The Great Eight

Chapter 58

Riley sighed heavily, having just eaten a large portion of a stag. He and the platoon had hunted down a nice fat one together. It was the most food they'd had since the beginning of winter.

A month had passed, and the weather was now frigid. Currently, the entire city was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Everyone was staying inside. Riley's platoon had moved their living quarters to a double leveled home with a small staircase inside. Ricochet and Violet were upstairs with their pups, while on the ground floor, Sky, Tucker, and Nimble were fast asleep after eating to their hearts' content. Nimble lay on the couch, her body now very swollen. Hers and Riley's pups would be arriving any day now.

Riley and Maverick were the only ones awake. The latter was contently chewing on a bone from the stag carcass.

Riley rolled over on his back. "Are you ready for this place to be overrun with pups?" he murmured to Maverick.

"Eh," said Maverick, not looking up from his bone. "Sky and Tucker are pretty much pups, so I'm used to that kinda stuff."

Riley snorted. "You have a point."

He then sighed. "I wish Blackjack were here to meet them." The beagle looked over at the coydog. "Do you still miss him?"

Maverick looked up from his bone. "Of course I do," he replied. He let out a heavy sigh. "I miss him every day. But he ain't comin' back, no matter how much I wish he could, so I gotta accept he's gone. Besides, I know he wouldn't want me to be mopin' around. He'd bite me on the ass."

"Yeah," Riley agreed.

Maverick was silent for a few moments, and then said, "He also wouldn't have liked how much of a dick I was to you right after he died. So I gotta make it up to you."

"Mav," said Riley. "You've always been a dick to me."

Maverick snorted so loudly that the others stirred in their sleep.

"Yeah, okay, you got me there."

Suddenly, a soft woof came from the window. Riley rolled over and looked up to see May's face staring at him through the glass.

"May!" Riley hurried over to the closed window and shoved it upwards with his snout, wincing at the ice cold air that hit him in the face.

"Hey Riley," said May. "It's been a while since I saw you." She dipped her head. "I'm sorry I haven't been around. I heard that you went through a lot, but I was busy with my pups, and..."

"Don't worry about it," said Riley. "How are your pups doing?"

"They're great." May wagged her tail. "I only had two, but they're healthy and strong. I see their father in them."

Riley nodded. "Nimble is expecting my pups."

"I've heard," said May. "Congratulations."

Though the Saint Bernard's voice was warm, her eyes had an uneasy look to them.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked.

May dropped her voice to a near whisper. "There's a dog on the edge of town that wants to meet with you. He says he's your brother."

"Alastair!" Riley gasped. His fur bristled along his spine.

"Is he the asshole that stabbed me in the neck?" Maverick was coming up to the window.

"Yeah," said Riley. "But he helped me kill Plato. I think he's on our side now."

"I still wouldn't trust him if I were you." A deep growl rumbled in Maverick's throat.