(Whisper)

The two of us head back home shortly after our date in the city. The whole way there, I didn't leave his side. The whole time I couldn't stop smiling and my heart wouldn't stop racing. He's given me the best night I could ask for right next to my mother finding me as a pup. It felt amazing…

We make it to the barge and walk to his sleeping spot. Giving him a nuzzle, we say our goodnights. I give him one last dreamy look, I go back inside to get some rest.

(Rose)

I hear some noise coming from the outside of the barge. Opening my eyes, I see it's none other than Whisper coming down the stairs. "Whisper?" I say, lifting up my head along with my ears. She looks over to me and walks over. "Hey mom." she said. I gave my daughter a nuzzle along with a motherly lick on her cheek. "Where have you been? Hadn't seen you all day." I ask her softly. "Just showing Beau the ropes is all." she replied. Her cheeks were turning red by mentioning the white american shepherd's name. They had to have done more than just show him the ropes. But I didn't want to butt in and just left it be.

"Goodnight mom." she tells me, nuzzling me once more. "Goodnight honey." I say, watching her go to her bed that was right beside Rita. Once she laid down and went to sleep, I look over to Dodger, who was fast asleep as well. Then my eyes shift to the entrance of the barge. Beau wasn't such a bad dog. He is a good influence around Whisper. Therefore, we should let him sleep inside tonight.

I went over to Dodger and gave him a nuzzle to wake him up. Slowly, he opens his eyes. "What is it, Rose?" he said tiredly. "I think we should let Beau sleep in here tonight. The weather is kind of cold so… he shouldn't stay out there and freeze." I whisper to him. He gets up and stretches his aging limbs. He smiles at me and licks my muzzle affectionately. "Yeah. I agree." he replied, getting out of his bed.

He was thinking the same thing that I was about Beau. We both knew he was a good influence. With that, the two of us trotted to the deck of the houseboat. Beau heard us coming and instantly jumped up to look at us. "You know… it's kind of cold tonight. Come on in." Dodger suggested to the young dog. He was surprised by our gesture. "Really? I thought… you guys didn't want me inside?" he said nervously. "We know but… you're a good kid and we shouldn't let you freeze tonight." I say with a smile. He grinned and followed us inside.

From the deck above, a pair of eyes was watching the whole thing. It was none other than Raven. "Get them, Beau…! What are you waiting for? Attack them! Now's your chance!" she whispered. But what she saw only made her angry. He didn't attack them like they planned, he had trusted them and decided to take shelter with them for the night. "You stupid idiot!" she growled, her teeth bared. She had to inform Ednis straight away.

Ednis growled in pure fury at the news given to her. "You're sure you saw what you told me?" she demanded, taking a step forward. "Precisely, my leader. I saw it with my own two eyes." Raven stated, keeping her head raised high. Ednis was starting to get angry and she walked away from Raven. "Beau cannot betray us!" she growled. "What should we do, my alpha?" Odin asked. "Easy, my subordinate, we will attack them tomorrow. Beau and Dodger will go off on their own to talk tomorrow. That'll be perfect."

The sun rose over the horizon, meaning that the weather would be warm today. Beau was the first one to wake up while the others were still sleeping. When he first woke up, his heart fluttered heavily in his chest. The way that Whisper was laying up against him with her paw on his made him speechless. Words couldn't express just how beautiful she looked.

At this moment, the plan he was secretly concealing from Whisper and the gang didn't mean anything to him anymore. There was no way he could hurt Whisper or lose his trust with Rose and Dodger. But… there had to be a way to tell her. Even if he didn't want to. He couldn't lose her, the only street dog in this city to show him such valiant and affection. The one thing he didn't see from any member of The Liberated Wolves.

He then goes outside onto the houseboat deck and sat down with his fluffy tail straight behind him. "Okay. I have to tell her." he said to himself, looking upwards at the orangey colored sky. The pressure of actually telling her bluntly was weighing heavy on his shoulders. "I can't… I can't do it…" he growled, shaking his head. His absence didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you alright, Beau?" Dodger's voice broke the tension. The American White Shepherd's pointed ears raised all the way and he looked behind him to see Dodger standing a few feet away from him. "Oh… it's nothing. Just needed some fresh air is all." he fibbed. Not wanting to butt in on his personal agenda, he comes up beside the shepherd. "I see what this is about." the Jack Russell said. Beau looked at him with worried eyes. "C'mon, let's go talk." Dodger suggested, heading straight for the boardwalk that lead up to the deck above.

