and fragile underneath the moonlight, almost like an uncut gemstone . . . and I found her here, buried in this small town . . . Oh, I must be the richest dog in all of Nome!

"Balto, are you okay?" She spoke to him once more, worried by the male's lack of response.

"Ah, . . . huh?" He shook his head to return him back to the reality in front of his gaze. As only half-wolf, he could easily sense the emotions of worry in her eyes. Those eyes . . . they’re so dazzling . . . He felt himself want to melt just looking at her over and over again. "What is it, Jenna? Is there something on my face?"

She couldn’t help but to chuckle at his response. "No. Your face is just fine. It’s just . . ." The female tilted her head, looking away from him coyly. Her cheeks were no longer white after peering into his wild gaze. Oh God, is this what love is supposed to feel like? She remembered that one moment they spent in the woods when her instincts caused her to lay on top of his freezing fur; her once pink face darkened to a shade of near-fuchsia just as the thought of her actions, causing her nose to lower near to her front paws. Why did I do that again? To think that I did that to someone I barely know! Oh, if my parents knew that I did that to him . . . Now her face was brighter than her rusty-colored fur. But . . . but Balto has been nothing but warm-hearted towards me, caring about what’s most important to me . . .

"Just what?" He asked, hoping to tear down that wall that stood between them at this moment. His nose leaned in closer to hers, showing concern by managing a small whine. "Can’t you tell me what’s wrong?"

They had first met face-to-face only a week or so, and ever since then their fates became intertwined . . . and now, they were together – he was a cross-bred outcast that everyone in town who was once scorned and hated, and now was praised with the honor and respect of being a hero that saved so many lives . . . she was a natural beauty, adored and loved by all that graced her presence, most especially stealing the hearts of the most eligible canine bachelor in the entire town and even the half-wolf hero.

Neither of them believed that all because of their chance meeting that the two different worlds of the true pedigree and the wild wilderness would collide . . . and soon become something as pure as young love.

The female finally offered up a response, nearly tripping over her choice of words. "Nothing . . . I just . . . er . . . It’s just that I . . . um . . ." She knew he could clearly see the bashfulness in her face, knowing that she was getting completely flustered just at the mere thought of him. "Um . . . I’m sorry, but what were we talking about again?" She let out a soft laugh that was obviously a mixture of nervousness and denial of her true feelings.

"Jenna, you’re . . . You’re blushing!" Balto’s cheeks began to follow suit as well while he couldn’t stop himself for chuckling at the sight. She is so cute when she’s like this, he commented in his mind, making himself smile at the sight. She really isn’t the stuck-up girl everyone seemed to make her out to be just because of her breeding . . . I wonder . . . oh, I wonder if she really does love me the way I do her?

"Oh!" She scampered to where the sea met the sand, managing to look at herself on the surface of the water. Indeed, everything that was once white on her fur now appeared a flushed red . . . but she had already known that prior to seeing her reflection. The husky managed to smile at the sight of herself, chuckling. "I guess I am blushing!"

By the time she finally spoke at the water, the brown-gray male had already joined her side, his reflection appeared beside hers, also with a grin on his scruffy face. "It looks beautiful on you, you know." His wet nose managed to brush against her cheek.

"So does yours," she commented, adding for some conversation and also turning her nose to meet his in a sweet touch. "You know, I’m glad to have spent today with you, Balto." She lowered her nose, giggling softly. "After all, you are a hero . . . You saved my girl and all of the others that were sick, even risking your own life to do so."

He lifted his nose embarrassingly, chuckling at her praise. "Now, now . . . I only felt that it was my duty to help those kids, that’s all. Any dog with a real heart would have done the same, right?"

"Of course they would," She nodded, not realizing that she was now sitting beside him, rubbing her cheek and nose against his warm neck. "and I thank you so much."

"You know, you don’t have to say anything," The wolf-dog almost flinched at the sudden touch of the husky against him – he still wasn’t used to being accepted positively, especially since it was days ago when people wished to hurt him and treat him as a dangerous, wild animal – but she felt smooth and silky on his fur. "It was because of you that I was able to make it through."

She stopped, turning his attention to him suddenly. "Huh? What do you mean?"

The male chuckled at her surprise. "When you . . . came to help me against that bear," he reminded. "I’ve never known a husky to be so brave before, especially to someone like me." A smile cloaked his rugged face, but it faded as he took a glance to her lifted foreleg. It was carefully wrapped in a white bandage. "Sorry you had to get hurt because of me, Jenna. At least both you and Rosy are okay."

"What, this?" She did a double take on her wound and him, trying to act surprised. "This was nothing, Balto. We aren’t called ‘man’s best friend’ for nothing, you know." Suddenly, her tone grew sad, causing her velvet ears to slide to her neck. One would think that she looked as if she were about to cry at any moment. "When I was watching Rosy from the windowsill, I felt . . . felt so . . . so powerless. She’s my human . . . and I couldn’t do anything to help her get better . . ." Sniffling, she wiped a couple of thin tears from her eyes as she continued.

"Jenna, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to," the male sensed aloud.

She shook her head sadly. He was right though – she didn’t feel comfortable saying all of this, but the husky felt it was a way to give herself some closure. "I didn’t want to lose hope, Balto . . . you know that . . . but I’ve never felt so useless in my life. I love Rosy with all of my heart . . . and I couldn’t bear to see her struggle alone . . ." Her nose was very low, nearly touching the water’s

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