Chapter Four

Progress Report

It was now so very late, it was better described as being early. It wouldn't be much longer till dawn broke. The moon had grown ever larger and brighter in the sky until it stood directly over the silent and still town of Nome.

The starlight lit up the snow brilliantly, almost magical in its own kind of beauty. Even the wind seemed to be asleep.

Despite the hour, there was one other group moving under the cover of darkness tonight. Their paws pressed into the snow so gingerly, their steps barely made a sound.

These weren't dogs, these were fully grown wolves. Two of them, although they looked like they were waiting for more to join them.

"Storm is supposed to be here. . . He's late. The alpha will hear about this." growled one of them, pacing back and forth. His blunt features sliding in and out of sight as the moonlight cut through the branches of the trees looming above them and washed over him.

"Patience, Klaus." breathed the second wolf, sitting calmly and watching his restless companion. "He is not yet late. We're also missing another."

Klaus continued his pacing, hardly seeming to hear his words. His eyes scanned across the landscape around them, searching for an approaching figure, but all he saw was the small, dimly lit town of Nome off in the distance, surrounded by white hills, trees, and an oddly shaped lump not far from the coast. It was completely unlike the rest of the buildings that made up the town, but still obviously man-made.

After several long minutes, he grunted and turned back to the other wolf.

"It's been a week. What has Slyth been doing this whole time?"

The second wolf shook his head. "Is that not what we're meeting to discuss?"

Although he was barely older than Klaus, there was a much older and much more tired look in his eyes. His coat was a similar shade of brown as Klaus's, but his was streaked with thin lines of black and had a much more weathered look to it.

"Like I said, be patient. They'll be here." His voice did not carry the same serious tone as Klaus's. Instead, it was much more relaxed. He sounded absolutely certain about the matter.

"Very well then." Klaus sighed, sounding defeated and appeared to shrink in size as he stood there. He lowered his head and looked back at the second wolf.

"Remind me again why we're out here Nova."

Nova gave Klaus a quizzical look. "Surely you haven't forgotten what we're doing."

"Of course not" Klaus scoffed, pointing a paw at Nova "I want to hear it from you though."

Nova shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"Our job is simple, we're here to protect."

"Yes, I know that much. I'm asking why are we so far away from home?" a small portion of impatience had crept back into Klaus's voice.

"Why here?"

"Why are we here?" Nova sounded like it was a ridiculous question. "Because the alpha sent us here. This is where she wants us to be. That's why, Klaus."

"She told me where to go and that I was to help protect Slyth on the journey and that we would have to wait until the full moon to get the rest of our orders." Klaus stood back up then, looking completely annoyed and frustrated.

"Well, it's the full moon, and I've been bored to death on my own out here" He nodded his head in the direction of Nome. "It's also dangerous to linger around places like this."

Nova's eyes looked over Klaus and at the town without responding. For a moment it seemed he had nothing to say to the wolf.

"If you weren't given all the information, she had her reasons for withholding it. However, it falls onto Slyth to tell you the rest, not me."

Klaus snorted, but did not argue. "Fine, can you at least tell me why we were sent somewhere so dangerously close to hunters? You know what they do to our kind."

The last week had been relatively uneventful, but being so close to a place man called home had made it impossible for him to know a single moment of peace. He was amazed by some of the things he had seen when they first arrived, but now he was very much ready to head back home where he belonged and felt safe.

He had seen several groups of dogs running in lines, pulling something behind them that a human stood on, bellowing in a strange tongue at the dogs. What exactly the purpose of it was was lost on him, but he saw several of them coming and going daily.

Smoke rose from several of the buildings throughout the day, but it always faded away each night. It set off all kind of alarms in Klaus's mind that simply would not stop.

"When I was picked for this position I never thought it would involve a job like this."

Nova bowed his head at his words.

"Neither did I, Klaus. But it's what we were told to do, and we were all selected for this, so here we are." Nova sighed, laying his large body down onto his stomach.

"Do you not derive any sense of purpose from the task you've been given? We're out here to do something Klaus. This is something that will affect the future of our pack, and you're a part of that."

Nova's words swelled in strength as he spoke. Even if Klaus didn't understand the importance of what they were doing, it was obvious that Nova did.

Klaus was left rather uncertain of what to say to this. He remembered feeling that strong sense of pride when he had been chosen, but then he was told to come all the way out here and wait.

Wait for what?

If he was selected to be a part of the alphas guard, then why was his first job to go protect someone else?

"It's just been frustrating, Nova. Slyth, Storm and I arrived a week ago. I thought something would have happened by now, but I haven't heard a word."

