the stairs. 

“Or e’ll just shoot you” Nimbin growled. 

Solo glanced toward the house and his eyes dropped to Saphrina’s. He lowered his head down until it was almost touching Saphrina’s and whispered in her ear, “You owe me Saphi”

“For what?!”

“Sparing your friends. Sparing you however, is on me”

Then he spun around and took off into the night, allowing Ridge, Loki and Nimbin to rush forward to Saphrina. Saphrina stayed on the ground for a few moments before sitting up. 

“You awlright?” Nimbin finally asked.

“I hate him” Saphrina finally managed to stutter angrily, making the other three smile with relief. Just as they started to head back to the house, John pushed his way through the cows. Saphrina lowered her head and tail, unable to look at the calf that Solo had killed. 

“It’s okay girl” John said quietly, patting his scuffed up dog. “We’ll do something about this in the morning”

“We’ll keep watch for the rest of the night” Loki said to Saphrina as she followed John back to the house. Every step Saphrina took back to the house seemed heavier the the last. She had let John down. John reached the door first and after making sure she was settled in her dog bed, he locked the doggie door. Saphrina didn’t worry about the three remaining outside. For some reason, she seemed to trust what Solo had said. But as she drifted off into a deep sleep, the last thing she thought about over and over again was how much she hated the golden wolf. 

     The next morning, Saphrina was drowsy enough to let herself sleep in and by the time she opened her eyes, the sun was already streaming in through the windows. She stretched, wincing at her sore muscles, then stiffly walked over to the doggie door. As they had promised, Ridge, Loki and Nimbin were still on guard, much more at ease then they were the night before.

“Well guess who’s finally awake” Nimbin grinned.

Saphrina flashed a smile, laying down on the porch. “No trouble after I left, right?”

“Nope” Ridge said simply. 

“It figures” Saphrina breathed. “Where’s John?”

“Walked over to Phil’s” Ridge answered. “Said something about a reward and I’m pretty sure it had something to do with-”

“Solo”

Ridge raised his brow, surprised she knew the wolf’s name, but nodded. The dogs relaxed around the front porch, talking until the sun had started to set and John’s dark form could be seen against the frost coated grass. Saphrina rose to her feet and jogged forward to greet her owner. John patted Saphrina’s head but didn’t say a word. The only word he said was “Home” when he passed by Ridge, Nimbin and Loki. The three rose to their feet and Saphrina nodded. 

“I’ll be alright, he’s probably not coming back. He got what he wanted”

Ridge reluctantly started back toward his farm, Loki and Nimbin following after saying a quick goodbye to Saphrina. The grey-blue dog went to eat her dinner and listened as John called for Wendy.

“I’m going out for a few days” John announced. “We’re going after the wolf”

Saphrina paused, looking up at her owner.

“It’s already killing livestock and dogs, it’s not going to be long before it moves on to kids and people”

Wendy shook her head but remained silent. “Is it just you?”

“No, Phil invited me to go along. His cousin hunts wolves and we figure we can split the reward money between us if we get him”

“Well when are you leaving?” 

“Tomorrow morning. Phil’s cousin rented out a dog sled to take us closer to town and he’s taking his dogs. We’ll be back in about a week”

Wendy nodded and hugged her husband. Saphrina finished her food and went to go lay down to sleep. She was going to go along with the group. She had a score to settle.

     Early the next morning, before the sun had even risen, John’s heavy footsteps woke up Saphrina. Yawning, the young dog had a hard time just opening up her eyes, much less leaving her warm, comfortable bed. She wasn’t sure if John would want her to come along, but this was one thing she was not getting left behind for. After John had his coffee and Saphrina had her breakfast, there was a soft knock on the door. John opened the door and Saphrina saw the familiar, portly shape of their only close neighbor, Phil. 

“Ready to go?”