Reluctantly, Beau follows him. He grew anxious that Dodger would suspect something. The two dogs travel in the heart of the city. The traffic was roaring this morning. However, no other humans were out this early in the morning. "So… my mate Rose and I have seen you and Whisper have obviously gotten close." Dodger said, walking with his tail raised. "Yeah… I guess you can say that." Beau said, blushing bright red.

Dodger saw this and grinned. "Well, you should know how much Whisper really means to Rose. Ever since she found her as a pup, we couldn't bear to part with her. Rose is unable to have anymore pups because of a health scare we had a few years ago. We sought another chance to become parents again after our first litter." Dodger told him, feeling grief that they wouldn't be able to reproduce anymore biologically. Beau's pointed ears flatten a little bit at hearing this.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dodger… I really am. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Whisper. There's something about her that…" Beau started, his voice trailing off. "You love? It's pretty clear you have feelings for her. She has feelings for you as well. Tell you what, you're now a member of the gang. Although, I will talk with Rose about it." Dodger smiled at the White American Shepherd.

Beau's heart lifted up at hearing this. "Thank you, Dodger. Thank you." he said grinning as well. The two dogs got caught up in their conversation that they don't realize where they stumbled upon.

Then there was an evil chuckle in the air, getting both dogs to become alert. Then, about 6 dogs appear out of the darkness. It was none other than The Liberated Wolves. Beau started to shake from how anxious he was feeling. 'No… oh no no no.' he thought to himself. "Why Dodger…" Ednis chuckled sinisterly. Dodger bared his teeth at the Cane Corso. "Ednis." he growled. The dogs started to surround Dodger and Beau.

"Why are you out here alone? If you were so smart, you'd bring your half bred mate with you." she chuckled. Dodger snarled at the bigger dog for insulting his mate. "What do you want?" he asked in a demanding tone. "Oh, just to let our plan fulfill. Beau, excellent job for leading him into our trap." Ednis replied, chuckling evilly. Dodger felt his heart sink at the news. He thought he could trust Beau. He was kind enough to let him in the gang.

"You traitor!" Dodger growled at the shepherd. "No! I swear I didn't have anything to do with this!" Beau begged, cowering down a bit. The young shepherd had no idea that this would happen. He didn't want it to happen… "Attack him!" Ednis ordered. Raven made her first jump at him with her teeth bared. She jumped on the Jack Russell and bit down on his neck, pulling off his bandanna. Odin joined her and bit on his legs.

"No! Stop!" Beau cried, watching as Dodger was getting savagely attacked. Dodger fought back with everything that he had. Beau tried to help Dodger but was pinned down by Rebel and Marcus. The coal furred jack russell had him tightly on the hind leg while Rebel held him down with his large paws. "Don't even try anything, you runt. I knew you weren't strong enough to break your vow to that Siberian Husky. You've grown soft!" Rebel growled menacingly.

Beau growled at him and managed to get a bite on his leg. The bite was strong enough to draw some blood it caused Rebel to back off. Beau managed to kick the other Jack Russell in the face with his free paw. He managed to get to his paws and ambush Raven and Odin. Ednis had inflicted some powerful bites to the Jack Russell, making him struggle to stand.

Before another attack was influenced, Dodger had made his escape with his bandanna. Beau watches as Dodger runs from the situation, not caring enough to see if Beau was behind him. "You…" Ednis growled at Beau. Beau turned around to see the vexed expression on her face. She jumped at Beau with fury and bit down on his muzzle, drawing blood.

"Eeaaugh!" Beau yelled in pain. Beau staggers and looks at his mother. "How dare you betray your own family! That mutt had turned you soft! After all of the training you received! What was it for?! You were meant to kill that damn mutt! But you couldn't even do that! You're weak! You're not my son! I should've just left you to be beaten by the humans!" You're worthless!" Ednis growled at the American White Shepherd. Beau started to shake with both anger and sadness.

"You're not my mother… My real mother wouldn't treat me like this… I don't care about you, I don't care about this pack, I don't care about this mission! I'm done with this! You're nothing more than an egotistical, street dog who has nothing better to do than to harass others for your own selfish benefit!" Beau barked at her, getting her to head butt him. The force of the impact caused him to whine in pain. "Get out of here… Get out. And don't come BACK!" she growled at him.

Beau then does just that, not looking back. "What do we do, Ednis? He's obviously not capable of doing the mission." Raven asks, turning to her alpha. Ednis took a moment to think and she finally jumped on top of a makeshift tower. "I'll tell you what we'll do. Since Rose and Dodger have corrupted Beau, we will finish the job ourselves. Dodger is weak and injured. We will do what has been in our nature. Take over the city... by force!" she declared. All the members of The Liberated Wolves barked and howled in agreement.

They would come to desperate measures and kill all members of Rose and Dodger's gang.