Luk,” he said while pointing to the larger bear.

“How did you two get here?” Balto asked.

“We were with our mum and then we saw the big people come,” Muk replied. “She told us to run, but we heard this loud boom and she fell down. We tried to help her up, but she wouldn’t move and then the big people caught us. They took our mum away, and put us in here,” he finished and then started to cry again.

“You’ve lost your mother… ” Balto replied. The ‘loud boom’ they described was probably a gun and if what they said was true, then their mother was gone. The cubs were just like him a year ago; scared, alone and orphaned. “Jenna, we’ve got to get them out of here now!”

“What?”

“They can’t stay here like this. They have no one to look after them,” he said and lowered his voice so the cubs wouldn’t hear the next part. “And if the humans already killed their mother for meat, they’re probably next.” Jenna nodded in agreement; staying here would be death for the cubs. But before they could think up a plan, the owner of the butcher shop came out and saw Balto.

“Hey you wolfdog! Get out of here. Go on, get!” he said as he brandished a broom, swinging it at Balto. Balto backed off, but he wasn’t willing to leave the cubs.

“Jenna, I need just a few minutes to figure these locks out. Can you buy me that time?” he asked, and dodged another swing of the broom.

“I’ll do my best,” Jenna replied. She grabbed the broom in her jaw and yanked it out of the butcher’s hand. “Good luck,” she said before running off with it.

“Hey give that back!” he shouted while he ran after Jenna. With him occupied, Balto was clear to do his work. He looked over the cages, and saw that the doors were only held closed with metal pins. Balto tapped it with his paw and found that the pins were quite loose. Getting an idea, he wedged his claw underneath the head of the pin and pulled it up. The pin slid out and the door swung open, releasing the smaller bear. He repeated that with the second cage and by the time the butcher returned, Balto and the bears were long gone.

“Pulling pins out of doors; I’ll have to remember that trick,” he thought as the cubs followed him back to his boat. Boris was more than surprised when Balto returned with two polar bear cubs, and at first wanted them out, but Balto begged and pleaded to let them stay. Only after Balto told him that they had been orphaned like him did the old goose relent. The bears warmed up to Boris in no time flat, and were soon calling him ‘Uncle Boris’. They still missed their mother, but Balto and Boris made sure the bears never felt alone.

----------

Chapter 6: Pushed Too Far

When Balto reached Jenna’s house the sun had already started to set. The citizens of the town were heading home for the night and soon the town would be empty. “Perfect, we’ll have the town to ourselves tonight,” he thought as he approached Jenna’s house. The door to her shed was slightly ajar. “Jenna, are you in here?” he asked as he poked his head in. Sure enough, she was there, having a quick nap.

“Mm, Balto? I was wondering when you’d get here,” she replied as she got up and stretched herself. Balto held the door open for her as she walked out of the shed, and soon they were off on their first real date.

“So, is there anywhere you want to go tonight?” he asked her.

“I don’t know. I just wanted a walk around the town. Maybe we’ll think of something on the way,” she replied. And so they went all around the town, not caring which direction they went. They had each other and that was more than enough. They walked through the town, telling each other stories and laughing at each other's jokes. Soon, the sun had completely disappeared, and only the moon illuminated the town.

“I’ve always liked the town at night,” Balto started. “I enjoyed the peaceful nights.”

“Well now you have someone to enjoy them with you,” Jenna replied and nuzzled him. He returned it with his own nuzzle, and they continued their stroll through the town.

----------

Balto and Jenna weren’t the only dogs out that night. Steele had decided to leave his hiding place and get some fresh air. He had hoped to spend the day being the hero, but instead he had been cooped up in hiding. Balto had made sure of that.

“This is all Balto’s fault. If it weren’t for him, I’d be the hero of the day. If it weren’t for him, those kids would have been petting me and giving me treats. If it weren’t for him, I’d have Jenna as my own.” Suddenly, a pair of voices approaching interrupted his thoughts. He instantly recognized them as Balto and Jenna’s. A cold wind had started to pick up, blowing through his thick fur.

