his jowl; her touch sent shivers down to his toes.
âIâll join your pack,â she woofed. She flicked her snout toward where the others were piled in the shadows. âLooks like you could use another real dog to balance out all those yappers.â
Shepâs tail wagged in circles, though he tried to keep a serious look on his muzzle. âWell, thatâd be very good. I mean, good. I mean, Iâm glad to have you.â He licked his jowls.
âYou can call me Blaze.â
âBlaze,â he sighed.
She curled back up on the floor, grinning. âGood night, Shepherd.â
âShepherd,â he sighed, standing. âI mean, good night.â
Shep stumbled over sleeping dogs as he made his way toward the front of the bus. He felt dizzy and fur-brained and needed a sniff of fresh air. He also figured some dog should keep a watch out for water lizards or anything else that might surface in the night. Just as he was about to stick his snout through the shattered front window of the bus, Callie strutted out of the shadows.
âWhere were you?â she yapped.
âI went to check out the rest of the bus,â he woofed nervously, though he didnât know why he felt so nervous. âAnd to scent out that girldog.â
âSo thatâs why youâre all slobber-tongued.â
âIâm not slobber-tongued,â Shep protested, though even he could sense how silly he sounded. âI mean, I thought I should give her a smell, make sure she isnât wild, you know?â
âReally?â Callieâs brown eyes were like noses sniffing his thoughts.
âSheâs a very nice girldog, in fact,â Shep continued, barks pouring from his jowls like drool, ânot wild at all, and I asked her to join our pack, and she said yes.â
âShe called me a yapper,â Callie snapped.
âIâll tell her to stop saying that, if it bothers you,â Shep woofed.
âIt doesnât matter if she stops saying it. Sheâs already barked it! Itâs already out there, stinking up the whole den.â Callie was yapping loudly. Dogs were lifting their heads and staring.
Callie was nearly frothing at the mouth. âIn sum,â she snarled, âI donât like her.â She panted loudly.
Callie didnât smell like her usual reasonable self. Shep tilted his head. âYou sure thatâs whatâs itching you?â he asked.
âWhat, thatâs not a good enough reason for you? You think thatâs nothing, calling some dog a yapper?â
âI just think ââ
âWell, donât think,â Callie snapped. â I know. Calling me a yapper is as good as calling me a mutt.â
âWhatâs so bad about calling a dog a mutt?â Shep woofed.
Callie dropped her snout and looked at the floor. âOnly a purebred could woof that.â
Shep crouched in front of Callie and gave her a quick lick on the jowl. âCallie, every dog in this pack thinks youâre made of bacon. Especially me. Weâd have lost the Great Wolfâs scent a long time ago without you.â
Callie looked at Shep. âI hope you tell the new dog that,â she woofed. âShe called me a yapper to make me feel unimportant, worthless. To show the pack â to show you that she was better than me.â
âIâm sure she doesnât think that,â Shep woofed, not at all sure that Blaze didnât think of Callie as just another dog. Shep knew he should tell Blaze that Callie was the real leader of the pack, but then Blaze would know that Shep was only the doer, the snout out of which Callie barked. He didnât want Blaze to see him that way. He wanted to be her hero.
Callie limply scratched at her ear. âJust remember what I said back at the tree: The last thing this pack needs is a power struggle. And that dog smells like she thinks sheâs the alpha, not you and me.â She retreated
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