The wolf steadied himself down the slope. His teal fur shone in the sun, and his turquoise eyes glimmered in the light. He looked over the horizon of the ocean and whined. That was his home, over there, but he had chosen the love of his life over it. Remembering why he was there, he put his wet nose to the ground and smelt the earth. Karabu. he smelt the air too, the scent of Karabu was strong, but another smell invaded it. Man. In the distance he saw lights, even in the dark. The wolf knew this was wrong and so barked up the slope.

A female apeared, and anyone who'd have seen her would have know that she was heavily pregnant. Her yellow and blue eyes looked around. Knowing the area she wagged her tail with happiness. The rest of the pack saw she was not afraid and came down the slope too. The dominant couple lay down. Their tongues apeared and disapeared from their mouths and in a few minutes the whole pack was either sleeping, playing or relaxing.

The female was a light shade of brown and she was known to the pack as Alue. Her mate, Dix, was a nervous animal, and anything new to him made him frightened. "Come on," Alue sighed "We'll go and explore the town. I want to visit someone."

"Are you crazy? The men wil have us on a wall by midday if we stroll into there!"

"It won't take too long, and I know where to find them." and without waiting for a reply, Alue trotted forwards toward the town. Soon they arrived at the boiler room and they pushed open the door.

"Alue!" Jenna and Balto rushed over to their daughter. Things were talked about such as what happened over the great water. Dix explained that men wiped out his pack and he came across a group of new wolves and joined them. "Well you can stay at the old boat," offered Balto "There are plenty of cusions and blakets left from when I was last there. It'll be perfect for just the two of you."

"That's the other thing, dad. You see, we're having pups." Balto was taken back. Was this really his little girl? Eventually the night wore on and Dix and Alue left. Alue slept in the old boat and Dix went back to the pack to take charge.

In the morning there was a suprise! Alue had given birth to four puppies. A dark grey which they named Kiala, two brown ones that they named Oka and Meta and there was a strong, more outstanding one. She was a pale grey with a teal back and a deeper blue eyes and ears. This one they named Ilena.

Dix ran to the boiler room to tell the news, however a terrible thing happened.

A gun fired. There was a yelp and then silence. Balto heard this commotion and sprinted outside. Dix lay there, panting and spluttering. "Alue's had the puppies, " choked "Alue's had..." He trailed off. Dix didn't move. Balto layed beside him and howled. This was a sign that one of them had passed on.

A snowstorm moved in. The pack was forced to leave. The puppies were strong enough to travel and their eyes had opened. They started off at once. Alue made a track in the snow, in which her pups followed in. She was still grieving for the loss of Dix and so she was not very alert. Ilena slowed down, and lost sight of the pack. She thought to herself that she was to die in the cold when suddenly, a shape of a wolf appeared. But it wasn't quite wolf. The not-wolf picked her up and she fell asleep.

When she awoke she was in a vey warm place, with lots of other people. Then the not-wolf came up to her. It licked her. She felt happy and scenced that it was safe to be with. Then a girl not-wolf appeared. The three of them lived together in the house.

A year later Ilena had grown. She was an adult but didn't know eveyting (even though she thought she did!) about the world. All day she would play with the other dogs in town, as after being cared for she found out that the not-wolves were actually called "Dogs". She felt like a dog and she ran like a rabbit that bolts. Everyone accepted her, but Ilena never felt she belonged.

one day, Balto went to talk to her. He took her to the old boat. "Ilena. We have to talk, you see, you, aren't," Balto clampped his teeth together, expecting abuse to be thrown at him afyer what he would say "A dog. You're almost all wolf." He once again waited to be yelled at but instead, Ilena just sat there. "I'm not angry, dad," she said "I don't mind what I am."

"Then you're not like your mother." Balto chuckled.

