Cobalt and Iron were adopted before their second month and lived with Mr. Silver, one of the fastest mail deliverers in the state. Silver, a middle-aged, square-built man, lived in Nome in the later half of his life after moving from Idaho, wanting to train race dogs, but the closest to that he could get was being a mail deliverer, which he didn't mind, because he would enter races as often as possible. He trained and wanted the fastest dogs for his team.

If he hadn't known who Cobalt and Iron's father was, he wouldn't have even bothered with them. Hearing about the great Steele in the papers was what got him into dog racing in the first place, and even tho Cobalt and Iron were mix-breeds and were purchased at a cheap price, they would prove to be more valuable, and they were told that every day. The two brothers were proud of who their father was and hoped to be just like him.

Cobalt was the quieter of the two, but he was definitely the most mature, even at a year old. As annoying as Iron was with his antics of teasing and insulting the other dogs was, they were still best friends and were often seen with each other. But Cobalt had his own way of teasing and insulting the other dogs. By not acknowledging them at all. Most of the time he would just walk right past them, with his nose in the air, sometimes making an indirect comment at them just to stir them up. It usually worked.

One winter day, on a rare day when the wind wasn't blowing and the snow wasn't falling and the air was simply dry, Cobalt was marching his way to the post office with Silver at his side. Silver had a 5 o'clock shadow on his face, which was a look better-suited to him than a clean face. He was taking Cobalt to the post office, as he often did to get the pup acquainted with the postmaster, Mr. Connor, since Cobalt would be working for him soon enough anyway. Iron would be too, but he was left at home.

As the two of them made their way to the post office, Cobalt noticed a female husky/Iceland sheepdog mix, about as old as Cobalt if not a bit older, walking in his direction. He knew who she was. She was Melody, one of the most-complimented dogs in Nome, for her age.

Melody had been 9 weeks old when adopted in another town in Nome by a middle aged woman around the age of 45. The lady was a rich one after her husbands death, she had inherited alot of money because her husband used to be a business man and a good one.

The lady who's name was Elizabeth had been lonely after the loss and adopted Melody to smother with love and goods.

As Melody grew up she had gotten used to all the attention she got, she got cooked meals, her fur was cleaned once a week and she got almost everything.

After about a year Elizabeth wanted to move to another town which was Nome and bought a smaller house. Which took Melody some time to get used to but it was okay she was still getting alot of attention as before and now there were more boys, athletic and strong from pulling sleds, which turned Melody on.

But Melody wasn't just into every guy that walked the street, oh no she had her eyes on few and one of them was Cobalt the son of the great Steele.

One day when she walked down the street along with Elizabeth she noticed him and looking up at her owner who was now talking with another lady she saw he was looking towards her so she walked over.

Melody wasn't a shy girl. Though most of the times she had her friends with her but they were both alone so it was okay.

"Hello there!" she said in a seductive voice.

Cobalt closed his eyes and ignored her, walking right past, keeping his posture, even tho deep down he was thrilled that a girl took notice to him. He kept his attention focused on the post office until Silver left him outside, where Cobalt then waited patiently, but when he opened his eyes again, Melody was there, taking him by surprise.


Melody was furious when Cobalt ignored her, but she knew the trick he was using. He had used it at one of her friends before and she had gone home crying, but Melody had been relieved then because she knew she had a change.

Melody followed him until he opened up his eyes again. "You know it's rude to ignore someone" She pointed out to him in an aggressive tone but nothing that was threat.

She was a persistent one, Cobalt thought. "I know," he said, standing up and taking another seat elsewhere. What was she trying to prove? That Cobalt actually does pay attention to whoever he's ignoring? Which sounds odd in itself, but it would be the most logical thing.

Melody was proud of herself for getting him to talk. "So aren't you going to say Hi?" She asked with a cheerful smile just to annoy him. He had already started to talk he couldn't stop now. She sat down in front of him wagging her tail slowly.

Cobalt opened his eyes and gave her a stern look. "If I do,will you go away..." He figured that insulting her would make her leave. "...mutt?" He knew he was a mixed breed, but he never let it phase him just because of...well, who his father was. And his mother was a prize show dog, so he had alot to brag about compared to other mixbreeds. That's how he felt, anyway.

Melody gasped in anger and disbelieve. No one had ever been so rude to her before. But She was not going to let him get away with this, he himself was a mix breed as well.

"Well a MUTT like yourself shouldn't be saying much!" Melody said in a loud voice "I'm only 1/4 a different breed and thats less than you are, and you can't forget one breed you are to... a arrogant fool"

Melody was now standing right in front of him, her face almost touching him and the anger wasn't hidden. "So are you going to say hi or not?" She said slowly so he would hear all of her words clearly.

Cobalt sneered at her, but then smiled upon noticing that Mr. Silver came out of the Post Office, telling him to come. "Hi, and good-bye." he chuckled, brushing past her, running his tail under her chin, then followed his master, head held high. "Maybe she'll follow me home." he thought to himself, secretly liking the attention she was giving him.

Melody was going to say something but before she was able to find any words Elizabeth called. She was still angry at Cobalt but she ignored him and walked the other direction. "He'll pay later" She thought before running happily to Elizabeth while wagging her tail.

Cobalt trotted alongside Mr. Silver, certain that his troubles were done for the day, until Silver stopped, had an afterthought, turned around, and said "Elizabeth?" Cobalt's eyes widened. What was this? Mr. Silver was walking towards that woman. That woman who Melody belonged to! What was he doing! Cobalt barked,trying to get his master's attention, as a way to say "Come on, let's go" but Mr. Silver just hushed him and started talking to that lady!

"I thought that was you!" Silver exclaimed, smiling. Elizabeth smiled with him, not a good sign for Cobalt, both he and Melody knew, just because she was sitting there with a smug grin on her flawless canine face.

