The Return by Dayna Lorentz Read Free Book Online Page B

smell it.” He turned to Zeus. “Come on!” Then he raced into the dark, on the sunset side of the tunnel.
    Zeus squinted at Shep like he was about to woof something. But the big dog just snorted and followed Oscar into the shadows.
    Shep sniffed deeply, catching their scents and locating them in the palette of odors swirling through the swamp. He noted where each of the other dogs slept, and what their exact smells were so he could note any nuance of change in their scents — even when sleeping, a dog would have a heartbeat of reaction time before being killed, and that’s all Shep would need to know Zeus was on the prowl. If he had to keep the boxer nearby to keep him from killing Oscar, so be it, but he wouldn’t let Zeus catch him unawares ever again.
    Shep curled himself in the middle of the clearing. He rested his long muzzle on his paws, pointed toward where Oscar and Zeus had disappeared, and closed his eyes. He did not sleep. His ears constantly twitched, marking every movement in the wood, and his nostrils fluttered, catching every scent that blew by.

Shep smelled Callie’s approach. The tails of dawn had just begun to wag in the sky behind Shep — their dim light outlined the rim of the tunnel. Before him, the sky was still deep blue and a few fires of the Great Wolf’s coat glittered along the tree line.
    â€œYou’re up early,” he woofed.
    â€œI figured you hadn’t slept,” Callie replied. She sat beside Shep’s snout. “I remember what that was like — no rest for the alpha.”
    â€œYou’ve gotten more sleep while trapped in that cage?” Shep shifted his muzzle to the other side of his paws, away from Callie.
    â€œWhat else could I do?” she woofed. She licked one front dewclaw and rubbed it over her short muzzle. “It was loud in that building and the lights were always on, but I was so tired I could have slept in the middle of the street with Cars whizzing over my back.”
    Shep decided to dig straight into the idea he’d been chewing on all night. “I want to rebuild the pack,” he barked. “Now that you and I are back together, we have a real chance at surviving.”
    Callie placed her paw on the ground and looked at Shep. She planted a light lick on his wet nose. “I can’t,” she woofed. “I’m sorry, Shep, but I want to go home. I want to be with my family.”
    Shep pushed himself to sitting. “But why?” he yipped. “It was you who wanted to escape your den back on that grate, before the storm.”
    Callie grinned. “A lot’s happened since we met on that grate. For starters, I nearly died.”
    Shep panted lightly. “Nearly,” he snuffled. “But we’ve learned so much. I think we could really make it, especially with the humans coming back. There’ll be more food to scavenge —”
    â€œShep,” Callie yipped softly. “You’re not hearing me. I don’t want to rebuild the pack. I want to return to my girl.”
    â€œI thought we were partners,” Shep grumbled. “I thought you wanted to lead the dogs.”
    â€œI did,” she woofed. “But that was when we didn’t know where our humans were, when all we had were our fellow dogs to rely on. Now our humans are here — they never left! And we can find them. Don’t you smell how different the situation is?”
    Shep licked his jowls and scanned the surrounding scents — Zeus was still in his pile of leaves with Oscar; every other dog snored on. “How is the situation different?” he barked. “Pumpkin doesn’t know where she is, let alone how to get to this ‘shelter.’ And what if the place was destroyed in the storm? What if our families are —” He stopped himself, knowing he’d gone too far.
    Callie stared at him, frightened by what he’d almost said. “I won’t believe