The day after Christmas, or morning more specifically, Beringo remembered that he'd awakened next to Aniu in the old boat and his gift was that they were mates at last. The dog and the wolf, bound by fate, were now sharing it together until the death would tear them apart. Nothing could stop their love, ever.
The year 1921 had finally come to its end and the year of 1922 was now the young one, for many things, both bad or good, to happen. It was about time that the sled teams were to return to their duties and Beringo's team was one of them. However, for some time to come, their mail deliveries were more likely to be slow and for a good reason or two.
"Come on, boys, lots of work we've got today! It will take us a while for the next few weeks, but we can show them what we got!" Beringo encouraged his friends, Indiana, Justin and Roger when they were following Nash to the post office for the mail delivery. Dakota was not coming because she was told to rest during her pregnancy. Neither was Hallie.
"Hey, Justin. How does it feel that you will be a father to Hallie's puppies?" Roger asked him smugly, revealing the reason behind Hallie's absence. Justin found out that few days ago and even then, he was coming to his senses. His reaction was priceless, but he was slowly accepting the reality and showed a more appropriate reaction.
"I… I don't know what to say, guys. I mean, I've been waiting to find out that I'll be a dad one day and even when I was thrilled to find out, as if there's one part of me who is in denial. Is that normal?" Justin admitted to them, wondering should he feel bad for that one bit of himself not accepting this or not. Indiana hopped in: "Justin, that is normal."
"You think so, Indiana?" Justin wondered about this, but seeing that Indiana was the first one in the team to find out he was going to be a father, to which Indiana stopped for a bit, letting him know: "I do. It took me a while to realize it, but by the time I did, I knew that since I love Dakota with all my heart, why should not I be happy that with us together, we'll have puppies? That way or another, I didn't let that hesitant side dominate."
"That seems quite brave of you, Indiana. One day we'll all learn." Beringo let him know that, since he had to take that in mind should it be that Aniu was going to carry his puppies. If so, Aniu was to move to that old boat to live and when she was no longer going to be capable to hunt on her own, Beringo was going to bring her the food for town just so she wouldn't starve.
"I dunno about you, Beringo. You are still single while you two are having puppies on the way. Shanice and I are still just dating, but soon I'll ask her to be my mate. I'm serious!" Roger explained his future moves that were bound to happen any week soon. He was still too ignorant to find out that Beringo was in love with a wolf.
"One day I will tell him. This is not the right opportunity, but he will know one day." Beringo thought this to himself, also realizing how neither Koyuk, Scottia nor Lewis knew anything about Aniu. Moreover, Roger moved on to tell them: "Don't forget, if I do, I will be third in the team to have a mate!"
"Fourth." Justin and Indiana whispered to one another and even Beringo heard them, with both his friends smiling smugly while Roger wasn't looking and therefore, Beringo thanked them for this backup. They followed their master to the post office and after a short discussion, the postmaster concluded: "Hang on, Peter, I have a shorter harness inside."
In a minute, the postmaster had returned with a leather harness with less straps on it, just for four. Nothing changed, except that either Justin moved one place front or Roger moved one place behind. Beringo and his friends glanced at the post office and even then they smiled when they noticed how the postmaster didn't remove the Christmas decorations yet.
"Alright, team! We may be slower than before, but let's get the mail delivered to White Mountain! Hike!" Therefore, the team only made of males was now delivering mail for the next few weeks and they weren't letting anything stand in their way. If anything, they were going to keep the spirit of the team living for their mates!
Weeks passed, one by one, and when Indiana was not delivering mail, he'd stay by Dakota's side, who, thanks to her pregnancy, was walking less and less and was feeling more and more exhausted. Hallie was not in that phase yet, being like two or three weeks behind Dakota so she told Justin he could take it easy until she needed some help.
Beringo was on the other paw, wondering whether the miracle was going to come to him or not anytime soon. It was somewhere in early-to-mid January when Beringo was seeing her at the dusk at the old boat. She was standing at the crack of the boat and after their usual greeting, she asked him: "Beringo, would you come in the boat with me?"
This meant something and her tone was revealing it and he nervously responded: "Y… yes, of course!" He followed the white wolf in the boat and it was possibly like this because she did not want anyone to see it and once they settled, she told him: "Beringo… I had a dream and there I saw my father. He has spoken to me about my future!"
