Free Sweet's Journey by Erin Hunter

in her mouth and carried it back to Moon, ignoring its protesting squeaks.
    Moon appeared at the entrance to the den, her face anxious, but when she caught sight of Sweet, her jaws relaxed and she let her tongue loll. She sat down and woofed gently to her pup.
    â€œOh, Squirm! You’re such a wanderer already, little one!”
    Sweet set the tiny pup down. As soon as he smelled his mother, he blundered under her body and nestled there, clearly deciding adventure could wait till he was a few hours older.
    â€œAnother good hunt, Sweet?” Moon nuzzled her shoulder. “The Pack’s been well-fed this last Moon-Dog journey. I think you’ve brought us good luck.”
    â€œI hope so. I owe you all so much.” Sweet returned Moon’s affectionate lick. “The pups are looking healthy!”
    â€œThey’re already getting too lively—oh!” Moon snapped her head around to stare, and Sweet stiffened, her hackles springing erect.
    The peace of the evening and the relaxed mood were shattered as Snap bounded into the clearing, her volley of barks sharp and urgent.
    â€œDogs! Dogs are approaching. A strange Pack! In our territory!”
    Now Sweet saw why Alpha was the head of the Pack. He sprang out of his den, leaped up to his favorite boulder and let loose a deep, barking howl of summons.
    â€œPackmates! Our territory is threatened by strangers. Prepare for battle!”
    Instantly Snap, Spring, Dart, Twitch, and Fiery bounded to his side, tails high and ears pricked keenly forward. Alpha barked out orders, fast and confident, and in moments he was tearing into the woods, his loyal followers at his heels.
    Filled with true admiration for her leader for the first time, Sweet paused only for a moment. After checking over the camp to make sure Moon and her pups were safe and well defended, she left them with a reassuring bark, and followed the rest of the fighting party.
    I’ve never been in a real battle before , she thought. Only food-fights with other Packs, and the fight with the longpaws—and I ran away from that .
    Well, Sweet wasn’t running from this battle. She was actuallyrunning toward it—and not only was she determined, she felt a thrill of real excitement in her skin and blood and nerves. She was the Beta of a powerful Wild Pack, and she was running to confront its enemies.
    The others were just ahead of her now, racing up a dry streambed, leaping from rock to flat rock, with Alpha in the lead. Sweet bounded forward to lope alongside at his flank, her muscles tingling with pride. Alpha slowed as he reached a ridge, then turned and ran along below the skyline till he reached a tumble of sandstone boulders. He trotted silently among them and halted, glaring down into the shallow valley below.
    At his side, Sweet panted quietly as she watched the ragtag bunch of dogs who were trotting down the valley. She narrowed her eyes in surprise.
    It was the oddest Pack she’d ever seen. There was a black, shaggy dog who was massive, but did not look particularly fierce. At her side were two stocky little dogs, one with a snub nose, and one with a pointed face. There was a black-and-white farm dog who kept retracing his steps and herding the others, fussing over them and trying to keep them together. There was a yellow-coated dog who reminded Sweet, a little painfully, of Lucky the City Dog—but this was a female, her fur sleeker and shorter, and shedidn’t move with Lucky’s strutting, jaunty confidence. The last was an extraordinary-looking animal, and for a moment Sweet wasn’t sure it was a dog at all. It looked like a trailing bundle of white moss, except that it had tiny eyes in front, and a black button-nose. It gave a pathetic little yelp as a strand of its fur caught on a branch.
    A low growl was building in Alpha’s throat, and Sweet shook herself. No matter how bizarre this Pack of mutts looked, they were still intruders. And they must be