Chapter 4: The White Wolf
The rehabilitation... based solely on the large proportions of dog food, gallons of fresh water and spending only few minutes a day on the open... was the therapy for Steele, whose health conditions had been degrading ever since living in the wild. His new owner in Nome, Mr. Hedison, being the lover of dogs, but being unable to have one, had his chance at last to be the owner of once top dog of Nome. He was working on well to bring Steele back to the health in any way possible.
For weeks Steele had been passing through this home therapy, but the weeks seemed as long as the months. Eating, drinking, resting and chilling outside was something he had been doing for three to four weeks routinely. Even if he didn't enjoy, he never objected doing the therapy, because now that he could not do any of his life tasks he desired to do... he was rather emotionless about all of this. Watching the days pass by as long as the weeks, he started to question one thing about himself... his existentialism.
He was isolated from the other canines out there in Nome, having no friends to hang out with nor he was able to be with his family, who was no longer on his side. He didn't care anymore, he just did not as they were on Balto's side. The dogs in Nome behaved as if Steele didn't exist, but rather moved on as every day possible. No affection came from him or towards him and he was just fine with that, or at least it seemed so to him.
The only affection he could have been given from was none other else than his owner Mr. Hedison, eventually the friends of his owner. They were still unaware about Steele's crime from the past and were rather caring for the wounded and an ill malamute, lost in the wild for years. Even that Steele found his new owner's hospitality useless, he did seem to give some affection back to him, yet the affection he had been giving seemed rather bland and as if it was... just there to be given.
Speaking of the other dogs, even that they were avoiding Steele or pretending he wasn't existing, there were some dogs who were destroying his isolation and solace. These dogs weren't actually his family or Balto's family, but the dogs that had no family relations with Balto, which meant Nikki, Kaltag and Star were the ones who were lashing their anger at him. Eventually, the two gossips Steele knew from the past, Dixie, the purple Pomerian and her friend, Sylvie, the tan-colored Afghan hound, were the ones who used that opportunity.
"Just look at him, spending the time in his den and what else? Maybe he tries to make some kind of dastardly plan on all on us?!" Star mocked his former teammate, who was resting in the house and ignoring their presence, not wanting to have anyone by his side but Mr. Hedison. If only Mr. Hedison was a dog... His thoughts were broken as the laughter from the dogs outside made him snap back into the reality and he scoffed upon that. Why couldn't just do him a favor and at least pretend he was non-existing?
About his family... Tayer was released just two days after their encounter. He only suffered the minor injuries and was capable of walking, even still being a part of the sled team. Only thing that was different about him was that on his left cheek, there was a line visible below his eye... Steele scarring him, though as it was fading, the mark was going to remain there. Some scars just weren't meant to fade, but to remain, as the event of what had happened. Tayer's friend and Dingo's daughter Galena was visually upset upon hearing the news. Still, she still loved Tayer like she did before. His entire family was living in prosperity, pretending Steele didn't exist. Though, the scar on Tayer's cheek had to make them realize Steele was real.
Then, after a three and a half weeks of the home therapy... that morning in Mr. Hedison's house... Steele was sleeping on his side in the bed. The bed was made out of the basket and the worn out cushion and the worn out blanket. At least that was some kind of comfort. Steele's health had gradually improved - the scars were no longer visible on his body. The skin was no longer hanging off his torso and he regained his strength and speed back - but he knew one thing and that was that he was not going to be as strong and as fast as he used to be.
The rumbling in the house caused the freshly-recovered malamute to wake up, only to see his owner, Mr. Hedison, holding a bowl in his hands. Walking to Steele, as if he was like any other dog, Mr. Hedison put the bowl full of dog food near his basket, stroked him by his head and said: "Come on, Steele boy. Eat your breakfast and we're going to have a true walk outside once you're done."
The sole idea of going outside for a walk had Steele feeling quite split with the two choices ahead of him - Mr. Hedison was the only one who had been giving him all the comfort and affection for the last few weeks. If he was sticking around him, that'd make him feel safe. However, as he was isolated from the canine community, Steele let out a silent cringe as soon as he realized that there might be other dogs out there, doing something to him.
