“So you’re abandoning us because you’re not getting the respect you deserve?” Clear Sky couldn’t keep scorn from his mew.
Thunder thrust his muzzle close. “I’m leaving because I don’t want to watch you make any more dumb decisions.”
“I’ve explained why I won’t let my cats hunt more prey.”
“That’s not the dumb decision I meant.” Thunder’s eyes flashed with rage.
Clear Sky drew in a sharp breath. “You mean Star Flower.”
“You should banish her from the forest,” Thunder snarled. “She’s nothing but trouble.”
“Stop acting like a kit who’s upset he can’t get first pick from the prey pile!”
“I’m not!”
Clear Sky snorted. “I’m your father. You can’t tell me who I can take as a mate any more than you can tell me how to lead my group.”
“That’s the problem, Clear Sky.” Thunder lashed his tail. “I can’t tell you anything. You think you know it all. But you don’t! You can’t tell good from bad. You never could. But you’re so determined to be ‘right,’ you’ll twist everything to prove it. If you mistook a fox for a rabbit, you’d keep calling it a rabbit while it tore out your throat, just because you’d rather die than admit that you were wrong.”
“That’s not true!” Clear Sky snapped. “If Star Flower had chosen you instead of me, you wouldn’t be leaving. You’re blinded by jealousy.”
Thunder lowered his voice to a hiss. “But Star Flower would never choose me. I’m not enough like One Eye.” He turned, his tail whipping past Clear Sky’s muzzle, and leaped back to the clearing.
Clear Sky’s chest tightened. He thinks I’m like One Eye? Stiff with shock, he watched Leaf, Pink
Eyes, Cloud Spots, Owl Eyes, and Lightning Tail gather eagerly around his son. With a flick of his tail, Thunder led them out of camp.
Grief dragged at his bones, as heavy as water. I just wanted my kin near me. Jagged Peak and Gray Wing were in the pine forest. Thunder was leaving. His eyes misted. I’m sorry, Fluttering Bird.
I’ve failed you, and now I’m alone again. Somehow, I always end up alone.
A familiar scent touched his nose. “Star Flower?”
Paws scuffed the earth beside him, and he turned to see her green eyes shining through the darkness.
Her soft gaze met his. “It’s been a tough day.” She reached forward and brushed her cheek with her muzzle. “But don’t be sad. A few troublemakers have left, that’s all. This is your chance to build the loyal, strong group you always wanted. Let Thunder go if he wants. His only ambition is to fill his belly. He will never be the leader that you are.”
Clear Sky let her words lull him. She wove around him, her thick pelt warming his. Icy weather was coming. He could smell it on the wind. Let Thunder find a new camp as leaf-bare tightened its grip. He still had a loyal band of cats. He rubbed his muzzle into the soft fur of Star Flower’s neck.
At last, he had a mate worthy of him.
Chapter 13
Thunder padded stiffly from the camp. He was acutely aware of the cats following at his heels. He was responsible for them now—all of them. His heart pounded in his chest. Am I doing the right thing?
His father’s words rang in his ears. If Star Flower had chosen you instead of me, you wouldn’t be leaving. You’re blinded by jealousy.
Was that true?
No! It was far more than that. He couldn’t live where he wasn’t listened to—and he couldn’t watch Clear Sky let cats go hungry. Did his father truly believe that their prey would not last through leaf-bare, or was he just flexing his claws because he enjoyed ordering cats around?
Lightning Tail fell in beside Thunder as he headed for the gully. “Why didn’t you tell me you were planning to leave?”
Thunder avoided his gaze. “It was a quick decision.” Numbly, he slithered into the gully. Rain had washed through it and the earth was soft. Mud seeped around his paws.
Lightning Tail landed behind him. “Where are we going?”
Thunder felt the cold night air pierce his fur. “I’m not sure.” He glanced over his shoulder. Leaf, Cloud Spots, and Pink Eyes were following, Owl Eyes on their tail. His heart pounded harder. Gray Wing believed in me, he reminded himself. I can do this.
The gully wound toward the sycamore slope, and he leaped up it, following the path he had carried prey along earlier that day. The forest was dark, the moon hidden behind clouds. As they climbed the slope, he stretched his eyes wide, picking out shapes among the shadows. An owl screeched in the distance, and Lightning Tail pricked his ears.
“There must be prey around,” the black tom murmured.
“We can hunt in the morning,” Thunder told him. “We have to find somewhere safe to sleep.” If owls were looking for prey, foxes would be too.
“Thunder!” Owl Eyes called from behind.
Thunder heard fear in his mew and stopped. “What’s wrong?”
Owl Eyes was staring back down the slope, his pelt bristling. “We’re being followed.”
Thunder stiffened. Had Clear Sky sent a patrol after them? He dashed past Leaf and Cloud Spots and stopped beside the young gray tom. “Can you see anything?”
Owl Eyes shook his head. “I heard voices.”
Thunder tasted the air. There were no strange smells. Just the scents of the camp drifting through the damp forest. “You’re imagining it.” He began to head back to Lightning Tail.
A hiss sounded from shadows below. A twig cracked.
“Who’s there?” Thunder unsheathed his claws.
“I’ll take a look.” Leaf barged past him, ears flat. Growling, the black-and-white tom raced for the gully.
Thunder watched him go, his ears twitching uneasily.
Cloud Spots’s pelt brushed his. “Has Clear Sky come after us?”
“Why would he?” Lightning Tail paced around them. “He said we could go if we wanted.”
Cloud Spots snorted. “But he’s Clear Sky, remember? He can’t be trusted.”
Pink Eyes was staring silently into the darkness. The half-blind cat’s mouth was open as he tasted for scents.
Thunder saw his ears twitch. “What—”
“Hush!” Pink Eyes leaned forward, his pelt bristling.
Thunder’s belly tightened.
“Stop him!” Pink Eyes growled sharply.
“Stop who?”
“Leaf!” Pink Eyes raced forward, bounding down the slope.
Alarm flashed through Thunder. He sped after the white tom. A shriek exploded from the shadows ahead. A long, low yowl sounded in reply.
Thunder leaped past Pink Eyes as they reached the gully, and jumped down into the muddy ditch.
He smelled fear-scent as he spotted Leaf’s black-and-white fur. The tom was hissing at a she-cat.
Two small shapes huddled at her side.
Milkweed!
As Thunder pushed past Leaf, the queen bared her teeth.
“What are you doing here?” Surprise rippled through Thunder’s fur.
Milkweed crouched in the gully, Thistle and Clover on either side. She eyed Leaf accusingly.
“We want to come with you, but he told us to go back.”
Leaf bristled beside Thunder. “They can’t hunt, and she’s sick! Let Clear Sky look after them.”
“How dare you!” Milkweed lashed out with a forepaw and sliced her claws over Leaf’s muzzle.
The tom hissed, eyes flashing with rage in the darkness.