Chapter 24

The day when Galestar had paid Shadowpaw a visit was moons behind him now, each day, the thought of SkyClan…of his old friends….seemed to fade away like sand in the wind. Shadowpaw had spent his time with June and the two had made their own territory in the same place as they had when he first saw Galestar and Palepaw. The black tom had grown closer to June and the two were inseparable.

June was padding beside Shadowpaw, he tail high…oh, and her stomach full of kits.

Shadowpaw was the father of his first litter of kits, and he was doing his best to keep June safe.

"Do you need to rest?" Shadowpaw asked June.

"Are you kidding," She mewed. "I haven't had this much exercise in days!"

Shadowpaw purred and continued to pad slowly through the forest with June. The two took the time to admire the snow that was freshly blanketed across the earth and the beds of the pine needles. June sighed and took in the scent of the crisp snow and watched as tiny flurries floated down from the trees.

"Winter is so beautiful…" June purred. "I think I'll name one of my kits, winter."

Shadowpaw purred and watched as more snow fell from the tree tops, his worries seemed far behind him now. June gazed up and saw a clump of snow shift on a branch overhead.

"Look out—" the snow clump splattered on top of Shadowpaw and covered his black fur in white flakes. June held back a snort of laughter as Shadowpaw sneezed and tried to shake the snow from his fur. "Are you okay?" She mrrowed

"Yeah…just cold," Shadowpaw shivered. June purred and rubbed her cheek across his. Her mind seemed to drift off as they continued to walk, her eyes looked full of questions. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just…about your old life," She purred. "What it was like for you as a kit. I never got to chance to ask you about your life."

"Do you want to know…?" Shadowpaw mewed.

"Yes…actually." June mewed; she padded forward and sat in front of Shadowpaw with a smile.

"Okay…" Shadowpaw mewed, thinking of where to start. "Let's begin with my kithood…"

Shadowpaw told June of how he admired his father and adored his mother. He told about how he always tried hard to impress his father with his battle moves, but never really succeeded. June purred and listened with undivided attention. Shadowpaw sighed and told his mate about how Scar attacked him that faithful day when Mistyfern and Scar's relationship began to shift. June frowned and looked down at her paws in guilt.

"I'm sorry…if this topic is too sensitive…we can talk about something else." June murmured.

"No it's fine…" Shadowpaw meowed. "That was a long time ago…" June frowned and continued to listen as Shadowpaw talked about his battle with the badgers as an apprentice and how Scar was killed. June shifted uncomfortably when Shadowpaw told about how he was accused of being a murderer and when Mistyfern abandoned him afterwards.

"My life hasn't been the best…but that's why I met you." Shadowpaw mewed.

"Why did Galestar kick you out of SkyClan?" June asked. "Did he not like you?"

"No…he liked me," Shadowpaw explained. "He just…he didn't want to see me get hurt."

June frowned and flicked her silky tail. "I should march over there and teach those cats a lesson!"

"I'm afraid you will be greatly outnumbered." Joked Shadowpaw, June snorted and looked back at their foot prints in the snow. Shadowpaw shook the snow from his pads and stood. "We should head back…it's getting cold."

"Okay…" June and Shadowpaw twined tails and walked back to the den, the only sound was the outtakes of breath that billowed in the cold air around them. Shadowpaw forced his cold shivers to go down and focused on walking back to the den with June, his whiskers flying in the winter breeze.

The den was warm inside and it smelled fresh of Shadowpaw and June's scent when they returned. June sighed and lay down inside the den, carful to lay down with her wide stomach. Shadowpaw shook the snow from his fur and shivered from the cold.

"I will go hunting tomorrow…" Shadowpaw mewed. June smiled and swept the snow off of her tail, her eyes looked wide awake.

"Thank you, Shadowpaw…" June reached across and licked his cheek. Shadowpaw flicked his ears and lay down beside his mate, his skin crawling with the freezing air. The black tom sighed and placed his paws under his chest, his mind lost in the snow outside.

June closed her eyes and tucked close to Shadowpaw, her stomach heaving. Shadowpaw looked outside and froze when he saw a pair of gleaming amber eyes up ahead. Shadowpaw watched them and waited until they disappeared with the faintest scent lingering near them.

Shadowpaw narrowed his eyes and twitched his whiskers…. Galestar