calling me ‘girlie’. Now good-day whoever-you-are” I snapped, and turned to stride off. I was quickly intercepted.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that!’ There was a pause. ‘I’m new here, see, and I wasn’t sure of your name. I didn’t want to guess or anything and where I come from calling people ‘girlie’ isn’t that big a deal. Unless, of course, they aren’t girls”. I had to laugh at that, but I made sure it was only in my head. I still didn’t speak, but I made no attempt to move. The male sighed. “I suppose here it’s the gentlemanly thing to introduce yourself first. Alright, because it’s you… the name is Sethla”. His name had a slight ring to it, but it was a bit to snake-like for my liking with all the hissing.

“I’m Jenna, pleasure to meet you. I must be going now as I have people to meet” I replied bluntly and turned away to walk back to town. I half hoped that Sethla would offer to join me, but he made no attempt to move.

“Friends eh? I bet they aren’t as cute as you!” he called, and I felt my face flush.

Ignore him. Keep walking I thought. It was a very hard thought to follow as I desperately wanted to glance behind me. It turned out I didn’t have to as I soon heard the gentle padding of paws that slowed to allow their owner to keep pace beside me. There were no more words passed between us on our journey back to town. I kept my anger towards Sethla bubbling; I wasn’t going to let him off easily.

I regretted allowing him to walk beside me the moment I set foot in town. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was staring at me. I lowered my head but didn’t stop. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go; anywhere I went there would be people to stare at me. Thankfully, in some strange sense, I met Dixie and Sylvie.

Good, Dixie will put him off I thought. She gave me a quick glance up and down, and then saw Sethla. Her face lit up in glee, something which made me cringe.

“Jen-nn-na! Who is this handsome piece of fur?” she said breathlessly. That was her way of trying to appear sexy, but so far it hadn’t worked. I shrugged, trying to look as if we had never spoken. Sethla grinned that shiny, white toothed smile. I hated him. He walked closer to Dixie, who almost keeled over. “You-your from that new sled team aren’t you. I thought you were because I haven’t seen you around before and I know ev-“

“The name is Sethla. Thanks for asking by the way” he said curtly. Dixie snapped her jaw closed, but her eyes still glittered. I could almost hear ears straining to hear every word we said and eyes bursting out of their sockets.

“Well…Sethla. I see you have met our friend Jenna” Dixie said slowly. Sethla glanced at me and leaned closer to whisper in my ear.

“These are your friends. I expected someone like you to have pretty friends”. Silence. Apart from the horrified gasp that erupted from Dixie’s throat. I stepped back from the tan husky, my mouth agape.

“How could you say something like that? They are my friends, for your information, and they also happen to be some of the most popular dogs in Nome” I said, a hint of a growl in my voice. Sethla glared at me for a few moments, sizing me up probably. I held my ground.

“Nome’s a small place Jenna. Anyone can be popular in a place like this” he said, his voice low and serious. With his final statement he began to walk away, I didn’t care where to. The truth was I was glad to see the back of him. Dixie’s mouth was still scraping the floor. “Are…you alright Dixie?” I asked slowly. There was a long period of silence where nobody moved, or even dared to breathe in case Dixie exploded with rage, as she had been known to do. At last she opened her jaws.

“Jenna. I do hope you aren’t going to tell me that you like him” she muttered. The way she said it brought a shy smile to my face. The tension from earlier was quickly banished by a few seconds of chuckling. The small, watchful crowd that had formed peeled away and disappeared. Silence settled over the streets once again.

Soft. Warm. Fire flickering; or at least it was in my mind. I lay curled up in my basket, preparing myself for the long sleep ahead. It was quite early for me. Mistress hadn’t come to her chair and Master was still out, although I didn’t count on him coming home. A small whisper drew my ears up and my eyes to the dog door. A shy head had poked through, quickly followed first by a body and then by a second head. I stood slowly, smiling at the twins. I knew them quite well, Tango and Salsa, because we always went for walks together, often at night. Salsa was bubbly and energetic and a professional sled dog, whereas Tango was more reserved and shy. Salsa tilted her head towards the door and I quickly followed. For once I was out of the house and doing something without Dixie or Sylvie. Salsa rallied up the rest of our group and we set off.

The air was cool, tantalising and with a hint of fresh snow. I let my eyes shut momentarily, drinking in the smell and taste of the air. As they peeled apart, quite reluctantly, our group had already started without me. Everyone was being dead silent so no humans woke or tried to stop us. It was a different story once we were away from the houses. Salsa bounded from dog to dog, spurting out whatever first came to her mind and then rushing away before she got a proper reply. The low mumbling chatter soon became a loud, happy rumble that had every member of the group grinning from ear to ear, myself included. We edged nearer to the forest, but for the first time I didn’t notice. Our walk took us under the forest’s shady boughs, but even though it was incredibly dark we crept deeper. It was only when Salsa let out a little squeal of joy that we realised we were being followed.

Padded paws had trailed our excited chatter through the darkness. They had tracked us effortlessly, and we hadn’t even noticed. Our group was mostly females, with the odd guy thrown in simply because he liked who was in the group. First one of our trackers emerged, then a second. Rich, glossy pelts covered well hewn muscle. They mixed quickly into our small group, finding a girl or two to speak to and then leaving with whoever they snared with their words. No one stood a chance against these suave newcomers. I watched, a nagging feeling of loneliness and depression trying to invade my mind. The sled team, and most of the walkers, began to melt back into the darkness, and I and a few others were left as dregs. A black and white form emerged from the trees, making a beeline for my sorry self.

                “Hey.” His introduction was short. I suddenly felt tired, unwilling to speak.

                “Hi”.

                “So, uh…are you Jenna?” The question surprised me. Why would he want to know who I was?

                “Yeah, and you are?”

                “Steele. Sorry to seem so rude but it’s just that Sethla told me about you”. There was my answer. That sneaky, no good…idiot had been spreading rumours about me. I could already feel my face burn red in anger.

                “Well you can tell Sethla that he is a dirty, lying, cheating little idiot and I never want to see him again” I snapped. Steele seemed shocked at first, but his face twisted into what appeared to be a sneer as he tried to hide his smile. I was about to demand what was so funny when I heard a cool, easy voice drift from behind me.

                “Are you going to tell me yourself? If you never want to see me again then that could be a bit of a problem because I certainly want to see you again”. I whipped around as if stung, my face a mix of surprise and anger. I paused with a growl in my throat, unsure as to which emotion to express. I settled for contempt. Sethla had sat himself down a few yards away from me, watching my every move with calm and welcoming eyes. I lowered my own, determined not to feel the same way. Steele moved to stand beside me, glowering with a well hidden anger towards the tri-coloured husky.

                “Well it seems I’m no longer needed. Goodnight Sethla” Steele said, practically spitting Sethla’s name. Sethla’s expression never changed and he didn’t flinch from the vocal attack. Narrowing his eyes, Steele turned and trudged back towards Nome. Both of us watched him go, but Sethla’s attention quickly returned to me.

                “Can we go somewhere private, I want to talk to you…please” he said, his eyes only showing the urgency that he tried to hide from his voice. I nodded, slowly, and trudged after his well groomed form as he led the way deeper into the darkness. I tried not to raise my eyes to look at what was in front of me, but with every branch that passed low enough to hit me on the head I just couldn’t help myself.

He stopped suddenly, turning to face me with a