"Why? Didn't she like being a dog?" Ilena had always assumed that Balto and Jenna were her parents "Dad?" This time her tone was hard. Balto was forced to tell her everything. After this, Ilena became very upset. She shouted and growled at Balto. "You aren't my real parents? I'm your grandaughter? This doesn't make sense." She eventually calmed down, but when Balto tried to speak she ran off. Luckily it was into Nome, not away.

Ilena ran around the town at least five times before stopping. Running felt good. The wind rushing past her felt like it was blowing away all her problems. A local musher saw her. Her stamina was exellent and she was swift and graceful. This was just the thing he wanted.

Ilena was sold to the musher. She found out his name from the other dogs he owned, and his name was Harry. Ilena made many friends from the new dogs and one of which was a female called Kesar. Kesar was a wheel dog, she ran at the back, steering and directing the sled. When the team ran, Ilena always went in the lead. She felt happy whenever she ran. The wind, the strength everything made it enjoyable. One day there was a race. Ilena stretched out and shook her paws of the slush. A gun fired and away went all the sleds.

The other dos raced as fast as they could. "Slow down!" Ilena barked "You'll run out of energy. Go steady." There was no arguing with the lead dog. They all slowed down. Once they got to the river there was a bottleneck of sleds. Some had been trapped together, others were on their side. Luckily the team got through and there were only five sleds ahead of them. One team went after a rabbit that was nibbling the tufts of grass that rarely grew. Ilena increased speed and the team followed. Eventualy they were in line with the leading team. The dog at the front was worn out and soon they would slow down. Over the last few meters, Ilena pushed her self over the limit and sprinted as fast as the wind. Her neck stretched out and soon the crowd was cheering.

After her victory, Ilena was sold to another man. This one was cruel, though, and he took pleasure in hurting animals. Ilena was fed very little and was still forced to run every day, with a load of bricks on the sled that followed behind her. One day she couldn't take it any more. When the man came to tie her up for work, he hit her. That was it. Ilena bit his arm and ripped her teeth down it. The man yelled with pain. Two other men came in. Ilena ran between them and out the door. Freedom.

Due to being mostly wolf, her insticts wereto find others and to find food. She came across a track of a Buffalo but knew it was too big and kept sniffing. Ilena strolled free for two days. in that time she managed to catch enough food to not only suvive, but thicken up a bit. On the evening of the second day, a strange smell came to her. it wasn't dog, but close. Ilena tracked it to a river. There was no smell to her right, nor the left. She decided to swim across. The scent continued until she found a patch of blood on the snow beneath a tree. The smell of death terrified her and she went mad. Then she gathered herself up and continued, still anxious about what she had just come by.

In the twilight, Ilena found footprints on the ground. The prints were filled with the same smell. The tracks led her to the shore.

The bones of a Karabu lay deserted on the rocks, and the scent filled everything and everywhere. Ilena stayed still. A growl echoed and a wolf jumped out at her. "What are you doing here stranger?" A white female spoke to her. Ilena explained her journey and asked wher ehte pack leader was.

"Oh, you wont find her here I'm afraid," sighed the wolf "She's gone on a trip to find someone. She put me and my friends on guard. The others are hunting and no-one knows when she'll be back."

Ilena thanked her. The wolf told her that they were going to a man place, near the sea, with hills all around it. As she walked through the forest. The air was chilly and the snow was like slush. A strike of red shot past a bush. Ilena looked around herself cautiously. Then it pounced on her.

Later, when she awoke, Ilena could feel that there were others around her. She was underground and the air was damp. Outside it was snowing, and the wind holwed like a wolf.

"Why are you in the foxes territory?" said one of the animals. It was a fox, as it spoke in the language of all the dog-like animals.

"I'm searching for the man place." Ilena spoke without emotion. She knew foxes were sly.

"There are no men here," said a vixen.

"That's why I'm traveling."

The first fox got up and sat next to Ilena. "Then we'll tell you a story to pass the time.

