Gus, Eryn, Iron, Quinn (c) Catwhohas14tails

Moose, Giulia, Jacob, Harlo & Novak (c) Wicked_Innocence

Moose paced back and forth anxiously along the shoreline. Her auburn coat was soaked from the sea spray. She'd been there all morning waiting for him, so where was he? She positioned herself towards his father's boat and sat down. Moose could feel the swells breaking softly over her back. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, she saw a blur of red fur trotting towards her.

The Chinook mix stood up. "It's about time you showed up, Gus!"

The wolf dog stopped in his tracks and yawned. "Sorry Moose. I overslept."

Moose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure you did."

The red dog slumped his shoulders. "I did! Stephen's mom forgot to let me in the house last night and I couldn't fall asleep!"

The female turned away from him. The warmth of the sun beat down on her as its rays illuminated the beads if moisture on her fur. The summer weather did little to warm her though and she began to shiver from being cold.

Gus nudged her. "Are you mad at me?"

Moose whipped her head around. "Why should you care?!"

He lowered his ears. "Because you're my friend and I feel bad for making you wait. And look, you're soaking wet. I don't want you to get sick."

Coincidentally, Moose crinkled her nose as a sneeze forced its way out. "See what I mean?"

"Yeah." Moose sniffled.

"Still feel up to going running?"

She shivered. "No. Not really. I think I'm going to just go home."

Gus smiled. "I'll walk you."

The pair made their way up the beach, past Balto's boat and into town. Luckily, Moose's owner was a fan of fishing and it wasn't terribly far from the shore. Gus delivered her home safely and began to wander. It was still early. Why not visit Eryn?

He was getting close to her house now. Just a quick jog down the alley and he should be there in no time. Unless...

"Going to see your human, wolf-dog?"

....Iron ran into him. Gus lowered his ears as the blonde and white malamute mix began to circle him. "M-maybe."

Iron rolled his eyes. "You're STILL going after her? Man, I thought by now you'd find a female to have a little fun with! You must repel them or something..."

"Not exactly." Gus mumbled.

The bigger dog raised his eyebrows disdainfully. "Oh really? And who in their right mind would chase you of all canines, hmm?"

The red hybrid shifted uneasily. "Kaltag's niece. Moose..."

"Moose!" Iron bellowed. "Well it's better than nothing. If anything, I'd take advantage of an opportunity if I were you, mutt. A chance like this might slip away..."

"It's not like that though!" Gus retorted. "I mean, I like Moose as a friend but-"

"But what?"

Gus swallowed. "She's too controlling and pushy. She's just not my type!"

Iron turned his back and scoffed. "Beggars can't be choosers."

******

The next morning greeted Moose with the sunlight bleeding through the kitchen window. She felt much better this morning and felt like a walk. The morning air was crisp and felt refreshing. She could tell today would be interesting. She'd round up Gus and they'd go running like she wanted yesterday.

Moose strolled up to her friend's front door and started to scratch. No answer. She began to whine as she continued scratching. Still no answer. Usually he would have been let out by now.

'Fine.' She thought. 'I'll just go find something else to do.'

The female began to walk towards Balto's boat in the hopes that she'd find Gus visiting with his father, though she knew she probably shouldn't get her hopes up. As her paws touched the sand she stopped in her tracks. Gus was running in the surf after a stick with a human girl. A human!

Just then he stopped and looked directly at her. He'd caught her scent and the human began speaking softly to him as she stroked his crimson fur. She'd spotted Moose too.

Moose had never seen this girl before, so why was Gus hanging around her? She didn't recognize her as one of Stephen's family members, and she knew that they hadn't sold Gus. What was going on?

Before Gus could make any moves towards her, Moose stormed off to the boiler room to think. None of this made sense to her. Sure, she spent a lot of time hanging out at Gus's house and his human family welcomed her, even treated her like their own. But they'd never acted as close to her as this human was acting with Gus. She sighed as she sunk to the floor and buried her face in her paws.

