ALLEGIANCES:
IceClan
LEADER:
Darkstar – very dark blue-gray she-wolf with stunning emerald eyes
DEPUTY:
Windclaw – sandy-colored wolf with tawny-colored patches amber eyes
Apprentice, Eaglepaw
MEDICINE WOLF:
Lightheart – small, tawny colored she-wolf with small beige spots
WARRIORS:
Haretail – dark brown tabby wolf
Hawkwing – small, light brown she-wolf
Silverwind – pretty silver tabby she-wolf
Apprentice, Nightpaw
Brownfur – mottled brown wolf with yellow eyes
Apprentice, Oakpaw
Tawnyflower – cream colored she-wolf with brown eyes
Ivoryfall – slender silver-and-white she-wolf
QUEENS:
Dovespots – dark gray she-wolf with white legs, tail, and chest, mother of Haretail's pup: Skypup.
ELDERS:
Smokefoot – scrawny, dusty gray wolf with a thin pelt and pale green eyes
APPRENTICES:
Nightpaw – pitch black she-wolf with blazing yellow-amber eyes
Oakpaw – mottled brown and red wolf with blue eyes
Eaglepaw – dark tan she-wolf with brown legs and tail, blazing red-orange eyes
SnowClan
LEADER:
Willowstar – dark gray, almost black she-wolf with one brown eye and one green eye
DEPUTY:
Swiftpelt – massive black wolf with blue eyes
MEDICINE WOLF:
Stonefoot – gray wolf
Apprentice, Rabbitpaw
WARRIORS:
Barkleg – dark tabby wolf
Apprentice, Gingerpaw
Runningpool – blue-gray wolf with yellow eyes
Riverheart – very light gray she-wolf, brown eyes.
Apprentice, Blizzardpaw
Smallstream – dark gray she-wolf with green eyes
Whiteface – light gray she-wolf with a very light gray forehead and muzzle.
Apprentice, Yellowpaw
Shortear – dusty dark brown wolf with yellow eyes and small ears
QUEENS:
Skyfeather – small, light gray she-wolf, mother of Whiteclaw's pups: Dustpup + Bluepup
ELDERS:
Longfoot – very tall wolf with fluffy dark pelt
Dawnfur – creamy brown she-wolf with dark brown patches and warm green eyes
APPRENTICES:
Gingerpaw – tawny-colored she-wolf with amber eyes
Blizzardpaw – mottled gray and white wolf
Yellowpaw – tall she-wolf with dark yellow pelt and blazing green eyes
~*~
PROLOGUE
Green eyes glowed behind a bracken bush, and thorn-sharp teeth glinted in the moonlight. A large pack of wolves stood snarling quietly behind a dark-pelted she-wolf. Her eyes glinted with rage, and her tail swished in anticipation.
"Darkstar." The sound came from a stunning gray she-wolf with a snow-colored chest and tail. "Please, could you leave more warriors behind to guard the camp?" she continued shakily. Her ears were flat against her head in fear. Darkstar turned on her, her eyes glinting furiously.
"No one questions my orders, Dovespots. Not even you. Go. Now. You shan't have forgotten your warrior skills in the short time you were in the nursery?" Her tone turned scathingly patronizing towards the end of her sentence. Dovespots opened her mouth to argue, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by a massive wolf.
"We can't waste time like this, Darkstar! We have to attack before they do!" he hissed, his amber eyes glinting angrily at Dovespots. A low snarl came from behind him, from a dark ginger wolf. "Quiet, Haretail," the sandy-colored wolf warned the challenging lupe in a growl.
Darkstar raised her head and looked her deputy in the eye.
"You're right, Windclaw. We must strike now. Dovespots, go back to camp with Skypup," Darkstar ordered. "Now," she added before the queen could protest. Dovespots looked like she was about to rake her claws across her leaders' nose, but she dipped her head, picked up a small white pup in her mouth, and turned to race back to camp.
**
"Over here, Barkleg!" a she-wolf shrouded by the night growled. She was sniffing at a hole in the willow branches that grew thickly in the gap between the stone walls just big enough for a full-sized wolf. The tunnel was lined with sharp thorns to keep intruders out.
"Good job, Gingerpaw," Barkleg barked quietly. He trotted towards the bright ginger she-wolf and together they ducked through the entrance. "And how did you find it?" Barkleg questioned his apprentice in a low voice as they made their way, step by step, to the other end of the tunnel. "I tracked their scent from the edge of the territory to the entrance," answered Gingerpaw proudly.
"Good job."
It was almost too easy. All of IceClan's warriors were fighting against SnowClan, which left not one of the warriors in camp. He had not spotted Dovespots in the midst of battle, which meant her pup had already been born… their pup.
They halted when they reached the part of the tunnel where it opened up into the camp. "I smell no warriors, Barkleg. The scent of IceClan wolves are fresh, but no one's here," Gingerpaw reported in a low growl.
Skypup had just closed her eyes when Dovespots heard the confident growl of a SnowClan apprentice. Her hackles raised, lips curled in a silent snarl. Intruders! She rose, careful not to disturb her pup, and padded quietly out of the nursery. "Wait." She heard the apprentice say. "There's a new scent." Through the dark, Dovespots could make out the bristling shape of Gingerpaw, and her mentor Barkleg.
"Who's there?" Barkleg growled.
"I might ask you the same question," Dovespots answered with ferocious snarl, and leapt at Barkleg. "I don't want to kill you," she growled into his ear. "Leave now and I won't have to." Barkleg turned his massive head to look her in the eye.
Their gazes locked for a moment, and Dovespots wanted to collapse next to him and tell him how much pain she'd been through, how hard it had been keeping their pup a secret. But she had to do what was best for her Clan. Pushing away from him, she charged towards Gingerpaw, who was cautiously making her way to the nursery. "Don't you dare," Dovespots snarled, leaping at the apprentice. She brought Gingerpaw down with a sickening snap. Dovespots jumped off the apprentice quickly at the noise, staring down at the fallen she-wolf. Howls of the raging battle far away were brought to the queen's ears by the growing wind.
Gingerpaw's eyes were empty, her neck twisted at an odd angle. Dovespots backed away slowly. "Oh no. Oh, no," she whispered, her eyes wide in horror.
The apprentice had had her whole life ahead of her. And now she was gone. Suddenly, a massive weight pinned the queen down. She buckled to the earth as a low, threatening snarl hit her ears. "You and your Clan will pay for what you have done." The words were horrifyingly close to her. Suddenly, pain shot through Dovespots as Barkleg's teeth connected with her neck. "Goodbye, my love," she whispered hoarsely as the smell of blood met her nose. Then everything faded to black.