"I love you."

With those words, Birchclaw knew he was going back on everything he'd ever been taught. Just by saying three little words, he had broken the warrior code.

But then he forgot about that, because then Appleheart pressed her fur against him and intertwined her tail with his. "I love you too," she whispered in his ear. He gently licked her cheek in reply.

The two cats lay down, murmuring sweet nothings into each other's ears. "You know we're breaking the warrior code," Appleheart reminded Birchclaw, but her voice was light and carefree.

"I would break a thousand codes to be with you," Birchclaw replied, and he meant it.

"Just a thousand?" Appleheart teased. To have her here, lying next to him, breathing in her flowery scent; Birchclaw couldn't help wishing that they could stay like this forever, free from codes and Clan boundaries.

"Will you meet me here again?" Birchclaw suddenly asked her, his amber eyes serious.

Appleheart licked his muzzle. "Of course I will," she purred. "ShadowClan would have to kill me before I stopped loving you."

"And ThunderClan would have to kill me," Birchclaw agreed. "And then StarClan would have to destroy me because I'd go on meeting you in dreams."

Appleheart rested her head against his shoulder. "Maybe we should run away," she suggested. "Free of boundaries and rules."

Birchclaw shook his head. "That isn't the answer." He glanced at the sky. "It's getting late. You better go."

Appleheart sighed, but she stood up anyway. "Can I meet you here tomorrow night?"

"Sure." Birchclaw got to his paws too. "We can watch the moonlight together."

"I'd like that," Appleheart mewed softly. She wound her body around his and licked him on the nose. "Goodbye," she whispered. "I love you, Birchclaw."

"I love you too." Birchclaw echoed her words as Appleheart dashed off in the direction of her camp. Head lowered, he headed back to camp. How can we succeed, he wondered, when all other forbidden loves have failed?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Appleheart seemed to fly on invisible wings as she raced back to the camp. She'd collected a few pieces of fresh-kill; it was good that she was such a star hunter. But she didn't really care if she'd returned empty-pawed. Who cares? All she cared was that Birchclaw loved her! And she loved him with all her heart.

Appleheart padded into the ShadowClan camp and dropped her prey in the fresh-kill pile. Tawnypelt, lying in a last patch of evening sunshine, beckoned Appleheart over. "Where have you been all day?"

Appleheart felt a twinge of guilt as she replied "Hunting." It wasn't really a lie, because she had hunted before she'd returned to the camp.

Tawnypelt looked unconvinced. She raised her head and whispered "Remember to wash off the ThunderClan scent."

Appleheart felt a wave of embarrassment sweep over her. "Oh, er… thanks." She immediately turned her head and began to wash Birchclaw's scent out of her fur.

Tawnypelt lay back. "Just remember to do that, and it'll take a while until you're caught out." Eyes twinkling, she meowed "I suppose it is Birchclaw?" When Appleheart didn't reply, she added "Don't worry, I won't tell."

"Yes, it's Birchclaw," Appleheart muttered, her heart leaping as she remembered the feel of his pelt pressing against hers, and how she had intertwined their tails together. Was it really wrong to be breaking the code, she wondered, when Birchclaw made her feel so special?

Tawnypelt let out a soft purr before resting her head on the ground again. "It feels great, doesn't it? Being in love, I mean," she mewed. Her eyes had taken on a wistful expression.

"It's the best thing in the world!" Appleheart said the words loud enough for an apprentice nearby to hear. He gave her a curious look.

"Nothing to see here, Owlpaw," Tawnypelt meowed firmly. Owlpaw dipped his head to the senior warrior and padded over to the apprentices' den. Once he was gone, Appleheart turned back to her companion, surprise gleaming in her eyes.

"Are you… are you in love?" she asked shyly. As far as she knew, Tawnypelt had never shown any real signs of affection to any of their Clanmates.

The tortoiseshell ignored her. "There's still some sun left," she reminded Appleheart. "You may as well go and hunt for a while longer."

Appleheart fixed Tawnypelt with a curious stare before taking her advice. She left the camp and wandered to a good area of hunting territory, not really concentrating as she dropped into a crouch and began to stalk a robin. What was her old mentor not telling her?

Was Tawnypelt having a forbidden romance?