want to go home…” Even Mut tried to comfort her but… it was futile. This happened even to humans and nobody cared. “Ren, I promise, when we get home, we will have a great party in the boiler room, okay?” Wolf tried his best but everybody knew the boiler room was simply too far away…

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            Ghost was simply nervous. All she wanted was an action… she wanted to fight… to tear and kill. But everything she had was Reinhardt hitting on her. She kept assuring herself it was okay… but she knew it wasn’t. And there was another thing she was unsure of. Rein seemed to be bruised and hurt more and more every day. She wondered. Rein didn’t fight anybody. So how…? She passed one soldier who smelt of alcohol. She didn’t pay attention to him at first but then she looked back and noticed the man was heading to Rein’s tent. She perked her ears and followed the man, trying not to be seen. She crouched behind a barrel as the man entered the tent. He didn’t even bother to close the door curtain well, so Ghost was able to see inside. She saw Rein who jumped at his master, obviously happy because of seeing his master again. And now the man was supposed to stroke Rein gently and reward him for such welcome. At least Ghost’s master did it every time Ghost greeted him. But it didn’t happen. Rein’s master shouted: “Down, you b*stard!” and he kicked Rein away. Ghost blinked few times as Rein yelped. This wasn’t right… no dog should be treated like that… she growled silently. She was sure this wasn’t an accident. “Oh, Rein…” she closed her eyes realizing he wasn’t hitting on her because of sex or anything else… he was hitting on her because he wanted someone who would love him.

            Reinhardt limped out of the tent and headed… well… somewhere far away from his drunken master. “Rein?” He turned his head when he heard someone calling him. And what a surprise! It was Ghost. But she seemed to be worried. “Rein… what the hell-“ Rein wasn’t stupid. He realized she must have seen this hearty conversation with his master. “My beloved master punished me, because I behaved badly. He wants me to be strong and brave,” he stated in a cold voice. “Are you mad? He hurts you!”

            “No… he loves me. That’s why he punishes me.” –coldly. Ghost stepped closer to him. She could felt his warm breath on her skin. She could smell his scent… and she could touch him. Ghost nuzzled him slowly. She didn’t say a word, nor did he. “I … I have to go,” she panicked when she realized what she had done. “I will see you later…,” and she ran away.

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            Wilhelm was finally happy. He finally found courage to ask Eily about one thing.

“Eily, love… I have to- Oh no, that’s so formal… What about: Hun, there is something- No… to usual. Hm… Eily, will you stay with me forever?” He murmured, searching the best phrase. His heart began to beat much faster when he spotted her in distance. He ran to her, but… there was something bad in the air. She didn’t smile. She didn’t joke as usual. Her eyes were so cold and unfriendly. “Something’s wrong, love?” he asked. “Don’t call me like that!” she hissed and snapped at him. “How dare you! How dare you to do such things to me?”

Wilhelm was speechless. He had no idea what was going on. “Hun, wha-“

            “Yes! Act like nothing happened! That’s the best you can do! And a message for you: I am not your trophy. Not anymore!” Eily shouted and walked away, crying. Wilhelm stood there unable to move. He didn’t know what he had done according to Eily. But… maybe he

had done something really bad and he hadn’t realized what. He was sure Eily wouldn’t make such a story up. “Eily! Eily! Wait!” She didn’t stop, but just shouted: “Leave me alone! Get out of my life!” Steele smirked. He had been watching the whole scene from safety and everything had gone according to his plan… well… the next victim: Balto. Alas, he had to play his part of a caring lover for little longer. When he found out Wilhelm was out of sight, he trotted to Eily and nuzzled him. “I saw what you did. And… it was the only wise decision, love…” he whispered into her silken ear. “You don’t deserve anybody like… that!” She sobbed as he rubbed his maw against her neck. “I.. I am so glad I have you, Steele. You were the only who was able to open my eyes. Gosh, I was so stupid…”

            “I am here for you, love…” Steele whispered again but his thoughts were worlds away from love and Eily. Instead, his brain was working like never before. Wilhelm was out of the game, but still… it was just a minor victory. Balto was still here. Balto, who had ruined his life, who had stolen his Jenna from him and who had taken every single piece of glory.

            “Will you meet me in the boiler room at night?” Eily asked suddenly. “Wha-?” Steele was quite surprised by this offer but mainly because he wasn’t paying attention to a single word she said. “Y’know… just me and you, hun. Together…” She smiled and looked at him.

Steele stepped back. He knew what she wanted to do with him. But still… Steele smirked and thought: ‘Well, Balto can wait…’

“So?” the female husky yipped. “Of course, hun. It will be my pleasure…”

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            Napper had been right. The worst was yet to come. At least when he got orders from his superiors, he sighed deeply. “They must be kidding… they must,” he fussed. Each line of the order made him feel worse and worse. When he finished reading, he rubbed his face with his hand. “If this is a joke, then it’s pretty stupid.” He’d known it should had come.

            His men greeted him silently when he entered the tent where they were waiting for him. “Okay. Do you remember the things you saw on the map we captured earlier? So… our enlightened command decided to strike tomorrow. They don’t want to give Krauts a single chance for retreat. ‘Our elite units,’ they say, ‘will assault enemy position at 10:00 am-’ Yeah, sounds nice, but they don’t mean Our elite units… they mean every single unit they have here. Including us.” He looked around, expecting grumble and signs of disagreement. But, to his surprise, no one say anything against the order. “I know we are mere scouts… but since we are able to carry a rifle, we have to fight.”

            “Will it be hard?” Kinley asked silently, mainly because he didn’t like silence which had come after the sergeant’s speech. “Yes. It will be. And I don’t think everyone of us will survive.”

            “But… we are poking into a wasp nest!” White hissed, “They will kill us all!”

            “Exactly, White… exactly. But tell me: Would be better killing wasps one by one or destroying their hive entirely?”

            “We don’t have a choice, sir. We will do the thing we are here for,” one of his men stated.

            Danny, Wolf and Renna were lounging carelessly in front of the tent. They were enjoying every minute of peace and relative tranquility unlike Mut, who was staring into the tent. “This will be big…” malamute scowled and looked at the others and he felt such hatred suddenly. They were so stupid, careless, immature… they had no idea what was about to happen. And he felt so jealous of Wolf and Renna. Life wasn’t fair. But why had he nobody who would care and love him? He had risked his life so many times, he did almost everything for Renna and the others. And still, they relied on him. They are sure Mut will come each time and solve their problems. “Ungrateful bastards…” Mut whispered. He felt so bad. When he recalled Wolf’s sentence: ‘You… you’ve never loved, Mut!’  his anger grew. The malamute clenched his teeth and hissed: “Well then… tomorrow, you will realize what my life is about…”

            Meanwhile, the sergeant made himself sure each of his men was prepared. “Good night, gentlemen. Tomorrow, we fight.” And he walked out of the tent. Wolf raised his head as he watched the sergeant leaving: “Mut… what’s going on? Is everything okay?”

            “Nothing… and everything is okay,” the malamute lied for the first time.

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            Naturally, Germans soon realized one of their outposts had been raided. Moreover, the messenger, who had born the orders was killed there and papers he had carried had been captured. And because German command consisted from skilled officers, the situation and its solution was clear. They were convinced Americans wouldn’t waste their strength on small outposts and minor fortifications.

            Rein was overlooking the camp. Everybody was busy and even his master had been told to do some work on fortifications. So finally! Finally a battle worth his presence. He had been waiting for this moment for so long and now… it was almost here. And now he can prove he’s much better leader than Wilhelm. He smirked widely and he didn’t notice someone approached him from behind. “Rein?” It was Ghost.