The Return by Dayna Lorentz Read Free Book Online Page A

skittered after him into the dark.
    â€œKeep within the scent perimeter!” barked Daisy, strutting after the others.
    â€œI’m sorry!” whimpered Pumpkin. “Maybe if we all go back to my den, I can lead you there?”
    She waved her tail, but no dog would return her wag. The rest of the pack returned to the nests they’d made in the dead leaves and bracken. Only Pumpkin, Shep, Oscar, and Zeus were left in the clearing.
    â€œI only want to get home,” moaned Pumpkin. “Won’t any dog help me get home?”
    â€œLet’s see how the fur falls in the morning,” Shep woofed. He didn’t mention how relieved he was that Pumpkin couldn’t just wave her tail and lead them all back to their masters. Now he didn’t have to convince every dog to stay with him in the wild. Didn’t have to convince every part of himself to stay.
    Pumpkin slouched down where she sat, curling up like a tiny sad cloud in the dirt.
    â€œWhat about Zeus?” Oscar barked.
    Shep turned to the pup, who stood in front of the boxer. Zeus was nearly invisible beside the tunnel’s entrance.
    â€œHe can’t be a part of my pack,” Shep growled.
    â€œWhat pack?” snarled Zeus. “These dogs all want to go home to their nice beds and dry kibble.”
    â€œWhatever we are, I don’t want you to be a part of it,” Shep grumbled back.
    Oscar hopped onto a large rock so that he was nearly snout-to-snout with Shep. “Pumpkin is Zeus’s and my best shot at getting home, too. You can’t drive us away when she could help us get back to our families.”
    â€œI’m not driving you away, Oscar,” Shep said.
    â€œI’m not going to leave Zeus,” the pup barked. “He’s only got three good legs. How will he get food? He’ll never survive without help. And if you and the others won’t help him, then I guess it’s left to me.”
    Both Zeus and Shep had the same expression of disbelief on their muzzles.
    â€œI don’t need help to survive,” growled Zeus.
    â€œHe’ll kill you for kibble, Oscar,” Shep snarled at the same time.
    â€œYes, you do need help,” barked Oscar, “and no, he won’t kill me. He could’ve killed me at any point tonight and he didn’t.” He looked at Zeus and grinned. “He’s changed. He did bad, but now he wants to do good.”
    Zeus raised his jowl. Only for a heartbeat, but Shep saw it — that look of disgust. He’d seen it on his friend’s muzzle many times before. Zeus didn’t agree with a woof the pup barked. He hadn’t changed a hair in his coat.
    â€œYou can believe what you want,” Shep woofed. “But that dog there is a killer. You can follow his scent, but he’s only leading you to slaughter.”
    Oscar’s tail sank and his ears flapped against his muzzle. “Well, then, I guess this is good-bye.” The pup hopped off the rock and loped to Zeus’s flank.
    Shep couldn’t let the fur-brained pup just toss himself to the Black Dog like that. Not when Shep knew what Zeus would do to him.
    â€œOscar,” he barked. “Don’t go.” He forced the barks through his gritted teeth. “You’re right,” he continued. “Pumpkin could be a way for you both to get home.”
    Zeus stood, his ears forward. An unsettling grin appeared on his jowls.
    â€œBut Zeus can’t sleep with us,” Shep snapped. “He has to keep at least fifteen stretches away, and I want him on the sunset side of the tunnel. You can stay here or with him, but those are my rules.”
    Oscar leapt at Shep’s snout, tail in full swing. “Oh, Shep! You’re just the greatest! And you won’t regret this! Zeus will be a model dog, I promise.”
    Shep licked the pup. “I’m not holding my breath,” he woofed.
    â€œHe’s changed,” yipped Oscar. “I can