Thunder dipped his head and blinked shyly up at his father.
Clear Sky’s shocked blue gaze was fixed on Gray Wing. “Where’s Storm?” he asked hoarsely.
Gray Wing bowed his head. “Storm is dead.” While Clear Sky stared at him, stunned, he told of how Turtle Tail had warned him, and how they had reached the collapsing den in time to witness the death of Storm and the other kits. “She spoke to me before she died,” he finished. “She asked me to tell you she was sorry.”
Clear Sky shook his head, bewildered, his blue eyes filled with pain. “I can’t believe this…” he breathed out. “Not Storm… not such a dreadful death.” He paced away for a few paw steps, then turned back toward Gray Wing and his son.
“Take him away,” he meowed. “There’s no place for him here.”
“What?” Gray Wing couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “He’s your son!”
“I can’t raise him.” Clear Sky’s voice was bleak. “It’s my fault his mother died. If I’d stopped Storm from leaving, she would still be alive. What kind of life can I give her kit?”
Gray Wing began to understand. If Thunder stayed in the camp, he would be a constant reminder to Clear Sky of what he had lost.
“How can I raise a kit?” Clear Sky demanded. “I have too much to do here, protecting these cats.”
“You have cats who will help you!” Gray Wing retorted. “Thunder needs you.”
Clear Sky shook his head decisively. “No. What he needs is a father who can take care of him—who doesn’t bring bad luck to every cat he cares about.” His voice was hard, filled with anger and self-loathing.
Gray Wing knew there was no point in trying to persuade him. Shocked to the depths of his fur, he meowed: “This truly is the end of our brotherhood. I can’t recognize you anymore as the beloved littermate I grew up with and traveled here with.”
Sadly Clear Sky nodded. “If you can’t accept me as leader of these cats, or understand what I’m trying to do for the good of every one of them, then there’s no relationship left between us.”
He turned and walked away, leaving Gray Wing and Thunder alone except for the watchful guards. They moved forward, flanking Gray Wing to escort him out of the territory.
Gray Wing’s patience snapped. “We can see ourselves out, furballs!” He curled his tail around Thunder to guide him, letting him walk on tottery legs out of the clearing and down the track that would lead to the moor.
“What happened?” Thunder asked, sounding utterly confused. “Was that… my father?”
“Yes.” And I wish he wasn’t.
“Are you sure?” Thunder persisted. “Why didn’t he like me?”
Gray Wing heaved a deep sigh. “It’s complicated. But it’s not your fault.”
By the time they reached the camp on the moor, Thunder was exhausted and Gray Wing had to carry him again. The other cats rose to their paws as Gray Wing pushed his way through the gorse bushes that lined the rim of the hollow and padded down the slope.
Tall Shadow came to meet him. “Who’s this?” she asked, flicking her tail at Thunder. “Where did he come from?”
Gray Wing set the kit down; Thunder looked half asleep, not really aware of where he was. “His name is Thunder,” he told Tall Shadow. “He is Clear Sky’s son.”
Hawk Swoop, her belly heavy with kits, took a pace forward. “Are you flea-brained?” she demanded. “Why did you bring him here? Clear Sky will use him as an excuse to attack us.”
“He won’t,” Gray Wing mewed quietly. “He didn’t want Thunder anywhere near him.”
As briefly as he could, he told them of Storm’s death and his meeting with Clear Sky. While he spoke, Hawk Swoop’s gaze softened as she looked down at the tiny kit. When Gray Wing had finished speaking, she nudged Thunder to his paws and curled her tail around him, pressing him close to her swollen belly. “Come, little one,” she murmured as she headed toward her tunnel-nursery. Glancing over her shoulder at Gray Wing, she added, “I’ll look after him.”
Tall Shadow gathered the other cats together with a sweep of her tail, then leaped onto the top of the tall rock at the far end of the camp.
“You all heard Gray Wing’s story,” she began. “Now we have to decide what to do with this kit. Can we keep him here?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Shattered Ice replied. “He’s a stranger. We’re not his kin—”
“I’m his kin,” Gray Wing pointed out. “So is Jagged Peak.”
“Yeah.” Jagged Peak spoke up from where he sat at the entrance to his den. “He has a right to be here.”
“But his closest kin is Clear Sky,” Shattered Ice retorted. “And how do we know that Clear Sky won’t change his mind and demand him back?”
“Then we send him back.” Rainswept Flower spoke impatiently. “If his father wants the poor little scrap, then that’s a good thing. But meanwhile, how is he supposed to survive if we don’t keep him?”
“It will be difficult to care for him,” Cloud Spots mewed thoughtfully. “He needs milk…”
“Hawk Swoop is near enough to kitting,” Dappled Pelt responded immediately. “She already said she would look after him. How can you—”
“I said it will be difficult.” Cloud Spots flicked his ears. “I never said we shouldn’t try.”
“But is any cat thinking of Hawk Swoop?” Jackdaw’s Cry sounded argumentative. “She’ll have her own kits to care for—my kits. It’s not fair to expect her to manage another one.”
Dappled Pelt glared at him. “She’s made her decision.”
“I have a right to—” Jackdaw’s Cry began.
Tired of the debate, Gray Wing padded to the front of the group of cats, just below the rock where Tall Shadow was standing. “If Thunder is Clear Sky’s son, then he is my kin,” he meowed determinedly. “This will be his home from now on. Drive him out, and you’ll lose me too.”
“Gray Wing!” Tall Shadow sounded shocked. “There’s no need for that.”
“Then let Thunder stay.”
Tall Shadow’s gaze swept across the cats below her. “Does any cat object to that?”
The cats glanced at each other. Rainswept Flower gave a decisive nod. “What sort of cats would we be if we refused to help him?”
No cat argued with her. Jackdaw’s Cry muttered something under his breath, but he didn’t speak his objection aloud.
“Then it’s agreed,” Tall Shadow announced. “Thunder is one of us.” She leaped down from the rock into the midst of her cats.
Gray Wing dipped his head to her in gratitude, then turned away and spotted Thunder sitting at the mouth of Hawk Swoop’s burrow. Clearly he had heard every word of the debate that had raged over his head, and he looked horrified, his eyes wide and scared.
Padding over to him, Gray Wing rested his muzzle on the little cat’s head. “You’re safe now,” he murmured reassuringly. “From now on, I will be your father.”
The Sun Traiclass="underline" Bonus Scene
Read on to see how the forest rogues reacted when their territory was invaded by the mountain cats…
Chapter 1
The badger drew back, its jaws stained with blood, and let out a snarl at the two kits cowering in front of it. Scraps of fur were still snagged in its blunt claws. After a heartbeat that seemed to last for seasons, it turned and lumbered into the undergrowth. With a final flash of black-and-white fur it vanished, leaving only its overwhelming stench.
Petal threw back her head and lifted her voice in a wordless yowl. She tried to sound threatening, but all she could feel was grief and anguish for the cat who lay sprawled at her paws, her tabby fur torn away and her blood soaking the dead leaves underneath her mangled body.