"Come on, boy. Help yourself." Mr. Hedison nudged his dog to eat, wanting to have a healthy one completely. Knowing that he had no other choices, Steele just thought to himself: "If only I could stay away from any dog out there.". Then he moved on with his breakfast, which was one of the rare things that made him pleased as the wild animal prey was making him sick eating it for the last few years. As soon as he was done, Mr. Hedison beckoned to Steele to come, with Steele accepting, as if he had no other choices.
"Let's go. I don't think I'll need any leash." Mr Hedison led Steele outside, opening the doors, with the dog doors swinging as the doors were widely opened. Mr. Hedison had these dog doors installed not long ago, so Steele could go out by himself and come back in by himself again. Once in the open, Mr. Hedison whistled to Steele to follow him. Steele watched as he was now on the streets of his birthplace, feeling like a stranger in there.
"I'm sure that if we come across the dogs out there, no problems will be happening." Mr. Hedison spoke to his dog, wondering whether Steele was good with the dogs of Nome or not, knowing that he was living in the wild for some time. Steele, however, wished that he was not going to come across any dog out here, but be done with the walk as soon as possible and get home. Unfortunately for him, the wish went downhill as soon as he heard someone's whisper - It must have been coming from Dixie and Sylvie nearby.
"Looks like the disposable mutt out there is out with his "dear" owner." Dixie stated out mockingly with her friend Sylvie, as they both were watching Steele walk down the street, who was just doing his best to ignore these two gossips. Previously, he was literally adored by them and he was their role model - now he was nothing else but a laughing stock for them both and the subject of their everyday gossips. Sylvie scoffed mockingly, saying: "Who knows what kind of scars he's going to give to the next dog he sees!"
"Pathetic gossips!" Steele thought to himself madly, detesting the two dogs that were once his biggest admirers. Since he had no clue what to do anymore nor he could push with his life duties, Steele just felt like some kind of an odd dog that should be out for good. Walking with his owner and getting closer to the beach, he had managed to have a quick glance at the two dogs resting nearby - and immediately he growled angrily as he knew who these two dogs were - the dark brown one and the gray one were Max and Molly respectively - his fierce rivals and the friends of Balto before Steele got repelled from his birthplace.
"Here goes Steele - the one who had caused so much trouble to both of us, Balto and Jenna." Max whispered to Molly as they were both watching Steele heading with Mr. Hedison on the beach, no longer being a top dog of the sled team, but a family dog now, with the frustrating reality he was facing. Both Max and Molly were detesting Steele for his cruel behavior towards the "non-pure" dogs, now he was the one who was tasting the bitter of his own behavior. Molly looked at him sternly and just muttered: "And what has he been doing lately? Recovering home?"
"As if I need these two talking about me now!" Steele hissed in anger once again, showing more or less the hatred towards these two dogs, who, along with Jenna, were the first friends Balto ever had. Now they were openly supporting Balto, along with the entire town. Then, he just remembered the old days of his glory - along with his admirers was Max's younger sister Audrey! The dark brown female with the patch on her nose, who had a rocky relationship with her older brother. Thinking in the utter disgust that the sibling of his fierce rival had a crush on him, he spat on the ground, trying to get rid of that gross thought in his head. Hearing the waves in the distance flowing, Mr. Hedison and Steele were now on the beach.
"Alright, Steele boy, if you think you are ready, I shall let you run on the beach." Mr. Hedison told Steele, being confident enough that after the three and a half weeks, Steele had managed to recover in a short period. Steele looked at his owner and not having anything to do, he did start running a bit, but if he tried to run too fast, he'd feel some kind of pinching in his body, letting him know that he still needed some recovery till he was fully ready to run at full speed. Though, he knew that he was never going to be a sled dog again.
"It seems that you should take it easy for some time, Steele." Mr. Hedison let him know, as he was continuing to walk down the beach. What was in front of them was the old boat and Steele growled, knowing that boat was the same one Balto was living. What is Mr. Hedison going to say? Steele knew exactly what - he was going to shower Balto with constant praises for every heroic deed he had done since the winter 1925. Then, he heard some kind of movement on the boat and with his instincts, he was hearing the pawsteps.
