Darkeye Series by Lydia West

There is a city overrun by every type of wild dog, where mysterious machines pump out meat daily for their hungry mouths, where the only protection from dog-eating hulkers is an elite pack of painted dogs.Everyone has always had enough food. That is what Mhumhi, a young painted dog, has grown up believing. But Mhumhi is not a member of the elite pack- as a infant, he was stolen by a domestic dog and integrated into an unlikely litter of all different species... moreThere is a city overrun by every type of wild dog, where mysterious machines pump out meat daily for their hungry mouths, where the only protection from dog-eating hulkers is an elite pack of painted dogs.Everyone has always had enough food. That is what Mhumhi, a young painted dog, has grown up believing. But Mhumhi is not a member of the elite pack- as a infant, he was stolen by a domestic dog and integrated into an unlikely litter of all different species. He has grown up half in hiding with his adoptive siblings- a bush dog, a dhole, and a Simien wolf.When their adoptive mother disappears, Mhumhi seeks her out. He finds instead that the last adoptees she brought into their motley family are not dogs at all, but rather a pair of young hulkers. Without the pack’s protection, they will surely be killed by the painted dogs- for there have been a rash of disappearances lately, and the culprit is no dog…Mhumhi only sets out to protect the two small hulkers, but in doing so he begins to uncover not just his mother’s secrets, but the dark backbone of the entire city. less

Mhumhi, a young painted dog, has always been certain of one thing: that the dogs rule the city, and that the few remaining humans are helpless against them. When his unconventional pack took in two small children, however, he didn’t realize that everything he thought he knew was about to be unraveled.Mhumhi and his children are captured and taken below the city by the mysterious bouda, a group of humans with strange ties to spotted hyenas... moreMhumhi, a young painted dog, has always been certain of one thing: that the dogs rule the city, and that the few remaining humans are helpless against them. When his unconventional pack took in two small children, however, he didn’t realize that everything he thought he knew was about to be unraveled.Mhumhi and his children are captured and taken below the city by the mysterious bouda, a group of humans with strange ties to spotted hyenas. These humans are not helpless: in fact, they threaten to upset the balance of power between dogs and humans.But Mhumhi has more than that to worry about. Soon he will have to make a choice- should he continue to make his human children a part of his dangerous life, or should he entrust them back to their own kind?He’ll have to decide fast, because as the city’s food supply dwindles, darker machinations are beginning to stir, and to escape them Mhumhi and his pack may have to go beyond the city for the first time. less

In order to protect the child Tareq from murderous painted dogs, Mhumhi and his sister Kutta have fled Wild Dog City for the endless desert. They are searching for the so-called forbidden place- a building where all the remaining human secrets are locked away. The answers to everything that happened to make Wild Dog City what it is.But they are being pursued, and no place is a safe haven for very long... moreIn order to protect the child Tareq from murderous painted dogs, Mhumhi and his sister Kutta have fled Wild Dog City for the endless desert. They are searching for the so-called forbidden place- a building where all the remaining human secrets are locked away. The answers to everything that happened to make Wild Dog City what it is.But they are being pursued, and no place is a safe haven for very long.Between their pursuers and the hopeless quest of keeping Tareq alive, Mhumhi begins to feel his spirit finally breaking. When a new group comes upon the scene- the gray pack, a clan of coyotes and jackals that believe that all species should be united- Mhumhi finds his new bitterness clashing with their ideals. And then someone unexpected asks for his aid: Hlolwa, the leader of the painted dogs, who is carrying her own terrible secret.Torn between his loyalty to his family and his new fascination with Hlolwa, Mhumhi realizes that he will again have to make a difficult choice. For he now knows that there are some barriers even the greatest powers cannot overcome...Includes an extended preview of the upcoming prequel to the Darkeye series! less