Melody watched how Cobalt acted when Mr Silver came over. He didn't want to see her again but faith liked to play a little game on dogs and people like him.

"Oh my Mr Silver how nice to see you" Elizabeth said starting a conversation with Mr Silver.

"So are you going to say hi now?" Melody asked smiling to Cobalt as she sat down in front of him. The thought of him not being able to do anything rude while Mr silver was there made her happy.

Cobalt rolled his eyes in frustration. How could Melody's cuteness make him forget how annoying she is? Well, at least they didn't have to stay like this very long.

Mr. Silver and Elizabeth started talking about how they were. Silver didn't know that Elizabeth was married, but seemed thrilled to know that she no longer was spoken for. It turned out that they were childhood friends at one time, and decided that it was fate that they met again. About an hour later, after a back and fourth conversation between the two humans, Mr. Silver asked Elizabeth if she wanted to go to his house for the evening, and she happily obliged.

Elizabeth started. "Alright, Rodney." She laughed charmingly. Rodney was Silver's first name, which he himself didn't really care for, but obviously didn't mind if Elizabeth called him that. "Just let me take Melody back home--"

"Oh don't worry about her," Silver objected. "She can come with us. I mean Cobalt here seems to like her." Cobalt's eye twitched and his face turned hot. Melody giggled. And with that, Elizabeth and Rodney and their dogs made their way to Rodney's house.

"Just because my master likes your master, it doesn't mean anything." Cobalt mumbled to Melody.

"Keep telling yourself that" Melody said and blinked him before running besides Elizabeth. Melody enjoyed teasing Cobalt but deep down she had a big thing for him which she didn't want to admit.

As they came to Mr Silvers house both the humans went into the kitchen to cook up some meal. But Melody followed Cobalt closely behind. "So want to show me around the house or do I have to be nosy and do so myself?" Melody asked sitting close to him and looking around. She was going to use this change to get to know Cobalt better even if it would be hard.

Just then a familiar, loud, obnoxious voice chimed through the halls of the small house in the next room. "Hey, Cobalt! Who's here?" As he walked in, Iron's eyes widened when he saw Melody close to his brother. Then he smiled big. "Hey, hey, hey, Coco! Bringing home the older girls, eh?" he winked.

Cobalt snorted. "She's just visiting while her master is here." Cobalt searched around for his water dish for a drink after being out in the dry weather. His water dish always moved about between the two brothers always taking it and hiding it from each other. He managed to find it under the chair in that same room they were in and started lapping the water with his dry pink tongue.

"Can I have her too?" Iron teased.

"No." Cobalt growled. He knew his brother wasn't serious, but he had said that anyway, suddenly realizing that he objected and feeling quite embarrassed. But he kept his embarrassment to himself.

Melody looked quickly towards Cobalt after what his answer was towards his brothers tease question. She could feel herself beginning to blush a bit but tried to distract herself. "So Iron would you mind showing me around the house?" She hoped that Cobalt would object to this thats why she asked. She didn't like Iron, he only thought about himself and his big ego.

Cobalt's ears twitched. How could Iron be asked instead now! Iron was the least charming dog around! Cobalt's mind didn't wander to what kind of dog Melody would be just changing her love interest like that (whether how likely or unlikely it seemed to Cobalt) it wandered more to the thought, "Well, if he can get a girl, so can I!"

"I'll do it." Cobalt said without missing a beat. "Iron would find some way to get lost." And he walked out of the room with Melody, leaving Iron confused at first, but he quickly caught on. Iron never saw his brother act like this before, so he had a big hunch that he liked her. He decided to leave the two alone while he went outside, but Rodney seemed a little...busy at the moment, so he had to find a new way out. With plenty of effort, Iron managed to get the living room window open and he leaped through, landing roughly on the hard ground.

Meanwhile, Cobalt was feeling rather silly giving Melody such a short tour of the house. The house wasn't big to begin with.

Melody smiled but tried to hide it. She didn't pay much attention to what Cobalt was showing her, most of the time she was eying him but every time he looked down to her she looked the other direction hoping she wasn't blushing again.

After the tour Elizabeth called the two dogs down to get some food. Melody followed Cobalt down in the kitchen but what she saw there was only one bowl filled with food for both of them. Melody didn't want to be rude so she sat down to let Cobalt eat first.

The malamute/border collie mix looked at the husky mix, then at his bowl, then back at her. He pushed the bowl aside with his paw and walked away with an emotionless look on his face. "I'm not that hungry. You can have it." He said, simply. It'd be rude to eat before a lady, so he sat on the opposite side of the room, while Rodney and Elizabeth conversed some more.

Melody watched Cobalt leave the bowl next to her then down at the bowl. She didn't want to be rude so she ate bit of the food in the bowl before walking to Cobalt again. "There is more food in the bowl and I'm finished you can have the rest" Melody said and smiled before thanking him for letting her eat first.

Cobalt looked after Melody and smiled proudly to himself before eating what was left of the food.

From that day on, Melody and Elizabeth were everyday guests at Rodney's residence, especially when Rodney proposed to Elizabeth and she accepted. Cobalt didn't mind, of course. And Melody didn't either. Every day, they felt each other grow closer and closer to each other, and yet they still kept the same, unknown, mutual distance between each other. They were indeed stubborn about how the other felt.

Even tho they don't celebrate birthdays, when Cobalt and Iron turned two years old (by this time it was only a few months when Elizabeth and Rodney began seeing each other) one day when the two ladies were visiting yet again, it was discovered how Iron felt about the situation. Melody walked in on a heated argument between the two brothers.

"Don't get mad just because a girl likes me and no girl likes you!" Cobalt yelled.

"That's not true!" Iron retorted. "Girls like me! You and Silver are just completely ignoring me! What happened to bros before--"

"So this is a jealousy thing!" Cobalt asked. "That's just like you to get jealous over something stupid like this! Melody and I are just friends and nothing more!"

