A note from Christian Knight: Hello readers, this is the continuation of my original Balto: Cursed Soldier story, done so by BadStoriesComeToMe. I understand many of you are upset by my sudden absence and the continuation of the story by a new author, but he/she is a dedicated fan and showed great enthusiasm. I only ask that you keep an open mind as he/she finishes the story that I could not continue and know that we did this in partial collaboration (I'm a very busy guy right now). The plot, action and possible sequel are all based off my original plot when I started this so it should be the conclusion you all have been waiting for.

This story picks up where mine ended: Kyle Shames is a WWI veteran who has the werewolf curse, he moves to Nome Alaska where he hopes to live the rest of his life in isolation. Instead, he meets Alue, daughter of the famous Balto and now a leader of a wolf pack. All canines are nervous around Kyle as he smells of a wolf but looks human. On the night that he changes, Kyle runs in the forest and meets Alue. Rather than be afraid, she instead reaches out to who she perceives as an outsider, someone like her who lacked friendship in her younger years. Taking on the facade of Erin and pretending to be a pet, Kyle befriends Alue and slowly she helps him to meet the local dogs and wolves, giving his once hectic life solid ground. However, the full moon has passed, and Kyle is stuck in human form, how will he cope not having his friend by his side for a month? Moreover, will Alue understand why she is missing her new friend so greatly?

13.

Eran curled into a tight ball, lying on his cot in the drowsy shed; icicles warmed by the embers in his stove lost their grip on the walls. His eyes grew heavy and his mind wandered; after he'd finished telling his story to them they left one after another, seeing no reason to stay once he'd finished telling his story. It seemed that most had been satisfied with his explanation, leaving thinking that he'd told the truth and therefore were satisfied. Eran wished he could say who he really was, but what would Aleu think of him? He figured she'd run away, scared half to death like all the other canines he'd met before coming to Nome.

For the first time in his life, he was disappointed at the week of the full moon coming to an end; as a wolf, he'd made a friend, something he hadn't had since the Great War. The lips of his eyelids began to seal, pulled shut by the curtains of exhaustion and locked by the overwhelming urge for rest.

Kyle pulled back behind a stone wall, looking at Oliver on his right. His vision was obscured by a vile explosion, the stone wall was dismembered, sending shards of stone and shrapnel flying. A rock bashed into Kyle's shoulder, causing him to fall over, miraculously, the hit wasn't fatal. Kyle got up and noticed the crumbling pillars of stone had separated him from Oliver.

"Wait for me Oliver, I'll be over on your side in no time!" Kyle said.

"No! Don't worry, I'm going to cut around back for a better angle!" Oliver replied. He began to crawl along the leg-high stone wall.

Kyle moved to catch up to Oliver, he spoke, "Don't go Oliver! Wait, don't go- Oliver!"

Eran woke in a cold sweat, springing from his bed and releasing a guttural growl. He stopped at the sight of the shed's door which stood before him. He took a breath, then turned to move back onto his cot; from the corner of his eye, he noticed a sliver of light seeped through the door.

His limbs froze, causing him to fall onto his side, he hit the fireplace before crashing down in front of the entrance way. He moaned as he felt a painful pulse of adrenaline throb through his veins. His bones snapped and his body shifted, fur disappeared and he yelped as his body reformed. The man felt as though he had been liquified and frozen into a new state. Within mere minutes, Eran the cursed wolf was gone, all that was left was Kyle, ordinary Kyle.

The man heaved with frail breaths as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, his joints exhausted and loose as though his skeleton was going to collapse on itself. He hoped for nothing but further rest, but work called and he couldn't afford to be late. He stretched, slipped his clothes on, and walked out to the docks.

'I guess I'm going to be friendless for a while.'

The idea left his mind, Kyle had lost friends before, he could bear it, like he always had; then…why did it feel so different this time? She's not dead, she's alive and well, a month couldn't be too much. He wondered why he felt this way, it was a feeling he'd long forgotten, the feeling of losing a friend.

'Why is this happening to me.'

He walked through the early streets of Nome, the air hummed with the variety of noises that plagued its streets. In this small town everyone brought their own air of diversity; he ignored the muddle, keeping forward on his objective. The air turned salty and he saw his destination, men began to scurry along the dock's long planks, one stepped out from a shack and looked to him.

"Hey there Kyle!" Joel called. "You're nearly late."

"Sorry sir, didn't mean to," he said as he stifled a yawn.

