Chapter 27: A Pack Divided

Hope you guys like it. Makes things a bit clearer about certain past events and dedicated the entire chapter to Balto. Read and please review... the feedback really helps...

It had been three days since Siku's meeting with the mysterious wolf. She had continuously observed the slope every day since the meeting but had seen no signs of him. Now as the third day ended she let out a sigh before slowly standing and leaving the locality and heading back to the den she shared with three others. The blizzard three days ago had all but destroyed her chances of locating Jenna yet she still searched for her as well as track down the wolf she had run into that day. She never saw a white shadow quietly sneak past the opening before vanishing into the undergrowth on the opposite side of the opening.

As she neared the den she found Mara and Marron waiting for her by the entrance. The look on their faces told her there was something important to discuss. Approaching the duo she sat down opposite them before speaking "What did you want to discuss?". Mara looked at Marron who nodded before she faced Siku and spoke "The packs have been waiting for us... they wish to depart as soon as possible and head for the safety of five pack land... perimeter patrol spotted signs of human presence about a mile from pack boundaries, Karr doesn't want to risk an encounter especially with pups travelling". Siku blankly stared at the two before bluntly replying "I'm staying... I'm not going until I find Jenna". Marron and Mara shared a look before again facing Siku "We can't leave you here... Karr wants you back with the pack..." Marron spoke only to be interrupted by Siku "Like hell I will... I'm not going back until I find Jenna and if Karr doesn't like it tell him to deal with it" she growled before turning away and angrily making her way into the tree line. Mara sighed " Well can't say we expected anything else from her" she spoke. "True... her loyalty to Jenna is unwavering..." replied Marron before turning to face the den "...only if your son had kept this kind of a mindset" he finished. Mara growled lowly "Don't blame Balto for this, it's as much 'her' fault as it is his" she defended. "How is it Jenna's fault... I know the lass's life story. If anything I'm surprised she didn't drown herself in sorrow" Marron retorted. "Why do you defend her? She is not one of us... she was never one of us... she should have stayed behind with her own kind" Mara argued. "And yet you were concerned about her well being when she was evicted from the pack" Marron countered.

Mara stared incredulously at Marron before huffing in annoyance and heading into the den to talk to her son. Inside the den she found Balto sitting at the back of the cave his back turned towards the entrance. Mara slowly approached her son before gently leaning over and nuzzling the young wolf. Balto on the other hand didn't move from where he sat. Ever since Siku had literally thrown him around, openly criticized his actions, decisions and reasoning he had been acting completely out of it. He had shouldered all the blame for his actions which had caused Jenna to leave and vanish into the snow storm without a trace. "Balto... it's time to go" Mara spoke up as she watched her son stare at the bare wall. Balto never took his eyes off the wall as he quietly replied "Where?". "It's time we go back... everyone is moving for five pack land... it's time to rejoin the packs" Mara replied. Balto slowly turned to face his mother. Mara could only stare in worry as Balto faced her, eyes tinged red from the lack of sleep. "Come now... we need to get back and you need sleep" Mara spoke voicing her concern. Balto's ears perked slightly as he asked his next question "Has she come back... did Siku find her?". Mara couldn't bring herself to reply to the question, she could see the trace of hope present in her son's voice and she couldn't bring herself to destroy it.

The silence in the den seemed to answer his question as Balto let out a low whine before closing his eyes and turning away. "Son, it's not your fault..." Mara tried to reason only to be interrupted by Balto. "Mom you don't understand... it's all my fault... it was always my fault... I brought her back... I was supposed to look after her... I was supposed to teach her our ways..." he spoke in a low tone. Mara was about to speak up but Balto heaved a heavy sigh before continuing to speak. "...but instead... I kept my distance... I pushed her away... when she needed me most I pushed her away..." he spoke as a tear appeared in his eye. "She was only trying to show affection and I pushed her away... I confessed to her and then when she tried to show affection I blindly turned her away... and now she's gone..." he finished as a solitary tear fell to the ground. Mara quietly leaned over and pulled Balto into an embrace gently nuzzling his head to comfort the young wolf. After a few minutes Mara slowly moved away from the embrace only to discover Balto leaning against her deep asleep. Gently settling him down she gently licked him atop the head "Sleep well... son" she whispered before turning and softly padding away.

[DREAM SCAPE]

Balto found himself surrounded by darkness. Whichever way he looked his gaze was met by endless darkness. Suddenly the darkness seemed to melt away and he found himself in a snow covered valley. "Hello... is anyone there?" he shouted as he started to explore. Just then a blur of grey shot past him. It took Balto a minute to realize that the animal in question was a wolf. "Hey wait..." he shouted as he tried to catch up with the wolf "... hey wait... where are we?". The wolf seemed to pay no heed as it continued on its path.

Balto chased the wolf before he saw it disappear into thick bushes. Balto followed but stopped short on the other side. A pack stood on the other side. As he looked around he recognized his mother along with his sister and cousin. That's when he realized he was looking at the members of the two packs together but their number seemed to be less than half. As he looked around he spotted Elsa held in his cousin Sasha's jaw but couldn't spot Max nor Tyco. As he turned to identify the wolf that he had been chasing he was shocked to find him looking at himself panting away.

