Copper was about a quarter-mile away when he heard feet behind him and groaned. He didn't have to look to know who it was. "Copper!" Toby called. "My mom said I could come!"

"So I see," muttered Copper.

Pete skidded to a stop next to Copper and looked over his shoulder at Toby and Luna. "Okay, everybody off." He glared at Toby. "And you'd better not have given me any fleas."

Toby grumbled to himself as he and Luna jumped down. "Thanks for the lift," he said.

"Don't mention it," Pete ordered. "Ever."

"But I thought you wanted the girls in town to know you're good with kids," said Luna.

"Oh, right," muttered Pete. "Well, then let me do the talking, okay?"

"As much as I hate to break up your family time," said Copper, "shouldn't we be getting a move-on?"

"Right," agreed Toby. He watched as his half-brother turned and headed back to Nome. "I wonder if we've just found a way to get Pete to be nice," he pondered.

"Maybe," commented Luna. "But I doubt it. That big jerk―" But she stopped when she saw Toby's dejected expression. With a smile she added, "But hey, there's hope for anyone, right?"

"Well, let's worry about that another time," Copper broke in. "Right now, we've got bigger problems. Toby, check the tracks."

Toby sniffed the ground. "Steele," he muttered with a growl. Smelling the other tracks he added, "These are Taya's here, but these other two sets following her I don't know."

"Coward," Copper growled. "He can't even face his own daughter without having some rats to do his dirty work." He shook his head in disgust. "Well, so far your nose has told us nothing useful, Toby, but since your ride into town has left you might as well come."

"Sorry," said Toby. "Just trying to help." As they walked along, he whispered to Luna, "I've never seen your dad so tense."

"Me neither, but can you blame him?" asked Luna. "He's trying to save my mom here, remember?"

They kept on going until they reached a spot where the tracks parted, with three sets going on and one set turning back to Nome. "Looks like Steele left his hired help to escort Taya," said Toby after inspecting the tracks.

Copper studied the ground. "Who was running?" he asked, noting the lengthened strides of two of the dogs.

Toby sniffed. "The street dogs," he answered.

"But Taya just kept walking," muttered Copper. "You kids had better hop on. We can't waste any time." As soon as they were on his back, he took off at a full run.

Taya clawed and bit furiously at the wire mesh. She was determined to get out of her prison and away from this place, and make Carson pay for what he'd done and stop him from what he was planning to do. She kept at it, hoping that, by some stroke of luck, the mesh would start to break apart. But it was no use. The mesh was woven tightly enough that she couldn't get a grip on it, and she soon gave up. As her anger dissipated and gave way to despair, she sank to the floor. I'm trapped, she thought. And there's no way out. Consumed with defeat, she laid her head down and let out a sigh. This time there's no Copper to bust me out of here.

"Hey, you okay?" asked the dog in the cage next to her old enough to be her father.

Taya scoffed. "Do I look okay?"

The dog pulled back slightly. "Whoa, easy," he said. "I'm just asking. Name's Blaze, by the way."

"Taya," she said despairingly.

There was a moment's silence as Blaze studied her, like he was trying to figure out some puzzle. "So, how'd you get here?" he asked. "Did he kidnap you too?"

"No," Taya answered. "My…someone I know chased me here. I ran inside looking for safety…"

"And found out you were better off outside," he finished. "I know how you feel."

"I doubt it," said Taya. "My family must be going out of their minds worrying about me."

"You feel like you let them down, huh?"

Taya shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I should have fought back, not run away. Maybe then I wouldn't be here."

"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "But you're not the only one to feel like you've failed someone because you didn't try hard enough. I've been in your shoes before."

"Oh, have you?" Taya asked, her voice dripping with skepticism.

"In a way," he said. "I used to have a friend…a lady friend, but not a girlfriend, you know? I really liked her, but she always seemed to already be going out with someone else. Then after the epidemic a few years back, she started seeing this guy who anyone could see was a real jerk. I tried to tell her he was bad news, but she was convinced that she could change him. Instead, he changed her. Soon she wouldn't have anything to do with me or any of her other friends." He paused, visibly pained by the memory. "My master moved out of Nome and took me with him. When we came back to Nome for a short visit, I asked about her first thing. They told me she…died giving birth to their pups, and he just left."

