“A good leader,” put in Bruno. He threw Lucky a glance as if to say: Tell them!

But Lucky didn’t have the chance. The Alpha shook his head. “A good leader would have thought ahead. She put you in as much peril as she put my Pack, and it’s only our bad luck that none of you died. It’s time to rectify that. Bella of the Leashed Pack, come here.”

“Alpha, wait.” Moon paced forward, leaving her two remaining pups between Fiery’s protective paws. “May I say something?”

Every dog in the circle looked at her in surprise, but none more than Alpha. He licked his chops thoughtfully. “You of all dogs here have a right to speak, Moon. What is it?”

Moon turned, studying each dog in the circle very carefully. At last she tilted her head directly at Alpha, her gaze forthright.

“I lost a pup today because of these Leashed Dogs and their foolish leader,” she began.

Lucky’s heart fell. If Moon spoke against her, Bella truly was doomed.

“I have as much reason to hate them as you do, Alpha. More.” Moon’s ear twitched, and she shivered a little, then recovered, her voice strengthening. “But Bella told the truth. It’s obvious the foxes duped her; she never intended this to happen the way it did. That’s stupidity, Alpha, not wickedness.”

Alpha nodded. “That may be, but she may still deserve to die. I think you have more to say, Moon. Tell us.”

“We’ve all done foolish things. We’ve all made mistakes. And we’ll make many more in the days to come. Look how the world has changed!” Moon scraped the earth with her paw. “Who’s to say who will make the next deadly error? We need to stick together, live together. It’s hard enough for dogs to survive in the world of the Big Growl without turning on one another.”

Alpha gave a reluctant nod, but his voice remained stern and hard. “They also have to act properly. Respect the Law of Dogs.”

“I haven’t finished.” Moon closed her eyes. “They brought the foxes here; it’s true. But when they knew they’d made a mistake, they did their best to make it right. Three of my pups would have died today if not for Lucky and poor Mulch . . . and for this Leashed Dog.”

Moon turned her head to gaze at Daisy. The little dog’s eyes were wide and awestruck, and she trembled a little, but didn’t move.

“This Daisy came to my pups’ aid when Lucky called her, and fought like a warrior for their sake.” Lucky listened even harder as Moon continued. “And when they heard, so did the rest of her Pack. That means, in my eyes, they are forgiven. I still have two pups I might not have had.”

Moon lay down, her paws in front of her, as if she was too weary to say more. But Fiery licked Squirm’s and Nose’s little heads, settling them where they were, and lumbered forward to her side.