Darkness Falls by Erin Hunter Read Free Book Online Page B

with simple exile.”
    â€œAlpha’s right. Omega would be better off if he just left.” It was Sweet. She looked at Lucky with her big brown eyes and he sensed her hurt. He blinked back at her, sorry that he had let her down. Could she ever forgive him? And what good would her forgiveness do if he never saw her again? But something in his face must have angered Sweet, and she pulled back her lips. “You betrayed both Packs.” The iciness of her snarl shocked Lucky. “How can any dog expect to be trusted after such dishonesty?”
    Lucky flinched, no longer able to meet Sweet’s eye. He turned to Bella instead. It had been her idea to spy on the Wild Pack in the first place—Lucky had just carried it out, thinking he would be finding a way for them all to share prey and territory together. He hadn’t even wanted to do it—but his littermate had insisted it would help the Leashed Dogs.
    Bella looked at him with a blank expression. She said nothing.
    â€œBella?” he yelped, and she dropped her gaze. What was she doing?
    The other dogs stood by, staring at their paws. Even little Daisy would not look at Lucky, though she whimpered by his side.
    They’re all going to fall into line with Alpha . . . even the Leashed Dogs!
    Their abandonment stung Lucky deeply. He would have expected some loyalty from these dogs, after everything they’d been through together. But there was none.
    He exchanged a quick glance with Bella. She looked sad, but stern. Then he turned from the dogs without a word, scrambled up the rocks, and began to retrace his way to the forest.
    He might discover a road, or another field. He would chase rabbits, drink from streams, find somewhere warm and dry to sleep.
    I’ll be free again , he told himself, willing his tail to wag. Instead it drooped behind him.
    Freedom was all I ever wanted .
    He had thought such things before and meant them, but now the words echoed through his mind. Had he become a dog who yearned for the same things the Leashed Dogs did—company and friendship . . . a Pack?
    No , he told himself. This is how it was always meant to be—me, by myself, without a Pack to slow me down. A true Lone Dog .
    With a whimper, Lucky climbed the path to the high trees, knowing those thoughts didn’t ring true anymore.
    He was not a Lone Dog now. Not really.
    He was an outcast.

CHAPTER FIVE
    It was sun-high before Lucky reentered the forest. Tall trees loomed overhead, the breeze fanning their branches. There was a gentle rise to the land as the forest climbed beyond the bank of the lake. He could hear the patter of paws in the undergrowth, and birds chirping above him. His stomach churned with hunger. He knew he could never catch a bird. The small animals that lived on the forest floor would also be too quick for him, invisible through the camouflage of leaves and vines. He would have to wait until he was out in the open air with a chance of gathering some speed.
    Forest-Dog, please send me the cunning to find something to eat, and the wisdom to find a safe passage to . .  .
    Lucky gave a whine as he asked himself: A safe passage to where? I have nowhere to go .
    He had run away from the other dogs without really thinking of where he was headed. He had tried to tell himself that he was meant to be a Lone Dog—but now he realized that being a Lone Dog in the forest was nothing like being a Lone Dog in the city. In the city, a Lone Dog had choices—there were always places to shelter, and the longpaws never stopped filling metal boxes with their discarded food. Here in the forest, things were very different. The only shelter was trees, and there were no food-boxes anywhere.
    In the city, a Lone Dog could wander in circles and survive—but that wasn’t possible in the forest. Lucky’s fur prickled with rage and dread as he realized he had nowhere to go.
    He plunged deeper into the forest, padding between