Darkness Falls (23 page)

“He
chased
it?” Spring howled.

Lucky glared at her. Standing next to Spring, Bruno's eyes widened, although he had the good sense to stay quiet.

“Are you sure that the beast was retreating?” asked Bella carefully. “Maybe—”

“It
was
retreating,” snapped Alpha. He glared in Daisy's direction, and she nodded sadly.

“You see?” Alpha went on. “Fierce Dogs can't be trusted!”

Lucky's muscles clenched with frustration.
This is not fair! How can Alpha throw the pups out of the Pack after putting them in this danger in the first place?
He looked desperately around the circle of dogs, trying to work out who among them was on his side. Spring was looking fiercely angry, and Snap's ears and shoulders drooped sadly—but were either of those good things? Every dog seemed lost in his own thoughts. Even Martha's face wasn't easy to read. Her eyes seemed to stare at nothing.

Alpha rose to his paws. “The question now is what to do with the Fierce Dogs. Do we move on and leave them in the wild, or do we”—his wolfish ears twitched—“end this?”

Lucky's jaw fell slack.

“You can't really mean . . .
kill
the pups?” Mickey yapped.

Alpha was calm and unapologetic. “It's an option.”

“We'd have to do it quickly,” said Snap. “They're already getting big.”

“They're pups!” Lucky yelped. “How can you even
think
of hurting them?”

“I won't allow it!” howled Martha, stepping forward. She had stayed silent as the other dogs squabbled, but now her dark face was twisted with emotion. “I'll leave with them. You won't have to worry about the pups after that! But if you try to hurt them you will have to go through me!”

Alpha spun around to snarl at her, and Mickey took a step toward the water-dog, licking her neck and urging her to back down. He turned to Alpha, his voice soft and reasonable. “The pups don't mean any harm. We'll make sure that they behave. It's just a question of training.”

“It's too late for that,” Fiery barked. “One of them attacked Squirm. He might have killed her!”

“That was a misunderstanding,” Martha growled back at him. Several other dogs backed away, afraid to get between the two massive dogs. “He was play-fighting, that's all.”

“And it was only Grunt,” murmured Daisy. “The other two are good; they
listen
to instructions.”

Moon barked over her. “Killing is so brutal. I say we leave them behind.”

Spring shook her long, floppy ears. “But they will come after us. They will seek revenge and hunt us down!”

Revenge?
Lucky shook his ears. Did Spring honestly think these pups were capable of wreaking their revenge?

“It's true,” agreed Whine in his cringing voice. “Better to finish with the problem now and for good.”

“They are not ‘a problem'!” Lucky howled. He couldn't sit here and listen to this anymore. “They're pups!”

“It was wrong to trick them,” said Martha, an edge to her voice. “It was unforgivable!”

A furious howl cut through the arguing Pack and the dogs froze, shocked into silence. Standing several long-strides away were Grunt, Lick, and Wiggle.

Dart was behind them, trembling. “They heard barking . . . they wanted to know what was going on. I couldn't stop them.”

Grunt unleashed a volley of angry barks: “You let the giantfur get close just to test us?” He glared at Alpha. “How could you do that? What if he had eaten us alive?”

Alpha didn't flinch at the pup's frenzied barking. “Quiet, runt! I am the leader here, in case you hadn't noticed,” he shot back. “The giantfur was not part of my original plan, but yes, I did take that opportunity to see how you Fierce Dogs would react to danger. I was protecting my Pack. Such responsibility weighs heavily on me. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that they're safe.”

“Grunt,” Lucky began in a soft growl. Even if he didn't agree with the half wolf's tactics, he'd do whatever it took to calm this situation. “I'm sure you understand—”

His words were cut short by another high-pitched bark. “How could
you
be in on this?” Lick was staring straight at Lucky. “We trusted you!”

Little Wiggle gazed at Lucky, his brown eyes wide and his short tail between his legs. Unlike his brother and sister, he spoke so quietly that Lucky only just caught his words: “I thought you liked us. I thought you were our friend.”

