Annette followed Kilian down the stairs behind Pepper and Deedro. The four had been woken before dawn by one of Azriel's Followers. Annette didn't know the dog's name,though she recognized him. He was always there, in the background somewhere.

He wasn't awfully large. He had long white fur and pointed ears. His fluffy tail was curled over his back. He was soft spoken, Annette had noticed when he had woofed the dogs awake. He had told them that they needed to see Bentley, which was where they were headed now.

Annette felt as if she hadn't slept a wink. Her empty belly was giving sharp pangs, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in more than a week. It had begun to show long ago. Her skin hung loosely and she was beginning to have dizzy spells.

They found Bentley on the second floor. Azriel and Harley were there, overseeing the bloodshed. Both dogs stood silently at attention.

Bentley looked to be faring well physically. He was propped on his stout front legs under a shattered window. His hind legs had turned black, the outcome of being dragged through ashes. Annette wondered how he had made it to the second floor.

The grey dog already had a small collection of bloody signatures under the window. Four big paw prints and five tiny ones. He had even been made to mark the pups. Samuel sat beside him. His big head was resting on the windowsill.

Bentley turned his head to greet the prisoners.

"Hey! There's my customers." He rasped, and dragged his body around to see them. The fluffy white dog that had escorted them to this point rocked on his paws for a minute and then retreated without a word. Annette noticed that he was limping.

"Hello, Bentley." Annette said softly. She could hardly bear to look at the once powerful dog dragging his body across the floor.

"Ready to cut us open?" Kilian half joked. He held out a paw enthusiastically.

"Nah, not really." Bentley shook his head. "I didn't think I'd be doin' this twice."

"But its all for good reason. I think I'll go first this time, if you don't mind?" Kilian offered. He gave a smile, as if he was really enjoying himself.

"He's right, you know. Some of these dogs would leave this place if they weren't marked. We all know it." Annette agreed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that she and Kilian had caught Azriel's attention. He and Harley were watching them. Her heart was thudding painfully. She prayed that the black and white dog wouldn't catch on to the ruse. He cleared his throat.

Bentley's small ears folded. His lip curled and he closed his eyes, as though annoyed. Annette and Kilian looked at Azriel.

"What'dya want now, Azriel?"

Azriel and Harley strode forward.

"Nothing from you." Azriel said calmly, eliciting a growl from Bentley. He flicked an ear, but his eyes never left the younger dogs. Annette felt herself falter inside. She forced herself to keep calm. She focused on images of Azriel suffering his own punishments. It was oddly soothing.

Kilian bowed low, closing his eyes. Annette remembered then that as a loyal follower of Azriel, it was required. She dropped to the ground.

"Father." She muttered a greeting. She hated the very taste of the word.

"Mm." Azriel acknowledged. "Get up."

The two dogs instantly obliged. Annette felt grit in the fur on her chin. She didn't dare brush it off.

"My children." Azriel said. His voice carried no happy tone today. He was wildly suspicious. "You speak ill of your companions."

Annette struggled for an explanation. Something that wouldn't get the other prisoners punished or killed. Kilian beat her to it.

"Oh, well, we're just assuming, under the circumstances. Excuse us, please, dear Father. We're excited, to be honest." Kilian gave a laugh. It sounded genuine. He was a wonderful actor, Annette was beginning to see.

"Excited?" Azriel circled the pair. Annette avoided his eyes by watching Kilian.

"Yes, Father! We're ready to go contribute today." Annette nodded eagerly. Kilian smiled at her. She grinned back. Excited. Be excited. Their very lives depended on this.

"We've seen the power that our new family holds as a single unit." Kilian enthused. His eyes glinted. He looked at Azriel, who stopped his pacing to stare at Kilian, and Kilian alone.

"You see the unity that I am bringing you." Azriel said. He didn't believe it. Annette could hear it in his voice. It was full of contempt.

