*Author’s note: Well, this is my first, true, fanfic, so if it is a bit messy, I apologize (especially considering that I made most of it in school). Now, I have to say something about Jenna. She has absolutely nothing to do with Balto’s Jenna, the only reason I chose that name was for the fact that when I was writing this story it was the only female name that I could come up with at the time. I just wanted to state this to clear up any and all confusion that people may have in the near future. Also, the one thing that may be slightly confusing in later chapters is that this story does take place in the Balto universe, so there is a chance that James may meet up with Balto and Jenna later.

Well, that’s all for now, hope you enjoy.*

The Joys of Morning, the Pains of Defeat

            It was another one of those perfect days. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and there was dew on the grass, making it sparkle. The local wolf pack in the area was just waking up. This includes James, one of the younger wolves that had just grown out of pup hood. He had a pretty red, brown color on his back with a tan belly. He stretched with a loud yawn and stood up fully showing off his tall three and a half foot frame, which was tall for a three year old. He glanced around at the other wolves that were getting ready for the morning. He trotted over to the small stream that was nearby the pack’s resting area and dipped his head to take a drink. The water was cold and brisk, and tasted like fish. The first sip of water caused James to shiver a bit as the cold water went down his throat. James’ head came up as he heard soft footsteps behind him. The scent was enough to tell him who it was, but the soft beautiful voice just insured him. “Good morning James.” James felt a bit of heat rise to his face as she greeted him. He turned around as calmly as he could and said, “Um, hey…Jenna.”

He couldn’t help but stare at her though. Jenna was easily the most beautiful wolf he had ever laid eyes on. She was about three feet four inches tall with blue eyes and gorgeous white fur that had streaks of tan in it. She was a hybrid, like James (who is a mix between gray and red wolf). She was a mix between arctic and gray wolf, but she mainly kept her arctic wolf coloring.

Another amazing aspect about Jenna was that she was able to tongue-tie almost any male that tried to talk to her, including, much to his dismay, James. James, like most of the non-mated males, had a huge crush on her. The big thing is though; Jenna seems completely unaware of all the attention that the males give her. This is one advantage that James seems to have over the other males. James doesn’t try to force a lot of attention on her at one time. When he had met her two years ago, the biggest thing he did was say hi.  Ever since then, he usually spent all of his free time with her.  The bad thing was, even though he was with Jenna most of the time, he still seemed to get tongue-tied all the time.  Jenna usually just chuckled at his shyness, as she did today.  “Sheesh, James, will you ever get over that strange thing that you get around me?”  James blushed heavily, but smiled and said “You know, Jenna, I don’t believe I ever will.”  Jenna just laughed at this.  “You know, you can be really weird sometimes, James, but I love you anyway.” As she said this, James’ brain came to a screeching halt. ‘Oh my word.’ He thought. ‘She…she loves me???’ He had to make sure that he heard what he though he heard. “Jenna…*gulp*, did you just say that you loved me?”

Jenna smiled a bit, a little confused. “Well of course James. I’ve thought of you as my brother for awhile now.” The slight hope of him ever being with Jenna seemed to slip away as he heard this. ‘Of course… How could I have though that she meant anything else?’ He sighed inwardly. Even though he tried to hide it, Jenna noticed his face fall. “James… what’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?” James’ head came up quickly and he put on a fake smile. “No, no… I was just thinking about something, don’t worry about it though.” He turned around; trying to end the conversation, but Jenna was determined to get an answer. “James, please! I want to know what’s wrong.”

Jenna stepped closer to him as she said this. James turned around to tell her that it was nothing, but when he turned he hadn’t realized how close she was and he came nose to nose with her. James’ position came out of every male’s dream, whether they were a dog or a wolf. He knew if he didn’t make his move now, he would probably never get this chance again. He leaned in just a bit closer, so that their noses were touching. Though this movement surprised Jenna, she didn’t move away from him, which surprised James in turn, for he had been expecting her to pull back immediately. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “…Jenna…” Jenna answered in a whisper. “Yes James?” James took another deep breath. “Jenna, I…I lo…” Just then there was a loud howl from not to far away, followed by a lot of yelping. James immediately pulled back and looked towards the sound. A wolf no older than a year old came running through the trees, yelping and bleeding from a wound on the back of his neck. James’ eyes went wide as he recognized the pup. “NO! Kuna!!”

James was about to run over to Kuna when he saw what was chasing the poor pup. The wolf that was leading the small pack was a mean looking black timber wolf. His name was Janus and he was the beta wolf of the vicious Relic wolf pack. The relic pack has been enemies of Alpha Locke’s own pack for generations. Locke was the alpha wolf of the Kazeer pack, the pack James was in. Locke was a large burly wolf that is very muscular and very smart. He was the son of the former alpha, Jona, and has been just as amazing of a leader as his father before him. Why Janus was attacking Kuna, especially on Kazeer territory, James didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to let the poor pup get killed. “Dammit… I have to help.” Jenna turned her head back to him as he said this. “James…” she didn’t say anything after that, for when she looked into his eyes she knew she wouldn’t be able to change his mind, no matter what she said.