"Sounds like what my parents did," said Taya bitterly.

Blaze didn't seem to hear her. He was staring at the floor, numbly shaking his head. "I tried to tell her Steele was no good, but…"

"Whoa, wait. What?" Taya wasn't sure she'd heard right. Catching herself and forcing her voice to calm down, she asked, "Did you say Steele?"

Blaze forced out a hard, cold laugh. "Yeah, I know. Pretty hard to believe he got someone to go for him after what he pulled."

Not hard enough, thought Taya. "What was your friend's name?" she asked guardedly.

"Tasha," said Blaze, seeming to wonder why she wanted to know.

Taya gasped. She took a moment to catch her breath. "You knew my mom?"

Blaze's eyes widened. "Do you mean you're…"

"Quiet!" Taya warned. "Not so loud!"

"Oh, sorry," said Blaze. Pushing his head up as close to the cage as possible, he whispered, "Do you mean you're Tasha's daughter?" Taya nodded. He sighed. "And now that I've met you, I feel worse than ever for not trying hard enough to warn her." He gritted his teeth and slammed a paw against the floor of his cage. "If I had just tried harder, maybe she would be alive right now!"

Taya shook her head. "Don't blame yourself," she said. "You did the best you could. You didn't fail her; she failed you, her friends, and herself."

"Thanks," said Blaze. "Do you really believe that?"

Taya nodded. "If I didn't believe that effort counts, I'd be in big trouble." Both of them were silent for a moment. "What was my mom like?"

Blaze got a nostalgic look on his face and his eyes misted. "She was about the best dog in Nome before Steele came along. She didn't have a home and her father was a real rotter, but she was always willing to help others. Her one shortcoming was that she always wrapped her life around being with boys."

Taya looked at the floor of her cage. "Well, it's great to know my mom was such a great dog," she groused.

Blaze's voice softened. "I'm sorry, Taya. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been, growing up without your mother. But I can tell you this: She loved you even before you were born. Had she survived, you would've had the most loving mother any dog could have asked for. I know she's proud of you for thinking about your family when you're stuck in here."

"What do you mean, 'she is?'" asked Taya. "She's dead, right?"

"Yes, but you love her even though you never knew her. And no one you love is ever really gone. Your mother, your family, everyone you hold dear is here right now in your heart, where they'll always be."

Taya nodded slowly, taking this in. She could see where he was coming from, but her situation dictated different feelings. Her mind drifted back to another time she had been in a cage. She had just been pulled from her secret compartment in the side of this very building and there was a dog right outside her cage.

"Who are you?" Taya demanded.

"A friend," answered the strange dog. "And I'm here to get you out."

"Out?" she seethed. "My owner's going to be back for me, so quit playing with the lock!" The dog tried to open the lock but she swatted a paw at him, driving him back.

"Carson's not coming for you," he told her. "He got arrested, and it sounded like they're going to be keeping a very close eye on him. Didn't you hear?" He studied her. "Oh, maybe not. Anyway, he's not coming back. And you can't stay locked up in a cage like this under that panel. You'll suffocate, or starve. In some form or fashion, you'll die."

Taya muttered and turned away, slumping to the floor. "Then let me die. I deserve it."

A slam behind her shook the cage and startled Taya to her feet. "Okay!" the dog snapped. "So you hurt and even killed a lot of those dogs in the ring! Maybe you deserve the worst death imaginable for all the torture and suffering you put them through. Well, guess what. Maybe you don't." He lowered his voice and stared into her eyes. AYou haven't even seen the half of what's out there in the world. It's not all fighting and winning money and your owner whipping your hide off every chance he gets. Believe it or not, there are some things I like to call family and love."

Taya snorted contemptuously. "Family," she sneered. "Don't think I'm completely ignorant. I had a family. A lot of help they were." She stopped, just glaring at him.

