I promised I'd have this up by the end of the week, so here it is! This chapter's extra-long... I couldn't stop writing. Hope you enjoy it!

"Birchclaw!" Appleheart cried, dashing over to where her mate lay. She could make out that he was breathing, but shallowly. He looked a mess - a huge cut tore down his flank.

Smokefoot's eyes turned cold with hate. "I wouldn't come too close if I were you," he snarled softly, gently patting Birchclaw's neck with his claws.

Appleheart stopped. "How… how could you?" she choked out in disbelief as Birchclaw's head rose slightly.

Smokefoot gave the ThunderClan tom a heavy blow with his forepaw. "I'll let him live," he hissed. "On one condition."

Appleheart was frantic. Blood was pooling around the two toms, and she could see that Birchclaw desperately needed a medicine cat if he was going to live. "What's the condition?" she meowed, her voice high-pitched.

Smokefoot fastened his blue eyes on her. "Become my mate," he answered coldly. "Agree to become my mate, and I'll let him live. You must never see him again."

Appleheart stood, frozen. She couldn't be Smokefoot's mate when she didn't love him, but she didn't want Birchclaw to die. Slowly, she nodded.

"I agree to your condition," she mewed, not looking at his eyes. "Just let him go."

Almost instantly, Smokefoot drew away from the unconscious warrior. "Are you sure, Appleheart?" he almost purred.

Appleheart swallowed. "I'm sure."

Smokefoot nodded. "Good." He stalked off into the pine forest. "Come on, then."

Appleheart didn't move. "You're not… you're not going to just leave him here?"

Smokefoot glanced back at her. "Of course I am," he answered.

Later, Appleheart would wish that she'd thought before she acted, to avoid what happened. But she didn't think.

She saw Birchclaw, close to death.

She saw the cat who'd almost killed Birchclaw.

Red clouded her vision.

Appleheart leapt at Smokefoot, unsheathing her claws. She landed on his back, digging her claws into his spine. The ShadowClan tom yowled in pain, twisting over so Appleheart was crushed beneath him. The pale tabby didn't let go.

Smokefoot up righted himself quickly, the impact throwing Appleheart off. She jumped to her feet.

"I knew I couldn't trust you," Smokefoot hissed as the two cats circled each other. "Why couldn't you have loved me, instead of loving him?"

Appleheart's green eyes narrowed. "You should have known better." She darted across and scored her claws against his neck, wanting to rip the life out of him. As Smokefoot cried out and blood dribbled out of his neck and jaws, Appleheart pushed him to the ground and, filled with a mindless rage for the cat that had almost killed Birchclaw, tore his throat with her teeth.

Smokefoot shuddered, then became stiff, his eyes as still as the lake on a windless day. Blood pooled out around his body, and Appleheart slowly became aware that she was covered in the scarlet fluid.

"What have I done?" she whispered, as her anger disappeared. Horror formed in her green eyes. "Oh StarClan, what have I just done?"

A faint noise from across the clearing reminded her of Birchclaw. She hurried over to him, not looking at Smokefoot. "Birchclaw?" she mewed anxiously, nosing his fur gently.

Birchclaw gave a small groan. Blood was still seeping out of his wounds into the grass.

Appleheart licked his cheek. "I'll be back soon," she promised. "I won't let you die."

She raised her head and glanced around. Toadfoot had gone to get Littlecloud, but they were going to tend to Marshpelt. Littlecloud would find it difficult to save both cats at once. She had one choice left.

With a last glance at Birchclaw and a quick lick, she raced into ThunderClan territory.

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Appleheart burst into the ThunderClan camp, panting. Almost instantly, every cat she could see bristled, narrowing their eyes as they took in her blood-stained coat.

"Need… Leafpool…" Appleheart wheezed heavily. "Birchclaw… injured…"

"Birchclaw?" It was Whitecloud who stood up. "He's injured?"

Appleheart nodded slowly. "I think he might die."

Whitecloud hesitated, then turned to her Clan. "Come on then!" she meowed. "Didn't you just hear? Birchclaw might be dying!"

"How do we know we can trust her?" A long-furred white tom called out. "She's a ShadowClan cat!"

Whitecloud met Appleheart's eyes. "We can trust her."

"Firestar?" The ThunderClan deputy, Brambleclaw, turned to the flame-coloured cat beside him.

Firestar looked at Appleheart. "Cloudtail, Dustpelt, Brambleclaw, Whitecloud, Leafpool," he meowed. "Go with her."

The cats Firestar had chosen were all strong fighters, with the exception of Leafpool. The ThunderClan medicine cat was already giving herbs to Whitecloud to carry.

"Led on," Brambleclaw meowed commandingly, pawing at the ground.

Appleheart nodded, than dashed out of the camp. The five ThunderClan cats followed her; their eyes weary, their bodies alert.

Soon, Appleheart began to smell the stench of blood, and a second later the group burst into the clearing.

"Birchclaw!" Whitecloud cried, dropping Leafpool's herbs and dashing over to her friend. Appleheart wearily followed her, and to her relief saw that Birchclaw's chest was still rising and falling.

Leafpool had also rushed over. "I need more cobwebs," she meowed quietly. "To stop the bleeding."

The long-furred white tom - Cloudtail - wound his paw around some nearby spiders' webs and limped towards them. "This do?"