John nodded, yawning and didn’t object when he noticed Saphrina following him out the door. Ridge, Nimbin and Loki were already waiting next to the dog sled loaded with supplies, leading Saphrina to believe that Ridge had told Trigg, Galileo and Pilot to stay at the farm. Ridge seemed a bit apprehensive that Saphrina was coming along, given her previous encounters with the wolf, but the other two gave Saphrina tired smiles. The group started off at a brisk pace as Phil explained to John that they were going to meet Phil’s cousin at his farm on the outskirts of town. 

“Just wait ‘til you meet his dogs though” Nimbin moaned in his accent. “Unbearable”

“Really?”

“They’re awful” Loki added, joining in. “You’ll see” 

     For a day and a half, the group travelled, only stopping at night to make camp and get some rest. Near the end of the second day, they finally came upon what they had been journeying to. Less then a mile away, the group could see a small town, but the closest structures were an old barn and a beaten up ranch house. 

“Here we are” Phil announced. 

Saphrina observed her surroundings and the sound of a few dogs barking caught her attention. 

“‘Ere they come” Nimbin moaned, closing his eyes. Saphrina squinted and saw the four dogs. From what it looked like, the lead dog was the oldest: some white and grey flecked setter cross. The biggest was a white Akita-looking dog with small, beady eyes. Saphrina still hadn’t met them, but she had a bad feeling about the muscular white dog. The other two were hounds: one a blueish color with black patches, the other a creamy white with brown spots. Phil’s cousin, an older man that looked washed-out, waited on the porch. He looked tough but nice. The humans greeted each other but the two groups of dogs stuck to themselves. Besides Saphrina, they already knew each other. The four strange dogs stayed on the porch but Saphrina already felt shivers running down her spine. Ever since they had settled down by the sled, the white dog’s beady eyes had been scanning over Saphrina and as much as she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t relax.

“That’s Shoota” Nimbin supplied, noticing Saphrina’s discomfort. “He’s gotta be the wurst dog I’ve eva met”

“I believe you” Saphrina mumbled in a low voice. “Who’s the older dog there?”

“The grey one? That’s Captain. E’s not as bad as the rest a them, but e’s still not friendly. The two hounds are Blue and Duke. They kinda get on yer nerves after a while. They bark at everythin’!”

It didn’t take too long for Saphrina to figure this out on her own. Every time something so much as flinched, Blue and Duke would howl their heads off. By the time the sky had started to darken, Saphrina’s head was pounding.

“Toldya” Nimbin muttered as Saphrina put her paws over her ears. 

The sounds of human footsteps clattered down the stairs, making the dogs jump to their feet. All three men were carrying guns, making the dogs stand alertly. Phil’s cousin went into the barn and led out a calf.

“What’re they bringing the calf out for?” Saphrina asked cautiously.

“Bait” Captain grunted.

Saphrina grimaced. “Well it’s going to be alright, right?”

Captain whipped around so that he was nose-to-nose with her. “Listen now missy, if you’re gonna act like this for the rest of the time you’re here, we ain’t gonna get along so well!”

“Lay off ‘er” Nimbin snapped. “Not all of us are drones like you are”

Captain snorted and squinted at Nimbin. “You an’ I ain’t gonna get along neither”

“We already don’ get along” Nimbin retorted. 

Captain puffed his chest out and hurried to catch up with his master. 

“Well that was a great first impression, wasn’t it?”

Nimbin grinned. “You bet!”

Once the group had come to a small stand of trees, Phil and John hid in the bushes, the dogs following their lead, while Phil’s cousin led the calf out to the middle of the open space, closer to the woods, then tied it to the ground. 

When he came back to the other two, he hunkered down as well, cocking his gun and mumbled, “And now we wait”

“Ever been out here before?” Shooter asked, sidling up alongside Saphrina.

“Nope”

“I can tell” Shooter grinned. “Nervous as a house dog in the wild. Did you decide to come out here to prove something? Or did you just decide to try to impress someone”

Saphrina furrowed her brow. She barely knew this dog and he was almost the most obnoxious thing she’d ever met. If he met Solo, she bet