stealth, endurance, and smarts. They have been bred by the largest, strongest, fastest hyenas and wolves we could find. It took awhile, but we finally have the first generation of what we have been looking for. Gentlemen, please treat them like family, and treat our lovely Kate like a lady.” The men laughed lightly, and nodded at the general. Kate walked over the men, and snorted at one of the men. She barked loudly, and nipped at his heels. He tried to shoo her away, but she wouldn’t leave. Kate wanted it. She wanted what was on his head. It looked interesting, and she liked its shape. She stared at it while she tried to jump and reach it.

The man smiled once he realized what she wanted. “Look general!” he said with a slight English accent. “She wants to be a real soldier!” He plucked the army hat off his head, and placed it on hers. She woofed slightly, and looked around. Or, at least attempted to. All the men laughed when they realized she had wanted the hat, and they laughed even harder when they realized the hat was too big for her head. She smiled, and walked around with the hat on. The general went over to take it off, but the man who had given it to her said “Let her keep it. I’ll just have my girl send me another one.”

“Kate, out of curiosity, when are you going to stop gawking at yourself?” Kate looked away from the mirror on the wall and turned to face Jesse. He smiled at her. “I’ll stop as soon as I get a good look at my hat.” She said. She stared at her hat, and grinned. Jesse laughed slightly, and walked back outside. It had been 6 weeks since they had arrived, and Kate was still amazed by her hat. After a few minutes, she walked outside and trotted to the training course. Several men were climbing the ropes and running about. Jesse was running the 3 mile trail with his favorite soldier Jake. He ran beside him, his tongue hanging out, and a big grin on his face. Marcus was inspecting the men who were climbing the 6 foot wall, and whenever one couldn’t make it over, he would nip at their heels until they cleared the wall. It really got them to move, because if they fell back to the ground, Marcus would quickly jump on them and bite down on their shoulder lightly. It would usually scare them men, since a light bite from her brother still hurt. Kate walked by the men, and stood next to the general, who shouted out orders and angrily scolded the men. He looked down at Kate and smiled. “P.K. you young thing, go make sure the men on the 3 mile trail aren’t slacking off, ok?” She smiled and woofed an agreement. “Good girl. I mean, good soldier. Dismissed!” She ran away and headed towards the trail. When she got there, she saw several men walking slowly down the trail. She growled to herself. “Lazy bums.” She said. “They can’t even run three miles!” She ran toward them, barking madly and growling. They turned to face her, and when the soldiers saw her coming, they cursed out profanity and ran down the trail as quickly as their legs could carry them. She caught up to them easily, and nipped at their heels. They ran the rest of the way to the finish. When they crossed the line, she stopped and panted. She looked around for Jake and her brother, but they were nowhere to be found. “Not again.” She said angrily, and walked back down the trail. She smelled the ground, and eventually picked up her brother’s faint smell. She found him and Jake in the bushes on the side road, looking up at the sky and laying down. Kate walked over to them and growled. Jake stood up and frowned. “Kate. I’m sorry girl; I just wanted some time alone that’s all.” She continued to growl, the hair on her back lifting up slowly. Jesse stood up and growled back, his eyes full of anger. He had wanted time alone with his human Jake, and then Kate had to come along. Just like last time. Only, last time, Kate had not growled as much. It had only been a small warning that time. But, here he was again, disobeying the general’s rules.

Kate looked at Jake and barked angrily at him. He lay down again. “Come on Kate; just let me lay her for a little while longer. Please?” She growled louder and took a step toward him. He sat up quickly, and began to stand. Jesse, who was now angry with Kate, lunged at her and knocked her to the ground. He hated her for disturbing his time with Jake, and he was mad that she always obeyed the general’s rules. Kate was shocked by her brother, but quickly recovered and grabbed the bottom of his chin. He yelped and bit the back of her neck. They wrestled on the ground, until eventually Jake grabbed Kate and pulled her away from Jesse. Jesse growled at Kate, and glared at her. Kate calmed down, and glared at Jake now. He let her go, and began walking down the trail. Jesse shoved Kate angrily, and followed Jake. Kate looked at the ground, and ran back to the camp.

