Sweet's Journey Read Online Free Page B

enough mouths to feed without a useless creature like you.”
    Sweet expected the Alpha to confirm his Beta’s sentiments, but to her surprise he said nothing. He swung his great head to stare at the red dog. After only moments, the Beta averted her eyes and licked her jaws, scowling.
    â€œI won’t be back,” said Sweet proudly. “I won’t be a burden to any Pack, believe me. I’m looking for dogs like me—a Pack that’s welcoming .”
    A hint of amusement crossed the Alpha’s stern face, and his muzzle wrinkled. He knew full well, thought Sweet, that her remarks were aimed at his Beta. The red dog was silent, but her hackles bristled.
    With a last nod to the Alpha, Sweet followed the burly dog Fiery as he led her into the forest, following clear dog-trails that hinted at a well-established, well-organized Pack. Fiery’s sheer size was intimidating, but Sweet found that she wasn’t scared of him. He murmured an occasional word to guide or reassure her, but on the whole was amiably silent for the whole long trek, till Sweet saw a stretch of water glint between pine trunks.
    Fiery led her to its edge, then jerked his head toward it.
    â€œHere,” he said gruffly. “We’re nearly at the edge of our lands, and you’d better have a drink to keep you going. It’ll be a long walk before you find any other dogs.”
    â€œThanks,” she told him, dipping her muzzle to drink. The water was cold and clear and pure, and it tasted of the earth and the forest. Sweet shivered as she remembered the sick river she’d had to cross, and she closed her eyes briefly to thank the River-Dog for bringing her to better water. She drank for a long time, reminded suddenly of how thirsty she was.
    â€œI wish you good luck,” growled Fiery, gazing across to the distant forest beyond the lake. “I hope you do find a few of your Pack. It’s been a bad time for all dogs.”
    â€œThank you,” said Sweet. She licked her chops and padded carefully into the water, cooling her paws. “I have to hope some of them survived.”
    The big dog nodded slowly. “Our Pack lost a few dogs in the Big Growl too. I’m sorry we couldn’t be more welcoming, but every dog is afraid. Who knows if the bad times are over?”
    Sweet turned her head to watch his eyes, and when she saw the fear in them, her own anxiety sparked into new life. If a dog so powerful could still fear the Big Growl’s return, what hope was there for a fragile swift-dog? She shivered.
    â€œI hope the bad days are over,” she told him softly. “But I don’t think any dog can trust that they are.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    Sweet was stunned at the chaos she found beyond the half wolf’s territory. She and her Pack had lived in what she’d thought was the wild , but here in the more remote forest it was as if all the order of the world had been destroyed, as if the Spirit Dogs had abandoned the land to ruin. Mighty trees had toppled like saplings, their branches broken and the leaves stripped and scattered. Great rips had been opened in the earth, ragged and yawning, and massive rocks had tumbled loose from their sockets, crushing plants and creatures alike. There were signs of scorching, as if Lightning had leaped to the earth over and over again in a panic, and some stretches of ground were charred wastelands.
    Sweet’s nostrils flared in dismay. There were so many small corpses crushed here, so much carrion, even the crows couldn’t keep up. Fat and sleek—unlike the other forest creatures—they hopped and strutted and flapped onto fallen branches, cockingtheir black heads arrogantly to watch her pass.
    Earth-Dog, were you really so angry with us all? You haven’t even consumed the dead. . . .
    Sweet was glad to leave the low-lying, destroyed land, to feel the ground begin to rise beneath her paws once more, and as the trees thinned she