"Then allow me to bring this discussion back to my original point." Nova began with the air of someone who was losing interest in an argument.

"Patience, Klaus. Slyth will be able to tell you more than me, once we are all here."

"Yes, we are here, but Slyth and the others appear to have more important things to do." Klaus growled, sinking his claws deep into the ground, like he was about to fight.

Before Nova could open his mouth to respond, another shape materialized out of the darkness. It stood behind Klaus, perfectly still until it spoke and made its presence known to the other two wolves.

"Now, that's not a very nice thing to say."

The suddenness of it's arrival startled Klaus enough to make him jump. Instinctively, he bared his teeth. Then his eyes fell on the amused looking large white shepherd standing behind him.

"Honestly, Klaus. Did no one ever tell you? It's rude to talk about someone behind their back." He sounded far too cold and cruel to be laughing, but he chuckled every word.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Things are going just about as bad as they possibly can go. It could have all been so simple. . . It should have been. . . Now things are getting complicated. What was Gabriel thinking back there anyway? The lame-brain should have known he would get in trouble for interrupting Dart, and what's he need Nikki for?

These thoughts went through Storms mind at lightning fast speed while he and Gabriel paced back to Nome. He was in a state of utter shock after everything that had just happened.

He made sure to keep some distance between him and Gabriel as they went. His presence had become just as uncomfortable as that meeting had been.

Every time he glanced over his shoulder and looked at Gabriel, he felt rather sickened by the way he appeared to have two faces. Dart had definitely made sure he wouldn't repeat that mistake again. The way he had hurt Gabriel was something Storm could hardly bare to look at.

Dart is a fool. . . Gabriel is leaving behind a trail anyone could follow.

Indeed, there was a steady flow of blood oozing out of the wound. As alarming as Storm found it, Gabriel seemed oblivious to it. Every other step was another bloody mess of a paw print in the snow, and it dripped out of his fur like he was soaked in it.

I think Dart just killed him. . .

Unwilling to be around for when that happened, It came as a huge relief for him when he spied the river up ahead. He broke away from the bloody dog and went his own way without another look back. Altogether, he was pretty certain that he would never see him again.

No matter, his part in this is done anyway.

As Storm made his way back to Nome, he reflected again on just how horribly wrong things were going. This wasn't meant to be a complicated plan. All they were supposed to do was make sure that Slyth wasn't around by time the full moon rose and the rest would come easy. Unfortunately, that was tonight. His eyes cast upwards at the large glowing orb above him.

It's light was fading as the sun prepared to rise and eliminate the shadows he now traveled under.

Despite what Dart had said, it was no surprise that he had died. After all, It was he and Gabriel who had done it. As broken and twisted as he was after they were finished with him, how could he have not? He suspected it was Gabriel who had inflicted the fatal blow that did it.

All of the fight had gone out of the dog by that point. Gabriel had jumped on top of him and as his body landed, Storm had actually been able to hear something inside his body break.

For someone who wasn't supposed to kill, Gabriel seemed almost a little too willing.

All things considered, only one was supposed to die. Slyth still being alive changed everything. How was it possible that they had mistakenly killed the wrong dog? That had to be some kind of bad joke.

"How could I have missed that?" he grumbled as he jogged his way closer and closer to Nome.

He was angry at himself for not noticing, angry at Gabriel for being so stupid, angry at Nikki for all of this.

That was the only part of this that made sense. Nikki was the one who was responsible. He and Gabriel had done their part, Nikki was the one who was supposed to lure Slyth to the ambush.

If that dog wasn't Slyth, then it was because Nikki had baited the wrong dog. Part of him wondered if that had been on purpose, but didn't understand what she could have possibly gained from it and also, how incredibly unlikely it was that she found another dog that looked just like Slyth.

Of course, it wasn't a mistake at all that the dog died. It would have been dangerous to let him live, more so for him and Dart than Gabriel and Nikki. Although, they were a part of it now.

They hadn't exactly killed him, but it might have been kinder if they had. However long he had survived after the attack surely had been agonizing.

It infuriated him more than he could say now that he knew that that wasn't Slyth. This could have been so simple, but now this night would play out much differently.

Is it all over now? Do we still have time to rectify this?

That depended greatly on how Slyth was managing his own task. Storm sincerely hoped that he was failing as bad as they were. They may have failed step one of this plan, but the real failure would come the moment that Slyth found her. Precisely the very thing they were here to stop.

Well, I'll know soon enough. . .

As much as he wanted it to be, the night was not over for him yet. There was one more thing he had to do before he could get any rest.

The meeting with Dart, Nikki, and Gabriel was only the first gathering he had to attend. If everything had worked out, they were supposed to hear from Dart what their next move would be. Since that wasn't the case, he wasn't sure what to expect next.

