Introduction:

Hi, I'm the Cool Kat, and this is my latest Balto story, "The Revenge and Redemption of Steele". I actually planned to post this sooner (and post more than four chapters today), but if you've been watching the news (local, regional, worldwide, the Weather Channel, it really doesn't matter), then you've heard about Hurricane Isaac. Mississippi was struck head on, and all hell broke loose in my part of the Magnolia State. It's true what they say, you can plan for a lot of things, but you can't plan for the weather. Because of the two-day blackout (yes, just two days, thankfully Smithdale, MS is landlocked), I've had to push things back by a few days. These are the first four, spell-checked chapters. The next few will be posted next week.

Anyway, I'm gonna tell you how this story came to be. In March 2012, my good friend Kodiwolf321 sent me a PM saying that he'd been a having a bad case of writer's block since last fall, and that he'd like to work with me on writing a new story. Having suffered through the dreaded writer's block myself for three months, I know that it can be a real bitch. Plus it was a chance to work with one of my best online friends on my first collaboration fic. So how could I say no? After a month and a half of brainstorming, this is what we came up with - a story where Balto's son meets his father's old enemy. Kodiak is one of Kodiwolf321's favorite characters to write for, and Steele is mine, so hopefully our two ideas will blend together well, and you'll like what you read.

In this story, Balto's son, Kodi, is just beginning his new life with his girlfriend Dusty, and is finally fulfilling his dream of following in his father's footsteps. But a routine sled run goes horribly wrong for Kodi when he accidentally runs into his father's old enemy, Steele, who still holds resentment against Balto for winning Jenna's heart. Will Kodi and Dusty suffer Steele's wrath, or will they find a way to help the veteran sled dog find peace and redemption?

Just like all my stories, there's no onscreen sex, just a few jokes and innuendos (plus a really steamy conversation between Steele and an OC in chapter 2). But there is plenty of swearing (mostly on Steele's part, bad guys are always notoriously vulgar), and a guy-on-guy kiss scene later on. Don't freak out, it's not between Kodi and Steele (Steele's way too old, and Kodi is straighter than a bow and arrow). It's just between Steele and an OC.

Steele has always been portrayed as a womanizer in almost all the Balto fics I've found on this site, and he mostly screws around with female dogs on his team. That's all well and good, and it fits Steele's personality quite well. But I couldn't help but notice that in the movie, all the dogs on his team are male. So I wondered about the possibility of writing a story where Steele is bisexual. To be honest, I've been wanting to explore Steele's sexuality for a while now, and this story was a good a chance as ever, since it's the first one I've written where Steele is a main character, and not just a supporting villain who appears in and out of the story sporadically.

So to sum it up, this story isn't a gay fanfic, but it's not exactly a straight one either, it's sorta in-between (which is actually pretty appropriate, since this story was a collaboration between a gay author and a straight one). So if you're under 13, or if two guys kissing is not your style, I suggest you turn back now while you're still reading these author's notes.

And before we start, I'd like to inform you about one last thing so you don't get confused later on. This is a standalone fic, and is of no way connected to my "Heritage of the Wolf" series, even though some of the plot lines may seem similar. And even though this is my first Balto story since last October, I still won't be releasing "Salvation, Part 3" for a few more weeks (again, the storm has pushed me back me a few days). So if there are any recurring readers out there reading this, like Kodiwolf231 for example, I'd like thank you all for being so patient. And believe me, I'm just as excited as you are about finally wrapping up the Salvation trilogy (in the meantime, there's still my Kung Fu Panda fic, "Erdan 2: A Father's Love"). And now that my boring author's notes are out of the way, on with the story!

((()-()))

Chapter 1: One Doors Closes, Another One Opens.

February 15, 1925.

In the town of Nome, Alaska, the villagers rejoiced. It had been over a week since the serum run, and many of the children had been allowed to return home with their families. Dozens of innocent lives had been saved from a slow and painful demise, all thanks to one heroic wolf-dog named Balto. However, not everyone was happy this weekend. In fact, one musher named Roger Greensborough had a very sour expression on his face as he angrily quizzed his friend.

"You'd better have a very good reason for calling us all here Kaasen", Roger grumbled impatiently. The middle aged musher was currently sitting in Gunnar Kaasen's backyard for the same reason all his friends and colleagues were, they had been summoned to Kaasen's house by the musher himself, for some secret reason.

Roger Greensborough was one of Gunnar's best friends. He had known the musher for years now, and they had worked alongside each other several times. In fact, Roger had regretted for weeks that he wasn't the one who got to deliver the antitoxin to Nome. He had known how dangerous the conditions were, and those 48 hours he had spent thinking his friend was dead was one of the worst weekends of his life. But now that Gunnar was back in Nome, and very much alive, Roger was beginning to remember how annoying the man could be.

