Paul ignored his son as he headed toward a fenced-in area in the back where Vane could see a number of doghouses.
As Vane and Fury walked past, the dogs, sensing their animal part, came out to either bark or play.
Paul led them to a cage at the end of the row where an angry Lab mix was kept. The dog was filled with rage and hatred.
"We can't do anything with him," Paul said. "My partner thinks we ought to put him down, but I hate to do that. It seems a damn shame to kill an animal who's been hurt."
Fury set his beer down and went to the door. The dog ran out of his house, barking and snarling.
"Shh," Fury said, holding his hand out to the dog so that he could sniff him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Patrick said. "He damn near tore the hand off the animal control officer who captured him."
"Yeah, someone needs to put them in a cage and poke them for a while,"
Fury said, curling his lip.
The dog continued to attack.
"Stand back," Vane said as he reached for the latch on the door.
Fury stood up and moved while Vane opened it. The dog lunged, then darted back. Vane shut the door and crouched down. "Come here, boy," he said soothingly, holding his hand out.
The dog ran into his house and barked even louder.
Vane crawled toward the house and slowly reached his hand inside. "Don't be afraid," he said, letting the dog catch his scent.
He could feel it starting to calm. It knew he wasn't entirely human and it was starting to trust the animal that it smelled.
After a few seconds of waiting, the dog licked Vane's fingertips.
"That's it," Vane said, stroking his fur.
He looked back over his shoulder. "Fury? Could you get me something for him to eat?"
"I'll get a bowl," Paul said.
Once Paul returned, he gave the bowl to Fury who brought it inside. Fury crouched outside the house beside Vane and carefully put the food down in front of the dog.
"Man, they screwed you up bad, huh?" Fury said to the dog.
Vane picked up a handful of food and held it out to the dog. It nosed around until it finally trusted him enough and took a bite.
"There you go," he said quietly as he picked up more food and hand-fed the dog. "Damn, Dad," Patrick said from the other side of the fence. "I've never seen anything like that."
After a few minutes, Vane had the dog fed. He crawled into Vane's lap and lay there, needing comfort. Fury stroked his back while Vane massaged his ears. Vane felt someone watching him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Bride beside her father.
"Did you get him to eat?" she asked him.
"Yeah."
She smiled at that. The sight of her there made his heart ache. How could something so simple as a mere smile wreak such havoc with his body?
"I came to tell everyone that dinner was ready. But if you need more time"
Vane stood up. "He'll be okay for a bit."
Fury patted the dog, then rose slowly to his feet.