Berrynose, at the front of the crowd, looked down at Twigpaw with a disdainful twitch of his whiskers. “You chose to leave, and now you want back in?” he demanded. “Can we ever trust you again?”

Murmurs of agreement came from several other cats.

Twigpaw wished that the ground would open up and swallow her, until she spotted movement from the medicine cats’ den. With a gasp of relief she recognized Alderheart pushing his way through the cluster of cats to stand at her side.

Thank StarClan! Alderheart practically raised me. He’ll understand.

“Of course we can trust her,” Alderheart meowed, his dark ginger pelt beginning to bristle as he faced Berrynose. “Of course we want her back! She was raised in ThunderClan, so she’s one of us.” His amber eyes were warm and supportive as he gazed at her.

Twigpaw felt as if the sun had just come out from behind a cloud when she heard Alderheart call her “one of us.” Aware that some of her former Clanmates were still hostile, she tried to hide her sudden happiness by bowing her head and studying her paws. But Alderheart’s praise made her feel warm from her ears to her tail-tip.

I’ve missed Alderheart so much since I left ThunderClan!

“Twigpaw!”

A commanding yowl rang out across the camp. Twigpaw looked up to see Bramblestar standing on the Highledge with Sparkpelt by his side. He beckoned Twigpaw with his tail. “Come up here,” he ordered. “You and I must talk.”

Twigpaw exchanged an uncertain glance with Finpaw. Will he be okay if I leave him here by himself?

Then Alderheart gave her a gentle push. “Go on,” he meowed. “I’ll look after Finpaw. Let’s find you some prey,” he added to the young tom. “You must be hungry.”

“Starving!” Finpaw agreed fervently.

Reassured, Twigpaw hurried across the camp and began to climb the tumbled rocks. Sparkpelt passed her heading downward; she said nothing, but gave Twigpaw an unfriendly stare.

“Come into my den,” Bramblestar invited Twigpaw when she reached the Highledge.

Following him inside, Twigpaw felt uncomfortable, almost unworthy, to be having a private conversation with the ThunderClan leader. To her relief, Bramblestar didn’t seem angry, but there was concern in his eyes as he stood looking down at her.

“Sparkpelt reported to me that you say you want to rejoin ThunderClan,” he said. “You must realize, Twigpaw, that it’s not usual for a cat to be so confused about where they belong.”