Free Storm of Dogs by Erin Hunter Page A

long, my blood feels like it has turned to ice. Will I ever get warm again?

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Lucky’s eyelids were heavy as he shook away the pelt of sleep and blinked into thedarkness. His foreleg throbbed where the dog-wolf had bitten him, but at least he was warm now. Sweet, Bella, and Storm were still curled around him, sleeping deeply. It’s thanks to them that I escaped, thought Lucky. We’re safe at the camp now. I should feel relieved.
    Instead a familiar sense of foreboding crept along his whiskers. There was a hint of something metallic in the air. The Earth-Dog was silent, but Lucky’s neck fur still bristled; something was shifting beneath his paws.
    A delicious smell tickled his nose, distracting him. All at once he realized how hungry he was. His belly growled, and he smacked his lips as Sunshine padded to the den’s entrance. She held a breast piece torn from one of the plump geese. She trotted toward him and laid the meat at Lucky’s paws.
    Sweet opened one eye. “That’s all yours, Beta,” she murmured. “You need it. The rest of us will eat later.” She closed her eye and let her head loll.
    Lucky stared hungrily at the piece of bird.
    â€œBruno caught it specially for you,” Sunshine explained. “We were all so worried—we knew you wouldn’t have just left us, and when you didn’t come back, we thought something terrible had happened.”
    Lucky cocked his head gratefully. He ran his tongue over his lips and tried to speak, but his voice cracked. He felt too weak and thirsty to eat.
    Sunshine watched for a moment, her nose twitching with concern. She spun around and ducked out of the den. He could hear her scampering about outside, then a rustling and dragging sound. The dirty white dog reappeared, backing into the den with a piece of bark in her jaws. Lucky saw that it was curved like a bowl, water glistening inside it. As Sunshine set the bark in front of him, he fell upon the water and lapped it up thirstily.
    â€œThank you, Omega,” he whispered. “I needed that.”
    She wagged her knotted white tail. “And now you need to eat something! You’ll feel so much better for it.” She tore off a mouthful of the prey-creature and fed it to Lucky. He chewed the tender morsel, feeling the juice run down his throat. Sunshine was right—he felt better already. The little dog continued to offer Lucky small chunks of meat, licking his noseas he gobbled them down. Then Lucky tensed, remembering Fang’s brutal death. “Has there been any sign of the Fierce Dogs?”
    â€œYou’re safe now,” Sunshine murmured. “You’re surrounded by the Pack, and we have Patrol Dogs everywhere. No one can get through. So you should just relax and get better.”
    Lucky let his eyes close. He hadn’t felt cared for like this since he was a pup.
    Yap sighed as his Mother-Dog licked his nose. He nuzzled against her coat, his belly round with milk and the soft meat that the longpaws put out for the Pup-Pack. The longpaw den was cozy. Light glanced through the clear-stone, warm against Yap’s fur. He yawned contentedly and opened his eyes.
    â€œMother, will you tell me a story?”
    Yap snuggled closer as his Mother-Dog rested a comforting paw across his back. “Very well. I will tell you about Lightning, the swiftest of the dog warriors.”
    Yap’s tail gave a cheerful wag. This was one of his favorite stories!
    His Mother-Dog cleared her throat. “The Sky-Dogs watched over Lightning and protected him. But Earth-Dog was jealous. She thought Lightning had lived too long and that it was time for him to die so that she could take his life force.”
    A chill crept over Yap. The beam of sunlight had disappeared. Clouds drifted outside the clear-stone, darkening the sky. His Mother-Dog’s voice grew deeper, and her body stiffened.
    â€œOne night, Lightning began to tease the Earth-Dog.