truth sooner,” Balto still wasn’t convinced that he could forgive Jenna. He let out a sigh. “You remember the past few years, we’ve been through many battles that have put our fidelity on the line.”

He could name several different events that they had been through, each was within the past few years. The first time was Balto’s “supposed” fling with Trinea, who was soon revealed to be nothing more than a she-dog that only wanted him and didn’t care about ruining his relationship with Jenna. Drake and the laws of Nome gave Jenna the power to separate from Balto as she raised her third litter at the time, Blaize and Jadze – both who were only week-old pups then; not being able to see his latest litter was hard for Balto to comprehend, and he even risked possible death just to be in Jenna’s presence once again. Thankfully while Jenna found the proof she needed to believe that Balto had not lied to her, Balto had run far and wide to find the sole witness of that fateful night that never happened. Things returned nearly back to normal for over a year, and despite the family tragedies and problems that would await them, they both promised that they would tell the truth from now on.

But it was Balto’s friendly days with Angel, a female who seemed to be more of a perfect match for him than Jenna, that nearly ended it all. Jenna was away on a vacation to her hometown for a week, leaving more than enough time for anything to happen to Balto and his new “girlfriend,” but one night in the boiler room made him realize that this had gone too far. Even when he confessed his mistake to his mate when she returned, her family turned their backs on him and even Jenna found another male to keep company with as Balto tore himself up inside. Eventually, he couldn’t help but to worry for Jenna’s safety when he learned that she had been shot by a strange man, but things worked out as Jenna was saved and her companion sacrificed himself for them, caring more about her well-being than anything.

But this . . . this time, he was the victim, and Jenna was the unfaithful party. Balto remembered how it felt to hear such harsh and cruel words from those that he once loved . . . his parents-in-law, his own daughter, even his canine friends punished him during those hard times. He could hear those threats and phrases that made him want to die back then still ringing in his ears . . .

“ . . . You ever, ever come back to my daughter again, I’ll find you . . . and that’ll be the last time anyone sees you . . .” Flash, Jenna’s father . . . not a dog that one would want to get fired up. He was a Malamute, black and white like Steele. but usually more sociable and easier to get along with than Balto’s former rival. Max, however, was much like Jenna in looks, but was a bit larger due to her sled-dog lineage – she was her mother after all, but she didn’t appreciate the fact that Balto would even think about breaking her daughter’s heart the way he did back then.

“. . . I’d have thought you would’ve learned that lesson with Trinea, but no, . . . I guess you didn’t . . .” Drake, the former Keeper of the Law had told him that when he first learned that Jenna had been seeing someone else. The husky was a good friend and a trustworthy canine that had been considered as a part of his own family. To think that he’s no longer with us, Balto thought of his friend with a hint of sadness. Sure, I was angry that he had to separate Jenna from me, but I would never . . . never do anything to harm his family like what Jenna supposedly did to his son . . . On a fateful night after Jenna’s banishment from Nome, Drake had blamed him for something that he didn’t do. Despite Balto denying that he had anything to do with what Drake was implying, the two of them fought viciously; Duke heard the noise of barks and growls and instinctively shot the husky, killing him instantly. It was only out of protection that Balto had kept what really happened to Drake a secret, but only he and Drake’s widow knew the real truth while the rest of town was told that he was a casualty while investigating a dangerous case one night. Still, Balto couldn’t believe that Drake, a dog that he shared a similar appearance to and a close bond of friendship with, was dead.

“. . . Mom told us not to talk to strange dogs . . . I don’t know who you think you are, but my dad is dead . . .” That was Sheae – he knew that that this current situation was hurting her more than any of his other pups, probably because of her sensitive emotions when it came to family. That situation with Angel, that hurt her more than anything, Balto thought. I understand Sheae’s worry about me and why she’s so concerned . . . He knew that all children had a born ability to easily sense when their parents were having problems or if something was wrong, but she was his youngest daughter after all. Sheae loved both of her parents, but the thought that he would break her mother’s heart like that was something she couldn’t understand . . . now with this situation going on, Balto wasn’t sure what his little girl would think of doing.