"What's the matter, mutt? Can't hold onto a man?"

Moose whipped her head around to see Iron. "Well look who's calling who a mutt. Hello pot, meet kettle."

Iron growled at her. "At least my mate isn't some kind of freak who's got a human fetish!"

"He's not my mate!" She snarled. "And what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'human fetish'?"

The malamute mix smirked. "You saw that girl he was with down by the beach? He loves her. And not in the normal way, if you catch my drift."

"That's a lie." Moose said. "No dog in their right mind would fall in love with a human!"

Iron smirked. "And he's not in his right mind. You haven't noticed it?"

Moose just stared at him before he continued. "The only way you'd be able to break this craze is if you were having his puppies."

Moose snapped out of her trance. "Puppies?! Gus would never go for it! He's... He's too shy."

"I never said they had to be Gus's puppies, idiot." He snapped. "Get someone else to father them and tell Gus they're his!"

Moose looked appalled. "It'd never work. He'd know they weren't his."

Iron rolled his eyes. "Not if the father looked enough like Gus. That way the pups would resemble him and there'd be no denying it." He paused. "I'm done trying to help you. It's just not getting through your head."

Moose didn't notice him leave. She was still thinking. There weren't too many other red males in Nome. None that weren't related to Gus, anyway.

A sudden noise alerted her to another dog's presence. She sat up straight and turned to see two males in the doorway. One was rather bulky and brownish while the other was slim and... Red. She recognized them as Kirby and Gus's brother Kodi. Their eyes met and Kodi whispered something to the other male. He nodded and left.

"Hello there Moose."

And then it clicked in her head. The defensive expression on her face melted away to... seduction? and she strode to Kodi's side.

"Hey there." She said winking at him. There was a hint of lust in her voice. It was making Kodi uncomfortable and he began to squirm.

"What...What are you doing?"

The brown dog straightened up and all traces of her earlier intentions were gone. "I have a proposition for you, Kodi."

Startled, Kodi tried to slink away. "And what might that be?"

"You see," Moose began, "lately Gus hasn't been paying as much attention to me as I'd like him to."

"And how would I be able to fix that?"

As if turned on by a switch, Moose's "loving" personality was back and she was inches away from Kodi's face. "Pups."

Kodi's eyes went wide as the words trailed out of her mouth. "How would that solve anything?!"

The female chuckled. "Because I'd tell Gus they were his, of course."

"He's not stupid, Moose, he'd know if they were his." Kodi argued.

The charm switched back off. "Not if they looked enough like him."

"He knows how that works, Moose. I think he'd remember something like that."

She began to circle the red male, flicking her tail under his nose playfully. "But how would he deny it if the proof were right there?"

Kodi shook her off. "And what makes you think I'd be willing to help you?"

Moose smirked. "Because if you don't, everyone in the town will know about your little," he laughed, "romance, with Kirby."

His jaw dropped. "My what?!"

"You heard me!" She growled. "If you don't, I'll tell everyone that you and Kirby love each other!"

"But that's not true!" Kodi sputtered.

"Then I guess you should give me what I want then."

Kodi swallowed hard. "If I do this." He swallowed again. "If I do this, you'll stay quiet though? I mean, you won't ruin my reputation by lying about me?"

Moose smiled. "Of course not."

The male's eyes darted back and forth across the boiler room. If he didn't comply, Moose would spread a horrible rumor about him and his reputation would be shattered. But if he did, he'd be hurting his brother.

"Well?"

Kodi sighed. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Oh, and Kodi?"

"What?"

"Not a word of this to anyone, or I WILL make sure you're ruined."

******

As the weeks went by and Moose's owner noticed she'd put on a bit of weight. Not too noticeable, but it was enough for him to take her to the vet. Upon a closer examination of the canine, it was confirmed that she was carrying puppies and that she’d be having them quite soon. Moose was ecstatic at the news. Now Gus would have to stop chasing that human.