James took off at a sprint heading towards Janus. Most of the other wolves were too surprised to do anything yet and James was the only one doing something. Janus had his eyes glued to the pup’s tail in front of him and so he didn’t notice that James was heading right towards him. James gave a loud cry as he leapt towards Janus. Janus snapped his head around to face James. Once he saw him, he pushed his legs full force against the ground causing him to fly through the air, using his momentum to keep him up. He and James hit Head-on on mid-air. They grappled with each other in the air until gravity finally won and they both plummeted to the ground. As soon as they hit the ground, they jumped away from each other. Janus was completely unharmed while James, on the other hand, was bleeding heavily from his muzzle where Janus had dug his teeth into him. James could barely feel his wound though, with all the adrenaline that was pumping through his system. They stood facing each other, teeth bared and growling.

Neither of them, however, noticed that there was a circle of wolves forming around them. There was cheering and taunting coming from each side. “He has no chance Janus! Destroy him!” “You can fight this jerk James! Show him what you’re made of!” Janus had heard this last comment and smiled largely. “I don’t think they have anything to worry about. I’ll definitely see what you are made of.” James shivered slightly at this. It wasn’t really what Janus had said that got to him; it was his deep dark voice. Janus had a voice that would cause the strongest warrior to lose his bearing. James stood still though and appeared to be unaffected by Janus. Janus’ smile only got larger. “No comment, huh? Someone who doesn’t speak is usually frozen by fear.” James just bared his teeth and growled louder. Janus kept his smile and lunged.

James wasn’t expecting this and Janus landed on James, forcing him to the ground. James was on his back staring up at a smiling Janus. James gulped. “Oh damn.” Janus then grabbed James by the throat with his teeth. He picked him up and threw him about ten feet in the air behind him. James landed in a heap, stunned. James shook his head and slowly stood up. Janus had been sitting down watching him. “You are way out of your league pipsqueak. There is no point to continue.” He then gave a small, sad sigh that was so fake that it wouldn't even fool the thickest of people. “Alas, the rules of this type of challenge say that I must kill you. I’ll try to make it quick.” He slowly walked towards James. James hadn’t moved since he‘d stood up. James' quick movement was so sudden that it took even Janus by surprise. James had lunged at Janus, his mouth open and going for Janus’ throat. Janus’ surprise, and James' luck, was short lived however as Janus quickly moved out of the way of the attack. When James had landed, Janus threw his paw up and hit James’ jaw. James’ Jaw slammed shut so hard that it cracked his lower right fang. James yelped and stumbled a bit, but was able to stay upright. ‘This is insane! I have been taken apart by this guy and I haven’t even scratched him!’ James' brain screams. 

He then calms his mind and sighs inwardly ‘Well… I’ve lived a good life, right?  My life was worth giving up for Kuna… or at least that is what I am going to tell myself on the way to heaven.’ He was brought back to reality by a paw to the face. His head swung to the side and he stumbled again, barely maintaining his standing position. James’ vision went blurry for a moment. His head was facing towards the crowd and as his head cleared he looked upon the faces of the wolves. His enemies were snickering and laughing at him. He was already expecting his enemies to be mocking him, but he wasn’t expecting what else he saw. His own pack mates were glaring at him in disgust and pity. It would seem that his own pack mates had lost faith in him. Janus noticed his hopeless expression and laughed. He leaned over James’ shoulder and whispered menacingly in his ear. “Yes boy, your pack doesn’t believe in you anymore. You are all alone now.”

He then chuckled quietly. James looked in despair around all the faces until he found the face he was looking for. Even amidst all the jeering and yelling, Jenna still had a worried look. James’ heart skipped a beat. Here he was, losing horribly in a useless fight, and yet Jenna still cared for him. He felt strength and hope rise in him. He wouldn’t give up. He still had a reason to fight. He then angled his head slightly towards Janus, who was still behind him. “You should have killed me.” James then swung around and threw out his paw trying to hit Janus in the face. Much to everyone’s surprise, especially James', the blow connected, hard. James’ claws hit Janus’ cheek and they snagged. When James pulled, his claws dug into Janus’ cheek and cut along his cheek, down his muzzle, all the way to his nose. There was now a large gash along his face, with a bloody piece of skin hanging off his face where his cheek used to be. The entire circle of wolves went silent. Janus didn’t move, but his voice was quiet and deadly. “You are going to regret that.” James grinned slightly. “Probably not, that felt pretty good.”