Melody was already in the room when Cobalt announced that. Though she knew it was true she was really disappointed. She thought they were getting closer maybe more than just friends but they hadn't said anything to each other about liking.

Cobalt was the first to notice her in the room and he saw the expression on her face. Before he could say anything his brother snorted and walked out kicking the door behind him so a click noise was heard. Melody knew what that sound was and wished it hadn't happened. They where locked in the same room.

"Why do you act so stuck up?" Melody asked in a rising voice watching Cobalt carefully.

"I wasn't." Cobalt said, simply, but with a pang of irritation from the previous argument. "He was being rude to me, so I yelled at him." He turned around and thought, "Its none of your business anyway," accidentally saying it out loud, but not reacting to how harsh his words were, but expecting a good bashing from Melody about it.

"All you ever think about is you! do you realize that?" Melody shouted at him getting closer with every word. "I've tried so hard to get your attention but I don't know why anymore" She was fighting so hard to keep tears away. "I'm not even sure why I'm telling you this! it's not like you'll get this through the thick head of yours anyway!" She was standing face to face with him and yelling into his face before walking back to the door scratching and barking hoping that Elizabeth was still down stairs with Rodney.

"Me!?" Cobalt yelled. "Get MY attention! You're acting like I've never given you anything! I give you my food all the time! What am I supposed to do!"

"Food? do you really think I care about your food?" Melody had stopped barking after hearing his respond. "Just like I thought, You only care about yourself!" Melody growled in frustration getting tired of being around him.

"I do NOT!" he yelled again. "You--You're just--! You're just not paying attention!" He was starting to stumble over his words in frustration. "I mean, if you did--if you did, you'd see--"

"See what!" she bellowed, getting dominantly closer to his face.

Cobalt growled, she was going to force him to say it. But if he did, then he'd look like a fool and she'd probably get even angrier at him. He would have said, "That you're extremely stubborn and narrow-minded!" but instead of feeding the fire that way, he put his mouth on hers and kissed her, then broke away.

Melody closed her eyes and after few seconds opened them again looking straight into his. "I---I" But she didn't want to finish the sentence. Before she realized it she was kissing him again and after a minute or so went past she broke away from him closing her eyes before taking a deep breath "I love you" She said in a kind of whisper so he barely heard her.

Cobalt repeated the words to her, but a bit louder. He could feel himself blushing alot, but at the same time relieved that she wasn't angrier at him. She loved him! And he loved her! He wanted to have pups with her and raise a family together, and she wanted the same thing with him and more.

It was a happy time for the two brothers, actually. The next day, Iron came back to his brother and they apologized to each other. But when Cobalt asked why the change in heart, Iron could help but explain what happened that night. He had talked to Quinn (also known as Saba) that evening and they were going to start seeing each other. Cobalt explained what happened that same night and they were both happy for each other, almost to a hysterical degree.

Melody and Cobalt continued expressing their love for each other every time they saw each other. Many of the dogs of Nome were happy for them, some were jealous, and some just felt they weren't right for one another. Either way, the two didn't care, judging by their public displays of affection. Iron and Quinn were a more courteous couple, at least Quinn made them that way (naturally if it was up to Iron, he'd display his affections for her publicly too).

But their relationship had their downfalls. Only a small few of males would keep chasing after Melody, to try and coax her into being their mate and leave Cobalt, which she refused. If she wasn't with Cobalt, she wouldn't mind the attention, but now its annoying. Hank, a male a little older than Melody, who was also a member of the mail team, was the most persistent. Cobalt had to chase him away more than any other male and it drove them both crazy.

And it wasn't long afterwards when Elizabeth kept taking Melody to the vets to see if she was pregnant, which every time she wasn't, Melody grew a little sadder. Cobalt and her would try again and finally on a third try, Melody was finally discovered to be having puppies in a couple months.

The thought of having puppies with Cobalt was almost overwhelming. Most of the time now a days she was thinking how many they would be, what to name them and what genders they would be. But all of this would be found out after few weeks.

Few weeks later she was lying on the front porch with Cobalt who was watching over her. Her stomach had gotten big so it was hard for her to move around much.

That evening Rodney and Elizabeth had gone out to the beach to have a picnic. Leaving the dogs alone at home.

Suddenly a flash of pain went through Melody's body, she looked up at Cobalt in disbelif "The puppies are coming" As she announced that another wave of pain struck her so she nuzzled deeply into Cobalt's fur hoping to get away from it all. She hadn't expected it to be so painful.

"Oh, great," Cobalt muttered, trying to remain calm. This wasn't good. No one was home and they were locked outside. Even if the weather was warm to them, it was still far too cold for newborn pups. "Stay calm, I'll be right back." He felt bad leaving her, but Cobalt had to look for a way in. All but one window was locked, and even if it was unlocked, it was way too high for Melody to jump through it without hurting herself.

Cobalt raced back to Melody. She was panting vigorously. "Can you make it to the boiler room?" Cobalt asked. The boiler room was always open because dog teams were always coming and going and needed somewhere to rest.

Melody shook her head 'no' and hissed in pain. Cobalt leaned in and licked her head. The only thing they could do was go under the house. "Come on," he urged her, helping her stand. They carefully walked down the short steps of the porch and went to the side of the house. He took his paw and pried one of the side boards of the house down until it fell with a soft thump. Under the house it was dark (with the exceptions of the light coming in through the cracks in the floor above them), still cold, but it was out of the wind, and it would soon warm up with Melody and Cobalt's breathing. Their ceiling was low, but that was alright. Melody would need something to lay on. The ground wasn't going to do at all, it was too dirty.

