Yellowfang’s Secret

Tucking her paws underneath her, Yellowfang settled down. As she gazed along the Twoleg fence she spotted small movements among the grass that told her where Stonetooth’s patrol was hiding. There was no sign of any kittypets, and the only scents Yellowfang could pick up when she tasted the air were faint and stale.

The night dragged on and nothing happened. Yellowfang grew cold and cramped; she longed to get up and stretch her legs, but she knew how angry Cedarstar would be if she so much as twitched a whisker. Cold was gripping her pelt by the time she heard Cedarstar hiss, “Look! Up there!”

Squinting through the brambles, Yellowfang spotted two cats slinking over the fence from the Twolegplace. For a moment they stood outlined against the sky. A heartbeat later they leaped down to the ground and she was able to see them more clearly. The scrawny she-cat with the untidy russet pelt was horribly familiar.

Red!

Yellowfang’s belly lurched with dismay. The last thing she wanted was for her Clanmates to find out about the night she and Raggedpelt had visited the Twolegplace. Will Red say anything? she wondered.

As the two kittypets hesitated beside the fence, Cedarstar leaped out of the shelter of the brambles and strode toward them. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “The forest is our place. Go back to your Twolegs.”

Red faced the ShadowClan leader without a trace of fear. Yellowfang had to admire her courage as the kittypet glared at Cedarstar, who was much bigger than she was, his muscles rippling beneath his pelt.

“You can’t stop us from coming here!” Red declared. “We don’t live by your rules.”

“We can make you stop if we want to,” Cedarstar retorted.

The second cat, an older tabby tom who Yellowfang didn’t recognize, took a pace forward to stand at Red’s shoulder. “I’d like to see you try,” he hissed. “You wild cats think you’re so great! Lay one claw on us and I’ll wipe that smug look off your face.”

Cedarstar didn’t respond in words. Instead he raised his tail and kinked it in the signal for battle. Instantly the rest of the warriors rose out of the shadows with angry yowls. They surrounded the kittypets, a barrier of furious cats with teeth bared and claws at the ready. Raggedpelt and Nutwhisker stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their lips drawn back in snarls of defiance. Rowanberry was flexing her claws as if she couldn’t wait to sink them into a kittypet.

Yellowfang saw a look of sheer astonishment cross the faces of Red and the tabby. But neither of them turned to flee. The tabby tom let out a screech and three more cats jumped over the fence and landed on the ground beside the kittypets. Yellowfang winced as she recognized the skinny gray tom.

Boulder’s here now! This just gets worse and worse…

Cedarstar launched himself at Red, and the rest of the warriors leaped into battle behind their leader. Yellowfang hung back, reluctant to tangle with a cat who might recognize her. She watched at the edge of the battle as Red shoved Cedarstar off balance, sending him stumbling against a tree stump. The Clan leader gathered himself and leaped at Red again; the russet she-cat sprang away, only to trip over a tangle of tree roots and fall on one side. Cedarstar gave her a swipe over her haunches before spinning around and hurling himself back into the thick of the fight.

Yellowfang stared at Red, who was struggling to wrench one forepaw clear of the roots. Could I possibly talk to her? She took a hesitant step toward Red, feeling a stab of pain shoot through her paw, then halted as Deerleap gave her a shove. “Attack!” the old cat snarled. “This is what I trained you for!”

Hot shame flooded through Yellowfang. Picking out a plump ginger tom she had never seen before, she aimed a blow at his shoulder, knocking him off balance. The tom struggled to get to his paws, but before Yellowfang could follow up her first blow, Red, free of the roots now, slipped between them, spinning around to face Yellowfang with fury in her eyes.

The she-cat aimed a blow at Yellowfang, claws unsheathed to rake across her ear. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes open wide. “It’s you!” she gasped.

Newtspeck, battling the big tabby tom, heard Red’s exclamation and glanced over her shoulder at Yellowfang. “What does she mean?” she demanded.

Yellowfang couldn’t think of any reply. Taking advantage of Newtspeck’s brief distraction, the tabby tom she’d been fighting knocked her over and landed on top of her, putting an end to any more questions.

A heartbeat later Raggedpelt charged into the tangle of cats. “Don’t say a word!” he snarled into Red’s ear.

Red looked startled. “About what?”

“You know very well what—”

Raggedpelt was interrupted as Scorchwind dived for Red, aiming a blow at her shoulder. Red whipped around and raced for the fence.