"Goggon, you can't sleep right now." Hal barked. The frail wolf-dog jolted at the commanding voice. He trembled, his tail between his legs, under the white and brown dog. "What did they do to you?"

"Goggon was tortured! Goggon had to wake up every day his worst! Again and again!" The dog wailed.

"What do you mean?" Hal pressed.

"Lireve royu krateds omemonst…" Goggon whimpered. "Goggon dreamed of bad times. All his bad times. Goggon almost wanted death! But Goggon held on. Goggon alive!" He rejoiced, his ears perked with happiness. Hal sighed and looked at Aya, who nodded. Kilowog, noticing the exchange growled angrily.

"You're not seriously suggesting that we save him are you?" He demanded. Hal sighed.

"Our job is to protect those in need of protection." He explained. Lanos perked up at this response.

"But surely Razer deserves his punishment." The young dog asked, confused. "He committed a crime against innocents."

"For which he should be punished, but not tortured." Hal responded quickly. "We cannot leave someone to suffer torture if we are aware of the problem."

"Fine." Kilowog growled angrily. "You're alpha. What's the plan?"

"Kilowog, you and I will distract the humans. Lanos, you will find and free Razer."

"What will I do?" Aya asked, realizing she had been left from instruction. Hal looked at the now sleeping wolf-dog.

"You will keep your eye on Goggon. If he is lying we will re-submit him to the humans." Hal explained. He looked around at his pack. Only Lanos seemed at peace with the mission. "Got it?"

The pack crept up on the sleeping humans. Their fire was now nothing but a pile of embers. Kilowog and Hal snuck up, looking for a way to distract the humans. It was Kilowog who spotted the baby. The little human was bundled tightly in animal furs.

"Must be the only human pup here." The large yellow dog grunted. Hal nodded. The larger of the two slipped in and gripped the human pup by the furs he was bundled in. Slowly and carefully he lifted the infant into the air until he was sure that the wrappings were tight. The two dogs jogged a distance away before Hal began barking. The few that woke to the noise woke the others until the entire village was awake. It wasn't long before the mother noticed her missing child. They began to look, one man spotted the dogs.

"There! Those wolves have the child!" He shouted, mistaking the canines in the weary darkness.

"Time to move!" Hal barked and bolted, Kilowog at his side. When the coast seemed to be clear, Lanos slipped in. He found the path that Aya had told him about and soon after he found the cave. The guard of Razer's branch-off was gone. The gray dog slipped in, perplexed by the relaxed nature of the wolf. Suddenly a great growl rose from the wolf's throat and his jaws opened, revealing his fangs, prime for ripping. The wolf rose to his paws, his fur standing on end. Confused, Lanos backed up a pace. Razer's eyes were still closed, so he must be dreaming. Lanos thought in a panic. As he stepped backwards, his rump hit something soft.

"What're you doin' here little doggy?" A deep human voice sneered. Lanos turned, his eyes wide with fear. The guard had returned.

Skip

Aya paced, a growl in her chest. Goggon slept beside her now somewhat worn path. It would not matter if he got away, why was she watching him? She glanced at the moon.

"They should be back by now." She growled. Finally she shook out her fur and began running. She didn't care what Alpha Hal had said, she could help. Her paws carried her to the vacant camp. She lifted her nose to the air, searching for the feral scent of wolf. A much more familiar scent caught her nose, though. Her brother was in the cave.

Skip

"Release him, human!" Lanos commanded. He was backed into a corner, all he had left were his fangs and his words. The guard laughed.

"We cannot release the sacrifice." His deep voice chortled. Lanos began to growl, then stopped, as he noticed the approach of another canine. It was Aya. When she saw him watching her, she shook her muzzle. Lanos understood. He turned his attention back on the human.

"Fine then. I will have to beat you." He snarled and leapt. The man laughed as he batted him away, throwing the dog into the stone wall. Aya leapt from behind, landing heavily on the human's back and unbalancing him. He fell hard, hitting his head on the stone floor. She waited for him to move, then huffed happily when she determined he was unconscious. Without looking at her brother she padded into the cave with the nightmare fighting wolf.

Skip

Razer stood, watching as his mate tried to run from the humans. He couldn't reach her, couldn't help. He watched as the human watched her grow dizzy, finally succumbing to the poison in her system. A laugh echoed in Razer's ears as the human knelt to seize his prize. The human opened his mouth and wolf growls came out.

"Pretty wolf brings a pretty prize." He said, hacking into Ilana's tail and tying the prize to his belt. Razer broke free of his paralysis. He leapt, his jaws aching for human flesh. When he landed his eyes flew open, and he was back in the cave. An inch from his nose was Aya, her green eyes focused.

"Razer, we must-" She began, but his anger roared again. He bit at her muzzle, missing by a hair.

"I will never forgive you!" His roared. But Aya stood firm. A vicious growl rippled up from her own chest.

"You do not have a choice! We have come back to save you and you will come with us." Her voice was forceful. Immediately, Razer's rage ebbed. They came back to rescue him?

"Alright." He sighed. The wolf followed Aya out into the main tunnel. Lanos sat patiently on the human's back.

"You have retrieved Razer." He commented, his tail wagging. "Good job, Aya." For a moment the she-dog paused, a smile in her eyes.

"And where are your other pack-members?" Razer growled. Aya and Lanos shared a glance.

"We will go find them." Lanos decided. He rose to his paws, leading the other two canines. As they reached the cave mouth they looked down on the scene below. Both Hal and Kilowog stood on top of the boulders overlooking the camp. The infant was still held by Kilowog, only now it was awake, his face crinkled and tears streaming down his face.

"I believe I found them." Razer snarked.