Cobalt looked up at one of the cracks and saw a corner of a floor mat barely stick through it. That'd work just fine, he thought. He quickly grabbed the corner with his teeth, having to push his nose against the wood, and pulled. He kept pulling until the entire rug came through the crack (which had been forced bigger).

Neither of them could believe they had to go through this. If Melody wasn't in so much pain, they would've felt like a couple of filthy animals. Cobalt ordered Melody to put herself on the mat and she did, just then crying out loud.

By the time Elizabeth and Rodney came home, they were wondering where their dogs had gone. Rodney saw a pair of tracks leading to the side of the house and when they followed it, they were surprised to see Cobalt and Melody under the house. There were three little bodies at Melody's side, both whimpering as they ate from their still-rough-looking mother. Cobalt was still a bit concerned about her, but everything had gone well, thankfully.

Melody was so relived it was over. She was still breathing heavily and the pain wasn't gone yet but that wasn't going to stop her from looking over her puppies. She licked them clean before looking down on them taking in the pride that was upon her.

"Look at them!" She whispered to Cobalt who was watching over her. She nuzzled deeply into his neck trying to over come the tiredness that was taking over her body.

"Can you believe we made them?" She asked slowly closing her eyes and letting go of Cobalt to lie down on his paws. Both Rodney and Elizabeth watched them worried. They were to scared to move them because the pups were so young.
Elizabeth ran inside to call the vet but Rodney stood outside watching them.

From behind the next house someone was watching. Growling angrily to himself. Hank saw how Cobalt was looking over Melody. Jealousy was over taking him but he couldn't do anything there because of Rodney. He slowly walked away.

Cobalt saw Hank leave and growled to himself. But he wasn't going to let that dog ruin this time with his mate and his offspring, who will soon grow to be big and strong and beautiful. Rodney helped carry the three pups in his shirt and transported them inside the house in the spare room. Melody was still very tired, so he carried her after them. Their spot was a bundle of blankets in the far corner of the room, where they all slept soundly.

Cobalt stayed up and watched them from the doorway with Rodney and Elizabeth who decided that the pups would need names. One pup was blonde and looked like Cobalt, they decided to name her Sadie after Elizabeth's mother. The second pup was all black with a brown patch on his back, and resembled Steele the most, so Rodney named him after Steele, the dog who inspired him to want to race. Cobalt was satisfied with that name. He was very proud to have a son named after his own father.

The last pup was brown, but they didn't know what to name him right away. Rodney and Elizabeth went back and fourth with names, not really knowing why they were being picky about a name for a pup. They eventually wrapped up the name with calling the pup Jade after the couple's favorite gemstone. And that was that. Neither parent objected to their perfect children's perfect names.

Five weeks past and Melody and Cobalt watched their pups grow proudly. They were still to young to be left alone so Melody and Cobalt were always watching over them.

But now Rodney, Cobalt and Iron were training hard for a big race. Which left Elizabeth and Melody alone at home with the attention seeking puppies.

But Hank wasn't making it any easier on Melody. More than once Elizabeth had to run outside to shout at Hank to keep away, but he kept coming back so Elizabeth started keeping Melody and puppies inside the house only letting them out when she was close by.

Melody worried what he could be capable of and if she even sensed him near she ran to her pups and told them to keep close.

She only hoped Cobalt would soon finish his hard training and be with her as often as he once was.

One day, when Elizabeth was letting Melody and her pups outside for a romp, Hank sat at a corner between two houses, watching the family. No man in sight. No Cobalt in sight. He sat and waited to see if Elizabeth would leave, because otherwise she'd end up chasing him away if he got too close.

The phone rang from inside the house and Elizabeth turned around to enter. Melody tried gathering her pups up to make it inside, because she knew if they didn't get inside, Hank would surely come around soon. "No, Melody," Elizabeth said, stopping her at the door. "Just wait, I'll only be a minute." And she left. Melody walked off the porch to keep an eye out, while Steele, Sadie, and Jade stayed on the porch.

"Finally," Hank thought to himself. "It's my lucky day." And he marched himself over to Melody with his head held high. "Hello, there, Mel." he cooed.

Melody stood in front of her pups and snarled towards Hank. "Go away Hank!" She said as her pups shivered behind her knowing that their parents really disliked this dog. Melody nodded towards them and whispered to them to get closer to the door. The puppies did as she told them and Melody walked slowly behind them never letting her sight down on Hank who was still smirking in front of her.

Hank eyed the dog in font of him, then licked his lips. "So, still with that son-of-a-lowlife? Or are you free for the pickings?" His smile grew at the thought of the latter. He tried forcing himself on her with utter urgency. Melody hollered and not even a second later, Cobalt tackled Hank into the railing of the porch with a snarl.

"What the!?" Hank exclaimed, struggling to get out from underneath the younger, yet taller dog.

Cobalt dug his teeth into Hank's flesh, but only enough to get a grip on him, and didn't draw blood. But they were both struggling and Hank was beginning to get violent.

"Melody! Run to the back! Get Elizabeth!" Cobalt ordered through grunts of frustration. It was hard enough escaping training when he felt that something was wrong, but it was turning out that this fight with Hank was proving to be one of the most difficult things he'd ever done.

Hank whipped his head back and bit Cobalt on the face. The malamute/collie mix cried out in fright rather than pain, even tho blood was drawn, but like last time, he charged forward, pushing Hank onto the porch, adding his fangs to the situation violently. Cobalt didn't know where the pups were, but they would have to be safe from Hank no matter what. If they were smart, they'd have followed their mother.

The new father managed to crush Hank into a corner in the porch and bit at him until he blubbered in mercy. Cobalt let him run, but not before chasing him a few feet, and snorted in his direction before turning back to the porch. He saw Sadie stick her head out from underneath the porch, wide-eyed, and she ran to her father with a snivel. Jade soon followed after her. Cobalt reached down and licked his two children to assure them they were safe.

