Lucky cocked his head doubtfully. “How can you tell?”

“All the longpaw things had been broken up by the first Big Growl, and nobody’s come to fix them. You can’t miss it,” Bella went on. “You’ll smell old fires and burned food, and longpaws. I’ll go there every night, as soon as the Moon-Dog rises, and I will wait for you until he’s right overhead. As soon as there’s a no-sun when you think it’s safe, slip away from that Pack and meet me there so you can tell me what you have learned.”

Lucky let his head dip slowly to show that he agreed. If Bella wanted to go ahead with her outlandish plan, this did seem like the safest way to do it. “All right. Every no-sun, wait for me there. I’ll come as soon as I can.”

She licked his nose. “Thank you, Lucky! I knew you would help us.”

Without another word she turned and trotted back toward the camp, tongue lolling, head and tail held high. His litter-sister looked like a real Alpha now. The trouble was, she didn’t yet have a Pack leader’s wisdom or wiles, only impulsive schemes. He couldn’t blame her—she was doing her best, and she wasn’t used to this life—but he was worried she would plot herself into big trouble before long.

With a sigh, Lucky padded after her, feeling a tingling ball of nerves in his belly. He was a clever dog—sneaky and cunning and crafty, he thought, remembering uneasily what their Mother-Dog would have had to say about that—but surviving in the city was so different from life in the wild. In the city, if he had tried to steal food from longpaws, he would have been chased off. If he got away, he was safe—free and clear. Longpaws eventually gave up and went back to their homes.

If the dog-wolf caught him trying to cheat his Pack, thought Lucky, he wouldn’t just chase Lucky away. Lucky would be in real danger.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“There! A mouse!” Daisy shot off after the little rodent, her burst of speed bringing her swiftly on top of it. With a snap of her jaws, she tossed it into the air, limp and broken, caught it, and brought it proudly back to Lucky.

“Well done, Daisy!” She was turning into a natural. Prey had been hard to find this morning, and Lucky suspected the torrential storm had drowned or driven away much of what the Big Growl had left behind.

The Sun-Dog was racing higher and ever swifter into a clear blue rain-washed sky, which meant the best time for hunting was over—but Lucky found himself reluctant to give up and return to the caves. Daisy had caught their third mouse, and Mickey had surprised a fat brown bird dozing on a low branch, but it would be good to get something more—and besides, Lucky was almost dreading the end of this hunt.