scraped along the floor as she loosened her legs and a feeling of warmth flooded through her. She could feel her puppies moving. She heard the noise again and poked her head out of the doggy door. Through the morning mist, she could see a frail looking rusty colored male and her heart jumped in her throat.

"Gus!" She said a little flustered. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check on you 'cause I haven't seen you in weeks." He paused. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Moose shook her head. "Of course I'm not mad at you Gus."

He brightened up a bit. "Oh good! So do you have plans today? I've been hanging out with Dakota and it’s been doing nothing but getting me into trouble."

"No, I don't have plans.” She said happily. "I’ll be out in a minute."

She pulled her head back in and took a breath. Today was the day. Today he'd find out. In a burst of excitement, she darted (or as close to darting as she could) halfway through the little door. As she struggled for freedom, Gus hurried to her side.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Moose said with a tug. "I just can't get through. I'll wake Jacob up and have him let me out."

"Or I could just come in."

Moose scooted backwards as Gus entered through the flap with ease. Before he could see her swollen belly though, she was laying back in her bed.

"I don't think you should be here, Gus. Jacob might get angry."

This statement was, however, a complete lie. Her master loved all of the dogs in town and enjoyed whenever they came to visit. In fact, Gus happened to be one of his favorites. Especially since he suspected that Moose's puppies were fathered by him.

"Then I won't stay long."

He strode over to the bed and plopped himself down on the floor. Moose shifted uncomfortably in her basket. It was getting too small.

Gus cleared his throat. "You know, Kodi's been asking about you."

Moose felt a jolt of pain sear through her body. "Oh... Oh really? For what reason?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Just took an interest to you I guess. Wants to know how you’re doing, I suppose."

The female didn't see him wink at her. All she could focus on was the ripping pain shooting through her, as well as the overwhelming panic. Moose tried to hide the labor pains. She didn't want Gus to see her yet. Finally, no longer able to control herself, she yelped as loudly as one could, causing the male to jump.

"Are you all right?" He asked, half choking from being scared by the noise she just made.

Heavy footfalls could be heard from the stairs as Moose cringed again and howled. Jacob was no doubt on his way down after being startled by her last outburst. Gus stood frozen on his spot. What was happening? He didn't understand what was going on and it was scaring him. The kitchen door swung open with such force that the knob broke through the wall and made the wolf dog jump. A tall man with a thick head of hair and stubble on his chin and cheeks stood before him. His pale eyes assessed the situation and he left the room.

Gus looked to Moose, panting and looking miserable in her bed. After what felt like an eternity, Jacob returned to the kitchen with an armful of fresh sheets and a hot water bottle. He carefully maneuvered a sheet under Moose and the water bottle under that. After a few minutes, he finally noticed that Gus was there with him. He rose to his feet and gently led the red hybrid to the door by his collar.

"Out yeh go, Fella. Don't want you hur'in the little'un."

Gus hadn't had time to protest as he was shoved into the living room and the door was closed behind him. He heard the lock click and slumped to the floor. He'd never been in this room. His ears perked up as he heard Jacob scuffling across the floor behind the door. What on earth was going on?

Deciding to make the most of his imprisonment, he rose to his feet and began to sniff around the place. He must have combed the place three times before noticing a portrait on one of the floral printed walls. He stood on his back legs, balancing himself against the wall with his front paws, to get a better view. It was in an ornately carved cherry frame and there were three people in it.

If Gus hadn't known better, he would have thought that the man in the picture was someone else. There was a much cleaner cut version of Jacob in a suit instead of his usual haggard look. He looked younger and much happier in this picture. To his right was a woman who could have passed off as the prettiest human alive, next to Erynn that is. Her heart shaped face was framed by long curly locks of light hair. In between the two full grown humans was a small pup. She had the curly hair the woman had, and the same face, but her hair was as black as the man's.