"I said nearly, didn't I youngin'?" his boss chuckled. "All that means is you'll have less time to eat your two cold eggs."

"Oh, right," he pulled the shack door open, entering the cool environment which was populated by the smell of smoke and the occasional loose paper; as he walked the floor creaked with a vile screech.

After he finished eating, he joined the other hands out on the dock; an older one noticed the pale surface of his face. "Eh' there boy, something wrong? You seem a little green around the gills."

"Didn't sleep well."

"Ok, let's hope you can pull yer own weight today. I'll be watching you boy, no slackin'!" He said. Kyle nodded, moving to pick up the first parcel.

They worked into the late hours of the day, the sun arced the sky and woke what warmth the winter had to offer. The labor required was normally tough, but the long hours coupled with the week of the full moon had worn him down. He strained the entire day just to keep pace with the others while avoiding accusing glares from them. Kyle swore he'd dragged his feet all the way back to his shed; he collapsed on his cot and lay there motionless, too tired to even take his clothes off. He enveloped into a world of darkness as he faded off to sleep.

She'd woken up late, stirred by Nava, who had arrived to receive orders; sleeping in wasn't like Aleu, she led by example. Even though the pack didn't openly judge her, she was nevertheless disappointed with herself.

"Hi Aleu, I figured you needed some extra rest, so I took care of things while you were sleeping," Nava said.

She got up and stretched. "Thanks, I guess I did have a long day. But as the leader of the pack-"

"-you need to stay healthy to lead," he cut her off, "you've been working hard lately, and this… Eran situation doesn't seem to be helping either."

The Alpha stood and nodded in her head, 'Every alpha does need their sleep, maybe all I needed was a nice long rest'.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. The past few days have been… interesting." Aleu moved to the den entrance. "What do we have today? Any problems this morning?"

"Nothing too important to speak of, at least today's off to a good start." He finished with a warm smile.

"Wonderful, let's keep with the normal routine," she said. "I have some poking around to do, so I'll be around."

"Yes Alpha," he said.

Aleu turned to him. "Bye Nava!"

She started down the slope; Aleu observed her pack, most of who were already up and about. Fathers brought the morning hunt, mothers scolded children, a few elders watched the chaos with amused expressions. However, Aleu couldn't help but look for a particular wolf, knowing full well that he couldn't possibly be here.

'I wonder what's going to happen to Eran,' she thought, 'why can't he tell me?'

Eventually, the day became old and she'd completed her errands, Aleu went to the den and waited to see if any trouble might arise. She sat in an upright, proud position, she knew this was a sign of leadership and a good show of authority. She had become accustomed to sitting this way, watching over her pack to make sure that all scents were familiar. She felt in and out of focus, occasionally allowing herself to drift away into thought.

If she didn't already have something on her mind regarding the pack, she would allow herself to delve into other things, This afternoon was one of those moments where she'd been left unoccupied. Under normal circumstances, Aleu's mind would travel from Nome all the way to the northmost part of Alaska. Although, this past week had been anything but normal and Aleu would be lying if she said she didn't like it.

Despite what Eran told her, she would look out for him by the borders, figuring he would probably mosey out there tonight. Whenever Aleu was with Eran she felt this odd sense, it was probably just from him being a wolf breed from far away. Yet she suspected there was more to this story, a wolf being taken in by a human? The closest Aleu had ever known for a human to get to a wolf was with her father, and he was only half-wolf.

Maybe Eran and Kyle were the odd ones out, but the possibility seemed exceedingly slim. 'I wonder how Eran is dealing with last night, why can't he tell me where he's going? Maybe he's just really scared of something.' Aleu felt as though they were on a friendly basis, so Eran must have been afraid of something that held him back. Aleu just couldn't put her paw on it though, it really wasn't any of her business, she had a pack to oversee anyway. Unfortunately, Aleu's nosiness compelled her to find answers, especially when one of her friends was potentially in danger. She decided it was best to abandon these questions until later tonight, believing that if she saw Eran later she could ask him more about his origin story.

She noticed that the sun had begun to lower and only a crescent of light rimmed the horizon. It steadily retreated from Aleu's view as the day came to its end. She stood, before venturing down to the pack area where she found Sitka. "I'm gonna see if I can find Eran, he usually wanders around the edge of town."

He nodded slowly. "Yes alpha, but be careful. I'm still not convinced that he isn't a threat yet."

She began to leave. "Thank you Sitka, and don't worry, I'll be safe."