Lucky's heart twisted with guilt. “I
am
your friend. I didn't mean for this to happen.” He grappled for words, but found none that could explain what he'd done. It had never felt like betraying the young dogs—all along, he'd just been trying to do the right thing. But yes, he had helped to carry out Alpha's plan. He had let the pups down. He took a step toward them, looking from Grunt to Lick, and finally to Wiggle. “I am so sorry.”

Wiggle turned to his litter-sister. “They
did
save us,” she said. “Lucky and Alpha, they distracted the giantfur. And Lucky and Mickey looked after us when we were all alone.”

Lick looked at her brother, then tilted her head to look at Lucky. “We forgive you—don't we, Wiggle?”

Wiggle responded by bounding up to Lucky, who leaned over to lick him on the ears. Mickey took a step forward, calling Lick to him as the other dogs watched.

Relief coursed through Lucky's limbs. The pups had forgiven him. And they'd done it in front of the Pack, showing their maturity and ability to fit in. That they belonged. Lucky saw doubt crossing Bella's eyes. Sweet pawed the ground thoughtfully.
They're seeing another side to these pups—a gentler side
.

Only Grunt remained fixed to the spot, standing away from the Pack. Lucky looked up and met his glare.

“How about you, Grunt? Do you accept my apology?”

Please say yes. Just do whatever it takes to save this situation
.

The pup rose to his full height, puffing out his chest. “I will never forgive you!” he barked. “My brother and sister are weak, but I know an enemy when I see him. Dogs that aren't like us cannot be trusted—wild, ill-bred, sneaky dogs without any pride or honor. We should
never
have followed you.” He turned to Lick and Wiggle with a growl. “You two! We're leaving!”

Lick took a step toward Grunt but hesitated, turning back to Mickey. Wiggle stayed firmly at Lucky's side.

Grunt howled at them. “Come on! They don't want us here, and we're better than this shabby Pack. We're going off to find our own kind—that's where we belong!”

A shadow fell over the assembled dogs. Lucky spun around to see a large black shape at the base of the pine trees. Dark eyes glinted above a glossy face, jaws parted with a flash of white.

The voice was brutal. “You don't need to find us. . . . We've found
you
.”

The Fierce Dog raised her muzzle
and glared down at the Wild Pack. Her coat gleamed, rippling over her taut, muscular body. Dizzying fear gripped Lucky's stomach. It was the dog called Blade—the Alpha of the brutal Pack. He remembered her from the Dog-Garden—remembered her angry barks and her ferocious leadership. Standing a few paces away, Bella whimpered: “It's her! We escaped her once and she's come looking for us. She wants revenge!”

“I don't think it's us that she wants,” Lucky said, nuzzling Wiggle protectively. He pushed the pup behind him, putting his body between Wiggle and Blade.

“What is it? What's happening?” Wiggle asked, trying to see around Lucky.

“Keep still,” Lucky murmured, keeping his face toward Blade. Whatever happened now, it wasn't going to be good.

The long grass parted at Blade's sides and more black-and-brown faces appeared, the dogs standing in formation along the edge of the pine trees.
All the Fierce Dogs are here!

Dart was the first to cry out. “We're under attack!”

Panic erupted in the meadow. Whine howled with fear, backing into Bruno. Bruno smacked into Snap, who leaped into the air with a volley of high-pitched barks. Only Sweet moved protectively to the front of the Pack, but Lucky could see her flank heaving with tension as she howled:

“Take position!”

Lucky shivered. The Fierce Dogs formed a neat group behind Blade, three to a row, their pointed ears perfectly aligned. That was a Fierce Dog trick through and through.

The Pack all looked toward Alpha, waiting for his order. Alpha hesitated as if he was just as unnerved by Blade's display of discipline as Lucky.

Bella charged forward, her lips pulled back into a defiant snarl. “You heard her!” she barked. “Form a line! Let Alpha and Beta through, and protect the pups!”

