“That’s just a title,” said Bruno quickly. “That’s not who you are. I know what you’re capable of, Lucky.”
Lucky lifted his muzzle and took a deep sniff. He could smell the damp earth, the clean river water, the heat of dogs back at the shelter, even the hint of pine trees on the other side of the camp. There were small animals too, but none close enough to catch.
“Come on,” Lucky said. “Let’s go searching.”
The two of them strayed farther into the forest. Soon Lucky picked up the scent of prey. He dropped his snout, nosing through a pile of fallen leaves and identifying some tracks.
Bruno sidled up to him. “Lucky, do you think that scent is . . . a bit strange?”
Lucky sniffed again, catching something flinty in the soil. The fur prickled along his neck and he swallowed. “There is something weird about it, although I can’t figure out what it is.” He looked around. The shadows were lengthening between the trees. “Still, food is food, and soon it’ll be too dark to see.”
A bird trilled overhead and Bruno’s body stiffened. Lucky started padding between the trees again, hearing Bruno hurrying after him. They edged around a tangle of brambles and up a little ridge, where Lucky caught the warm, sweet scent of small animals. He looked to Bruno, who gave a sharp nod—he had smelled it too.
As one, the dogs lowered their haunches and stalked low to the ground. They eased themselves over a clutch of vines past the broken trunk of a fallen tree. The scent of the animals grew stronger.
Birds . . . but don’t they all nest in branches? Why are they grouping together on the forest floor?
Lucky paused. “They aren’t moving. Maybe they’re hurt, or . . .” He sniffed again. Now he sensed it—the death scent. A prickle of fear caught the back of his neck, but Bruno had already pushed on ahead of him, hurrying around the fallen trunk with an excited yip.
“Pigeons! Two of them!”
Lucky approached more warily. The gray-feathered birds were limp, their small eyes glinting, their beaks slightly parted. Lucky held back, watching the darkening woods and listening for movement. “They only died a short time ago. . . .”
“That means they’re fresh,” said Bruno, licking his chops.
Lucky gave an uneasy whimper. “It also means that whoever killed them could still be close.”
“I don’t smell anyone,” said Bruno with a dismissive wag of the tail. “Come on, let’s get them back to camp.”
Lucky could not smell anyone either, but he stood warily, reluctant to touch the dead birds. He could feel the fur on his spine standing up. “I don’t know, Bruno . . . I don’t feel right about this. Whoever killed these birds will be back for them—and they will probably be back very soon. They could track us back to the camp. There are pups there—”
“There’s also Alpha, Sweet, Fiery, and all the others. I’d like to see them try!” He gathered one of the pigeons in his jaws and turned in the direction of their camp. Lucky paused, his ears pricked. Was that a twig snapping, deeper in the forest? He tried to ignore the heavy tread of Bruno’s paws as he listened.
Nothing.
All that talk of danger . . . it must be getting to me.
Lucky shook himself, then scooped up the remaining bird and followed Bruno.
As Lucky loped out of the forest and arrived at the camp with Bruno by his side, he saw Sweet treading toward them. His heart gave a small tremor of excitement—was the swift-dog finally going to talk to him? His tail twitched and he cocked his head, but Sweet did not return the gestures as she stopped a short distance from Lucky.
“Omega, Alpha wants to speak to you,” she barked. Before Lucky could reply, she turned and entered the shelter. Lucky guessed he was supposed to follow her.
“I can take the kill,” Bruno offered.
Lucky gave a nod, dropping the limp bird so that Bruno could scoop it up with the other one that he carried. As Omega, Lucky was not supposed to be hunting, and it would be wrong for him to approach the shelter with the bird in his jaws.
Sweet was already inside when Lucky dipped his head beneath the brambles and entered the dim light of the cave. She strode to Alpha’s corner—the warmest and farthest from the entrance—and stood next to the half wolf. He was stretched out on his bed of moss and leaves, collected by Lucky as part of his duties as Omega. Alpha rose to his paws as Lucky came closer, throwing back his head in a gaping yawn that revealed his huge, pointed fangs. Lucky’s stomach tightened as other dogs approached, watching with interest. Fiery and Moon were both there, as was Martha, though there was no sign of any of the pups. Looking over the dogs, Lucky noticed that Spring was nowhere to be seen—she must be watching the pups deep inside the cave.
