“Settle down, all of you! Your whines are growing tedious.” Alpha directed this order at Bruno and some of the others, but Fiery bristled.

Nose panicked at Alpha’s loud voice, trembling and yipping. Both pups refused to suckle, despite Moon’s gentle coaxing. Her dark eyes, wide with distress, shot to Fiery.

Lucky saw something pass between them; then Fiery turned to Alpha. “Careful,” he growled. “You’re upsetting the pups, putting them off their feeding.”

The half wolf’s head snapped back and he locked eyes with Fiery. The stocky brown dog rose to his full height, his ears pricked forward and his tail jutting out, as though he was about to challenge their leader.

Lucky’s belly burned with unease. This was dangerous. A conflict between Alpha and a rival dog—especially one as powerful as Fiery, who was already only a few ranks below the Alpha position—could completely unbalance the Pack.

There would be torn allegiances, combat, bloodshed . . .

Alpha and Fiery stared at each other for a few moments as the others watched in anxious silence. Then Fiery looked away, dropping his head. Alpha snarled in warning and Fiery lowered his hackles and took a step back. Satisfied, the Pack leader raised his muzzle and glanced around the surrounding dogs in challenge. No one met his eye.

Daisy sidled up to Lucky. “Why does everything have to be so hard? Each time we get settled, something happens that forces us to move on. It’s cold here, and we haven’t eaten all sun-high.” She gazed at him sadly, her ears drooping.

Lucky licked her ears and tried to soothe her. “Give it a chance,” he told her. “I know it seems a bit unfriendly here, but we’re safe from the cloud and near fresh water. Tomorrow will be better.”

Mickey had overheard him and whined unhappily: “All we do is run and hide. We form camps but then have to move on, constantly looking over our backs to invisible dangers. It wasn’t like this in the city.”

“But the city is the most dangerous place of all,” yelped Daisy sadly.

“It might be safe now.” Mickey tapped the leather glove with his forepaw. “Did you see that black cloud? It wasn’t just a shapeless thing.”

Lucky’s ears pricked up. Had Mickey also observed the figure of a dog in the sky?

“Didn’t you notice anything unusual about it?” Mickey’s tail started wagging. “It was the shape of a giant longpaw. It was a master’s paw pointing!”

Several of the Leashed Dogs crept toward him, listening intently. It hadn’t looked like a longpaw to Lucky, but he didn’t interrupt.

“It’s like the safe caves by the river,” said Mickey. “It’s a sign. Our longpaws were pointing the way back to the city.” His voice rose in excitement, his tail lashing the air. “They want us to come home. Maybe they’ve returned!”