Lucky swallowed, his throat dry. “It is true that I have been helping both Packs,” he began. A growl rose from the lean brown-and-white hunt-dog, Dart, and was quickly echoed by the long-eared littermates, Twitch and Spring. They had been his Packmates, but now they were glaring at him fiercely, their hackles raised. Lucky struggled not to turn and run into the forest. If he did that he could never, ever come back. He had to keep his courage.

“I have gotten to know you all,” he said. “And I’ve been thinking . . . what if my original mission to join the Wild Pack was meant to be? The Earth-Dog growled; the River-Dog revealed the path of fresh water; the Forest-Dog protected me on the way to this camp. At each turn I met friends . . . Sweet in the Trap House. My litter-sister Bella . . . even the Sky and Moon Dogs seem to have led me to this point.”

Dart still growled, but the others grew quiet. Lucky could tell that he had their attention.

“See how the Packs joined to fight the foxes?” he went on. “Everyone had a role—not just big dogs like Fiery and Martha, but smaller fighters like Snap and Daisy. Dogs from different backgrounds, wild and leashed . . .” He paused, his eyes trailing over the assembled dogs. “You don’t even know one another, yet you all fought fearlessly for a single purpose. Maybe the Spirit Dogs brought me here so that both Packs could unite?”

Alpha’s face contorted in a menacing snarl but Snap, the Wild Pack’s white-and-tan hunter, had a thoughtful look on her face. A few paces away, Moon and Fiery were still standing by their remaining pups. They exchanged glances and Moon stepped forward.

“Without the Leashed Dogs’ help, we would have lost all three of our pups, not just little Fuzz.”

Alpha watched her a moment and turned back to Lucky. The dog-wolf’s yellow eyes bore into him. “That does not change the fact that he deceived us,” he snarled. “Lucky brought danger and death into our camp.” He turned his fierce gaze on the Leashed Dogs. “My Pack had to save this band of weaklings many times during the battle with the foxes. We cannot be expected to protect grown dogs who are feeble as pups.”

Daisy bristled at this insult and Mickey scratched the grass next to his longpaw’s glove with a forepaw.

But it was Bella who stepped forward.

Lucky’s heart tightened in his chest. If his litter-sister challenged Alpha, she’d only make matters worse. He might destroy Lucky and throw out the Leashed Dogs just to teach her a lesson. But Bella dipped her head, addressing Alpha respectfully without looking up.