As the days passed, Luna brought more food to Arrow. Gradually, the pup learned to trust her and would even come out right into the open to eat. Both of them knew it could get them into trouble, but the truth was that Luna couldn't bring herself to stop. And as risky as it was, Arrow missed having a mother.

One day when she returned from one of her times with Luna, she was greeted by her brother, Sam. He was the same age as her and about the same size. But his attitude was much more apathetic, as reflected by the condition of his fur, which was already starting to fall out in patches. There was a scar on his left cheek and his right ear was torn. Worst of all, the loss of their parents hadn't seemed to faze him at all. His face was stern, his voice unforgiving. "The boss wants to see you," he told her. "Now."

Arrow plastered her best impression of a seasoned killer on her face then nodded and trotted off. Outwardly, it looked as if dealing with Groven was normal for her. But inside, every fiber of her being was screaming and yelling at her to go back and tell Luna and Toby what was really happening, and right now the fear of what Groven might do to her was greater than the comfort of what protection Toby and Luna might offer. When she reached the place where Groven was, she sat down, doing her level best to keep her legs from shaking and rivet her paws to where they were. But despite her best efforts, Groven was anything but pleased with her.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

Arrow hung her head. "I was talking to the housedogs, Toby and Luna."

Groven snarled at the mention of their names, and a demonic gleam appeared in his eye. "You're not going soft, are you?" he pried. "I'd hate to think what we'd have to do if you are."

Arrow shook her head fervently. "I'm not going soft!" she snapped. "It's Luna and Toby! They won't get off my case! And no matter what I do, Luna always seems to know what I'm doing! It's like she's part-wolf or something." She wisely decided not to mention that between her and Luna, the evasive routine had become sort of a game.

The boss's ears pricked up at this. "Part-wolf, you say? Interesting…"

Arrow didn't know what was going on behind those glinting eyes, but just thinking what it could be made her shiver as if the north wind were blowing right through her very soul.

In the den at Toby's house, he and Luna were having an uneasy discussion of Luna's recent visits with Arrow. "Luna, you know this is a bad idea," Toby said.

Luna nodded, a mixture of sadness and agreement in her manner. "Yes, but I really think I'm making a breakthrough," she rationalized. "She trusts me, Toby, I can feel it."

"Luna, I know that. It's not you or Arrow I'm doubting here. You can't forget, Groven's still on top of that end of the situation. If you get careless, it could be bad for…" He was interrupted by claws scratching on the door. "Yes?"

"Can I come in?" called a voice.

"Arrow!" Luna exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face. "Come on in!"

The pup slipped shyly in through the dog door. "I hope I didn't come at a bad time."

Luna shook her head. "No problem," she replied. "Are you still hungry?"

"No, I just wanted to ask you something." Arrow stirred a paw one the floor uncertainly. This is wrong, she told herself. I shouldn't do this. "Um, I decided I don't want to be with Groven's army anymore," she began.

Luna's ears pricked up and her tail began to wag ever so gently. "Do you mean…"

Arrow nodded. "I want to stay with you."

Luna let out a cry of pure delight and ran to nuzzle Arrow. "I'd love it," she beamed, almost crying with sheer joy.

Arrow smiled at the feeling of Luna's muzzle rubbing against her head. It was almost real. Mom never did this, she remembered. Her parents had always taken care of her, but they had never been so close, or so kind.

Toby walked up, smiling a little uncertainly. "Are you sure this Groven won't come after you?" he asked.

Arrow shook her head. "No, he never pays much attention to me," she lied. "That ugly mutt won't even know I'm gone."

Toby nodded. "Well, as long as it's safe," he replied. "I don't want you getting in trouble on our account." Or us on yours, he mentally added.

Arrow smiled. "Thanks, Toby."

In spite of his nagging sense that something was amiss, Toby smiled. "You're welcome," he replied. "And call me Dad if you want."

Luna decided to keep Arrow out of sight until the evening, when her family was gathered in the living room. Then she strolled over to the couch and poked her head under. "Okay," she whispered. "It's show time."

Arrow hung back, both guilty of what she was doing and afraid of what would happen if she couldn't pull it off. "What if they don't like me?" she whimpered.

There was some room for doubt. Even though Luna had spent a good hour or two combing Arrow's fur as best she could with her claws, the pup still wouldn't look too presentable to a human, and having her hide in all the dust under the couch had been pretty stupid too. But Luna smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry. They'll love you. Now just come on out and remember to be nice."

She withdrew her head, and just as Connie's father started to ask what she was looking for, Arrow emerged.

Jarrett stared in surprise at the dusty pup. Shenoah happened to glance up from the quilt she was making and copied her husband's wide-eyed stare. Not to be left out, Connie and Eugene soon noticed the newcomer in their presence and did the same.

"A puppy!" exclaimed Connie.

"Now how'd you get in here?" asked Jarrett, getting up from his chair and peering down at Arrow. Arrow, intimidated by the man=s large size, backed up under the couch again.

Connie reacted quickly and got down on her hands and knees by the couch. "Come on out," she urged in a cooing voice.

Luna stuck her head in. "It's all right," she whispered. "This is Connie, my girl. She's nice."

Arrow hesitantly came far enough forward to allow herself to be scooped out of hiding by the girl, who picked her up and cuddled her like a baby against her chest.

"Connie!" exclaimed Shenoah. "You'll get your dress filthy!"

Arrow, not sure if this was an insult to her or just a comment on all the dust in her fur, looked to Luna for her cue.

"Better not get Connie's dress dirty," Luna whispered as she hopped up on her hind legs and plucked Arrow from Connie's arms. Dropping back to all fours, she curled into a protective crescent position around the pup.

"Luna, what in the world has gotten into you?" asked Jarrett.

Eugene tilted his head. "I think she wants to adopt," he remarked.

"That's right!" Connie agreed. "Remember the vet said she couldn't have puppies?"

"Oh, no," groaned Shenoah. "First kids want dogs, now dogs want dogs."

"Can we keep her, please?" begged Connie, her eyes doing an impression of puppy eyes that was very good for a human.

"How do you know it's a girl?" asked Eugene.

"Female intuition," Connie answered.

"Listen," their father interjected, sparing Arrow from a severe embarrassment, "I really don't think we can take care of another dog."

"But you said I could have a puppy when I turned eight," Eugene protested.

"Your birthday's not for another month," Jarrett pointed out.

Shenoah looked thoughtful. "We can't just turn the little thing out into the streets," she reasoned, laying a hand on her husband's arm. "Why don't we hold onto the puppy until then, and if things go well then Eugene can have her?"

He paused, considered, and finally nodded his head. "All right," he conceded. "If she behaves."

"Yay!" cheered Connie. She bent down and patted Luna on the head. "You hear that, girl?" she asked.

Luna had heard. Her thumping tail was proof enough of that. Arrow had mixed feelings about the matter, especially when the next words she heard were, "First order of business is a bath."