"Alright," he said. "Think of it that way. But whether you like it or not, I'm getting you outta here. No dog deserves to be like this." He tried to fiddle with the lock, but she snarled and drove him back again. "I just want to help!" he protested.

What is with this guy? Taya wondered. "Don't be so sure of it, hot shot!" she hissed. Smugly she added, "How are you going to get the cage open? Your nails won't work. You don't even have the key!"

"I have the keys to the city," he said softly. "Or the cage, in this case." And using his claws he carefully pulled out the nails holding the hinges on. To Taya's amazement, the cage door swung open.

Taya sighed. That was the first time she met Copper, and the bitterness she showed toward him then was one of her worst memories. He'd wanted nothing but to be friendly and helpful, but her own upbringing had taught her that there was no such thing. That the world consisted only of pain and misery. But that all changed when he kissed her for the first time and let her vent all her frustration and anger and fury on him in the form of every insult imaginable. In more ways than she could ever count, he'd helped her become who she was today.

But that was then. Now he wasn't here to save her. Or was he? That's it! she thought. The keys to the city! Sliding her paw through the mesh and working by feel, she duplicated Copper's trick and worked the pins out of the hinges. With a kick, she knocked the door open and strode out. Unfortunately, she kicked the door a little too hard. It swung back and whacked against the side of the cage with a loud clang.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" came Carson's angry voice. Taya dashed to the window, then looked back. "Blaze!" she called.

"I'll be fine!" he told her. "Now get yourself out of here!"

Taya clenched her teeth and jumped through the window, shattering the glass. Her legs collapsed on landing and she rolled once to get back on her feet, then shook bits of snow out of her fur and looked back at the window. Carson was sticking his head out, yelling at her. "Hey, dog! You get back here right now!"

Taya scuffed her hind paws at him―the canine way of flipping the bird―then dashed off back toward Nome.

About half a mile further along Taya's trail Copper started to see familiar landmarks. And they weren't good ones. "Oh no," he said out loud as he slowed for a minute with the realization.

"What's up?" asked Luna.

"Trouble," answered Copper. The last time he had come this way had been at night, and he'd been hitched up to a sled with a team of strange dogs. Now, with no sled to pull and his fear and anger driving him on, he was running at a pace that would have made his brother Kodi green with envy. He slowed as a squat building came into view. It looked as if it hadn't been used in years.

"What's that doing all the way out here?" asked Luna, looking around. "There's not another building in sight."

"That's exactly why it's there," explained Copper. "That's the former gathering place for the Northern Fights."

"But why would Mom come here?" asked Luna. "I thought she hated this place."

"She does." Copper pointed to the tracks. "Obviously she was chased here. I don't know whether it just happened or if Steele told his gang to chase her here on purpose, but that place seems to be where the tracks end." He walked up to the door. "Or at least where one set ends. The other two break off here."

Toby checked the tracks. "Taya's are the ones heading inside," he announced.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," said Copper. He looked up at the closed door. "She must have shut the door to keep the other two from getting her."

"So?" asked Luna, holding up a paw and flexing her claws. "We've got the 'keys to the city,' remember?"

Copper studied the door. "Nope. No hinges out here."

"So we've gotta find another way in," said Toby.

"Why don't we just bark?" suggested Luna. "Mom knows the hinge trick. Once she knows Steele's goons are gone, she can get the door open and we're out of here."

The dogs began to bark and scratch at the door. "Taya!" Copper yelled. "It's all right! It's just us!"

All at once the door opened and there stood a man looking at them in surprise. Copper's jaw fell open. "You!" he growled. But that was all he had a chance to say before a net fell over them.

"I'm not used to dogs coming to my door," the man laughed, "but I'm not complaining! And just in time, now that my best dog is gone." He peered at Copper. "Oh, I remember you. Comet, wasn't it?" After a moment's inspection he chuckled. "And it looks like the rumors were true. Part-wolf. You'll turn a handsome profit once I reopen my little business." He studied Luna. "You look like Taya," he observed. "I wonder if you fight like her, too." Copper leapt in front of the pups and drew his lips back into the most vicious snarl he could manage. Carson laughed. "My, my, my," he chanted, "and so eager to please!"