"Where's Jr.?" Cobalt asked. Sadie and Jade looked at each other, then behind them. They didn't know where he was, so Cobalt walked towards the porch to look for him.

He looked under the porch and he wasn't there. He didn't follow Melody, he knew that now, or else Sadie and Jade would've been with him. Where could that boy be? He called for him, then walked back on the porch to retrace his steps, and gasped. To his horror, he saw the small black and white body of his son Steele, smashed and mangled into the exact same corner Cobalt pinned Hank in.

He couldn't take his eyes away from the gruesome sight. He hadn't looked where he was going! He--He thought all of the pups made their way to safety! How--How could this be! Cobalt's mouth trembled in disbelief and dread. What could he do!

Melody had ran of at once when Cobalt had arrived thinking that all the pups had followed. When she arrived to Elizabeth she barked loudly to get her attention which worked and Elizabeth ran out after Melody. At that moment Melody realized that her puppies hadn't followed.

Her heart started beating faster as she thought about the possibility that Hank had got a hold on them. Her fur bristled and she ran faster through the house.

When she came on the front porch she was so relived to see her mate standing there okay. But she figured something was wrong the second after. Looking over to him she could see the figures of two of her children hiding behind their father but came running to her as she approached.

"Cobalt?" She asked realizing Steele was missing. But as soon as she was standing next to him she could she her youngest son lying on the ground. His body was badly shaped like something heavy had fallen on top of him.
Melody gasped in horror. Tears started to build up as she nuzzled her mates fur for comfort.

Elizabeth had been standing over her and like Melody she had seen something wasn't right as she came out. Looking where Cobalt was standing she could see the small body on the ground. She was to afraid to touch it because he might be alive and if she lifted him up in a wrong way he could die. She ran inside the house calling the vet and begging him to come as soon as possible.

But in the mean time all this was happening Cobalt and Melody stood still. Melody was still crying and Steele's brother and sister were weeping too.

~~~

Hours passed. The vet had already come and gone, but even before that it was too late for little Steele. Cobalt was stolen back to train by Rodney, so he couldn't stay and comfort his mate or his children. Thankfully Elizabeth was still there, but even she could only do so much for Melody's pain.

While Sadie and Jade were safe asleep inside the house, Melody strolled out to the little burial made for Steele, where a tiny hand-made cross stood. She lay her head over the grave as if she was still doing that to her own pup, but alas, she'd never be able to rest her head on Steele's body again. She began to cry as soon as recently-abandoned superstitions came to mind. People often believed that bad things happen in threes. And the thought of something like this happening to her other two children broke her down.

Once it was night time, Rodney, Cobalt, and Iron all returned home from training. They ran long and hard all day, but Cobalt's performance wasn't at all well. Throughout the day he felt so guilty about Steele's death. He should have made sure that all of his pups were safe before getting rid of Hank like that. Iron and Cobalt walked to the back door, not saying anything. They saw Melody outside where Steele was buried, laying down, most likely crying.

Cobalt looked at Iron for confidence, and Iron motioned his head towards Melody. Cobalt nodded and went to her quietly, licking her head.

Melody looked up at her mate who was now standing over her trying to comfort her. She stood up and nuzzled his fur. "How could this happen?" She asked and was now crying again.

She could feel the hatred for Hank deep down bursting up. "Something has to be done to the ******* that killed our son" She said in a bitterly voice.

As Melody had spoken Cobalt twisted awkwardly so Melody looked upon him. Cobalt realized what had happened so he looked away awkwardly.

"Cobalt, what happened to Steele?" Melody asked still standing over her youngest son's grave.

Cobalt looked over what to say. He couldn't possibly tell Melody that it was his fault. She'd be so ashamed of him... Without thinking much more over it, he said, "Hank...took Steele..." Cobalt could see Melody's breath escape her already. "And before I could do anything...he threw him into the porch and...crushed him."

As he "explained" his, a lump in his throat made itself known. The guilt was there, and he knew what it was and why it was there. But he still couldn't bring himself to tell the truth.

Melody broke down again and cried. How could someone do such a thing! She didn't want to think about it but the image of her little son dead came again into her mind making her shiver with horror.

More days went past but it didn't make it much easier for the now one shorter family. Melody had gotten a bit depressed but the one thing keeping her up was her two puppies, Jade and Sadie. They kept asking where Steele had gone and Melody couldn't get herself to tell them what had happened. "He was sold earlier than you two" Melody said feeling the guilt coming over her once again as Jade had just asked about his little brother.

"Can we go see him?" Sadie suddenly asked. She was the oldest out of the three and had a very close bond with both of her brothers.

"He moved to another town" Melody answered feeling the tears coming up in her eyes. Jade could notice it and walked up to his mother and licked her cheek.

"It's okay, mama, He'll come back to visit us someday" He said and Melody nuzzled her children.

More time passed. Elizabeth and Rodney couldn't afford to keep the pups, so they sold them for as much money as they could. Almost no one wanted them because they were mix breeds, but luckily two families wanted them. Melody was sad that they weren't around anymore, but thankfully they still lived in town.

She and Cobalt were happy that they were living their own lives. But soon after Sadie was adopted, Melody hadn't heard from her and she grew worried, but they eventually saw each other. Sadie even had a few friends now. One was Stunner, Iron's only daughter. Jade even did his best to keep in touch.

A few months later, when Melody and Cobalt were finally comfortable with the silence of the pups being gone, Melody's sadness only increased when she overheard Rodney talking to Elizabeth. Melody and Cobalt were sleeping outside together when she was awakened by Elizabeth crying. She listened to what was going on.

"You know I love racing, Liz, and Iron and Cobalt and I have been training so hard," Rodney exclaimed.

"I know, but a whole year, Rodney?" Elizabeth cried. "I don't know if I can last that long without you!"

Melody gasped. What was this about? Cobalt and Iron leaving for a race? For a whole year? Why!

"It's going to be hard, but Liz, if I win this race, we won't have to worry about money ever again!" Silence. "Melody will still be here, and I'll be back before you know it. And your job will last you till then. And when I come back, we can finally start a family."

Their conversation died out and Melody looked at Cobalt skeptically. Why hadn't he told her about this race?

Melody felt the loneliness she had felt when her pups had been taken away, again. She nuzzled closer to Cobalt who only stirred a bit by it.

"When would they be leaving?" Melody thought but didn't want to wake Cobalt up to ask. Soon she fell asleep lying close to Cobalt for the warmth that might be taken away from her for a whole year soon.

The morning after Melody woke up but couldn't feel Cobalt lying next to her anymore. She stood but in flash and looked around. "He couldn't have left for the race already!" The thought went through her head as she ran through the house hoping that Cobalt was somewhere inside.

Finally she came to Rodney's and Elizabeth's bed room and she could see Elizabeth sewing. Melody walked slowly over to her and she laid her hand on her head.

"I wish Rodney didn't have to train so hard for this race" she said and laid the socks she was sewing away and sighed.

Melody was relieved to hear that Cobalt hadn't left already but she shared the pain with Elizabeth. It would be very lonely when they would leave.

After another day of training, which was coming to a close, Cobalt ran home with Rodney and Iron and found Melody. She leaped at him and began to nuzzle him vigorously as soon as he walked in the room where she slept. He looked into nothingness low-spiritedly, feeling bad that he had to leave her. But he had to tell her he was leaving, and he had to leave. His master wanted nothing more than for him and Iron to become great like their father, and Rodney had been so good to them.

"Melody..." he started. "This is difficult to say, let alone to do, but...Rodney, Iron and I are leaving in a few days for a big race he entered us in."

Melody knew this moment had to come but she had hoped it wouldn't. "Oh Cobalt can't you just stay behind?" She knew the answer to the question already. She nuzzled him more not wanting to let go of him.

Cobalt shook his head. "No...I can't." he said. "But I'll be back before you know it. You'll be fine." He assured her, in turn licking her face. She nodded.

The next few days passed by quickly, to their misfortune. Elizabeth and Melody, and even Iron's mate Saba was there to see them off. Cobalt and Iron and their teammates were already hooked up to the sled and were going to head to the Nenana train station. Cobalt paid to attention to Iron and Saba, and focused everything on Melody. He could tell she was trying not to cry, and she reached out and nuzzled him until it was time for him to leave.

As Cobalt ran, pulling the sled, as much as he wanted to, he didn't look back in the direction of Melody. And he noticed Iron didn't look back either. But he knew they were both already missing home and missing their loves.

Melody burst into cry as he left, but looking towards Saba she didn't seem to take it as badly, she just walked off towards town. Melody stayed in the same spot until she couldn't see any sign of Cobalt anymore.

She sighed sadly and walked back home. Deep down she hoped to meet Jade or Sadie on the way back home just to have some company. She was already getting lonely and Cobalt would be away for a year.

As Melody arrived home she heard crying from inside the house. She walked slowly in and found Elizabeth in the kitchen, crying over the sink. She dried her eyes and looked down on Melody who was now nuzzling her feet.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to survive a year without him close" She said and sat down to pet Melody.

