THE YARD

Chapter 24

Grimly, Shadow did not answer for several heartbeats. When the male dog finally did, his voice was full of distress. He growled deep in his throat before speaking, nearly waking Crow. Flare quieted him with a warning glance.

"Don't let him manipulate you any further, Flare. I-... I don't know how I'll protect you, but I will. Just until tomorrow night so we can escape."

Trembling now, Flare was realizing the direness of the situation. "You can't. I think he may kill you, after how close it came last time." Flare licked her lips nervously. Her ears pinned back, she looked over at Crow. It was almost comical how his lip was still flapped open- until she recalled the memory his fangs sunken into Shadow's throat.

"I have to try. We can't let him mate you, or you'll be with his pups." Unsettled and jumpy, Flare almost barked a smart retort. As if I don't know that! She tried to calm down, though. I need to think of a better solution than Shadow risking his neck again.

"I might," she began uncertainly, "-be able to convince him not to. But I'm not certain. Crow has been respecting me lately."

"If you count holding you against your will as 'respect,' then-"

"He's not heartless, is what I meant." Flare interrupted as she felt Shadow's anger begin to build up again.

"I wish The Man had never put us here," he snarled anyway. Unable to prevent the rage, Flare put a tan paw over his.

"Me either. All he does is use the males for fights, and use us females for pups." She let a growl creep into her own throat as well; to show that she agreed.

The Man never once cared what we wanted. And he never will. It's hardly Crow's or Shadow's or any other dog's fault for any of this; it's his. She felt her heart harden like mud forming into rock. The Man had manifested hatred among the dogs. The Man was the one who fed them so little, that they created a heiarcy amongst themselves. The Man was the cause of entrapment. And suffering. But some of us suffer worse than others.

"White Dog might be dying and no one cares, especially The Man. He doesn't even pat the old male anymore, let alone look his way." Flare admitted sullenly.

"I suspected as much, but it seems like it's gotten worse. I could smell his wounds today when we passed each other. He has a few old ones that aren't healing." Hearing this from Shadow, Flare's heart nearly snapped in two for the old mastiff.

"There's nothing we can do, though. He said he isn't well enough to jump the fence," Flare halfheartedly replied.

"He may have to try," the floppy-eared canine stated calmly. Shadow's forever pursuing the most inconvenient ideas, Flare mused.

"But I don't yet know when we'll have a chance. If the opportunity arises, we can try to get White Dog out, but- I'm not sure where he'll go." Knowing that was true, Flare fretted. She was worried about White Dog and concerned about their escape. Even they didn't know where they'd go in a life beyond The Yard. And then there was her heat-scent and Crow's infatuation with her as well. I've never had so much to stress about.

"It'll be okay."

Shadow cut into her dark thoughts like a knife through butter. Staying on the opposite side of Flare, he positioned his body closer. With Shadow's smooth shoulders beside hers, she felt a bit less estranged. Her tail-tip twitched with the urge to wag. As quietly as she could, she whispered. "We should probably end it now. It'll be light in the next hour or two." But as she spoke, she nosed Shadow's spilt ear playfully. He puffed out his chest and looked on with shining eyes.

As they moved apart, Flare felt Crow's resting body slide farther off of her flank. He inhaled quickly as if he were about to wake up, and within an instant Shadow had vanished from her side.