"Many, many years ago, men did live here. And also, foxes and wolves lived together. They stole from the men. The men hated them. Then, one fine, sunny spring, a litter was born, but not any old litter. The mother was a vixen and the father was a wolf.

"The men set traps to catch the wolves and foxes. One day, the strange family all went hunting. The only one that returned was the brown male pup. His name was Agali. he lived by himself but was well respected by tha animals. One day, he went out and stole four geese, four chickens and four ducks. All the wolves and foxes ate together.

"The week after that, Agali sent out a wolf to spy on the men. The wolf didn't come back. It was later discovered that it had been killed by the trap. The wolves were outraged by this. "A fox wouldn't have been sacrificed!" they barked. The two species went their separate way. Agali was left by himself, as both sides told him he was half enemy and could not be trusted. He had to regain his respect.

"Agali watched the men for two months. He marked down when they slept, ate, worked and rested. The he made his move.

"Agali rolled in some water, then some sand. His pale creme. He tied some leaves to his head, this made it look as if he had hair. Then one night he slipped into the garden of the men's home, and dug a hole. He hid in the hole all day, and at night he poisened the hens' feed with bad snow. The hens became ill. The men ate the hens. The men became ill.

"The female man called for someone to cure the men. Agali looked like a man, and so went inside to cure them.

"'Ah, the terrible inimongo disease. It is spreading fast through the area. The chickens in your garden is the problem. They have picked up the disease from other chickens. Then you have eaten them. The best thing to do is to re-inhabit yourselves somewhere far away from here. Kill the chickens and do as you please with them. The disease dies with the carrier.'

"So the men threw the hens into the woods and left the area. All the foxes and wolves ate together one last time, but they never lived with each other after that. But Agali regained his position and he was respected by all the animals once more."

The fox finished his story. Ilena evaluated what she'd learnt.

"We are the same. Use your gifts." The foxes nodded and the wind dropped. Ilena wished them well and set off on her way. She left the foxes in high spirits, but by the end of the afternoon it was snowing heavily again. She found a large cave and went inside.

There was no other animal there. Ilena went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the night. A bear was standing over her.

"Why have you intruded on my cave?" it roared. Ilena was about to run away when she remembered the trickery of Agali.

"I am a messager, I have come from the land of Beanera, the home of the many bears."

"I've never heard of Beanera." the bear puzzled and scratched it's chin.

"Not many people have," Ilena continued "But the bears there live without a king. I entered your cave to find you, but when you were not there I was forced to wait."

"Looking for a king, eh?" the bear grinned, showing many sharp teeth. Ilena knew that if her trick didn't work that she'd be chewed up by those teeth.

"Yes! Yes! A mighty king, a brave, noble king, like you, so I came to you and you only, your majesty."

"In which direction is this 'Beanera'?"

"Many, many miles away, into the sky, across the world." Ilena hoped that the bear wouldn't click that she was fooling him. But the bear set off out of the cave shouting, I'm coming Beanera! I'm coming to be your king!

Ilena stayed in the cave for a week. Then, in the twilight of the eighth day, the bear stood over her again.

"There is no Beanera, you tricked me!"  the bear roared with such fury, that the ground shook. Ilena explained everything, and the bear calmed down.

"Well why didn't you say so? I like a bit of company, but I like to be told when someone wants to be in my home."

"Sorry. The foxes told me,"

"Foxes! No wonder. They're sly things aren't they? No. You can stay here as long as you like."

"Thankyou."

"Here's a story of a fox-cross-wolf called,"

"Agali, I know."

"Humph, well a story of Agali and the Great Bear.

"Agali was traveling far and wide. He found men and then found a way to clear them out. But one summer, the men got on the side of the great bear. The great bear had defeated many soldiers, many warriors and many hunters. A wolf would be no match for it. The numbers of predatory animals declined in huge numbers, and so Agali held a meeting in his den.

