I still feel anger towards him and I breathe deeply. Then he watches me and the softness of his grey eyes calm me. He follows my gaze to a crowd of laughing men stumbling across the courtyard – bounty hunters.
“Not tonight, Glade,” he says with a chuckle and pats my head, “Not tonight.”

His hand doesn’t leave my silky scalp but instead slides down to my neck and settles there in the forest of fluff.
“Come on, Glade,” whispers Izar. He’s right – we must leave town before I am discovered. If I’m good, he’ll take me somewhere beautiful where we can be together. Obediently, I follow him, guided by his gentle palm. My paws are soft in the fresh, morning kissed grass. We leave the village and to an observer we must be just a man and his dog patiently stepping out for a hunt.

Tension clings to me and cushions my heart. I could break any moment and Izar is right next to me. I don’t want to hurt him. We walk down a steep hill and I see the expanse of green before us. I want to run…I need to run.