Chapter 10: The Lover, the Singer, and the Deceiver

"What are you doing here?" Cole asked through grinding teeth.

"Me? I was here strolling through the yard when I hear your dreary voice. Miss your mother?" Danny asked as he casually circled Cole and Alexandria.

"Go to hell," Cole growled as he turned to face him.

"Someone is a little testy today. Are your wolf traits coming back to you-"

Cole threw himself at Danny and landed on his enemy. He pushed him down and pinned his legs to the snow as he closed his mouth around Danny's neck. "Say another word and I'll rip your throat wide open," Cole growled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Danny asked as his eyes darted back and forth from Alex to Cole, trying to find a way out.

"Cole, no!" Alex yelled as she tugged at her brother's tail.

"I think Danny needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut, Alex. This doesn't concern you," Cole said as he tightened his jaw.

"It does, though…he…he's my mate, Cole," Alex said.

Cole loosened his grip and turned to look at Alex eye to eye, "What?"

"Yes, Cole. We are mates and I love him," she said averting her eyes.

Danny sat up on his hind legs and smiled, "Yeah, Cole, and it was a real nice ceremony too. All the dogs were there, except you of course-"

"Another word out of you and you're dead, mate or no," Cole said. Danny closed his mouth sand looked at the two siblings. "How?"

"How what?" Alex asked.

"How did you fall in love with that arrogant, son of a-"

"He reminded me…of you," Alex said.

Danny and Cole's mouth dropped open and they simultaneously asked, "What?"

"How could I remind you of this…this-"

"Sexy purebred?" Danny finished with a smile.

Cole growled as he glared at his childhood bully, feeling his ears grow hot. "Because of that, Cole," Alexandria said.

"Alex, he's arrogant, cocky, and not mannered at all-"

"Just like you," Alex interrupted.

"No, I am not," Cole said.

"Yes you are. 'Oh, I can do that flawlessly' or 'I don't even have to try'!" Alex exclaimed impersonating Cole. "No matter what you say about him, he is a good dog at heart. Maybe you should try to get to know him better-"

"Fat chance. Like I want to try and get to know my childhood bully," Cole said as he started to walk away.

"Cole, where are you doing?" she yelled after him.

"I'll see you at the show, tonight," Cole replied.

"Cole! Cole, c'mon!" Alex tried to reason with him. "You have to always stop acting like a child!"

"Try telling someone who actually gives a shit!" Cole shouted as he rounded the corner. He walked into one of the alleys and jumped up on a big wooden crate. He saw boxes stacked up on top of one another and decided to go up to the roof of the house that was next to him.

He jumped up on the crates, one after another and finally made it to the roof where the town seemed small, almost miniature. Cole let his back legs sag to the wood on the roof as his front legs did the same. He let out a huge sigh, looking out onto the talking and laughing people.

How could she do this? She knows I hate that ass. And what was all this 'Because he reminded me of you' bull? Am I really like Danny? Am I a bully?

Cole flashed back to the first day he met Kodi, in that alley where he was resting. And Kodi walked up to him, trying to be nice, but Cole just tried to shoo him away like a pest. When he threw Kodi to the ground and made the comment about his mother…he was a bully to the poor husky mix.

His eyes drooped as he looked out onto the orange and purple sky. His heart could barely recognize the body it was in. A bully? No, no, Cole is no bully! It was probably saying.

Wow… Cole thought as he picked his head up and sat on his hind legs. I am like Danny. But maybe, Danny has changed. Maybe he's better than he was as a child. Or maybe he is still that arrogant, cocky, ass…oh, what's the use? It's not like I can break up a mating. Nor would I want to. She looked happy with him, even though she was cowering in fear of Danny dying in a pool of his own blood. She wants to be with him. So be it. I guess, I'll just have to live with it.

Cole dropped his head again and rested it on his arm. He nodded his head and slightly opened his eyes to the scene unfolding before him. The people were closing up the stands and the shops, the last of the birds could be heard chirping, and the sky was getting darker every second.

He closed his eyes again and heard the wood creaking under him as he settled onto the roof. A little nap never hurt anyone…

{{_}}

What only seemed like seconds later, Cole heard flapping coming closer and closer. Finally, the noise was right next to his ear. He opened his eyes and found one big bird's eye staring into his.

