There was no more time for guilt. Lucky tore into the deer’s belly, ripping open a gash in the hide and then savaging the still-warm meat, gulping down great mouthfuls as fast as he could. He’d helped catch the creature, after all; his scent on the prey would be nothing strange.

He tore, gulped, swallowed; then did it again, and again. Enough! Surely that’s enough? One more bite. Quick, Lucky. HURRY.

When he could bear the tension no longer, he sprang back from the hind, his heart beating ferociously. Turning abruptly, he crept hurriedly through the trees and trotted away from the camp boundary.

I’m surprised I’m not falling over my own paws. He was furious at the way his skin and muscles trembled, and the anger helped drive out the fear, just a little.

He bounded to the lakeshore with his blood still racing. There was no time even to drink; he simply dipped his bloody muzzle into the cool water, washing away any possible last traces of Mulch’s hair along with the deer blood. Then he loped silently around to the far side of the camp. He paused as long as he dared for breath, then wandered back in as coolly as he could.

If my Packmates could hear my heart, I’d be a dead dog in an instant. But it seemed none of them could. Slowly, so slowly, Lucky’s heart stopped pounding, and he lay down in a new spot as if nothing had happened, as if he’d merely moved position out of restlessness.

I’ve gotten away with it.

Ecstatic relief was swamped almost immediately by horrible guilt, and the terror of what might have been. Noticing Omega slinking across the clearing, Lucky curled his muzzle and gave him a silent snarl that the little dog couldn’t see.

He could not doze, as some of the other dogs were doing; his belly was full and his nerves and bones still throbbed with tension. They waited for Alpha’s signal to eat, and Lucky felt dread growing with every instant. At last, when Lucky thought he could bear it no longer, Alpha blinked and yawned, rose and stretched, and Sweet stirred beside him.

The great dog-wolf leaped down from the rock and padded to the center of the clearing, his deep bark summoning his Pack.

“Now we eat.”

It was the patrol dogs who dragged the prey into the open, and as soon as they did, Lucky saw them exchanging glances, their hackles rising and their tails stiffening. Far more nervously than usual, they dropped the food in the eating place, and hurried back from it as if they couldn’t get away fast enough.

They’ve noticed. They’ve seen the damage!

They know trouble’s coming. . . .

The hind’s leg, stiff and straight, sank to the ground as the corpse settled, and Alpha stepped forward.

He stood stiff, foursquare, and silent, and the hush spread to the whole Pack.

The air of the clearing seemed to prickle with invisible fire as Alpha lowered his head to sniff the deer’s flank. When he raised it again, his huge teeth were bared, and there was crackling fury in his eyes. Lifting his muzzle, he gave a howl of pure rage.