She was careful not to go out much while she was carrying "Gus's" pups. That way, It'd be more of a surprise. She'd wait just long enough until she was ready to give birth to tell him about "his" pups and this meant that she had little interaction with anyone.

Towards the end of her term, she heard something rustling outside of her house early in the morning. She rose from her bed and stretched. Her belly scraped along the floor as she loosened her legs and a feeling of warmth flooded through her. She could feel her puppies moving. She heard the noise again and poked her head out of the doggy door. Through the morning mist, she could see a frail looking rusty colored male and her heart jumped in her throat.

"Gus!" She said a little flustered. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check on you 'cause I haven't seen you in weeks." He paused. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Moose shook her head. "Of course I'm not mad at you Gus."

He brightened up a bit. "Oh good! So do you have plans today? I've been hanging out with Dakota and it’s been doing nothing but getting me into trouble."

"No, I don't have plans.” She said happily. "I’ll be out in a minute."

She pulled her head back in and took a breath. Today was the day. Today he'd find out. In a burst of excitement, she darted (or as close to darting as she could) halfway through the little door. As she struggled for freedom, Gus hurried to her side.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Moose said with a tug. "I just can't get through. I'll wake Jacob up and have him let me out."

"Or I could just come in."

Moose scooted backwards as Gus entered through the flap with ease. Before he could see her swollen belly though, she was laying back in her bed.

"I don't think you should be here, Gus. Jacob might get angry."

This statement was, however, a complete lie. Her master loved all of the dogs in town and enjoyed whenever they came to visit. In fact, Gus happened to be one of his favorites. Especially since he suspected that Moose's puppies were fathered by him.

"Then I won't stay long."

He strode over to the bed and plopped himself down on the floor. Moose shifted uncomfortably in her basket. It was getting too small.

Gus cleared his throat. "You know, Kodi's been asking about you."

Moose felt a jolt of pain sear through her body. "Oh... Oh really? For what reason?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Just took an interest to you I guess. Wants to know how you’re doing, I suppose."

The female didn't see him wink at her. All she could focus on was the ripping pain shooting through her, as well as the overwhelming panic. Moose tried to hide the labor pains. She didn't want Gus to see her yet. Finally, no longer able to control herself, she yelped as loudly as one could, causing the male to jump.

"Are you all right?" He asked, half choking from being scared by the noise she just made.

Heavy footfalls could be heard from the stairs as Moose cringed again and howled. Jacob was no doubt on his way down after being startled by her last outburst. Gus stood frozen on his spot. What was happening? He didn't understand what was going on and it was scaring him. The kitchen door swung open with such force that the knob broke through the wall and made the wolf dog jump. A tall man with a thick head of hair and stubble on his chin and cheeks stood before him. His pale eyes assessed the situation and he left the room.

Gus looked to Moose, panting and looking miserable in her bed. After what felt like an eternity, Jacob returned to the kitchen with an armful of fresh sheets and a hot water bottle. He carefully maneuvered a sheet under Moose and the water bottle under that. After a few minutes, he finally noticed that Gus was there with him. He rose to his feet and gently led the red hybrid to the door by his collar.

"Out yeh go, Fella. Don't want you hur'in the little'un."

Gus hadn't had time to protest as he was shoved into the living room and the door was closed behind him. He heard the lock click and slumped to the floor. He'd never been in this room. His ears perked up as he heard Jacob scuffling across the floor behind the door. What on earth was going on?

Deciding to make the most of his imprisonment, he rose to his feet and began to sniff around the place. He must have combed the place three times before noticing a portrait on one of the floral printed walls. He stood on his back legs, balancing himself against the wall with his front paws, to get a better view. It was in an ornately carved cherry frame and there were three people in it.

