Chapter 9: The Party.

9:00 P.M. Sunday, December 24th, 1922:

Jenna sighed to herself; the husky was not looking forward to what she was about to do that night. After her magical night with Balto, the last two days had been comparatively dull and uneventful. She had spent most of December 23rd practicing the songs she had written with Balto during their tour, and started working on a musical beat with Dixie and her all-dog band. However, on December 24th, Jenna noticed that Nikki, Kaltag, and Star would shoot each other anxious looks whenever they were around her. Jenna didn't quite understand why, but she suspected the three sled dogs were worried about her well-being. Then she started to wonder if Steele had told them about seeing her with Balto. That idea made her uncomfortable, so she eventually decided to stay at home for the rest of Christmas Eve.

On the way home, Jenna noticed that the town had come to look more and more festive the closer Christmas Day came, and that some of the townspeople had even started putting wreaths on their front doors. Despite all of her worries and frustrations lately, Jenna knew Christmas was going to be another great holiday for Rosie and her family the following morning, one she was looking forward to. And distantly, Jenna wondered how her half-wolf friend would be spending his Christmas morning.

She had spent most of Christmas Eve playing with Rosie, so she couldn't help but notice the girl's family members eyeing her strangely, and not just as one-off experience. Thomas, Evelyn and Joseph seemed to constantly sport similar expressions to Nikki, Kaltag and Star, thinking the husky wouldn't pick up on them or understand them. After a while of being scrutinized by them, Jenna guessed that the human family had finally started to notice her sneaking out and stealing food for the last month, and she had to admit, that put on her edge. Everyone she knew seemed to be hiding things from her, everywhere she went people kept looking at her strangely, and a few times, she irrationally felt like someone somewhere was watching her in town, causing her to look over her shoulder at nothing. Jenna's gut feeling kept nagging her, like something bad was going to happen to her and it was only a matter of time it transpired. Inwardly, she chided herself on being such a worrywart, telling herself that she just needed to get a grip, but she had to admit, it was going to feel pretty good to unload to Balto about everyone's weird behavior the next time she saw him.

Finally, Christmas Eve night arrived, and Rosie gladly went to bed early, almost bursting with excitement. Jenna knew that the little girl was eager to go to bed because a Christmas tree filled with presents and candy would be waiting for her when she woke up, courtesy of a jolly old man and his magical flying reindeer. Jenna wished that she could spend the night at home with her family, but she would instead be spending it with Steele, partying in the Old Mill. Jenna had spent hours preparing herself for this outing - or as Steele probably considered it, a date - but she was still dreading it just the same. She had only agreed to it because she was worried about how the malamute would react if she turned him down, but now she wished she had stood her ground on the matter. Still, maybe it wouldn't be all bad, after all, Jenna would have a chance to finally showcase the new songs that she and Dixie had spent days working on.

Finally, after hours of restless waiting, 9:00 P.M. came to pass, the time she was due to meet Steele outside. Jenna took a deep breath, broadened her mind and slipped her way through the dog door her owners had recently installed, stepping outside into the cool night air. Letting her eyes adjust to the dark, Jenna scanned the yard, looking for any signs of the hidden malamute. Finally, she saw what she was looking for: someone was hiding behind the snow-covered wood pile. "Okay, you can come out now. It's only me", Jenna announced, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, since she had said the exact same words to Balto only a few days before. Still, Jenna tried to push her friend out of her mind, and concentrated on the real reason why she was standing outside in the middle of the night - giving Steele a fair chance.

At the sound of her voice, the mysterious canine stepped out from behind the wood pile, and despite herself, Jenna felt a bit disappointed. Instead of the scruffy, familiar face of the wolf-dog hybrid she had come to know so well, standing before her distinctive, masculine face of Steele, complete with his light blue eyes that were the exact same shade of blue as ice. As always the malamute carried himself with confidence and swagger, and he was clearly satisfied that he was finally going to have his date with Jenna, smirking at her. "Sorry, but I had to make sure", he rumbled, sending a chill running up her spine, and not for the reasons he probably wanted.

Once again, Jenna felt the urge to put some distance between herself and Steele - some persistent, instinctual distrust - for the third or fourth time since she had met him. This time however the feeling actually seemed to be stronger, and she pointedly swallowed it back, trying to keep her composure and not let her conflicting emotions show on her face. She didn't quite manage it though.

When it took his dinner date longer than it should to answer back, Steele noticed the blatant discomfort she was displaying and his brows set into a frown. "What's wrong? Were you expecting someone else?", he suggested, lacing the sharp edge of a certain implication underneath such a benign question.

"Oh, no. Nah, it's just really, really cold out here. I'm still not used to how cold it gets in Nome, so close to the sea", Jenna lied, with an exaggerated shiver for good measure.

