Chapter One

Ashpaw padded over to Shadowclaw. Her blue eyes shone. She had caught two mice, a squirrel, and a vole.

"Great job, Ashpaw!" praised Shadowclaw. Her dark green eyes looked away for a second, and then they fixed back on Ashpaw.

"Are we going to do battle training?" Ashpaw asked excitedly.

Shadowclaw shook her head. "Sorry, Ashpaw. We need to do some more hunting."

Ashpaw shrugged. She liked hunting.

"Shhh," hissed Shadowclaw suddenly. Her fur bristled, and her cocky smile disappeared. Her bright green eyes deepened.

Ashpaw's appearance changed too. Her fur became darker, and had a red-gold hint to it. Her light blue eyes got darker, and she bared her teeth in a slight smile. Her ears pricked, and the air around her felt cold.

"I give you my fire," whispered the lithe flame-colored tom.

Four black cats stalked over to them. They all had strange light yellow eyes. The leader had a white stripe running from the tip of her nose to the base of her tail. Her tail was white. They all had an evilness about them. Ashpaw didn't like it.

"Well, well," the leader hissed. "Looks like we've got a nice kitten here."

And before Ashpaw knew what was happening, she was cuffed on the head. She struggled, becoming one of the kits she hated watching being punished by their mothers. The white-tailed she-cat stalked over to her, as two of the others pinned down Shadowclaw, who hissed and spat.

"I give you my courage," purred the blue-gray she-cat with the frosty blue eyes.

Suddenly Ashpaw knew what she had to do. To change the fate of FireClan, she had to give herself up. She relaxed and let the tom drag her away.

"Ashpaw!"

The last thing Ashpaw saw of Shadowclaw was the she-cat's green eyes. They looked desperate.

"I'll be back!" she shouted. Then she was whisked away into the darkness of the unknown.

Ashpaw felt like she was carried for moons before the she-cat finally put her down. And when she looked around, she almost gasped.

There were cats everywhere. There were cats from WaterClan, cats from LeafClan, and cats from MistClan. But Ashpaw noticed that she was the only FireClan cat there. They must have not made a raid on FireClan yet. She had to warn them.

She padded up to a beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat.

"Hello," she meowed. The tortoiseshell trained her green gaze on her, and Ashpaw shivered.

"Hey," she replied. "I'm Eaglepaw. You must be new."

Ashpaw nodded. "I'm Ashpaw. Uh…what do you mean, new?"

Eaglepaw smiled. "I've only been here for a few days, but Dawnfeather has been here for more than that, and Starflight has been here for a moon."

"Oh…you mean we've all been kidnapped by these black toms?"

"Yes," replied Eaglepaw.

At that moment another she-cat padded over. She was a silky white she-cat with deep blue eyes.

"I'm Starflight," she meowed.

"I'm Ashpaw." Ashpaw paused. "Have you been here for a moon?"

Starflight nodded. "Yes, I have. It's horrible, really. We've been starved and put through the hardest conditions."

"Who runs it?" asked Ashpaw, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Bluewater."

Ashpaw frowned. "What a strange name!"

"No one's seen him," continued Starflight. "We don't know what he looks like."

"You! Gray one! Over there!"

Ashpaw looked over into the direction of the black tom. "What?"

"Bluewater wants to see you."

Ashpaw took a deep breath. "Okay…"

She padded after the tom, her fur prickling nervously.

"You'll be fine," whispered the blue-eyed she-cat. Her dark gray fur glimmered in the moon. "And one day I will see you again."

Her daughter, a slender silver-gray kit, meowed, "But where are you going?"

The blue-eyed she-cat did not answer, but slipped off into the shadows.

Ashpaw entered Bluewater's den. It was dark inside, with the faintest smell of moss and warmth. Bluewater sat with his back facing Ashpaw, his dark gray fur shining slightly from the light outside.

"She is here to see you," growled the black tom.

Bluewater turned to face Ashpaw.

And Ashpaw received a huge surprise.

Bluewater was a she-cat! She was slender and beautiful. Her eyes were a light blue, much like Ashpaw's.

"Hello, Ashpaw," purred Bluewater. "I'm Bluewater."

"Yes, Eaglepaw told me," began Ashpaw, surprised by Bluewater's kindness. "Is it true that you have only taken us to hurt our Clans?"

