Love Hurts

Part 3

Yay! I've finally updated this! Sorry if I took so long! This is the final part to my story, I hoped you've enjoyed it! But nyhoo, enough chatter, Balto knows about Kodi and Aleu and now it's time to break the news to them that they cannot be in love, they're brother and sister, but how will Balto tell them and wil they take it?

Balto waited in the warmth of the old mill, waiting patiently for Kodi to appear at the doorway. He knew the sled team would return soon from their daily delivery run, around noon normally. It was not long before the door burst open, letting in a cold blast of air that startled Balto. In marched Kodi and Dusty laughing about some joke they had just come up with. Balto stood up and the two dogs stopped guffawing.

"I need to speak to you, Kodi." Balto said sternly. Kodi frowned and nodded to Dusty to tell her to leave.

"I'll wait outside." She whispered to Kodi before turning around and scampering out through the door.

"What is it dad?" Kodi asked, unsure of what would come next.

"Kodi," Balto began, "I've seen you and your…your girlfriend together in the woods."

"You followed me?" Kodi growled. "How could you dad! How dare you follow me! You had no right to do that!"

"Well I'm damn glad that I followed you to those woods Kodi, because you'd never know this if I never knew about you and your mate!"

Kodi took a deep breath and tried to control the anger welling up inside him. Balto sighed and looked at Kodi.

"Kodi, your girlfriend is your sister."

Balto expected Kodi to growl, to howl, to throw a temper tantrum at the most, but instead Kodi just grinned and then laughed. He flung his head back and laughed hard with all his might.

"That's right dad," he chuckled, "you try and put me off and split us up by telling us that we're brother and sister! Good joke dad, but that's just too sick, telling me that. I would know if Aleu was my sister. I know all my freakin' brothers and sisters!"

Balto frowned and growled quietly.

"Kodi, when you were just a young pup, one of your sisters was different from you and your other brothers and sisters. She looked like a wolf, more of a wolf than I look…"

Kodi stared at his father through wide eyes….it could not be true…

"She left to find her place in the world," Balto continued, "I never saw her again after she left to join the wild wolf pack. They crossed an ice path only a few years ago to follow the caribou. Your sister said she had to lead them. It was a long journey, and it's certainly a long story, but the point I'm trying to make is that………that sister of yours is Aleu." Kodi fell silent. He thought through what his father had just said…his true love…his own sister…

"No…no….no! It can't be! She can't be my….no! You're lying dad! YOU'RE LYING!"

Kodi spun round on his haunches and ran from his father, out the doorway, speeding past Dusty and out onto the snow covered plain towards the forest. Balto padded out of the door and watched Kodi disappear into the distance as snowflakes steadily began to fall from the grey skies. Dusty turned to Balto and gave him a hard look.

"What was all that about?" She asked.

"I've got to follow him and explain something to him. It'll take him a while to understand, but he has to, he has got to understand…" Balto said, mainly to himself.

"Understand? Understand what? Balto!" Dusty called after Balto as he scampered after Kodi towards the snow covered tree line once again.

Balto raced through the forest toward the clearing he had once seen Kodi and Aleu in before.When he reached there, Kodi and Aleu were no where to be seen.

"Perhaps they went deeper," Balto thought to himself and he sprang off through the clearing and beyond. The forest was growing thicker, the tree branches hanging lower under the weight of the snow. Everywhere Balto looked there was nothing but green pines and white sagging branches. After a while Balto stopped to catch his breath. He had been running for what seemed like a day and a half, with still no trace of Kodi or Aleu. Balto thought hard, if not the clearing, where else would they be? He sighed and looked around him. He gathered his bearings and turned to start back home to Nome, when something suddenly made him jump. Snow fell from a tree nearby, like something had knocked it. Balto pricked his ears and listened, holding his breath. A twig snapped. Snow crunched. Balto was fully alert now; something was behind him, watching him. He whirled round and came face to face with a huge brown grizzly. Balto sunk back in terror as the bear rose up on its back legs and roared deafeningly. It was now that Balto had to run, as fast as he could go, despite the fact that he was tired, despite the fact that he was worried for Aleu and Kodi, it was now a life or death situation and he had to run fast.