If Gus hadn't known better, he would have thought that the man in the picture was someone else. There was a much cleaner cut version of Jacob in a suit instead of his usual haggard look. He looked younger and much happier in this picture. To his right was a woman who could have passed off as the prettiest human alive, next to Erynn that is. Her heart shaped face was framed by long curly locks of light hair. In between the two full grown humans was a small pup. She had the curly hair the woman had, and the same face, but her hair was as black as the man's.

As he brought his face closer to look, the door creaked open. There was the normal rugged and shaggy looking man. Gus dropped to the floor and tucked his tail in between his legs. He closed his eyes as the man approached him with his hand held out. He waited for the blow but it never came. Instead Jacob was patting him on the back and when he opened his eyes, Jacob had a wide grin spread across his face.

"Yeh did righ' good, ol' boy." Gus opened one golden eye at the human. What was he talking about? Was he supposed to put his feet on the walls or something?

"Would you like ter see the little’un?"

"The... the what?"

Jacob just laughed quietly to himself, not being able to recognize Gus's canine speech. The hybrid hung back as the heavy kitchen door swung open. Moose was in her usual spot in her basket under the window, her back turned to the other dog and her master. Eager to see what all the commotion was about, Gus tried pushing past Jacob, only to be stepped on by the large man. He let out a loud yelp and was answered by small squeaking sounds across the room. The dog stopped dead in his tracks and ignored the aching feeling in his back where Jacob’s foot had just been. Then the scent hit him. Blood. And… wet fur. Moose turned her head towards the hybrid and smiled weakly at him. Gus stood stock still, afraid of what he might find in the basket.

He stood there for a long while before, finally, Jacob gave him a shove and he found himself staring down at one single puppy attached to Moose’s belly. The hybrid’s jaw went slack and his heart skipped a beat. Moose had been pregnant. And he had no idea. The idea didn’t strike Gus as odd, actually. He figured she met a male one day and this is what was keeping her from their usual beach runs.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she, Gus?”

Gus’s jaw closed with an audible snap and he shook off his daze before clearing his throat. “Oh, um, yeah Moose. Who’s is she?”

The Chinook mix’s eyes widened. “Why Gus, don’t you remember?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Remember what?”

“Why Gus, she’s yours!” She exclaimed.

His thoughts were a swirling maelstrom of confusion and agony. “But… But that’s not possible!”

Moose’s anger melted into a pitiful expression and her lower lip quivered. Just as she was about to respond to Gus’s bewilderment, Jacob reached his hand out to touch the tiny newborn stuck like Velcro to her mother. Moose eyed him carefully as his huge hand passed over the pup’s back. Gus stood watching, unable to move. Finally, after a long, awkward, painful silence, Jacob spoke, as softly as Gus had ever heard him speak.

“I think I’m gonna call ‘er Giulia, after me own daughter.”

*****

Over the course of the next few days, Moose had all sorts of visitors from around town. News spread quickly of “Gus’s miracle”, and the hybrid was constantly ducking the attention of these nosy hounds wanting to know how on earth he could’ve gotten with a female. The fact of the matter was that he couldn’t quite honestly tell anyone exactly how it happened to begin with. Nothing had happened between him and Moose, and yet the evidence was clear: the single puppy with the same rusty red fur as him that she’d given birth to.

It was also quite clear that he couldn’t explain anything to his family. They’d assure him that it was perfectly all right for him to be shy about things such as mating, and that he didn’t need to talk about it with them. Just about “his” daughter and Moose. Even Quinn, whom he’d felt closest to, thought him silly to deny mating with anyone

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” She told him one day. “It’s a natural and beautiful thing.”

Gus blamed the hormones. She’d be expecting a family soon enough too.

The only one who seemed to listen to him was his brother Kodi. It seemed like he was just as puzzled with the situation. But Kodi knew exactly what happened and what the consequences were if he breathed a word of it to his brother, let alone anyone else. So for now, he just sat and listened to his grieving brother talking about his troubles.

