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The game of fetch went as usual at first. Tony threw the toy. I ran after it with only a few hiccups because the mattresses really made it harder not to stumble. He gave me scritches behind the ear, which made me forget some of my annoyance over the stumbling issue.

Something changed when I ran back now. I sat back on my haunches and offered up the bone as usual. Tony grabbed it, but he went down to one knee to do it. I frowned. Why was he on his knee?

“You’re doing so well, pup.”

Okay, yeah. I preened at the words, because praise, but…

“Woof!”

Tony splayed his hand over my belly. Ohhh. He was going to give me belly rubs?

That would make sense.

I panted for effect and was all but ready to roll so that I was on my back and he had more access. I only had the tiniest belly rubs in this position. It was kind of sad.

Tony stilled me. I whined.

Why did he want to make me confused on my birthday? This was so not fair.

“Woof!”

“Easy, pup.” Tony shook his head.

As if I was the problem.

I was not the problem.

I had half a mind to bark up a storm—audience be damned—to send the message home, but Tony did something… interesting. He turned his gaze away from me and he nodded?

The fuck was he planning?

I whipped my head around in time to see León prowl toward me. Prowl was the right verb. He pretended to be leisurely about it, but there was intent there.

Fuck.

I looked back to Tony. Surely, the two of them hadn’t planned anything, right?

I crawled backward anyway, tilting my hips as if I was ready to pounce. Or run away. León was scary when he got all primal player.

“Oh, now you’re not happy to see me?” León joked.

Hejokedbecause he was in control and knew what was going on and had all the cards while I didn’t.

I huffed. “Woof!”

In the background, I registered people trying not to laugh. I didn’t care.

“C’mere, pup.”

That was León, talking as he squatted down and offered out a hand. I narrowed my eyes. León didn’t really care that much about playing with me as a pup. Taunting me, sure. Petting me and giving me belly rubs and scritches? Not so much. I could count with one hand the number of times he’d done any of that.

I still moved to him—mostly because one glance to the side showed Tony had his stern look on. I’d agreed to show I could be obedient, for whatever reason. This was more along the lines of what I’d thought would happen, not playing fetch, but…

Fine. I would go to León. The hood got in the way, but I could bite him when no one was looking.

It would show him.

“One bark for green, two for red, right?” he asked once I was—kind of—close enough.