His piercing, amber eyes burned into my pelt, his lips curled back into the makings of a snarl. “Just what I’d expect from a half-clan cat. Disloyal to the core.” The fur along my spine quivered with anger. I turned to Brambleclaw.

“You’d better get going.” He shot me a sympathetic look and rasped his tongue over my ear. His amber eyes narrowed and flickered up to Rowanclaw. He growled softly. I gave him a hard stare. He sighed.

“Alright.” He touched his muzzle to my ear. “If he picks on you again, don’t hesitate to rip his fur off. I might like to watch that.” He let out a purr of amusement.

I rolled my eyes. “Get out of here, mousebrain.” He smiled and backed away across the borderline.

“And don’t even lay a paw on our side of the border!” Rowanclaw padded to my side, bristling. I shied away from our touching pelts, my skin burning by his closeness. His eyes flickered over to me and tensed. “What are you looking at, half-blood?” he growled.

My fur bristled and I sunk into a crouch. “Do not call me that.” I hissed.

He snarled back, matching my pose perfectly. Smiling wickedly, he kneaded the ground with his razor sharp claws. “What are you going to do, Tawnypelt? Claw me then go running home to your ThunderClan kin?” He flashed his pointed teeth. My stomach clenched. I rose out of my crouch and turned away, my fur prickling with resentment.

“Wait.” I froze, my ears perked. He padded to my side, his eyes laced with confusion. “Aren’t you going to attack me?”

“No,” I growled, pushing passed him.

“Why not? I insulted you. I-I was absolutely horrible to you.”

I sighed and whipped around to him. “Not everything can be solved with fighting, Rowanclaw.” I growled and continued to walk deeper into ShadowClan territory.

“Wow,” he gasped. He rested his tail on my shoulder. “Umm…Tawnypelt?”

“What do you want now?”

He shuffled his paws nervously. “Well, there’s really no point in us going back to camp empty pawed. Why don’t we hunt?” He smiled meekly.

My fur quivered with delight. “Um, okay.” He smiled wider and padded beside me, our steps matching perfectly. A moment later, he flicked his ears in warning and sunk into a hunter’s crouch. I watched him intently. His muscles rippled through his pelt, perfectly synchronized with every move. His amber eyes narrowed, muscles tense, and quick as lightning, he sprung forward, trapping a vole securely in his claws. He bit down hard on its neck, killing it quickly.

“That was great!” I yowled approvingly, bounding over to him.

He dropped his prey and smiled up at me. “That vole was practically begging to be caught.” He gave his chest fur a few swift licks.

“Nonsense, that was a wonderful catch.” I rubbed my cheek against his. He chuckled and before I knew it, he had his tail wrapped around me. My heart thudded in my chest. I nestled into his fur, breathing in his intoxicating scent.

He sighed. “Tawnypelt?” he murmured.

“Yes, Rowanclaw?”

“I…I love you.”

My fur tingled. “I love you too, Rowanclaw.”