He was running out of time, so he picked up his pace and ran faster, suddenly annoyed by how far away Dart had made them come.

Storm didn't stop until Nome appeared on the horizon. By then he was breathing in long ragged gasps which rose in small clouds from his mouth in the chilly air, but was relieved to see he had made it in time.

He scanned the trees until he spotted the two wolves he was looking for. They were speaking in low voices that he had to strain his ears to hear.

"Storm is supposed to be here. . . He's late. The alpha will hear about this."

At Klaus's words, a low rumble went up Storms throat and his nose wrinkled into an angry snarl. Before he could even move, he heard Dart's familiar cold voice speak behind him.

"Easy now, Storm."

It would have surprised him if he hadn't known Dart would be close behind him. Instead he barely reacted, hardly glancing at Dart. He dropped his snarl and lifted his muzzle.

"Great show back there Storm! Really good stuff, truly. I never knew you were such a good actor." Dart patted Storm on the back and laughed.

"You almost even had me convinced!"

Storm wasn't sure how to react anymore. His mouth opened and shut several times without making a sound until he managed to find his voice.

"It isn't hard to fake shock when you really are. What're we going to do about Slyth?" Storm asked, completely brushing off Darts comments.

Dart changed his tone as abruptly as his laughter died. His features shifted to the polar opposite of his amused expression. Scowling, he shook his head at Storm's question.

"Consider the matter out of your paws."

Storm's eyes widened with surprise. "But. . ." He started to say, but Dart put a paw to his mouth and silenced him.

"The goal was to make sure that Slyth wasn't around anymore by tonight. Since you failed, we're left in a difficult situation. Now, we've gotta improvise."

Storm looked back at the large white shepherd warily. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means that the plan as we knew it is over." Dart snapped, sounding rather final about the whole situation.

"So that's it then?" Storm asked, a sense of unease falling heavily on his shoulders. "It's all over?"

"Oh, don't worry, this isn't over." Dart laughed, completely shifting moods again. "Not by a long shot. I've got a different job for you."

He didn't elaborate at once just what this other job was, but he did turn away from Storm and spoke in a voice so dead of emotion, the seriousness of his words could not be mistaken.

"Make no mistake, Storm. If you fail me again, you will regret it. . ."

With nothing left to be said, they set off and joined the other two wolves.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

A week in Nome had proven to be more interesting than Slyth had ever anticipated. As much as the day to day activities fascinated him, everyone else appeared to think It was all perfectly normal, which was even more absurd to him.

By day, the town was busy with life as the occupants went about their daily lives. Slyth didn't understand what any of them were doing, but his stomach growled deeply every time he caught the smell of food that wafted out of the buildings.

As he explored around, he became all too aware of how many dogs lived here. There were all kinds of them in just as many shapes and sizes. At first, it had been interesting to watch them all, but it didn't take Slyth long to realize the problem that this presented. Out of all the dogs here, he needed to find just one in particular.

The days rolled by one after another and his efforts to find her went in vain. So far, It had turned out to be quite a fruitless endeavor to narrow his search down to just one dog.

He had made it a point to stay out of sight as much as he could, especially after he had become aware of his resemblance to the dog the town mourned. After a couple of awkward conversations, he decided that he did not like the attention and stuck to the shadows.

Briefly, he remembered someone else who had reminded him again and again how much he looked like someone she used to know. It used to mean nothing to him. Now, however . . .

Slyth had only spoken to a couple of dogs since he had arrived, pretending to be a new dog in town had been how he found out about the boiler room.

That had turned out to be a great place to easily get information without asking a lot of suspicious questions. All he had had to do was listen to the conversations around him and keep his ears peeled for a certain name. Just some mention of her would be enough to get him on the right trail to find her.

He heard a lot of names during his time there, but not one mention of the female he was searching for. As frustrating as that was, he did hear other things that caught his interest. That was where he learned about what happened to Kodi, a name he was only aware of because dogs kept calling him that.

Whenever Kodi came up, the conversation had a way of always moving on to Dusty next. Talk about Dusty always led to Kodi, and talk about Kodi always led to Dusty in a repetitive circle. He overheard a couple other things in between these conversations, but none of it was interesting enough to hold his attention very long. Not until the name Balto reached his ears. Every time he heard it, it jogged something in his memory, but he couldn't quite remember what.

I've heard that name before. . . but where?

He kept listening for something to remind him more, but all he heard was that Balto was Kodi's father and that didn't do anything for his memory.

After his very public encounter with Dusty, he didn't think the place would be the same for him. Now he suspected his name would be one discussed fervently, so he decided to avoid the place the rest of the day which passed by completely uneventfully.