"Hmmm, yes", Steele said dryly. He could see right through her of course, they both knew it, they both knew she was a terrible liar, but he chose to let the matter drop. "Alrighty then, let's get you inside the Old Mill where it's nice and warm. Dixie and the boys are already there, waiting for you", he suggested. The eager malamute pushed open the broken gate with his paw, and Jenna reluctantly walked past him. Leaving Jenna's yard between them, the two dogs walked in quiet silence that was neither amiable or uncomfortable, it simply was. Every once in a while, Steele would roll his shoulders, puff out his chest or shoot a rakish grin Jenna's way.

Steele seemed to have much more confidence around her than Balto had, perhaps too much. Jenna had the distinct feeling that Steele was expecting her to fawn over him or instantly fall in love with him on the first date, the same way all the other girls in town had. Jenna knew that she didn't love the overly-confident malamute and she probably never would, but she didn't know how he would react if she told him that she was in love with another man, especially with a wolf-dog like Balto. From what she knew, Steele could be quite a bully and he hated wolves. She knew she shouldn't have let him force her into an awkward situation like this but she hadn't known what else to do. After her close encounter with Devil and his gang a few weeks earlier, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to defend herself against Steele or any other dog that wanted to forcibly mate with her.

Jenna tried not to think about the idea of Steele trying to force himself upon her, and instead focused more on her upcoming performance. She and Dixie had finished putting the final touches on her songs earlier that day, and she was pretty sure that they sounded okay, but she was more concerned about her nerves. Going onstage to sing for a bunch of strangers wouldn't be easy. She had done it with Dixie and Sylvie a few days, but that was a spur of the moment decision, and they had done it together as a trio. This was a premeditated solo act that she had had plenty of time to fret about.

Jenna shot a glance at her brawny sled dog escort, who also seemed to be thinking of something else at the moment. Steele had an eager expression set on his face, like he was imagining something exciting was going to happen soon.

"Steele?", Jenna asked softly.

"Hmm?", Steele rumbled, his icy blue eyes meeting her own.

"I asked Dixie about you yesterday, and she said that you've competed in races all across Alaska, How long have you been a sled dog?", Jenna asked, curious.

Instead of giving her a cocky or arrogant response like she had expected, Steele actually seemed to think about his answer for a while, walking along in silence to the point where she thought he wasn't going to reply at all. Finally, when he did speak up, his demeanor seemed to have shifted from before. "Pretty much all my life. I've been training since I was just a pup, before I moved here to Nome from my old home in Fairbanks about two years ago", Steele replied.

"Racing's in my blood, Jenna. My own great-grandfather was a sled dog, my grandfather was one, even my own father, before he-", Steele explained, abruptly biting his tongue with a hard frown. Clearly, the malamute's father was a subject he didn't want to discuss, and he wasted no time skirting the subject after he cleared his throat.

"Anyway, racing is a family tradition, and it's my duty, my birthright, to continue it. Which is one of several reasons why I'm lead dog, undisputed", Steele boasted, the sled dog's normally smug, smarmy grin slipping back onto his face after a few rare moments of sincerity. But Jenna had seen the mask drop for a moment. She could tell the malamute wasn't quite as content with his life as he let on.

"But isn't that kinda dangerous? Running across the frozen tundra for hundreds miles everyday?", she inquired, loosening up a bit more, just enough to unleash her usual barrage of questions.

Steele smirked. "Nah, the danger's the best part. Crossing a frozen lake that's covered with thin ice, outrunning an avalanche, outsmarting a grizzly bear, trying to beat the other guys. You can't match the thrill, Jenna, and you'll never want a normal, boring life again after you've tasted it", Steele promised.

"Wow", Jenna stated, trying to take in all those scenarios and imagine them for herself.

"Besides, the only real danger you might find out there is a pack of flea-mitten mongrels, wolves, if you're unlucky enough to run into them", Steele growled, his mood taking a sharp turn out of nowhere, steering the conversation right back into uncomfortable territory again.

Jenna stared at him, annoyed and perplexed, for a good long while, while the malamute's hard glare remained purposely fixed on the road ahead. Finally, Jenna decided to be direct. "You know Steele, I have to ask why do you hate wolves so much?", she asked.

At the word, 'wolves', Jenna immediately snapped out of her daze. Even though it was probably a stupid question, and she knew that she would probably get a harsh answer, Jenna found herself asking Steele fourteen seemingly innocent little words. "You know Steele, I have to ask, why do you hate wolves so much?", she asked, annoyed.

Steele's head snapped towards her. "Why?", he repeated incredulously.

"Yeah?", Jenna reiterated, standing her ground on the matter, feeling like she was missing something obvious.