In the matter of the seconds, not one canine showed on the deck, but two of them. However, neither of them was Balto. Sure, one of them was a wolf-dog, a female one. Wearing a bright blue bandanna around her neck, it was none other else than Aleu, Balto's oldest pup. The other canine was Kenai, the brown male pure wolf, standing next to Aleu. As they heard someone coming, they took a look at Mr. Hedison and at Steele. Both of them smirked in disgust as they knew who Steele was and were wondering what was he doing there, near their boat?
"Oh look, if Mr. Hedison spots these wolves on the boat... he may call the hunters to... get rid of them!" Steele watched at Aleu and Kenai with anger, but at the same time, the diabolical satisfaction was hiding under his angry face. Noticing that Steele was standing still on the beach and was watching at Aleu and Kenai, hoping that Mr. Hedison was going to notice the two wolves on the beach and alert the hunters. Much to his fortune, Steele watched as Mr. Hedison was turning his head towards the boat and there he could have spotted two wolves on it.
But... instead of the expectations he had been expecting to alert the hunters... Mr. Hedison briefly smiled at the two wolves, stroking Steele by his head and commenting: "Oh, Steele. Check these two wolves out. Both of them must be Balto's family members. Because of so, we have decided to let them live instead of shooting them down. Guess why, boy? The brown one... not sure if he has a name... helped Balto find the puppies one year ago! And look, you seem to be brave when it comes to the wolves!"
Listening to what his owner was saying, Steele looked at him with the eyes widened and the jaw dropped in the utter shock. The wolves on the beach and they were letting them live?! He felt like as if he was doing on a hard mission of his life to establish the peace for the community... only to find out in the bitter disappointment that the rules had changed and that the non-pure ones were respected for the deeds they had committed. He felt like as if the water of the bitter disappointment flushed throughout his body. Looking at Mr. Hedison, who was surpassing the beach, he just followed him, trying to get out of his head what was his owner saying.
"This all feels like a betrayal!" Steele whispered under the scoff he let out as he was heading away from the boat. Then, he just remembered how Mr. Hedison was saying that Kenai was the town hero for saving the puppies one year ago. The same puppies Steele had kidnapped, along with Niju, to get revenge on Balto and Aleu respectively, only to end up in Niju's demise and him almost getting killed in that blasted river. "It seems that the purebred dogs are no longer to be welcome in the future..."
"Hey, boy! Look who is there!" Mr. Hedison called on Steele as he was just few meters behind him. Steele, at first reluctant, decided to do what Mr. Hedison was saying, because what was the purpose of his life anyways now that he was being loathed and isolated from the canine community. He just looked up the hill, where the forest was behind it. At first, he couldn't see anyone, but as he noticed the movement behind the trees, now he could have spotted some figures coming.
"Now there will be few wolves coming, the young ones of the wolves from the beach. Since these were also kidnapped, no one had any mercy to shoot them. Can you believe what kind of the monstrosity would that be if we had?" Mr. Hedison asked Steele, as if he was some kind of human. Still, Steele wished that Mr. Hedison was the dog so there would have been at least one canine who'd provide him some friendship and affection. True to Mr. Hedison's words, some wolves had shown up on the top of the hill, keeping the distance from the human.
Observing the newcomers, Steele watched at these wolves as if they had done something unforgivable to him and he had a reason to loathe them in a retaliation. One by one, Steele was observing each of them to see who was who. The one on the far left was as sandy gray as Aleu, only that female was green eyed, Tundra being her name and the oldest pup of hers. Next one, the brown one to Tundra was a male, just like Kenai, only he had blue eyes like his mother, Akiak being his name. The third one, the gray one with apricot-colored underbelly and with green eyes... Steele recognized Denahi, because he was just few meters away from him few months ago.
