There would be torn allegiances, combat, bloodshed . . .
Alpha and Fiery stared at each other for a few moments as the others watched in anxious silence. Then Fiery looked away, dropping his head. Alpha snarled in warning and Fiery lowered his hackles and took a step back. Satisfied, the Pack leader raised his muzzle and glanced around the surrounding dogs in challenge. No one met his eye.
Daisy sidled up to Lucky. “Why does everything have to be so hard? Each time we get settled, something happens that forces us to move on. It’s cold here, and we haven’t eaten all sun-high.” She gazed at him sadly, her ears drooping.
Lucky licked her ears and tried to soothe her. “Give it a chance,” he told her. “I know it seems a bit unfriendly here, but we’re safe from the cloud and near fresh water. Tomorrow will be better.”
Mickey had overheard him and whined unhappily: “All we do is run and hide. We form camps but then have to move on, constantly looking over our backs to invisible dangers. It wasn’t like this in the city.”
“But the city is the most dangerous place of all,” yelped Daisy sadly.
“It might be safe now.” Mickey tapped the leather glove with his forepaw. “Did you see that black cloud? It wasn’t just a shapeless thing.”
Lucky’s ears pricked up. Had Mickey also observed the figure of a dog in the sky?
“Didn’t you notice anything unusual about it?” Mickey’s tail started wagging. “It was the shape of a giant longpaw. It was a master’s paw pointing!”
Several of the Leashed Dogs crept toward him, listening intently. It hadn’t looked like a longpaw to Lucky, but he didn’t interrupt.
“It’s like the safe caves by the river,” said Mickey. “It’s a sign. Our longpaws were pointing the way back to the city.” His voice rose in excitement, his tail lashing the air. “They want us to come home. Maybe they’ve returned!”
Alpha stalked between the dogs, pushing his way to the front of the group. Lucky watched him suspiciously—where had this kind of confidence been when it mattered? He remembered how the half wolf had cowered beneath the black cloud. Now he was strutting around as though he had been in complete control the whole time.
“Longpaws, longpaws, longpaws—that’s all you Leashed Dogs ever talk about! Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound? You especially, Farm Dog.” He glared at Mickey with disgust. “Why are you still carrying around that strange longpaw thing? Isn’t it time to get rid of it?” Alpha sniffed the glove and Mickey snatched it up in his jaws, stepping back and holding it close. Alpha’s lip curled as he growled: “If you’re so keen to get back to your masters, why not run away to the city? We don’t want Leashed Dogs here.”
Mickey dropped the glove between his forepaws.
“Good idea!” he replied. He turned to the other Leashed Dogs. “It’s time to go back to the city—time to find our longpaws. Who’s with me?” Mickey cast his eyes around the group of dogs. While a couple of the Leashed Dogs whimpered, none would meet his gaze. Martha licked her feathery tail, removing the last of the burrs. Daisy gazed out beneath the overhang to the peaceful lake. A long silence followed while Lucky stared at his paws, not sure what to say.
Mickey’s ears flicked back. “I don’t care what you think. I know they’ve returned. I’ll go alone if I have to!” He scooped up the glove and started along the shore of the lake, toward the place where the Sun-Dog was settling to his rest beyond the horizon. It was almost dark out there.
Lucky stood in his way. “Don’t do this,” he whined. “We’ve only just escaped all the danger that’s behind us, and now you’re planning to retrace your steps to the city? Even traveling in a Pack we didn’t escape unscathed.” Lucky thought sadly of Alfie, who had almost died when his longpaws’ house collapsed . . . and who had been killed in a fight between the Packs. Killed by Alpha.
Daisy caught up with them. “Please don’t go,” she whimpered.
Mickey was resolute. He dropped the glove so he could speak. “I don’t belong here. I don’t like all the arguments, all the troubles in Pack life. I need to leave. My longpaw is waiting for me. I can feel it.”
Lucky growled. “It isn’t safe for you to travel alone. I won’t let you!” He squared up to the black-and-white dog, his body stiff.
“You can’t stop me,” said Mickey. He shoved past as Lucky looked on, tail lowered. Then he paused and turned. His face was softer now, his brown eyes warm.