~~~

A little more than 11 months had pasted. Melody thought about Cobalt daily, hoping he was alive and alright. Sometimes she cried herself to sleep just thinking about if she had lost him like she had lost her youngest son Steele.

Jade had started training like his father. He was now a sled dog in the mail team. He had gotten Hank's old job which worried Melody a bit because he now had a great hatred towards Jade and Cobalt. But Jade hated him more since he had killed his brother.

Sadie was a friend of Stunner, Iron's daughter or so they acted but she had gotten a bit stuck up since her father left. Melody didn't know why but she loved her children alot and they often came to keep her company while she felt depressed.

But now it was a sunny day and Melody was walking home after a visit to Jade. She really enjoyed the weather but something worried her. She sensed that something wasn't right and kept looking backwards as if someone was following her.

Melody kept walking, not making any direct eye contact with the people around. Then without warning, she felt the side of her collar being tugged ferociously until she lost her balance and fell into an alley. Melody fell into the snow with an "Umph!" and then gathered herself back to normal and looked around frantically. For being a large alley, it was strange not to see anyone there. She swiftly turned around to leave only to see Hank with a maniac grin plastered on his big brown face.

"Hey, there, Mel," he crooned. "Your daughter is the reject of every male in town. And you're without your beloved Cobalt. It seems that the only one with a happy ending is your son, who seemed to have replaced me on my team. Well, even good things don't last. You should know that by now, sweetie." Through his monologuing, he crept ever-so closer to Melody, who did her best to back away from him, only to be blocked by a stable tower of boxes.

Hank grabbed melody by the neck and forced her to the ground. She did her best to struggle free, but Hank was just too strong for her. She started panicking, which annoyed Hank, but nonetheless he left his mark on her. Minutes later, when he finished with her, he pushed her to the ground and departed.

Melody lay on the ground crying for a long time afterwards. She couldn't believe what had just happened and she didn't want to think about it.

"Melody?" A voice came from behind her and She jumped up. "Are you okay?" She could see Saba walking towards her. But she was still shocked from what had happened so she snarled at her, telling her to keep away. Saba looked at her worried but didn't dare to come any closer.

Melody's breath was hard and she ran out of the alley past Saba who watched after her. As she came home she was very nervous and looked up at every movement she heard.

"There you are girl!" Elizabeth said happily walking to her, but Melody growled at her before she could reach out to pet her. "What happened girl?" But Melody only backed away from her and lay down in a corner under the staircase.