Then, the one on far right... white female wolf with the exact same eyes as Aleu... Naia being her name... As soon as Steele had spotted Naia, he had a flashback... a rather frightening one. He had a flashback where he was beating Balto unconscious after he had saved the town of Nome... then, the great white wolf with golden eyes, told him to stop... he attacked the wolf in retaliation, but as if the wolf wasn't there anymore... instead, the wolf was just behind Steele... the wolf was supernatural and frightening... and that wolf was the reason why Steele ran into the exile after the town was saved.
Fearing that he was seeing that white wolf again, from his flashback, Steele raised on his rear paws and barked with a high-pitched sound in the utter shock and fear. Mr. Hedison saw Steele getting frightened out of his fur and just yelled: "Steele! STEELE! Calm down, calm DOWN!" But as Steele was barking out of fear, he landed on his back in the snow after losing the balance. Despite Naia standing there and watching him bark in fear, Steele immediately rushed to get on all on his fours, turn towards Nome and make a run for it, as if he was running for his dear life, like never before. He just ignored Mr. Hedison's yelling such as: "STEELE! STEELE, HEEL, BOY!" and proceeded to rush home as soon as possible, where he was feeling the safest in the entire town.
As quick as flash, Steele was running as fast as he could, as long as his paws weren't giving up. The pain grew in the form of pinches as he was rushing to his home. He may have seen several canines on his way, who were quite surprised by his running home. He couldn't have remembered the faces as he just wanted to be home, safe from the white wolf he had seen in the distance and in his head. Rushing at the full speed ahead, he rammed into the dog doors and ended up bending them at some angle. At least he made it home, hiding behind the sofa in the corner of the room.
The minutes were passing in the house... Steele was shivering out of the fear, catching his breath and trying to sooth the pain from inside his damaged body. The white wolf... out there... what did that white wolf want? It showed to him and out of fear, when he was winning the fight against Balto five years ago... he had to run for his life. With these thoughts flashing in his head quickly, someone was running outside and judging by the rushed steps out there... it was a human. Was Mr. Hedison coming back already?
"Steele! Where could you have gone to!?" The voice yelled out of the confusion, with Steele perking his ears above, knowing that Mr. Hedison was out there. Just as Steele was about to peek out, Mr. Hedison opened the front doors widely and noticed the damage Steele had caused to the dog doors, how they were bent from inside. Ignoring the damage on the dog doors, Mr. Hedison searched for Steele all around the house. It didn't take him too long as Steele was hiding behind the sofa and the living room was the first room in the house once being entered.
"Steele! What was that all about?!" Mr. Hedison asked his dog, and instead of being mad at Steele or something, he was just out of himself, as if he had arranged someone to do a work for him that would have been successful, but ended up being a complete failure in the last moment. Since Steele was shivering out of the fear, Mr. Hedison may have guessed that Steele could have seen something that had frightened him out of the fur. But the question was... "How come you have gotten frightened of these wolves?! You weren't that frightened with the ones on the boat that were closer!"
Steele only watched his owner and if only Mr. Hedison was a dog... but, on the other paw, maybe that would have been a bad idea. If he had told him that he was afraid of the innocent white wolf, he'd end up being nothing else but a laughingstock for being a coward in front of a young wolf. Instead, he just decided to find a medical spread in the medic box, poured some green cream in his head and said: "Come on. You have hurt yourself running, you're going to need some rest now."
Feeling at the same time the fear and as if he was going to cry... but the thing was... he couldn't remember the last time he cried... when he was a puppy? He just cuddled himself very tightly to his owner, as if he had that urge to break down in tears... but he couldn't, not that there were dogs outside and what if they were making fun of him for being a coward in front of the harmless wolf out there. Letting Mr. Hedison smear the cream around his torso, where it hurt him the most, at least he was safe in there.
The entire day for Steele went as quick as flash and his fear was gradually ceasing, thinking that white wolf he had seen out there, Naia, couldn't be really harmful. All that made him run in fright was the blasted flashback of his. Now, as the evening was catching up in the town of Nome and Mr. Hedison was getting ready to get some sleep earlier than usual. Steele was the only one in the house who was still awaken, trying to suppress that frightening feeling out of himself.
