Redtail Rise Obey your master

He only partly accomplished his goal when his father intervened with violence so unexpected, it stunned Atreus into silent compliance. The touch of Aventus’s teeth at his nape caused him to go limp and he remained that way when the full weight of his father’s body crushed him to the ground. Something sharp dug into him for the second time that day and the boy let out a wholly uncharacteristic yelp of pain.

He was too shocked to process Aventus’s verbal rebuke. He let out an uncomfortable grunt and began to squirm, not out of defiance but out of a sheer need to breathe. His father’s weight pressed into him without mercy, however, and by the time he relented somewhat, black was creeping up on the edges of Atreus’s vision.

He let out a gasp, the shallow wounds on his throat throbbing as he let out several barking coughs. His eyes tracked up to his father, his expression quickly darkening angrily. Why had Aventus punished him, when he was the victim? Atreus truly didn’t understand what he’d done to deserve such treatment. Black hatred rolled through his small body, aimed not just at Aventus but Avicus and his attacker.

He wanted to lash out, of course, and his own futility and weakness made him even more furious. All Atreus could do was prowl over to Ancelin, the only wolf he didn’t resent with every fiber of his being, and slump down beside him with a grunt of utmost displeasure.