"He did? Was it about the future in real life?" Beringo wondered, not wanting to sound like he was mocking her for having her future being told in dreams. Aniu didn't actually see it that way as she told him: "The spirits of Faro and Sami came to him that night and when they had heard about me and you being together, he longed to see me in the dreams."
"I hope he is not mad at you for choosing me instead of a wolf." Beringo blushed slightly, wondering what it could have been should have Saku, Aniu's father, been here. Her answer was a relief, saying: "He is happy that I have a love of my life! He wished that he was here to see you by himself. But do you know what else he told me in my dream?"
"What?!" Beringo's heart was racing, hoping that Aniu was going to say those words and her sweet voice replied: "He told me that I'm going to have puppies!" His heart skipped a beat and he looked at Aniu's belly, only difference being less fur than before, before finally speaking: "R… really?! Did you know about that yourself?!"
"I noticed that my belly was losing fur and that I was craving for food more than ever, but now that my father revealed to me in sleep, I am sure about it!" Aniu didn't waste her time to rush with emotions and nuzzle her mate, whose laugh echoed in the boat, with the realization that he was going to be a father of half-dogs, half-wolves… and he was going to fight against those prejudices with all his might.
"Aniu, I'll be here for you now that you're carrying my puppies!" Beringo decisively told her about his intentions, albeit he forgot that Aniu was more independent than Dakota and Hallie together so she told him: "Beringo, I'm a wolf! I can take care of myself, but only if I can no longer take care of myself until after the birth, I'll tell you when the time is right."
"Right, right." Beringo kinda felt awkward now that he made this decision, knowing that wolves had far better chances relying on themselves in these situations. Looking at the hole of the wooden ceiling, he knew what other events were bound to come and so he told her: "But you're not going to mind me if I come seeing you every day, just to make sure you're doing well?"
"Did I ever mind you coming to see me every day for the last year?" Aniu asked him, being amused by how Beringo was already taking this too seriously. Though he told her: "Look, I really hope you won't mind me if there are going to be two times I won't show up. Dakota and Hallie are bound to have their puppies before you. I know they're not my puppies, but these two are like my sisters and I want to comfort and help them."
"It is alright, I do know how it is like." Aniu gave him that warm look, remembering the times when she had Nita as her sister figure, just like how Dakota and Hallie were in this case. Therefore, Beringo could take it easy and let her know: "Good! Then after that, I'll be by your side no matter what!" Except for the times he had to deliver mail.
Soon, January was coming to the end and February was coming like a wind down the mountain and once February had come, the very first day actually brought a surprise for the team. While it left them all exhausted and tired afterwards, it showed how they were ready to help one another as a team and especially as a family.
Beringo was already awake that morning of the first day in February, barelys sleeping that night. He was thankful that there was no mail delivery today. He was not the only one, but everyone else shared his sentiments. In fact, none of Beringo's teammates had any good sleep tonight and even Nash was sleeping longer than usual.
He looked at Dakota and Indiana's bed. There he saw a cute sight - Indiana making himself a pillow for Dakota's head as she was regaining her energy. Beringo himself headed to their bed, but of course, he called Justin, Roger and even Hallie to come over. Truth to be said, Hallie was quite pregnant at this time, but she carried on as if nothing could stop her while the puppies were on their way.
"Good morning, you two… how are you…?" Beringo asked them with yawns and as much as these two wanted to have some sleep, they were eager to reveal them their surprise - two newborn puppies sleeping by her belly. Both were dark brown, even darker than Indiana's fur, but not as black as Dakota's fur. They had only two puppies.
"We're good… we have twins!" Indiana excitedly squealed, longing to be a father for a long while and nothing mattered to him now that he and Dakota had puppies. Sure, they only had two of them, but none of them was showing that they were expecting more. In fact, they did not care how many they were going to have.
"The older one is a male and the younger one is a female…" Dakota revealed to them and wondering which one was a male and which one was a female. Justin leaned closer to ask them: "Are you still thinking of their names or you have come up with them?"
