By Wolfie Steel.

The following morning Steve and I along with the rest of the guys headed down to the hotel’s restaurant for what could prove to be our very last breakfast of the competition, but gone was the nerves, and the stress and even my cramp though not completely gone was a hell of a lot easier, we had done what we set out to do, namely humiliate Shaun and the rest of the members of Sound As A Hound.

As we begin to take our seats at the table that is laid out ready for us there is a round of applause which had been started by none other than Steve Tyler. Once Steve and I have seated the Pit Bull stands behind us and puts a hefty paw on our shoulders he then addresses the band.

“That was one hell of a fine set you performed last night guys even with your drummer cramping up badly, and yes Sam I did see your pain, from here on in guys you have nothing more to prove, and I am sure that I can speak for the guys from Def Leopard too when I say that you have earned the right to be here in the final, win or lose guys you can hold your heads up high.”

The Pit Bull then hands Steve a piece of paper with a cell phone number and personal email address written on it.

“Me and the guys are gonna be staying here in the UK for three months because in two weeks we will be starting our UK tour, Mister Jacks I would be honoured if you and Jacks and Aces Wild would join us on the tour as our supporting act, I promise you this, we will play a few numbers alongside you too.”

Steve Tyler holds out his paw which my loving Rottweiler takes into his own and shakes to seal the deal, the Pit Bull begins to head back towards his table and looks back at us over his shoulder.

“We will be in touch.”

With that said he rejoins his band while we sit there in stunned silence trying to take in what has just happened, a band as world class as Aerosmith asking an up and coming band such as Jacks and Aces Wild to be their support on their UK tour is so much of a big deal and would undoubtedly help put us firmly on the map.

After a while, we manage to finish our breakfast and then we head back out towards our waiting bus for what is going to be our last chance to say that we have shared breathing space with two of the best bands on the circuit.

So this is finally it, we are sitting at our table in the arena waiting for our turn to perform, there is a mix of nerves, and sadness, the organiser has just been up onto stage to announce some of the saddest news that my ears have ever heard, the music world has just lost one of its own, Mr Rick Parfitt of the band Status Quo has taken from us by the blood disease, Sepsis.

A sorrowful howl resonates around the arena from each and every band member, at this moment we are not competitors we are united in our grief at the loss of a great musician.

After a short halt in proceedings, it is decided that the final will continue in Mr Parfitt’s honour. Jacks and Aces Wild are called to the stage to perform, as we walk to the stage a silent agreement is reached by us all, we were going to play A Kind of Magic by Queen for our final entry, but now there really was only one song that we could play and that song would be Burning Bridges (On and Off and On again) by none other than Status Quo.

We take our places and we then begin to play the song, there are cheers and a round of applause from everyone else in the arena as they begin to recognise the song and its significance, with heavy hearts we play on giving an almost perfect rendition of the song.

By now for us, practically all thoughts of the competition have gone. The song finally comes to an end and we make our way back to our table, there is now just one band left to perform, Aerosmith.

As the band head towards the stage, Steve Tyler bows his head in recognition to us, they perform their classic track Love In An Elevator and I know without a doubt that we are going home as the band to come in third place.

Finally, their song comes to an end and the head judge makes his way to the stage, he stands at the podium and clears his throat to gain everyone’s attention, silence falls across the arena like a thick blanket.

“Well everyone, the moment that you have all been working towards is finally here, we now know who will be going head-to-head in the final of this year's Battle Of The Bands. Before I announce the band that will be leaving the contest I would just like to say that this year has been one of the best contests ever in both performance and competitiveness, it has been a joy and an honour for me to be on the panel of judges.”

The head judge takes a sip of water and then continues.

“Unfortunately there can only be two bands to go head-to-head and this year the third place runner up is Jacks and Aces Wild.”

A slight whimper issues from Steve’s muzzle the sound of which is caught by everyone in the arena.

“Now I will address the members of Jacks and Aces Wild, yes you have finished in third place, but, I do not want you to feel as though you have failed, there was nothing that you could have done any better to change the outcome, it is a double edged sword in your case, on the one side yes you lost to two of the biggest bands around, on the other side you came runners up to two of the biggest bands around, there is a difference.”

The head judge takes another sip of water.

“No matter what you guys can hold your heads up high and be proud that you have come this far, I have no doubt that in future contests you will become a force to be reckoned with.”

I stand from my seat and step up behind my lover, I gently massage his shoulders and I lean my muzzle down to his right ear.

“Baby, we may have lost, but the way that I see it is that we have still won.”

I pull my muzzle back as Steve slowly begins to stand from his seat, I place my arm around his waist and slowly lead him back towards the waiting bus closely followed by the rest of the band.

We arrive back at the hotel and head back to our rooms to begin the task of packing our cases. I can see that my Rottweiler is still a little shaky and so I wrap my arms around him and gently sway with him.

“Steve, sweetheart we gave it our best shot, at the end of the day the band's bank balance will be even healthier after this and please don’t forget that we will be on tour with Aerosmith in a couple of weeks, there are not many bands that can say that now make sure that you keep your party shirt ready to wear because tonight we are going to P A R T Y, God knows that we have earned it.”

A gentle sigh leaves Steve’s muzzle as he turns in my arms to face me, he then places a deep and passionate kiss on my muzzle.

“I love you so much Sam, and you are right, we should look at our glass as half full and not half empty.”

We spend the rest of the day with our packing and relaxing, meanwhile back at the studios of Sound As A Hound Shaun is about to be handed his hat by a newcomer. A Wolf enters the studio's foyer and bumps into Shaun.

“I am looking for somebody by the name of Shaun Marks, can you please tell me of his whereabouts?”

Shaun stares through bleary eyes at the Wolf and makes his reply.

“Well that all depends on whose asking for him?”

The Wolf’s tail gives a sharp flick.

“My name is Wolf Seeker, I have some business to discuss with him.”

The Huskies face turns sour.

“I am Shaun Marks, whatever business you have with me I am afraid will have to be cancelled as I am in the middle of closing down my studio.”

The Wolf does not turn to leave, he just stands there and makes his reply.

“My business is actually connected with that Mr Marks.”

Shaun lets out a small sigh as he leads the Wolf into a side office. Once inside the office, the Wolf produces an envelope from his jacket pocket and hands it over to Shaun, the Wolf then continues to speak.

“I own a company called Seeker Investments when Sam Vine started this studio he came to me for a little start up capital, I was happy to lend him that capital and he has paid me back every penny so don’t worry I am not here asking for debts to be paid. If you will open and read the letter you will see that part of my deal with Mr Vine was that I get to own a portion of the studio, fifty-two percent to be precise.”

The Husky opened the letter and looked at the content, his dismay deepens as he sees in black and white what the Wolf has just told him, the Wolf continues to speak.

“As you can see Mr Marks that means that I am the controlling but silent partner of this studio, I am going to remain silent no longer Mr Marks, it has been brought to my attention that you booted Mr Vine and A J Saunders from the band, I have also been made aware that there was some criminal damage done by yourself. This studio and indeed the band of Sound As A Hound will remain in existence though with one or two shall we say casualties, the first of those casualties is you, Mr Marks, you are hereby fired, you are to leave this building with immediate effect, any instruments that you have purchased are yours and you may take them with you, all the other instruments, including A J Saunders guitar, will remain here at the studio. I will give you twenty minutes to clear out, any keys that you have to the studio are now also my property and I want them back before you leave.”

The Huskies tail tucks between his legs as he takes the keys from his pocket and throws them down onto the office desk.