limped off. Saphrina waited until Solo was out of the yard, then headed for the gate herself. Voices echoed through the gate. With a jolt, Saphrina recognized the voice of the white Shepherd. Panicking, Saphrina looked around the yard and spotted a hole in the fence. She dove for the hole, slipping through it just as the dogs walked into the yard. Saphrina rolled right into an alley and stopped to observe her surroundings. The voices in the backyard got louder and Saphrina scrambled to her feet, scurrying from one alley to the next.

“Oh giiiirrrrllllyy”

Saphrina hid behind a trashcan when she recognized the Rottweiler’s voice. 

“We know you let him out!” he sang. “Your scent is all over the yard and your little footprints are in the snow!”

Saphrina glanced down at the snow covered ground. She’d forgotten about that.

“I told them we should’ve watched you too! I didn’t trust the way you were lookin’ at that wolf”

Saphrina tried to calm herself down and think straight. She continued down the alley way and came to the main street. Just down the street was the end of the town. And just out of the town was the farm. Saphrina darted across the street and into the opposite alley, trotting behind the other buildings until it looked like she just had to get around one more fence and she was home-free! She popped around the corner of the building and came face-to face with the white Shepherd. 

“Hello there” he said calmly. 

Saphrina went rigid with fear. She didn’t even notice she’d tucked her tail between her legs.

“Why’d you let him go?”

Saphrina forced herself to back away and bumped into the Rottweiler. She couldn’t think of anything to say. What had she gotten herself into?! A few other dogs, undoubtedly the ones that had been rounded up to guard Solo, circled around Saphrina. 

“I...I...uh...”

The German Shepherd raised his brows, waiting for an answer. When Saphrina couldn’t bring herself to say anything, the German Shepherd sighed. “Well you’re still gonna have to come with us”

“NO! I can’t!”

“You let him out. If they can’t shoot the wolf that’s been on a killing streak, might as well bring back the dog that let him out”

“Isn’t there something else she can do to get out of this?” the Rottweiler asked. Saphrina turned to the buff dog thankfully but her smile faded when she saw the funny look on his face. 

“I’ve had a long day. I don’t want any part of it” the Shepherd said, leaving Saphrina with the group of dogs. Saphrina went numb, hoping that she had misunderstood the Rottweiler’s intentions.

“I thought you were a pretty girl anyway” the Rottweiler crooned, getting really close. Saphrina shivered, tucking her tail tighter and backing away. Thoughts of her sister and mother flashed through her mind. She didn’t want to share the same fate!

“Come on back here pretty girl!” one of the dogs jeered. Saphrina continued to back up until her rump hit the only wooden fence between her and the open land where the farm was. Her blue eyes jumped from one dog to the other. The five dogs were spaced out. She could dive between them! Puffing out her chest, Saphrina shot between two of the dogs. The Rottweiler lunged and caught her bandanna. Saphrina struggled until she had slipped the blue bandanna over her head but she only took two steps before another one of the dogs tackled her and pinned her down to the ground. The five male dogs laughed and teased. Saphrina closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. She wanted her dad Jade. Or her mom. Even her uncle Utah. Someone to protect her. Suddenly, the male dog pinning her was tossed off and the others started to yell. Someone else was standing over her and she figured they were fighting over who got to go first. But when she opened her eyes, whoever was standing over her had charged one of the bolder male dogs and knocked the canine clean off it’s feet. It scrambled up and took off, tail between it’s legs. Saphrina stood, shaking badly. The Rottweiler was a few feet away, knocked out. A few more feet away... was Solo. The wolf’s head was low and the fur all along his back stood on end. She had never seen him look so scary before. 

Satisfied that no one was coming back to mess with him or Saphrina, the golden wolf turned to limp back. Tears running down her cheeks, Saphrina lost her self-control and ran to Solo, burying her face in his fur. She didn’t care who it was. At first, Solo was tense at Saphrina's unexpected move, but as Saphrina cried, he rested his head over hers, letting her drain her emotions into his chest. 