Looking at the bent dog doors, that Mr. Hedison didn't even try to fix the entire day, Steele watched from his bed out into the distance. He scoffed several times for running like a coward because of all that before. His thoughts were all like: "It was just Balto's granddaughter, not that white wolf that made me run for it... what was I thinking?!" Suddenly, as the thoughts were mixing in his head, he started to feel the urge to go out there... but why for? He started to question his urge, which kept growing and growing and as if it was pinching him to go out there... for some reason.
"Alright... I shall out there and if anyone sees me... I shall prove that I am not afraid of any white wolves!" Steele hissed to himself out of the frustration, ready to face off the perils out there, as if he was about to combat his fear and put the end of all this. Walking through the bent dog doors out of the house, Steele was on the cold air of the streets of the town of Nome, with the snow falling quietly and slowly. Perking with his ears around the streets of Nome, he was wondering whoever might be out there.
"Now... if there is someone... I challenge you to come at ME! I am not afraid of you and the white wolves!" Steele yelled out to anyone who would have been out there... but the question was... was anyone else out there? It was nighttime and the houses in the distance and nearby were having their lights out. Now what... did this isolation furthermore encored his insanity? Did he finally lost his mind and started yelling to someone who wasn't there?
"But you ARE afraid of the truth you cannot accept..." The deep, female voice whispered into the wind that was blowing in the town. The voice was deep enough to make Steele start shivering in fear again, with the chills tingling down his spine. Steele frantically looked around himself, wondering whether it was just the wind blowing in the distance or someone talking to him. Gulping the spit inside him, he just yelled to prove he was no coward: "WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE ME LOOK A COWARD?!"
"I am behind you." The voice spoke to him, sounding deep and chilling, that Steele got the another spine-tingling chills down his spine. He turned around, hoping it was just a stupid prank from the other dogs to make him look like a scaredy-dog. Instead... it wasn't. In the dark, he could have seen a tall, white and furred canine walking towards his direction. It was a wolf! An extraordinarily tall wolf and it was a female, whispering something with the similar voice he had heard earlier before.
"No... No...! NO!" Steele looked at the wolf in the distance, as if he was experiencing the worst nightmare of his life... but this was not a nightmare... it was the reality. Trotting backwards from the white wolf, slowly heading towards him, Steele made the immediate sharp turn and rushed into the nearest alley, without even thinking to return to his house. What was he thinking?! He could have run to his house, alerted Mr. Hedison and sent the alarm... unless that wolf was good with the humans of the wolves... As narrow as the alley was, Steele stopped in the dead end, holding himself very close to the wall in the distance. Was he safe? Was he going to wait for Mr. Hedison to find him as that white wolf might have been staying there for some time.
The white wolf showed himself on the entrance of the alley, staring at Steele with the spine-chilling deep into him. Then, just as Steele hoped that the white wolf was going to leave, because she was too narrow to pass through, that didn't happen. The white wolf started walking into the alley and as if she was passing through the alley without any difficulties. Steele couldn't do anything but to watch his biggest fear of his life walking towards him. Being trapped in the alley, laying on his back into the snow and watching the white wolf standing above him... what he was going to do...?
Then, he remembered. He remembered that ever since he had been adopted by Mr. Hedison, Steele was being isolated from every other canine in this town, without any goals to accomplish in his life. He couldn't have done anything in his life, nothing that he was been planning was even going to happen. His life, being questioned by himself, and the existence as well, Steele just gulped, looked into the white wolf's eyes and whispered: "If you have come to take my life... do it... Just do IT! My life has no longer a purpose and no one even cares if I AM GONE!"
"No." The whisper from the white wolf was coming out of her mouth. Steele, wanting to end his life once and for all, being driven to the isolation and madness for the last few months, had his offer rejected. If the white wolf, his life's greatest fear, was not going to end his life, then what was she doing here? Was she going to torture him further to the madness or what? "I have not come to take your life away, Steele."
Saying his name out loud, Steele gasped out of the astonishment. The white wolf knowing his name... was she following him in the shadows during his exile all this time? The questions were rambling in his mind, but were stopped as soon as the white wolf spoke to him: "I was that wolf whom you were escaping from after you have hurt my son... several years ago. You were hurting Balto just because you couldn't have abandoned your past."
