Saphrina circled her herd of cattle, making sure none of the new calves were left behind. There was no way she’d let one get lost and eaten! The huge cows moved forward slowly but with a little encouragement from the grey-blue dog, the black and white animals picked up the pace until they were bustling toward the little farmhouse and through the gate leading to their pen. Saphrina’s owner, John, closed the gate and gave the dog a pat on the head.

“Good girl Holly! I don’t know what we’d do without you!”

Saphrina beamed, glad she did a job well-done and ignoring the name her owner had given her. She bounded after her master happily and beat him to the porch, slipping through the doggie door gracefully. Inside, John’s wife Wendy was cooking dinner. Saphrina took a deep inhale, savoring the good smell. There was nothing that she cooked that ever smelled bad! John came through the door and greeted his wife with a hug while Saphrina settled down in her bed after a hard day of work, barely listening to what her owners said.

“Phil called today. He says that wolf got another one of his cows”

Saphrina’s eyes popped open. Wolf?! Here?! Phil’s farm was only a mile or two away!

“Oh really?” John answered casually. “Another calf?”

“He said it brought down a full-grown cow”

“Did he mean a pack of wolves-?”

“Just one. Same one from last time. Said they put some money on catching him”

“Hmm... well as long as we have Holly-”

“I don’t think she should be out there” Wendy replied. “That wolf’s already killed some other dogs”

“Holly can handle it, right girl?”

Saphrina barked enthusiastically, rising to her feet. She needed to talk to Phil’s dogs! She hoped they were alright. She waited until the family of four had their dinner and went to bed then hurried outside. Saphrina jogged along the fence line, checking over the cattle herd by habit and hurrying through the night, heading west toward the next closest farm: Phil’s. 

     For a while, the dog traveled alone in silence, not daring to look at the tree line on her right or go close to it. Then suddenly, Saphrina was tackled to the ground, sending her and her attacker rolling through the tall grass. Saphrina snarled until she had her attacker pinned. Only then did she recognize the brown and black dog she’d caught.

“Nimbin! You scared me half to death!”

Nimbin grinned. “Sowrry” he apologized in his thick Australian accent. “Just keepin’ ya on yur feet!”

Saphrina rolled her eyes, shaking her head. 

“Sow I guess ya know what’s goin’ on then?”

Saphrina nodded as both came to another fence and slipped under the lowest piece of wood. 

“Ridge has to be mad” Saphrina said quietly. 

“You ‘ave no idea”

Soon enough, both dogs could smell blood hanging in the air and as they spotted the group huddled around the dead cow, the stench only got stronger. Of the five dogs circling the kill, the tawny and brown Shepherd cross seemed the most agitated, piercing blue eyes scanning for tracks.

The other four dogs glanced up and greeted Saphrina with brief smiles. 

“So what happened?” Saphrina asked the only female, a grey-brown Tamaskan dog named Loki.

“Same thing that happened with the calves... I was guarding Nicole back at the house, the guys were relaxing back at the shed and none of us actually saw it happen. But this time, he howled. Almost like he was taunting us to catch him”

“But there’s nothing!” the Shepherd cross, Ridge moaned hopelessly. “No tracks, barely a trail! It’s like he vaporized!”

The other three, a black and white collie named Galileo, a rust-brown English Shepherd named Pilot and a tall, frazzled grey wolf-like dog named Trigg continued to search for clues. 

“Maybe it was a good thing you didn’t catch him. I heard he’s killed several dogs already”

“We could’ve taken care of him” Ridge muttered under his breath. Trigg nodded enthusiastically.

Loki looked at them skeptically but chose not to argue. “You’re probably right. But you better be careful. We’ve got each other for back up, but you’re the only one over there”

Saphrina nodded understandably. “I should head back soon before John and Wendy wake up anyway. Just wanted to make sure everyone was okay”

Loki smiled warmly. “We appreciate it”

“Want me to walk ya home?” Nimbin offered as Saphrina started off. 