"Well, why wouldn't I?! The whole lot of them are nothing but a bunch of savage, wanton, greedy beasts who attack people and dogs whenever they get the chance. They're also cowardly as hell. They'll fight you in a pack, but they always run away in a one-on-fight!", Steele snarled, having been set off by the husky's innocuous question. He also sounded like he was talking from experience.

Jenna flinched; she figured she would regret asking him that. But she had wanted to know the reasons behind his intense wolf prejudice, and she was admittedly starting to understand the malamute a bit better.

"I'll never forget what they did to my fa-", Steele ranted, before he cut himself off mid-sentence, biting his tongue and growling to himself in frustration. Jenna could tell he had said more than he meant to.

"What did they do?", she probed, more curious now than ever.

Steele locked his jaw and glowered at her. "It doesn't matter", he replied, his tone empty and hard, making it clear he was done talking about the subject. Jenna decided not to press things further, though she was about ready to let the matter drop anyway. She had already gotten way more interesting answers out of him than she had expected.

The surly black and white dog glanced up at the night sky. Thick, copious flakes of snow were falling out of the darkness of night, covering the streets of Nome with a thick blanket of snow. The fluffy white stuff was also starting to collect on the two dogs' fur coats, the longer they stayed out in the open.

"Come on Jenna, we'd better get inside before it gets any colder", Steele beckoned, sounding like the malamute was starting to cool off.

Jenna nodded her head in agreement, and followed the malamute closely as he dashed inside the building she recognized as the Old Mill. Once she pushed open the doors and was greeted with the familiar wooden room, now packed with canines, the warmth from the nearby boilers washed over her.

"Mmm, the dogs in this town have the right idea. Being inside the Old Mill on a night like tonight feels heavenly", she thought, sighing contently.

Steele shook his whole body for a few seconds, letting huge clumps of snow fly off his fur and melt on the floor, before he turned towards Jenna and mustered up a rakish grin. "Here we are, Jen: the Old Mill. It's been a part of Nome since the town was founded in 1899", the malamute explained, waving his paw around the room to show off.

Jenna nodded her head in reply. Of course, she had already learnt all this from Balto the other day, but she figured he didn't need to know that.

"Jenna, hey girl! We thought you'd never make it!", a familiar female friend called, prompting Jenna to prick up her ears and seek her out in the crowd. Looking around, Jenna saw Dixie, Sylvie, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star rapidly approaching, each with their own look of anticipation on their faces.

"Hi, Dix. I just had to wait for my diner date", Jenna explained, shuddering ever so slightly at those last two words.

Steele frowned again at the new girl's disdain for him, but otherwise said nothing about it. It frustrated him, and occasionally made him jealous of that mongrel, but Steele had to admit, he kind of liked Jenna playing hard to get. It was cute in a way, and it only made her a more enticing prize. The champion sled dog loved a good challenge, and he knew that if he waited long enough and kept at it long enough, she would be putty in his paws, just like every other woman in Nome. The best woman in town, on the arms of the best man. Just the way things ought to be.

Dixie gaped, looking between the husky and the malamute in obvious shock. "Steele is your dinner date?", she realized.

Jenna blushed slightly. She had forgotten to tell Dixie about her date with Steele that night. She knew Dixie had a not-so-secret crush on the sled dog, and she felt bad about going out with the jock her best friend desired, but it was unavoidable. Jenna really wished Steele liked Dixie instead of her, it would solve all of their relationship problems. But since he didn't, all she could do was awkwardly offer up a reply. "Um yeah. I hope you don't mind", Jenna said sheepishly.

As Jenna expected, Dixie seemed to grow angry with her for a few brief, easy to miss seconds as her eyebrows arched, before the signs vanished as quickly as they appeared and the show dog composed herself, not wanting to let Jenna or Steele know the true extent of her jealousy. "Nope, not at all", Dixie replied, in a manner not at all convincing.

Sylvie rolled her eyes, obviously not sharing the same liking for Steele as her partner in crime, before smiling warmly at Jenna. "So, are you ready?", she checked.

"No, not at all", Jenna admitted honestly and nervously.

Steele raised an eyebrow, before the malamute scoffed and actually started to burst out laughing at her. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me that a girl like you is afraid of one little song?", he poked sarcastically.

Jenna scowled at him, walked over to Dixie and outstretched her paw, gesturing for Dixie to hand her a microphone. Reluctantly facing up to her fears, Jenna brushed past Steele and walked towards the center of the room.

"Alright everyone, I promised you all a song, and you're gonna get one", Jenna announced, speaking into the microphone. Behind her, Dixie, Sylvie, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star starting setting up their instruments and mics, waiting for Jenna's cue to start playing.

"This first song that I wrote was inspired by a very special friend", Jenna explained.

"Yeah, I bet she has a very special friend", Nikki whispered into Kaltag's ear, causing the tan chinook to chuckle underneath his breath.