The white wolf... Balto's mother?! Since he had done so much harm to her son, then why she was not going to punish him? What was she trying to do with him? Was she going to torture him in the worst way possible? Her eyes started to glow brightly... in the dark alley... Noticing the odd sensation in his body, Steele started to gasp in astonishment, wondering what she was about to do? He had to ask Balto's mother: "What are you doing to ME?!"
"I, Aniu, am going to lead you through the life... the life that could have been had you abandoned your past... and moved to the future..." Aniu whispered with her chilling voice to Steele and in the matter on the moments, he blinked. Once opening his eyes... he was no longer in the dark alley of Nome... but somewhere else... was he in Nome? And since when did the night shift into the day? The main question was... what was going around with Steele, being with Aniu?
"What is this place?! Where am I?" Steele observed the street he was in, bathed in the sunlight and with the snow on the ground. Aniu just watched him silently and let him recognize the town he was now in her vision. Looking at the houses, streets, landscape surrounding the town and beyond... there he managed to spot the snowy mountain above. He found out where he was now - the town of White Mountain.
"White Mountain? But why...?" Steele asked Aniu after her had managed to recognize the town he was in. It was the town that served as the another end of the mail service for the sled dogs of the town of Nome. The place itself seemed quite lively and as if there was going to be a great parade in the town itself. After watching him in a silence for minutes, Aniu spoke with her voice, being deep and chilling as the cold wind of the Alaskan wildlife: "This shows... what could it have been if you have let your past go..."
"Steele! Come, boy!" The male voice, completely new and unknown to Steele, could have been heard in the distance. Triggered by that, Steele looked around to see who was the human who called him. Soon or later, he had seen one, walking down the street... that human was not Mr. Hedison, as his looks were completely different than Mr. Hedison's. But that was not what had Steele astonished... it was a canine who was following the human with the eager happiness. The canine was...
"Do I see myself?!" Steele gasped in astonishment as he had seen no one else than himself, happily following the human! Wondering what he could do, Steele made a few steps in front and barked to human two or three times. But... neither human nor himself from this vision... were able to see him, as if he was not there! Taking a better look at himself, Steele was really surprised that his ego from this vision was different in the terms of personality and physical looks.
This Steele... or his ego from the vision... was not scarred on his torso nor his skin was hanging from his stomach. He was looking just fine and his fur looked so groomed and polished to the tiniest bit that any perfectionist would please. Also, the happy look on the ego of the vision, as if he could have felt what his ego was feeling... he was not faking to be happy, but was genuinely happy while following the human, his owner supposedly. He was feeling odd, with some kind of happy sensation bathing the entire interior of his body.
"Come with me, Steele. There is something you are not going to believe with your eyes." Aniu finally broke the silence with her chilling voice, looking at Steele, the one from reality, as if she was trying to tell him to move at once. Steele, being astonished to look at his ego happily following his owner in this town, walked faster and faster while making his way to the house they were going to go. He still could not understand what was this all about.
Suddenly, Steele from the vision and his owner stopped on their tracks in front of the peculiar house, whereas the real Steele and Aniu were just standing in front of them. Hearing the bark from his vision ego, who sat after the owner pointed with his finger up, and the real Steele was feeling the exact same thing as his vision ego. Then, his owner spoke, and what he said made the real Steele widen his eyes and drop his jaw in the utter surprise. What he said was: "Okay, Steele. We shall see if Shira is home and if she is, I shall let you be with her and your puppies."
When his vision ego barked for the second time, the real Steele was now properly connecting the dots of the vision he was being in... this was something in the supposed past that could have happen... if he was not dragging his blasted ego and the past with himself... This vision... this could have happened and he thought to himself... this would have him portrayed as the malamute who left Nome and sought the solace in Shira once arriving to White Mountain... confessing his evil deeds because of his wretched ego... There he and Shira would be the loving couple and their pups would have been the pups with the best parents in the entire Alaska...