Lucky’s tail thrashed happily.
He’s changed his mind!
Mickey stepped forward, dropping his glove to lick Lucky’s muzzle. Then he turned to Martha and Daisy and did the same.
Little Sunshine yipped, bounding out from beneath the rocky overhang.
Mickey lowered his head and licked her white ears. “I hadn’t forgotten you,” he murmured.
Lucky’s tail sank. “You’re still going?”
Mickey turned to him. “I have to.”
This time Lucky didn’t try to stop him. He stood between Martha and Daisy, watching as Mickey picked up his glove and turned away from them one more time.
The last time, Lucky thought, sadness like a claw lodged in his flesh.
The Farm Dog’s outline soon merged with the creeping darkness. Several of the Leashed Dogs stood a while longer, but Lucky returned to the camp beneath the rocks and sank to the floor, listening to his friend’s retreating pawsteps. The crunch of stones on the rocky path disappeared as Mickey scrambled up the rock shaft. Then there was only the rippling water on the lake and the wind in the cool night air.
CHAPTER FOUR
Dogs snarled and spat at one another, tearing at one another’s throats under a boiling black sky.
But this was no honest battle of Pack versus Pack. Litter-siblings had turned against one another. Dogs who had fought side by side bit and clawed indiscriminately at their comrades.
Is this the Storm of Dogs? When Packs tear themselves apart?
Lucky barked desperately, pleading with the shadowy dogs to cease their battle.
We must stick together!
But the fighting went on and on, until the field was soaked in the blood of friend and enemy alike. . . .
Lucky’s eyes flicked open and his ears pricked up as he awoke to the sound of angry growls. Looking around, it took him a moment to remember where he was. The Sun-Dog was rising behind the valley and touching the lake in the distance with shimmers of light.
Beneath the rocks it was shadowy and cool. Most of the dogs were still sleeping, curled up close to one another for warmth. Lucky got to his paws with a yawn and stretched. He felt stiff and tired. His head and hind leg still ached from the clash with the foxes.
Then he heard a growl. Just beyond the rocks he saw Bella and Sweet. He couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying but by their postures he knew that their peace had been short-lived. He stepped warily around the sleeping dogs and out into the low light of sunup.
Sweet was snarling at Bella as Lucky approached. “Your Pack has brought us nothing but trouble since the moment you arrived in our territory. You’d better get out of here before everything falls to pieces!”
Bella did not budge. “It isn’t my fault, or the fault of my Pack, that Twitch decided to leave. We slowed down for him. We tried to help him. He was with you when he got hurt.”
Sweet growled angrily at this but Lucky interrupted:
“What happened to Twitch?”
Sweet turned to look at him, her eyes cool. “He disappeared in the middle of the night. Nobody knows where he went.”
Lucky absorbed this news with a shiver of dread. He thought of the unhappy dog with the injured paw. Twitch had struggled to make his way through the forest last night and had scarcely managed the descent by the lake. How would he fare out there in the wild, where foxes and other creatures stalked? How could he hunt? How would he survive?
Lucky was snapped out of these thoughts by Sweet barking at Bella: “We don’t know where Twitch has gone.” She had
inched closer, her narrow body bolt upright, her lips curled back. “But in a way, he’s shown us what to do. Look at this place. I’ve scarcely seen a living thing all morning. The grass is sandy and damp. There won’t be enough food for all these dogs.” She glared accusingly at Daisy and Martha, who had gathered with some of the Wild Pack to watch the exchange from the distance of the rock cover, their tails low. “Maybe back at our own camp we could have supported you, but the Pack is too big for a place like this.” She turned to Bella. “It’s time for the Leashed Dogs to stand on their own four paws. You should move on to establish your own camp—somewhere else.”
Daisy and Martha exchanged worried looks. Standing behind them, Bruno, Snap, and Fiery looked on warily.
Bella ignored them. She would not be cowed. “Aren’t you rather full of yourself, Beta? It was Lucky who spotted the dark cloud and helped the Pack to safety—and in case you’ve forgotten, he’s one of us. You need the Leashed Dogs.”
