Warriors - The Lost Clan - Book 1: Lilypaw's Guilt

Chapter Three

"Longfur?" Lilypaw poked her head into the Warriors den. "Are you in here?" She meowed cautiously, not knowing who would be in there and whose nap she would be interrupting, though it wasn't likely she would be attacked.

But there were only four cats inside the den: Brokenshadow, Darkclaw, Thornheart, and...Tigerheart. Lilypaw took a step into the den. "Have you seen Longfur?"

Brokenshadow and Thornheart looked up at her, their voices breaking off into silence. Brokenshadow shook his head. Thornheart sat up. "I saw him headed into the Nursery earlier. He was probably going to check on Silverlight and the kits."

Lilypaw nodded. "Thank you." She nodded respectfully to Brokenshadow, but hesitated before leaving. "Brokenshadow, may I speak with you?"

Brokenshadow stood and shook his fur out. "Of course you can, Lilypaw." He glanced at Thornheart then at Darkclaw and Tigerheart, his gaze lingering on Tigerheart for a moment longer than on the others, giving away just how much he knew. "I'll be back in a moment."

Thornheart nodded and curled his tail around his paws. Darkclaw watched Lilypaw with his dark green eyes that seemed to search her soul. Tigerheart just watched Brokenshadow. As Lilypaw turned and started to pad out of the den Tigerheart stood and meowed "Lilypaw, wait."

Lilypaw turned, eyes burning intensely with anger. She glared at the cat that she didn't believe deserved the title of 'father'. "Don't, Tigerheart. I don't want to listen to you. So don't even try."

Lilypaw stepped from the den and waited outside for Brokenshadow. But when he didn't appear and she heard voices from inside, she listened, straining to hear. "Tigerheart, stop," Brokenshadow meowed, a warning in his strong, quiet voice. "She doesn't want to talk to you. Don't force it. Try Cedarpaw first. He'll be more likely to listen to you, if even only for a moment."

"You know neither of them will ever want to talk to me. They'll want to claw me like Silverfur almost did. I'm lucky that rogue saved me from her," Tigerheart said quietly, a growl in his voice.

"What rogue? Who are you talking about? And you know you deserve to be clawed. You should have told them you were their father."

"Were?" Tigerheart growled. "I still am."

Lilypaw sensed that Brokenshadow was glaring at Tigerheart. The air seemed to be charged with anger, even outside of the den. "You know you were never a father to them. Not really even before Lightheart died. A lot of us know how much you loved her, but you never even glanced at your kits. Just admit it. You know the only cat you ever really loved was-"

A growl interrupted Brokenshadow. "Don't say it. Don't go there."

Brokenshadow sighed. "Fine. Keep your secrets, Tigerheart. Just don't let them destroy you. Not like they did to Lightheart."

TIgerheart growled and snarled viciously as Brokenshadow padded from the den. He stopped as he saw Lilypaw glaring at the entrance to the cave. He watched her, his gaze darkening and narrowing. "How much of that did you hear?"

Lilypaw narrowed her eyes at him. "Enough."

 She turned and padded a ways away, towards the forest, knowing he was following her closely, though not so close so that she would feel threatened. She walked a few paw steps into the forest before turning to face Brokenshadow. He stood silently, his presence reassuring. His tail swished back and forth, his amber eyes studied her. "What exactly did you want to talk about?"

Lilypaw sighed. "Fernpaw and Brackenpaw." She winced, pain filling her as she said their names. The pain tore through her with the fury of a fire. "Lightheart. Tigerheart."