She felt as though she'd spent the entire night patrolling, passing by the town side of the pack more times than she could count. Aleu's had always prided herself on her keen sense of smell, but despite this, she'd not yet managed to find a recent trace of his scent. Aleu sighed as she came to a conclusion; it was time for her to go to Eran's shed.

She approached the small building with care, coming to the door; she sniffed it, noticing there to be a drafty whiff of her friend. He seemed to be in the cabin, yet the smell didn't seem to be strong enough, 'like he went inside and just… vanished'.

The door was left unlocked, she slowly pushed it open, trying to stay quiet as possible. Aleu scanned the interior and saw nothing; just the stove, a bag full of clothes, a bed, and a few other commodities; she took a second look at the bed, someone was there.

She swore she made no noise, but the figure on the bed stood, it pushed away the bed's sheets and covers. The wolf dashed out; Eran may have put trust in his human, but she still wasn't convinced Kyle wasn't a threat.

Kyle sat up and noticed something dash out of his shed, leaving the door partially open. He took in the aroma left behind and recognized the scent's owner.

"Aleu?"

Had she been looking for Eran? Unfortunately for her, Eran was locked away for the time being.

Kyle sighed as he dropped back onto the bed. 'Why can't life be fair?'

Kyle awoke with a stir. He loosened his tightly wound joints and rattled his aching spine. 'Man, yesterday was hard on me.' Kyle slipped on his shoes and supplied his stove with wood. He didn't ignite the furnace, instead saving it for when he'd come home. Kyle changed his clothes and finally made his way out the door.

As he walked down the street, he noticed a group of dogs sitting by the post office. They must have been mail dogs, their conditioned build and unified strength with each other was apparent to Kyle. As he walked by, the group seemed to become unsettled by the young man. A sleek grey and white husky began to move in the opposite direction from Kyle, the other dogs followed close behind.

'These frontier dogs really are something else' Kyle thought, then continued to walk towards the docks.

Kyle lay in his bed, his eyes were shut in agony, limbs throbbing, head aching, despite his severe ailments he refused to move a muscle. Kyle had been tasked with the "heavyweight" section of the harbor, a job that all deckhands had a respected fear of. It demanded an intense amount of energy, something that Kyle didn't have. Unable to retain his consciousness, Kyle gave in to his aching need for rest.

Eric crawled forward, inching up the hill's incline. The turret was positioned just higher than them. Kyle's face was still buried in the earth, his eyes were hot as the sweltering summer. Eric looked back.

"Come on Kyle!" Eric yelled. "A sitting duck's a dead one!"

Kyle picked up his face and continued crawling up the hill. The marines moved forward, the air was sweltered with the blood and sweat of young men. The screams, gunshots, and explosions penetrated the ears of the soldiers. Aside from all this, they continued to press on. To Kyle's right, a grenade exploded and sent shrapnel flying in every direction. He pressed himself into the ground. Once again, Kyle picked up his head and looked towards his friend Eric only to no longer see him.

The gray wolfdog wandered through the forest close to Nome with the hope that she might find Eran. Even though his scent had been faint the night prior she still hoped that he might be around. Aleu slowly lifted her nose to the air and took a few subtle whiffs.

In the first sniff, she smelled the thick aroma of pine and scents of other animals that had passed through. Among those other scents, she was able to discern the most prized of them all, musk oxen. Aleu made a mental note of this, a single musk ox could feed the pack for weeks. To kill one of these beasts would be a great success and a fruitful learning experience for the pups.

During the second whiff, she smelled a foul scent, it smelled of sweat and the unmistakable aroma of fear.

And then on the third whiff: Kyle; along with the faint odor of Eran, which indicated that he was close by.

'Why is he out here this late in the night,' she wondered, 'could he be looking for Eran, wondering where he went?'

Suddenly, Aleu heard a loud crash, a tree which stood close shivered, snow fell from its branches and something slumped down next to it. She went to investigate, her mouth gaped at seeing Kyle facedown and weeping. His sobs were bitter, he repeated the same phrase over and over again, "Why Eric? Why did you have to go? How could this happen?"

Aleu tentatively inched closer, she noticed his breathing was heavy, the snow surrounding him began to become slush. Finally, after what felt like a mountain of anticipation, she touched his glossy hair with the tip of her nose. Kyle stopped repeating what he had been saying and looked up, stunned that Aleu was here. Kyle's river of tears had frozen into two parallel columns; beads of sweat had frozen to his shivering chin.