     After what seemed like hours even though it was only mere minutes, Saphrina had calmed down a bit. But she still stayed burrowed close to Solo. She felt him raise his head, tense up, then relax and Saphrina was afraid to look around. She already knew who was in the alley.

“Sa- Saphi?!”

She had never been so happy and so afraid of hearing Nimbin’s Australian accent. Saphrina finally stepped back, leaving Solo’s warm, good smell to turn to her best friend.

“Wh- what’s goin’ on!?” Nimbin’s eyes jumped to the Rottweiler who was still unconscious. “Is he...?”

“No” Solo answered. “He’s out cold though. I smacked his head pretty hard on the brick part of that house. He’ll probably be out for a while”

Nimbin noticed Saphrina’s tear-streaked face and Nimbin growled at Solo.

“What did you do to her?!” he snarled.

“He saved me” Saphrina said, walking over to her bandanna and nosing it around her head so it slipped over her neck. “ From him” she added, pointing to the unconscious dog.

“We need to get back” Nimbin said softly. Saphrina nodded and turned to Solo. She walked back to him and for one more time, buried her face in his neck, nuzzling him. When she fell away, Solo had an expression she had never seen before on his face, but she knew very well what it was. She’d seen her parents give each other that look before. And she was sure she probably had the same dazed look on her own face.

“Come ‘on Saphi” 

“Thank you...” Saphrina breathed one more time before following after Nimbin. When she glanced over her shoulder, Solo was gone.

     The next morning, the three men had gone to the Sheriff’s office and back before the dogs had woken up. To their dismay, the wolf had disappeared. So saying a short goodbye, Phil and John packed up the dogsled they had rented and started their journey back to their own homes. Nimbin, who had been told the full story of what happened, walked protectfully next to a still pretty-numb Saphrina. Ridge and Loki had also been told what happened, but Nimbin and Saphrina chose to leave the part about Solo out of the story. A day and a half later, Saphrina said goodbye to Ridge, Loki and Nimbin and followed John back to their cozy farmhouse. John was the first one in the house and gave Wendy a hug as soon as he was through the door. Saphrina carelessly wagged her tail and sulked to her bed. The sooner she forgot about the whole trip, the sooner she could forget about Solo. 

     Life returned to normal the day after John and Saphrina had returned home. Saphrina was up early the next morning with John and helped to herd the cows out of the pen and out to their open pasture. Besides the calf that Solo had killed, the whole herd was safe and healthy. The pasture that the cow herd grazed on was the pasture closest to the woods and whenever the dog took a break to rest, she always paused by the woods just in case anyone wanted to stop by for a visit. 

When John whistled for Saphrina to bring the herd in, her heart sank. Maybe she was right... Solo just hopped from one girl to another... and she was just a stepping stone to him. Saphrina urged the herd through the gate and into the pen, John closing the gate when all were in. 

“Good girl Holly” he smiled, patting the dog. “You’re such a good girl”

Saphrina smiled, waging the tip of her tail and followed her owner to the porch and through the door, where her bowl of kibble was waiting. After she had finished, Saphrina plopped into her warm doggie bed.

“Did we get any reports of anything?” John asked as he ate.

“Nope!” Wendy replied. “Hasn’t been a single attack since you got back”

“Maybe we got him after all!”

Saphrina sighed. Maybe he did... She shook her head. She needed to snap out of it! Placing both of her paws over her eyes, Saphrina slipped into a light sleep.

     In the middle of the night, Saphrina jumped awake, ears twitching. Did she hear a howl?! She got out of her doggie bed and went to one of the front windows. Nothing stood out against the bright snow. 

“You’re hearing things...” she said to herself. She might not have heard Solo, but she had heard something. And if that something was someone who’d hurt her herd, they’d have to get through her first! With that, she snorted to herself and darted through the doggie door. The herd was clustered near the far side of the pen, near the woods.

“Stupid cows!” she scoffed, hurrying down the steps. She swiftly trotted around her herd, making sure they were all safe. Then she positioned herself between the herd and the