Leafpool gently scraped them off his paw. "That should work," she mewed, crouching down beside the injured cat and applying the herbs.

"Brambleclaw," Dustpelt padded over to them. "You'd better have a look at this."

Appleheart's mouth went dry. They were looking at Smokefoot's body.

"Did Birchclaw do this?" she heard Dustpelt mutter, and she remembered that he was Birchclaw's father.

"He could have done," Brambleclaw meowed, his tone revealing nothing. "The fur between his claws matches Birchclaw's."

"Maybe the ShadowClan cat can help us." Cloudtail joined them. "It's worth a try."

Brambleclaw nodded slowly, and then turned to Appleheart. "Was there a fight between Birchclaw and this cat?" He gestured to Smokefoot.

Appleheart swallowed. "Yes," she whispered.

"Did Birchclaw kill him?"

Her stomach lurched. "No," she answered, her voice sounding stronger than she felt. "I did."

All the ThunderClan cats looked shocked. Whitecloud's eyes met Appleheart's, but the white she-cat said nothing.

"Why would you kill your Clanmate?" Cloudtail wondered.

"Because…" Appleheart's heart stopped, and she lowered her gaze to her paws. "He was about to kill my mate."

Another shocked silence. Appleheart briefly glanced up to see that the ThunderClan cats were glancing from her to Birchclaw, their eyes wide. Whitecloud was refusing to meet her gaze, concentrating on helping Leafpool.

"But Birchclaw wouldn't…" Dustpelt began, and Appleheart thought he was trying to convince himself that his son hadn't broken the warrior code. "He couldn't…"

Brambleclaw glared at Appleheart. "Birchclaw was your mate?"

Appleheart nodded.

"How did you meet?"

"At the Gathering, when our warrior names were announced." The words spilled out of Appleheart's mouth like water from an upturned leaf.

"How long have you been meeting?"

"Since then."

Brambleclaw paused before asking his next question. "Who else knew?"

"Ummm…" Appleheart looked down at her paws. "Tawnypelt and Smokefoot."

Brambleclaw's eyes widened as she said his sister's name. "Tawnypelt knew?"

Cloudtail stepped forward. "Surely someone from ThunderClan knew."

"I did." Whitecloud stood up, staring Cloudtail straight into his eyes. "Birchclaw told me. I've been helping them."

Cloudtail looked almost as surprised as the others. With a flash of understanding as she noticed their long, white fur, Appleheart realised they must be close kin - father and daughter, perhaps?

She heard a noise behind her and whirled around. Birchclaw was stirring. His shoulders heaved with each cough as blood splattered the already soaked grass. Leafpool was rasping her tongue over his ear in rhythmic strokes.

Appleheart padded over to him. "Birchclaw?" she meowed hesitantly, painfully aware of the other cats.

Birchclaw slowly turned his head towards her. "Apple… Appleheart?"

Instantly Appleheart forgot about the ThunderClan warriors. "It's alright," she murmured softly as she lay down next to him, pressing her pelt against his. "I'm here, don't worry." She took over from Leafpool, gently licking her mate's forehead. "Everything's going to be okay."

Birchclaw blinked. "Is… is that Leafpool?"

"Yes," Appleheart replied, glancing at the medicine cat. "She's been helping you."

"Appleheart," Birchclaw mewed, his voice sounding tiny and weak. "Am I badly injured?"

Appleheart hesitated, then whispered "Yes, but Leafpool says you'll survive."

Birchclaw gently licked her nose before resting his head on his paws and closing his eyes. His breathing slowed as he fell asleep.

Appleheart looked up. "He will survive, won't he?" she meowed, panic rising in her voice.

Leafpool smiled. "Don't worry," she promised. "He'll live."

Relief flooded through Appleheart; she began licking him again. Her heart was full of love for the tabby tom.

She heard a noise behind her, and turned to see Dustpelt staring at her in amazement. "He really loves you?"

"He really does." Appleheart paused. "And I love him more than anything."

"It doesn't matter if you love him or not," Brambleclaw growled. "What matters is that you're a ShadowClan cat, and he's ThunderClan."

"But, Brambleclaw, love is sometimes more powerful than Clan boundries." To Appleheart's surprise, it was Leafpool who'd spoken. The she-cat was standing a little way from them, and in her amber eyes memories began to stir. "How would you feel if Squirrelflight was from another Clan?"

Brambleclaw looked startled by her question. "If Squirrelflight was from another Clan, I never would have fallen in love with her," he retorted.

"What about you, Dustpelt?" Leafpool turned to the dark brown tom. "And you, Cloudtail. If Brightheart and Ferncloud were in different Clans, what would you do?"

Both toms looked down at their paws. Appleheart guessed Brightheart was Cloudtail's mate. What she wanted to know was why Leafpool was sticking up for her.

As if Leafpool knew what she was thinking, the medicine cat quietly murmured "I fell in love once, with a cat from another Clan. I still love him, but my Clan needed a medicine cat more than he needed me."

Appleheart's green eyes widened.

Brambleclaw glanced up. "Appleheart, is it?"

Appleheart nodded.

"We'll help carry the body back to your camp," he offered. "You should get back to ShadowClan while we get Birchclaw to our camp."

Appleheart felt her neck fur bristle. "No! I'm staying with him! If you can't understand that, you don't have to, but I'm not leaving him!"