Whether they intended her to or not, Jenna caught that and she frowned, knowing the two sled dogs were talking about her friendship with Balto. But she ignored them, and tried to focus on singing.

"It's about a girl who spends all her time trying to impress a guy that'll never notice her, until she she finally puts her foot down", Jenna elaborated, shooting a glance Dixie's way, much to the show dog's confusion. She had no clue Jenna was talking about her crush on Steele.

"Alright guys, let's hit it!", Jenna shouted, before her canine band started playing.

((()-()))

Just outside of Nome, a scruffy brown wolf-dog stood on the edge of his traweler, gazing through the thick snowfall into town with a wagging tail. "I can't believe you're not trying to talk me out of this", he noted, addressing his roommate and father figure.

Boris rubbed his chin through his feathers, thoughtfully, before he slapped the wolf-dog on the shoulder. "Boychic, do you remember how I told you of my childhood in Russia?", he asked.

Balto looked down at the goose, a tad distracted. "Yeah?", he replied.

"When I was a young lad, I was in love, just as you are now, with a girl named Natayla. She was incredible, son, and I would have waited a lifetime for her", Boris reminisced.

The surprised hybrid perked up his brows, his father having gained his full attention. Boris had told him many things about the old country, but never this. "Well, what happened?", he asked.

"She flew off with another, arguably more handsome, goose. I waited too long", Boris stated flatly and plainly.

"Oh", Balto blinked, feeling both awkward and sympathetic.

"Look kiddo, the point I'm making is you shouldn't make the same mistakes I did. If you like this girl, and you think there's something special between the two of you, you should tell her while you've got the chance, no matter what the other dogs might think. Sometimes being in love means being willing to take risks", Boris advised, his usually gruff and haughty Russian accent gentling with paternal care.

"But... what if she doesn't feel the same way?", Balto asked, unable to help another bit of doubt seeping in.

Boris chuckled and shook his head at his son. "Boychic, I've seen the way she looks at you, how much she enjoys always spending time with you. I think she likes you back", he replied, like he was stating the obvious.

"Listen kiddo, Jenna never gave up on you, no matter hard things got, or what the other dogs thought of her, and by not being there to support her tonight, you're giving up on her. Sometimes, truly being in love with someone means being willing to risk everything for them. Don't make the same mistakes that I did", Boris reasoned.

Balto looked back at the neighboring village - it's warm, golden glow radiating in the cold, blackness of night - and his hesitant expression set into one of reckless determination, his previous resolve throughly strengthened. The hybrid glanced back and beamed at the shorter snow goose. "Thanks, Boris", he said gratefully.

The avian nodded his head and watched his son vault over the side of the ship, landing easily on his feet in the snow with a soft thud. In no time, the spirited wolf-dog was making a mad dash towards Nome, while Boris called it a night and waddled back inside his warm cabin.

"Go to her, boychic, and make your old man proud", he smiled.

"Rock Star" by Hannah Montana begins.

As the wolf-dog sped towards town, he could hear music emanating from the Old Mill, a harmonic soft rock beat all set to fire up an electric guitar riff. "Come on, Jen, don't start without me!", Balto gritted his teeth, pushing his way down Front Street.

((()-()))

"Yeah, Oh-Oh, Oh-Oh, Oh-Oh, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Alright! Whoo!", Jenna vocalized, with Dixie and Sylvie backing her up. Behind her, Nikki was beating a steady rhythm on his drums, Kaltag started to put some more intensity into playing his guitar, and Star worked the keyboard as best as he could, a rather impressive task for an animal that didn't have fingers. The canine audience clapped their paws in anticipation, as Jenna's voice echoed across the room.

"Sometimes I'll walk a little faster in the school hallway, just to get next to you (get next to you)! Some days I'll spend a little extra time in the morning, dress to impress you (dress to impress you)! Guess you don't notice, guess you don't need this, sad you're not seeing what you're missing! On the outside shying away, on the inside dying to say!", the girls harmonized, before the tempo sped up and Jenna's show dog friends started dancing besides her.

Steele smirked and whistled at the show in front of him. "Go, Jenna!", he uttered.

"The new girl's not bad", Jenna observed, clearly impressed. The Newfoundland was sitting with his own band, watching Jenna's first public performance. Despite her initial nervousness, the rust and cream colored husky seemed to take well to singing. She had the passion for it.

"We might have some actual competition this year", one of Jared's buddies whispered to him, chuckling.

"I'm unusual, not so typical, way too smart to be waiting around! Tai-Chi practices, snowboard champion, I could fix the flat on your on car! I might even be a Rock Star!", Jenna shouted, admittedly finding it a bit difficult to keep up with Kaltag's fast-paced rhythm, even after she had rehearsed.