Elizabeth was really worried about her and called the vet. When the vet arrived he couldn't do anything, he only told Elizabeth that Melody was in a shock and wouldn't let anyone near her and asked what she had been doing today. But Melody lay there still for the next two weeks only moved to eat and didn't let anyone come closer.

About a week later than expected, Rodney and his team returned home. Rodney was a bit ashamed that he didn't win, but he still received a fair amount of money for being in second. But overall, he just wanted to get home to his beloved wife. Cobalt ran as fast as he could too, and even Iron did, which was good news because he had been acting strange lately...

Rodney ran his team right to his house and didn't even bother to unhook the dogs, yet. He jumped off his sled shouting, "Elizabeth! I'm home! We're home!" before he could make it in the door, she ran out the house into his arms, in tears. They held each other and rocked each other lovingly. They missed each other so much.

Cobalt looked around for Melody, but she wasn't coming out. Something was wrong. He struggled in his harness, barking, calling Rodney to let him go, but he wasn't listening. Cobalt growled. He needed to get lose.

"Calm down, Cobalt." said one of his teammates.

He didn't listen to him. He kept back up and shaking his body as hard as he could to remove the harness. It finally fell off and Cobalt bolted for the house. The door had been left open, and he ran into his and Melody's room, and there she was, laying there.

Melody had woken up hearing the dogs outside which made her worried "Hank" She had thought at first and hidden deeper into the corner.

As she looked up she noticed someone was standing over her. She growled but stopped when she saw it was Cobalt. Tears came into her eyes as she stood up and jumped at him nuzzling him so passionately. "I thought you weren't coming back" She said in between sobs and didn't let go of him.

Cobalt looked at her worried after how she had reacted when he'd arrived but his thoughts had pushed it away from the happiness of seeing his mate again.

"I'm here now," he said, nuzzling her back. They remained like that for minutes that seemed like years.

~~~

They slept together again that night after Cobalt helped Rodney put the sled and the other dogs away. Well, Cobalt couldn't really sleep. For the past year, he hadn't had a decent night's sleep, feeling guilty about putting Melody through all this. The death of their child, the separation anxiety... Even being home he still couldn't sleep. Something was wrong with Melody. But what...?

He wanted to find out, but he didn't want to wake her. He supposed trying to sleep and at least wait until morning would be the best thing to do. He leaned down and kissed her on the head, disturbing her. She raised her head and looked at him with the least bit of sleep in her eyes.

"You're awake?" he asked. She nodded.

Melody didn't want to worry Cobalt with what had happened between her and Hank. "But what if she was pregnant!" The thought made her almost jump up in anxiety. Cobalt looked at her and she relaxed more. "I'm so glad your back!" She said and nuzzled him once again, like she had been doing ever since he arrived.

Cobalt smiled down at her and licked her. He was over reacting. What could be wrong with her? He grinned in the dark and nuzzled her from behind, positioning himself. Cobalt was very slow while preparing simply because Melody seemed...scared for some reason. She was breathing weirdly. He progressed, not questioning, but when they were done, Melody was in tears.

"Mel? W-What's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" Cobalt asked. She kept crying. Something was wrong, it was certain now. "What happened?"

Melody couldn't hide the tears. "I...I" She stopped and hid her face in his soft fur. "It was Hank" She said in a low whisper which Cobalt had hard times hearing. But when he realized what had happened his fur bristled in anger he had almost stood up wanting so badly to run into town and get Hank for all the things he had done to his family. But Melody needed him now so he stayed. Guarding over her like had had wanted to do for the last whole year.

Cobalt growled, "Don't worry, Melody. He'll pay for this."

~~~

More weeks went by slowly but Melody’s condition didn’t get any better. She only went out when Cobalt was with her otherwise she would just stay inside the house often looking out she window for intruders. And another thing which was happening, Her stomach was getting big. That really worried Her "Who's is it?" She kept asking herself and that question sometimes made her cry but Cobalt reassured her it was okay.

“Cobalt I can’t go through this!” Melody said to Cobalt as they lay in the corner together. Cobalt enjoyed nuzzling Melody’s large stomach and sometimes he could feel a kick but now when he heard what she was saying he got really worried about her.

“Melody you’ve done this before. Don’t worry your a great mother” Cobalt announced and nuzzled his mate who repaid him with another nuzzle.

~~~

Week later Cobalt and Rodney had left for a short training since they hadn’t done much of it since they arrived home. Cobalt wasn’t at ease at leaving Melody at home but Rodney made sure that Elizabeth was home with her before leaving.

Melody was afraid, her stomach was huge and Elizabeth thought that the pups of this litter would be at least 8. “What if they’re Hanks?” Melody thought once again lying on the side because that was the only comfortable position compared to her condition.

A huge wave of pain came over Melody which made her yelp. Elizabeth came running into the room as she heard her and looked down on her dog who was breathing harder than ever twitching and turning and another pain wave came.

Rodney was sitting on the ground watching Cobalt and Iron play for a bit. The two brothers were taunting each other in a game of tag, trying to relieve themselves of any stress. It didn't really work, but they tried getting the best out of it anyway. From across the beach on which they were racing, from the edge of town, a little Scottish terrier was barking uncontrollably.

"Cobalt! Cobalt! Cobalt!" the terrier barked. Cobalt looked at the Scotty, not answering back, but the smaller dog knew he had finally gotten the larger dog's attention. "It's Melody! She's having her pups!"

"What?" he whispered, wide-eyed. Disregarding Rodney and Iron's calls or anyone else, Cobalt rushed as fast as he could back to the house. He was very anxious to find out if he was the father. He was positive that he fathered these pups. He and Melody were assured less loneliness for a while now, again.

When Cobalt reached the house, it was as he suspected. The doors were closed and so were the windows, so the best he could do was stand on his hind legs and look through the bedroom window where Melody surely was. Elizabeth wasn't in the room, so maybe she went to get more rags. He looked for Melody, who was in the corner as always. She was laying on blankets saturated with her own blood, and that scared Cobalt. But scared him more was that she wasn't breathing. At all. In her state she should have been panting wildly, but...she wasn't.

He couldn't stop staring at her. And the more he did, the more he realized what happened. And the more reality sunk in, the more tears began to well up. He didn't let them fall. The anger wouldn't allow it. When he could finally break his gaze away from her, he started to maniacally slash his claws into anything he could.

