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Chapter 2 - Kidnapped...Again

"Why did you do that?" Phoenix growled in a low voice once he'd pushed Storm far enough away from the wolf.

"Do what?"

"Even a restrained wolf would try to kill you if you got too close."

"I think you're wrong. I think that wolf is just a misunderstood creature, and is simply lost in a world that hates her. If she wants to try anything I think it would only be to try and escape."

"I'm sorry Storm, but you're a fool if you think that."

Storm shook his head. "I'm just trying to understand the wolf. Might as well try; we're going to have to take her back to our home."

"No, I will not try to understand that thing, and if it tries anything, I'll kill it."

"Fair enough."

Neither said anything more as they went back to where the rest of the group was. The exhaustion was finally setting in as the sky grew dark, making Storm and Phoenix want nothing more than to just curl up, preferably on something comfortable, and go to sleep.

They would stay in the village for all of tomorrow, and then leave the following morning.

"Did you see the wolf?" Blaze asked upon their return.

"Yes."

"Does it look mean?"

"Storm tried to approach it, but I stopped him. It didn't do anything to him but it could've been just biding its time."

Storm ignored that comment. "Do you have any clue as to how we're going to take her back home?"

"No, but we'll probably find out tomorrow."

"Agreed, let's get some sleep."

...

For the first time, the white wolf felt truly alone and afraid. She was surrounded by beings that hated and distrusted her, and now she was going to be taken to somewhere that was probably even worse. She wondered what would happen to her there. Would she be tortured and killed, just like the stories?

Aniu thought so. Unless she could gain the trust of the dog she had seen earlier. He didn't seem like the others. She was sure he didn't trust her, but would change that if she gave him reason.

And maybe, just maybe she could escape with his help.

"I will not die yet." Aniu said to herself, repeating it over until she went to sleep.

...

The next day went by relatively quickly, and the team learned about how the wolf would be taken home. Jarrod had some sharp pointed objects that were called needles, that when injected into said wolf, would make her drowsy and tired and thus unable to put up a fight. None of the dogs did anything that day except for rest, since it was expected that the first blizzard of the winter was due soon. Everyone would need to be fully energized if they were to beat the storm home.

The temperature hadn't risen above twenty degrees for the last three days, and it didn't look like it would today either. The whole team sat by Jarrod's fire, either napping or talking quietly. The man himself was sitting on a wooden chair, writing something in a notebook.

Storm sat next to Jarrod, staring into the fire. He couldn't get the wolf out of his mind. Despite what Phoenix said, he did not think that the wolf was a vicious bloodthirsty animal, but rather something that was misunderstood. Storm wanted to understand.

What he'd seen in the wolf's eyes was not that of a murderer. Having been to many places, he'd looked into the eyes of more than a few truly evil dogs and humans, so he knew what evil looked like. What Storm saw in the wolf's yellow eyes was primarily fear, fear of a world that hated her. But he'd also seen a little bit of curiosity. Perhaps she had a desire similar to his, to find out more about the beings that surrounded her.

"Storm, you alright?" Indy asked, breaking the husky free of his reverie.

"I'm fine."

"You've been acting different since you saw the wolf last night." Indy took a moment to look around, making sure no one else could hear him. "You can trust me."

"I know that..."

Indy had been like a father figure and a guide to Storm when he'd first been selected for the team. He still was, and Storm trusted him with anything.

Storm voiced his thoughts to Indy, and the husky nodded silently.

"I've got to agree with you. I wish dogs and wolves could live in peace. I've heard so many stories about the evil and nasty wolf. How they kill and maim dogs and humans alike. But I hear your point as well. We're the ones hunting them, and it's only natural to defend. I've never seen or heard anything about a wolf coming to our town and killing us."

"I also wonder what kind of stories they tell about us."

Indy didn't reply to Storm, but instead he jerked his head a little to the left.

"You might get a chance to ask."

A native was approaching the camp, the white she-wolf in his arms. She blinked drowsily when the native placed her by Jarrod's tent, Storm noticing that her legs were tied together. When she looked up, she seemed to recognize Storm, and he saw something flash in her eyes. It was fleeting however, because as soon as she lifted her head Phoenix growled and she promptly lowered her head again.

"Phoenix!" Jarrod said sternly, reprimanding his dog who quickly quieted. "You will not harm her."

