“Gray Wing?” A soft mew woke him from his doze. He blinked open his eyes and saw Gorse
Fur’s face at the den entrance. “Jagged Peak and Tall Shadow have come to see the kits.”
Gray Wing pushed himself to his paws, tucking the moss lining of the nest closer around Slate to keep her warm. The kits were sleeping at her belly while she snored softly. He crept past them and followed Gorse Fur out of the den.
Tiny flecks of snow whisked through the air, too small to settle. Tall Shadow and Jagged Peak stood outside, pine needles caught in their fur. A fat pigeon lay at their paws.
“We brought a gift.” Jagged Peak dipped his head.
Gray Wing fluffed out his pelt, his nose aching in the icy chill. “Thank you.”
“Congratulations!” Tall Shadow purred loudly. She glanced past him. “May I see them?”
“They’re asleep,” Gray Wing warned. “But I’m sure Slate would like to show them off.”
“I’ll try not to disturb them too much,” Tall Shadow promised. She slid into the den.
Jagged Peak stayed beside the pigeon. “We met Reed on the border. He told us Slate had kitted.
Tall Shadow says kits are a good omen. She wanted to see them for herself.”
Gray Wing puffed out his chest. “There are three of them.”
“They’ll keep you busy,” Jagged Peak warned him knowingly.
Gray Wing flicked his tail. “Don’t forget I helped raise Pebble Heart, Owl Eyes, and Sparrow
Fur. And Thunder.”
“Of course.” Jagged Peak’s whiskers twitched. “You have kits in almost every group.”
Pride warmed Gray Wing’s pelt. He gazed happily at Jagged Peak, nostalgia sweeping over him.
“It’s hard to believe that I never wanted to leave the mountains.” He gazed past the gorse camp wall, across the rugged moor, stark beneath the ice-blue sky. “Now I can’t imagine any other home than here.”
“You’re glad you came?” There was worry in Jagged Peak’s mew.
“Of course!” Gray Wing jerked his gaze back to his younger brother.
Jagged Peak looked at his paws. “I always felt guilty that Quiet Rain sent you to find me when I ran away. You wanted to stay with the Tribe. You only followed the others to find me.”
Gray Wing blinked at the gray tom. “I’m glad you ran away,” he meowed earnestly. “If you hadn’t, I’d never have come here and realized how much I loved Turtle Tail… or met Slate.” His heart pricked suddenly with regret. “I hope the Tribe is doing okay now…”
“Quiet Water and Sun Shadow said they were still finding prey enough to survive.”
Gray Wing tipped his head. “Life here is more than surviving.” The wind rippled through his fur.
“Even though prey has been scarce lately, we know newleaf will bring more than we ever had in the mountains, the moor and forest will grow lush once more, and the sun will warm our backs.”
“It is good to be warm,” Jagged Peak agreed. “And to raise kits knowing they won’t starve.”
Gray Wing purred, imagining his own kits racing through the heather, feeling warm wind in their fur and tasting their first mouthfuls of rabbit. “You were such a courageous kit,” he told Jagged Peak.
“It was your confidence that led me here. For that I will always be grateful.”
“Really?” Jagged Peak’s eyes glistened softly. “Weren’t you ever angry with me for dragging you into such a dangerous journey?”
“Not once I’d chased my first rabbit,” Gray Wing reassured him. “And tasted my first grouse.” He licked his lips, a sudden ache digging deep into his heart as he remembered sharing that grouse with Turtle Tail. His chest tightened, and a cough gripped him. He crouched, helpless, as it shook his body until he was gasping for breath.
“Gray Wing?” Jagged Peak crouched beside him.
Gray Wing wheezed, trembling as his coughing eased. Drawing in a shuddering breath, he lifted his chin. Why was his breath short? He hadn’t been running. Is it getting worse? Worry nagged in his belly. He sat up, pushing it away. “It’s been an exciting day,” he rasped.
Jagged Peak was staring at him anxiously. “Right.”
Gray Wing straightened, relieved as his chest loosened. I’m not sick, he told himself. I just need to take it easy for a moon or two.
“Wind Runner!” A shocked yowl rang from the moor. Gray Wing straightened. Alarm scorched through his pelt as he recognized Reed’s horrified cry. “Help! Come quickly! Fern is hurt!”
Chapter 17
Fern! Gray Wing’s heart lurched. Was the camp under attack? “Guard the kits!” he told Jagged Peak.
Dread gripped his belly. To his relief, his chest remained loose.
He raced across the clearing, glancing back toward his den. Nothing must harm my kits. Minnow and Spotted Fur were already haring for the camp entrance, their fur bushed. Moth Flight raced at their heels. She was carrying cobweb between her jaws. The young cat was already planning how to treat Fern’s injuries!
Gray Wing burst from the camp after Minnow and Spotted Fur.
Wind Runner raced up the slope to meet them.
“Is the camp in danger?” Gray Wing skidded to a halt in front of her.
Wind Runner shook her head. “Something attacked Fern, but it’s gone now. Reed’s with her. He’s trying to stop the bleeding.”
Spotted Fur circled the group leader while Minnow dashed back and forth, scanning the heather.
“Where is she?”
“Follow the blood-scent!” Moth Flight hurtled past, her mew muffled by the cobweb.
As Spotted Fur and Minnow followed, Gray Wing held Wind Runner’s gaze. “Was it a fox?”
“She hasn’t said yet.” Wind Runner bounded after the others, veering around a gorse patch. Gray Wing raced beside her as she went on. “Reed was hunting with me and Gorse Fur. We were tracking the scent of blood. We thought it must be an injured rabbit. Reed got to it first. Then he called out Fern’s name. When we reached him, we saw her lying on the grass. She’s badly hurt.”
Gray Wing fought back panic. What had done this to her? Were dogs roaming the moor? My kits!
His chest tightened. Forcing his fur flat, he slowed his breathing and followed Wind Runner to a dip beyond the gorse.
Fern lay on the grass. Blood matted her black pelt, glistening in the afternoon sun and welling on her ripped muzzle. Her ear tips were bleeding. Her eyes were clouded with pain and shock as she stared blindly at the cats crowding around her.
Gray Wing’s heart ached for the brave cat who’d risked so much to save Star Flower.
Spotted Fur hung back, his eyes wide.
Gray Wing pushed between Minnow and Gorse Fur to where Reed was leaning over her. “Is she going to be okay?”
“We have to stop the bleeding,” Reed told him.
Moth Flight nosed her way past Gray Wing and pressed her white paws over a gash in Fern’s trembling flank. Blood seeped into her snowy fur.
Wind Runner lashed her tail angrily. “Stop getting in the way.” She tried to nose Moth Flight away.
Moth Flight stiffened, holding her paws over the wound. “Didn’t you hear? We have to stop the bleeding.”
“Then go and find more cobwebs,” Wind Runner ordered.
Reed flicked his tail. “Let her help,” he snapped to Wind Runner. “Moth Flight knows what she’s doing. Minnow can find cobwebs.”
Gray Wing saw surprise flash in Wind Runner’s gaze. She flicked her muzzle toward Minnow.
“You heard him.” But the gray-and-white she-cat was already racing downslope. She dived into the heather and disappeared.
Gorse Fur shifted his paws nervously. “What did this to her? Is there a dog loose?”