~~~

His heart stopped when he saw two pups laying at her side, one brown and the other black. He still couldn't tell if they were his because Melody was those colors too. Nonetheless, he stared at them, emotionless. He heard Elizabeth talking to Rodney when he came home a short time after Cobalt did. Or rather Elizabeth was crying.

"I couldn't do anything!" Elizabeth said crying now in her husbands arms "She kept yelping and the pain was over whelming for her. The doctor has just arrived and already left, he was to late to save her" She sobbed again "There were to many pups in the litter and she was so small! Only two out of 11 lived!"

Elizabeth noticed Cobalt watching them sadly. She bent down down to pet him but he was trembling with anger and sadness he didn't let her get close.
 
"Cobalt want to see your two daughters?" Elizabeth asked wiping the tears away and holding the door open. She had removed the two pups from their mother's body and they were warm in towels close to the fireplace but still in a safe distance.

Cobalt stared blankly at the two girls at his feet. They were cleaned now and were a shade brighter than before. But he still couldn't tell who's they were. One looked almost exactly like Melody, he noticed, and at that point he had to look away. That pup made him angry and depressed that he basically ruined Melody. Lying to her...killing her son...leaving her...not protecting her from Hank...and he caused her death. Whether he impregnated her or whether Hank did, this litter killed her. He killed her. He killed her, when all this time all she did was love him.

He walked out of the room and from that moment on, he didn't look at the pups. He didn't look at anyone. His days were spent laying in his and Melody's room or he was out visiting her grave, which doubled as their second litter's grave. Even when the pups were old enough to walk, they would approach them, and he would not acknowledge them. He would simply leave. Rodney couldn't even get him out to train, or to run, something he enjoyed doing. Iron was even less help. Elizabeth would pet Cobalt for hours, but Cobalt still did nothing. He was too depressed. Too guilty about Melody and how he treated her and everything.

She didn't deserve her fate. Most people looked down on the more popular types in town, but she was good at heart. And only he knew for certain.

~~~

Rodney tied a rope around Cobalt's neck one morning. "Come on, boy." Rodney said sadly. Cobalt slugged after his master, who took him into town. There was an honest-looking burley man standing next to a plane. He looked at Cobalt peculiarly, removing a cigar from his mouth.

"This is your prize race dog?" the man asked. "Looks a little down in the mouth, eh?"

"Yeah, he won me second in this past year's race. He was close tho." Rodney exclaimed. "But now he...just won't do anything for me. So I'm thinking an entirely different environment will do him good."

"Eh, what do I care. I'm just the deliverer." the man laughed. Rodney chuckled. He knew the man was a good one, but he was still sad about letting his dog go. "Here's Dom's money, Rod. I'll get your dog to him safe and sound."

"Thank you. Dom will pay you."

Cobalt was put in the plane with the man and they flew far away. Further than Cobalt went to race. It was definitely further north. Or further west. He couldn't tell because he fell asleep several times. When they landed, Cobalt woke up again. This place was different. It was still snowy, but it reeked of dogs. When he got a good look around there were dogs everywhere. All of them were surely teams and oddly enough this made Cobalt excited.

Cobalt was then given to another man, who he figured was Dom. His new owner smiled down upon him like he knew him forever and pat him on the head. He spoke in a tongue Cobalt didn't understand, but Dom sounded nice enough.

The two of them and five other dogs with them boarded a train nearby. They were going to race, Cobalt knew. He did this before with Rodney. None of the dogs talked to Cobalt, which made him rather sad. Did they know of his cruelty?

~~~

They ran the race, which wasn't nearly as exhilarating as Cobalt expected. When they lost the race, the dogs still didn't speak to him, which made Cobalt even sadder, thinking that it was his own fault. He didn't see who won the race, but he didn't really care. One rainy night after the race, in a barn where all the dogs were kept, Cobalt lay in a corner thinking about Melody again, until his thoughts were interrupted by an old grey-nosed malamute with a deep-throaty voice.

"That was some pretty nice racing you did out there." the malamute said. "I wouldn't think less of a fellow malamute."

"I didn't win the race, old man." Cobalt said, finding it weird using his voice for the first time in a long time. "Besides, I'm only half malamute."

"Ah, but for a mutt, you sure can run. I'm sure you'd do better alone, eh?"

"Maybe. But I haven't been better off alone since my girl died."

"Oh...I see...Well, if its worth anythin'" the old one continued, sounding sly. "I know something, er, someone who'll help you with your loneliness." Cobalt looked at the old malamute. "If you're willing to enter an all-for-one race against some other dogs."

What was this old man up to? What was in it for him? Sure Cobalt would win some company, a mate, judging by how suggestive the malamute made it sound. But what would the malamute gain? But he was an old-timer, how harmless could he be? "Who's this prize we're talking about?"

The malamute nodded and grinned. He motioned his head towards the door and walked towards it, urging Cobalt to follow. He did, and looked through the door into the misty night. There was a vehicle across the street and in the vehicle was a caged husky. Sure enough it was female.

"Quite the catch, eh?" The malamute snickered. "You win this race, the pretty female is yours, and you can do whatever you want with her."

Cobalt didn't really like how this guy talked about this female. He reminded him of Hank, but he refrained for biting him just the same. This female must be won. "I'm in." Cobalt said, hopefully.