Chapter 1

                “Where is he?” Silverstream demanded.

                “Somehow, I knew you would say that,” Feathertail meowed as she pointed down the opposite side of the hill with her tail.

                Silverstream raced after Feathertail, without thinking. They skidded to a halt behind an old oak tree.

                On the other side of the oak tree, a handsome, muscular gray-furred tom was talking to a flame-colored tom, who was insignificant to Silverstream even though he was “the great Firestar!”

                Suddenly, she realized how mouse-brained it had been to dash down here. He loved another cat now and she hadn’t seen him for some long, unbearable moons. Why would he treat her the way he used to if he had a new mate with new kits?

                Feeling utterly miserable, Silverstream turned around and slowly padded away.

                And of course, then, Graystripe just absolutely had to notice her.

                “Uh, Silverstream? Um, hi, Silverstream!” he called awkwardly.

                “I want nothing to do with you, traitor!” she spat.

                And then, she was running again. She soared through StarClan’s territory, not knowing or caring where she was going as long as it was away from the cat who’d broken the promise that had meant everything to her.

                She finally stopped, sheltered by the leafy branches of a giant oak tree. And as she stood there panting heavily, she heard the whisper. “Silverstream.”

                Silverstream spun around. “How did you find me?” she demanded.

                Graystripe calmly strolled forward in her direction. “You basically just ran in a circle,” he replied, his eyes glistening with amusement. “Next time you take off suddenly, try figuring out where you’re going.”

                “I don’t want to talk to you!” she hissed.

                He flinched backward as if she had clawed him in the face, which actually seemed rather tempting. “Silverstream, please…” he began.

                “I’m not going to let you make up lies and excuses! I am not foolish enough to believe any of the promises you make anymore,” Silverstream snarled. “I fell for it last time and it was the biggest mistake of my life!”

                “Millie was never half as beautiful as you…” he started again. “I just needed a companion…I had no one, I was all alone in a place stranger than the Dark Forest…”

                It was also tempting to listen to his deep but gentle voice for the rest of the day, telling her she was the most gorgeous cat of all time and vowing to make it up to her. To prove he still loved her.

                But she knew that if he truly wanted to prove he loved her, he would’ve kept his promise.

                “I was alone too!” she screamed, her anger rising back up again. “No one except Feathertail will talk to me! But did I betray you? No!”

                “I can give you a better explanation,” he promised. “You know I would never forget you. I loved you then, love you now, and will love you forever. You know that.”

                Her fury was slowly fading, and as hard as she tried to remain angry with him, she couldn’t. His voice, sounding as if he truly believed every word he said, threatened to force her to admit the words she wanted to tell him so much. I love you….please, just let me have one more night alone with you…

                She sighed tiredly. “I don’t know anything anymore,” she confessed. “I missed you so much, but you couldn’t care about me enough to keep the only promise you ever made.”

                “That’s not true,” he responded.

                “How is it not?” Silverstream asked. “You took Millie as your mate and had three wonderful healthy kits!”

                He looked around. A crowd of cats were rushing towards the scene, clearly interested in watching the Graystripe-Silverstream drama. “I can’t tell you,” he meowed. “Not here in front of all these warriors.”

                “That’s just an excuse!” she insisted, narrowing her eyes.

                “Just meet me by ShadeRocks close to the Great River?” he meowed softly.

                The question triggered a memory, which flashed in front of Silverstream’s eyes…

                The dawn air was cool and quiet as the patrol marched past the river. Silverstream remembered the muscular ThunderClan tom she’d pulled out of it yesterday. How stupid was he? she thought to herself. Even kits know better than to step on ice that isn’t thick! Has ThunderClan never seen a frozen river?

                There was another reason she couldn’t stop thinking about it, one that left her mind quite troubled. Even drenched the tom’s dark gray fur was handsome and those amber eyes made her want to melt.

                A soft hiss pulled her out of these thoughts. “Silverstream!”

                It came from a clump of reeds behind her. “Um, I’ll be right back,” she quickly told Crookedstar, who on this rare occasion was leading the patrol. Her father had just paused briefly after noticing she’d quit walking. “You can keep walking. I’ll catch up.”

                As soon as they were gone, she stuck her head inside the reeds. Sure enough, a gray warrior who reeked of ThunderClan was hiding there. “What do you want?” she demanded.

                “Just meet me here, by the river,” he whispered. “At moonhigh tonight.”

                And then, he marched away.

                “Well?” Graystripe meowed back in the current time, stepping closer. “Do you accept the invitation?”

                Her emotions were so jumbled, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. It was what she wanted, right? One more night with him, alone by the riverbank. But she just knew that she had to tell him no. It would only break her heart again when Millie joined StarClan and then she was certain he would leave her once more for that dumb kittypet. But instead, the word, “Okay,” slipped out of her mouth.