by Erin Hunter
Dart grew more emphatic. “You remember Blade, don’t you? She could rip a dog’s head off with her teeth!”
The Pack started barking fretfully.
“Quiet!” howled Alpha.
The dogs jumped, turning to look at the half dog. He strode between them, his tail stiff behind him. Lucky licked his nose uneasily as Alpha raised his wolfish muzzle. “It is a leader’s job to think and say the things that other dogs fear to.” His yellow eyes darted between the dogs as they each looked down, unwilling to meet his gaze. “Dart and Spring are right to be worried.”
There was a murmur of fear from the Pack. Moon stepped back, gathering Beetle and Thorn close to her.
The dog-wolf continued. “I have given the situation some thought. Right now, we are vulnerable. Not because we are open to attack. Not because of the camp. Not because of the wind. Because of Lick.”
Lucky’s lip curled back and a growl caught in his throat. He caught Sweet’s eye. She shot him a warning look. The swift-dog was right. If I challenge Alpha now, in front of the whole Pack, it’ll just make matters worse.
Storm broke from her Packmates before any dog could stop her.
“My name isn’t Lick anymore!” she snarled. “No other dog seems to have a problem with that!”
Mickey threw Snap a guilty look as Alpha’s yellow eyes narrowed. The dog-wolf turned not to Storm, but to the other dogs. In contrast to the young Fierce Dog, his voice was silky. “See how aggressive she gets, and how quickly?” He strutted past, towering over her. “A dangerous temperament, and trouble will doubtless follow. The Fierce Dogs wouldn’t even know about us if it weren’t for her. They say that Lick belongs with them, and they aren’t going to stop until they bring her back to her Pack.” Alpha sat, staring down his wolfish snout. “With this Fierce Dog walking among us, we will never be safe. How long do you want to keep looking over your tails?” He turned to Dart and Spring. “Wouldn’t it be nice to live without fear?” His cool eyes fell on Moon, who licked Beetle’s ear with a whine.
Lucky felt like he’d swallowed a mouthful of sand. His throat was dry and scratchy. He had to speak. If he didn’t, Storm might—and if that happened, things would get worse.
“If you’re so sure an attack will come, the best thing to do is to make sure the Pack is protected.” Lucky looked over the dogs to the green valley and the cliff face beyond. “This is a good camp, but it could be better—the first thing we need is to feed ourselves so we have strength. After that, we can post Patrol Dogs at the edge of the cliff at all times, to keep watch over the beach and the passage through the cave. We should post another patrol by the bank of the pond to guard against enemies coming from behind.”
“That’s a good idea,” agreed Bella, who had been listening in silence.
“We have plenty of dogs.” Snap nodded. “It wouldn’t be hard to set up the patrols.” Lucky felt proud of his Packmates—immediately they were forming strategies.
Alpha turned angrily on them. “Have you all forgotten who your Alpha is?” he snarled. He sprang around, slamming his forepaws against Lucky, who tumbled to the ground with a gasp. “I won’t have this City Dog making our defensive plans!” Alpha snarled. “What can he know about anything? And it doesn’t count for a thing. It’s another lie. He knows you’re in danger, but he doesn’t care; he’ll do anything for his little beast, his own trained Fierce Dog!”
Storm lowered her head, growling.
Lucky bristled and threw Alpha off him. He didn’t fight back—that would have been suicide. Instead he climbed to his paws and shook his fur.
Alpha glared around the Pack. “You should prepare yourself. Today you are all going hunting!”
“Even Patrol Dogs?” asked Dart in a small voice.
Alpha slammed one wolfish paw onto the grass. “Every dog! That means Patrol Dogs, pups . . . even Omega.” He stalked off angrily, shoving between Mickey and Martha.
Sunshine stared after him, tilting her head nervously. “I haven’t hunted since it was just the Leashed Pack,” she murmured.
Lucky hurried to Storm’s side. The young dog’s flanks were heaving. He nuzzled her neck, doing his best to comfort her. Rage leaped off her fur.
“Don’t listen to Alpha; you’re not going anywhere.”
“Alpha!” she snarled, gnashing her teeth. “He’d better stop picking on me! I’m not some silly milk-pup—I’m old enough to challenge him. I don’t want to be Alpha, but I’d love to sink my teeth into that gray fur. I’d rip out his throat so he could never insult me again!”