"I do", Gunnar promised the impatient musher, but Roger only rolled his eyes in response.

Gunnar walked to the front of his yard, and gazed at all ten of his guests. Ten mushers, most of them around the same age of his him, were sitting in wicker lawn chairs, still unaware of why Gunnar had called them there.

Gunnar sighed, and cleared his throat, before speaking up again. "As you all know, last week Balto found me and my team, and managed to bring us all back to Nome unharmed", Gunnar began. Everyone nodded their head, and the musher continued.

"But Steele was the only dog not present with us when I woke up. The other townspeople all say that he wasn't with the team when we rode into Nome either. Which meant that he somehow got free from his harness, and abandoned his teammates in the wild", Gunnar explained, having to practically force himself to continue.

"Yesterday, I found Steele hiding underneath my house, where he had apparently been staying since last week. He must found his way back to Nome before we did, and took refuge under the house", Gunnar surmised.

"But as you know, when you're out in the woods, having to depend on your dogs for survival, your team must be loyal. If just one member rebels or abandons his position, the whole team would fall apart. And no dog's choices are more important than those of the lead dog. Now, I know he's just a dog, but Steele's decision almost cost the whole town their lives. We got lucky, Balto was here to save us this time, but we… I can't afford for something like to happen again", Gunnar said hesitantly.

All of Gunnar's guests nodded their heads, obviously agreeing with the musher, but still confused as to what they had to do with anything.

Gunnar sighed one last time, and then whistled loudly, causing most of his guests to clap their hands to their ears for protection. Acting on cue, a large black and white malamute slowly padded his way onto Gunnar's lawn, obviously nervous about something.

The gathered men's eyes all widened in surprise as they recognized the dog. They had seen him before hundreds of times. In fact, everyone in Nome who the dog was. Gunnar Kaasen's lead dog, Steele - the musher's pride and joy. He had been winning races for the musher for five years now, and quickly became one of the most famous dogs in Alaska.

But the Steele they saw before them now was a different dog than the one they were used to seeing. Instead of walking with pride in his step and his head held high, Steele now kept his head low to the ground while he walked, and his tail tucked between his legs. It was almost like the shunned dog was ashamed of his actions. But that was impossible. After all, it was only just a dumb dog - wasn't it? There was no way he could understand his master was disappointed in him, could he?

Once Steele had walked up to his side, Gunnar looked back towards his guests, a rueful look in the musher's eyes. "The reason I called you all here is because I'm selling Steele and finding a new lead dog. But I don't want to sell him to some stranger that will only treat him like trash. No, I want Steele's new owner to be someone I trust, someone I can count on to treat him like family. The reason I called you all here is because you're my best friends, and I'm asking one of you to buy Steele from me", Gunnar explained.

Everyone gasped, as they realized what the musher was saying. Gunnar was actually selling Steele, his prize dog. And not only that, but he was giving one of them the opportunity to buy Steele before anyone else found out. The offer was very tempting, and many of Gunnar's guests looked like they wanted to say something, but they still refrained. After all, Steele used to be worth a lot of money, and used to be considered a valuable addition to any team. But that was before he abandoned his teammates and almost caused the serum run to fail. Gunnar had said it himself, Steele was too unreliable. And if he had been willing to abandon his own musher and let him die, who's to say he wouldn't just do the same to them?

A full minute passed, and Gunnar sighed. It seemed he was wrong - nobody here was willing to take a chance with Steele. Not that he could really blame them. He would just have to think of something else. But before Gunnar could say something, he was suddenly cut off by Roger.

"Gunnar, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've trained a lot of dogs over the years, and even I think Steele is a downright coward. But I've also known you for over a decade now, and I trust your decisions. And if you think I can be trusted to retrain Steele, I'll pay you fifty dollars right now to take him off your hands", Roger spoke, before the musher reached into his pocket and extracted a $50 bill.

Gunnar smiled, and nodded his head in agreement. He knew that if anyone could be trusted to take good care of his dog, it was Roger.

Gunnar pulled a leash out of his coat pocket, and tied it around Steele's neck. Gunnar looked into Steele's eyes, and the two shared a somber look. Gunnar had a sold many of his sled dogs over the years, and it had always been hard for him. Because unlike most dogs, Gunnar considered his dogs to be like his family. "Goodbye boy. I hope you're happy where you're going. Wherever you're going", Gunnar whispered.

Steele only whimpered in reply.

