it was a weird way of showing love. She just didn’t want to kiss or nuzzle him because then… he would have become just one more… but not the one…    

----------

           This is not a love story. This won’t have a happy end. The outcome will be bad… more or less. We will die here, that’s for sure. It’s not about me… Nobody cares about me but what about Wolf and Renna… and… what about Will?

            Mut’s thoughts weren’t happy… not at all. The situation was bad, he knew it and he was unable to change it. The last time they had there, they had almost died. And Mut was sure it would be even worse now. He looked at the sky and even though it was the evening, distant explosions were illuminating the sky well. The malamute sighed softly… yes… they were soldiers nobody cared about. The only thing they could do was to die as late as possible. And he knew something big was going to happen. He could feel it in voice of soldiers. He knew. And that was the worst thing. He had no way how to escape from it. He glanced back and spotted Wolf kissing Renna. “Fascinating…” he smirked and licked his paw. The worst was yet to come…

----------

            Ghost yawned and stretched herself on the floor of her master’s tent. It was a weird night and the morning was so delightful. Her mind was full of fighting as usual, but she couldn’t forget Rein whispering in a disappointed voice. Ghost… Ghost… and she could swear he had sobbed a few times. She didn’t want to break his heart… she just didn’t want him to break hers. She had known too many dogs who had been nice with her… but they had wanted just one thing. And… then love had betrayed her. She just didn’t want to fall in love again. But the way of Rein’s whispering made her uneasy. Maybe… maybe he loved her.

Or maybe not. ‘Oh, why do I care…,’ she hissed for herself, ‘I am not here because of this. I want to fight… the sooner, the better.’

            She yawned again, shaking her fur vigorously and then she looked outside. Well… the camp was busy. To be honest, it wasn’t a mere camp. There was even a small airfield for fighters, various sorts of guns, cannons and fortifications. She shivered with expectations and ran outside. Everything was so fine… her friends (to be honest, comrades in arms) greeted her with smiles on their faces, soldiers were stroking her and she managed to get even a small piece of a fresh meat. She took her valuable treat to a calmer place, licking her maw. The day began better than she expected! She was about sinking her fangs in the piece of meat when she realized there was someone who deserved it more than she. She recalled dinner the other day… of course. He hadn’t eaten. He had just watched her. And, of course, he had been full of pride. He had been showing off.

            So yes, it’s his mistake! I won’t repay him! He chose to invite me for dinner! It’s his fault he gave… all his food… to me…And then Ghost grabbed the meat and headed to Rein’s tent. She didn’t know why she was doing it.

            Reinhardt was lying in front of the tent. He didn’t want to do anything. The date had gone bad. The girl had refused him. The girl he had wanted to have. So he was just lying and sighing when something fell down, right in front of his nose.

“I guess I owe you something,” Ghost smirked. Rein stood up slowly and looked at the meat. Ghost just smirked and trotted away. Well… he was interesting, of course… but it was a little bit soon to think about a romance with him.

----------

            Wilhelm was looking into Balto’s wolfish eyes trying to find proper words. Saying: ‘Steele’s here and he wants to speak with you’ would have been cheap and just… it wasn’t Wilhelm’s style. He just sighed and bit his lip. “Well… Something tells me you should better watch your back, Balto. Steele. He is back. It’s simple and clear. And I doubt his intentions are friendly…” Balto came closer to Wilhelm and smiled. “I am sure he won’t dare to attack me or anybody else. Maybe he has changed himself and now he came for-“

            “Oh no. Balto, stop being like that! You can never change anybody. Steele will be Steele. He won’t be different. You can try but you won’t achieve anything!” Jenna almost shouted. Her mate nodded. “You know, Jen, you are right. I can try. So I will.”

            Wilhelm bit his lip even harder and looked at Jenna. Her opinion was almost the same as his… He met only one bad dog who had changed… at least had appeared to be different. Reinhardt. “Okay… Uh, I guess I will leave you alone,” The Doberman looked out of a window and saw Eily trotting around her master playfully. Then he nodded and left the room.

Balto moved to the window and smiled. “At least Will is happy. I think he and Eily will be a great couple.” Jenna sighed deeply, coming closer to him. “Balto… Steele is back. Doesn’t it bother you?”

            “No,” Balto nuzzled her, “because I can try to change him…”

            When Eily spotted Wilhelm, she forgot about her master, pounced at her lover and began licking his nose. The Doberman laughed and licked her nose back. Eily was playful all the time… she was so full of energy. So full of enthusiasm. And of hope. Wilhelm loved her deeply. He had never met a girl of his heart before but now he was sure Eily was the one he wanted to live and die with. “How are you, hun?” He whispered into her ear and nipped it softly. She giggled: “I am fine, Will. Would you like to join my master and me? We are just walking around and doing nothing at all!” She sounded like it was the greatest thing that could happen. “Of course, love. I want.” He smiled widely and after a while, he was trotting by her side laughing with her.

            Steele grinned when he saw this scene. He was afraid of Wilhelm and now… he managed to discover his weakness… and pretty quickly. “So, my dear friend,” he hissed, “let’s see what you can do without her!” He kept watching them and when they parted, he decided to act. He just leaned against a wall and waited for Eily coming around. Finally…

“Hello there, lady,” He smirked and displayed his muscular body. “How are you today?”

Eily was a new to Nome, so she didn’t know Steele well. “I am fine, thank you,” she smiled at Steele and had to admit he was pretty. And so attractive. So therefore, she didn’t say a word when he joined her. “I haven’t seen you around yet. What’s your name?”

            “Eily.”

            “Such a nice name… what do you think about a short trip? You seem to be so nice girl and I would be glad if I had a chance to learn something more about you.” She nodded. “That would be so fantastic!” Steele smirked inside… she was so gullible and stupid… and that suited him so well…

----------

            “Get on your legs, ladies! We are moving!”

            “But Sarge…”

            “No buts, White! And today, you will be glad if you are alive by the evening…”

            “What-?”

            “Just get up! We are movin’! And it will be really hard today. They want us to storm one position,” Napper grinned. Few of his men gasped and White made a futile attempt: “But Sir, we are just scouts… we aren’t-“

            “Soldiers?” The sergeant laughed, “Is that what you wanted to say? Of course we are! At least I suppose so.” The only choice was to go. You can’t choose in such situation. Men were getting up slowly… nobody wanted to go. And no wonder. They didn’t rush… because death can wait.

            They had to approach the enemy position by foot. Napper was holding a map all the time and if they hadn’t have guns, one would have told they had been on a trip. Suddenly, he waved his hand and hissed: “Okay… I think we have them. They are supposed to be about half a mile this way.” He pointed in the direction the enemy was supposed to be. “So from now on, stay low, keep your eye on enemy and try not to make noise, okay?”  He didn’t wait for a reply, just checked his BAR and sighed. His men were calm… that could mean just two things. They either didn’t know they were going to die or they know it and they were resigned to it. And, Napper had to admit, both options were really bad. “Guys…,” he looked at them, “Let’s do it… we have no choice…”

            Mut was watching his subordinates. And Danny surprised him a lot. He didn’t shiver or whine as he had used to. Now, he was waving his tail vigorously. “I am ready, sir!” He barked when he caught Mut’s look. Good… But what about Renna and Wolf? Mut came closer to them and looked into Wolf’s eyes. “Look… you two… stay back. That’s everything I need from you. And no, I am not interested