As he said this James tried to sound cocky, but his voice shook pretty badly. Before James could even think to move, he felt himself flying through the air. Janus had rammed him in the chest at full speed. James felt all the breath leave him as he hit the ground. He never go the chance to regain his breath, for as soon as he had hit the ground Janus jumped on him, and bit into his chest. James held in a scream as Janus bit into him. Most of James’ chest and underbelly was dyed crimson from the blood pouring out. James tried to roll over and get up but Janus had gone down and grabbed his neck again. This time though, he didn’t throw him or try to rip out his throat. He just simply started to squeeze, cutting off James' air supply. James was already losing consciousness from the loss of blood and this only made it worse. The pain was immense, to the point where James could no longer stand it. He opened his mouth to scream but only a struggled gurgle came out. His vision then got blurry and was starting to turn white. Suddenly the pain seemed to disappear. He began to feel warm and good. He was suddenly in a land of white. There seemed to be nothing else. He then saw the white wolf. The wolf was very tall, about four feet tall, with beautiful pure white fur. What caught James’ attention though, were the wolf’s eyes. They were a bright ocean blue and they seemed to have infinite depth within them, as if the wolf had seen hundreds of generations come and go. It wasn’t just that though, for as the wolf locked eyes with James, he could see the warmth and infinite love that seemed to pour out. James knew this was no ordinary wolf. This was the great she-wolf spirit, “Aniu…” James whispered in disbelief.

Aniu smile and nodded. When she then spoke, her voice was like the marvelous and melodic sound of the most beautifully made bells in the world. “Yes, James.” James then finally guessed why he was seeing her. “I’m… I’m dead, aren’t I?” Aniu shook her head. James cocked his head, confuse. “But then…why? How?” Aniu walked up to him and put a paw on his shoulder. “You see, James, at the moment your spirit is in, what you might call, limbo. You are not in heaven, yet you are not on earth either.” James was still confused. “Does that mean I am going to die in a few minutes?” Again, Aniu shook her head. “No, for it is not your time yet.” “Then…why am I here? Well minus the fact that I got to see your beautiful figure, of course.” James smiled half-heartedly after he said that. Aniu smiled and chuckled. “Well, thank you. To answer your question, you are here to learn that your destiny will be coming to you soon.” James widened a bit. “Really now… So, what will I have to do?” “Sadly, I am not allowed to tell you that. You will have to find out that for yourself.”

James then began to feel a slight bit of pain in his throat again. “I am going to give you one last piece of advice though. Hold onto Jenna, and continue caring for her. Soon you’ll be the only person she has left. Now I must go. I wish you luck James. I will see you later.” She then turned and disappeared into the white abyss. James could only stare after her in confusion and awe. He finally whispered, “Good bye, Aniu… and thank you.” He suddenly hears someone scream, “no!” James’ mind snapped back to reality then. He felt the full searing pain in his throat again. One thing he seemed to no longer be able to feel though were his lungs, for he had been completely out of oxygen for a while. What was left of his oxygen deprived mind wondered what the scream he heard was. It was a quarter of a second later that he found out. He felt a slight tug on his throat, and then he was somehow free! He then began to gasp and cough as his deflated lungs began to once again take in air. He then heard a loud yelp and a thud as someone’s body hit the floor. He whipped his head around towards the sound. What he saw made his blood run cold.

Jenna was lying on the ground about ten feet from James. She was bleeding heavily from a large wound on her face and through her left eye. The fur on her face had already been dyed crimson from the blood. The worst part though, what that she wasn’t moving. “No…Jenna…” Janus was standing over her, angered. “Stupid runt.” He had a large bite mark on his side. It wasn’t until James saw that wound did he realize what had happened. Jenna had saved his life. She must have run up and bit Janus before he could finish James off. At this realization, James’ love for Jenna got larger and more reinforced. He got unsteadily to his feet and tired to walk over to her. As soon as he took that first step though, all hell broke loose. The wolves from James’ pack broke out of the circle rushing towards Janus. Not even a second later the wolves from Janus’ pack began to attack their enemies. In trying to get to Jenna, James was hit across the face by one of Janus’ wolves. He stumbled, and then tripped. He landed about a foot away from Jenna’s seemingly lifeless body.

Now that he was closer to her though, He could see her chest rise and fall to her breathing. She was only unconscious. He crawled the rest of the way to Jenna. He gazed upon her for a few seconds, and was amazed that, in the midst of all this fighting, and even though she was heavily injured, he found Jenna to still be immensely beautiful. He gently laid his upper body on her to try and protect her form being trampled. He then felt a kick to the face and his head went fuzzy and he could feel himself slowly sinking into unconsciousness. James leaned forward only a bit, to kiss Jenna gently on her uninjured cheek. “I’m…so sorry Jenna…I didn’t want this to…happen…I know it doesn’t mean much…but I am sorry….and Jenna…I love you.” He then let out a sigh as the darkness overwhelmed him.