Chapter 26

I woke up in my den the next morning. I couldn't remember what happened last night after the meeting because I was too tired. Jay was nowhere to be found, so I looked outside, and everyone was in the clearing. In the middle of it all was Bandit talking to them. I wanted to tell them about the war and such, but I decided that it was okay.

I padded back into my den, but then Lu came in and said, "Just a check-up. You're still expecting after all." I looked at her belly, and it was more swollen than mine. I said, "Your due date is getting pretty close." She glanced at her belly and said, "Yeah... I hope nothing happens when they're about to be born. I've never done this before."

I said, "All of us will protect you even if anything happens. Besides, you're teaching Yuna your ways, so I'm sure you'll be okay." Lu smiled and said, "Thanks, Birch." Then Quinn rushed in and shouted, "Cats are going to raid the camp! They're on their way here now!" I stood up and rushed outside. Everyone was already packing up the herbs and picking up Grace's kits.

Without my consent, everyone decided to leave Storm here. It didn't matter now because the cats were close by. Lu and I ran out of the camp, and we caught up with everyone. He was hidden, but Storm was following us. Luckily, no one noticed because of the amount of noise that was being made. Suddenly, we heard a loud roar.

It was the roar of a four-wheeler, so I shouted, "Stay alert!" Both Quinn and Bandit jumped into a tree, and Quinn shouted, "There's a strange thing with a human on it headed towards the camp!" Jay said, "That doesn't matter now! We have to move!" Then Lulu shouted, "If you haven't noticed, we can't move all the time without any problems!"

She was right. Grace was still wounded, and Lulu and I are expecting, so we're slower. Bandit hasn't emotionally recovered from my story, and Rooster's wound he got from the battle was about to rip open. Jay noticed all that too, so he said, "Okay! But we're resting in the trees!" That was worrisome because of owls, hawks, or even snakes.

Grace asked, "How will you keep the kits safe? And Lu needs a lot of space if she ends up giving birth." Jay sighed and said, "She's not due yet, and I'll think about the kits, but right now, we need to move!" Bandit and Quinn helped everyone up the tree if needed, and luckily, the tree we were on was close to other trees we could walk on as well.

Moe started making a small stick dome so the kits can be safe, and everyone else started settling down for now.

I was in another tree looking at the ground. The sun was setting, and it smelled like it was going to rain. Jay came up to me and said, "Heya Birch. It's been a while since we talked." I glanced at him, and he had a worried look on his face. I asked him, "Is something wrong?" He sat down and said, "Ever since Bandit told us about the war and humans, he's been acting kind of strange."

I tilted my head, and asked, "Weird how?" He replied, "He keeps staying near Smoke, and Smoke told me that he keeps telling him, "don't have kits with Yuna". He also almost cried because Smoke got a splinter in his paw." I flattened my ears and murmured, "He's overreacting." Jay said, "What did you say?" I looked up at Jay, and said, "He may have heard me talk about what happened throughout my life, and how almost all of my siblings died."

Jay's eyes widened, and he asked, "Who were you talking to?" Fuck! I had to tell the truth because I can't lie, especially to him. I said, "I was talking to my siblings. The cats Rudy gave birth to many months ago." Jay stared at me for a bit, and then I said, "Storm is one of them." Jay didn't take that too well. Although he didn't say anything to me, he clearly didn't believe me.

He just walked away, and murmured, "I need to think." I looked at the ground again and I saw Storm looking up at me with his green and yellow eyes that shown like the sunset. I invited him up, and when he climbed up, he said, "I was afraid that I would get sent back if they found me. Thanks, Rudy." I nodded, and he said, "Sorry for causing you and Jay so much trouble."

I said, "It's okay. He can't stay mad forever." Then I heard hissing. Storm and I quickly turned around to see Grace. She then asked, "Why is HE here?" Storm was about to jump back down, but I stopped him, and said, "Grace you may not believe me, but he is our brother." To my surprise, she stalked over and cautiously sniffed Storm's fur.

She calmed down and said, "I never thought that our prisoner was our brother." Storm calmed down as well, and I sighed in relief. Grace asked him, "What litter are you from?" Storm said, "The last one I suppose. Our father is dead." Grace lowered her head and murmured, "I know." I asked her, "Where are Rooster and the others?"

She said, "Jay sent them to- oh no." Her expression turned from normal to afraid, and she said, "He sent them to find the prisoner! They're going to get caught by the cats! Or even the humans!"