Slowly, as if he needed a moment to realize how close he was to his only friend, Kyle carefully wrapped his arms around the wolf. This caused Aleu to tense, she wondered if she should flee as something felt off about Kyle. Yet Aleu stayed, even though she was wary of this human, she could tell Kyle was in need of someone to lean on. As he shivered and felt her precious body heat Aleu bowed her head over his shoulder. The flow of the broken soldier's tears slowly seeped away and his stomach began to stop churning. Then, after a few minutes of tranquility, he muttered. "Thank you."

Slowly Kyle pulled away, he and Aleu stared at each other, almost as if they were having a contest to see who could keep their gaze the longest. Slowly, a smile pursed the edges of Kyle's mouth. He then readjusted his seating and leaned up against the tree he'd crashed into. Kyle wiped his tears away and cleaned his chin, then he shoved his frozen hands into the warmth of his pockets.

"Thank you for being here."

She woke in the forest, her ears shot up and gaze darted, 'Oh no, the pack will be up soon and they'll be looking for me.' Aleu got up and sprinted back to her territory. The Alpha sighed when she saw no one waited at the den's entrance, 'that was a close one'. She'd come just in the nick of time, soon, Sitka came with the hunting party.

"Morning Aleu, we were just getting ready to leave for the morning hunt, any news on game patterns?" Sitka asked.

Aleu thought for a second and recounted the smell of oxen she had found days prior, while out looking for Eran. Aleu quickly returned to reality and responded, "Actually, I do have something for you, while I was out… patrolling I smelled some musk oxen. It seemed to be a particularly large group, they couldn't have gone far. You know how slow those things are."

Sitka nodded. "Thanks for the news, we'll be off now."

As he turned to leave, he sneezed; as he sniffled Sitka smelled a foreign scent… coming from Aleu. This caused him to turn back and say, "Aleu… what's that foreign scent on you? It smells like a human's scent."

The Alpha mentally slapped herself, she should have known that Sitka's finely tuned nose would catch on to what she had been doing the night before. Frantically, she thought of something to say.

"Oh that… I was out on border patrol and I walked through the scent of a human. It's nothing really, just a small mishap I made last night."

Aleu tried to conceal any sign of fright, the ends of her lips quivered slightly but not enough for one to notice. 'If I don't help him, who will?'

The hunters fanned out to search for the scent of musk oxen. Sitka too, moved off and sniffed high and low for a whiff of the mighty beasts. A toothy grin formed on Sitka's mouth as he smelled Aleu's scent, a few days old but still distinguishable.

'We must be close' Sitka thought as he continued to search, 'that scent has to be around here somewhere.'

The keen wolf pressed on, his nose acting as a compass to guide his path. Sitka continued to follow Aleu's scent until he came to a tree. A particularly large indent that had formed there, he lowered his muzzle to the spot and breathed through his nostrils. First, the foul scent of vomit and blood. Then Sitka smelled Aleu and… a human?

Sitka looked back and noticed a second set of indents, it seemed to have been formed by a canine that laid down and the other a human who'd sat next to it. He thought for a moment then reasoned that Aleu must've sat on the scent of a human who sat there earlier before her. But her scent was next to the human's instead of being on top of it.

Sitka moved to that spot and noticed that the two scents hadn't intersected, neither laid on top of the other. He came to a sudden realization: Aleu had done that. But she couldn't have been out here, yet all the facts pointed towards a bitter truth.

"Sitka! We picked up the scent, we should start tracking it." One of the hunters informed him.

"You guys go on without me, I've gotta take up something with Aleu."

He watched as the hunter left his view, then, he turned to a sprint; Sitka ducked under looming branches and over jagged rocks as she pushed himself at full speed. Sitka was pained and in a state of shock, 'Why would she lie to me? Why would she touch that human?'

Finally, he broke into a clearing, stiff branches no longer obstructed Sitka's vision and his eyes were touched by the morning sun. After pausing for a moment to catch his breath, he pushed forward, with an even greater drive to find his pack leader. As Sitka approached pack territory, he noticed the small family was up and about. The wolves looked on with great concern as the beta went past them straight to Aleu's den. Sitka shot up the slope and burst through the den entrance. Snow flew off of him and seemed to hover in the air for a moment. Nava and Alue stood inside, shocked to see Sitka in front of them at the door with his chest heaving and tongue hanging out of his mouth moving rapidly within his mouth.

