Darkness Falls (20 page)

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.”

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?”

Daisy was trembling. Her eyes shot to the high trees beyond the camp that marked the reappearance of the forest. She looked up at Sweet. “Beta?” she said.

“Yes, Daisy,” said Sweet, her voice a level growl. “You will do this, for the good of the Pack. You will leave tomorrow at sunup.”

Lucky and Alpha trod over the dewy grass of the meadow to the edges of the forest. Upwind, a dozen long-strides away, Daisy was leading Lick, Grunt, and Wiggle on a path between the trees. Lucky could hear the excited chatter of the pups. It was not long after sunup, and they hadn't journeyed far enough to get tired and cranky just yet.

But how long will this last?
Lucky wondered.

“Why were we picked to go on this journey?” Lick was asking.

Lucky had wondered the same thing when Alpha had woken him with a rough nip at his shoulder.

“Get up, Omega, and come with me.” When Lucky had given him a blank look, Alpha had gone on in a low growl. “I will be observing the Fierce Dogs from a distance. I want to see for myself how and when they fail our test, and I want you to see it too.”

Lucky had suppressed a growl of annoyance and followed Alpha, trailing behind Daisy and the pups as they left the camp.

“Alpha chose you because you're small but strong, like me,” Daisy told Lick. “We'll cover a good distance through the forest, but no one will notice us.”

“We're going on an adventure!” yipped Wiggle.

“It's about time we were given a
proper
task,” said Grunt. Lucky could not see his face but he could hear the satisfied note in the pup's voice. He felt a surge of confidence.
Perhaps this is what he's needed all along—a sense of purpose
.

Lucky and Alpha walked in silence, holding back regularly behind the cover of trees, careful not to get too close to Daisy and the pups, whose progress was slow. The forest cut a sharp course uphill. The land was sandy, making it difficult to climb, and thorny brambles twisted and crawled along the forest floor.

This journey was not going to be easy for the pups.

Lucky heard Daisy instructing the pups. “There's a steep hillock coming up,” she told them. “It might be tricky to climb. Take small, careful steps—don't overstretch yourselves, or you may catch on a thorn—or roll backward. Watch me.”

Alpha met Lucky's eye with a hard gaze. He could guess what the half wolf was thinking.
This is the first test
.

Lick followed Daisy up the hillock in front of her litter-brothers. She seemed calm and composed, taking small steps as she had been told. Lucky's tail wagged with pride.
She's learned her lesson from the accident with the tree
. He watched as Lick mounted the incline and joined Daisy at the top. The pup gave a yap of delight and shook out her fur.

Wiggle bounded after her, trying to keep pace, but scrambled and slipped on the crumbling earth and slid back down, trying several times to bound up again, only to lose his paws again.

“Small steps, Wiggle,” Daisy reminded him.

The little pup gave a determined bark and started to mount the incline again. This time he followed instructions, taking small, careful steps. “Look, I'm climbing it!” he yipped. Soon he was at the top, panting alongside his litter-sister, his stubby tail wagging.

“Remember what I told you, Grunt,” said Daisy as the biggest pup started to work his way up the hill.

“I know how to do this,” snarled Grunt defensively. He rushed up the steep hillock, his muscular back legs working as he took long, energetic steps. Lucky watched, impressed by the pup's ability. A moment later, Grunt lost his paws and slipped back down to the base of the hillock, dirt-dust billowing around him. The pup sneezed and shook off his fur. Then he stiffened and tried again, running at the hillock, reaching about halfway before sliding down again.

Back at the bottom, he barked: “This is stupid! We left a large, sheltered camp with a big house and porch and everything we could ever need for an empty old hill where the only thing to do is walk. It makes no sense!”