Cole jumped back and yelped as he fell back on his haunches. He started to pant as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. His eyes were wide and looking from left to right as he searched for his attacker. The flapping noise could be heard again but this time the creature landed on Cole's chest.

Cole looked up and saw Taku smiling down at him, "Sleep well?"

Cole shoved the bird off of him as he groaned, "There better be a good reason you woke me up."

"If you consider your sister's show important, then yes there is," Taku said.

Cole put his paw to his face, covering his eyes as he moaned again, "Crap, I forgot all about that! Um, how late are we?"

"Only about ten minutes. If we leave now, we can make two of the last songs," Taku said as he floated in the air and landed on Cole's back.

"Alright, let's go," Cole said as he jumped off the roof.

{{_}}

Taku and Cole ran to the shack that he remembered from his childhood. Like Nome, this town had a place for the dogs to hang out and sing and dance and pretty much have a good time. The one in Nome was bigger, but this shack was just a little more to Cole's liking.

The only thing different from this shack and Nome's, other than the size, was that there was only one big door instead of a double.

The two could hear music as they walked up to the big door. "Well this seems cozy," Taku muttered.

"You haven't seen anything yet. You might want to stay close to me. I don't know what the dogs in there will do to you," Cole said.

"Good idea," Taku said as he nestled into Cole's back fur even more.

Cole pushed open the wooden door and the music consumed him into a trance. His heart seemed to beat to the drums and his steps walked to the beat of the music. A grey husky was up on stage singing a song that he wasn't familiar with. But it didn't matter because just as they walked in the music stopped and the crowd of dogs cheered.

Cole grabbed a water bowl from one of the dogs offering them and took a seat near the wall but close to stage. The band looked to be ready to do another song as they were checking their instruments. Alex was chatting with the drummer when Danny came onto stage and hugged her. They started to talk and Danny took his place on stage next to Alex.

So Danny's a singer, huh…didn't know that.

"Hey, who's that with your sis?" Taku asked.

"Danny, her mate," Cole replied as he lapped at his water bowl.

"Her mate? Seems everyone is getting action but you," Taku snickered.

"Haha, very funny," Cole said as he sat down causing Taku to fly to the ground next to him.

Someone tapped on his shoulder. Cole thought someone bumped into him but again there was a rapid succession of tapping. "Hey, you new here, kid?" the dog asked. That voice sounded so familiar…but he couldn't place it.

"No, I used to live here. Just visiting my sister," Cole replied, his eyes still trained on Alex and the band.

"Who's your sister?" the dog asked again.

Cole pointed to the girl on stage, "Her. Alexandria." Silence. The dog behind him was staring at the back of the wolf dog in awe. Cole turned his head slightly to the left as he searched for whoever was questioning him. Cole saw a partial ear that was covered in golden fur with a brown tip. Cole held his breath and whispered the name, "Kaltag?"

"Cole? Is that you? Hey, Cole's back!" a high pitched voice squeaked.

Cole turned fully around and saw a small purple dog smiling up at him. On his right was a bully chow mix and on his left, a golden husky.

"Kaltag, Star, Nikki?" Cole said as he swiveled around. "What are you doing here?"

"We live here, you stupid wolf dog," Nikki replied with a smile.

"Are you going to be here long?" Star asked.

Cole shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I mean I have to go see Al-"

He stopped himself. Even the name sent him staring at the ground, trying to find something that drew his attention away from her. Flashes of her shining face popped into his mind as he remembered the one night they kissed on the beach.

"Cole," Kaltag said, tearing him away from the floor.

"Uh…huh?" Cole muttered.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"He just got out of a relationship," Taku said.

"Taku!" Cole exclaimed.

"What? They were going to find out anyways," Taku said

"Really? I thought you were tougher than that. I mean, I remember when you were a kid, but you grew up fast after that," Kaltag said.

"Aw, it's alright, Cole. We'll be here for you," Star said.

"Just out of curiosity's sake…who was his girl?" Nikki asked.

"Aleu," Cole said.