And again Jarrod Anderson was thankful for his dogs. They always seemed to understand what he said to them. Aniu was thankful for Jarrod as well. Even though she couldn't understand him like the dogs surrounding her could, she knew that he held authority over them, and that gave her a small bit of hope. That didn't stop the one called Phoenix from speaking to her though.

"Listen to me wolf. I don't care how much you act, I know your kind. You're evil. I will obey my master and I will not hurt you, but if you so much as touch a single hair or so much as snap at me, my teammates, or my master, I will kill you. Do you understand me?"

Aniu quickly nodded.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes." She said softly.

"What? I still can't hear you."

"Yes... I understand." Every dog in the circle looked at her in shock, as if she had just been birthed and then said her first word on the same day.

"Good wolf."

Meanwhile Jarrod thanked the native for bringing the wolf to him, and he quickly took out one of his tranquilizer shots and injected Aniu. She felt only a small prick, but felt the effect immediately. She was suddenly tired, and her eye lids drooped and her head rested on her paws.

She still looked around, and her yellow eyes focused on the same grey husky that she'd been thinking about. Aniu wished that she could speak to him and only him, but knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Partially because of the fact that his teammates probably wouldn't leave her alone, and the more immediate reason being whatever she'd just been subjected to.

Aniu relaxed quickly, dropping off into a deep cold sedation. Phoenix watched this with a small amount of satisfaction. He still wanted to kill her, but doing so would probably bring about his own demise. He worked for Jarrod, and in return got food, water, and shelter. He didn't want to do anything to compromise that. Jarrod then made sure the wolf was securely restrained. No one wanted her to be able to free herself if she woke during the night. Jarrod put a muzzle on her and then tied her to a two foot long rope, leaving barely any room to maneuver.

All of the dogs made sure to get out of range of the wolf, in case she still tried to do something.

Storm wanted to speak with her. He laid himself down to nap. It was his hope that she would awaken sometime during the night, so then he could ask her some questions, and maybe find out the truth about wolves.

Only the red, glowing fire and the twinkling stars provided any light. There was no moon out that night, but Aniu could still tell that it was already nearing morning. Whatever that human had given her had put her asleep for at least fourteen hours.

Without looking, she could tell that everyone around her was asleep. She also then realized that she was still restrained, not like they would just let her go, but it was still annoying. Aniu wanted to run and stretch her severely underused muscles, which were beginning to ache with all of the forced inactivity. She thought it amusing though, because if one month ago someone had told her that she wouldn't like being lazy for a month, she probably would've hit them and called them crazy. As it were now, she wanted to be free.

And the only conceivable idea at the moment was gaining someone's trust. Aniu's gaze settled on the grey dog. He was sleeping the closest to her, but was still more than ten feet away. Aniu searched for some way to get his attention without waking someone else. A small stick that had apparently been dropped lay beside her, so she somehow managed to pick it up between her two tied together forepaws.

She then attempted to throw the stick at him, but winced when it missed his ear by an inch and instead poked the dog beside him on the nose.

"Huh?" The dog said quietly, looking around for whatever or whoever had thrown the stick at him. Aniu quickly closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, so as to appear sleeping. She waited a few minutes, listening until the dog went back to sleep.

Finding nothing else she could throw, Aniu settled for attempting to blow on his ear. She knew that it was stupid and wouldn't work, but she wasn't tired and there was nothing else to throw.

After about ten minutes she gave up and stopped to catch her breath. Of course, as soon as she did so, the dog woke up. His blue eyes immediately fixated on hers, the glow of the fire intensifying his stare. It was only then that Aniu realized she had no idea what to say.

"Uh... hi?"

The dog took a breath to reply, but he was interrupted as his human master came out of his shelter.

Why? Aniu thought, cursing the horrible timing. She could tell the grey dog felt the same, the waves of disappointment emanating off of him were almost palpable. The human was getting ready what she recognized as a sled, so it was unlikely that the man would be going back to sleep. The other dogs were also beginning to stir, so the grey one walked by her quickly.

"We'll talk tonight." He whispered, his breath tickling her ear. And with that, he rushed off to do whatever was needed of him.

....

Storm was in no mood to eat. He'd been so close. Even though he had no idea how he would begin any sort of conversation, he knew that he needed to. Somehow during the night, he had come to a decision that he would help the wolf, if only so he could ask some questions. So Storm ate what food he could, he'd need the energy to keep up with his bouncing and hyper teammates.