The general was scolding Jake, as he already knew why he had been so far behind the other soldiers. He called Kate over, and Kate walked over proudly. She wagged her tail, and looked at the general. Her heart sank immediately. His cold hard stare pierced into her. “Private Katherine Kipton, did you attack your brother?” She looked at her brother and snorted. “Liar!” She barked at him. “You attacked me first!” Jesse snorted at her and looked away. She looked at the general and whined. “Well you shouldn’t, now go into the house and stay there for the rest of today.” She walked to the house obediently and sat on the couch. It wasn’t until she sat down that she realized her hat was gone.

Demon and the Untouchable Hat

Kate sneaked out of the house and crept down the trail slowly. She looked around for her hat, and didn’t stop until she reached the place she found Jake and her brother. “Must have fallen off my head when Jesse attacked me.” She whispered to herself. It was then that she picked up a musky and strong scent. She had smelled it before, but it had been incredibly faint. She thought for awhile, and froze. Her mother. It had been her mother who had had that smell. She looked around for the source of the smell, and realized that there was a wolf that was just about her age…and he was staring at her hat. She growled to let him know she was there, and he turned to look at her. After a small glance, he turned back to the hat, and sniffed it, his wet nose only centimeters away from its soft linen surface. She growled and walked toward him, her teeth bared and her hair on end. He looked at her strangely. “Step away from the hat!” She said. “That’s an order.” The wolf looked at her puzzlingly. “Order?” he asked. Kate glared at him. “Don’t touch my hat.” He smiled. “I didn’t.” then he looked at the hat and grinned coyly. “At least not yet.” Kate rushed over to him, and before she could reach him, he picked the hat up and waved it around. Kate lunged at him angrily, and cried out in frustration. She knocked him over, but he quickly stood up and ran away. She ran after him, but she wasn’t as fast as him. His long slender legs were better for running then her stocky strong ones. He made a quick u-turn and ran past her again, shoving her slightly. She fell off balance, and stood up quickly. She turned, only to see him running towards her again. This time, she moved just before his shove, and he ended up losing his own balance and falling over. She was on top of him before he could recover, and she snatched her hat back. She threw it a few feet away before turning to face him again. She growled when he tried to scoot away from her, and he laid there, his chin covering his neck for protection. He gulped loudly, and for a few minute not one of them moved or spoke. He finally smiled and said “I’m guessing you like standing above me huh?” She smirked at him. “Shut up, I have the upper hand here, and you have to do what I say, or else.” He grinned a boyish grin. “I love the sound of that sentence!” She looked at him disgusted, but eventually let out a small giggle. He laughed lightly, and watched her as she moved off of him.

She picked up her hat before walking, and stopped when she heard him say “Sooo… what’s with the hat anyway?” She looked back at him. It wasn’t until then that she had realized his coloring. He was a dark black, with brown on his chest, muzzle, ears, and front toes. He had a dark gray crescent on his left thigh. His eyes reminded her of her brother’s eyes. After inspecting him, she said “A soldier gave it to me. As a gift. I usually don’t let anyone touch it, but I guess I can’t boast about that anymore.” She started walking away again when he said “Wait, what’s your name?” Without turning around she said “Private Kate Kipton of the United States Army. Everyone calls me P.K.” She started to run when she heard him yell “My names Demon! I’ll see you around Kate!” She didn’t stop running, and when she reached the house, she lay down on the couch and smiled. Demon. Such a nice name…

Along Came Evil

Kate lay in the soft warm spring grass. The day was hot, but the air was cool, and the camp was having a day off. She yawned, and turned to face Demon, who was also yawning. “Demon,” She said “When is it afternoon? I don’t want to miss my meal back at base and get scolded for being late.” He looked her with an expressionless face and said “In a couple of hours. Once the sun is in the middle of the sky, it will be time to hunt,