And then, looking over a sea of huskies and malamutes, Jenna saw a familiar face that made her heart soar. In a nearby window, the same one she had used to spy on Steele the other week, Balto was watching her perform. Her friend had come to support her. "I might even be a Rock Star!", Jenna repeated, grinning from ear to ear.

The wolf-dog smiled at her and the two canines kept eye contact for a good, long moment, before he mouthed the silent words 'keep going' to her, and tilted his head to the side. Not wanting to alert the other dogs to Balto's presence, Jenna did just that and resumed the next verse.

"Sometimes I wish when the phone rings that it would be you saying 'let's hang out'! Then you'd confess that there's something special between us, why don't we find out! But you don't even know me, guess you don't need me, why you're not seeing what you're missing, on the outside shying away, on the inside dying to say!", Jenna sang breathlessly.

"Whoo!", Dixie shouted, and Nikki pounded his drums to signal the next chorus.

From his secret perch, Balto chuckled, feeling proud of his domestic friend. He wouldn't have missed this experience for the world.

"I'm unusual, not so typical, way too smart to be waiting around! Tai-Chi practices, snowboard champion, I could fix the flat on your car! I might even be a rock star (rock star)!", Jenna crooned, as the tempo slowed for a moment for the bridge.

"If you only knew the real me! I might even be a rock star, I'm telling you that we are meant to be! Now wouldn't it be nice if you could see that I really am a rock star! Yeah, yeah! Whoo! Yeah, I really am a rock star! Hey! Hey! Hey!", the girls vocalized, as Kaltag shredded another lengthy guitar solo, paving way for the final verse. "A rock star!", Jenna grinned.

Already knowing the lyrics to the chorus, the entire crowd joined in for the last leg of Jenna's number, all except for Steele, who refused to sing under circumstances, and resolved to simply keep egging her on.

"You're doing great out there, Jen, better than I could have hoped", Balto thought, smiling.

"I'm unusual, not so typical, way too smart to be waiting around! Hey! Tai-Chi practices, snowboard champion! I could fix the flat on your on car! We're rocking it wherever we are! Yeah, yeah! Cause I really am a rock star! Yeah, yeah! Cause I really am a rock star!", the girls beamed, as Nikki and Kaltag brought it all home for a big blow-out finale. "I am a rock star! Whoa-oh, yeah! Good night everybody!", Jenna concluded, letting her voice echo across the room again.

At first, the crowd was silent, before the quiet atmosphere was shattered by the sound of a dozen or so dogs clapping and cheering, all at once. Jenna let her shoulders slump in relief. She felt proud of herself for not cracking under pressure and embarrassing herself in front of all her new neighbors. But she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet.

Jenna shot a quick glance at Balto, who nodded his head and gestured her to keep going. She turned back to her band for the night. "Alright guys, let's get crazy!", she decided.

"Let's Get Crazy" by Hannah Montana begins.

Her boys provided a rapid, synth-pop rhythm, and the canine crowd clapped their paws to the beat, giving Jenna the confidence to press on.

"You ready? Whoo! Here we go!", Jenna beckoned, hoping to build excitement in the crowd.

Outside the building, Balto clapped as well, though he made sure to do so as lightly as he could. It was actually getting surprisingly difficult to keep quiet and stay hidden. Watching his friend perform was just so much fun. He wished he could be down there in person.

"Life is just a party so come as you are, dress it up or dress it down, don't forget your guitar (yeah)! Just be courageous, cause style's contagious! Everyone can rock out like a superstar!", Jenna began, letting her voice trail off at the end before the music exploded.

Steele continued to look on smugly, feeling rather attracted to the talented husky at the moment. "It seems she's more than just another pretty face", he observed. He was confident, now more than ever, that Jenna would make an excellent trophy-girlfriend.

"Let's get crazy! Get up and dance, take a swing, do your thing, it's worth taking a chance! Let's get crazy! Yeah, just kick up your heels! Don't miss out, time to shout, always keeping it real! Let's get crazy, crazy, crazy! Our songs, our style, our hair, our smiles, our laughs, our heart, our grace, our smarts!", the girls chanted the first chorus, to the audience's delight.

"You see me on the cover of a magazine, remember that things are always different than the way that seem! Ha!", Jenna sang, while Dixie blew a kiss to the audience, eating up the attention. "It's an invitation, to every nation, meet me on the dance floor and we'll make the scene!", Jenna promised.

"Let's get crazy! Get up and dance! Take a swing, do your thing, it's worth taking a chance! Let's get crazy! Yeah, just kick up your heels! Don't miss out, time to shout, always keeping it real! Let's get crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!", Jenna, Dixie, and Sylvie chanted, before the tempo slowed down significantly for the bridge.

"La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Uh-huh, whoa! Our songs, our style, our hair, our smiles, our laughs, our heart, our grace, our smarts! La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!", the girls and the crowd vocalized, Jenna in particular feeling a lot more confident about singing in front of an audience as she lost herself in the song.