“ How about you leave, now . . . I don’t even know who you are . . .” But it was her words . . . Jenna’s words . . . that were the most painful of all to hear. He loved her, started a family with her, and wanted nothing more than to live out the rest of his days with her by his side. But still after all we had been through, she ended up taking me back . . . he reminded himself. He didn’t want to cause the one he loved any pain, not like how she had done to him when it was the other way around.

I don’t understand this . . . what can I do? 

“I . . . I just don’t know how to handle this, Jenna,” he told her after sitting down. His tone was quieter now, but it didn’t change how he felt about the situation. “When you were the victim, everyone hated me for what I did to you . . . even you did, but still . . .” He sighed again, completely frustrated. “Still, you took me back . . . even after I told the truth of what happened between me and Angel, you still ended up eventually taking me back after causing you so much pain . . . but this . . . this . . .” His ears flattened against his neck as he tried to stop himself from getting barking mad at the one he loved. “We promised to tell the truth to each other, even in the bad times! How the hell could you even do this?”

“Balto,” Jenna murmured, surprisingly silencing her mate before he could finish his sentence. “I know . . . I know you’re upset, but back then, I really thought that I had no choice but to start over.” Her ears fell as well as she groomed the five pups that nursed on her belly. “I told him . . . I told him several times that you were my mate already and that I would soon return to you once I figured a way to do so without getting killed, but after seeing the only other dog that could help me survive nearly get killed by a bear, . . . I mean, what else could I do?” Tears streaked down her cheeks once again, her speech began to blubber. “I stayed with Dolo because I still loved you, Balto . . . I didn’t want anything to happen to you because of me returning to Nome, so that’s why . . . that’s why I . . .”

Balto knew the rest of what she was going to say. “I know, you told me that back then when I found you, remember?” He sighed deeply at the repetition of what he was hearing. “But still, you didn’t have to . . . you know . . .” His rugged muzzle pointed directly to the whimpering litter beside her.

Jenna quickly figured out what he meant and tried her hardest not to blush as she lowered her nose in disappointment. “I know, but . . . but it’s not like I didn’t feel any regret when it happened.” She closed her eyes, picturing that night after the bear attack when she and Dolo slept together in the cave . . .

* * * * *

She had just returned back from hunting by herself, carrying a couple of small rabbits in her mouth. It had taken her days to finally learn that killing prey was the only way to survive in the wild, but she had been born into a life of humans supplying her every need – her hesitation was natural because she wasn’t born into the wild at all. Her red-orange bandanna, her only link to her past life in Nome, continued to look wet, tattered and quite dirty around her neck as she dropped the kill from her mouth and quickly scampered to the brown-gray wolf that lay near the back of the cool cavern.

“Oh, Dolo . . . Are you feeling any better?” He had been injured from the morning’s sudden attack by a large bear, but thankfully he was still alive. “I caught some dinner for us. Hopefully it’ll be enough to recover your strength.”

The wolf carefully lifted himself up and smiled. “And you too – you hurt yourself as well.” He easily reminded her of her own injuries – her back was now covered in dried blood from the wound she had received, as well as on her foreleg, causing her to still limp lightly. “You’ll make your wounds worse if you keep moving so much.”

“Oh, this? This is nothing,” She carefully placed her nose against his, inhaling his musky scent into her nostrils. “But you’re my number one priority right now, Dolo. Your leg is hurt and I have to make sure that you get well.” She let out a soft chuckle. “Besides, I can take care of myself now, . . . thanks to you.”

“You were such a wonderful student, after all,” Dolo returned the gesture, kissing her on the nose. “And such a beautiful one at that.”

Jenna began to lay down beside him, chuckling in embarrassment. “Dolo, stop . . . you’re embarrassing me!” He continued to tickle her with the wetness of his nose, kissing all over her neck and face. “What about your leg? You need to rest and regain your strength!”

At those words, Dolo stopped, not realizing at first that he had managed to tackle her to the ground in a