She pulled up short, because Bluewater's eyes were suddenly wide with anger.

"How dare you challenge me," she hissed. "Get out."

Ashpaw backed out, her ears flat on her head. She padded back out to her new friends, her ears still flat.

"So what did he say?" asked Starflight excitedly.

Ashpaw was about to answer, but one of Bluewater's guards shouted,

"We're separating you into groups!"

The silver-gray she-cat looked up, startled. "Uh…"

"You, you, you, and you," he continued, pointing to Ashpaw, Eaglepaw, Starflight, and another she-cat from FireClan who must have just arrived: Icerose. "You will be paired with you," he meowed, pointing to Ashpaw and a black tom.

He continued on to pair Eaglepaw with Tigerfire, another FireClan warrior must have arrived with Icerose. He paired Icerose with Scarface, the MistClan deputy, and Starflight with Slashclaw, the WaterClan deputy.

"The whole point of this project is to make a new Clan," said the black tom. "And this will be your new mate."

All of the cats gasped.

"That's not right," declared Ashpaw suddenly. She felt a flaming in her heart, and knew that this was the right thing to do.

"Nevertheless, toms come with me," declared another black tom. "She-cats, go with him." He pointed to the first black tom.

The genders dutifully followed their black tom. Ashpaw was first in line. After her, Eaglepaw, then Starflight, then finally Dreamfeather.

After following the tom into a large cave, he turned to them.

"Welcome to your first training session on How To Be Weak And Let Your Mate Overpower You."

Eaglepaw gasped. "What? That's so unfair! You can't do that!"

"I'm Blackheart," continued the tom, paying no attention to Eaglepaw whatsoever. "The tom that is training the toms is called Darkheart, and the last tom is Sootheart. The white-tailed she-cat is called Dawnsky.

"Anyway," he meowed, "this lesson will teach you how to relax and let your mate take control. This is what you're going to do."

He beckoned to Dawnsky, who had just padded in. Her yellow eyes shone.

"Lie down," he instructed her.

The she-cat lay down and Blackheart pushed down onto her back. She gasped in pain, but he pushed harder. Dawnsky's eyes closed in agony, but she didn't try to get up.

"This is how you make your mate happy," he hissed. Dawnsky tried to bite him, but he raked his claw down her back. His fangs showed an ecstatic grin, and he looked happy to be torturing Dawnsky.

"Now I'll be demonstrating on other she-cats," he purred. "Tortie, why don't you go first?"

He beckoned to Eaglepaw. The beautiful young she-cat stepped forward, her eyes worried. Ashpaw held her breath. What was Blackheart going to do to her?

She was about to find out.

While Eaglepaw writhed in pain, Blackheart raked his claws down her back again and again. He tortured her until she finally fell unconscious.

"No!"

Ashpaw darted forward to revive her friend. The tortoiseshell opened her eyes dimly. "Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw nodded. "I'm right here."

The gray she-cat looked around. "Are there any medicine cats here?"

No answer.

"Anyone who can use herbs?"

"She's fine," hissed Blackheart. "She doesn't need help."

Ashpaw stood up and hissed in his face. "Of course she does! She's bleeding badly! And whose fault is that? Hmm?"

Blackheart looked taken aback. "Well…I…"

Then Dawnsky was in Ashpaw's face. "You little pile of fox-dung," she hissed, limping as she turned to examine Eaglepaw. "She is fine!"

"No, she's not!" insisted Ashpaw. "Why aren't you smart enough to know that?"
She had hit a nerve. Both cats arched their backs, snarling at the small apprentice.

"You'll be sorry you said that," hissed Blackheart. He raked his claws over Dawnsky, and she stifled a yelp of pain.

Ashpaw shook her head in pity. "Look at you, Dawnsky! You're letting him take control! Don't do that!"
"But I must," whispered Dawnsky, losing control of herself for a second. "He will kill me if I don't, and I am expecting kits."

"When you took me from my mentor," meowed Ashpaw, "I thought you were the leader. You seemed like you were in charge. I guess not."

Dawnsky shook her head slowly. "I was not."

She sat down, breathing heavily. "You are right. Eaglepaw needs herbs."

Blackheart's eyes opened wide. "What?"