"We actually have been thinking a while what names to use and we've decided. The older one, the male, his name is Max!" Dakota revealed a name of her son, Max, who was cuddled closer to his mother. Roger chuckled at this, asking: "Did you name him Max… as a maximum speed?" He was also regretting to ask this at the same time.
However, Dakota appreciated his humor: "Actually, you might be right on this, Roger, but at the same time, what if we named him Maximillian?" Clearly this was not a right choice and even Dakota told them: "It was just a joke! It's just Max, not maximum speed, not Maximillian!" So much drama over the name.
"And what's with your female puppy? What's her name?" Hallie wondered, as she wasn't really interested in this drama and Indiana revealed: "That is Audrey! Look at her muzzle, she's got it as same as I do!" Indeed, when they looked at the sleepy female newborn, she had a patch of dark brown fur above her muzzle, making her a daddy's girl looks-wise.
"You two have some pretty puppies, you know?" Beringo complimented them all, knowing that no matter what they were expecting or not, they were still happy for them. Though Hallie, who had been mostly awake last night, wasn't really fond of what was going to happen when she was going to give birth to her and Justin's puppies. What mattered the most was that both Indiana and Dakota could relax and have Max and Audrey meet the world that was going to unfold in front of them!
The next two weeks that were coming were pretty tense for the entire team. Now it was on Justin to take an intense care of Hallie due to her giving birth puppies at around that time. As for Indiana, it was not easy for him to be apart from Dakota, but he couldn't do anything when he had to deliver mail. He wished he could stay all the time with her and their twins Max and Audrey.
Beringo also made sure that Aniu was staying safe, but he needn't have to worry for her due to her being a wolf and that she could rely on herself, although he started bringing her food he could find in the town and even if it wasn't like what she was hunting, she found anything that Beringo brought her good to eat, not asking what she was going to eat next.
Thus, two weeks after Dakota, Hallie followed. Yet another night that Beringo could not be with Aniu and for the entire team having a sleepless night, it wasn't helping how Dakota's twins were pretty loud that night, but after it all was over, she managed to calm them both down and tucked them to sleep as the next morning was rolling in.
When Dakota made sure that Max and Audrey were truly asleep, she decided to go with Indiana out of her bed so she could join Beringo and Roger to Justin and Hallie's bed. In the same fashion as how Indiana let Dakota use his chest as a pillow, it was the very same thing that Justin was doing for Hallie, both of them being pretty tired, but also happy.
Hallie had given birth to a litter of healthy puppies. Four of them, all of them were gray, with four various tones of gray. Dakota watched her friend rest before asking them: "They're adorable, Hallie! How many males and females do you have?" To which Hallie answered wearingly: "There are three males… and one female… and she's the second oldest."
"Nice, not bad. Just like how you two have one female yourself!" Beringo stated this out, wondering if this was a coincidence or not. Moreover, Indiana let him know: "Yeah, just joke all the way you want, Beringo." He almost said in front of Roger something like: "Wait until we see your and Aniu's puppies!" Thankfully, he didn't.
"Can we hear their names?" Roger asked, being pretty much delighted by four more puppies in the house. Justin and Hallie looked at one another and Hallie pointed at the eldest pup, the eldest male, with her muzzle and revealed: "Meet our oldest son Yukon. And his sister over here? That is Molly!" Yukon and Molly, something to remember.
"And those two other males you see? That are their younger brothers Michael and Palmer!" All four puppies were curled to one another and slept cuddled before they got to feed on their mother's milk. All of them muttered: "Yukon… Molly… Michael… Palmer… Not bad, I guess it took you some time to figure their names out, right?"
"Truth to be said, it only took us a while to figure out a name for Yukon and we named him the last. As for Molly, Michael and Palmer, we already thought of their names." Justin revealed, showing that it was not a problem for them to choose names but one. Just then, a soft whimpering or two was heard from Dakota and Indiana's bed.
"What the…? They only slept for ten minutes!" Indiana wondered how their twins were already awake and Dakota rolled with her eyes, thus heading back to her bed and shushing them while saying: "Shhh, shhh, shhh. Max, Audrey! It's alright! Mommy and daddy are back! Don't cry, we're not leaving you!" All while the others watched in delight.