Lucky’s fur prickled uncomfortably. It wasn’t fair of Bella to bring him into this. He didn’t want Sweet to be reminded of his betrayal!
Alpha appeared from behind the rocks, a shock of gray fur. He sprang down toward them and landed between Bella and Sweet, who both started back in surprise.
“Arguing won’t help anyone.” He paced between Bella and Sweet, his head held high. Lucky would have expected Alpha to take Sweet’s side, but his voice was actually level—reasonable. “There are a lot of nervous dogs in the bigger Pack now. Their courage will hardly be aided by this display of aggression between the stronger among us.”
Lucky tried not to let his amazement show. You’re talking about courage? he thought. After your performance?
“You need to remember,” Alpha went on, “that these weaker dogs look up to you. You are my Beta. The Pack respects you.” He threw a dubious look at Bella. “And your dogs look up to you, too, I imagine. You must both demonstrate that you have courage and good sense. That you won’t compromise the security of the others by being reckless or selfish . . . the way Omega was.”
Lucky froze, his tail stiffening behind him. What does he mean by that?
Alpha stood up straight, his yellow eyes glinting with confidence. “All the bad things that have fallen upon the Pack happened after Omega showed up.” The dog-wolf turned to Lucky and narrowed his eyes accusingly. “We’re stronger together but not with the City Dog around.”
“But the cloud wasn’t Lucky’s fault,” Bella said in a reasonable voice.
Alpha turned to her. “You will address him by his proper name,” he growled. “And whether or not Omega caused the black cloud, it took the shape of a Sky-Dog. I have no doubt of that. You saw it too!”
Sweet stared at Alpha. “A Sky-Dog? What do you mean?” She hadn’t been there when Lucky and Bella had watched with Alpha as the cloud seemed to assume the form of a dog. She hadn’t witnessed Alpha’s panic and horrified certainty that an evil Sky-Dog was to blame for their miseries.
“The black cloud was a Sky-Dog,” Alpha barked. “I would not be surprised if his rage was punishment for Omega’s deceit in playing the two Packs against each other.”
Lucky felt the blood drain away from him and he caught his breath. He’d heard that the Spirit Dogs could turn on a dog in anger. Hadn’t his Mother-Dog told him so when he was only a pup?
Could this have been my fault? Lucky’s eyes shot to the sky, where the black cloud was concealed beyond the forest.
The dogs watching from beneath the rocky overhang had crept forward, anxious to understand what was going on. Alpha turned to acknowledge them.
“I have made my decision,” he said. “I will keep my word and not force the Leashed Dogs to leave. They may still have a role to play in this Pack. It is a dangerous, unknown world that we face, and it will be safer if we stick together.” He spoke softly, but with authority, like a gentle Father-Dog giving his helpless pups an important lesson. “But Lucky cannot be part of this Pack, even as Omega. Look at the trouble he causes—conflict follows him like his own tail.”
Alpha turned back to Sweet and Bella, making a show of ignoring eye contact with Lucky. “You have both spoken up for Omega, as though he is your ally. But he has brought you to constant bickering. He is at the center of all that has gone wrong for both our Packs.”
Lucky’s moment of doubt had passed. He was not responsible for the dark cloud. Whatever it was, it was somehow linked to the strange, changed world that the Big Growl had left behind. Alpha’s just using it as an excuse to get rid of me!
He felt heat rise through his flanks. His breath came quicker, and his ears tingled with anger. The surrounding dogs crowded around them. Alpha’s posturing could not work this time. Surely everyone saw the way their “leader” had fallen apart in the face of the black cloud. Despite his deadly fangs and smooth words, the half wolf was a coward. He had no clue what to do in the face of disaster, no idea how to survive. Left to him, the dogs would have stayed at the old camp as the poisoned cloud drew closer. They would not have run when it made to pounce. All of them would have—
“For the sake of the Pack,” barked Alpha again, “the City Dog must leave.”