Lucky shrank back, his fur on end. So much fury. Storm was right: She wasn’t a little pup anymore. If Alpha kept provoking her, it would lead to a fight.
A fight that would end in bloodshed.
Alpha’s doing this on purpose, he thought. He’s dividing the dogs by picking on Storm. And a Pack divided can’t win any fight.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Clouds were gathering over the cliffs as the dogs set out on the hunt. Alpha took the lead and Lucky dropped back, watching Sweet and Snap as they strode after the wolf-dog. His belly rumbled with hunger. The other dogs must have been feeling it too, but Bella made a good show of cheerfulness as she trotted up to Lucky and nudged him with her muzzle.
He let her pass—he could see the dogs at the rear of the Pack were struggling and he wanted to keep an eye on them. Whine was already panting heavily, scrabbling along on his stumpy legs. Sunshine had the added disadvantage of her long, disheveled coat, which swept up dirt and twigs. Lucky fell into step alongside her, giving her soft ears a lick.
The dogs wound their way over the far side of the territory, where the grass grew patchy and the trees vanished. The earth beneath their paws turned yellow and grainy, thinning into sand. It stopped abruptly at a new outcrop of rocks and white cliffs. The Pack avoided the cliffs, skirting around them and down toward the wide bank of the Endless Lake.
Sunshine tripped over the sand. “It’s so hard to walk on this!” she whined to Lucky. “I feel like I’m sinking.”
A short distance ahead, Spring inspected a forepaw. “Me too.”
Pausing next to the floppy-eared dog, Dart ran her eyes up the white cliffs. “Up there, on the rocks, it’s hard on the paws. But at least it’s easier to walk.”
Lucky plodded behind them in silence. They’re moving so slowly, and making so much noise. We’ll never catch any prey this way. . . .
Bella must have overheard as she turned back, her tail wagging cheerfully. “You’ll get used to it. Soon you’ll love running over it.”
“How can a dog run on this crumbly yellow earth?” Dart growled. “It’s impossible; you’d just fall over. I don’t know how we’re supposed to catch prey here.”
Lucky suspected that she’d struggle to catch prey anyway, being a Patrol Dog and not used to hunting, but he thought better of saying so.
“It’s easy!” barked Bella, her tail lashing the air. She trotted forward, drawing up her legs and taking prancing strides over the sand—something between walking and jumping. Lucky gave an amused whine at the sight, but the dogs all stopped to look, cocking their heads.
Dart’s ears pricked up and she rose up tall, imitating Bella’s jaunty steps. Spring tried it too. Soon Mickey, Daisy, and even old Bruno were doing their best to copy Bella’s movements over the sand. Lucky could feel his spirits lifting. They all looked a bit crazy prancing about like that, but he was impressed that they were giving it a try. Even Storm did her best to take light, hopping steps, her ears flying and flopping.
“Stop this at once!” Alpha had turned and was glaring at the dogs, who tumbled down onto the sand. The half wolf shook his gray fur. “This is no way to be carrying on.” His cool yellow eyes rested on Storm as he continued. “Dogs walk; they don’t leap about like that!”
The Pack fell into line behind Alpha, abandoning Bella’s prancing technique. They waded over the soft ground as it sank uncomfortably underfoot. The Endless Lake rolled over the damp ban
k and peeled off the sand, fanning plumes of white froth. Its sharp, salty stench rose on the air. It was so strong that Lucky thought he could actually taste the salt in his mouth.
He looked doubtfully at the dog-wolf, wondering how they were expected to feed the Pack in this environment. How are we supposed to sense prey under all this salt?
The frosty wind was rising, and clouds were weaving together in a heavy veil, growing darker. Their damp pelt blocked out the light of the Sun-Dog. Was it about to rain? Lucky paused, his nostrils pulsing. He tried to detect water overhead, but could smell nothing through the salty wind rising off the Endless Lake.
Sweet was ahead of him, at Alpha’s side, but still within earshot. “The Sky-Dogs are grouping. We need cover,” she told the dog-wolf.
