“That was a misunderstanding,” Martha growled back at him. Several other dogs backed away, afraid to get between the two massive dogs. “He was play-fighting, that’s all.”

“And it was only Grunt,” murmured Daisy. “The other two are good; they listen to instructions.”

Moon barked over her. “Killing is so brutal. I say we leave them behind.”

Spring shook her long, floppy ears. “But they will come after us. They will seek revenge and hunt us down!”

Revenge? Lucky shook his ears. Did Spring honestly think these pups were capable of wreaking their revenge?

“It’s true,” agreed Whine in his cringing voice. “Better to finish with the problem now and for good.”

“They are not ‘a problem’!” Lucky howled. He couldn’t sit here and listen to this anymore. “They’re pups!”

“It was wrong to trick them,” said Martha, an edge to her voice. “It was unforgivable!”

A furious howl cut through the arguing Pack and the dogs froze, shocked into silence. Standing several long-strides away were Grunt, Lick, and Wiggle.

Dart was behind them, trembling. “They heard barking . . . they wanted to know what was going on. I couldn’t stop them.”

Grunt unleashed a volley of angry barks: “You let the giantfur get close just to test us?” He glared at Alpha. “How could you do that? What if he had eaten us alive?”

Alpha didn’t flinch at the pup’s frenzied barking. “Quiet, runt! I am the leader here, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he shot back. “The giantfur was not part of my original plan, but yes, I did take that opportunity to see how you Fierce Dogs would react to danger. I was protecting my Pack. Such responsibility weighs heavily on me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that they’re safe.”

“Grunt,” Lucky began in a soft growl. Even if he didn’t agree with the half wolf’s tactics, he’d do whatever it took to calm this situation. “I’m sure you understand—”

His words were cut short by another high-pitched bark. “How could you be in on this?” Lick was staring straight at Lucky. “We trusted you!”

Little Wiggle gazed at Lucky, his brown eyes wide and his short tail between his legs. Unlike his brother and sister, he spoke so quietly that Lucky only just caught his words: “I thought you liked us. I thought you were our friend.”

Lucky’s heart twisted with guilt. “I am your friend. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” He grappled for words, but found none that could explain what he’d done. It had never felt like betraying the young dogs—all along, he’d just been trying to do the right thing. But yes, he had helped to carry out Alpha’s plan. He had let the pups down. He took a step toward them, looking from Grunt to Lick, and finally to Wiggle. “I am so sorry.”