Lucky kept walking as she leveled alongside him. “Why would you want to talk to me?” he murmured. “I’m still the Omega.”

“Exactly,” she replied. “You tried to advance and you did it by the Pack rules—and even though you lost, you aren’t abandoning your position. Don’t you see? That’s far more proof than if you’d won. You are a loyal member of the Pack!” She licked his ear and he felt a tingle of warmth, a deep thrumming of happiness that rose from his chest. Then he thought of the pups out there in the darkness. He remembered Alpha’s unforgiving face. He thought of Whine’s mocking smile. The breeze shrilled over the meadow, and as the heat of the fight fell from his fur, Lucky felt the cold close in on him. It would be worse later as the chill of night took hold, once the rest of the Pack was warm inside the cave and he was alone in the drafty spot reserved for the Omega.

He limped steadily toward the cave, ignoring Sweet, who paused and fell behind. He winced at the pain in his sore leg, but he kept up the pace. The wind rustled the leaves of the nearby trees and played with Lucky’s fur. Shivering, he reached the entrance of the cave. Before he stepped inside, he paused and threw a look over his shoulder. There was now no trace of Sweet beyond the bank of white mist.

He was all alone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The next sunup, Lucky stepped out onto a changed meadow. The mist had cleared and the sharp breeze had faded away. The Sun-Dog shone bright in a cloudless sky. The air was clean and peaty. Insects buzzed in the long grass, hovering over small pink flowers that sprang up in bursts.

Lucky carefully stretched his back leg. It still throbbed where Snap had sunk in her teeth, and gathering water-soaked moss for Alpha and Sweet early this morning hadn’t done it any good at all. But even so, the worst of the pain had faded overnight, just like the mist. He padded toward the river, where he drank thirstily. Then he sat in the shade of a tree at the edge of the forest as sunlight danced across the surface of the water. He watched from the shade as first Sweet, then Spring and Dart, stepped out of the cave and began to cross the meadow.

Heavy pawsteps approached from the forest, the crack of breaking twigs and crumbling leaves. Rising to his paws, Lucky turned to see Bruno.

“How are you feeling today?” asked the thickset old dog.

“I’m fine,” said Lucky, pushing away thoughts of the pups. They were gone now—he had to accept that.

“Alpha has called a meeting,” said Bruno. “Are you coming?”