"Aleu?!" Kaltag exclaimed. Cole looked up with an eyebrow raised. "Um, you mean Balto's daughter?"

"Yeah…and?" Cole asked.

"No, it's nothing. Just, he's the one who got Steele got kicked off the sled team…and I know Steele is after you. He hates Balto and all of his kids. So….I think you can piece it together," Nikii replied.

"You mean…oh shit…that's why he hates them. God, it makes so much sense now!" Cole shouted. "We both got him kicked off the team and now he wants to take vengeance out on us. That means…Aleu's in trouble."

Cole shoved past the three dogs as Taku landed on his back. "Cole, just stay here the night. If we move now, we'll probably get lost and…all the creatures…"

"Look, Taku we have to try and get her alright? We have to try-"

"Cole," Taku said sternly. He fluttered down on Cole's snout and looked him in the eye. "She left you. She doesn't want to see you. End of story. From what you told me, she is a strong girl. Let it go." Cole stopped and started to talk but Taku wrapped his wings around his mouth. "Cole. Let-it-go."

Cole sighed. He pushed Taku off his snout and said, "Fine. We'll stay the night."

Taku let out a puff of air, "It's a start."

"Cole, what's going on?" Alexandria said as she walked up to them. "Is everything okay?"

Cole nuzzled her, "Everything's fine."

"Why'd you push past all those dogs?" she questioned.

"False alarm. Look , don't worry about it. And besides, don't you have a show to perform?" Cole asked.

Her eyes lit up, "Ready to be blown away?"

Cole smiled at his sister, "Wouldn't miss it."

She smiled and walked back to the stage. She stepped up to the mic next to Danny and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Alright everyone. This next song is Fell This Moment by Pitbull."

Cole walked back to Kaltag, Star, and Nikki and took a seat next to them, ready to listen to his sisters gold voice.

{{_}}

After the song was finished, Cole said his goodbyes to his three sled dog friends and walked back to Alex's house with her and Danny. On the way they told him how they met and how they fell in love. It was actually touching. After their parents had been shot, Alex ran off to the train yard and hid in one of the trains. Danny was walking by himself when he heard someone whimpering. So he found her and comforted her and from then on, they knew they were meant for each other. They became mates last spring and she was already pregnant with her first litter.

"I thought you looked a little bit pudgy," Cole joked.

"Shut up," she said as she punched him in the arm.

They finally made it to the house and Cole took his spot on the carpet in the living room. Taku settled on the television and shook his body so all his feathers rose and fell. Danny walked upstairs and settled into the small bed next to his masters.

Alex laid next to Cole, resting her head on his paw. "I missed you, you know?"

"I know. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going," Cole said.

"Just promise me you won't do it again," Alex said.

"A promise is only as good as the person who's saying it," Cole replied. Alex giggled as she closed her eyes. "I love you, sis."

"Love you too," she said as she fell asleep.

And I'm sorry at what I'm about to do, Cole thought as he let his eyes fall and his dreams soar.

{{_}}

Steele raced through the trees at his top speed, the team falling in behind him. They flew through the forest, each of their tongues hung out of their mouths.

"C'mon, Steele! Faster, faster!" his musher yelled.

Steele let his back legs fly and his front legs flew at the sound of his master's voice. He looked around the forest and did not see a trace of those mail dogs. They were either way ahead or way behind. An he bet that they couldn't be that much ahead, with the team that they have.

The trees started to get thinner and the forest seemed to disappear behind them. The twisted branches and snow covered logs were replaced by a wide clearing. Steele looked back and watched the trees get smaller and smaller.

"Hey, Steele," the dog right behind him said. Steele looked back at him with an annoyed glare. "Look ahead."

Steele twisted his head and saw the tops of houses. Nome. As they came closer, people were looking out searching for the first team to come in.

Steele let out a laugh as he heard barking behind him. The race was theirs.

(A/N) Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update…life and all. But yes things are heating up and Cole is right back on his usual, deceptive track.

And if you are following my other story, Dream of a Wolf, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I just have been having some major writers block. So I ask that if any of you that read that story have any suggestions (or requests) for me, please PM me. It would be greatly appreciated and I would love to use as many ideas that you guys give as possible.

Until the next update, have a great week and see you all then.