As the day wore on, he passed the time by wandering around aimlessly, watching the town steadily die down as everyone, dog and man alike, retreated back inside their homes.

When darkness had fallen, it was much easier for him to explore the town without being seen. Without knowing where he was going, he padded up and down streets and alleys, turning left here and right there in no particular order or hurry.

Eventually he found himself standing over something he knew to be a grave. It was small, but unmistakable and as he looked down at it, his mind recalled the dog he had connected briefly with in the boiler room.

Some of the pain from his experience with Dusty earlier had lingered with him. He felt truly sorry for her loss, but there was nothing he could do for her. It was hugely surprising to him that she had opened herself to him the way she had. He knew it was only because he resembled her lost one, but even that seemed surprising to him.

It gave him comfort that he had been able to do something for her, however small.

Still though, you don't hear someone cry like that and not feel something from it. Had he ever felt such sorrow? If the opportunity came again, he wanted to check up on her.

He debated for a moment if that was appropriate. Would seeing him again just awaken her sadness again that Kodi was gone? Maybe he was just a bad reminder of something she wanted to let go and if he kept showing up, would she be able to?

He struggled to remember if there had ever been someone he felt that strongly for.

Somewhere in her cries, he had felt something pass between them and he could only guess at what it had been. It had felt brilliant in it's strength, but terrible in the weight of the pain it carried. Maybe in that moment between them, Dusty had shared some of the bond she felt with Kodi with him and Slyth was certain he'd never experienced a connection with someone like that.

He shuffled slightly and wondered, looking down at the small stone which marked Kodi's grave. Something he couldn't explain had compelled him to come visit.

It might have looked extremely bizarre to anyone else if they saw him. Like some part of Kodi was still there, standing by his own grave and looking saddened by the sight of it. As if he were struggling to accept what had happened to him.

Slyth had nothing to say, after all what was there to say? He watched as the snow fell gently down on top of the stone where it settled into a steadily growing pile. The snow had built up far enough that it threatened to cover up the stone and erase his memory from the world.

He leaned down and brushed the snow away with his muzzle; the only sign of respect he could show for the dead, then padded away, feeling no less heavy than he had before.

Tonight was the seventh night since he had arrived with Klaus and Storm, but it was not like the others. Tonight was actually an important one, it was the night the others were supposed to arrive. While Slyth was unsure exactly who else had been sent, he knew it would be another small party, and they would also be part of the Alphas Guard.

So, washing his face of any and all emotions, Slyth steeled himself for their arrival.

They were going to want an update on the plan and how he was progressing. He felt slightly hurt that he had nothing to say to defend himself on this matter. It was his job, and he hadn't managed to do it.

Fortunately, he had time to think over everything and get his head straight while he waited. He may as well have had an entire week to think things over for the good it did him though.

He continued to roam around unseen and unheard until the time had come to leave and meet with the others. He knew Storm and Klaus would be waiting on him by now, but he wondered who else would be there.

It wasn't a long walk out of town, however he had made sure to pick somewhere that was at a safe distance from the town to avoid any unwanted attention.

As he approached, he could make out four shapes that he knew to be the group waiting for him. Once he got close enough, he could make out voices. At first he couldn't make out what they were saying, but when he was able to, his ears identified the voice as Klaus speaking. Slyth only just caught the last bit of his words.

". . .Slyth and the others appear to have more important things to do."

At first, he wanted to laugh when he heard it, but then he made out a large white shepherd next to Klaus. His mind raced, trying to put a name to the large brute.

"Dart, what a pleasure to see you here." Slyth spoke when he reached them, sounding almost sarcastic. Then he spotted the other wolf laying on his stomach next to Klaus.

"Nova, I can't say I'm surprised to see you." He spoke in a much more genuine tone than he had to Dart.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Slyth, good of you to finally join us!" Klaus growled, looking half resentful and half sheepish.

Dart's abrupt appearance had unnerved him, but Nova looked as though he had expected all of this. As Slyth made his presence known, he rose to his paws and stood shoulder to shoulder with Klaus, Storm, and Dart.

"Yes, we were beginning to worry something might have happened to you." He said, completely ignoring the sarcastic tone in Klaus's voice.

Slyth looked over each one of them closely, then grinned at him and Klaus "Worried about me? Now, I'm touched. It's good to see everyone here is well too."

They all met his gaze when he looked at them except for Dart.

"Rough journey, Dart?" He asked, lifting a paw and pointing it at his injured shoulder. The pink and red stain stood out clearly against his white coat. It was no longer bleeding, but it was a plainly fresh wound.