While they waited, kneading their paws into the fresh snow, Storm simply stood, watching. Jarrod injected the wolf again, and placed her into a small, secure area in the sled he'd cleared out for her, he then went and finished up his business with the other men.

"You're quiet today Storm," Malakai commented, momentarily stopping his current argument with Phoenix, "What's the matter, wolf got your tongue?"

Malakai laughed at that. Storm did too, because it was funny how true that actually was. Soon enough however, Jarrod returned and got the team running, cutting all chatter immediately.

They made good time for which Jarrod was grateful. Before leaving, he'd been warned that a snow storm was building up. Although he didn't fully trust the natives and their ability to predict the weather, he knew that they were often correct. And by the time four hours passed, dark clouds were building up ominously to the west, making Jarrod stop to think over his options. The temperature was already dropping. He was thinking of either one of two choices. Stop now, and search for a place to stay, or keep going. Jarrod knew of an old cabin about an hour ahead, one he often used when he made this run.

It had a fireplace and plenty of wood in it, something he'd left for an emergency such as this. It was decent sized, but only one room, and no furniture whatsoever. Although he didn't doubt his team's ability to run in a storm, he would just rather be safe than sorry. It was almost as if Indy knew what Jarrod was thinking, because he could feel the whole sled shift, as the team turned onto the path towards the afore mentioned cabin.

After about forty-five minutes, they made it. Already snow was beginning to fall, so Jarrod wasted no time feeding and watering his animals, including the wolf, which was awake again. He left her chained to a large tree outside, knowing she'd be alright outside. Jarrod then put his sled next to the door of the small cabin, where he then took out some supplies and brought them inside said space.

The building had only two windows on either side of the fireplace, which was on the wall opposite the door he just entered. Jarrod wasted no time starting a fire, using some of the decent sized amount wood he'd left inside. After that he then made himself some food and heated up some water. His dogs were given the option to come inside, which all of them did, settling themselves into the corners closest to the door.

Indy made his way over to Jarrod and settled down beside him, letting out a soft 'hmmm' when he got into a comfortable place. Jarrod rested a hand on the dog's head, stroking his ears gently. Indy was perhaps Jarrod's best dog. Since Jarrod had taken him in Indy had become more attached to him than any of his previous masters, Jarrod dreaded the day the ol' dog would retire.

He had recently been thinking about entering a race, one which ran between Fairbanks, Alaska and Nome, Alaska, and was called the All-Alaskan Sweepstakes. He had been told by people in his town that he if he worked his dogs, he could have a good chance of winning the race. Jarrod was seriously considering running the race, which would be Indy's final run before Jarrod retired him.

He turned to take a sip of the tea he'd made with the hot water, setting the cup down and then picking up a book. He and his team were snug and warm, completely oblivious to the storm going on outside. All of them except for one dog.

Storm watched the blizzard through the windows, thinking only of the white wolf outside. Although he was sure she'd be fine (wolves were supposed to be used to these kinds of conditions, right?), it didn't stop his worrying about her.

He was also disappointed because the storm meant that yet again, he would be unable to speak with her. Storm sighed and shook his head, trying to rid his mind of all thoughts about the white wolf. Perhaps he could wait for the winds to die down, and then go out and then sneak out to speak with her. He knew one thing though, and that was neither he or the rest of the team were going anywhere until the storm cleared up, so Storm settled in as best he could, waiting for his opportunity.

He didn't know how long he sat staring out the window, but when a clearing came he almost missed it. Storm had been so caught up in imagining his own little world that it took his brain a few minutes to register what his eyes were seeing. And that was nothing. It was dark outside, clouds still in the sky and blocking out any light the stars would've provided.

Storm quietly rose; making sure everyone was indeed asleep before going to the door. He pushed it open with one paw, slipping through it and into the snow outside. It had gotten quite deep in such a short amount of time, almost consuming his whole foreleg. He sat and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night, and eventually trudged off through the snow towards where he thought Jarrod had left the wolf.

There was almost no sound, save for the lightly blowing wind rattling the dead trees. Storm made sure not to get too close to the wolf as he didn't trust her. Storm looked around. He saw nothing except for unbroken snow. Then suddenly the wolf leapt out of the snow, having been curled up under it. The snow flew out, sending Storm back a few paces.

