The next morning Toby was well-rested and anxious to get going, but most of them were still too weak to go anywhere. Of the seven dogs on the team, three had received cuts bad enough to impede movement, and two more had sprained legs. As for Chief Scotty, he was still out, and Luna pointed out that they would need him to handcuff Bryan Lawrence once they caught him. "Besides," she reasoned, "a little R&R never hurt anyone."

Exile agreed. "The team needs the rest." Toby hmphed, looking at the ground. "And it wouldn't kill you to relax," Exile added.

"Oh, be quiet, Exile," snapped Toby. "I only brought you out here so we could tell the chatterboxes back home that Luna and I were never out of anyone's sight during the trip."

Luna sighed at the mention of Nome. "I wish I could have told my people where I went, especially Connie. She must be going out of her mind right now."

"I'm sure Charlie is too, but the mission takes priority. Thinking about people back home will only distract us."

Luna stared at him. "You've changed," she said.

Toby lifted his head. "What?"

"You're different from when I first met you. You're not the Toby I knew just a few days ago. And you're definitely not the Toby I've been dating all this time."

"Is that a fact?" asked Toby dryly.

"Yes, it is. You've become cold and tense. Look at you! We're here, we're alive, we stand a decent chance of catching the man who shot your father and you can't even smile!" She scowled. "You know what I think? You need to lighten up."

Toby scoffed. "How?"

"Like this!" Luna pounced on him. Toby fought back, irritated at first, then slowly started to enjoy himself. Soon he and Luna were rolling in the snow, laughing until they were sick.

At last, they stopped and lay on their backs in a snowdrift, side by side. "That was fun," panted Toby.

Luna nodded happily. "Now that's the Toby I remember."

Toby got up. "You were right," he said, pulling Luna to her feet. "I've been a real pain lately, haven't I?"

"You have no idea."

"I guess that's over now." Toby felt as if an anvil had been lifted from his shoulders. "We're going to make it. We'll find Lawrence and get back to Nome in one piece." He gently laid his paw on top of hers. "Together."

Luna smiled, and Exile laughed. "Careful, you two. I can't tell the dogs in Nome that the rumors are empty if you keep this up."

"Just tell them he's undergoing medical treatment for an undersized brain and a swollen ego," said Luna.

Toby thought about a comeback, but decided against it. Instead, he asked, "So, doc, what's the prescription?"

Luna thought a moment. "I'd say half an hour of this every day should do it."

"Same time tomorrow?" asked Toby.

Luna smiled. "It's a date," she said, making Toby cringe as he cast a sideways glance in Exile's direction.

"Luna…" he warned through his teeth.

"Oh, come on," she laughed. "It's just an expression."

"Yeah, right," Exile chuckled under his breath.

After staying with the White Wolf pack for about three days, the team was rested, recovered, and ready to continue the search. When it came time for them to set out, the wolves gathered to see them off. Denahi stepped forward to speak to them. "You have proven while you were here that you are loyal and honorable. May your journey be swift and successful, and may you find favor in the eyes of any other packs you meet."

"Whether you succeed or not, you may be sure that you will be welcome here if you need help," added Lunau. "Now go, and know that our hearts go with you."

The pack howled in salute, and first Luna, then Toby, then all the dogs howled in reply. When the chorus had died down, Toby nodded to the wolves. "I will do everything in my power to see that the hunter who seeks to destroy you is stopped. In Nome most dogs look down on wolves. When we return there, know that I will tell everyone how you helped us, and hopefully discourage such small-minded thinking."

The wolves howled again, voicing their approval. As the dogs left, Luna looked at Toby. "Nice speech," she said. "Especially for someone who doesn't know the Code of the Wolf."

Toby smiled. "It doesn't necessarily take a wolf to know how to talk to one."

The search was far from easy. They had feasted heavily on the food supplies from the sled to prepare for their journey, but even so it wasn't long before all their stomachs growled loudly. Worse, it was spring, and the melting snow made it almost impossible for even Toby to track Bryan. Although it was getting warmer, it was still bitterly cold at night, forcing the dogs to sleep close together to share body heat. The team, knowing that Toby's fur was thinner than theirs, made a point of always putting him at the center of the group. "We can't have you catching cold," said Exile, "or we'll all be in trouble."

After five days of tracking, Toby caught a strong scent from the man they were after near a large mound of rocks. "He must be on the other side," he told the others. "Okay, here's the plan. We'll make a pincer move. Exile, Coal, Aurora and Vincent will cover him from the left while Luna, Kola, Ulakleet and Mack cover the right. I'll come up through the center. I want the first crack at him, but if I call for help, attack. And try not to harm him any more than we have to. He may be a rat, but we're not."

The dogs nodded and separated to do as he had told them. Luna, who was part of the group of four, asked Toby if she could go with him instead. "No," he told her. "I plan on being the first one he sees, and I don't want you in the line of fire." Luna started to protest, but Toby cut her off. "Please," he said quietly, "for once, listen and do what I say." He turned and went around the left side. As he crept forward, the man's scent grew stronger. A moment later he could see the hunter, crouched by a fire and cooking a meal. Studying him, Toby noticed there was something oddly familiar about him.

The hunter happened to glance up and jumped to his feet when he saw Toby, then snatched up his rifle and pointed it at him. Toby froze. He thinks I'm a wolf! He'd been hoping to succeed in a surprise assault, but now the man had him at gunpoint. If I try to run, he'll shoot. If I attack, he'll shoot. Either way I'll be shot, just like dad.

The man loaded the chamber and smiled. "Finally, a chance to repay one of you for what you did to my friend!" He pulled the trigger, but the gun only clicked. He pulled it twice more, resulting in two more clicks, and his face flickered as he realized he'd forgotten to reload the magazine. Cursing, he threw down the rifle and grabbed for his pistol, drawing and cocking it in one motion. "So long, wolfy!"

There was a blur of movement as a snarling dog leaped onto the man from the rocks. It was Luna. With a howl, she sank her teeth into his hand, making him drop the gun. Releasing him, she grabbed the gun in her teeth and threw it into the bushes.

"Why, you little…" Eyes blazing, the man snatched a knife from his belt with his good hand and jumped at Luna. Toby threw himself at the hunter and knocked him off balance.

"Now!" he yelled as the man turned to attack him, and a moment later the hunter disappeared beneath a mound of snarling dogs.