As the music continued to build, nearly every dog present joined in for the final few verses, including Balto, who knew that no one would notice him over all the noise at the moment.

"Let's get crazy (yeah, crazy)! Get up and dance, take a swing, do your thing, it's worth taking a chance! Let's get crazy (crazy)! Turn the music up loud, now's the time to unwind, lose yourself in the crowd! Let's get crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!", the girls laughed.

"Yeah the fun's just begun (let's get crazy!), come on dance everyone (let's get crazy)! It's an invitation, to every nation! Oh, oh, yeah! Oh, oh, yeah! Let's get crazy, crazy!", Jenna called, clapping her paws.

"Get up and dance, take a swing, do your thing, it's worth taking a chance! Yeah, let's get crazy! Yeah, just kick up your heels, don't miss out, time to shout, always keeping it real! Let's get crazy!", the girls and their eager audience concluded, before the room erupted in spontaneous cheer.

As he rode the joyful wave of the moment, Balto felt another weird, primal, uncontrollable urge stir inside himself. Before he could stop himself, the wolf-dog lifted his head and let an excited huge tear from his throat. Quickly realizing what he had done, Balto lowered his head and clammed himself up, but he was already far too late.

The unmistakable sound of a wolf howling broke through the silence of night, echoing across the street and awakening a few sleeping humans. Lights flickered on inside some houses, as worried citizens went to go see if they had heard properly. But Balto was mostly worried about the canine population.

The noise reverberated off the walls of the Old Mill, and every dog in the room fell silent as they each recognized it as Balto's voice. Jenna, Dixie and Sylvie, who had all been taking a bow up until then, froze in fear and confusion. Jenna's heart skipped a beat as she realized her friend had just blown his cover.

The entire room was deathly silent for a few more seconds - males and females looking at each other, not knowing what to think - until finally, a familiar black and white malamute broke the silence. "You know, I think I hear… a wolf", he noted slyly, an evil grin crawling onto his face.

"It's about time, boss. We've been waiting for weeks", Nikki griped, standing up from his drum set.

"Ah, patience is a virtue, Nikki, and a hard one at that - damn hard", Steele reminded him, getting to his feet as well.

"What?", Jenna uttered, confused.

"Why do you think Steele took you to this party, toots?", Nikki asked, rolling his eyes.

"The boss knew if you came here to perform tonight, that wolf-dog Balto would come to watch you and give himself away eventually. He's way too dumb not to", Kaltag informed her, setting down his guitar.

"It was totally predictable", Star grinned. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star then took their respective positions behind Steele, flanking him on both sides.

Jenna glanced at the malamute, who was now leering at her, and her stomach fell out from under as she started to put the pieces together. Steele's grudge against Balto, his plans for the hybrid, his weird behavior lately.

Jenna's face darkened and the husky glared at the malamute. "You used me, you used me to get to Balto", Jenna whispered, shocked.

"Please, I know all about your little crush on him, and I know he likes you back. I've seen your type before: naive, fanciful girls who fall in love with some wild mutts, have their pups, and run off to join their packs. It's rather sickening", Steele sneered, completely unrepentant.

"Why are you doing this?!", Jenna lashed out, outraged.

"Like I said before, Jenna, why wouldn't I?! Wolves are all nothing but a bunch of wild savages that need to be destroyed, every last one of them", Steele intoned, sounding frighteningly sincere. Having said all he was going to justify all his actions, the malamute turned towards his gang and grinned viciously. "Let's get him", he ordered. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star nodded their heads and the trio of canines ran through the doors of the Old Mill.

Jenna had a pretty good idea of what the dogs were going to do: they would find Balto and attack him or kill him, and it was all because of her. Jenna quickly turned towards the window and saw that the wolf-dog was no longer watching her from his perch. She hadn't expected him to still be there, the hybrid had most likely ran off as soon as he revealed himself, she just hoped he had already put enough distance between himself and Steele. Tears flowed down the husky's face, dampening her red and white fur.

Jenna turned to growl at Steele, feeling horribly betrayed. When she first met Nikki Kaltag, and Star they had all seemed like nice enough dogs, and Kaltag had even helped her to adjust to the weirder parts of Nome. But right now, those same three dogs were outside, chasing after one of her best friends, determined to make him pay for some fight that had happened ages ago. But even worse, Jenna had trusted Steele, despite herself, and for a few brief moments she had thought there was a chance they could be friends.

In the face of the husky's scathing, thunderous expressions, Steele didn't feel an ounce of remorse and simply laughed to himself. "You'd better not try to follow us Jenna, you wouldn't want to see us beat up on your little boyfriend", he sneered.