"Well, it is easy for them… I'll have to handle the double amount…!" Hallie gave a piece of her mind what'd it be to listen to her puppies whimpering, only for Justin to comfort her. They knew that no matter how demanding the puppies could be, they were always going to love them and be there for them, even if they were not aware of that right now.
Few days later, Beringo got to enjoy his break after going through a morning of whimpering at his place, not that he could blame the puppies for so. One change, or two, that had happened was that Dakota and Indiana's puppies, Max and Audrey, finally got to open their eyes! And as they could expect, Max's eyes were as Dakota's, blue. Audrey was bearing her father's brown eyes.
While walking, he noticed two of his red furred friends in front of him, Scottia and Koyuk. There was something on their faces that was showing their joy, but even more than Beringo would ever think of. Making his way ahead through the empty street, he greeted them: "Hey, you two. Having a wonderful morning?"
"Wonderful morning, Beringo? Well, there's something we have to share with you." Koyuk let him know, not letting his joy drop down right here and Beringo looked at them curiously… was he thinking what they were thinking… Scottia's voice burst the bubble: "Beringo, Koyuk and I have great news!"
"Is it what I think it is…?" Beringo asked, hoping that he did not interrupt them right here and Koyuk looked at her before revealing: "Scottia and I have become mates last night!" Beringo's eyes widened by this revelation, now that he was not hiding his joy anymore, laughing: "You… you've become mates! And you're not joking? Congratulations to you both!"
"Thank you, my friend!" Scottia accepted the gratitude. The fact that she and Koyuk lived together and shared their chemistry was the obvious reason why these two would end up together anyhow. Beringo glanced at them both and unintentionally he said: "Now you two are together forever… just makes me think how we all got together with our friends two months ago!"
"We? You mean… you have your own female?" Koyuk asked him, being curious what Beringo had just said and now Beringo realized what he let them know, correcting himself in anxiety: "I mean… when I said 'we', I meant my friends from the team, but not myself! You know, Dakota has twins with Indiana and Hallie has four puppies with Justin!"
"Ohhhhhhh! That's what you meant!" Scottia answered, realizing that she ended up taking Beringo's response a bit too literally. Beringo thought to himself: "You almost revealed yourself, fool! They almost found out that I do see Aniu and am going to have puppies with her! One day they'll know, but that shall wait for some other time!"
"Looks like those six cute little puppies don't let you sleep, right?" Koyuk smugly asked him, wondering how it was for Beringo to handle all that noise. Beringo shrugged it off by answering: "Ahhhh, not a big deal. Besides, Dakota's twins are now looking with their eyes! Come with me to see them now!" He invited them to come over and sure, they followed. All while Beringo's anxiety was present due to his unintentional mistake almost revealing his love for the Arctic wolf.
Another week had passed and normally, in the night, Beringo would use his chance to sneak out of the town just to see his love of life, Aniu. Only that a raging snowstorm was out there and he dared not to risk his life on this cruel storm. Though, while everyone was asleep, even the puppies, unless they were feeding on their mother's milk, Beringo couldn't sleep.
"What am I going to do? Normally I don't let blizzard to stop me, but as if the one tonight is too dangerous to go out there! What is Aniu going to say?! Even worse, what if I'm not there for her in case she is giving birth to our puppies?" Beringo thought to himself, being troubled by these news. He couldn't take it… but he had no choice but to wait for this storm to die out.
Later, it was dawning and the snowstorm was ending, leaving a calmer weather and once it was safe enough, Beringo didn't waste a second. He made his way all the way to the boat, making sure his scent was not going to be left behind and that he was going to be followed by the unlikely ones. Right now he was rushing to the old boat, no time to waste!
"Aniu! Aniu!" Beringo's voice was heard just five meters from the boat and knowing that his mate was in there, he was hoping for her response. He repeated: "Aniu! I made it… I'm so sorry that I haven't showed up…!" His apologies were silenced with Aniu's wonderful voice: "Beringo! You don't have to be sorry… come over here and take a look…!"
The exhaustion was present in her voice, but she was still remaining cheerful no matter what. Beringo recognized that tone and thought… "Could it be? Did she… give birth to the puppies… without my help…?" Once he moved closer, he noticed Aniu laying down on her side on the softest part of the wooden floor with the worn out blanket.