((()-()))

February 18, 1925.

Several days later, Steele sucked in his chest, as the saddened malamute waited for the lead harness to be hooked around his neck. After buying Steele from Gunnar, Roger had decided he and his team would travel across Alaska, helping with any other Diphtheria cases that might outbreak. This was both a good thing and a bad thing for Steele.

On one hand, he'd finally get to leave Nome and start over somewhere else. He would no longer have to worry about dogs judging him for his failure in the serum run. But on the other hand, leaving Nome also meant he'd have to leave behind Jenna, the love of his life. All he had ever wanted was for Jenna to be his, but it seemed fate had other plans for them. Maybe love didn't always conquer all.

As Steele watched Roger tie the sled harness around his new teammates, the malamute growled impatiently. If he was going to have his heart torn out, he wanted to have it done quick and over with soon.

Steele glanced around the empty street. The humans were all inside their houses, tending to their recovering children. The only living things walking the streets of Nome was the townspeople's pets. Cats and dogs from all across town watched as Steele prepared to leave Nome forever. Some looked sad, some looked glad, some looked angry, some looked disappointed, and some of their expressions were unreadable.

Steele was about to hang his head down in shame, when he noticed one familiar dog watching him from afar. Jenna, the rust and cream colored husky he had been pursuing for five years now. She had obviously come to watch him leave, like the others. But unlike the others, she didn't look angry or happy. Instead the female husky's expression was a mixture of emotions. From what Steele could make out, she almost looked regretful, like she pitied the malamute for what he had done. Maybe she really did love him like he loved her.

But before Steele could even begin to get his hopes up, his broken heart was ripped into a million more pieces, as he recognized the brownish-gray dog standing next to his beloved. Balto, his worst enemy. The wolf-dog who had ruined his life for him. If Steele had had any thoughts about controlling himself, they quickly disappeared when he saw Balto place his paw on Jenna's shoulder to comfort her. How dare that wolf-dog have the nerve, the sheer audacity to think he could place his filthy mitts on his girl?!

The malamute snarled, and bolted down the street, breaking lose of his ranking before Roger could place the lead harness on him. Steele's rebellious outburst wasn't a logical reaction or even a conscious decision. He had acted purely on impulse. He was feeling a fiery hatred inside him. A primal and savage need for revenge.

He wanted Balto to feel the pain the half-wolf had caused him. He wanted to snap the hybrid's neck. He wanted to rip Balto apart and feast on the wolf-dog's remains until there was nothing left. All dogs were descended were wolves, even Steele, and at that moment, Steele felt more like his wild ancestors than he ever had before.

As they saw Steele approaching, obviously intent on attacking them, Balto and Jenna's eyes widened. "Jenna get behind me", Balto ordered, before placing his arm in front of Jenna to protect her.

"No, this has gone on long enough", Jenna argued, swatting Balto's arm away with her own paw. Despite Balto's best attempts to stop her, Jenna managed to break free of his grip, and put herself in the way of Steele's path. "Steele, stop!", she shouted.

As soon as he saw her get in his way, Steele slammed on his brakes, and somehow managed to skid to a stop before he collided with the husky. Steele growled, as he realized Jenna was trying to protect the half-breed. He should have known she'd try and help the lobo.

"Get out of my way Jen", Steele growled, having to struggle to control himself. He could have easily pushed Jenna out of his way, or simply went around the stubborn husky. It would have been far too easy to take Jenna out of the equation and unleash his full fury on the wolf-dog behind her. But it went against Steele's moral code to hit females. He may have been a heartless bastard, but he had still been raised right by his father.

"No", Jenna replied, her voice hard and firm. The husky was hardly scared of Steele, no matter how angry he got at her. She had tangled with the malamute before, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

Balto ran up to Jenna's side, and placed his paw on the husky's shoulder again. "Jenna, just get out of here! It's too dangerous!", Balto pleaded desperately.

"No! All this senseless fighting has been going on for five years! Five years Balto! If we don't stop it now, it'll never end!", Jenna reasoned, taking her eyes off Steele for the first time.

Steele snarled, and stepped a few feet closer, this time his scowl focused on Balto. "Get your paws off her!", the malamute shouted. He had just seen Balto place his paws on Jenna's shoulder again, and the sickening sight had brought back all that anger he had felt before.

But before Balto could reply, Jenna growled at him again. "Steele, enough! I'm not your girlfriend and I'm not some prize to be won! I'm allowed to make my own choices!", Jenna shouted.

"But don't you see Jenna?! I love you! I aways have! You could have a much happier life with me than you ever could with that wolf-dog!", Steele argued.