"So you actually came to speak with me." The white wolf commented.

"Yes, I told you I would." Storm said.

"I didn't think you would. For all I know you could really hate me too, and simply be out here to kill me."

"And for all I know you could be some evil, bloodthirsty animal trying to do the same to me."

The white wolf shook her head. "I'm sorry. Let's start over. My name is Aniu, what's yours?"

"I'm Storm. It's nice to know your name."

"Same to you."

After that, neither canine spoke for a few minutes, neither sure of what to say to the other that wouldn't possibly offend them or drive them away, so they sat in an awkward silence.

"So... what's it like," Storm began, trying to start somewhere, "being a wolf?"

"What do you mean?" Aniu asked, puzzled.

"I mean, what do you do?"

"Not much, just get up every day and go hunting, guard our territory, and drive away any intruders who come into it without permission."

Storm nodded, taking note of the word 'permission'.

"What about you? What's it like being a dog?"

"Good I guess. We do our work for the humans, and they provide us with food and shelter."

The two talked more, feeling gradually more comfortable as they went along. They stayed away from any controversial topics, and instead focused on getting to know each other more. Storm spoke a lot about how he longed to run in a race, amongst other things, and Aniu told him about the thrill of hunting and running free. It didn't seem like they had talked that long, but before either of them knew it, the sun was steadily rising from the east.

Aniu's ears pricked, and she looked towards the cabin.

"I think your team is waking up. You better get away from me." Aniu said, "Wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

"I'm sorry-"Storm started.

"Nah don't worry about it, I'm used to being disliked now anyway."

Storm just gave her a glance, and then hurried away. Aniu curled back up in the snow, waiting a few minutes. When she knew all the dogs were outside, she stood up and stretched, acting as if she'd just woken up. Just as she did so, she was again given more of the stuff that made her sleep.

After she was indeed out, Jarrod analyzed the weather. The storm seemed to be holding off for the moment, so he packed everything up. He would go as far as possible until the storm returned, hoping he'd make at least a little headway.

After ten minutes he and the team were ready to go, skipping breakfast because they had to get going. Jarrod gave them the command to go, and off they went running through the forest.

...

The team was able to go for a good six hours before the storm seemingly appeared again out of no-where. Within five minutes the wind was blowing so hard and the snow falling so thick that Jarrod couldn't even see to the front of his team, let alone see what obstacles might be ahead of them. He got off the sled and led the team himself, trying to find somewhere safe to hide.

"I think we're lost!" Malakai called from Storm's left.

"Thank you for telling US!" Phoenix growled back, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

Jarrod trudged through the thick snow leading Indy, hoping they'd find shelter. Aniu had woken up, and found herself still incapacitated, other than her ability to look around. She got snow in her eyes, and could tell the dogs were having trouble getting through the storm.

After tripping over a rock buried by the snow, Jarrod found the entrance to what looked like a good sized cave. He ducked down and went inside, immediately wishing he hadn't. A huge brown bear looked down on him, ready to crush the comparatively tiny human that had dared interrupt its sleep.

Jarrod fumbled with the rifle on his shoulder, and managed to get it into his hands, cocking the bolt-action rifle and shooting the bear once, which only served to make it angrier. It then lunged at him. Jarrod, thinking quickly and using his smaller size to an advantage, rolled back out of the cave as the bear hit its nose on the wall behind where he'd just been standing. It gave Jarrod enough time to set free his dogs, who then formed a line, three on either side of him.

Jarrod reloaded his rifle and shot the bear in the face when it tried to come out. Again the bullet only served to make said animal angrier. Indy, Phoenix, and Storm all launched themselves at the bear. It swatted the first two away like flies, grabbing Storm out of the air and slamming him into the ground, eliciting a cry of both pain and rage from the husky. He managed to sink his jaws into the paw pressing down on him, which only resulted in even more pressure on his chest. Storm was sure that any moment his ribs would be crushed and he'd be flattened.

Jarrod thought otherwise as he literally shoved the muzzle of his rifle down the bears throat and fired two shots in rapid succession. The body fell limply to the ground and directly on top of the already suffocating Storm. Jarrod dropped his rifle, hurrying to try to get the heavy body off of Storm before the dog either suffocated or was crushed. His remaining dogs and Phoenix, who was recovered from the hit he'd taken, joined their master. The dogs buried their back paws into the frozen ground and pushed with their front paws.

