The Darkness Within Us

Prologue

Seven moons ago...

A warrior being 'in love' with an apprentice...

No cat in the five Clans had ever heard of this happening before. It was simply just unheard of and a complete act of abomination to do such a thing. It was cruel, it was sickening... It was gut wrenching and evil, and no cat could have seen this coming.

No cat aside from Rainpaw, the victim.

He had seen this coming. From the first day that Petalstar brought the miserable she-cat to their Clan to the day that she actually had forced him to become her mate, Rainpaw had seen it coming. It seemed as though she was his curse. She was here to hurt him, to torture him, and to make him hate everything about himself for every pathetic lie he had told, for every piece of rotten prey that he had stolen, and for every foul thing he had committed to his Clan. She was his karma.

This was what he deserved. Surely this was meant to make him realize his wrongdoings and make him repent for everything he had done wrong. But instead, it only made his hatred spread. He hated Petalstar for bringing the flea ridden cat to his Clan. He hated his family for being so weak and scared that they refused to do anything to help him. He hated his friends for looking at him with disgust as if he were the abuser in the relationship.

They could all die for all he cared for. They were all just as bad as him, even if none of them wanted to admit it.

Rainpaw stared down at his two kittens, his green eyes dim with disdain and disgust as he watched them suckle on their mother. He hated them. He hated them so much that he could feel his entire body quivering with rage. He was tempted to leave, to scream a thousand curses at his mate and to abandon them like he knew that he should... But he stayed.

Why?

That was a question that Rainpaw didn't know the answer to. He didn't understand why he stayed. He could have run away. He could have told her 'no'. He could have told Petalstar what she was doing to him while they were out training deep in the woods. But he hadn't.

Why?

He didn't know why. He wanted to, but he couldn't find the answer. He had thought that these kittens would have brought him some joy. He had thought that out of this relationship of disgust, cruelty, and terror, that something good might have come out of it by having these kittens with her. But he'd been disappointed to find out that his feelings towards the she-cat and his kittens hadn't changed at all.

He still wanted them to die.

The mother of his two kits suddenly lifted her large head up from her paws, and he felt his body tense up with discomfort as her amber eyes bore into his pelt. He didn't look away from his kits. He continued to stare at them, but he forced his gaze to soften as he finally opened his mouth to speak to his mate.

"They are beautiful, Spottedheart. Very much like you," he murmured softly, hoping to StarClan that he sounded sincere.

Unfortunately, it was very clear by the look on the tortoiseshell's face that he had not sounded at all convincing. She could always tell when he was lying. She was his curse, after all.

"I know that she is beautiful. She is my daughter, after all," Spottedheart mewed coldly as she stared at him with such unemotional eyes. It was as if she was too good for him to even express anger towards him. "Your son, on the other paw, is weak, like you. A scrawny little thing that shouldn't have been born."

Spottedheart looked down at her two little kits, bug she stared at her large she-kit in particular with sudden pride. Her cold gaze melted slightly as she leaned down to lick their daughter's forehead.