“As you commanded, Blade!” he barked back, his sour breath in Lucky’s face. Lucky noticed that Mace had grown sinewy. There was a sharpness to his cheeks and a wiriness to his muscles that hadn’t been there when he’d encountered him in the Dog-Garden. Away from the longpaws’ feeding routines, the dog had become lean and hungry—it only made him more fearsome.

Blade bounded down to the meadow and looked along the Wild Pack, her snout crinkling. “Pathetic mongrels! See how easily you are brought to submission?” Bruno and Dart whimpered in fear as she slowly circled the Wild Dogs.

Lucky trembled as she drew nearer to him. He felt movement behind him and Alpha appeared at his side. The half wolf seemed perfectly calm, even though his Pack was utterly at the mercy of the Fierce Dogs. Only Lucky could see the rapid movement of his chest as his breath came in pants.

Alpha squared up to Blade as she trod closer. “Why are you here?” he asked, his growl low and even—neither submissive nor aggressive.

Blade took a step closer and looked Alpha up and down. He was taller than she was, but she was broader, her muscles flexing beneath her glossy coat. “You stole our pups,” she snarled.

Lucky felt Grunt push against him but he held firm, remembering the Mother-Dog that he had buried. I heard her crying out for help. These dogs killed her, he reminded himself. His gut churned with dread. What would these Fierce Dogs do to her pups?

Alpha held Blade’s gaze. “We did not steal them. Our Omega found them alone and abandoned. He brought them here so that they could be taken care of. He thought your Pack had left your camp for good.”

Blade turned her dark eyes on Lucky. “You! You broke into our camp once before, you filthy rat! Why did you take the pups?”

Lucky’s legs trembled and it was all he could do to return her gaze. “I did not mean to cause any conflict. They were starving, and we . . . I . . . just wanted to help them.”

“The camp had not been abandoned!” barked Blade. “The pups belong with their Pack. They will follow me.”

Standing behind him, Grunt seemed to relax, as though he had expected the Fierce Dogs to come for them all along. He bounded up to Blade. “I’m here!” he barked in a high voice. “Reporting for duty.”

Blade nodded with satisfaction. Lucky watched, his ears low. Had Grunt always been waiting for this moment? Was there nothing he liked about Lucky and the Wild Pack?

Lucky hoped that Grunt’s ready defection would satisfy Blade, but he doubted it. She spoke of pups—she wants all of them.

“And the others?” she barked, confirming his fears.