To add insult to injury, the malamute lifted his head and let a mangled, screeching noise escape his lips. Jenna quickly realized it was the malamute's dirt poor imitation of a wolf's howl, he was mocking both her and Balto. With one last wolf howl, this time as a cry to war, Steele lowered his head and brushed past Jenna. She watched as he burst through the doors of the Old Mill and disappeared into the darkness of night.

"NO! You're not gonna lose me that easy!", she decided with a snarl. The husky quickly willed herself to move and tore after the sled dog, bursting through the entrance of the Old Mill herself, with no plan in mind whatsoever.

"Jenna, wait!", Dixie shouted, chasing after the enraged husky. After seeing for herself what Steele and his gang were capable of, Dixie couldn't let Jenna run off after them, not alone anyway.

The mini-show dog ran outside into the cold and followed Jenna's trail through the snow as best as she could, but the rust and cream colored husky with much bigger legs had already disappeared down the street, following after Balto, Steele, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star.

((()-()))

Already far ahead of Dixie, Jenna ran down Front Street at breakneck speeds. The husky was pushing herself as hard as she could, but she wasn't an experienced racer like most of the dogs in Nome. She was only a house pet. Jenna knew that Balto, Steele, and his gang already had a huge lead on her, but that still didn't discourage her. She didn't know what she would do once she caught up with Steele, but she didn't care, she only knew that she had to help her friend. The worst part was that she had known. She had known, all along, that Steele couldn't be trusted. Ever since she had first met the obnoxious malamute, her subconscious had been trying to warn her to stay away from him, but she hadn't listened to it. She finally understood now why wolves were always so in touch with their instincts, it helped to keep them out of harm's way.

Jenna knew that whatever happened to Balto that night would be partially her fault. The wolf-dog had put himself in danger just to support her, just like she had done for him a few weeks earlier. For the longest time, she had thought the hybrid was being overly paranoid when he said it was too dangerous for them to be friends, but now she was starting to think he had a point."We can't keep taking all these stupid risks just to see each other", she thought sadly, as she continued to race down the street.

Jenna sniffed the ground, and to her dismay, she realized that she had been running in the wrong direction the whole time. She knew that by now it was too late to turn back and go the other way. Balto and Steele had already disappeared, and being a newcomer in Nome, she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finding them again at night - if they were even still in town.

Jenna finally stopped running, and tears streamed down her face again as she realized there was nothing more she could do. "Balto, I'm so sorry, I should have never agreed to go on this date with Steele", she thought miserably, sinking onto the ground. Finally giving up, Jenna didn't even attempt to hold back her heartbreak and let herself cry in privacy.

"Midnight" by Murray Gold begins.

However, as she laid crying, a dark shadow cast over her.

Not wanting to look up, Jenna chose to ignore whoever it was. "Go away, I don't wanna talk right now", she muttered, wiping away the tears from under her eyes.

But after a few more minutes, the dog was still standing in front of her, frustrating her.

"I said go away", she repeated, looking up again for the first time since her hysterics had began. It was still pitch black, but she could make out the distinctive shape of a burly malamute standing before her. Enraged, Jenna's mind immediately flew to one person.

"Steele! How DARE you show your face again after what you just did!", she shouted, standing up on all four legs.

"Close, but not quite right", the malamute sneered, sounding annoyed. The canine stepped a little bit closer, and the light from a nearby lantern cast upon his face, allowing Jenna to see his real identity.

The husky gasped in fear and tumbled backwards, weakening her defenses towards the mysterious stranger. Except, he wasn't a stranger at all. She had seen the dog's face before, three weeks earlier, when she first met Balto. The dog she was facing was the ugly mug of Devil.

"You", Jenna hissed.

"Yes", Devil replied, mocking her horrified state.

Instinctively, Jenna took a defensive stance and tried not to let her fear show too much. "What do you want?!", she growled, desperately hoping she could bluff the disgraced sled dog.

However, the fearsome malamute seemed entirely unfazed by her threats. Devil was much too proud and chauvunistic to ever be afraid of a female, and he simply scoffed at her pathetic attempt at defending herself. "This'll be way too easy", he relished mentally.

"I'm here because my friends and I have an old score to settle with your new boyfriend, Balto", Devil taunted with a grin.

"Wait, your friends?", Jenna realized, further terror sinking in. She felt movement around her, and the husky realized that while she had been looking at Devil for the last minute, Wilson and Cookie had emerged from the darkness and surrounded her on both sides. They each bore similar, condescending expressions to their leader.

Jenna swallowed a lump in her throat and looked back at the head aggressor. "Devil, please don't do this", she insisted.

"Oh, shut up already, you dumb bitch!", Wilson shouted, and Cookie laughed snidely. Devil couldn't argue with his appealing suggestion either. The black and white sled dog leapt into the air and tackled Jenna with as much force as he could.