“It’s getting a little nippy,” he heard Jenna say.

“Do you want to call it a night?” Balto asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ve had such a great time with you, I don’t want it to end,” she replied.

“You could’ve had a great time with me if you had given me a chance," he thought as he gave out a low growl.

“How about this; the old mill’s just a block away,” he suggested. “We can stay the entire night if you want.” They were just around the corner from him. All Steele needed them to do was walk a few more feet ahead and he could hit Balto with a sneak attack. Another gust of wind blew, this one much stronger than the first.

“Brrrrr. Okay, the mill it is,” Jenna replied. “Balto, did you always have to sleep in cold weather like this?”

“Sometimes, but I had a boat to shelter me and a blanket to keep me warm,” Balto replied. “There were a few chilly nights, but it was never as bad as when I went out to find…” Suddenly his head shot up. “… Steele.”

“I can’t imagine what that would be like at all... Balto what is it?”

“It’s Steele. He’s here, I can smell him on the wind,” Steele realized that he was upwind of Balto and his scent had been blowing into the street for a while. Any second Balto would round the corner and he would be caught, but Steele did not try to run. This was what he wanted - a chance to face Balto one on one. He waited for him to come around the corner, but he never did. Seconds passed, then minutes, but he still didn’t appear. Cautiously, he poked his head out of the alley and saw that the street was empty.

“Where did you go wolfdog?” he said out loud.

“I’m right here Steele,” Steele had barely turned around when Balto tackled him from above. While he had been waiting, Balto had snuck around and climbed up onto the roof above. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and Balto held him down with his paws.

“Well, well we meet again wolfdog. Enjoying your little date?” Steele taunted. However, Jenna was not there. “Probably ran off.”

“Didn’t your parents tell you to not spy on others?”

“Maybe, but do you think I would’ve gotten anywhere if I listened to them?” Balto may have surprised him, but Steele was bigger and stronger than him, not to mention the fact that he played dirty. He snapped up, not intending to hit him, just surprise him. His tactic worked, with Balto jumping back to avoid the blow, allowing Steele to get up to face his adversary. He lunged at Balto again and again, but Balto had learned from his past fight with Steele and backed off to avoid the attacks. He was avoiding the attacks, but Steele was pushing him deeper and deeper into the alley and farther away from any help.

Suddenly, Steele switched tactics and moved from a direct frontal attack to coming in from the side. He managed to knock Balto off his feet and bit down on his shoulder. He could feel his teeth scraping against the shoulder bone and enjoyed hearing Balto scream out in pain. Balto was down, but not out. He grabbed a hold of Steele’s front leg in his jaws, and yanked it out from under him. Steele was pulled down and the two canines rolled around, locked onto each other with their jaws until they went through a doorway and into an old, abandoned building.

Finally, Balto managed to free himself from Steele’s grip and rolled back to put some distance between them. Steele stood up with no trouble, and smirked when he saw Balto struggling to get himself up. Balto’s shoulder was in bad shape, as a narrow gash had been torn open by Steele’s bite. Blood ran down the shaking leg as it struggled to support his weight. The building they had rolled into was a remnant of Nome's gold rush days. When the gold ran out, the owners left with their treasure, leaving behind only a rusting oven and a few loose nails while the building rotted. Steele remembered this place; he and Balto had been here before.

“Well well, this looks familiar. Haven’t we been here before?” Steele asked, but Balto didn’t reply. He had always regretted what had happened here.

----------

One year earlier, Winter 1924

After their last tussle, Steele decided to get back at Balto in the meanest way possible. He lied and told all the dogs that Balto had attacked him unprovoked. That increased their hate for the wolfdog, and they stepped up their harassment. Before, they would either chase him away or avoid him entirely, but now, they would surround him and taunt him