Sitka quickly regained his composer and shouted. "Why did you lie to me?"

Instantly, Aleu knew that Sitka had found out about her recent outing. 'He must've found out that I was with Kyle, I never sat on his scent. I should've known that his nose would sniff me out.'

She sighed and hung her head. "Yes, I did lie."

"Why would you lie for a human?" he asked.

She looked up. "It's just- I felt he needed me and I helped him, would you help someone if they really needed you?"

Sitka nodded. "Maybe I would," he scowled upon Aleu, "but not anything beyond a wolf."

She averted her gaze and ears flattened. "I see."

Nava came to Sitka's ear and whispered. "You should forgive her, you know how she can sometimes do these things."

Sitka nodded and spoke. "I will forgive you."

"Thanks, I'm sorry too," she said.

"But I'd like you to do a couple more things."

The Alpha cocked her head. "First, stay away from that human, he might be more trouble than he's worth." Sitka said.

Aleu's teeth grit. "No, why should I-"

"Please Aleu, I'm just trying to look out for you, you know what's at stake," Sitka said.

She sighed then sat in front of him. "Fine, I'll keep my distance."

The other two sat as well. "And the other thing, please don't lie to me, I don't want there to be any tension between us."

"I won't Sitka, you can count on that," she said. 'I'll stay away, it's for my own safety, right? He has Eran to help him, he'll be ok.'

Kyle lifted his nose into the air and slowly took in the scents which laden the forest. He sifted through them for a moment before concluding Aleu was not out here.

He sighed and moved to the tree he and Aleu had been sitting by the previous night. 'Just when I thought I had a friend.' Kyle slumped down onto its trunk and looked into the infamous tunnel of darkness.

As the weary veteran laid there he solemnly explored his thoughts, had he scared her off? Had he done something to hurt her? He took in the air once more as the cold air crippled his nose. He smelled pine, the damp air, a fresh kill but no Aleu. If she was near he would have picked it up.

Kyle thought back to the Great War, all his friends, they were with him to the bitter end. Why would his new friend abandon him? This feeling of abandonment, betrayal, Kyle had felt this all before. When his father turned away, he was hurt deeply.

But this time it was even worse, Kyle gave her his trust and she left with it. Kyle felt that a part of himself had gone with the young canine. Then, worn-out from his laborious work and inner debate Kyle slowly drifted off to a deep slumber.

Then, a foreign elixir pulsed through his veins, it surged in his chest as the full moon shone, unveiled from its ghostly shroud; his pants tore and buckles broke with a pop. Fur grew and his face elongated, saliva slowly dripped off the ends of his mouth.

Kyle fell onto his knees, putting his arms over his head and gasping at the unruly burn of agony. His fingernails sharpened and dug into his furry neck; for a moment he was still. Then, he rose in front of the officer, eyes narrowed on the young man who stood before him. The man took slow steps backward, hands jostling the rifle as he transformed in front of him. Kyle's eyes flashed, he towered over the man; he brandished his claws and released a thunderous growl, he clenched his paw and released his fury.

Kyle jolted from his sleep and jumped forward at the tree in front of him, believing it to be his enemy. Kyle let a savage growl roar from his chest and he readied to attack the tree.

Kyle stood there for a moment, hands at the ready. Slowly, he came back to himself and found no capped soldier standing before him. As the young man turned he shot a vengeful glance at the old pine. "You messed with the wrong guy fool. Next time I see you I'll have an axe at my side."

Eventually, he began the trek back to his cabin, Kyle noticed something moving in the brush. He wondered what was there and moved forward, before he could catch a glimpse the animal scurried from his sight. Instinctively, Kyle took a whiff of the air and smelled a scent that was all too familiar.

How could she? 'Friend turned stalker, go figure.' Slowly, he readjusted his course and continued through the boot-deep snow. As he moved forward, Kyle wondered why he pressed on. It's not like he had the brightest future, it seemed that he would never have another friend like the ones he had during the Great War. The conflict brought all of them together and separated them simultaneously. He sighed and paused for a moment, before pressing on.

As his boots trudged through the snow the soldier dreamed of his perfect life, he imagined being with his friends and brother once again. Sitting around a warm fire, talking about each other's lives, girls, and jobs. Then, a familiar gray wolf walked through the door followed by a much smaller black one.