He lunged for Ashpaw, claws unsheathed. But Ashpaw had seen it coming, and so she dodged it.

Suddenly all the she-cats were shouting for Ashpaw.

"Go Ashpaw!"

"Take him down!"

"You can do it!"

Ashpaw's fur had that red-gold hint again. Her eyes got darker, and the air around her was cool, calm, and collected.

Eaglepaw sat up. Her green eyes were wide.

"Are they fighting over me?"

Starflight nodded. Eaglepaw shook her head. "Oh, no."

Ashpaw dodged blow after blow from Blackheart's claws. Her slender body twisted and turned as she struck her own blows. Her claws hit Blackheart's face, and he yowled in pain.

"Why, you pile of fox-dung!"
He lunged for Ashpaw, who dodged yet again. Her breath caught in her throat as his claw snagged a bit of fur, but she had been careful and smoothed her fur that morning, so his claws just slipped through. She sighed in relief.

But the fight was far from over.

Blackheart lunged at her, knocking her down. Her body was pinned to the ground, and she took a shuddering breath. Her blue eyes stared up at the black tom.

Dawnsky stopped the two and picked up Ashpaw. She took her away to a tiny den. It smelled horrible, and she locked Ashpaw in by creating a thorn barrier that Ashpaw couldn't unhook. Ashpaw lay down in defeat.

"You'll stay here until Bluewater decides you can go," she meowed. "You won't be given food, drink, or herbs. This is punishment, after all."

Ashpaw's eyes widened. That couldn't be true, could it?

It was.

"Pssst. Ashpaw."

Ashpaw turned around as best she could. A bright green eye was blinking at her through a crack in the den.

"Eaglepaw?"

"Shhh," hissed the tortoiseshell. "Quiet."

She opened the thorn barrier to let Ashpaw out. Ashpaw scurried out. She shook herself, but her fur was smooth. Ashpaw had taken the time in her prison to groom herself.

"You can come stay in our group," hissed Eaglepaw. Ashpaw followed her to a den. She lay down next to her friend and fell fast asleep.

The next morning Ashpaw stretched. She padded outside the den.

"All right, she-cats, listen up!" bellowed Blackheart. "You should all know who your mate is. Find that special cat and let's go to the arena."

Ashpaw fought the throng of cats to find the black tom.

"Ashpaw."

It was the black tom, which Ashpaw realized was…

Nightpaw.

"Nightpaw!" she exclaimed.

Nightpaw brushed up against her. "Let's go."

When they got to the arena, Blackheart turned to face them.

"Okay. All the toms will fight to win a mate. The mate they want. We've decided to give you the mate of your choice, but you will have to fight."

He pointed to Ashpaw's group. "Your group can go first."

He beckoned to Starflight. "What's your name?"

"Starflight."

Blackheart grinned. "This young beauty, Starflight, has a pearly sheen to her beautiful white fur. Her eyes seem to pierce your heart, and on top of that, she has a very nice shape and a nice name too. Who wants her?"

Nightpaw, Scarface, and Tigerfire stepped forward.

"Okay, fight!"

The three toms snarled and hissed, bit and clawed. Nightpaw had a gash in his side, so he stepped out. Scarface's paw was bitten hard and was bleeding badly, so Tigerfire won. He stepped forward to take Starflight.

"New mates will go to the next arena," announced Blackheart. The two mates walked off together, Tigerfire controlling Starflight easily.

"What's your name?" asked Blackheart to Eaglepaw.

"Eaglepaw."

"This tortoiseshell is sure pretty. With deep green eyes, a dappled coat, and a fluffy tail, she would produce wonderful kits. Will she be taken? Who wants her?"

Nightpaw won her. He escorted her off gleefully.

After Slashclaw took Icerose, it was Ashpaw's turn.

"This young beauty has a beautiful form. With wide light blue eyes, she can certainly please you easily. She has a beautiful fur pattern, and a soft, gentle, soothing voice. Takers, anyone?"

Eclipsemoon—her own deputy!—won her, after a long fight. As he escorted her off to the next arena, he entwined his tail with hers and whispered to her.

"We're going to have a good time, I think."

Ashpaw nodded nervously.

In the next arena, the cats were taught how to share tongues. Ashpaw was hesitant at first, but Eclipsemoon's golden eyes and overall handsomeness overtook her, and she gave in.