Prologue

                A brown she-cat purred as she licked her newborn kit’s head. A black tom meowed a greeting and stepped into the nursery. “Have you named our kits yet?” the tom asked.

                “This one is Smallkit,” she replied, pointing with her tail to a small she-cat with the same color of fur as her father.

                “This is Tallkit,” she continued, gesturing to a black and white tom with an unusually long tail.

                “And this one…I haven’t named him yet,” the she-cat admitted. “Could you help me name him, Strongfoot?”

                Strongfoot nodded. “I think we should name him Hawkkit,” he meowed.

                “Hawkkit,” the she-cat murmured. “He will be named Hawkkit.”

                Strongfoot stepped forward and sniffed each of the kits’ heads. “My precious kits,” he whispered. “Make me and my Clan proud.”

                Hawkkit gave a high-pitched mew and start wriggling around. Strongfoot let out a fond mrrow of amusement. “Good-bye, kits. I will be back soon,” he promised.

                Little did any cat know that Strongfoot would never see his kits again.