boat. Damian followed, still unsure as to why he even considered going to this thing. When they got into the cabin of the ship, the adults of the family were already sitting around, telling stories, while the pups played. Lana immediately joined in the play. Damian took a seat in the corner and just watched.

            “What’s wrong, Damian?” Aleu asked. 

Damian looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then back at the playing siblings.

            “Damian, she asked you a question,” Nero said.

            No response.

            “DAMIAN!” they yelled at the same time.

            “It’s nothing, okay! Just leave me alone,” Damian yelled back. 

Aleu sighed and shook her head. “He’s always been like this. I understand that it must be hard to be dumped by your mother, and then picked up by a random family, but he could still show us some respect for saving him from a life on the streets.”

            Jenna, Aleu’s mother, looked at her daughter and said, “Aleu, sometimes it’s not that easy. Damian’s having difficulty, because he has a strong personality. He’s not like those scared puppies you hear about in stories that just accept the family right away.” 

“Your mother’s right. If you think about it,” Balto said, as he watched Derek get toppled over by Drake. “We’re not exactly the most orthodox family,” he said laughing. “So, I can see why it’s a little hard for him to adjust.”

            The pups continued to play, when Lana stopped. “Come on, Damian! Let’s play!”

            Damian grunted in response.

            “NOW!” 

He groaned, and then got up on his feet. Lana could be kind of a hothead sometimes. Just as he stood up, Derek pushed Drake over, and Drake rammed straight into Damian, crushing the wolf between himself and the wall of the cabin. The force of the impact shook the cabin slightly. Damian lost his breath and started coughing uncontrollably. With each cough, little specks of blood splattered on the floor. 

“Damian!” Kodi yelled.

            All the adults ran over to where Damian was standing. It seemed like the coughing just would not stop. The blood from Damian’s coughs was starting to form a tiny puddle on the floor. Tears flowed down his cheeks.

            Finally he was able to stop and catch his breath. He then started sobbing, frightened by the amount of blood he had coughed up. Aleu nuzzled him warmly, tears staining the fur of her cheek.

            “Shhh, it’ll be ok,” She assured him.

            He continued to cry, unsure of what was going to happen to him. Would he really be alright? Was he going to die? Would this plague him for the rest of his life? None of them were sure.

To Be Continued….

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