Craaarrrk!

That no-sun crow again! Now he remembered seeing it before on his travels, and he was more certain than ever that it was a messenger of the Forest-Dog, sent to keep him in order.

He wished he could understand its messages better.

His happy heart plummeted when he caught the first scent of the longpaw camp, and he slowed to a jogging pace, then a steady plod. Oh, Sky-Dogs, what am I doing?

Once inside the camp he stood still beside an overturned table, sniffing the air. It was hard to tell through the old reek of charred wood and meat, but he was sure Bella was not here. A wasted journey, then.

So why did he feel this swamping sense of relief?

Lucky was tempted to pad away as fast as he could. If Bella had not made it here tonight, that was not his fault. He could put off his treachery for another journey of the Sun-Dog.

He had already begun to turn when a flash of pale fur caught his eye. Hesitating, he looked back. Two small, familiar figures were squirming out from beneath another toppled table, panting with excitement.

“Lucky!” Sunshine’s yelp was quieter than usual, he was glad to hear.

“Sunshine. Daisy!” Despite his uneasiness, Lucky felt his heart stir with warmth at the sight of the two Leashed Dogs. He crouched to lick their faces as they both jumped up to greet him. Then his heartbeat skipped. “Where is Bella? Has something happened to her?”

“No, no—nothing bad has happened!” Sunshine whined happily as she nuzzled his nose. “Bella’s fine. She sent us to meet you.”

Daisy jumped in. “She has a special mission of her own. So she sent us in her place!” Lucky could see that the little dog was almost bursting with pride.

Lucky felt his eyes narrow. “What is she up to now?” It was not like Bella to hand over control to the most junior members of her Pack; he was sure she would have wanted to talk to him herself if she could.

“Bella has a brilliant plan,” said Daisy. “We have to trust her!”

Lucky cocked his head doubtfully—Bella’s recent “brilliant plans” have brought us a lot of trouble—but the little dogs’ eyes gleamed with suppressed excitement. He could not cope with any more scheming, anyway; not right now, when he was still deep in the heart of the Wild Pack. Whatever it was, Bella could deal with it on her own this time.

“All right. I will tell you what I have seen.” He licked his chops. “Will you remember it all to take back to Bella?”

“Between us we will,” yelped Daisy eagerly.

It seemed he had little choice. It felt strange reporting back to these two inexperienced Leashed Dogs, especially now that he had lived with a true disciplined Pack, but he carefully recounted all that he had done and seen since he last spoke to Bella, including the terrifying encounter with the yellow-furred longpaws, his challenge to Snap, and his promotion.