Disclaimer: Do not own

Shortly after the team started heading back to Nome, after the sound of the Bush plane was gone, Balto noticed something was off.

"Hear the plane anymore dad?" Balto's son Kodi asks.

"No...But I hear something I don't want to be hear." Balto replied hesitantly.

"What?" Kirby asks from the side.

"I think I heard a growl from a...Oh No." Balto answers after really straining his hearing.

"What is it Balto/Dad?" the sled team asks.

"Nothing. We just have to pick up the pace and hope I'm wrong." he tells the team and secretly they hope that he is wrong but know he probably isn't.

-Meanwhile-

The sound Balto heard is none other than a lone wolf with black as night fur. His territorial and beady yellow eyes hold no real emotion watch as he sees the team racing by at a breakneck speed. He was looking for his next meal when they passed by, but now filled his urges to protect his territory, he leaps and races up to the challenger.

-Team-

"Balto is it gone?" Dusty asks.

Balto starts listening and is disappointed to notice that it's even closer, "No it's catching up."

"What is it Dad?"

"If I'm hearing right we got a lone wolf trailing after us."

"What? But How?" "How do you know it's a lone wolf?" Ralph and Kirby start questioning.

"I don't know how but I know it's a wolf because of the way it's moving. It's stalking us while chasing us. I think it's alone or it would have called for reinforcements." Balto says calmly.

"How can you be so calm about this we're probably about to be attacked and your acting like we're talking around a fire." Kirby says with a huff.

"I'm thinking about how we can avoid it without getting lost or heading straight into territory that he could know like the back of his paw. So if you could do me a favor and let the only sound I hear be your paws running... and what we're running away from." Balto says with seriousness and a growl in his voice.

Everyone clamed up in less that a second after he finished in slight terror. They had never heard him talk this way before. Kodi had not, even when he was in trouble, heard this tone of voice come from his father. Balto was hoping to hear the sound get farther away, but instead he heard it get ahead of them and stop. He knew something was going to happen, but he wasn't sure what yet exactly.

"Something is going to happen guys, be on your guard cause it's going to happen. Be ready."

"You got it Balto/Dad!" the team barked back. (no pun intended)

All of a sudden the wolf leaps out of the bushes and knocks out the musher. Balto is the first one out of his straps and leaps onto the wolf to get him off of . The team take this chance to pull the musher out of the way as Kodi joins his father to fight the wolf.

"Get out of here! Go!" Balto tells the team after they get the musher out of the way. He sees his son still coming up to him. "Get out of here Kodi. Now!"

"No Way Dad! I am not leaving you here with this!" Kodi yells at him in defiance.

"Your worse than your mother." Balto mutters under his breath with a smile on his face. "Fine... but be careful." Kodi nods then they leap into action.

-Team-

The team listens to the command to a degree. After they move the sled and musher 10 yards (30 feet) up the trail, they come back closer to the fight in case the wolf-dog hybrids need help.

"Why are we just standing here? We should help!" Dusty says.

"Do you think I don't want to help? I want to, but I am not risking Baltos' wrath if we help without him asking, or once he finds out we disobeyed his order." Kirby says with a slight shudder.

-Back to the fight-

"We don't have to fight... we just want to pass through and we'll be out of your hair" Balto says as he and his opponent circled each other in fighting stances. Kodi is behind Balto for now as a second in case things go bad.

"Oh Yes. But where is the fun in that?" the wolf says in a way that sent chills up Balto and Kodis' spines.

The wolf lunged at Balto's neck, which he ducked, and was in a full on battle with his opponent. There were teeth and claws flying everywhere. The downed wolf shook his head, clearing his vision. With no warning, Balto sprang up at the wolf's chest, head butting it with so much force that it was flipped over onto its back. Balto pounced, securing a flailing leg in his jaw and clamping onto it until blood ran through his teeth. Usually, Balto's fighting style was much more patient and calm but right now, he needed protect his team.

The wolf lunged once again at Balto, pulling himself up and trying to latch onto Balto's shoulder. The two brawlers now could not hear anything happening outside of their fight. The outside world had faded until nothing was left but the two of team watched worried from the sidelines and if you could see Kodi you would see how hard it was for him to stand back and just watch. Balto focused harder, tightening his grip and raking his claws against the wolf's furry chest and stomach. He heard a bone crunch under his persistent toothy grip.

Balto, gently released the mangled limb and removed his bloodied paws from the wolfs injured torso. After a few seconds of the opponents staying as still as rocks. Balto finally got the wolf to the ground his teeth around the wolfs neck. The wolf held still not wanting to move.

Balto hissed in his ear. "Leave us in peace to pass and we will not bother you. Deal."

"Deal" the wolf replied in a whisper.

Balto slowly removed his teeth from the wolf's neck and lay back. Then they finally broke apart and stood. They were both panting hard, but not taking their gazes off each other. The wolf then fell to the ground exhausted.

Balto, Kodi, and the team in the bushes sat stunned at the fact it just fell. Balto approached cautiously with his eye on it, not to fall for any trick it may be playing.

The black wolf looked up into the face of the victor of the battle and said,

"It is customary to know the full name of the opponents in a battle that is tied. (Don't know if that would be true) Mine is Midnight son of Shadowfoot and Kiska. What pray tell is yours canine." he says as he gets up.

Balto stood slightly proud and humbly said, "My name is Balto son of Aniu and Amak*"

The stared wide-eyed at the wolf, before him he had heard stories of the Great White Wolf having offspring of flesh and blood, but he did not believe it.

The wolf did a version of a bow to Balto while everyone, including the latter, were just shocked to say the least as he got up he said, "Any desendant of the Great White Wolf shall pass without harm. No matter why." And he slinked off into the shadows.

"Well that was strange." Ralph said while he got some nods in agreement. Balto looks at where the wolf just was for a minute remembering Aleu and her own wolf pack. Then he turns back to the sled.

"Let's get moving everyone!...Load up the musher in the basket if you can't get him to wake up! We still have a long way to go before we get back to Nome!" Balto yelled at everyone like a drill sergant as he passed to get back to the sled. Everyone stared slack jawwed at the fact he was ready to back onto the trail so soon after the fight. Soon they realised if they didn't listen he'd get mad... and after everything that just happend that's the last thing they wanted.

Kodi kept an eye on his father the entire way home for even one sign of extra fatigue, but was surprised that even when they got home there was not one sign, just a little worry for some reason, but he would let that slide for now afterall even with the delay they still beat the Bushplane in the Mail Run Race.

*Is from the author iWolf1357. I couldn't think of a name so I used theirs. Great line of stories by the way. Their under my favorite authors.