Together the four dogs and one human managed to move the animal enough to allow Storm to crawl out. He was winded and had a cut on his right shoulder where one of the bear's claws had caught him, but he was otherwise unharmed. Aniu had felt completely useless during that fight, unable to do anything but sit and watch.

Jarrod let out a sigh of relief. "Good job- where's Indy?"

Everyone looked around for the dog, until Blaze spotted him a few yards away, lying underneath a tree.

Jarrod hurried over to his lead dog, the rest of his team behind him. Indy glanced up at him and tried to rise, but couldn't.

"No..." Jarrod whispered, bending down to place a gloved hand on his dog. Although Indy wasn't bleeding, Jarrod could tell he probably had some serious internal injuries. He was an old dog, and his body wasn't as strong as it had once been.

Indy let out a small whimper, telling everyone present that he was hurting. He knew he wouldn't make it, and he died that night, his master cradling his head and stroking him gently.

.........

Jarrod didn't know how long he sat there, but the next thing he knew, something wet touched up against the left side of his face. He looked up and into Storm's eyes. He knew that the husky was upset over his teammate's death, but was also worried about Jarrod himself.

"I'm alright bud; just... give me a minute." Jarrod sighed sadly, Storm seemed to understand and trotted away.

Storm went over to stand by the sled.

"Hey... I'm sorry about your friend." Aniu said quietly.

"It's just weird... you think someone is always going to be there... and then when they're gone it's just like, you can't believe it."

Aniu nodded in sympathy. "If it helps any, my mother died when I was just a pup. I can't say I know how you feel, as I was really too young to remember her, but I do miss her."

"I'm just not sure- no, we're not sure what to do. And it doesn't help," Storm added, glancing over at Jarrod, who was gently brushing the snow off of Indy's fur," when our master has no idea what to do either."

Storm noticed the others stirring, uncurling themselves from their snow-dens. "I'd better go."

"I understand."

The five remaining dogs ate their food half-heartedly. None wanted to eat, but they needed their energy. Jarrod made a space on the sled for Indy, and placed him in it, intending to give his dog a proper burial. They weren't out of the woods yet though, literally and figuratively. They were still off trail. And much to Storm's surprise, it was his job to lead them out.

When he was hooked to the front of the team, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of pride and satisfaction. He still would've given it all up to have Indy back... but Storm was still determined to do his best and perhaps prove something to his master.

Jarrod trusted Storm. Even though Phoenix had been the second in line to Indy, Jarrod had more faith in Storm. He had been trained all his life by Indy, while Phoenix had been purchased two years ago, having been previously trained. And Storm didn't disappoint.

He had them back onto the trail within an hour, and they were making good time despite being down a dog. Jarrod noticed the wolf looking around, and he let her do so, as he really didn't have the heart at the moment to put her back to sleep.

Aniu was a bit nervous. She had no idea where they were, how far they had gone, and how far they still had to go. She wished she could see more than just trees passing by, as that was the only hope she had at possibly being able to get back home. Wherever that was.

Storm also found a good place to stop during the night, between two trees that had low overhanging branches.

Jarrod was able to throw a piece of tarp over the branch, making himself a crude half-tent like shelter. He then chained the wolf to a tree that was about fifty yards from his camp, and went to gather some wood. None of the dogs were really in the mood to talk, so they simply sat and waited for their evening meal.

Aniu took the chance to finally stretch her legs, simply circling around the tree, winding and unwinding the chain. It felt good to move again, even if it wasn't running or hunting. Jarrod also gave her some of the dried dog food, which she refused to eat because it smelled horrible and probably tasted even worse.

"You'd better eat that."

Aniu glanced to her left, and wondered how Storm had gotten that close without her noticing. He was sitting beside a tree, about three feet out of her range.

"It smells horrible."

"It doesn't taste any better, but even a wolf needs to keep up their energy." Storm replied, teasing her.

"Whatever you say." Aniu said, rolling her eyes.

She took one bite and gagged immediately, only managing to swallow it after about ten seconds. Storm let out a small laugh, and Aniu glared at him angrily.

"It's not funny. How do you manage to eat that stuff?"

"Just used to it I guess." Storm said chuckling.

Aniu was able to choke down the rest of the food, and felt sick soon after. She wasn't used to whatever was in that stuff.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It was horrible."

Storm laughed again.

"It's not funny!" Aniu protested.