"' We have to stop that bear. Anything will do, even if we injure him a few times every so often. Just something for an idea!' None of the animals had any suggestions. All they could do was to stay on watchand to stay in a group.

"On an evening of a snowy day, for the bear had been around over five months and it was now winter, the bear caught Agali alone. 'Agali, I have heard about you. You steal and trick the men of this land. But you will no longer.' The bear opened it's mouth and Agali jumped right in. Agali clawed and ripped at the inside of the bear's mouth. The bear screamed and spat him out. The same week, it happened again, but this time the bear tried to crush Agali by sitting on him. Agali slid under the bear on his own accord. When the bear sat on him he bit the bear on the behind. The bear cried out and ran off.

"Thing like this happened over and over again, week after week, until the bear could take it no longer. It asked the men to follow him into the forest and capture Agali. But the men refused. The bear gathered deer and buffalo, who were killed by Agali and his friends, and they went to fight. But the foxes had dug a huge hole and when the buffalo came they fell down the hole.

"The deer just jumped over the hole, though, and the great bear stepped over it. Then all the wolves attacked the deer and killed a few. The other deer saw this and fled. But the great bear just threw the wolves aside.

"'Oh, you-hoo! Big fella.' Agali called the bear over to the cliff. The bear roared at him. Agali slipped between it's legs and stood behind it. The bear turned around, and Agali jumped up at it. The bear stepped back, off the edge of the cliff.

"I've told you this story, not because we bears are evil, but because Agali was patient and waited for the right time. If you are patient, then you will succeed. And, at night, you can see Agali and the great bear fighting, up in the stars, where no-one can stop their shining."

The bear finished his story. Ilena stayed in the cave for two more days before leaving again, on to her long journey, that she would need lots of patience to complete.

The snow was deep and Ilena found it difficult to keep moving. All at once the trees disapeared, and there was a flat area of snow. Long lines stretched across the ground and the smell of dogs made Ilena hopeful.

"Sled tracks!" she cried. Ilena ran out onto the open snow. Suddenly a tremendous racket of yowling and yapping came from over the bank. A team of dogs raced past her. Without thinking what she was soing, Ilena ran with them. It felt good to be doing what she loved best again. But then the musher produced a gun. Ilena only realised this seconds before he shot. She ran into the trees again and hid.

How come a musher was trying to kill her? She knew she was three quarters wolf, but she wasn't doing any harm. Sad and deflated, she dragged her paws along the ground, following the tracks.

Then she looked over the hill. A large field of many tents lay below. A stack of guns lay in one corner, and a wooden box on the other side. The dogs lived in the wooden box, and men lived in the huts of material. A hunt? Ilena knew that men hunted other animals. She crept closer. A sign stood outside of the camp. It read, 'Wolf Hunt'. Men were killing animals for no reason. But if they were here hunting wolves, didn't that mean that a pack was nearby.

Suddenly a twig snapped. Ilena spun round to see a hunter pointing a two barreled gun right at her! Ilena fled, but the man still fired. The pellet chipped the bone in her tail. She yelped with pain and the men persued. Her only chance was to get into the trees. The men ran behind her, following the blood that dripped from her tail.

Once hidden in the forest, Ilena made her way back along the tracks of the sled. A buzzing noise hummed in the distance. Ilena followed it. A few minutes later she was at a fence. The fence went as far as she could see into the forest and disapeared when it met the track. She popped her head around the corner. The fence continued  forever down the side of the clearing. If she was going to move on without being hunted, than she would have to jump the fence.

Ilena took a few paces back. Then she ran up to the fence and leaped so high into the air that she banged her head on a branch. Before she knew it the fence had been cleared. Ilena looked around her. The forest just continued, and so did she.

By nightfall, smoke was in the area. Ilena followed it until she saw three men, sitting around a fire. They were cooking a meat. The smell tortured Ilena from her very gut. She hadn't eaten in a long time. The man nearest to her suddenly turned around and grabbed his gun.