She was right. Standing several dog-lengths behind, Lucky squinted at the long, sandy bank and the jumble of rocks at the base of the cliffs. They would need to find shelter when the rain came. He had scarcely had time to think this when a droplet of icy water splashed on his snout.
Ahead of Lucky, Alpha nodded at Sweet. “We’ll wait under that rock until it passes,” he grunted. The half wolf made for a low-hanging white rock just as the clouds shook out their heavy pelts. The Pack hurried after him, jostling beneath the shelter that was only just large enough to cover them all. Lucky squeezed in between Storm, Mickey, and Martha. He did a quick head count, running his eyes over the dogs beneath the rock. The Pack were all there, but they weren’t all comfortable. Crouching at the edge of the shelter, Sunshine’s hindquarters looked like they were growing wet.
“Get a bit closer,” whined Lucky. “Let Sunshine have more room.”
The dogs started pressing together. Lucky could feel Mickey shivering alongside him.
At the deepest point of the shelter, farthest from the rain, Alpha snapped back. “You don’t give orders, City Dog! The Omega is fine where she is.”
Sunshine cringed and she dipped her head.
Lucky’s lip twitched, but he controlled his temper. Poor Sunshine—this has nothing to do with her. Alpha just wants to get at me.
But the little Omega didn’t answer back, sinking down onto her paws with a sigh. Water tumbled down from the sky and she gazed up at it with her dark, shiny eyes.
Lucky couldn’t bear to look at her. His gaze drifted to the bank of the Endless Lake. The rain fell in gray sheets, running into the sand and melding into the white-topped waves.
This isn’t right. Sunshine is a Pack Dog, just like the rest of us. She shouldn’t be treated like this. As Lucky looked away, his eyes met Sweet’s. He thought he saw some sadness there, some doubt. She doesn’t agree with this either. Alpha’s a bully; he’s not being fair. It doesn’t have to be like this!
There was another way; Lucky felt sure of it. Maybe Sweet was beginning to see it at last.
When the rain finally began to peter out, it felt to Lucky as though a whole day had passed. His tummy churned with hunger and he raised his muzzle, peering over the other dogs. He was surprised to see the Sun-Dog staring back at him from between the clouds.
The dogs rolled onto their paws, stepping out from under the rock to stretch. The air was cool and fresh, a little less salty than before the rain.
Alpha trod between the Pack, his whiskers twitching as he sniffed the damp air. “We should turn back now and try again tomorrow.”
Moon’s blue eyes were wide. “Now?” she barked anxiously. “Without a single piece of prey?” She glanced at Beetle and Thorn, who were play fighting by her side. “But we’re all hungry.”
Daisy was nibbling at her white-and-tan fur. Her ears pricked up. “It’s true!” she yipped. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, addressing Alpha. “I know it’s not my place to speak . . . but . . . it’s okay for some members of the Pack, who have a steady diet and all the best pickings. Other dogs are going hungry. . . . Whine and Sunshine are getting weak, and the rest of us will too if we don’t find something to eat soon.”
Whine gave a little whimper. Lucky found he felt sorry for the wrinkly-faced dog, even though he’d been so nasty when Lucky was Omega. Whine was different from how he had been in the forest and the old camp. The rolls of fur hung more loosely and his coat was dirty and drab. His eyes oozed liquid and his nose looked runny. He didn’t seem to care about anything as he hung back from the others, tapping the wet sand with a forepaw.
Alpha’s lip curled back and he took a step toward Daisy, towering over the little terrier. “It’s the Alpha’s job to stay strong,” he snapped. “For the sake of the Pack!”
Daisy flinched but her paws stayed planted to the ground. A murmur of sympathy rose from the Pack.
“The dogs are hungry,” said Martha gently. “We need to find more food.”
Bella nodded her golden head. “And if we can’t feed ourselves, we won’t be able to defend the camp. We saw the Fierce Dogs in the town. They’re close—they could reach us within a day. If we don’t get stronger we can’t stay in this area!”