"Yes it is."

"I swear, if I ever get the chance, I'll get you back somehow."

"We'll see about that."

"Indeed we shall."

Storm talked with Aniu a few more minutes, before hearing a call to go get his own food. After saying goodbye to each other, Storm hurried off to get his own food, and it was then that he realized that while he'd been with Aniu, he'd completely forgotten about Indy, as well as pretty much else. She seemed genuine enough, but he still wasn't completely sure of whether or not to trust her. Even though he though Phoenix was wrong, he would still err on the side of caution on the subject of Aniu.

Little did he know the white-wolf was thinking similar thoughts. Aniu enjoyed talking with Storm, and liked the way his eyes would shine when he- Aniu stopped that thought right there, banging it right out of her head both figuratively and literally.

This was someone she had only known for what, three days? And on top of that, he was a dog. While Aniu herself had no problems with dog and wolf relationships, most wolves, and presumably most dogs thought otherwise.

And the only reason was prejudice, the hate each species had for each other. Aniu was beginning to realize that both species were actually quite similar to the other, simply from observing. Both were simply trying to survive, except going about it in two different ways.

Aniu wished that both could see each other for their true selves, and not just see the false, distorted images that had been passed down from generation to generation. If they could see that, relations between the two would already be better off.

Aniu knew too well the consequences of dog and wolf relations. Although she'd never actually known anyone who had met a dog, she'd heard stories of it happening. However possible it was that the stories were distorted or even false, the consequences were very tangible.

It depended mostly on the wolf pack that anything happened to, but punishments ranged from simply disowning of the wolf in question, to sometimes killing them. Aniu couldn't even imagine how horrible that must be. Two creatures, knowing the truth about each other and doing nothing, put to death for that.

When she tried to take another step, Aniu discovered that she had unconsciously tangled herself around the tree. After carefully extracting herself from the web-like mess she'd made, Aniu sat back down, secretly hoping that her husky friend would return, although not allowing herself to admit she wanted that.

Storm ate his food quietly. The mood was still pretty downcast in the area, everyone spreading out after they were done with their own food, just wanting to be alone. Since everyone seemed to be heading away from Aniu, that gave Storm the opportunity to go talk with her some more if he so wished.

The sky was quickly darkening, and since Jarrod had not yet built a fire, and Storm didn't think he would, tonight would probably be pretty cold. Deciding he didn't want to even be near this, the grey husky returned to see if his wolf friend wanted to talk some more.

When he got close, Aniu looked at him but didn't say anything.

"Is someth-"

"Be quiet!" Aniu hissed, "I heard something."

Both Storm and Aniu scanned the quickly darkening forest, neither seeing anything threatening or dangerous.

"Storm, behind you!"

Storm whirled around, but was a second too late. He saw only a tall dark figure and an object descending down upon him. Storm didn't even have time to move before it came crashing down on his head.

Then there was darkness.

Aniu had been able to do nothing but watch as Storm and his team were slaughtered by a team of three men and more than sixteen dogs. Then they had taken the fallen team's goods as well as Aniu. She had fought fiercely against three of the dogs that had attacked her, but because of the chain and the overwhelming odds it was a losing battle.

She didn't know where they were taking her, but didn't really care. These people were a lot crueler and meaner to her than any humans she had seen before. They had taken to beating Aniu with hard sticks and clubs, quickly beating any resistance and any hope of survival right out of her body. Aniu lost track of any sense of time and direction, as she spent most of her time in a forced sleep. She still was fed, and it was thankfully better than that dry stuff she'd had to eat before.

After four days of travel she entered another human town, this one a lot bigger and a lot more scary than the first one she had been in. The buildings were larger, the people were meaner, and the dogs were a lot more numerous. Any stare shot her way was hate filled, and she only received a few passing glances that showed any hint of sorrow for her.

Aniu was taken to a rather large building and thrown in another steel cage, this one bolted to a hard concrete floor. After that, two men walked in, accompanied by who Aniu knew of as the leader of the three she had been travelling with.

One of the two new men, a short, fat man smoking a cigar pointed to Aniu.

"This is your idea of a fighting wolf? Hah!" He said laughing, "I say she'll go down within thirty seconds!"

"Fifty bucks says she wins her fight." Jones said in an even tone.

"Hah, you're on!" The fat man accepted, shaking Jones hand firmly.