"Balto... what happened... where are Mason and the others?" he heard his mother ask him, well the other him from the dream. Balto stared at himself as the other him answered "There..pant, pant... there were too many..." before pausing to take deep breaths "... the humans... they're hunting in force... they've brought dogs by the dozens..." he continued only to pause hearing the barking of dogs. Karr stepped out of the shadows before turning to address Mara "Take the females and run... we'll hold them off for as long as we can... now go". Mara looked to argue but the look in Karr's eyes stopped her. Balto looked on as Mara nodded her head before indicating to the females to follow her and run.

Balto saw himself stand fast as the dogs ran into the clearing and the fight started. He watched as the two sides squared off in a vicious showdown. Everything was a blur to Balto as he watched wolfs and dogs alike snap left and right, the wolfs trying to buy the females time to escape while the dogs trying to please their masters by killing or maiming the opposition. Balto watched in horror as the humans arrived on the scene their exploding sticks or as he had learnt guns swinging into immediate action quickly cutting down on the wolves as they fought. He watched as Marron and Karr stood shoulder to shoulder as they took down one of the offending hunters only to have his companions and dogs run to his aid. He watched the two brothers put in their last effort before being subdued by the overwhelming odds. In the chaos he spotted something that scared him no end. In the middle of the blood and gore lay a grey wolf, his eyes lifeless staring at the sky, he found himself looking at himself.

The next thing he saw was one of the hunters point his gun in his direction before firing. Balto immediately closed his eyes as he waited for the pain but felt nothing. When he opened his eyes he found himself staring at something entirely different. A crowd of wolves stood gathered around a rock protruding from the ground. As he walked closer to the gathering he observed that the top of the rock was flat and two figures stood up on top of it. That was when he heard what seemed to be howls of joy and cheering coming from the wolves before he saw the two wolves on top of the rock tip their heads back and let out long simultaneous howls only for the rest of the gathering to follow suit. Once he was on the outer rim of the gathering he was able to study the two wolves on top of the rock in detail. On closer examination he was shocked to find him staring at himself standing on top of the rock beside a red and white wolf with a familiar wolf pattern on her chest. "J...Jenna?" he asked himself as the picture started to fade into blackness.

"What is happening?" he asked no one in particular "What do these dreams mean?". "Life has one beginning but many ends... it is up to you how it ends" spoke a faceless voice. "Who's there? Show yourself" Balto shouted as he circled on the spot trying to find the source. "What can happen and what is happening are very different from each other... each choice leads to a different end" came the voice. "What do you mean?" Balto asked keeping his guard up. Just then the blackness changed to the scene of inside a den. Balto found himself looking at two figures laying curled up against each other on a bed of leaves. He recognized the red figure as that of Jenna before his eyes turned to the white wolf lying beside her. He nearly passed off the wolf as Siku until he realized this wolf was not Siku but a male. "No" he whispered as he felt a pain well up inside him.

"You make a choice, it leads to an end... pushing away the one called Jenna has brought her close to the wolf known as White Spirit or as he calls himself Fire... she seeks comfort and solace and he is there to provide it..." spoke the voice. "No... you lie..." Balto desperately shouted. "You made the choice... but redemption is yours to seek... find the one named Jenna and seek redemption... if your heart is pure and intentions true you will gain the love you seek..." the voice spoke gradually fading away. "No... wait... where do I find her? Who are you?" he shouted into the darkness and it was then that he saw them, a pair of ice blue eyes staring at him from the darkness before he felt the solid surface give way beneath him.

[DREAM SCAPE END]

Balto shot awake sucking in deep breaths as his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the den. As his eyes found their focus he spotted his mother sleeping on the opposite side of the den but no sign of Siku nor Marron. Slowly standing he carefully made his way over to the entrance before staring out at the moon. He assumed it to be past mid-night before slowly exiting the den, circling the tree and settling down. His mind running re-runs of what he had seen in his dream. The images of various portions from his dreams flowed through his mind, the depleted pack, the fight, the haunting image of his own dead body, the image of him and a wolf version of Jenna howling together and finally the image that caused him pain, Jenna lying curled up against another male wolf.

None of these seemed to make sense. The images seemed to be from different times, he didn't know what to believe, it couldn't be a nightmare because it felt very real but then again it happened in his dream. Then there was the voice, he could make out it was male so it couldn't be Aniu conveying her message plus the fact that she disliked the husky for a reason foreign to him. The message was simple and clear, he still had a chance to seek redemption and this time listen to his heart rather than his mind. As he continued to contemplate over the occurrences in his dream he felt his hair stand almost as if he was being observed. Looking around the clearing his eyes settled down on a familiar pair of ice blue eyes staring at him from a clump of bushes. As their eyes met he saw the mysterious figure slowly turn and move away. Balto curious as to the presence immediately stood and took off in pursuit. He never realized that this scene was being observed by an angry white wolf from high atop a nearby mountain ledge.

Aniu let out a growl as she watched her son chase after the mysterious ice blue eyes. "I told you she did not belong with wolves but you persuaded me instead... now I'm not going to let you ruin our son's life" she spoke to no-one in particular. As she finished a deep voice spoke from behind her "His life was his to choose not us... I'm proud of how he's grown but disappointed in the choices you forced on him... their destinies were set before we walked amongst the wolves... don't hold a parent's grudge on a child". Aniu turned to face the source of the voice to come face to face with ice blue eyes hidden in the shadows. "Hello Aniu... I see you kept a tight hold on our son..." spoke the voice as a black wolf emerged from the shadows, his ice blue eyes shining in the moonlight. Aniu nodded her head at the statement before she started to speak "Hello to you too Demon... Finally decided to walk in this realm again...".