"Yes, Father." Annette began. She stepped forward, shouldering Kilian out of the way. She would have to apologize to him later for that. "You are powerful. We weren't sure about your pack at first, it scared us. But we've been watching you." She wagged her tail like a pup. Harley licked his lips. He was probably hungry. "We've talked about it."

"Really, now." Azriel smiled. It scared Annette. She forced herself to keep wagging her tail. Azriel looked at Bentley. "Prove your loyalty to your Father, then." He told Annette, pushing her towards the grey dog with a paw. She shuddered inside. "Bentley will not mark you. You will do it yourself."

Annette felt sick. Her empty stomach turned. She shook the horrible feeling off and let her eyes scan the room. There was no nail here. What would she slice her paw on? Her desperate search ended on Samuel's head, resting on the windowsill. Shards of broken glass still clung to the frame.

"As you wish, Father." Annette droned. She bit back a gulp of fear and trotted to the window.

"Azriel, ya nut!" Bentley barked. "She could very well bleed herself out doin' that!" Annette ignored him. She reached the window and hopped onto her hind legs. Samuel backed away. His eyes were sad.

Annette gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and smashed the pad of her paw hard into the glass. She felt the delicate scarring tear. Her paw was suddenly wet. She bit her tongue until she tasted her own blood, metallic and sharp. She would not cry out today. When she opened her eyes again, there were tears stinging them. She shook her head and pulled her paw away from the window. It left a spattering of blood on the black floor.

The mixed breed gazed at the wall of bloody prints for only a moment before slapping her paw down onto it. Blood streaked down the wall as she pressed the deep cut to the charred surface. She held her breath while she marked herself.

Annette turned to Azriel for approval. He was grinning sadistically at her. She bowed her head once again.

"My loyalty is to you, my Father." She murmured. Kilian had turned his head. He refused to look at Annette and her bleeding marks. Without raising his eyes, he stood.

"May I?"

"No." Azriel said sharply. Kilian perked his ears and looked at the bigger dog curiously. "Your blood will be shed, my son. But I have a different task for you to complete." Azriel gave a wry smile and floated closer to Kilian, who ducked his head once more. His small tail was tucked submissively.

"Anything, Father." His voice shook. He was afraid. Azriel's black lips were curled over his canines. He leaned in close to Kilian's ear until his whiskers were brushing the younger dog's fur.

"Attack her."

Annette went cold. Kilian took a step back, staring at Azriel in shock. His mouth fell open slightly. Azriel stared. He was expressionless. Silent and expectant.

Kilian turned to Annette. She stood, unable to move, hoping that Azriel would change his mind. She and Kilian locked eyes for a brief moment. Azriel, standing behind him, could not see the regret that the terrier's eyes held. Azriel had ordered the unthinkable, and it had to be done.

Annette dropped her eyes, waiting, and Kilian lunged for her.

Angel had given up on trying to console Scamp. He was broken-hearted. She understood. No words could comfort him in this situation. He had spoken his deepest fears about one of his sisters, and broken the other's fragile heart in the process.

Angel had only one thing left to offer her best friend. She gave him a shoulder to cry on. He did cry, briefly, but for the most part the grey dog simply belittled himself. Angel absorbed the harsh words like a sponge, listening to Scamp throw names and curses at himself for being so selfish.

"I'm so stupid. Why would I tell her that? Come on, Scamp, what were you thinking?" Scamp shook his head at his own words, hard.

"Mm." Angel acknowledged.

"I was mad. Collette was saying stuff about you and Annette." Scamp looked at Angel. She looked back. His brown eyes were wet again.

"You're right. You were mad, and so was she."

Scamp sighed and dropped his head to stare at his paws. Angel kept talking, knowing that he was still listening.

"Listen Scamp. Siblings fight. I fought with mine all the time. Everyone is under a lot of stress right now. "

Scamp's ears perked high. He locked eyes with Angel in an instant. His eyes were wide and bright now, though still wet. It was as if this sentence had pulled him from the abyss, somehow. Angel backed over it in her mind, and realized what she had said. Scamp beat her to the explanation.