Pinned against the ground, Jenna struggled against Devil to best of her efforts, but the malamute was much too strong for her, made hardy by years of racing. Completely helpless to fight back, Wilson grabbed hold of her neck and dragged the squirming husky towards a nearby woodpile. Jenna quickly realized that the woodpile was ironically located right behind the butcher's shop, where the whole ordeal had began.

"No!", she screamed, guessing what Wilson was about to do. But before Jenna could struggle any more, Wilson slammed her head against the logs, stunning her. When the brute went in for a second, vicious blow, he quickly silenced the husky. As the world around her grew fuzzy and dark, the throbbing pain in Jenna's head numbed, like someone had given her a really strong shot of morphine or novocain. Eventually, after a few more seconds, her body grew limp and became nothing more than a lifeless shell.

Wilson was about to slam her head into the wood pile for the third time, when Devil stopped him. "Enough. She's already unconscious, we don't need you to kill her, yet", the malamute emphasized, smirking at the end.

Wilson and Cookie shared a good laugh about that, excited that their big plan was finally happening, and the despicable pair went to go pick up different parts of Jenna in their mouths.

"Take her up to the mountain, I want to stay here and make sure that Balto gets the message", Devil ordered, and his pals nodded their heads in obedience.

As Wilson and Cookie started dragging Jenna's body away, Devil heard someone else dashing down the street, sounding out of breath. The malamute ducked for cover in a darkened alley and waited for the intruder to show himself. To his relief, the mutt he had heard coming was only a tiny show dog, Dixie, who was hardly a threat to anybody.

"Jenna?! Jenna, are you here?!", Dixie called, nervously walking down the empty street. She had been following Jenna's trail for several minutes now, still worried about her new friend.

As Dixie walked past the alleyway Devil was hiding in, the malamute realized that another opportunity was presenting itself, one that he simply could not pass up.

"Jenna?", Dixie repeated, before she smelled something that made her stomach lurch unexpectedly. The white snow on the ground was now stained bright red with several drops. Blood that carried Jenna's scent. Jenna's blood.

Dixie gasped and stumbled backwards, only to collide with something hard and solid and furry. She looked up and saw the unmistakable visage of Devil towering over her.

"Hello, milady", he sneered.

Dixie yelped in fear and tried to run away, only to be crushed underneath Devil's massive paws before she could even get far. "Relax honey, I'm not gonna hurt you, so long as you do what I say", Devil insisted, trying to sound smooth and inviting with faux reassurance.

Still, Dixie was terrified, because she knew there was a chance that Devil was lying. Dixie had heard all about the rowdy sled dog's bad boy reputation, and she knew that he liked to have his way with women, which only made her even more afraid.

Devil leaned over Dixie, deliberately breathing in her face as a way to intimidate her, as she fought back to urge to vomit. The malamute's breath smelled just like rotten meat and fresh blood. "I want you to tell that wolf-dog, Balto, that we have his little friend, Jenna, and that if ever wants to see her again, alive, that he should meet us at the Great Chasm, and that he should come, alone", Devil explained, emphasizing certain words like he thought she was an idiot.

Dixie slowly comprehended what Devil was saying, and horror washed over her as she realized that Jenna had been kidnapped by the thug and his gang.

Devil slowly lifted up his paws, releasing her, but the stunned Dixie still didn't move after a few seconds, still worried he was pulling some kind of trick.

"Well? What are you waiting for, bitch?! GO NOW! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!", Devil screamed in her face, snapping Dixie out of her fear-induced daze.

The small show dog immediately ran past Devil, back down the street, towards the direction of the Old Mill. "GUYS! HELP ME! HELP ME!", she screamed at the top of lungs, praying that someone would hear her.

Devil stalked her long enough to watch her tear through the doors of the Old Mill, terrified the malamute was right behind her, just waiting for her to let her guard down. However, Devil had no interest in pursuing her further, and simply laughed at the fear he had inspired in her. His plan had worked like a charm so far. Now all he had to do was wait.

Balto would come, of course, to rescue his beloved, and then Devil and his gang would push both him and Jenna off the side of a cliff, known by all the other dogs in Nome as "The Great Chasm". But not before the threesome had some fun with them first. They would slowly torture Balto, breaking off his arms and legs, ripping the flesh from around his neck, and making sure that wolf-dog felt the exact same pain that they had felt, before they killed him. And maybe if they were lucky, they would each have some time to mate with Jenna before they killed her too.

Devil chuckled one last time before dashing down the street, hoping to catch up with his friends before they got too far ahead of him. The evil malamute was so close to getting what he had spent weeks planning. Devil was finally going to get his revenge on the meddling wolf-dog that had ruined his life for him. On that night, on Christmas Eve of 1922, Balto's tortured heart would beat no more.

Author's Note:

The scene where Balto goes to support Jenna at the Old Mill is a direct homage to "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (2009).