A few days later, when Luna was about due to give birth and Toby was taking care of her as much as he could without triggering her instinct, Arrow made her decision. While Luna was busy trying to determine whether she was having a contraction or a random muscle cramp, and Toby was worrying that it might be both, Arrow quietly slipped out the door. She walked several yards from her house, then looked back with a desperate longing to just go back in and find everything normal.

But she knew it wouldn't happen. "It's better this way," she said quietly. She didn't know where to go, or who would want a pup like her if Toby and Luna didn't. She guessed she would just keep walking until she found a place in this world, or perhaps the next. So she walked off, her paws already feeling chilly from the snow as a passing wind bit through her fur, into the months-long northern night.

There's no telling for sure how long it was until the pain in Luna's side subsided, and they decided it must have been a cramp. "You shouldn't scare me like that," Toby reprimanded anxiously.

To this day no one knows how they became aware of it. It might have been their instincts. It might have been Luna glancing in the direction of Arrow's favorite spot to sit without realizing it, or Toby suddenly noticing a change in the mix of scents that characterized the Calvins' home. Regardless of the reason, both of them suddenly had an overwhelming sense that something was very wrong. "Did you feel that?" asked Toby.

Luna nodded. "Yeah. And if you felt it too then it can't be a…"

Then the full realization sprang upon them like a pouncing tiger. "Arrow!" they both exclaimed.

Toby lifted his nose and sniffed. "She's not in the house," he reported.

"Then where is she?" asked Luna, worrying Toby all the more. All this anxiety couldn't be good for her, especially this close to term.

"I'll go find her," he said, heading for the pet flap. Sensing Luna's intent he added, "And you stay here."

Luna groaned as she felt the pups move around inside her, anxious to leave but not quite ready. "I'll stay here," she conceded.

Toby made every effort to stay calm as he stepped out the door and descended the front steps. It was only when his paws hit the snow that he started to run. And this time he put his run in November to shame.

Toby had been walking for what felt like hours as stinging ice gathered on his fur. The storm made tracking Arrow's scent all but impossible even to his keen nose, but he trudged on, praying that he would somehow find his daughter. Maybe I'll get lucky and trip on her, he thought as he struggled to see through the whiteness that hung before his eyes. "Arrow!" he called, but the wind forced his breath back down his throat, chilling his lungs. She couldn't have gone this far, could she?

I must be on the wrong track, he thought. "Arrow!" he cried out.

Suddenly there was a howl. Toby blinked and turned toward the sound. With the wind no longer in his face, he could just barely make out the shape of a dog. But it wasn't Arrow. This dog was full-sized, and its fur was a shade of gray. "Have you seen my daughter?" he yelled to the stranger, trying to be heard over the storm. The figure turned its back to him, walked a few steps, and turned to look back. It seemed unaffected by the cold or the wind. "My daughter," Toby called again. "She's a little pup, looks like a raccoon, and she'll never survive out here if I can't find her!"

The wolf threw back its head and howled. The sound carried high and clear, as if there were neither wind nor snow to drown it out.

Toby shook his head. He didn't have time for this, but if the stranger knew where Arrow was then he had to follow. "Alright," he called. And he followed after the dog, desperately hoping it would lead him to Arrow.

It was dark. The wind was blowing, whipping snow up off the ground into frigid gusts and mini-cyclones. Arrow trudged on, her nose running and her eyes dripping. Every step made it harder to keep going, both from the cold that flooded her limbs and from the ongoing desperation to turn back, go back home, and find everything as it always had been.

Running, however, became a lot easier when she sensed she had someone, or something, on her tail. She wasn't sure how she knew it. She couldn't hear anything, and when she looked behind her, she couldn't see anything but the wind-blown clouds of ice. But somehow, she knew she was being pursued.

Could it be a wolf? She knew some wolves were nice, like when Luna had taken her to meet the Northern Lights pack. But Arrow wasn't sure if she was in their territory or not. She'd heard stories about what some wolves did to dogs, especially little ones by themselves during winter when food was scarce.

Maybe it's a bear or a fox? As she glanced back and saw an outline beginning to appear, she stopped wondering and ran faster. When the snow let up for a brief moment, she managed to spot what looked like a cave farther ahead. Maybe I can hide in there, she thought. Maybe whatever it is will be too big to follow me inside. But when she reached it, she found that anything smaller than a bear would be able to enter easily. Still, she had nowhere else to go, so she ran into the cave and huddled in a corner. Whatever was following her, now she was trapped.

Toby followed the figure for several minutes. The figure's pace never seemed to change, always remaining at a steady, patient walk. But no matter how fast Toby went, his proximity to the wolf never changed, which was made even stranger when it suddenly vanished. Toby ran to the spot where he had last seen it, but there was nothing. No wolf, no scent, not even footprints. His guide had just disappeared.