"You have siblings?" He asked. His voice was still tinged with regret. Angel knew that it was there, still fresh in his mind. However, his eternal curiosity had baited him. Angel took the opportunity and ran with it, though it hurt to talk about family.

"Had." Her ears drooped. "A blood brother and sister before my first family, and an adoptive in my third."

Scamp tilted his head. "Before your first family?"

Angel almost smiled at Scamp's lack of knowledge of the world. He had grown up sheltered in many, many ways. Human food was placed eternally in his bowl, he was gifted (or cursed) with a warm bath every day, and he had been raised with his birth family. Not many dogs were as gifted as those of the Darling family.

"Most humans find new homes for puppies born into their families." Angel explained. She thought back as far as she could, remembering the day she had left her siblings in a stranger's careful hands. She hadn't thought about them in a long time.

"Why?" Scamp asked almost immediately. Angel could see curiosity replacing his grief, if only temporarily.

"A lot of people just want one dog."

"What about the dog's family?" Scamp asked innocently. "What about yours?"

Angel almost flinched away from the questions, but stubbornly stopped herself. If this, of all things, would lead Scamp from despair, then so be it. She braced herself and answered him.

"My mother was a pet. She had pups with a street dog, but I never met him." Angel closed her eyes and began to stroll through her memories. She felt Scamp's fur brushing hers as he sat down close at her side.

"She always promised us, but we were out of the house before we were eight weeks old."

Angel heard Scamp's voice, warm and curious in her ear.

"But you used to fight with your brother and sister."

"Mostly we fought about stupid stuff, like who the toys belonged to." Angel gave a small laugh under her breath. "We gave our mother grief."

Angel leaned against Scamp and felt that he had relaxed considerably. He was quiet.

"I bet you wished you hadn't." He finally said, soft and sad.

"I do."

Scamp leaned back. Angel felt him give another sigh. His mind was wandering.

"What were your names?"

Angel opened her eyes. "What?"

"What did your mother call you?" Scamp explained his question patiently.

"My brother's name was Cooper, and my sister was called Missy. Or Miss."

"Cooper and Missy." Scamp tried the names aloud before asking, "What was your name?"

Angel had to think about this one. She had been given a lot of names in her short life. Angel had been the name given in her last home, the one that had put her on the streets for an allergy. She hadn't planned on keeping it this long.

"Allysia." She finally uttered the name when it came to her. It was almost embarrassing for some reason. She refused to look Scamp in the eye while she grew steadily warmer.

"Your name was Allysia?" Scamp said. He sounded surprised. She didn't blame him. Angel nodded briefly.

"I like it." He said softly. She finally looked at his face, and saw that he was smiling slightly, even with the weight that hung almost visibly on his shoulders.

"You do?"

"Yeah. It doesn't stick like Angel though." He took a deep breath like he was going to say more, but held onto it. "It must have been hard for you." He said finally.

"I still wonder what became of my family." Angel replied, agreeing with Scamp. He dropped his eyes again.

"I know the feeling."

Angel nudged her friend, worrying for him.

"Go talk to Collette." She insisted gently. "She needs her family."

Scamp gave yet another sigh.

"What if she's still mad at me? I said some really bad things about..." He trailed off. Angel knew what he meant. She nudged him again, pushing him until he stood. Stubbornness would prove to win.

"Okay. Okay. I'll go talk to her." Scamp said when she had finally gotten him onto his feet. Angel looked at the defeated dog, usually as bullheaded as she, and felt her own eyes start to swim. She blinked quickly.

Scamp nuzzled her and ran his head under her chin. She returned the gesture.

"Thank you." He whispered.

Angel said nothing. She rested her chin on Scamp in utter silence, afraid that her voice would give away her loss of strength. Pride and worry for Scamp's welfare wouldn't allow it.

Scamp didn't wait for an answer. The long, sweet gesture of love had been his farewell to Angel. He left her alone in his bed, and trotted off to find Collette.