Jenna scoffed. "You only wanted me so you could mate with me, like you have with all the girls in Nome. That isn't love Steele, that's just lust!", Jenna scowled.

"If I only wanted you for your body, then I could have just taken you by force years ago. I could have raped you, and claimed you slept with me. But I didn't, and I never would. Because I love you for you Jen! I love your beauty. I love how you make me laugh. I love how you treat your owners right. I love how you never held a grudge against me, no matter how badly I punished that mutt over there", Steele argued.

Jenna scoffed again, while Balto fought back a growl on his own. Neither dog knew what to make of Steele's words. Could he really be in love Jenna? Did he really want a real relationship with the husky, instead of just some quick sex? While the thought was highly unlikely, Jenna did notice something that swayed her previous thoughts about Steele. For the first time in his life, the malamute sounded honest. Like he really meant what he was saying. Whenever was Steele was lying, Jenna could always see through the malamute's tales a mile away. But these words were coming straight from the heart instead of the brain.

Jenna gazed at Steele, and her angry expression slowly vanished. Instead, it was replaced with a sad. A very sad look, one filled with pity and regret. "Steele, is that true?", she asked.

"You bet your life it's true", Steele said firmly, his anger towards Balto finally fading. While he and Jenna were looking each other in the eyes, the malamute forgot all about the wolf-dog, and Roger, and the team of angry, pissed-off sled dogs that were standing only a few feet away. The only two people on the street were him and Jenna. The only two people in the world that mattered at that moment.

Steele watched as Jenna hung her head down, obviously thinking about what she would say next. The malamute's heart beated a thousand times per minute, as hope swelled up in his chest. Jenna finally knew how he really he felt. Maybe, just maybe, there was finally a chance for them to be together. Maybe she would finally leave that wild mutt and be with her real soulmate.

After thinking for another minute, Jenna finally lifted her head up, though the husky's expression had hardly changed. "If you really love me, then you can let me go", she said sadly.

Steele's ears flattened against his head, and the malamute's head tilted to the side in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?", he asked, though as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he wished he had just kept his big trap shut.

"If you really love me for me, and not just some trophy or conquest, then you can let me go. You can let me with the dog I really love", Jenna explained.

Jenna's crushing words destroyed whatever little fragments were left of Steele's heart. The malamute had built all his hopes up, only for them to be knocked by a few simple sentences. "But Jenna, I love you!", Steele argued.

"I know Steele, and I'm sorry, but I don't love you. At best, you're my friend. My jerky friend. But I love Balto, and it took me almost losing him to realize that", Jenna said.

"But, but…", Steele stuttered.

"Please Steele. If you really love me, then do this for me. Let me go", Jenna pleaded.

Steele gazed into the husky's saddened eyes again, and noticed a few tears forming underneath her eyelids. As he thought about Jenna's request, Steele wanted more than anything to be selfish. He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to kill the wolf-dog behind her, and take the husky for his own. But no matter how hard he wanted his sadistic dream to come true, he knew it never would. Even if he did kill Balto, Jenna still wouldn't love him. Instead, the husky would hate him for the rest of his life for taking her beloved away from her. And despite Steele's reputation as being a cold-hearted bastard, he couldn't live with himself if Jenna hated him.

A few tears of his own started to form under Steele's eyes, but the malamute growled to himself, and forced the salt water to stop in it's tracks. If he was going to lose the love of his life to his enemy, he was going to at least do it with some dignity. He didn't want to give that wolf-dog the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

Steele sighed, a big gaping hole in his chest where his heart used to be, before placing his paw on top of Jenna's. "Fine", he said simply.

Despite Steele's compliance, more tears continued to flow down Jenna's face, and the malamute started to wipe them away with his paw. "I never thought I'd see the day Jenna Jones cries over me. Why are you crying Jen? I'm the asshole who tried to kill your boyfriend, remember?", Steele asked teasingly, though Jenna could still sense the pain in his words.

"I'm crying because I feel guilty. I'm sorry this had to happen to you Steele", Jenna sobbed.

"Don't be. It's not like you made me fall in love with you. And, who knows? Maybe someday you'll come to your senses and leave that wolf-dog", Steele continued.

"Maybe", Jenna mumbled, though Steele could tell she was only trying to placate him.

At mention of the wolf-dog, Steele turned towards Balto and scowled at him again. Every bone in his body was telling him to attack his rival, but he ignored the hatred swelling up inside him. He had tried to get rid of Balto once, and look where it got him. Instead, he would just have to be patient, and wait for Jenna to come to him. No matter how much it killed him, he would just have the take high road for once in his life, and try to be the better dog.