The other man, tall and skinny agreed with his companion. "I'm sorry buddy, but I've gotta go with Virgil on this one, that wolf doesn't look like she could hurt a mouse, let alone a fighting dog. I'll bet ya fifty dollars as well."

Jones just smirked. "Just don't complain tomorrow when you lose your money."

"We ain't gonna lose our money." Virgil replied nonchalantly. With that, the two men turned and walked out.

After they left, Jones turned to Aniu and bent down in front of her, giving her a stare that sent shivers down her whole body.

"Now you better not let me down, wolfy, I'm countin' on you." Jones left the building after that, leaving the white wolf alone and scared, wondering what was going to happen to her next.

........

Storm groaned and pushed himself upright. He expected a wave of nausea to overcome him, but was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. He also found that he didn't hurt anywhere near as much as he would've expected after taking a blow like that. Storm noticed that the claw wound he'd received was bleeding a little bit, but he wasn't concerned.

It looked as though he'd been out for a while, as it was already past noon the next day. He looked over for Aniu. There was no sign of her. The snow showed that she'd fought viciously against whatever had attacked them, but eventually she had been beaten and then dragged off.

Storm got up and stalked towards where the rest of his team had been. As he got closer, he began to smell the wet, sticky, and horrible smell of blood, and lots of it. He stumbled upon the horribly blood-stained body of Phoenix. It looked as though the dog had had all of his legs broken, then had been beaten and shot on top of that. And to Storm's horror, he was still alive, his chest barely moving, but he was breathing none the less.

"S..s..Storm?" He managed.

"Yes, I'm here. Tell me what happened?"

"I'm not sure... they came out of no where, killing all of us just for the wolf and our supplies... they stole the sled too. Storm, I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

Storm had been considering lying to his friend, if only to make him more comfortable in his last moments, but as he looked into Phoenix's green eyes, Storm knew he knew that was the end.

"Yes."

Phoenix actually managed a small laugh. "Funny, I never thought I'd die this way..." He broke off into a fit of coughing, spitting up horrible amounts of red liquid.

"Promise me one thing... promise me you'll find them and kill them for what they did." Storm nodded. "I will."

"Thank you." And with that, Phoenix took one more breath, then he lay still. Storm checked the rest of the bodies, all of which were horribly distorted, some to the point he couldn't even tell who they were. At first he felt sad, but then he felt angry. Very angry. Something inside of Storm snapped, transforming him in that moment, from a kind and good hearted sled dog, to a bloodthirsty and vicious killer willing to do anything to avenge his teammates and masters deaths.

He could also smell that Aniu had not yet been killed. Perhaps if he hurried, he could prevent yet her death too. Storm now had nothing left to lose. His whole family had been killed by whoever had done this. Aniu still had friends and family out there somewhere, and Storm would be damned if he didn't at least try to help her get back to them. He owed it to her, his team and perhaps to himself as well, to find and kill the perpetrators of this horrible crime.

Storm set off, his eyes ablaze with a blue fire, one that was not to be messed with. He was a dog on a mission.

....

Much to Storm's surprise and pleasure, he found a dog sled trail not too far from where his friends had been murdered. The team looked huge from what he could tell, there were at least fourteen different scents, but they were so mixed together there could've been a lot more.

Storm followed their trail and hardly stopped. He walked through night and day, his determination still strong and fueled by the anger and hate that would only stop when someone had paid. He only stopped to take drinks and for brief periods during the night to get a little sleep.

After about a day, Storm was pretty sure that they were heading back to the very same town he'd started this journey from. And that town was White Mountain. They were going the right direction, and were probably going to sell what had once been his team's goods for money. This angered the husky even further, because no one would probably ever know what had happened to them. They would just assume that he had gotten lost in the storm perhaps, and had never made it back.

As for the wolf, they could make up the excuse that they had caught her themselves. It wasn't like anyone would bother checking into it, they would be so caught up in their hate for the mysterious white she-wolf that sat before them to even think about how it had gotten into their hands. Storm only hoped that he could make it to her in time to try to help what was probably his last friend alive.

It took him three days of hard walking, but he did go a lot faster because he wasn't limited by a team or cargo. Storm arrived back in White Mountain late one night, and after finding his masters house and pushing his way inside of it did he realize how tired he truly was. Storm just sank to the floor, asleep within thirty seconds, and not waking up any time soon.