As he brought his face closer to look, the door creaked open. There was the normal rugged and shaggy looking man. Gus dropped to the floor and tucked his tail in between his legs. He closed his eyes as the man approached him with his hand held out. He waited for the blow but it never came. Instead Jacob was patting him on the back and when he opened his eyes, Jacob had a wide grin spread across his face.

"Yeh did righ' good, ol' boy." Gus opened one golden eye at the human. What was he talking about? Was he supposed to put his feet on the walls or something?

"Would you like ter see the little’un?"

"The... the what?"

Jacob just laughed quietly to himself, not being able to recognize Gus's canine speech. The hybrid hung back as the heavy kitchen door swung open. Moose was in her usual spot in her basket under the window, her back turned to the other dog and her master. Eager to see what all the commotion was about, Gus tried pushing past Jacob, only to be stepped on by the large man. He let out a loud yelp and was answered by small squeaking sounds across the room. The dog stopped dead in his tracks and ignored the aching feeling in his back where Jacob’s foot had just been. Then the scent hit him. Blood. And… wet fur. Moose turned her head towards the hybrid and smiled weakly at him. Gus stood stock still, afraid of what he might find in the basket.

He stood there for a long while before, finally, Jacob gave him a shove and he found himself staring down at one single puppy attached to Moose’s belly. The hybrid’s jaw went slack and his heart skipped a beat. Moose had been pregnant. And he had no idea. The idea didn’t strike Gus as odd, actually. He figured she met a male one day and this is what was keeping her from their usual beach runs.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she, Gus?”

Gus’s jaw closed with an audible snap and he shook off his daze before clearing his throat. “Oh, um, yeah Moose. Who’s is she?”

The Chinook mix’s eyes widened. “Why Gus, don’t you remember?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Remember what?”

“Why Gus, she’s yours!” She exclaimed.

His thoughts were a swirling maelstrom of confusion and agony. “But… But that’s not possible!”

Moose’s anger melted into a pitiful expression and her lower lip quivered. Just as she was about to respond to Gus’s bewilderment, Jacob reached his hand out to touch the tiny newborn stuck like Velcro to her mother. Moose eyed him carefully as his huge hand passed over the pup’s back. Gus stood watching, unable to move. Finally, after a long, awkward, painful silence, Jacob spoke, as softly as Gus had ever heard him speak.

“I think I’m gonna call ‘er Giulia, after me own daughter.”

*****

Over the course of the next few days, Moose had all sorts of visitors from around town. News spread quickly of “Gus’s miracle”, and the hybrid was constantly ducking the attention of these nosy hounds wanting to know how on earth he could’ve gotten with a female. The fact of the matter was that he couldn’t quite honestly tell anyone exactly how it happened to begin with. Nothing had happened between him and Moose, and yet the evidence was clear: the single puppy with the same rusty red fur as him that she’d given birth to.

It was also quite clear that he couldn’t explain anything to his family. They’d assure him that it was perfectly all right for him to be shy about things such as mating, and that he didn’t need to talk about it with them. Just about “his” daughter and Moose. Even Quinn, whom he’d felt closest to, thought him silly to deny mating with anyone

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” She told him one day. “It’s a natural and beautiful thing.”

Gus blamed the hormones. She’d be expecting a family soon enough too.

The only one who seemed to listen to him was his brother Kodi. It seemed like he was just as puzzled with the situation. But Kodi knew exactly what happened and what the consequences were if he breathed a word of it to his brother, let alone anyone else. So for now, he just sat and listened to his grieving brother talking about his troubles.

As the weeks passed, Giulia began to be able to go outside, so long as she was accompanied by her mother. This, however, was an utterly useless effort on Jacob’s part in keeping the youngster safe, considering her mother was more interested in socializing than keeping and eye on her daughter. It wasn’t a totally lost cause, though. She’d made friends at least. But that still wasn’t an excuse for Moose to turn her loose on her own.

Kodi, however, took this time as a good opportunity to get to know Giulia better by following her, even keeping her safe. Even though he had a job, he’d tail the pup whenever he could.

And then it happened.