With these thoughts flowing in his head, the thoughts of the past that could have happened... he had seen his owner knocking on the doors of the house. In the matter of the seconds... the doors opened and it revealed a small kid opening them... The kid couldn't have been older than the age of eight. When he saw the guest on the doors of his house, Steele could have seen the smile on the face of the young boy.
"Hello, Sean!" The man greeted the kid cheerfully, patting the young one by his bright brown hair, with Sean just laughing. The two adults were seen behind Sean and judging by the cheerful faces on them both, those could have been the parents of Sean, which would mean that the owner of his vision ego was either the family friend or a relative of theirs. Crouching down of the ground to have a better look on the young Sean, the man asked him a question: "Is your dog Shira doing well? I was wondering if Steele may be able to see her, and their puppies."
"Shira is doing pretty well!" Sean exclaimed cheerfully towards the man, treating him as if the man was the good friend of his parents, or even a relative of his. His vision ego, who was sitting behind the owner, smiled widely and cheerfully as he was about to spend time with his mate and their puppies. While looking at his ego raising on all of his fours in excitement, he managed to hear some voices as if they were trying to say: "Come in, Steele! Come in!"
"I shall let you see by yourself." Aniu spoke with the chilling voice of hers again, raising her paw to let Steele go into the house with his vision ego. More he spent in this vision, more he realized that this past was the one he could have had if he hadn't been thinking on himself. Wasting no time, Steele rushed with a such astonishing speed into the house, along with his vision ego and his owner. As no one was able to see him, he just went through them and even through the house. He realized that he could have went in patiently.
Once in the house where his vision ego was, it was a rather modest and a shabby place to live in a White Mountain. The interiors were being as colorful as any other colorful interior of Alaskan homes. Suddenly, he had heard a female voice coming from the another room... and then... the stirring. Being able to feel the same thing as his ego, Steele was experiencing the joy he had never expected. Both of them were able to hear: "Steele, my sweetheart? Is that you?!" Only to be followed by the four tiny and excited voices echoing the same thing: "DADDY IS HERE! DADDY IS HERE!"
Much to the expectation and the joy of the vision Steele and to the astonishment of the real Steele... both of them looked at the black female husky coming towards them from the another room. It was Shira, it just had to be her - black fur, emerald green eyes and white underbelly... no blue collar around her neck. Her face was not showing the awe and the fear, but the joy and the excitement - rushing to nuzzle her mate by his chest. Just as Steele could have expected - it was the vision Steele she was nuzzling there.
Then, the four black balls of fur, ran into the room out of the excitement. None of them were showing the fear and the awe, but were as joyful and as excited as Shira was. Looking at one by one, he could have recognized each of them, just like in the reality - Taiga, being the spit image of her father, only female; Rodney, having the exceptional brown eyes differing from the others; Sarah - looking like her mother, but with ocean blue eyes; and Tayer, having the unique looks in the family, much to the surprise of the real Steele.
He watched his vision ego rolling on the floor like a big puppy and was wagging with his tail happily, oozing the indescribable joy. It was not the arrogant and the murderlusting joy Steele had been oozing for the long time, but the genuine joy. He could have seen Shira holding his vision ego by the shoulders so the four puppies could jump on Steele's stomach. As they did, the vision Steele was laughing and laughing in joy as the puppies were tickling him and Shira was licking his forehead, adding the joy on his face.
"What could it have been... what could it have been..." These words were echoing in real Steele's head, the words that Aniu had spoken to him earlier. The echoes were getting intense and more intense they were, Steele was slowly coming to his senses... if this had happened, Steele would have been having a wonderful family life with their puppies and none of them would have been afraid of him, but would have been very loving towards him, as much as he would have been.
Looking once again at his vision ego, he could have spotted the puppy Tayer rolling on his back in front of vision Steele and giggling like an innocent puppy. While the other puppies were giggling and jumping on Steele's back, neck or head, Steele used his opportunity to nuzzle Tayer's belly with his nose, making the youngest black ball of fur laugh out loud, with Shira cleaning his head with her tongue. The real Steele came to realize that in this past that never happened... Tayer would have been his favorite.
