Chapter One

Balto stuck his pitch black nose into the early morning breeze. The sun had barely begun to creep over the horizon, shooting rays over the landscape. It was simply beautiful. The crisp air calmed his tightened muscles covered by coarse brown fur, showing some gray from his older age. But somewhere in the distance, he heard a yelp and ferocious barking and snarling.

He sighed as he rolled his tired yellow eyes seeking the sun for relief from arthritis. There was no hurry to save whoever was in a tussle, usually, but this seemed serious. Looking to the direction where the sound came from, he leaped into a fast-paced walk. Over the dunes of sand he found his daughter Aleu, challenging his adopted daughter Onyx to a fight. He wondered what it could be over this time.

“All right, girls!” he stated, breaking up the argument. “What's the trouble?”

“This crazy half breed kicked sand in my eyes!” cried Aleu, temper growing in her forbidden eyes.

“I am not a crazy half breed! And I did not kick sand in your eyes!” protested Onyx. “How I would like to kick your tail! You don't even know that you're a...”

Balto coughed to cover up Onyx's raging fury. “Wolf” would have been the word used, but Aleu still did not have a home. And finding out just now that she was part wolf would make things worse.

“That'll do, Onyx,” he said softly. She growled at him, then Aleu just as he began walking closer to them. Aleu bore a smile on her face, just as usual, but Onyx's fur was sticking up in back. Teeth barred, nose wrinkled, Balto could tell that Aleu had done it this time. “You two still can't get along after a year? The tension between you both has only gotten worse. If I hear one more growl out of either one of you, I'll...figure something out...” He began walking away just as Onyx seemed to calm down, but Aleu couldn't stand to see the fight leave her paws so quickly.

“Papa! You're just going to let her get her way? She never gets punished for being so mean to me!” shouted Aleu, eyes filling up with tears.

“Oh, bologna! You're just waiting to pick a fight so that you can insult me because I am part wolf. You insult me because my father ditched me, and...you just never get off my back!” replied Onyx.

“Papa! Please make her stop!”

“Oh, don't play little miss innocent. If he wasn't here, you'd have no problem fighting back. After all, you're the one who starts everything!”

“Onyx, don't make this worse than it already is,” said Balto. “Both of you...just split up for a while. That'll solve the problem for now. Please just try to avoid each other.”

“Yes, Papa,” stated Aleu.

“Yes, sir,” grumbled Onyx.

For once in her life, she wished that Balto would let her stand her own ground and fight Aleu. It would give her a lesson. After all, she nearly picked on Onyx every day because of all the tragedies that had happened so early in her life. It wasn't Onyx's fault that her father, Steele had left her and her older brothers to Jenna and Balto after her mother died in childbirth. Or maybe it was. So many questions buzzed around her brain like a swarm of bees.

Even though she was greatly troubled, there was work to do. The race was today to see who would work on the dog sled team. Onyx knew that she could make it even though they didn't accept her the previous month, just because she was Steele's daughter. Since Steele left town and refused to bring back the medicine during a crisis, the humans declined her acceptance in the sled team. Perhaps they though that she would follow in her father's footsteps, if she had ever seen her father.

 The town was gathering full of people, more than Onyx had ever seen. One look over through the crowd, she realized why. Kodi was getting ready to race. He was always challenging her to a competition and then pretended to feel so bad whenever she had to be kicked out.

Well, this was her time to show him! They wouldn't dare disqualify her this time, would they? If she didn't make the team, where would she belong? There were no lines connecting the dots in her life. Nothing ever seemed to make sense, especially through the eyes of her oldest brother Jasper.

She spotted him prancing among the crowd, making a scene. Everyone always thought that he acted so much like his father. Onyx could swear that it often got to his head.

“Onyx? What are you doing here? I thought I told you to never come back in this race again,” he roughly said.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, Jasper!” she replied sarcastically. “When does this big fiasco, or race begin? After all, what would I know about all this...”

“Listen, Onyx, if I catch you running in this race, you know what I will do. I will never, never, never allow you to even watch another town race even from Balto's boat. Do you got it?”

“So what if I run in the race? What do you have against it? Would it be the major embarrassment if you baby sister happened to outrun the greatest champion? The only reason that you are accepted and I am not is because they think that it would be stupid to not place such a strong dog on the sled team.  

"The race is starting, but I'm warning you! One stupid decision is all it takes."

"Oooo, you scare me, Jasper," Onyx growled sarcastically.

As her older brother waltzed away, Onyx could feel the hot blood gathering in her face, almost to the point where it would pop off her head and send it rolling through the snow. Jasper made her so mad whenever she saw him. It was almost like he treated her like a baby, which he had her entire life. She would show him! She would get to be in that race if it was the last thing she'd do.

Chapter Two

The dogs began to line up. Onyx's head spun from excitement. She crept up behind Kaltag and Star where she would not be noticed. Kodi and Jasper were too focused on the finish line to see her, anyway. The gunshot rung in her ears, and before she knew it, she was behind all the dogs, their snow stinging her eyes. Picking up her pace, she passed up all the malamutes in the back. She would have no chance of winning if Balto was in this race, but ever since his heroic act, it wasn't necessary for him to race. He was always automatically on the team.