Lucky's heart swelled as the Pack scrambled into a loose group in front of the three pups. But Bruno and Whine were frenzied with fear and didn't listen; they spun around chaotically, yelping. Their panic was catching and Spring pawed back and forth on the spot while Sunshine trembled beside her. Alpha started moving toward Sweet, but froze when his yellow eyes fell on Blade. Lucky caught the flash of panic on his wolfish face.
Is he going to fall apart, like he did when the black cloud appeared?

“Dogs! Group!” boomed Blade in her powerful voice. The Fierce Dogs responded immediately, flowing around her and spilling down from the trees to the meadow.

“We have to defend the camp!” Bella howled, bravely holding her position alongside Sweet at the front of the Pack.

“We won't be defeated!” Sweet barked.

Lucky watched as the Fierce Dogs marched across the meadow. Their square faces were set, but their mouths were closed. He remembered how disciplined the dogs had been in their attack at the Dog-Garden, when they had caught the Leashed Dogs unknowingly stealing their food. If they were going to fight out in the open now, Lucky knew it was no good for his Pack to be running around, panicked.

They needed to gather their wits—and fast.

Alpha rose to his full height, his yellow eyes meeting Lucky's.
He'll hold me responsible for this
, thought Lucky.
I brought the pups to the camp, I convinced Mickey to help me
. . .

“Pack! Be
still
!” Alpha commanded in a wolfish howl. Martha trod over Daisy, who yipped, twisted, and bumped against Moon, but the panic in their eyes subsided a little.

Lucky saw Sweet edge up to Moon. “Hurry back to the rocks,” she murmured. “Keep Nose and Squirm inside the pup den; don't let them come out until it's over.” Moon gave a quick, grateful nod, glanced at Fiery, and then bounded away in the direction of the rocks.

The Fierce Dogs were still advancing, their unhurried steps perfectly matched so that they looked like a solid wall of black-and-brown fur. The Wild Pack stood their ground but Lucky knew they weren't prepared for this. Dart hid her head in her paws, whining helplessly. Bruno was yelping. The air around the camp seemed to have been replaced with fear-scent.

The stench was making Lucky dizzy.

Wiggle? Where's Wiggle?
he thought suddenly, his guts clenching. He had lost the pup in all the panic. He couldn't see
any
of the younger Fierce Dogs.

“Pack!” barked Blade. “Contain the mutts—and
find
the pups!”

Before any of the Wild Pack could move to stop them, the Fierce Dogs' line split and they looped around the Wild Pack, hemming them in.

“Face out!” Sweet barked. “Don't take your eyes off them!” The Wild Pack backed against one another, jostling and shoving in their desperation to avoid the menacing Fierce Dogs. Lucky could feel other dogs squirming beside him and even the nip of some dog's teeth on his coat—a Packmate, driven wild by fear.

“Keep your wits,” Alpha howled, “or I'll tear your throats myself!”

Suddenly the Fierce Dogs froze in formation. Looking around and gulping for air, Lucky was astounded by how easily they had gained control of the Wild Pack. Lick, Wiggle, and Grunt huddled together at the center of the circle.

Lucky squeezed through to them. “Pups, are you okay?” It was difficult to make himself heard above the desperate whines and howls, and the occasional huge bark of a Fierce Dog.

Wiggle nuzzled against him and Lick spoke up. “Yes, but what's happening?”

Grunt pulled away, glaring at Lucky. “What's happening is that
our
Pack has come to take us away. We can finally leave this horrible place, with these dishonest dogs.”

Lucky winced, as though he'd been struck. “Grunt—”

The pup ignored him and thrust between the scrum of Wild Dogs, pushing his way out. Lucky bounded after him. He caught up just as Grunt reached the edge of the group.

“Stay back!” Lucky urged, blocking Grunt with his body. Then he looked up, a cold chill shuddering down his spine. The furious eyes that met his were familiar. It was Blade's Beta.