The bear brought his vast front paws down into the snow and began in hot pursuit after Balto. Balto swerved left and right through the trees, trying to loose the grizzly, but the bear broke through the branches after him with terrifying ease. Balto had never faced a grizzly bear like it. Balto emerged back out into the clearing and skidded to a halt as he saw Kodi and Aleu come trotting into the clearing on the other side.

"Kodi, Aleu!" Balto yelled. "Run as fast as you can! There's a…"

But suddenly Balto was swept to the side against a tree trunk. He lay limp as he figured out what had just happened. He opened his eyes and saw the grizzly above him, ready to strike again. But Kodi leapt at the bear and bit onto its raised paw. The bear growled in pain and rage and flung Kodi to the side. But Aleu was at the bear now, biting and snapping at its feet. The bear went to strike Aleu, who dodged its paw and went for its nose as the grizzly lowered its head. The bear snarled and flung back its muzzle so that Aleu went flying and landed hard in the snow. Now Balto had scrambled to his feet and was already lunging forward at the bear. But the grizzly fell forward in rage and confusion as Aleu and Kodi tackled the bear together. Balto leapt upon its chest as it fell, with no time to leap back. The bear landed with a great thud in the snow, exhausted. Balto pushed his way from beneath the belly of the bear and lay down in the snow. Kodi and Aleu rushed over and helped him up. The bear too was beginning to come to his senses again, and without one word Balto, Kodi and Aleu took their chance and fled back to Nome.

Jenna rushed forward as soon as she saw Balto approach her house, with Kodi and Aleu in tow.

"Oh, Balto!" She cried, relieved, "Are you ok? What happened? And Kodi and Aleu are you two alright too? Are any of you hurt?"

"We're fine Jen," Balto grinned as he shook his damp coat dry, "there was a grizzly attack, but these two managed it fine. Without them I would be…well, let's not go there."

"Kodi, Aleu, please say you're ok too!"

"We're great mum," Kodi laughed, "nothing can stop us!"

But Aleu fell silent. She stared at Jenna and pinned back her ears as she realised….

"Excuse me," Aleu said slowly, "but, I…who are….how do you know me?"

Jenna's smile fell from her face.

"Aleu," she said softly, "how could you forget? I am your mother, Aleu, and Balto is your father. How could you even forget Kodi? You forgot your family Aleu…you forgot where you truly belong."

Kodi looked at his father, who tried to smile comfortingly.

"I'm sorry son," Balto said, "but Aleu is your sister, you two cannot be in love anymore."

Kodi looked at Aleu, and then looked at his parents. He sighed.

"Aleu, they're right. We are the same. The same build, the same parentage, its obvious we're brother and sister. How could we not notice?"

"Because love is blind," Jenna said gently.

"And cupid's stupid!" Balto added in and the four of them laughed.

"I'm….I'm sorry," Aleu said once they had calmed down, "I have forgotten where I belong, where my place really is, who my family is and also who I am. One time I thought I was meant to be a wild wolf, but thinking this has made me forget everyone I love. All I can say is I am sorry."

Balto stepped forward and nuzzled her softly.

"Aleu, no matter where you are, whether you're running at the head of a wolf pack, or racing the mail sled back to Nome, we will never forget you. You can choose where you want to go, but this will not be good bye. There is an option of visiting!"

Aleu laughed as hot tears brimmed her eyes.

"I will go back to the wild," she said, "lead my wolf pack. But this time I will not forget who I am or where I really belong. And I will visit you, I promise!"

Kodi hugged Aleu good bye as Balto and Jenna watched. Jenna was crying quietly and nuzzling Balto who was on the verge of tears himself.

"Come visit often!" Kodi grinned and Aleu nodded.

"Not even a wild-eye grizzly could stop me!" Aleu laughed.

"Have a safe journey home to your pack!" Balto called as Aleu padded away into the forest. "And no bear wrestling!"

Aleu disappeared into the darkness of the trees and her laughter echoed behind her.

"Come on son," Balto said softly to Kodi, "let's go home."

Kodi nodded slowly and turned away, walking slowly along by the side of his mother and father.

Later on that night, when the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky, Kodi awoke to hear howling coming from the forest. He knew that howl like he knew the underside of his paw. Kodi jumped up from his bed by the fire side and looked out through the open window. The night air was frosty; a slight breeze caressed his face and carried the sound of Aleu's howling to his ears. Kodi listened for a while before Aleu's call died down, then threw back his head and howled with all his might, answering the call of his wild wolf sister.