Small animal went ahead – and looked displeased (7)
I believe the answer is:
scowled
'looked displeased' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'small animal went ahead' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'animal' becomes 'cow' (cow is a kind of animal).
'went ahead' becomes 'led' (led the way).
's'+'cow'+'led'='SCOWLED'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for scowled that I've seen before include "Looked gloomy" , "Pulled a face" .)