4. Chapter 4 (1/2)

i give you... the final chapter of a love frozen in time. *

eaks down sobbing* *hollow takes over*

hi guys. i'm tatsuki's hollow, kagami. anyways, since she's incoherent right now (she really likes this story), i'll be thanking everyone. *clears throat* okay... first, the reviewers.

thank you to grapejuice101, lostfeather1, and unlockedpotential for reviewing this story. it really meant a lot, to both of us.

next, the favoriters. a big thank you to all of you: aaron

ogdale08, auroranrose, chevyimpalacrywolf, grapejuice101, lostfeather1, necke, nijha44, nikkidenney75, rainbowtoastercake, roseflame crystalheart, sophiescastle, and xxwolfman95xx! you guys are amazing, and eternal thanks to you.

to those of you who followed: aarong

odgale08, auroranrose, dark-grey-wolf, enora of kaneda, lostfeather1, necke, ninjha44, nikkidenney75. rainbowtoastercake, redhotchillysteppers2008, reklaw41, roseflame crystalheart, sophiescastle, the

ightservant's secrets, thecoolguy1234, unlockedpotential, and xxwolfman95xx! we are forever grateful and honored you chose to follow this story.

and finally, eternal thanks to xxwolfman95xx, who not only gave us permission to write this story, but gave us pointers along the way, and who never gave up on us. (*whispers* even though we went a month without updating). you are amazing, and we can't thank you enough.

alright, sentimental thank you's over. enjoy the final chapter!

chapter four

balto had no time to react when steele latched his fangs on his throat. rolling with it, he managed to push the husky off of him. steele skidded to a stop, facing the wolf half-

eed. balto growled, taking up an offensive stance.

"balto!"

"stay back yuna!" she froze. balto's eyes flashed. "i'm going to defeat him. once and for all." yuna bit her lip, watching as the two fought over her.

the males circled each other. steele clearly wasn't in his right mind. his eyes were alit with madness and lust. his body language was completely open, but, in some ways, that was more dangerous than being closed off, like balto. steele didn't care how much damage he took or inflicted. all he cared about was the prize.

"i'm going to kill you, balto. i'm going to stain this snow with your blood, and leave your entrails for the scavengers." balto snarled, digging his claws into the frozen ground. steele laughed, foam flying from his jaws. "and then… and then… i'll-" before he could finish, balto sprang on top of him, snarling.

the two rolled together, snarling. steele stomped on balto's paw, making him growl in pain. when steele dipped his head to bite balto's leg, balto fastened his fangs in his throat. a chocked cry came from steele's mouth. spinning in place, balto flung the thicker dog into some crates.

steele stood, shaking the de

is from his coat. "blasted half-

eed!" he jumped on balto again. this time, balto was prepared for it.

ducking down as if in submission, he waited till the last second before jumping up again. his head crashed into steele's stomach, shoving all the air out of his lungs. shifting his head so balto had his teeth in steele's fur, he threw the heavier dog down. scraping him along the ground, he once again threw steele into some crates. just then, the pounding of feet distracted him.

turning around, balto saw yuna leading a charge of dogs and humans. jenna ran alongside her, her friends behind. balto's sled team ran on yuna's left side. they all stopped a few yards away.

"yuna?" she smiled softly.

"i wasn't going to let you go through this alone." star nodded.

"we've got your back buddy. tear him apart!" steele stood up, wincing as splinters dug into his paws as he tried to regain his footing. he looked in shock at his old teammates as they cheered balto on.

"i'll tear you all apart for this!" he sprang at them, but was stopped by balto jumping in front of him.

"your fight's with me, steele! leave them out of this!" howling in rage, steele tried to pounce on balto. the half-wolf took a half jump back, before springing forward to slam his paws into steele's side. instead of letting steele continue to roll, balto latched onto one of his forelegs.

steele howled in pain as he felt the bone crack. he could do nothing as balto flung him to the other side of the lane. this time, his body crashed onto the frozen street. he struggled to find his footing, but eventually was standing.

a few humans tried to intervene, but rosie's father stepped up, preventing anyone from doing so. "but william! if they continue to fight, steele will get torn up! he already can't run!"

"he

ought it upon himself. balto is fighting for yuna. steele is fighting for himself." he turned back to watch the fight. "let them fight."

balto smiled to himself. he heard what rosie's father said. he could feel the faith everyone was putting in him. it warmed his heart, giving him the strength to continue fighting.

steele, on the other hand, was feeling the overwhelming crushing weight of everyone's hate and disdain. he looked around, trying to find some support. anything to let him know he wasn't alone. that he still had some fans.

he found nothing.

his eyes widened in fear as the dogs began to close in on him. instinct took over… and he ran. immediately, the others gave chase, biting at his heels, some ripping fur out of his tail. steele was run into the mountains, yuna, jenna, and balto leading the pack.

when they returned, weary and out of

eath, everyone knew that steele was never coming back.

balto looked up at cheers. yuna smiled, nudging his shoulder. "they're for you, balto. you're a hero."