Alpha had stopped yawning and was staring ahead as Lucky approached.
What does he want? I’ve done my best to play by his rules, to be an obedient Omega. Is he going to cast me out of the Pack after all?
Lucky caught Bella watching him, her muzzle tight with tension. She must have been thinking the same thing.
The half wolf spoke in his strange, deep voice. “You may be wondering why I called you here, Omega.”
Lucky’s fur bristled but he stayed silent.
“Despite your lowly status I will you do you the favor of discussing a serious matter with you, since you were the one who brought the problem into my camp.”
Lucky instantly thought of the pups, and the confrontation between Moon and Martha. He glanced at the water-dog, who returned his look with a worried expression in her eyes.
Lucky turned back to Alpha and made an effort to keep his voice even. “What do you mean?”
“Those little Fierce Dogs of yours attacked Moon’s pups. There are witnesses. We need to make a decision about whether we should be harboring potential enemies—particularly those that were brought here after the black Sky-Dog appeared in warning.”
Standing by Alpha’s side, Sweet and Moon barked in support. Lucky felt his heartbeat quicken. What had happened while he had been in the forest? How had a simple case of play-fighting getting out of hand turned into this?
“If a pup can attack another pup without any reason,” Fiery growled, his lips curling back in anger, “what will he do once he’s a full-grown Fierce Dog?”
“The black cloud was an omen!” Dart put in. “Don’t you remember that awful day? The sky screamed, and then it came! And soon after that, they came!”
There was a bark of agreement from Moon.
Alpha raised his muzzle and the other dogs fell silent. “I was willing to give the three pups a chance despite my reservations, but they are showing all the violence and anger we have come to expect of their kind. Soon they will cause real damage. It will not be long before their fangs are long and their bodies powerful—every dog here will be at risk.”
“Sorry, Alpha, but I think that’s unfair.” It was Martha. “It’s true; the pups are strong, but they will learn how to control themselves in time. They are not cruel or violent by nature—and they are all very sorry about what happened.”
Bella barked in agreement but Lucky was quiet.
What Martha said is true of Wiggle and Lick, he thought, but what about Grunt? He remembered the pup’s expression during the confrontation between Martha and Moon. He had not looked sorry. . . .
Lucky shook himself. It wasn’t fair to be hard on the pup—not after everything he had been through. Grunt’s first experience in this world was the death of his Mother-Dog. The very first feelings he felt were grief and anger that he could not explain. There is still time for him to learn how to handle his emotions. He does not have to grow up into a bad dog.
Alpha stretched his long forelegs. “We have to find out the truth of their natures. We need to be sure that the pups won’t grow up to tear us all to shreds in our sleep.”
Most of the Pack growled their agreement at this—even Leashed Dogs like Daisy and Sunshine.
“All dogs have the ability to be aggressive when they think their lives
are in danger,” Lucky said. “Hasn’t every dog in this Pack gone to great lengths to ensure their own survival?”
“Survival is one thing,” Alpha snarled. “Outright savagery is another. Perhaps all dogs have an inner fighter, even feeble ones.” He cast a disdainful look at Whine, who cowered and looked away. “Fierce Dogs are different—they enjoy destroying their enemies.” The dog-wolf licked the scar on his forepaw, then raised his eyes to stare hard at Lucky. “I have to find out if these angry little pups will be loyal and obedient to their new Pack. We have a right to know the truth about them while they’re still small enough to be dealt with.”
A shiver ran along Lucky’s spine. He was about to protest, but Martha spoke first.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘dealt with’?” she snarled.
The half wolf’s hackles rose and his pale eyes bore into her until she looked away, lowering her head. When he spoke again there was a note of finality in his voice. “First the pups must be tested. Then I will decide what’s to be done.” He sank onto his bed of moss and leaves and turned his face away. The dogs took their cue to disperse.