As the weeks passed, Giulia began to be able to go outside, so long as she was accompanied by her mother. This, however, was an utterly useless effort on Jacob’s part in keeping the youngster safe, considering her mother was more interested in socializing than keeping and eye on her daughter. It wasn’t a totally lost cause, though. She’d made friends at least. But that still wasn’t an excuse for Moose to turn her loose on her own.

Kodi, however, took this time as a good opportunity to get to know Giulia better by following her, even keeping her safe. Even though he had a job, he’d tail the pup whenever he could.

And then it happened. One day while he and the rest of his team were getting ready for the morning mail run, he spotted a little fleck of red a few blocks down from the post office. He was staring intently at the pup, completely unaware of the harness he wore, or the other dogs’ company. It wasn’t until Kirby gave him a shove that Kodi snapped out of his thoughts.

“Are you okay?” He asked the hybrid. “You seem…”
”Distracted.” Dusty finished. She shot him an angry look. “You’re usually so focused during these runs, and chewing us out whenever the mail’s late.”

“Yeah, Kodi, you’re not normally like this.” Ralph said animatedly. “What’s up with you?”

Kodi sighed, and took his eyes off of Giulia for a split second to face his teammates. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“He’s upset Gus found a mate before he did.” Ralph whispered to Dusty. She nodded silently in agreement.

Kodi rolled his eyes and scoffed. He turned his head, and his eyes darted back and forth, looking for Giulia. Just then, she darted right past them, a blur of rust. Kodi breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. Two local strays, Harlo and Novak, who had admired Moose, were giving chase, determined to catch the nuisance that meant their chances with her mother were over. Panic overcame Kodi and his mind began to race. When they caught her…

“Oh God!” Kodi screamed as he frantically tugged at his harness. “They’re going to kill her! I have to go after her!”

He began to go into a frenzy, barking and jumped forward, trying to free himself from the wretched thing keeping him from his daughter. His wild instincts kicked in and he began o chew through the leather straps of his harness. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the straps broke and Kodi bolted after the trio of dogs. He could hear his team calling after him, but ignored it. He was determined to rescue an innocent pup. Thankfully, he’d inherited his father’s speed that saved those children all those years ago. It didn’t take them long before he caught up with them at the edge of a forest.

Novak noticed they were being followed and turned to his partner in crime. “Hey, look! It’s Mail-Dog to the rescue!”

He began to laugh wildly as they picked up speed, gaining on the pup. She was still ahead of them, but not by much, and all of a sudden, stopped short; a river was blocking her way of escape. She stood there, frozen with fear, unable to think clearly as to what she could do.

“Giulia!” Kodi screamed. “I’m coming!”

Her eyes were rimmed with tears at the sight of Kodi running towards her. He had managed to tackle his “comedian” friend, taking him down to the ground. Giulia’s heart skipped a beat when the stray turned his head and latched onto Kodi’ ear, pulling and tugging on it ferociously. Almost instantaneously, she bolted through the other assassin’s legs, jumping on Kodi’s attacker and sinking her needle sharp puppy teeth into his face repeatedly. Kodi was snarling as loud as a wild-eyed Grizzly, until he finally shook the dog off and watched him run deeper into the forest, his tail curled between his legs. Giulia rubbed her head on his legs.

“That was a close one.” Kodi breathed.

“But not close enough!”

Kodi whipped his head around as he heard Giulia squeal in fright. She was dangling from Harlo’s powerful jaws. She yelped in pain as he tightened them around her, and Kodi sprang, going right for the bigger dog’s throat. Harlo refused to let his catch go however, and began to slam his head into Kodi’s side, trying to knock him off. The hybrid’s wolf like instincts kicked in and he latched on harder, pushing the bigger dog and causing him to gasp in pain.

Everything seemed to slow down as Kodi watched the small pup fall through the air and plunge into the rushing water. His breath caught in his throat as he shoved past Harlo, and jumped into the drink after Giulia. The river pulled at him as he paddled his feet as hard as he could, trying to reach her, but the current had always kept her out of his reach. The minutes dragged on like hours, and Giulia had disappeared under the water.