Dart snorted scornfully "Please, this is nothing."

Slyth nodded his head, but was unconvinced. So he looked to Nova for a better answer. "Was it nothing, Nova?"

Nova looked curiously at Dart and for a brief moment, their eyes met. He paused for half a heartbeat before he spoke.

"Yes, it was long, but the way was easy."

Slyth wasn't satisfied with the answer, but decided to drop it and move on. They didn't have much time to brood on every small detail.

"Okay, that's good to hear. How about we move on then?"

Klaus immediately stepped forward, clearly ready to finally get some answers.

"So tell us, what have you found out?"

Together, all four of them looked at Slyth expectantly.

Slyth shifted slightly and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to say, I haven't found out much. Nothing that concerns us anyway. There was an attack on a dog named Kodi. He didn't survive, so the town is on edge. They suspect wolves did it, so Klaus and Nova, it's important that you two stay here. Dart, Storm, and I at least have enough dog in us to go unnoticed."

Klaus and Nova made no objection, but Slyth did notice that now Storm wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I can't be sure, but I think he was attacked the night we arrived. I spoke briefly with the dogs mate earlier today."

"How is this related to us?" Dart asked, barely making an effort to stifle a yawn.

Slyth shook his head and had to fight back one of his own despite himself. "Nothing at all Dart. Apparently I look a lot like him, so it's made moving around complicated. They don't think I'm a wolf, they think I'm a dead dog."

Storm shifted uncomfortably, his paws kneading in the snow, but otherwise he sat completely still and silent.

"So maybe you want to tell us how your search is going." Nova said and nodded his head at Klaus.

"Not everyone here is fully aware of what we're doing."

There was a small snort from Dart at his words.

Slyth was beginning to feel annoyed by his arrogance so he fixed his eyes on Dart instead of Nova. "Fine, tell me what you do know and I'll fill in the rest. As long as Dart is okay with that, of course."

Dart opened his mouth to say something, but Nova cut him off before he could speak.

"I'm sure Dart would like to know just as much as the rest of us, so go ahead and tell us what you know Klaus."

Klaus looked unsure of himself for a moment, looking between Slyth and Dart. He blinked, and it passed.

"I wasn't told much. Just that Storm and I were to go with Slyth and wait for the others to arrive at the full moon."

He looked up at the large white orb in the sky above them.

"Well, the others have arrived, and it's the full moon. So spit it out Slyth." His impatient tone made its way back into his voice as he spoke.

"Okay, the purpose of this meeting is essentially just a progress report." Slyth began, tearing his eyes from Dart to look at Klaus.

"Regrettably, I haven't got much to report. Like Nova said, we are here to find someone. I was given the task of finding her, and your job is to make sure we get her home safely."

Slyth's words only partially sated Klaus, evidently it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for one dog. What's so special about her?"

"Excellent question, I'm glad you asked." Slyth said then paused to look at Dart.

"Wanna take it from here, buddy?"

Darts eyes flashed but he held back his annoyance by focusing on Klaus instead of Slyth and spoke through gritted teeth.

"She's the alpha's daughter."

"Exactly." Slyth said plainly, watching recognition dawn on Klaus's features.

"We have been given an important job. One that will directly affect the future of our pack."

He allowed a few moments of silence to carry the significance of his words.

In those few brief seconds, the first rays of morning broke the horizon and stroked the top of the trees around them.

"Well, that's that then." Storm finally spoke up, breaking the pregnant pause between them.

"That's that." Slyth repeated.

"Is there any more questions before we go our separate ways?"

At first it seemed that none of them did, then Nova spoke.

"Just find her, Slyth. Like you said, it's dangerous for us out here. We're counting on you to find her so we can go home."

Slyth nodded his head at Nova. "Trust me, it's just like what the alpha said, there's no one better for the job."

As he said it, he heard her voice in his mind speak.

'Bring her home to me, Slyth and remember my eyes. She has them too.'

"Are we done here?" Dart grunted now sounding just as impatient and annoyed as Klaus had.

"Yes, we're done here." Slyth announced very finally.

As they all started to walk away, he raised his voice enough for them all to hear one last thing he had to say.

"Strength to your paws. Remember, you are wolves, but what kind of wolf are you?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

If you can believe it, I still haven't finished introducing all the characters yet.

It was good to finally get back to Slyth though. I mean, it's his story, where the bloody hell has he been?

The amount of notes I've scribbled down for this story. . . good grief.

It took me longer than I wanted to write this chapter because of a lot of different factors.

Mainly due to each chapter growing more complicated, this one was definitely the hardest one yet, but I'm glad I finally finished it and I hope you enjoy it!