“If it weren’t for me, none of you would have made it out of the forest alive,” snapped Lucky, trying to control his rage. “I found the route away from the old camp. I led the way up the hill. The so-called ‘Sky-Dog’ you saw was a poison cloud, and the sight of it almost scared the fur off you, Alpha! You did nothing to help your Pack escape.”
Alpha turned at him, snarling. “Face it, traitor: you’re nothing but trouble. Your name is just a cruel joke. You and your bad luck aren’t wanted here.”
Daisy whimpered and ran to Lucky’s side.
Big, gentle Martha took a step forward. “Lucky’s a good friend to us,” she said. “He always worked hard for the Leashed Dogs. He’s never let us down.”
“He pulled his weight in our Pack too,” good-natured Snap put in. “He helped the smaller dogs climb the hill and led the way through the forest.”
Whine yelped at this. “Snap’s right; we should be grateful to Omega.” The stout little dog nervously pawed the ground in a show of deference. It was obviously taking courage for him to speak out against the fearsome half wolf. “We wouldn’t have made it without his help. Please reconsider, Alpha.”
Lucky sighed. Whine had never spared him a kind word before, and he doubted that the little dog had had a change of heart now. He was probably just worried that with Lucky gone, he would go back to the rank he had cheated and blackmailed his way out of before the battle with the foxes.
The rank of Omega.
Alpha snarled at Whine, who scampered away with a whimper. Then the dog-wolf flashed his teeth at Snap and Martha, who quickly dipped their heads in submission.
Lucky watched in disbelief. They’re following him, despite everything! They’re going to let him kick me out of the Pack!
Alpha took a step forward, puffed up to his full height. He stood over Lucky with his lips curled back in a snarl. “Need I remind you that your punishment remains outstanding, traitor?”
Lucky glared back at him but didn’t speak. He was so angry that he didn’t trust his voice. They were going to let their protests be pushed aside just like that, after all he’d done for them.
Alpha turned to the rest of his Pack, his voice soft and reasonable. “Considering the ordeal that we have been through, and the fact that Omega acted with some degree of bravery when we left our old camp, I would be prepared to spare him the wounds he deserves, and let him off with simple exile.”
“Alpha’s right. Omega would be better off if he just left.” It was Sweet. She looked at Lucky with her big brown eyes and he sensed her hurt. He blinked back at her, sorry that he had let her down. Could she ever forgive him? And what good would her forgiveness do if he never saw her again? But something in his face must have angered Sweet, and she pulled back her lips. “You betrayed both Packs.” The iciness of her snarl shocked
Lucky. “How can any dog expect to be trusted after such dishonesty?”
Lucky flinched, no longer able to meet Sweet’s eye. He turned to Bella instead. It had been her idea to spy on the Wild Pack in the first place—Lucky had just carried it out, thinking he would be finding a way for them all to share prey and territory together. He hadn’t even wanted to do it—but his littermate had insisted it would help the Leashed Dogs.
Bella looked at him with a blank expression. She said nothing.
“Bella?” he yelped, and she dropped her gaze. What was she doing?
The other dogs stood by, staring at their paws. Even little Daisy would not look at Lucky, though she whimpered by his side.
They’re all going to fall into line with Alpha . . . even the Leashed Dogs!
Their abandonment stung Lucky deeply. He would have expected some loyalty from these dogs, after everything they’d been through together. But there was none.
He exchanged a quick glance with Bella. She looked sad, but stern. Then he turned from the dogs without a word, scrambled up the rocks, and began to retrace his way to the forest.
He might discover a road, or another field. He would chase rabbits, drink from streams, find somewhere warm and dry to sleep.
I’ll be free again, he told himself, willing his tail to wag. Instead it drooped behind him.
Freedom was all I ever wanted.
He had thought such things before and meant them, but now the words echoed through his mind. Had he become a dog who yearned for the same things the Leashed Dogs did—company and friendship . . . a Pack?
No, he told himself. This is how it was always meant to be—me, by myself, without a Pack to slow me down. A true Lone Dog.
With a whimper, Lucky climbed the path to the high trees, knowing those thoughts didn’t ring true anymore.
He was not a Lone Dog now. Not really.
He was an outcast.