Instantly, Kyle shook himself from his daydream, 'That could never happen, they're all dead and she betrayed me. The more you think of the possibilities the more you realize what you don't have. You've got to stop daydreaming.' Finally, Kyle came back to his senses before continuing his sleepless trek.

As the sun rose once again the townsfolk began to stir. Everyone came together for another day's work. For one musher it meant another mail run to the closest town, White Mountain, and back with a new load of mail. Mr. Simpson assembled his dogs and fitted the team into their vests. Before he had the chance to check their harnesses Mr. Cunner interrupted him.

"Hey there Mr. Simpson! I got an extra special assignment for you today." Mr. Cunner called from inside the post office, before picking up a particularly large sack of mail and placing it near the sled.

Mr. Simpson, astonished by the amount of cargo that he was assigned, said, "All this? That's the most mail I've ever pulled in my entire life!"

"That's what I meant by special assignment. The guy who normally runs this joint is a bit under the weather. It's a long haul but I think that you can do it." Mr. Cunner finished by placing his hands promptly on his hips, dawning a smile that curved the ends of his mouth.

The musher scratched his hairless beard and asked, "And how long is this long haul, no longer than a few days trip I assume?"

Mr. Cunner scratched the back of his head in thought before responding, "Well… about that, maybe a week there and back," Mr. Simpson's eyes began to widen as Mr. Cunner continued, "probably need a day to rest, if a storm pulls through you might be held up a bit."

"Are you kidding!? That's-"

"-no more than you couldn't handle. I have faith in you kid! You'll do just fine." Mr. Cunner finished by placing his hand on the young musher's shoulder.

His smile grew as he continued, "It'll be ok, besides, this job will pay better than your normal run."

Mr. Simpson, still not entirely convinced, added, "How can I do this trip with only six dogs? I'll need two in back, plus an experienced lead."

"Don't worry, I've got you covered, Cassen already sent three of his dogs to help you with this trip." The mailman rested his hand on the sled and continued, "In that case you would have to readjust your harnesses."

"Is it possible that I could say no?" the young musher asked as he scratched the top of his head.

"Unless you'd like to give your job to Duke, no." Mr. Cunner said, resting his arms by his sides.

Mr. Simpson sighed and then said, "I guess I don't have much of a choice then, I better get the dogs ready for this assignment."

"Isn't this awesome! I'm going to love this road trip. Oooh I betcha that I'm gonna lead us all the way there." Kirby said; his face lit with a spark of leadership.

Dusty sighed and replied, "Kirby I don't think you or any of us are going to be the lead."

"But why not us? We've been running the mail for almost a year, we should get the job!" Kirby retorted.

"Didn't you hear what Mr. Simpson said? He had Cassen send over his most experienced dogs, including a lead." Ralph said.

Kirby cocked his head, "Then who would that be? Kal' or Nikki, maybe even Balto? I would love to run with Balto as lead, running with him is so much fun."

Kodi shook his head, "My dad doesn't run the mail and you know that, he only does races and other important expeditions."

"But this is an important expedition!" Dusty said.

Kodi shrugged, "Well I don't know but he probably won't be leading."

"Then who will be leading? Ever since Steele disappeared Gunner's always run his dogs in a two by three formation." Ralph said.

"Probably anyone but Star, I mean, he's nice and all but do you think that tiny little frame of his could handle such an important role?" Dusty snickered.

Kodi laughed, "Yeah, imagine Star leading a team of big dogs? Honestly, I'd say it's a miracle he's even a part of a team."

"Hey guys!" a high-pitched voice called. All the dogs spun their heads around to see Star, whose face shone a wide smile which seemed to stretch from ear to ear. The small dog pranced around in a triumphant, yet clumsy fashion. The mail team watched in horror as the light grey dog walked in front of Kirby and Kodi, straight into the lead position.

"I've been assigned to the team as lead dog! Isn't it wonderful?" Star exclaimed as Mr. Simpson tightened the harness around him.

"For you it is," Nikki grunted as he stepped in front of the sled. "We got stuck as the wheel dogs."

"For the record, I had no say in the matter!" Kaltag said.

"And that's the best part!" Star began, his legs stiffened and he puffed up his chest, "Our musher had complete faith in me without input from anyone else, he knew I was too good to be a swing dog. That my days of inferiority are over, I was destined to lead!"

Kaltag bickered quietly. "This is the most incredulous, the most overestimated, the most undermined-"

"I can't believe this is happening right now!" Nikki exclaimed.

"Me neither!" Star said.