"Right, I'll watch first." he said. He took a burning white stick out of his mouth and breathed in the crisp, winter air. Soon they were asleep. Ilena crept around the camp. The one with the burning white stick was still awake. Going right in there was suicide, so she just kept moving. The man held up his gun. A bird stirred after being disturbed, and Ilena slunk away into the darkness.

When daylight fell, she woke out of a pleasent dream, then, remembering where she was, started hunting. She saw a rabbit or two grazing, or in their particular language, 'were up at silflay'. They didn't notice her hiding in the bushes. After a while she sprang out and grabbed one that was nibling at some corse grass. The meat was so delicious to her, especialy as she hadn't eaten in a few days. After finishing off her meal, Ilena walked on between the trees. It seemed like a year to her. Ever walking on the snow covered, dirty ground was boring. She needed some excitement. Meanwhile, a shadowed figure crouched in a nut bush.

Ilena smelt the funny smell again. The one the white stick gave off. Only men had these sticks, and there was one nearby. A click of a loader echied and the gun fired. Ilena shot into the trees and the man gave chase. She ran in a fairly straight line, trying to shorten the length of her run. Looking behind her, she noticed the man had given up on her and searched for a new wolf to torment. She padded through the dead leaves and snow until she heard the buzzing noise again. The fence stood tall and strong. A leaf fluttered down from a tree. The leaf bounced off the wire and it sparked. The leaf burst into flame, but was extinguished when it fell into the snow. Ilena gulped. If she didn't clear it then she'd be cooked, and the fence was even higher this time! She must've taken forty paces backwards, then she leaped to her highest and landed smoothly onto the snow, on the other side of the fence. A squirrel near by watched, jaw wide open. It suddenly shot off when a gun fired beside it.

"Not again!" Ilena groaned. By now this was stupid. But now she was over the fence, and they had to find a way around. She ran with a head start. The trees blocked her way, and Ilena was forced into the open. The men had known this, and while the ones on her tail whizzed through a gate, a group of sleds sped past her.

Trapped.

There was no alternative, but to go into the sled run. Ilena thrust herself onto the open, dry land. The dogs had already gone way ahead of her and there was just miles and miles of open terrain. If she was going to get away, she had to grab her chance. This was it. She had to break out now.

The shouting of the men made her decision. Her pace was steady, but when she heard the loading of a gun, this speed increased until she was sprinting. The land ahead closed and went up into the sky. Ilena forsted herself up the slope and over the other side. The track split up into three, smaller, narrower ones. Ilena took the one on the right. Then stopped. She made a lot of prints in the snow and crept into the trees once more. The men stumbled over the side of the hill. Instantly they saw the tracks and followed them. Ilena waited a short while before trotting down the track on the left.

Another hill approached. How long would this uneven ground go on? Step by step, Ilena pulled her body across the land. She was exhausted. But there was no cover and so continue she must. But the moon rose, and a glimmer of light could be seen in the distance. Ilena steadied herself down the slope. The moon shone on her coat like dew in the morning. Dark shadows appeared, but they were asleep. Ilena joined them in their slumber. When she awoke, wolves were standing around her. A female with blue eyes and brown fur came up to her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am looking for the leader of this pack," Ilena informed "I have already traveled to the coast to find them and they were not there."

"Well, you've found them. I am Alue, daughter of Balto,"

"Balto?" Ilena cut in. Surely this wasn't Balto's daughter, was it?

"How do you know him?"

"He raised me, with his mate, Jenna."

"So," Alue stopped and thought "You're my sister?"

"No." Ilena took a large breath and a gulp before continuing "I'm your daughter." This was astonishing. How could they both be there together? Mother and daughter who never knew each other?

Ilena told her mother all about what had happened to her. Alue offered to have her girl enter the pack, but Ilena declined.

"I don't belong here. I'm a sled dog. No, a sled wolf."