Tigerheart’s Shadow

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!”

Tigerheart stiffened as a rabbit raced past him, shooting up the rise so fast he didn’t have time to untangle himself from his thoughts and give chase. It hared across the border, a tail-length from Sandynose.

The SkyClan tom ran after it. Pelt bristling with excitement, Rabbitleap raced after him.

Tigerheart froze. He’d let prey fall into another Clan’s paws.

“You mouse-brain!” Grassheart thundered to a halt beside him. “Why didn’t you catch it?”

Snowbird caught up to them, eyes sparking with anger. “We drove it straight toward you!” She shot a look at Grassheart. “I thought Rowanstar was the unreliable one.”

“Like father, like son,” Grassheart snorted crossly.

“That’s not fair!” Tigerheart shot back. “Rowanstar could outhunt any of you, and I was distracted—”

He realized the two she-cats had stopped listening. They were looking up the deserted slope. Their noses twitched.