THE YARD

Chapter 8

"When I went for his ear, he didn't even turn his head. You should've seen it; it's like this dog has never been in a fight before.

"I haven't," Shadow called out back to him. Flare swallowed a whimper of panic that threatened to escape from her muzzle. The tone that the brown dog had used would not be taken lightly by the other dogs.

"Which was pretty obvious to me," agreed Mocha. Grey Dog shot her an 'I'm very annoyed' glare and she immediately started nibbling her toes to act impartial.

"Well maybe we aren't all as smart as you, Mocha." While she didn't reply, Grey Dog licked his muzzle and turned away. He curled it upwards in a patrial snarl and pinpointed his eyes on the beaten brown dog.

"I didn't expect The Man to bring home a weakling pup, good for nothing. What kind of male dog has seen his second or third winter and hasn't ever fought?"

"I told you," Shadow snapped out all too fast. He was clearly losing his patience. "I don't fight for mating rights, or food, or The Man. There's no point." Flare privately started to agree in her head, but that thought was cut off by some jarring words with snarling embedded.

"What a heaping pile of-"

"Shut up, Jax. I'm talking to him." Grey Dog came closer, with his head high above the other dog's. Shadow's tail dropped just a few inches as Grey Dog neared. His chain followed him, dragging alongside.

Even as he stilled close to Shadow, Grey Dog's hard stare didn't waver, and he kept standing with an assertive posture.

"Here, you're going to fight for The Man."

Saying it so slow is like insinuating that Shadow is a thoughtless pup, thought Flare as a rekindling of anger unfurled inside of her. And that's just what he's going for!

"If he wants us to fight, we do it. Now, stop complaining like a freak-dog!"

Flare wanted to cut in and say that Shadow was actually the least freakish out of all of them, but had the sense to keep her mouth shut. Grey Dog wasn't finished yet.

"If you don't start fighting back instead of just defending yourself, there's going to be more wounds like that one." Grey Dog's lips curled all the way up to the gums as he flashed his teeth; no doubt, those very fangs had ripped Shadow's ear earlier. Anger deflated because of horror, Flare shrank closer to the
earth.

Even though she fully expected him to, Shadow still hadn't shown any extra submission. And for an animal that fully expected submission, it was not a good idea to withhold it from them.

Without warning, Grey Dog let out a throaty growl and unleashed his anger. He leapt forward like a cat who had been crouched for too long, legs stretched and nose-first. The Man was heading inside now, his legs a blur in the background. Flare's eyes flicked back and forth as she fought to keep her eyes on everything at once.

Grey Dog hit Shadow with full force, seizing him by the throat. Mocha headed for the other side of the yard within seconds. White Dog watched the fight closely, pacing back and forth while Jax barked excitedly.

Shadow threw his paws at Grey Dog and fought to twist his neck free, but it didn't work. Grey Dog's attack had put the full length of his jaws around Shadow's neck; so that the bigger male had his teeth seized around muscle rather than skin.

After a brief struggle that looked like a blur of motion to Flare's eyes, Grey Dog ground Shadow's neck into the ground with his teeth still purchased on it. Stop! His neck might break! The words screamed in her head. A loud and frantic bark was all she could muster. Heart pounding, she believed time then slowed down. But really, Grey Dog had just stopped his agressive thrashing.