Path of Stars Read Free

around the cats.
    â€œWhat if she set up her own kidnapping?” Thorn gasped. “To gather the group leaders together.”
    Blossom’s eyes widened in alarm. “They must be planning an attack!”
    â€œWhy would they do that?” Clear Sky snapped. “They only want prey.”
    â€œAre you sure?” Quick Water’s tail swept the ground. “If they kill our leaders, we’ll all be vulnerable.”
    Clear Sky stiffened as he saw fear bristling in the pelts of his campmates. He fluffed out his fur. “You talk as though we’re helpless rabbits!” he snapped. “But our claws are as long as any rogue’s. No one will get killed!”
    Alder nodded. “We can’t let them scare us.”
    â€œWe have to fight to keep what’s ours!” Sparrow Fur agreed.
    Clear Sky looked at her hopefully. “Then will you come with me to persuade the other leaders?”
    â€œYes.” Sparrow Fur padded forward.
    Alder followed her. “I’ll come too.”
    As Clear Sky blinked at them gratefully, Thorn cut in. “Is it wise for so many cats to leave camp? It leaves us prone to attack. What if the rogues come back?”
    â€œThey already have Star Flower,” Clear Sky told him. “What else would they want?”
    Quick Water growled ominously. “The food from our mouths.”
    Clear Sky glanced at her bitterly. “Then you’ll have something to fight for, won’t you?” He headed for the camp entrance, looking back with relief as he saw Sparrow Fur, Alder, and Acorn Fur at his heels.
    He ducked through the bramble barrier and took the trail that led toward Thunder’s camp. Would his son be more understanding than his campmates? Worry churned in his belly. Thunder had plenty of reasons not to help him. Clear Sky knew he’d never been a good father. And Thunder had loved Star Flower before she’d chosen Clear Sky as a mate. As the path steepened toward a rise, he steadied his breath. After everything that had happened between them, could he count on Thunder’s support?

C HAPTER 2

    Thunder pricked his ears at the sound of tiny paws pattering over wet leaves. He stopped, heart quickening, and signaled to Lightning Tail with a twitch of his tail. As Lightning Tail froze behind him, Thunder dropped into a hunting crouch and opened his mouth. Through the scent of musty leaves, he tasted mouse. It was the first ground prey he’d smelled since they’d left camp at dawn. The dripping forest canopy rustled as birds flitted from tree to tree, but the forest floor seemed dead, as though the recent snows had frozen all life.
    The mouse moved again, and Thunder glimpsed fur beneath a trailing bramble, which spilled over the top of a rise. Keeping low, he crept forward. The mouse darted deeper into the bramble. Thunder’s belly tightened with anticipation. He quickened his pace, then leaped, sailing through the air, his claws outstretched. He narrowed his eyes as he plunged through the spiky branches and landed squarely on the mouse. It struggled beneath his claws as he curled them around it. Tail lashing with triumph, he jerked his muzzle forward and bit through its spine. It fell limp, and he hooked it between his teeth. Barging out of the brambles, he ignored his scratchedmuzzle and proudly held up his catch.
    Lightning Tail purred when he saw it. “I was starting to think there were no mice left in the forest.”
    Thunder dropped the mouse at his friend’s paws. “The cold weather came too early.” He glanced at the frost-scorched berries, shriveled on the brambles around them. “It destroyed their food.”
    Lightning Tail stared at the mouse. “Hungry prey won’t last long.”
    Anxiety tugged at Thunder’s belly. What if the prey didn’t last until newleaf? “Perhaps they managed to store enough food before the snows came,” he meowed hopefully.
    Lightning