*****

“So Gus,” the red and yellow hybrid asked, “how’s Giulia been doing?”

Her brother shifted uncomfortably. He hated having these conversations with his sister. But he couldn’t just ignore her. “Um… she’s fine. I haven’t seen her in a few days, though.”

Quinn raised her eyebrows. “Why not? She is your daughter, Dingo, you should be spending more time with her.”

“I know, Quinn, but-”

Just then, the door of the boiler room swung open and the familiar Chinook mix strolled in.

“Hello Gus.” She said sweetly as she licked him on the muzzle. It made Gus shift uncomfortably.

Quinn decided this would be as good a time as any to taker her leave so that her brother and Moose could have some “private time”. As she stepped out into the light of dusk, she felt something wet brush past her and saw a blur of red rushing into the boiler room. Realizing it was Kodi she turned back into the warm room.

“Kodiak?” She called. “What are you doing, look at you! You’re soaked to the bone and-”

Her words were cut short when she heard shouting inside. Kodi was angry about something, that was for sure. Quinn backed out into the alley so she wouldn’t be seen and pressed her ear against the door.

“I can’t believe you weren’t watching her!” This voice belonged to Kodi. He sounded extremely exhausted and hurt, but Quinn couldn’t tell who he was addressing, until a second voice spoke up.

“I was busy!” This time, the voice was that of Moose.

“Oh yeah.” Kodi spoke again, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. “Gossiping and hanging around with friends is something you should REALLY put over your own daughter’s safety!”

Then somebody growled and Moose started again. “It’s not just MY fault! Her father could have been watching-”

“I WAS watching her!” Kodi roared.

The boiler room grew very quiet. Quinn, half scared and half curious, poked her head into the room. Moose and Kodi were staring each other down while Gus looked frozen solid. Had she heard right? Suddenly, Moose recomposed herself.

“What are you talking about, Kodi?!” She shouted, almost desperately. “Gus is Giulia’s father!”

“Oh, come off it!” He retorted. “I told you he wouldn’t fall for it. But you’re too stupid to realize that. Did you honestly think that after a while he’d believe the lie?”

At this point, he began to circle her. She began looking extremely uncomfortable. She turned to Gus with pleading eyes.

Quinn finally stepped into the boiler room. Nobody seemed to notice her though, until she spoke.

"Kodi…Kodi, is… Is it true?” She said astonished. “You’re Giulia’s father?”

The grey and red hybrid sighed. “Yes. I am.”

Quinn turned her attention to Moose. “So you lied. Why on Earth would you do such a thing and pin the responsibility on Gus?”

Moose growled in frustration. “Because I liked him, that’s why! But he’s so stupid, he didn’t get the messages.”

Quinn returned her gaze to Kodi. “And why were you playing along with her sick little game?”

“Because…” Kodi mumbled.

“Because why?”

“Because she was going to spread a rumor about me and Kirby, that’s why!” He shouted.

The room went eerily quiet again. Kodi stared at something at his feet and gave it a nudge. It was Giulia’s limp and water logged body. “But… But now it doesn’t even matter anymore.”

He trailed his last words as a whisper. Everyone stared at the pup. Gus, either overwhelmed at all the emotions he had felt at once, took his leave. Kodi would understand. Moose lingered for a while, before Kodi chased her away. He needed to grieve.

Quinn nuzzled her brother under his chin. “I’m so sorry, Kodi.”

“Yeah, well,” Kodi said, “I should never have agreed to it.”

He gave the small bundle of fur one last nudge towards the fire. He didn’t really know why, it just felt right. He stared at his rightful daughter for a long time before turning his back to leave. Quinn was right behind him, but stopped when a small noise filled the room. She cocked her head behind her. Giulia was stirring.