“Sure” Saphrina grinned back. “It’ll give me a chance to get back at you for scaring me before!”

     All the way back to her farm, Saphrina teased Nimbin, pretending to fight him and play tag. Ever since she had been adopted by John and Wendy and moved out to the farm, Nimbin had been her best friend. He was only two years older then she was while Ridge, Loki, Galileo, Pilot and Trigg were all much older, making him the only dog she could really relate too. 

Soon, they had come back to the small farmhouse and Saphrina tackled Nimbin one more time before leaping up the steps.

“Don’t get eaten” Saphrina called lightly over her shoulder. 

“Psh me? I got too much muscle!” Nimbin grunted, striking a pose. “I’d be too tough for ‘em!”

Saphrina grinned, rolling her eyes, and dodged back into the house, allowing herself to settle down into her bed and forget about the wolf. At least until the next morning.

     For the next few days afterwards, Saphrina herded day and night as well. So far nothing had touched her herd, but she didn’t trust whatever lurked in the nearby woods. And every day, when she and John returned for dinner, Wendy had another report of an attack for John. Saphrina was so occupied, she barely had time to stop and play with John and Wendy’s kid and baby, much less stopping by to see Ridge and the gang like she usually did.

     About a week after the cow had been killed at Phil’s, Saphrina was returning from another hard day of work, very proud that she hadn’t lost a single cow or calf. As expected, when she came through the doggie door and into the cozy kitchen, a bowl of kibble was already ready for her.

“Hey Holly” Wendy cooed. Saphrina wagged her tail but didn’t stop eating. Just as she finished the phone rang and John got up to get it. Saphrina lay down in her bed for just a second, and eavesdropped on the conversation.

“Hello? Yes, this is John... yeah, she’s just fine” John answered, glancing at Saphrina. “Wha... what?! Really? All four?”

Saphrina’s heart beat faster, hoping that everything was okay.

“Yeah okay, I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks, talk to you later Phil” John finished, hanging up the phone and turning to Wendy. “That wolf killed four farm dogs”

Saphrina jumped up, ears perked forward.

“Not Phil’s were they?” Wendy asked empathetically.

“No, it was a farm a few miles away from Phil’s. He was warning us to keep an eye on Holly. Now that I think about it, maybe you’re right, we should keep her inside. She’s worth more then than any cow”

With that, John rose to his feet to lock the doggie door, but Saphrina had already gone outside.

     Out in the chilly autumn cold, Saphrina ignored her owners’ calls. So what if this monster had added four more dogs to his already lengthy list of animals he’d killed?! She could handle whatever came her way! But as the moon climbed higher and higher in the sky, the dog began to underestimate how cold it could get. To keep herself warm, she circled the cows, double checking to make sure all were accounted for. A little ways off, she could see one of the calves had wandered off. Saphrina grinned to herself and jogged toward the woods where the calf stood shivering.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” Saphrina crooned, half to herself. “Aren’t you cold? Let’s go back to your momma” She said, nudging the calf.

“Hold it right there”

The voice made Saphrina jump and made the calf freeze. She turned around the see a four legged creature, barely lit by the full moon, but she couldn’t make out what kind of animal it was. It trotted forward silently and as it got closer, the shadowy figure turned out to be a wolf. Saphrina stepped boldly in front of the calf. If this was the wolf, she was ready to defend it.

“Who are you?!” Saphrina called out, knowing what the wolf had come for.

“Well at least there’s someone who asks for a name before they call me a criminal” the wolf returned jokingly, finally getting close enough for Saphrina to get a good look at him. He wasn’t at all what she expected... in her mind, she had imagined a mangy, bulky, brown monster with daggers for claws and teeth. This wolf was a smooth gold and although he did have sharp teeth, Saphrina couldn’t help but to feel a little taken aback. His blue eyes were nothing like the dull, cold ones she had imagined. They were, almost kinda... nice?

“I’m Solo”  said the wolf introducing himself, “And that behind you... is my dinner” he added confidently, pointing to the calf Saphrina guarded. 

Saphrina