Let me just start by saying I struggled hard with writing this chapter. I thought I had it done several days ago but when I read through it to check for errors, I saw that I had contradicted myself on a lot of things. I had to go back and answer a lot of questions I didn't know the answers to yet. Ended up having to rewrite huge pieces of it two or three times to get everything where i liked it.

Also, I'll go ahead and let you know, some chapters may be more adult than others. I kind of just let the story flow. Sometimes what i write is far from the way it was in my head.

Evil-Copper and Roguewolfpack2, thank you so much for the reviews. I'm really glad you liked the first chapter and I hope chapter 2 is just as good!

Chapter Two

Dart

This isn't good. This is not good. Oh, this is so not good. He's going to be so angry. . . this wasn't supposed to happen!

Tonight had actually been a night the jet black female collie had been looking forward to. Now, however, it had changed to terrible dread. She and two others were supposed to meet with their leader, a large white shepherd named Dart, and she couldn't wait to hear his praise for completing their job without a single problem.

But then she found out that the dog had died. Word of his death had spread fast. The news hit her pretty hard for someone who didn't know the dog.

If he was dead, then they had failed. She wasn't yet aware why he was so important, but she had been told not to kill him, and now he was dead. Whatever the reason was, that didn't matter to her. She had failed.

She had spent most of the last few days in the boiler room, keeping her ears open for any mention of what had happened to the dog. At first, it seemed like an odd coincidence that the very same night they had pulled off their plan, a dog named Kodi had been euthanized.

The more she listened, the more she started to feel like something wasn't quite right.

One week went by and finally the morning came. She had found a meal and brought it back into the boiler room with her.

As she ate, she listened to a group nearby converse about a dog named Dusty.

"She hasn't been seen since he died."

"I heard she's been sleeping at his grave every night since they buried him."

"She's in a right state, the poor dear."

Poor girl. . .

They continued talking about what had happened to Kodi, like it was the first time they had heard about it.

"Why did he get put down anyway?"

"Collapsed lung I think."

"How could you tell that?"

"Saw him. Before they put him in the ground."

"No you didn't."

"I did. One side of his body was all swollen up. He looked like he'd been through the mill."

"What do you reckon happened to him?"

"Dunno, couldn't say for certain. He was pretty banged up."

"Do you think he was abused?"

"Possibly. Something got a hold of him. Beat the hell out of him from the look of him. Or maybe. . . someone."

She almost choked on her food at this.

It can't be. . .

Just then, the door swung open and three more dogs walked in. A large brown dog, an even bigger gray dog, and between them, what looked like the ghost of what used to be a dog.

Without knowing who the other two were, there could be no mistaking who the third was.

In a blink, all the chatter stopped. After so much noise around them, such silence seemed deafening.

She watched them carry Dusty to the front. What they said had very little meaning to her, but it was plain as day that Dusty was miserable.

Suddenly, dogs all around her were getting up and surrounding Dusty. She was one of the few who didn't. All she could do was watch from her spot in the shadows.

When Slyth stepped forward, her jaw dropped. Her worst fears confirmed. Unable to bare watching anymore, that was when she made her exit. Leaving the remainder of her meal behind.

The rest of her day was spent in various states of sickness and worry. Her mind played that night over and over, trying to puzzle out how it had gone so wrong. The whole while, watching the sun rise and fall. At last, as the sky darkened steadily into nightfall, It was time to go. At first she walked slowly until she left the town borders. Then she jogged and eventually sped up to a sprint.

They were all supposed to meet in a private location out in the rocky hills and bluffs about three miles away, well away from any prying ears. The closer she got, the more uneasy she felt.

She looked around warily once she had arrived at their normal place. It was a small relief to see she was the only one there, however briefly.

In next to no time, the other two dogs showed up. Both of them looking about as bad as she felt. They looked at each other, but said nothing.

Her ears flicked up at the sound of approaching steps from behind her. They all bowed their heads then. Dart had arrived.

