River of Lost Bears by Erin Hunter Page B

shook water from their pelts. The droplets traced an arc through the air, turning sunshine into rainbows.
    Toklo frowned. “What if she doesn’t want to come with us?”
    â€œThen at least you’ve given her the choice.”
    â€œYou’re right.” Chenoa’s not like Nanulak. She’d fought wolverines. She’d saved Lusa’s life. Letting her travel with them was a way to thank her. Toklo stared downriver, his gaze wandering back the way they’d come. How could he think of leaving her with Hakan? Chenoa deserved a better life. He began to stride along the shore, against the flow of the waves.
    â€œToklo?” Kallik scrambled across the rocks and skidded to a halt beside Lusa.
    Yakone lingered behind, his pelt dripping. “Are you going somewhere?”
    Toklo paused. “I’m going to find Chenoa.”
    Kallik gasped. “You’re going to ask her to travel with us!”
    â€œYes.” Toklo glanced at Lusa. “It’s the right thing to do.”
    â€œWill she be able to keep up?” Yakone warned. “We’re used to walking all day. She’s not.”
    Lusa huffed. “If she was ready to take on a bunch of wolverines, then she’ll be ready for anything.”
    Toklo headed downstream, leaving his friends behind. He heard them whispering to one another.
    â€œWhat made him change his mind?”
    â€œShould he go alone?”
    â€œHe’ll be fine,” Lusa answered Kallik and Yakone. Their voices melted into the river as Toklo leaped from boulder to boulder along the rocky shoreline. He knew he was doing the right thing. Energy surged through his paws. He quickened his pace. The light was fading, the shallows turning black beneath the darkening clouds. He tasted the air for scents, hoping Chenoa and Hakan hadn’t already left for their territory. Their black bear scent still hung fresh on the air. They were traveling along the shore.
    Toklo broke into a run, scrambling over the rocks. As he rounded the foot of a hill, he spotted a shape balanced on a boulder, far out in the white water.
    Chenoa.
    She was watching the river foam around her paws. Taut as a bobcat, she leaned over the frothing water. Any moment now, she’d lunge forward and grab for a fish. Toklo waited, not wanting to disturb her mid-hunt.
    Suddenly, paws slammed into his back. Flying forward, he gasped at the weight of the blow. Black fur flashed behind him.
    Hakan!
    Toklo scrabbled to regain his footing, but it was too late. His forelegs slid into the water, and he tumbled after. His cheek hit the pebbly riverbed. He floundered, trying to find his paws. Grabbing at rocks, he broke the surface and turned.
    Hakan reared up at him from the bank. “I told you not to come back!” With a roar, the black bear lunged forward. He hit Toklo like a rock slide, sending him staggering back. With a gasp, Toklo sank once more beneath the water. Paws pressed him down, grinding his spine into the pebbles.
    Panic fired through Toklo. He struggled, trying to free himself from Hakan’s grip, but the paws pressed harder. Bubbles streamed around his snout. He could see the dark green of the forest swirling beyond the surface. His chest began to scream. Toklo closed his eyes.
    Suddenly he felt Hakan’s hind legs beside his. Hope flashed. With a mighty kick, he thrust his hindpaws against Hakan’s. The claws in his pelt pressed harder for a moment, then slid away.
    Toklo exploded to the surface and took a huge gulp of air. Water sprayed his muzzle. He lunged for the bank, scrabbling for dry land. No one was going to drown him! But Hakan grabbed him and dragged him back.
    Fury surging, Toklo ripped free of the black bear’s claws. With a roar, he struck Hakan’s snout. Blood spurted, and Hakan howled. The black bear hit back, pounding Toklo’s head with a flurry of well-aimed blows that unbalanced him. As Toklo fell backward, Hakan hooked his