Martha padded away, grumbling about the decision as Mickey sought to console her. Lucky walked behind Sweet. Once they were out of Alpha’s earshot, he murmured to her: “Do you support this?”
She didn’t turn to look at him. “Alpha gets to make the decisions. That’s why he’s Alpha.”
Lucky thought about this. How did Alpha get to his position? he wondered. Does it have to be the fiercest dog who gets to be leader of a Pack? Could a quieter, gentler dog rise to be Alpha?
Sweet licked her paw impatiently. Lucky was reminded that nothing had changed—she still had not forgiven him. He growled in frustration. “It’s not right to treat the pups like this. Their Mother-Dog died, then their Pack abandoned them—they have suffered enough! Isn’t it any wonder that, after all that, they would be a bit more aggressive than is in their nature? They can change.”
“They’re dishonorable little runts,” Sweet growled with a dismissive toss of her sleek head. Then she looked right at Lucky. “They can’t be trusted.”
The swift-dog started to walk away. Lucky felt the blood drain from his body.
“Please, Sweet,” he yelped. “Testing the pups will be unfair. And you know that the dogs can change—you’ve done it yourself! You are now a tough dog, with status in this large Pack. But you were not always tough—remember?”
Sweet stopped in her tracks, her head snapping around to look at him. Her lip curled defensively. “What do you mean by that, Omega?”
Lucky was shocked. “Call me whatever name you like . . . Beta,” he snarled. “At least I’m not a coward! It was not me who was scared of a dead longpaw, was it? You may be impressed with yourself now, but back in the city you were a different dog . . . you were terrified, helpless . . . pathetic.”
Her eyes blazed with anger. Lucky wanted to take back the words as soon as he had barked them. She may have ignored him and mocked him, but that did not stop him from feeling like he had gone too far.
He was surprised when the fierce look on Sweet’s face faded. “I suppose you have a point, though you didn’t have to make it in such a nasty way.”
“I know; I was just frustrated. I shouldn’t have—”
She dismissed his words with a jerk of her head. “Let’s leave it at that.” She glanced back toward the dog-wolf’s corner of the shelter. “Alpha has a point too, you know? Fierce Dogs are enemies of ours. It makes sense to find out for sure if these pups are beyond the help of the Pack. It could save all our lives.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As the Sun-Dog bounded beyond the trees, the Pack gathered to eat the prey the hunters had brought back for them. Alpha stepped forward first, salivating, and clamped his wolfish jaws down on the largest rabbit in the pile.
Lucky lay down in the grass and groomed his paws. The role of Omega had taught him the value of patience—or at least that there was no point watching and drooling while every other dog in the Pack ate their fill, worrying about how much would be left for him.
Sweet followed Alpha. Moon had lost her right to eat early when she’d stopped nursing, but the weaned pups had taken her place. Nose and Squirm tumbled and play-fought over a mouse before running back to Moon’s side to share their spoils. Sunshine had explained to Lucky that they would eat after Alpha and Beta until they were grown enough to choose their new names; then they’d have to work their way up the Pack ranks like any other dog.
Grunt, Lick, and Wiggle bounded up to the prey pile next, with Martha standing strong behind them. She leaned down and muttered into Lick’s ear.
“Not too much now, remember? Eat your fill, but don’t be greedy. Make sure your litter-brothers remember too.”
The female pup nodded. Sure enough, when she saw Wiggle reaching for a second vole, she gently barged him with her shoulder.
“Greedy guts,” she muttered. Wiggle reluctantly put the vole down.
The Hunter Dogs ate next, led by Fiery, and then the Patrol Dogs. Whine tucked in with his usual abandon, as if he was trying to leave as little as possible for Sunshine and Lucky, the only two dogs lower in the Pack than he was. Lucky hid his annoyance with a yawn. He couldn’t let Whine see that being Omega was getting to him.
By the time Lucky was allowed to eat, the prey pile was almost gone. He swallowed down a last bite of rabbit and a tiny bird that had already been dead when Bruno had found it.