"You are without a doubt, the dumbest dogs i've ever met." Every one of his words seethed with malice. "I wonder if you even realize how badly you blundered this incredibly simple task. . ." The large dominating shepherd looked intensely at each of the dogs in front of him with an expression of sheer loathing.

"I thought I made it quite clear that you were not to kill him." His voice was completely calm, despite the anger his words carried. He kept his voice low, closer to a whisper. Which was actually, somehow, worse than him shouting.

One of the three cowering dogs in front of him foolishly spoke up then. "But, boss we - "

"BUT . . . what?" He interrupted the dog, rounding on him viciously. Unmistakable rage in his expression. The dog, a mixed grey male, realizing his mistake a moment too late, didn't respond. He shrank down and turned his head away.

"I believe you had something you wanted say, Gabriel?" The large shepherd growled, his face mere inches away. There was no response. Just a small, terrified whimper.

He stood over him, teeth showing, daring him to speak again. When the dog didn't, he stepped away, completely disgusted.

"Pathetic" He spat, then looked at the other two dogs who immediately averted their eyes.

"Perhaps one of you have something you want to say?" He now wore a cold smile.

Silence hung thickly in the air for several long moments. Then, surprisingly, the smaller brown male in the middle, a husky, stepped forward.

"Yes, Storm?"

"Dart, I mean sir, we. . . we. . ." It looked like his courage had failed him before he could finish. Neither could he stand to look back at him any longer.

"Yes?" Dart repeated, now approaching him.

Storm stuttered a few times then shook his head. Finally, he stomped his paw forcefully into the snow "Sir, we didn't kill him!"

"And yet he is dead." Dart was rather calm now, like he had expected this. His eyes narrowed. "Tell me, then, how exactly did that come to be. . ."

Storm flinched at his words. His mouth hanging open, a look of regret falling on him. "I. . . I don't know, sir."

Dart rounded on him at these words.

"Now, imagine that. You don't know. . ."

Storm winced and retreated back.

Dart stepped away, looking at both Storm and Gabriel with revulsion. He turned to the last dog. "Ah. . . Nikki."

She was the only one who didn't cower when he spoke. It wasn't fear in her eyes, not completely. it was more like shame.

"Maybe you would like to explain it to these two then." It sounded like a question, but she knew it wasn't.

She met his gaze for a moment, then bowed her head. Speaking to the ground, rather than any of them in a trembling and low voice. "He died of his wounds."

The silence fell heavily again on them all. Nikki's legs began to shake under the weight of it and Darts stare.

"Exactly. . ."

Dart paced around her a few times, hardly paying any more attention to the other two. The look on her face looked more and more pained with each step that crunched into the frozen snow.

"I wonder if you are even aware of what else you did wrong."

Nikki couldn't bare to look up at him. She knew alright, but she couldn't stand to admit it. The iciness of his words cut into her and she trembled, fully expecting him to hit her.

"Yes. You do know. Of course you would Nikki." He reluctantly turned to the other two dogs. "Can either of you two tell me?"

Gabriel and Storm looked up then, both of them looking lost and stunned.

"That's what i thought. I'll put it this way. I told you to get rid of a dog for me, a certain wild dog. One that you have seen before in fact. What you actually did, was kill a local dog. One who had absolutely nothing to do with your job."

He grew visibly more and more heated as he spoke, now pacing back and forth from Gabriel, to Storm, to Nikki, and back to Gabriel. Both Gabriel and Storm still looked lost, or were in denial.

It was Nikki who finally spelled it out for them. "We attacked the wrong dog."

At first, Dart didn't say anything. He stopped in front of her and looked her over.

"Right you are, Nikki." He felt suddenly annoyed at the pained expression on her face.

"That dog. . ." Dart began, lifting one of his paws up and examining a claw interestedly.

"Wasn't. . ." he suddenly raised his paw.