He was right… she had given birth to his puppies! There were four of them, four little sleeping puppies that were half-husky and half-wolf! There was one who was white with a gray face, one who was completely while, one who was just a spit image of himself and one who was brownish-gray, cuddled the closest to Aniu.
"Aniu… I'm so sorry that I wasn't here for you when you were giving birth… Ohhhh, what kind of mate I am not to help you in welcoming them to world?!" Only for Aniu to lean closer and lick his cheek, which made him go silent because how Aniu told him: "Beringo, do not worry! I am a wolf and I could handle this even if I wished that you were here by me. I forgive you for not being here when I needed you the most."
"You… you do?" He looked at her in the eyes, even if the tears were seen in his, either from remorse for having that feeling that he let her down, or was it all of the joy now that he saw his family with Aniu. Four little sleeping puppies cuddled by their mother and Aniu revealed to him: "There are two females and two males, Beringo. That entirely white one and this brown and gray one are males."
"Which means this while one with gray face and that gray one who's like me are females!" Beringo observed his two sons, then two of his daughters that were cuddled to one another as well. Aniu nodded slowly, giving a warm smile that this love path she'd crossed with Beringo had paid off with the litter of four adorable hybrid puppies.
"I have names for the puppies, Beringo, but I let you to give them names as well. They're your puppies as well!" Aniu gave him a choice how to name their puppies and Beringo already had that female with gray face in his sight, answering easily: "Juneau. This white female with gray face, she will be called Juneau."
"Juneau? It does sound like a name for a female. Where did you get that one?" Aniu wondered about this curious name, only for Beringo to answer her: "I only know that name for being the most important town, or human settlement as you call it, in the entire land of Alaska!" Aniu admired his knowledge dearly. Now she gazed at the white male puppy.
"I have a name for the white male - Eyak!" Aniu revealed the older son's name and Beringo raised his eyebrow, finding this name to be oddly appealing to him, to which he'd smiled and nodded in an approval, letting him to name the other female: "You know how we'll name our younger daughter? Aurora. Aurora as Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights in our language, when we've seen your father's friends that night!"
"I love that name!" Aniu complimented it, welcoming the name "Aurora" to her younger newborn daughter. At last she gazed at the puppy, the younger male, who was cuddled the closest to her and there she spoke: "Our younger son, I had been thinking what name would be fitting to his looks and by any chances, his personality."
"Yes, what has come to your mind?" Beringo laid down to observe his younger newborn son and when he curled closer to his mother, she revealed: "Balto." Beringo was honestly surprised by that name so he repeated: "Balto?" Then again, Aniu's smile did not fade when she once again said: "Balto. Balto it is."
"Balto… Balto… I like that name." Beringo found this name pretty appealing more times he repeated it. Now that they were looking at their puppies - Juneau, Eyak, Aurora and Balto, their hearts skipped the beat when Beringo spoke: "My puppies, this is your father talking. Your mother and I are dearly welcoming you to this world and we will always be with you no matter what! We will be one happy and united family!"
He didn't hide his enthusiasm and Aniu leaned on his chest to nuzzle him for these words, revealing: "I have said my words to them when they were all cleaned and asleep, Beringo. When I see them once again, they all take after your dog looks, except for Balto." Beringo must not have seen that one coming.
"Really?" Beringo once again looked at each one of the puppy that was resting cuddled by Aniu on the gray blanket. She was right, despite being furrier than him, Juneau, Eyak and Aurora on their faces resembled dogs more, but Balto's looks were more wolf-like. Was it all a destiny over here or what? Did it matter to him?
"Now I notice, but that won't prevent me from treating them differently, Aniu. They're our puppies and we'll give them all the love and care they deserve!" Beringo stood his ground on his opinion and decided to rush ahead to fight off the prejudices that would be targeted on his pups for being hybrids.
"You're pretty brave for a dog, and I'm proud that I've chosen you!" Aniu didn't hide this, knowing that she was now with the one she truly loved with her heart and with him she had puppies who were born hours ago, with the first one to wake up and lead the siblings to get their mother's milk, their very first meal in life all while adjusting their senses to the environment they had come to the world.