There were whines and yaps from the Pack, and Alpha spun around, his eyes flashing. He dropped his head and took a threatening step toward Bella, who backed away. “I’m well aware of that,” he snarled. “And we might have found some food and gotten out of here if you knew what you were doing. Half of you couldn’t catch your own tails, and all your yapping would scare a rabbit at a hundred paces.” He prowled between the dogs, his wolfish tail rising before he stopped with a decisive thud of his forepaw. “I will send our best hunters to the cliffs to find food. The rest of you should head back to the camp.” He blinked up at the sky, which was growing clearer. “For all your whines and complaints, don’t you realize it’s the rain that kept the prey hidden? Now that it’s passed, the prey-creatures will start to come out.”
Lucky’s tail stiffened irritably. He’s making excuses for his own mistake in bringing us to this barren place. And he isn’t dealing with Bella’s point. The Fierce Dogs are far too close. . . .
Alpha dropped his head and his eyes narrowed. “Lucky will go with Snap and Mickey. They are to bring back prey for the Pack to eat—and a white rabbit. The rest of us will relax, and get our strength back. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
Lucky gave a curious whine. “Why do you want the rabbit?” He knew the answer. . . . It was for Storm. He won’t accept that she’s already named, he thought with a wrinkle of annoyance. Well, at least this would make things official. He gave Storm an encouraging nod. And it sounds like he’s preparing the Pack to leave the camp. At least the wolf-dog seemed to be taking their worries seriously.
“Something came to me in a dream last night,” Alpha replied with a wicked glint in his yellow eyes. “A way to make sure the Pack needn’t worry about Lick in the future.”
Storm cringed at this use of her pup name as Alpha continued. “We should have a real Naming Ceremony, conducted by the Pack’s Alpha. That is the right way to do things.”
“But I already have a name,” Storm protested.
Alpha snorted, turning back to the cliffs and starting along the path to the camp.
Storm’s haunches rose and her lips curled back. Lucky hurried to her side, recalling for a moment the image of whirring snow and fighting dogs from his vision at the Great Howl. His fur rose on end and his heart quickened in his chest. If she spoke out now, it would lead to trouble.
“This could actually be a good thing,” Lucky whispered.
“How is it good?” Storm snarled, glaring at Alpha’s back.
“It’s good if it means he accepts you and stops giving you a hard time. The whole Pack will take part in your Naming Ceremony, and it’ll all be official. In a way, it’s the right thing to do.”
“I guess so,” she grunted, her eyes firmly fixed on the dog-wolf. “But I don’t trust him. Nothing he does is right. And one of these days, some dog will teach him a lesson.” Drool bubbled at her lips and she ran a pink tongue over her teeth.
“Lucky, are you coming?” asked Mickey, wa
gging his black-and-white tail.
Lucky followed the Farm Dog and Snap as they set out on their hunting expedition. But he couldn’t shake the memory of Storm’s bubbling lips, or the fury he’d heard in her voice.
Lucky’s foreleg was throbbing again as he pounded up the rocky incline behind Snap and Mickey. His paws slipped on the wet ground and it was an effort to keep upright. He stayed away from the cliff face, doing his best not to think about the steep descent down to the sand and the Endless Lake that crashed and churned relentlessly. He was relieved when Snap and Mickey ducked behind a large rock.
The three dogs crouched in silence, their muzzles trembling and their ears pricked. Lucky concentrated on picking out the scents of prey from the damp, salty wind. Alpha’s right: There are creatures emerging from their hiding places. Lucky detected warmth and a prickle of sweet, oily skin. It was far away, though. Too far to chase.
Snap shifted from paw to paw. “I doubt there’ll be any rabbits up here—there’s nowhere for them to burrow.”
Lucky thought this was probably true. He wondered if Alpha’s talk of a ceremony for Storm was dishonest, a way to mislead the young dog and toy with others in the Pack. I wouldn’t put it past the crafty half wolf.
Snap’s head shot up, her nose twitching with excitement. She must have picked up a scent! Lucky sniffed. An animal, not far away!
“Slowly,” urged Mickey.
Snap nodded. Lucky felt a surge of relief. The tan-and-white mongrel was usually quick to chase—he had expected her to leap out from behind the rock in pursuit of the prey. Down on the ground, if a dog missed its prey in the scramble to hunt it down, it didn’t matter—they might end up scurrying past and roll on the ground to right themselves, but it wouldn’t be dangerous. Up here they risked charging into a sheer stone wall, or worse, falling off the edge of the cliff.