"Slyth!" He then hit Nikki so hard, she was knocked to the ground.

She cried out, three long cuts burning on her cheek from the blow. He stood over her and pressed his paw to her throat threateningly. She didn't make one move to fight back. It was like she felt that she deserved this. The pain she felt went deeper than just physical.

Dart didn't let her back up for several long minutes, practically nose to nose with her. He could see a lot of emotions battling each other in her eyes but did not care. Not then at least, he was actually kind of enjoying it. No, he was really enjoying it.

He bared his teeth, daring her to say something else. All he needed was one more reason and he might just end her life right here. A few tears welled up in her eyes and her lip trembled but she didn't make a single sound. It felt like ages went by before Dart finally got off her. He pulled his paw away and stepped over her.

When Nikki got back to her paws, she looked mortified. She put one of her paws against her stinging, bleeding cheek, then drew it away. The sight of her own blood made her cringe.

Gabriel's eyes shot back and forth from Nikki to Dart then to Storm. Trying to make sense of what he had just heard.

"But we followed him. We made sure that it was Slyth before we did anything." It was Gabriel this time. Again, speaking without thinking. "He looked just like Slyth."

Unfortunately for him, Dart had ran out of patience with this and he had just stopped in front of Gabriel.

Dart hit him so fast and so hard, Gabriel had no time to react. His body dropped like a rock.

Gabriel's world went spinning then. He barely had time to think before he felt one clawed paw press down very firmly on his cheek, pressing his face into the snow. He began to yell when he felt the claws sink deep into his flesh.

Nikki and Storm looked away, wincing at the dogs tortured sounds.

"If you're not going to use your eyes, I don't think you need them." Dart seethed into his ear.

His claws began to rake across Gabriel's face, slowly cutting their way to his eye.

Gabriel felt the sudden warmth and wetness on his face as the blood began to flow down his cheek and over his muzzle and even into his eye. Just when he was certain Dart would close it forever, he felt some deep seeded courage he had never known was there well up in him. Without thinking, he reached one paw up and sank his claws into some part of Dart. Wherever he had found the courage to do it, he must have also found the strength. With a tremendous effort, he managed to push Dart off him. When he found himself back on his paws, he almost moved to attack Dart. Anger burned in him almost as bad as his face. Somehow, he resisted the urge. Maybe because he knew he couldn't beat Dart, or maybe because things started spinning again.

Dart snarled and jumped back from Gabriel. More surprising still was the sudden laughter that burst from him audibly. There wasn't a trace of anger in the look Dart now gave the dog before him. He was smiling, looking delighted by what had just happened.

"Well, well, well. Gabriel. I'm shocked! You do have some fight in you after all!"

Gabriel had no response. He panted from the effort and looked back at Dart stoically out of one eye, half his face matted with blood.

"You should have let me take the eye. Pity. That's a good look for you. Now you look more like someone I wouldn't want to mess with." Dart flashed a toothy smile at him.

Gabriel still said nothing.

"You seem to have finally learned how to hold your tongue as well. That's very good. I think you're not as hopeless as I had thought."

Dart looked over to Storm and help up his blood stained paw "Anything you care to add, Storm? Maybe you'd like one to match Nikki and Gabriel here. . ."

Storm looked terrified by the very thought. He shook his head slowly from side to side. "N-no, sir."

Dart rolled his eyes and turned away from them. The fun was gone now. He was done with them. Without even turning to look at them again, he barked one time. "Go."

Then, almost like an afterthought "Not you, Nikki."

He waited for the sound of Gabriel and Storm's steps to fade away before turning around to look at her. Snow still clung to her fur in patches here and there. Her cheek was still bleeding too. Small red drops fell from her face as he watched her. She met his gaze and stepped closer to him.

"You're hurt." Her voice was small and there was real, genuine concern in it. She cast her eyes down to Dart's shoulder where Gabriel had opened up a long jagged gash. His blood trickled down his arm to his paw where it mingled with Gabriel's blood.

