white dog standing a few feet away.

The black husky let go of the female and turned his blood stained muzzle toward the other husky, growling.  “What are you going to do about it half-breed?” he snarled.

Taking a few brave steps forward, the other dog growled, equally as menacing as Steele’s.  “Do you really want to question me?  You know who my father is.  You know he beat you as can I.”

Steele snorted, turning away slightly.  “The only reason I'm leaving is because I’ve had my fun with her, Kodi,” he growled, spitting out Kodi’s name and ripping at Belle one last time before bounding away into the snowy forest.

Kodi did not waste any time worrying about what the other male was going to do now.  He simply dashed over to the wounded female.  She was laying in a growing pool of her own blood, her beautiful coat coated in the sticky blood.  Her breathing was more labored and her chocolate brown eyes had started to glaze over.

“Belle…” Kodi whispered, leaning toward her.  “It’s okay.  Steele is gone now.”

The female looked up at him, smiling as best she could.  “Thank… you… Kodi…” she said, her voice so soft the red husky had to lean even closer to Belle to hear her words.  She tried to lift her head up off of the blood soaked ground, but it feel with a thud to the ground.

Kodi laid himself down next to Belle, wrapping his body protectively around her.  He glanced around the woods, hoping that he could see someone that could go get help.  But Kodi should have known better than to be hopeful.  He glanced at Belle with worried eyes and tried to smile bravely.  “It’ll be all right,” he whispered to her.

Belle coughed slightly, shivering.  She could feel her eyes getting more and more heavy.  The female tried to keep her head up, but finally it was no use.  She gave up and let it roll back, her tongue lolling out of her mouth slightly.  Belle fought to keep her eyes open.  She was not ready to let go yet.  But soon she knew she could not fight it any longer and they slowly shut.  The last thing she saw was Kodi curled protectively around her.

The red husky nudged Belle gently, one thought crossing his mind.  He knew he had to pay back Steele ten times worse.  It was the only thing to do.  He looked into the sky, his eyes narrowed in sorrow and pure hatred of the black and white husky.  Titling his head back, Kodi howled so loud the starts themselves seemed to quiver.

To be continued...