Lucky heard the chirping of birds in the branches of a tree and turned to gaze in that direction. He had a powerful impulse to wander into the forest, to follow the path of the river to wherever it led him.

That was my old life, he reminded himself. My life as a Lone Dog, my life of freedom . . .

He shook himself and went to join Bruno. The two of them made their way back to the meadow. Most of the dogs were already there, forming a circle around Alpha and Sweet, who stood by his side. She acknowledged Lucky with a dip of her sleek head as he and Bruno joined the gathered Pack.

Alpha had already started talking. “We will have to be better organized,” he was saying. “Our standoff with the Fierce Dogs was a disgrace. Not one dog acted with sufficient discipline or bravery, except Beta”—he glanced at Sweet—“and Bella, who gave sensible commands when needed.”

Bella’s ears pricked up at the rare compliment from their Pack leader.

Lucky watched. This was close to an acknowledgment from Alpha that he had failed to act appropriately in the face of the Fierce Dogs. Lucky’s eyes trailed to the scar on the curve of the half wolf’s forepaw.

Alpha continued: “Beta ordered the Pack to take position, but instead there was panic and chaos.”

Bruno dropped his head guiltily. Dart shuffled on her paws with a small whine.

Alpha’s ears twitched. “I don’t want to go over that now except to say that in the future, we must be much better organized, and more responsive to threats. I would like to see fighters move to the front, defenders move to the back. There will be no desertion or failure of duty!”

“The Pack is much larger than it used to be,” Sweet pointed out. “Most of the dogs could probably use some training.”

Alpha gave a nod. “Good idea. We should have a better system of alert and Pack formation. I will put you in charge of that.”

Sweet returned the nod.

“That leaves me with another matter,” said the half wolf, rising to his paws. “The Fierce Dogs came here. They know how to find us. This time they were only interested in claiming their pups. Next time we might not be so fortunate.”

“What are you saying, Alpha?” asked Moon.

“I’m saying that it is time for us to leave.”

“Leave?” Spring yapped. “But we just arrived!”

“This camp is perfect,” added Bella. “Look how well the Pack has settled here. The hunting is good, and the cave provides us cover from the wind and rain.”

“Where would we go?” asked Sunshine in a small voice.

“Back to our old camp,” said Alpha. “The black cloud has passed. It should be safe.”

The Pack erupted into barks, yelps, and whines.

“But that’s so far away!” whimpered Sunshine. “It was such a tough journey to get here.”