The cold bit into his bones, but hunger drove him forward, snout low, sniffing among overturned trash bins and scattered wrappers. His name, once, had been Max, but now he was nameless, just another stray no one wanted, another soul discarded by the world. As he scoured the alley for scraps, a faint sound drifted beneath the roar of the rain.

Barely audible, a high-pitched cry, soft and strained, he froze, ears flicking. There it was again. Not the whimper of another dog, not a cat.

It was— Human. A cry. A baby’s cry.