It had been around a year since he had been driven out of the pack and Steele had managed to successfully live on his own. From time to time, he would wonder what happened to the pack during his absence, but he had long accepted that he probably would never know. More often than that though, he found himself reflecting on his life. Early on, he convinced himself that he was simply a victim of bad circumstances, but as more time went on, he realized that wasn't always the case. Instead, he now understood that some of his misfortunes were his own fault. From that understanding, he hoped that eventually he would have a better life and not repeat his same mistakes. The first step in bettering his life would begin with him improving himself.

Steele sighed and shook his head slightly to get out of his thoughts. He quietly observed the surroundings. It was quiet and based on the lack of fresh scents in the air, there wasn't any prey in the area. Suddenly, a scent in the air caught his attention. He deeply inhaled the scent just to confirm. It belonged to Castoph. Steele couldn't help but feel eager to see the wolf again, even if they hadn't left on good terms. He ran toward the scent and stopped when he saw Castoph lying down beside a fallen tree trunk. He flicked his tail and barked lightly. Castoph flicked his ears upward and turned his attention to Steele. There was a short moment of silence between the two before Steele finally slowly walked over.

"Castoph, what are you doing so far away from your territory?" Steele asked with a tilt of his head. Castoph sighed softly as he sat up.

"I left the pack," Castoph said quietly. Steele flicked his ears curiously.

"What's happened since I left?" Steele ventured in hopes of getting more details. Castoph grunted lightly.

"Not too long after you left, a female loner asked to join the pack. Beku recognized her. It turned out she was his sister, Meka. She got along with everyone fine, including me. Admittedly I liked a little, but of course, Beku wouldn't let me be around her too often. Anyway, as you may have already assumed, Beku is the now the alpha and Tuulikki is his mate. They had a litter of three actually. After a while, I started to feel useless. Beku and Tuulikki are capable of hunting without me since Meka stays and watches the pups. I didn't really have a place and I knew I wouldn't really be missed either. So I left," Castoph explained before he glanced down at the ground. Steele lowered his ears slightly. He could understand how Castoph was feeling. Being alone was difficult.

"Oh, I'm sorry. If you want, you could stay with me," Steele offered gently. Castoph glanced up at Steele for a moment before he stood up and looked out to the horizon.

"No thank you. I'm going to find another pack," Castoph said as he began to walk away. Steele grunted lightly and lowered his ears. It had been too long since he had company and part of him didn't want Castoph to leave so soon.

"Castoph, please wait," Steele pleaded softly. Castoph glanced back at Steele with a soft expression and lowered his ears slightly.

"Steele, it's honestly nothing personal. I just need to start over. Oh, and for what it's worth, I know Beku was the one who really killed Altair," Castoph said quietly. Steele's eyes widened in surprise.

"Does Tuulikki know?" Steele asked. Castoph sat down and shrugged slightly.

"I don't think so. It wouldn't matter anyway, Steele. She loves Beku too much to listen even if I tried to tell her and I know Beku wouldn't say anything either. I found out when I had to bury Altair's body. I realized that his neck was broken and that he didn't drown. Beku's the only wolf I have met that can break bones so precisely without leaving a mark. That's another reason I wanted to leave. Like I said before, he's dangerous. You don't have to worry about the others though. Despite originally using her as a stepping stone to power, I do believe that Beku does genuinely care about Tuulikki now as well as their pups. And as far as his sister, she is important to him so he won't harm her either. I left knowing that everyone was safe," Castoph explained. Steele nodded lightly as took in all the information.

"I see. So, you're going off on your own now?" Steele asked. Castoph nodded.

"Yes. I'm going to head to the sea. I hear there's a large pack there. You can come if you want to," Castoph offered as he stood once again and began walking. Steele nodded and walked beside him.

"Lead the way," Steele said with a soft smile. Castoph returned the smile and the two continued walking.

There had been some change in Nome as well since Steele had left. Most of the people and dogs carried on with their lives as normal after the outbreak had been cured. Balto and Jenna had pups of their own and all but one of them had gotten homes. The only one left was a female named Aleu. Unlike her siblings, she looked more like a wolf than a husky.

Since she hadn't gotten a home, she lived with her father in the old ship by the beach. One day, Aleu had gone out to play with Muk and Luk and was nearly killed by a hunter. After that, Balto had no choice but to explain why. He finally had to tell her why a human wouldn't want her. She hated hearing the truth and ran away.

Castoph and Steele had been walking for a while and when a distant town came into view, Steele stopped. There was no mistaking it. It was Nome. Castoph grunted softly when he noticed that Steele wasn't following. He paused and looked back with a tilt of his head.

"Steele, what is it?" Castoph asked. Steele looked back at Castoph.

"You go on ahead. I can't keep going with you. I'm going to take a different path," Steele said softly. Castoph looked questioningly at Steele for a moment, but then nodded.

"Alright. Be careful of that town by the way. You wouldn't want to get caught by a human," Castoph said before he dashed off. Steele sighed slightly as flashes of memories rushed back to him. He nearly felt tempted to go back, but he knew that he couldn't after all this time. He lowered his ears then went in the opposite direction until he reached a waterfall and stopped for a drink. As he lifted his head, he spotted a cave beside the waterfall and went inside before he lay down to rest. It was a little damp, but he wasn't bothered and was soon asleep.

Night had fallen and Aleu had reached a waterfall. She sighed lightly and looked down at her reflection in the water.

"Where do I belong?" Aleu asked in a soft whisper. Not far from her, Steele had woken up and was looking out of the cave entrance when he spotted her. He tilted his head then walked out onto the rock path.

"Hello. Who would you be?" Steele asked quietly. Aleu gasped softly and stood up then looked up at him. She flicked her ears slightly as her blue eyes met Steele's.