There was something to be said about the fact that she was more concerned about Dart's wound than the one he had inflicted on her.

Dart looked down at it for the first time, as if he only just noticed. He shrugged, thinking nothing of it.

"Nice one from Gabriel, the brainless wonder."

Nikki bent her head down towards the wound to lick it clean but Dart pushed her back with one paw.

"That won't be necessary Nikki."

She frowned and started to say some kind of objection but Dart cut her off.

"That's not what I had you stay behind for." For a moment, he actually sounded kind. His smirk fell to a frown when another drop of blood dripped from her fur, drawing his eyes back to her face and what he'd done to her.

"You know I hate it when you make me hurt you." He almost sounded regretful now.

Nikki smiled "I don't mind. I don't like it either, but I know you only hit me when I deserve it."

"Yes. . . only when you force me too, and you definitely had it coming to you tonight."

Nikki bowed her head.

"But you already knew that. . . of course you did." His voice had gone back to its normal cold tone.

"I hope you understand how much this. . . complicates things." He breathed.

She shuffled her paws, clearly fighting the urge to speak.

"I would have expected nothing more from those two. But not you Nikki. . . I'm very disappointed in you."

The words seemed to hurt her more than if he had hit her again. She broke her silence then, unable to contain the words any longer.

"Let me fix it! I can do it, I can make it right." She sounded determined. The pained expression transforming into an intense look that masked any and all pain she might have still felt. It made Dart chuckle.

"How exactly do you plan to bring back the dead?"

Not to be outdone, Nikki shook her head. "There's another way." Dart didn't respond so she continued. "I don't think Slyth even suspects our mistake. I thought he might but when I saw him in town today, he only talked to some girl who looked pretty upset about the dog that died."

"The dog you killed, you mean."

Nikki winced at his words, but nodded her head all the same.

"So you think you deserve a second chance?"

Nikki nodded her head again. "I know I do, and I am going to go alone this time."

Dart laughed. "Oh Nikki, are you trying to impress me? Did Gabriel make you jealous?"

Nikki actually laughed with him this time. "You know what I can do." A sudden light sparked in her eyes. The suggestive tone of her voice was not lost on Dart. He rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, we both know what you can do." There was a tone of disinterest in his voice now.

"I don't think you do, Dart. You seem to have forgotten. Perhaps you'd like a. . . refresher."

A subtle giggle had made it's way into her voice.

Dart hit her again. This time not nearly as hard as before. He didn't draw blood with this strike. It was just enough to make her hold her tongue. She didn't even look hurt by it, just disappointed.

"Stay focused Nikki. Tell me, what are you planning to do?" Dart pressed, acting as if nothing had just happened.

Nikki looked away from him. "I'm going to do what i do best. I'm gonna lay a trap he won't know he's caught in until it's too late, and then," she turned her eyes back to Dart "my love, you and I can handle him." There wasn't a trace of doubt in the way she said it. Like it had already been successful in her mind.

"What kind of trap, I wonder." The amused look he gave her said he already knew.

"Considering how bad you've already messed this up, I hesitate to let you try this again. You sound almost too confident in your plan."

Nikki stood up straight and met his eyes.

"If you doubt me, let me prove myself."

She said it so matter of factly, Dart had no more objections. He nodded his head. "Very well, then."

Their conversation seeming to be over, Nikki rose and turned to leave, still feeling misery and disappointment bubbling up in her stomach. She hadn't gone more than a few paces before she heard Dart speak again behind her however.

"I thought you said you wanted to prove yourself. Why don't you. . . refresh my memory." A sly smile spread devilishly across his face.

Nikki felt the bubble in her erupt into fierce longing and need. The same grin appearing on her as she turned back to the large shepherd.

"Oh this time, I'm going to make sure you never forget again."

Afterwards, Dart did let her clean his wound. He even cleaned hers.