Suddenly, the vision in front of his eyes was starting to fade, making everything that was bright around him... go dark. He had heard the chilling voice of Aniu, whispering the same thing as an echo: "It is time to go... It is time to go." Before Steele was able to return to the reality, he saw his vision ego having so much fun with his mate and the puppies, being genuinely caring and loving for them. Sean and his family, and also vision Steele's owner, were laughing delightfully by that scenario. In the matter of the moments, Steele blinked.
Upon opening his eyes, everything that was in the plain sight of Steele changed, yet not into something new. Instead, he was back in the dark, snowy alley behind his house, back in the town of Nome. The white wolf, Aniu, was standing there, in front of him. Her face was still giving the blank expression, yet in her eyes something could have been seen - Steele might have learned what was that vision about to him.
"That vision... that was the time... that could have happened... but never did?" Steele gasped several times as the images of the alternate timeline were scrolling in his head. Being the loving and the caring mate and the father to Shira and their pups, living a fine life without any wounds... having his wretched past removed and living the life in the present... Steele's jaw was dropped down in the utter surprise until he heard Aniu telling him: "The alternate time... yes."
That timeline... with him being entirely different... he could have done that thing... but he didn't want to let his glory go... nor he wanted to accept the fact of the bad deeds he had done... Looking at Aniu, who seemed as if she was going to tell him some kind of a valuable life lesson, he decided to let her speak. Never before he had let anyone do something before him, but this kind of urge felt... strange. Still, Aniu opened her mouth and spoke with her chilling voice: "It is all on you Steele... you have to choose whether it is the pride of yours... or your heart..."
These words bounded in his head and echoed in it... he had no choice... he could not let himself push any deeper... he had to face the truth and abandon his wretched past. If he was going to do that, is anyone going to believe him or... is anyone even going to forgive him? These questions rambled in his head as he was desperately searching for the answer. Then, out of surprise, telepathically, Aniu spoke: "Accepting the truth is the first step... The step towards the new chapter of your life... the second step is on you to discover it..."
"First step... accepting the truth." Steele repeated to himself as he was amazed by Aniu's telepathy, being able to read his mind. If it was supposed to be like that... to accept the truth, then he made a choice: He was going to make the first step towards his new life - the heart being over his own pride. Then, as the wind was getting stronger, Steele watched how Aniu was slowly fading away in the darkness and how he could have seen through her body. Being speechless about it at first, no words came out of his mouth while witnessing her departure. But before she was fully gone, Steele was able to ask her the last: "When am I supposed to make that first step?!"
"Sooner you make, closer you are to the new chapter of your life...!" Aniu whispered with her chilling voice to Steele before she was no longer seen in that alley. In fact, as if she was not there, possibly because the snow was falling and falling during this encounter. But with her being gone, the wind calmed down entirely and no snowflake was seen falling to the ground. The entire sky became clear and the moon was seen above. Watching this with the amazement, Steele was about to move on and return home, starting to feel quite relieved.
Once making a step into the snow, Steele had noticed the pawprint laying down in the snow. Aniu. It must have been hers. Large enough for a wolf, having a scent of the wolf and leaving the deep trail in it. At the same time, she was feeling real and fictional. But Steele was not insane, as she was there, in front of him, showing the vision of the past that could have happened. Trying to relieve himself furthermore, Steele was leaving the alley and heading home at once.
Making his way to the house, passing through the bent dog doors to get inside, Steele roamed in the dark of the room, searching for his basket bed, wherever it could have been. Thankfully, he had found his bed with the worn out blanket and even more worn out pillow. Covering himself with the blanket and feeling the softness of the pillow, Steele did not feel any cold up out there. He did not feel anything, but now that he was in his bed... he was feeling warm and very comfortable.
With the thoughts rambling in his head, such as seeing the visions of the past that had never happened, the encounter with Aniu, he relief inside him, the important choice of his life for good... they just kept rambling, yet he could have felt that his eyelids were heavier and heavier. Before falling asleep at last, Steele just thought to himself when he was going to make the first step and the answer was...: "Tomorrow, in the morning, I shall do it. That shall lead me to the second step, which is on me to find out!" With that decision, Steele sank into the comfortable sleep.