Erin Hunter - A Dangerous Path

BLUESTAR—blue-gray she-cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle

FIREHEART—handsome ginger tom

APPRENTICE, CLOUDPAW

CINDERPELT—dark gray she-cat

WHITESTORM—big white tom

APPRENTICE, BRIGHTPAW

DARKSTRIPE—sleek black-and-gray tabby tom

APPRENTICE, FERNPAW

FROSTFUR—beautiful white coat and blue eyes

BRINDLEFACE—pretty tabby

LONGTAIL—pale tabby tom with dark black stripes

APPRENTICE, SWIFTPAW

MOUSEFUR—small dusky brown she-cat

APPRENTICE, THORNPAW

BRACKENFUR—golden brown tabby tom

DUSTPELT—dark brown tabby tom

APPRENTICE, ASHPAW

SANDSTORM—pale ginger she-cat

SWIFTPAW—black-and-white tom

CLOUDPAW—long-haired white tom

BRIGHTPAW—she-cat, white with ginger splotches

THORNPAW—golden brown tabby tom

FERNPAW—pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, pale green eyes

ASHPAW—pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes

GOLDENFLOWER—pale ginger coat

SPECKLETAIL—pale tabby, and the oldest nursery queen

WILLOWPELT—very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

ONE-EYE—pale gray she-cat, the oldest she-cat in ThunderClan; virtually blind and deaf

SMALLEAR—gray tom with very small ears; the oldest tom in ThunderClan

DAPPLETAIL—once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat

TIGERSTAR—big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws, formerly of ThunderClan

BLACKFOOT—large white tom with huge jet-black paws, formerly a rogue cat

RUNNINGNOSE—small gray-and-white tom

OAKFUR—small brown tom

LITTLECLOUD—very small tabby tom

DARKFLOWER—black she-cat

BOULDER—silver tabby tom, formerly a rogue cat

RUSSETFUR—dark ginger she-cat, formerly a rogue cat

APPRENTICE, CEDARPAW

JAGGEDTOOTH—huge tabby tom, formerly a rogue cat

APPRENTICE, ROWANPAW

TALLPOPPY—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

TALLSTAR—black-and-white tom with a very long tail

DEADFOOT—black tom with a twisted paw

BARKFACE—short-tailed brown tom

MUDCLAW—mottled dark brown tom

WEBFOOT—dark gray tabby tom

TORNEAR—tabby tom

TAWNYFUR—golden brown she-cat

ONEWHISKER—brown tabby tom

APPRENTICE, GORSEPAW

RUNNINGBROOK—light gray she-cat

ASHFOOT—gray queen

MORNINGFLOWER—tortoiseshell queen

WHITETAIL—small white she-cat

CROOKEDSTAR—huge light-colored tabby with a twisted jaw

LEOPARDFUR—unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat

MUDFUR—long-haired light brown tom

BLACKCLAW—smoky black tom

HEAVYSTEP—thickset tabby tom

APPRENTICE, DAWNPAW

STONEFUR—gray tom with battle-scarred ears

MISTYFOOT—gray she-cat with blue eyes

SHADEPELT—very dark gray she-cat

LOUDBELLY—dark brown tom

GRAYSTRIPE—long-haired gray tom, formerly of ThunderClan

MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat

GRAYPOOL—dark gray she-cat

BARLEY—black-and-white tom that lives on a farm close to the forest

RAVENPAW—sleek black cat who lives on the farm with Barley

PRINCESS—light brown tabby with a distinctive white chest and paws; a kittypet

SMUDGE—plump black-and-white kittypet who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Inside the kennel-that-moves, everything was dark. The pack leader could hear the scrabbling of claws and feel the sleek pelt of the dog next to him, but he could see nothing. Dog scent filled his nostrils, and beyond that the smell of the burned forest.

The pack leader sat uncomfortably on the vibrating floor until the kennel-that-moves bounced to a halt. Outside, he could hear Man voices. He understood some of the words. “Fire…keep watch…guard dogs.”

The pack leader picked up the Men’s fear-scent, along with the bittersweet smell of cut wood. He remembered coming here the night before, and the night before that, more than four paws’ worth of nights. He had prowled the compound with the rest of the pack, sifting through the scents for intruders, ready to drive them away.

The dog snarled softly, his lips drawn back from sharp teeth. The pack was strong. They could run, and kill. They craved warm blood, and the terror-scent of prey before it died. But instead they were penned up, they ate the food the Man threw to them, and they obeyed the Man’s orders.

The dog rose to his powerful paws, rattling the doors as he butted them with his massive black-and-tan head. He lifted his voice in a bark that sounded all the louder in the confined space. “Out! Pack out! Out now!”

The rest of the pack added their voices. “Pack out! Pack run!”

As if in answer, the doors of the kennel-that-moves were flung open. In the twilight the pack leader could see the Man standing there, barking an order.

The leader jumped down first, close to a pile of logs stacked in the middle of the compound. His paws threw up little puffs of ash and soot. The rest of the pack followed in a stream of black-and-brown bodies. “Pack follow! Pack follow!” they barked. The leader padded restlessly along the fence that separated them from the forest. Beyond the fence, burned-out tree trunks leaned against each other or lay on the ground. Farther away a barrier of undamaged trees rustled in the breeze.

Scents flowed enticingly from the leaf-thick shadows. The dog’s muscles tensed. Out there, in the prey-filled forest, the pack could run free. There would be no Man to chain or command them. They would feed as often as they wanted, because they would be the strongest and most savage of all.

“Free!” the lead dog barked. “Pack free! Free soon!”

He walked up to the fence and pressed his nose against the mesh links, drawing the smells of the forest deep into his lungs. Many of the scents he had never smelled before, but there was one he knew well, stronger than the rest, the scent of his enemy and his prey.