Tigerheart fluffed out his pelt eagerly. “So… maybe you’re meant to join ShadowClan! That’s great. I know you’ll be happy with us. Don’t worry about any cat’s reaction, either. No cat has time right now to get mad at having a ThunderClan cat in camp. And if we bring new kits, new life, to ShadowClan, then every cat will be happy, because we’ll be making ShadowClan stronger.”
“No.” Dovewing glowered at him. “I’m not raising our kits in ShadowClan. Believe me, I’ve thought about that, and I know it’s what you want, but… That’s not what’s right for us either.” Tigerheart forced his pelt to smooth. Neither ThunderClan nor ShadowClan? What, then, was she thinking about?
Dovewing’s mew was firm. “We have to leave the Clans.”
Stunned, Tigerheart stared at her wordlessly. Leave the Clans?
“We have to.” Dovewing dug her paws into the earth. “I’ve dreamed where we should go. A huge Twolegplace with nests that reach into the sky. I saw a roof there with sharp points that stick up into the sky like gorse spines. We must find that den. Our kits will be safe there.”
Tigerheart’s pelt bristled with anger. “This is nonsense!” He met her gaze. “Why would our kits be safer in a strange Twolegplace? How can we raise them away from their Clans? Our Clans are what keep us all safe!”
Dovewing narrowed her eyes. “The Clans are a mess! So many cats have died fighting for territory lately, who’s to say there will even be Clans a few moons from now?”
“So you want us to run away?” Tigerheart could hardly believe this was happening. “You want to abandon your Clanmates? You want to bring up our kits so they never know their kin or the warrior code?”
“No!” Desperation sharpened Dovewing’s mew. “I don’t want any of this! I just know we must go. The dreams come every night. I don’t just see them; I feel them. If I ignore what they tell me, I fear that something terrible will happen to our kits!”
Tigerheart turned in an anxious circle, his thoughts fighting one another.
“This isn’t a choice for me.” Dovewing’s mew hardened. “It’s what I must do.”
Tigerheart felt sick. “I can’t just leave.”
Dovewing’s eyes were stricken with panic. Tigerheart looked away. His forepaws twitched, as if ready to walk with her as far away from here as she wanted to go. But his hindquarters felt heavy, like they wanted to pin him to the ground so that he could never leave ShadowClan. He yearned to be with her, but he was afraid to abandon his father when things were so terrible. It made him feel like his body might be torn in two.
“Tigerheart!” She sounded anxious.
He felt her breath on his cheek and forced himself to look at her.
“I don’t want to do this without you, Tigerheart!” Her mew was shaky. “I need you.”
“ShadowClan needs me,” Tigerheart mewed desperately. “Rowanstar can’t lead without my help. You’re right—ShadowClan’s a mess. If I leave, it may not survive.”
“Then stay!” Dovewing’s green eyes flashed with rage. “If your Clan is more important to you than your kits, stay with them. I’m going.” She backed away from him, grief twisting her face. “My Clan can look after itself. I’m protecting my kits.”
“Dovewing!” Desperation spiked Tigerheart’s pelt. “We’ll be better able to protect our kits if we stay with our Clans.”
She held his gaze. “I’m leaving in three days. If you want to leave with me, meet me here. If not, I…” Her tail bushed, and she looked at the ground briefly. Whatever she had to tell him next seemed hard for her to say. “I will go without you.”
Then she turned and pushed her way through the undergrowth.
Tigerheart stared after her, his heart beating so loudly in his ears that it drowned the sound of birdsong. A gust of wind sent the mist swirling among the trees and rocked their branches. He felt dizzy. Dovewing had given him an impossible choice. She needed him. His unborn kits needed him. But so did ShadowClan. Who needs me the most?
Chapter 2
Can I leave? Should I stay?
Two days had passed since Dovewing’s ultimatum, and still Tigerheart’s thoughts chased around his head like kittens trying to catch their own tails. He had one more day to make up his mind, but the right decision felt like a piece of prey he just could not catch. What am I going to do?
“Tigerheart?” Grassheart’s mew shook him from his thoughts.
He turned his gaze distractedly toward her and found the pale brown tabby blinking at him. “We’re supposed to be hunting, right?” Irritation edged her mew.
“Yes.” Tigerheart shook out his pelt. “Sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
“Think later. Our Clanmates are hungry.” Grassheart sniffed and cast her sharp gaze around the forest. “We need to take something back to the fresh-kill pile. Have you noticed the way Ratscar’s ribs are sticking through his pelt?”
Guilt dropped like another stone in Tigerheart’s belly. His Clanmates were hungry. Dovewing was expecting kits. His father was struggling to regain the respect of their Clan. He should be able to fix everything, but he couldn’t even focus on catching prey.
Snowbird’s white pelt showed between the withering ferns a few tail-lengths away. The she-cat was sniffing the pine-strewn earth. “I think I’ve picked up a rabbit trail.”
Grassheart hurried to her side. “How fresh is it?”
“Fresh enough.” Snowbird began to creep away from the ferns, her tail-tip twitching with excitement. As Grassheart shadowed her, Tigerheart glanced toward the SkyClan border. He could smell their scent where it marked the pines at the top of the rise. Had he made the right decision when he suggested SkyClan should take some of ShadowClan’s land? There might be more prey if they had more space to hunt. And yet how could they spare the cats needed to cover so much territory? He flicked his tail. It had been the right thing to do. SkyClan needed a home. And after all the problems the Clans had had with the rogues, maybe StarClan would look favorably on cats who spread kindness where there had been fear and mistrust. He just wished his Clanmates thought the same. But Scorchfur, Snowbird, and Stonewing had made it clear that they were not going to pretend they were content to give up land to another Clan. Tigerheart closed his eyes as fresh worries crowded his thoughts.
Above him, thrushes sounded like they were having their own arguments over territory. A cold wind rustled the branches. Grassheart and Snowbird were out of sight now, tracking the rabbit. As Tigerheart turned to follow them, paw steps thrummed at the top of the rise.
“Hey, Tigerheart!” Sandynose stood at the SkyClan border, Rabbitleap beside him. Their pelts were ruffled and their eyes bright. Sandynose’s flanks heaved. “The squirrels in this forest are fast!” He glanced at the trunk of the pine beside him. A tail bobbed upward and disappeared among the branches.
Rabbitleap dipped his head politely to Tigerheart. “I hope you’re having better luck than us.”
“Not yet,” Tigerheart mewed heavily. Did luck have anything to do with it? Perhaps if he were a better warrior, he’d be able to feed his Clan single-pawed. If he were a better son, Rowanstar wouldn’t be so overwhelmed by leadership. If he were a better mate—
Small paws thumped the ground.
Grassheart’s urgent mew sounded through the trees. “Prey!”