"Where are you?" he called into the night. No answer. "Please!" he begged, icy tears beginning to well in his eyes. "I don't have time for this! Arrow's lost, Luna's probably in labor right now…" A blast of wind shoved the rest of his words back down his throat, almost choking him. When he recovered himself, he cried out with all his strength, "Help me!"

Then, he saw a dark outline only a stone's throw away. A cave. Could she have gone in there? Toby wondered. He had nothing to lose by trying. "If that wolf is wasting my time," he growled, "he'll wish he'd never been born."

Arrow waited for what seemed like forever, until she saw a large shape at the cave mouth. It sniffed the air and came in. It wasn't a bear or a wolf. But when who it was finally became clear, she thought that maybe even a hungry wolf would have been better.

"Arrow?" Toby asked. His fur was encrusted with snow and he was shivering, but his voice at least was a strong mix of question and reproach. "What are you doing out here?" he demanded.

"I'm…I'm running away," she replied meekly. "Please, just leave me alone!"

"What?" Toby gasped. "Why are you running away?"

"Go away!" she shouted, beginning to sob.

"Arrow, take it easy," Toby repeated, trying to calm her. "Now why did you run away?"

She sniffled. "Because…because you and Luna don't want me anymore."

Toby looked confused. "Don't want…? Arrow, whatever put that notion in your head?"

Arrow's chest heaved as her sobs began anew. "Because you're having your own pups."

A spear of guilt pierced Toby through the heart as, in an unbidden rush, he suddenly understood his crucial mistake. "Oh, sweetheart." He nuzzled his daughter. "Look, I know we've been a little caught up about all this, but just because Luna and I are having pups doesn't mean we love you any less." He gently licked away her tears.

"It…It doesn't?" Arrow asked, calming down a bit.

Toby shook his head. "No, it doesn't," he said firmly. "Not by a long shot. Mom and I have been worried sick about you. She almost had a heart attack when she realized you were gone. True, having pups gives us joy, but do you know what's given us joy up to now and will continue to give us joy beyond all this?" Arrow looked up at him, her eyes red from crying. "You have, Arrow. You may not be ours by birth, but we don't care. It doesn't matter to us. We adopted you, and we love you, regardless of what happens. We love you, Arrow. Deeper than you could ever imagine."

Arrow sniffled. "You mean it?" she asked.

Toby looked deep into her eyes and said, "If truth and love aren't what defines us, I don't know what does."

Arrow sensed the truth in his words, and beyond the shadow of a doubt, knew that he and Luna still loved her. She hung her head. "I'm sorry," she whined.

"I forgive you," he said softly. Then he nuzzled her. "Now let's get back home before you catch a cold. Wouldn't want to keep you away from your new brothers and sisters, would we?"

Arrow rose to her feet. "Has it happened yet?" she asked.

"I don't think so," he replied. "But we don't want to miss it, so come on."

"Okay."

They turned to leave, only to see a very unwelcome shape looming in the mouth of the cave. Two blood-red eyes gleamed out of an ugly face attached to a squat, bear-like body. A ghastly stench, like that of rotting meat and concentrated skunk, surrounded the animal, and Arrow cried in fear.

"Just relax," Toby told her, hoping she couldn't hear his heart pounding. He'd never encountered a wolverine before, but he'd heard many unhappy stories from dogs that had…or seen what was left of dogs who had.

The creature glowered and walked toward them. "My cave…" it growled.

"I'm sorry," Toby apologized. "We were just leaving. If you'll just let us by, we won't bother you again."

The wolverine kept growling. "My cave…" it rumbled again.

"Arrow," Toby whispered. "I'll move right and try to distract him. You go left when I've got his attention and get out of here."

Arrow nodded, her eyes as wide as they could get. "Got it."

Toby slowly maneuvered to the right. As he had hoped, the wolverine turned to follow him, although it held its position in the middle of the cave.

Toby glanced at Arrow and nodded slightly, prompting her to make her move. However, the wolverine also picked up on the cue and turned toward the smaller prey. Arrow, seeing the approach of a monster at least three times her size, froze.

"Arrow, get out of here!" Toby cried.

"But…"

The hairy beast lumbered toward Arrow before Toby threw himself at it and diverted its attention. Red eyes glinting, it turned to face him.

"Just get out of here!" he ordered. "I'll distract it!" Arrow looked both ways frantically, then dashed off. It was no retreat, though. Orders or no orders, she was going for reinforcements.

The wolverine glowered at Toby. "Intruder…" it hissed as it swiped a paw at him, with claws that clearly evidenced why some of the human tribes referred to it as a 'Devil Bear.'

"We didn't mean any harm," Toby protested. "But if you can't listen to reason, I'll just have to show you what happens when you mess with my daughter."