There was no Great Howl tonight—the Moon-Dog’s face was only a dim sliver in the sky. The dogs scattered as they headed for their dens. In the Patrol Dogs’ den, Moon stretched out her legs, forcing Whine to curl up in a dim, damp corner. Lucky saw Bruno sniffing the bedding in the hunters’ den and then panting gratefully across the camp at him. Grunt, Lick, and Wiggle were nestled alongside Martha in the open section of the cave, while Moon and Fiery watched over Nose and Squirm in the pup den.
Lucky shivered in his Omega place near the cave’s entrance. He turned restlessly, thinking about the Fierce Dog pups. It’s not fair to test them, they’re so young. . . . He spotted Sweet’s lean silhouette as she trod lightly between the sleeping dogs. She stood over Lucky, waiting for him to get up and follow her. His stomach tightened.
What did his Beta want in the middle of the night?
He climbed soundlessly to his paws and padded after Sweet. She walked to the far side of the cave, where Daisy was curled up beside Sunshine. Lucky watched, his stomach churning, as Sweet tapped Daisy on the nose.
Why is she waking Daisy? he wondered.
Daisy opened her eyes and blinked at Sweet. Her worried glance drifted to Lucky.
“Come with me,” Sweet murmured.
The little dog yawned, then struggled to her paws. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“I’ll explain when we’re outside,” Sweet replied, leading Lucky and Daisy past Bella, who stood sentry at the entrance. Bella eyed them curiously but turned away as they stepped out of the cave.
There was a bite in the air. The Sky-Dogs were at rest, the Moon-Dog floating alone in a cloudless no-sun sky. A breeze lifted over the surrounding trees and brushed back the fur on Lucky’s throat. Daisy shivered and looked up at Sweet and Lucky.
“What’s going on?” asked Daisy, bewildered. She looked from Sweet to Lucky, her ears twitching anxiously.
“I was about to ask Sweet the same thing,” said Lucky. “Is this about the pups again?”
“How did you guess?” Alpha’s husky voice seemed to float out of the darkness and Lucky’s fur rose along his back. A moment later, he spotted the half wolf’s shaggy outline as he slunk closer, his yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight.
Daisy took a nervous step toward Lucky.
Lucky thought of the Fierce Dog pups sleeping peacefully with Martha. His chest tightened and his throat felt dry. “You’re not going to ‘test’ them now?” As soon as the words were out, he realized he sounded more hostile than he had intended
.
“Not now,” snarled Alpha. “At dawn.” He turned to Sweet, greeting her with a tap of the nose. He turned back to Lucky. “I went exploring today with Beta and Fiery. Beyond the cave and the forest, there is a ridge of white rock. I want to know what comes after that. Are there other dogs out there? Is there decent prey? Does the river stay clean beyond the ridge?”
Lucky listened uneasily. Is he planning to send me there right now, in the middle of the night? And why has he called on Daisy?
As if reading his thoughts, Alpha looked down at Daisy, acknowledging her for the first time. “You will take the Fierce Dog pups.”
“Take them . . . ?” Daisy was wide-eyed.
“Through the forest. We need to know that the pups are loyal. That they will obey adult members of the Pack, regardless of how . . .” Alpha paused. He stared down at Daisy. She took a step back, unable to meet his eye.
Lucky’s stomach clenched and he swallowed a whine. “You can’t use Daisy like that—it isn’t fair to her or the pups. A journey through the forest will endanger all their lives.”
“It is necessary,” snapped Alpha. “Daisy will lead the pups to the white ridge, searching for possible new camps. She will find out what is beyond the ridge, and she will return with the pups and report to us what she has seen. Then we will know if those three little brutes can take orders.”
Lucky was horrified. By testing the pups, Alpha was putting Daisy in serious danger. Daisy was one of the dogs who the pups could overwhelm, if the urge took them.
“It is not safe in the deep forest without a Pack!” he protested, thinking of the sly coyotes prowling around at night. Catching Daisy’s terrified expression, he decided not to mention them. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
“You’re not the only dog who can survive alone,” snarled Alpha dismissively. “Daisy will have to take care of herself.”
Lucky thought about Lick, Grunt, and Wiggle fast asleep at Martha’s side. His body tensed protectively. “What about the pups?”