Onyx felt the cold rush of air sink into the depths of her winter coat. The sting of the snow on her unprotected feet was worse than the defeat of losing. Jasper was just ahead and Kodi was behind her, but that was to be predicted. The finish line was just ahead and hopefully Jasper wouldn't turn his head to the left and see her. There were only a few more steps. Then, the moment came. Over her dizziness and the deafening racket from the cheering humans, she noticed Jasper approaching her, a great scowl on his face.

“Onyx, I thought I told you to never, never, never even think about running in this...”

“Get over yourself, Jasper! You can't hold on my leash forever,” she snapped back.

A snarl came over his expression, causing his lips to curl, his eyes to squint, and eyebrows dropped, nearly covering his eyes.

“Onyx, when we get home, I'll...”

A human walked up to the winners. Onyx had placed fourth in a long line of huskies.

“Let's see here...”he said to himself. “Look at that, Frank! Missy and Steele's daughter placed again. She really is a racer of careful breeding.”

“Lou, you and I both know it would be a disaster if we placed her in a sled. Don't you remember what happened to Steele? He ran out on us after he didn't make it as a lead dog. Now there's no way that we can allow her to run.”

“Sorry, girl,” said the man, taking off the harness he just put on. It looks like you're just not cut out to be a sled dog.”

Onyx growled to herself. Jasper took the opportunity to prove that he was accurate.

“See, Onyx,” he said softly. “I tried to spare you the sorrow. You just cannot be in a sled team. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. You can never...”

“Oh, shut up, Jasper! Don't you ever tell me never!” Onyx wandered to the far end of town, rage burning in her eyes. Fangs barred, she growled at the lonely town of Nome. “And my mother's name is not Missy! It's Jade, but you stupid humans wouldn't know the difference! You don't know anything except how to put someone into exile!"

Chapter Three

Tears streamed down her face as she ran to beach, not far from Balto's boat. The wind brushed against the delicate black fur that sheltered her face. Sand stuck to her cheeks, drenched. Cold air swirled around her, sharing its grief as the day dragged on into noon. The sun was high, but was nearly covered by colorless clouds. The whole world was ending, in Onyx's eyes. Each passing day dragged on, just getting worse and worse.

Even through the blurry vision from the tears, Onyx could make out that she was accompanied by a stranger when a shadow fell over her. Although she could sense he was there, she did not know who he was.

“Are you all right?” he asked with a soothing, yet strong voice.

“No,” she answered. “Everything around me is falling apart. I don't know what to do.”

His strong legs knelt under him so he could see eye to eye with her. Although Onyx was too upset to point out the details, it was hard to miss the black star on his forehead. Most of his body was white, but his back was a mixture of black and red. His eyes were the first thing she noticed. They were brown, soft, but firm, almost like Jasper's.

“I'm Maverick.”

“I'm....Onyx,” she said within sobs.

“I was just walking along the beach when I saw you. Won't you tell me what's the matter?”

Onyx explained her feelings to him. She let everything fall out of her soul, just telling him all that had ever happened to her, and he listened silently.

“And you see, I just don't know what's wrong with me,” Onyx said, her voice finally returning to normal after a long cry. “I don't think I belong here. I have no family, just my brothers. Balto and Jenna are my adopted parents, and Aleu...don't get me started on her. The things she says to me, and I don't know why, but I can't help it.”

“I don't think you should let it get to you so easily. I have a hard time fitting in too. After all, my father is wolf and my mother is husky, so I never get a break.”

“You're part wolf?”

“Yes. Hope I don't freak you out or anything.”

“No, I'm part wolf as well. My mother was more than half wolf, so I inherited some of her traits.”

“Really, wow!” Maverick exclaimed. “Hey, a couple of my friends are getting together tonight. Would you like to come?”

“Sure. In fact, I hope I can see you more often. You've made me feel so much better.”

“Great! So, it's a date?”

“Yes, I'll meet you here at...”

“Sunset.”

“Okay, see you then!”

As Maverick walked away, Jasper replaced him. Another scowl was on his face, only this time, it looked as if Onyx was really in for it.

“Oh, dear, brother! What did I do now?”

“Onyx, who was that you were talking to?” he asked sternly.

“His name's Maverick, and he's a really good guy. I was over here at the beach and...”

“How do you know that he's such a good guy? Do you know what his intentions are?”

“What are your intentions after you ruin my life, Jasper? I'm not a baby! Furthermore, you are not my father, no matter how much you want to act like him!”

“Onyx, I don't mean to harass, I just...”

“Oh, sit on it! I'm tired of your games. Just let me live my life. Geez! What does Winter see in you that makes her like you so much?”

“Leave her out of this! I'll swing by Balto's at sunset, and if you're not there, I'll take matters into my own paws. How would you like to live with me from now on?”

“You wouldn't!”

“Count on it! See you tonight at Balto's, right sis? And remember now, sunset.”

Gulp!

(to be continued in Dawn 'Til Dusk: Part Two)