They dumped their prey beside a pine at the edge of the camp and Lucky withdrew and lay down, panting. He was tired, but it was a good sort of exhaustion from a job well done. His feelings were mixed as he watched the rest of the Pack play and squabble and stretch aching limbs. He was still so worried about Martha and Bruno, not to mention his uncertainty about Bella’s intentions, but he couldn’t help this sense of contentment that stole over him. It was good to have a role here, to know his place, and to be appreciated for the skills he brought with him.

He thought back to Bella’s Pack and the chaos that sometimes took over, the way the other dogs had all expected him to lead them in the early days. Sometimes I just want to be given a job to do, he thought. Be part of a team. Not the dog making the decisions. Of course, Bella was that dog now—but even so. There was part of him that still felt the heavy responsibilities of being involved in that Pack. Here, he didn’t have to take charge of anything, and there was something in him that liked it that way.

The bushes rustled, and abruptly his peace was broken. Lucky didn’t even have to turn to know who was sidling up to him. His hackles rose automatically, and he stiffened but lay still.

“Hello, Whine,” he murmured. “What do you want?”

The little Omega snuffled and licked his chops. “Why, Lucky. I just wanted to ask if there was anything our fine hunter needs?”

“Nothing. Thank you.”

“I can bring you anything, as you know. That’s my job.”

Lucky turned his head sharply. He mustn’t anger the snub-faced dog—and that very fact made Lucky angry with himself.

“No, Whine, thank you.”

“You must call me Omega,” the dog said, with a submissive little whimper that sounded mocking to Lucky’s ears. “For now. Until you do what you promised to do, City Dog.”

Lucky turned his head, tempted to nip him whatever the consequences, but Omega had vanished into the tree shadows once more. Unhappiness roiled in Lucky’s belly; his earlier haze of contentment had vanished altogether.

Omega wasn’t going to forget the promise he’d forced Lucky to make, and Lucky couldn’t risk Omega telling what he knew. He’d have to eat some of this prey—steal the food he’d been so proud to bring to the Pack—and make one of the other dogs suffer for his own crime.

It has to be the deer, he realized, with a hollow sense of shame. The deer was the most impressive thing the hunters had brought back in days. With that on display, its smell and size so tempting, Alpha might not even notice something like a missing gopher leg. My crime has to be so bad that the other dogs are stunned.

He dreaded the horrible task. You are a liar, Lucky. A liar and a spy and a cheat.