"Listen lobo, you had better had take good care of Jenna. Because if I find out you or any of your 'wild kin' ate her, I'll come back to Nome and track you down. Jenna is the only thing keeping me from killing you right now, and if you do anything to her, I will beat the living shit out of you!", Steele warned the hybrid. As he put extra emphasis on the sentence-ending obscenity, the malamute's voice was deathly serious.

"Real classy Steele", Balto said, the wolf-dog's eyebrow raised slightly.

"I'm not kidding Bingo. I've seen grown sled dogs piss themselves in fear at the sight of me. And I'm not just talking about first-year rookies. I'm talking big, burly guys the size of Kaltag. Now, promise me you'll take good care of her!", Steele demanded, his patience with the wolf-dog growing thin again.

Realizing that Steele wasn't in the mood for his usual smart-mouth comments that day, Balto nodded his head in reply. "Steele, I promise you that I will protect Jenna until the day I die", the wolf-dog assured him.

After hearing those words of sincerity from his rival, the prize dog's face started to lighten up a bit, and a small grin appeared at the edge of his lips. "I'll be looking forward to that day", Steele said anticipantly, and Balto knew the malamute was 100% serious.

However, Steele's grin soon faded, and the malamute's expression became serious again. "Don't think this is the last you'll see of me wolf-dog. Just because I won't kill you doesn't mean I like you now. Someday, Jenna will come to her senses, and I'll be waiting in the wings when that happens", Steele added.

Balto smirked. "Then may the better dog win", Balto challenged, outstretching his paw towards the malamute.

Though he hesitated at first, Steele decided to bite and gripped the wolf-dog's paw in hand, clamping down on it as hard as he could. Though he was deliberately trying to crush Balto's paw, the hybrid showed no visible signs of discomfort. "Yes, may the better dog win", Steele said suggestively.

Though Balto frowned when he realized what Steele was implying, he still stepped back and allowed Jenna to speak to Steele one last time.

The husky's smile grew wider, as Jenna placed her paw on Steele's shoulder. "There are plenty of fish in the sea Steele. Maybe someday you'll find a girl who's better for you than me. And who knows? Maybe it'll even be a guy", Jenna said reassuringly (and a bit jokingly).

Steele chuckled a bit, before scoffing at Jenna's words. "There's no girl out there better for me than you Jen. And besides, I've had guys suck my dick before, and it's nowhere near as satisfying as doing it with a girl", Steele replied, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Both Balto and Jenna's eyes widened as they realized what the malamute was saying. Jenna raised her eyebrows in doubt. "You are joking, right?", she asked skeptically.

"When you're a sled dog, your first few years on the team are always the hardest. And let's just say Kaltag earned his place as my right hand man a long time ago", Steele said, grinning widely.

Though the malamute was obviously teasing her, Jenna could also sense sincerity beneath his words as well, which meant that at least half of them were true. "But…but Dixie said you've slept with dozens of girls", Jenna argued, stuttering over the words in disbelief.

Steele's grin grew even wider, and the malamute bent over to whisper in Jenna's ear. "Women love a man who's had experience in both areas", Steele explained, his bluntness succeeding in stunning Jenna. And without another word on the matter, the former champion lifted his head, and walked off to rejoin his new team.

Balto and Jenna glanced at each other in shock, before one of them finally spoke up. "I always knew there was a reason why Kal and his teammates were still single", Balto said.

"I always thought it would have been Star", Jenna replied, stunned.

A few feet away from them, Steele threw one last, tortured, glance at Balto and Jenna, while Roger attached the lead harness to his neck. He may not have won Jenna's heart today, but there was still hope she would someday be his. And that would be enough to keep him going until he saw her again.

Once Roger blew his trusty whistle, the man's sled team rocketed down the street, with Steele in the lead. As he passed by Balto's empty trawler, the village began to disappear in the distance. Soon it would be nothing but a tiny speck in the horizon.

It was the end of the era. Steele's career in Nome may have been over, but he was hopefully heading towards a new and better life. After all, there was an old saying that 'as one doors closes, another one opens'. And Steele hoped, for that damn door's own good, that there was a real nice life waiting for him on the other side. "You'll see me again Jenna Jones. Someday", Steele thought wistfully, as Nome, Alaska disappeared behind him.

Author's Notes:

So was Steele joking about Kaltag, or was he serious? That's up to you readers to decide in your imagination. The inspiration for that joke actually comes from a friend of mine, Amber. She told me once that the reason girls always like bi-guys is because they have experience in both areas. Personally, I don't really get that, but I guess it's because I'm not a woman.