Aleu woke up in Kodi's arms. She still couldn't believe it! She was reunited with her brother, and about to see her family again. Kodi woke up thinking he was gripped onto Dusty.
"Sorry Dusty! Not trying to make it awkward!" he said.
"Dusty?" Aleu asked.
"Your voice is awfully high…"
Kodi looked over to see his sister there.
"Aleu! I forgot! Wait, it wasn't a dream?"
"It was reality, Kodi!"
Kodi's face brightened up.
"I thought it was too good to be true! As I woke up, I damn near broke out."
"Who's Dusty? A girlfriend?"
"No, she's just a friend."
"A 'friend'?"
"Aleu, you might need to know this… I… I'm not looking for girls."
"I thought it was Yukon that planned on staying single."
"No, I don't plan on staying single."
Kodi couldn't keep eye contact with Aleu.
"Aleu, I'm gay."
Aleu drifted into laughter. What did Kodi say? He couldn't be serious! Funny like she remembered.
"I always loved you for your humor!"
"I'm not joking! I am! I have a crush on a guy on my team… he doesn't know… but…"
Aleu still couldn't laughing. Even if he was serious, why was this so funny?
"Kodi, I love you no matter what!"
"I'm afraid to tell dad, I don't think he agrees!"
"Well, why don't you tell him while he's speechless when I come home?"
"Might as well, I…"
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Some brother and sister fun?" a black and white malamute came in to sight.
""Steele!"" Kodi and Aleu yelled in unison.
"That's me! How 'bout that guy Balto? Sure is a bit of a scumbag!"
"That's my dad you're talking about!" Aleu growled, "You better not say another word about him!"
"Your numb-skull father!?"
"THAT'S IT!"
Kodi held Aleu back before she did anything stupid.
"Keep her in line, Kodi! Keep the sister you mated to behind!"
Kodi's face got red in anger.
"What? You don't like your face to be white? You want it red like the rest of your body?" Steele taunted.
Kodi managed to hold himself back. He didn't need this dog to tell Nome that he did something he didn't do.
Who comes up with that!? Who tries to falsely accuse a brother and sister of mating!? He has NO proof! But then again, he's still insane. He lied to Nome for years, he can find a way to lie to them again.
"Oh you homo," Steele said.
The red on Kodi's face turned from anger to embarrassment. He can't deny being gay to Nome, because then he'd be the liar.
"If you don't want Nome to know about you two mating, although you didn't, I suggest becoming my personal slaves. Let's not forget about Kodi being gay!"
"You have no proof!" Aleu shouted.
"No? I've been a professional liar for years! Although I'm outcast, I'll lie my way in there! I will be able to describe the way you two were cuddling! Didn't look like brother and sister to me!"
Aleu and Kodi looked at each other.
"What kind of slavery are we talking about?" Kodi asked.
"Treated like property, not well fed, meets my needs, wants, and desires, put through hard work!"
"How long?"
"I get to decide! It could be a life sentence, could be a day!"
"What kind of work are we talking about?"
"Kodi, stop negotiating!" Aleu demanded.
Kodi put his paw up, "I got this!"
"Well, you'll be hunting my food! You'll clean up the cave I live in. You're going to massage my back! Your father did that to me! I fell off of a cliff! HE MADE ME FALL! NOW HE PASSED THE PUNISHMENT TO HIS KIDS!" Steele roared.
That definitely got Kodi and Aleu scared.
"If I get to that point, you might even be my mating slaves!"
Those two words pierced Kodi's ears like a butcher knife. What a disturbing term! Terrible!
"So, what is it?" Steele asked.
"Excuse us!" Aleu said.
Kodi and Aleu went to talk.
"What the hell are you doing negotiating with him!?"
"It wasn't negotiating, it was questioning. I wanted to see how we'd get treated, if it was worth not going home for a long time! You know what? There's two of us and one of him! Let's just kill him!"
"Oh… I really didn't think about that."
The two turned and faced Steele.
"We've made our decision!" Aleu said.
"What's that?"
They both jumped out and attacked him. They went to reach for his throat.
"Boys!" Steele yelled.
Circled around them was Star, Nikki, and Kaltag.
"Even if you kill me, you'll still get killed by them, then they'll go to Nome and tell them about you two mating. Unlike me, they're not outcasts."
"Youse ain't going nowhere!" Nikki said.
"You aren't going anywhere!" Aleu corrected, "Lardball!"
"So, what's your decision now?" Steele asked.
"Excuse us," Kodi said.
They talked to each other again.
"What now!?" Aleu panicked.
"Become a slave to a rotten person or have your reputation ruined right when you come home?"
"I… I don't want you to suffer Kodi. Nome had been your home for years. This monster shouldn't take it away from you! If we end up being used as mating slaves…"
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Kodi snapped, "I'm sorry, those words just pierce my ear drum."
"Mating slave!"
Kodi had death wish right now. He didn't believe in suicide, maybe he should just attack Steele and get killed. But what would that do for Aleu? Nothing!
"Let's just decline!" Aleu said.
"No, I don't want to be kicked off my team, known as the guy who mated with his own sister, then rejected by dad for being gay!"
"We can go out and find my pack!"
"I'm a civilized dog! I may be a quarter wolf, but I don't have the wild in me!"
"Well, do you want to be used as a… a slave?"
"It can't be that bad!"
"Well, I say we're going home! So what if we have a bad reputation? They're not going to kick us out!"
"Once the whole town thinks we've mated, I'm not talking to you again!" Kodi said fed up.
He let Steele hear that. He hoped Steele heard that.
"What!? Kodi, we just reunited!"
"That's no good if we're trapped and known to be mates!"
Aleu sighed. She didn't want to think it, but she knows it's true. She came back to Kodi's side.
"We're better as slaves and live in peace than free and live in hell!"
Kodi was relieved to have Aleu agree with him.
"Alright, Steele. We'll do what you want!"
"Good choice! Do what you want with her boys! He's all mine!" Steele said.
"Hold up, what!?" Kodi panicked.