? POV

I found Nightstream hunting along the ShadowClan border one morning, when a heavy rain was pouring down from the sky, erasing every scent with the drops of water cascading from the dark gray, almost-black clouds. Rain was my friend that day; Nightstream wouldn't be able to detect my scent until it was much too late.

I had given him much more time than he deserved, and he had still made no attempt to kill Blossomstar. His mate was expecting his kits; I knew it would hurt him to know that his kits would grow up without a father.

Nightstream crept forward, inching closer to a squirrel. He tensed his muscles and prepared to leap, but as he momentarily lost his balance for some unknown reason, his paws rustled the leaves on the forest floor. The squirrel, alerted to its predator, scampered off, towards the oak with rotting gray bark that I was behind, analyzing the scene and poised to attack, ready to strike whenever my prey approached. And however plump that squirrel was, I knew that wasn't the juiciest prey. In this forest, the hunters were now the hunted and if they didn't watch their backs, then they would be slaughtered like an unsuspecting mouse, prey for a much larger creature.

I chuckled softly. "Flee, ThunderClan, flee! Because I am coming for you. And if you don't run fast enough, you will find my claws at your throat."

Nightstream hurtled after the squirrel, with claws unsheathed and legs outstretched. The squirrel climbed up the tree I was hiding behind and vanished into the safety of the leaves above.

Nightstream skidded to a halt at the base of the tree, snarling with frustration and staring up at the branches above. He yelped in surprise as I tackled him from behind and pinned him to the ground.

"Hello, Nightstream," I purred. "And so we meet again."

His bright green eyes stretched wide with terror. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I'm here because we had a deal. I spared your life once, but you've broken your promise. So you've given me no choice," I said.

"I will do it! Please, just one more quarter-moon, I swear on my life, I will! Please! I'm sorry!" he wailed.

I looked right into his eyes, which pleaded with me to let him go. "Oh, but it's much too late for that, Nightstream."

I studied my claws for a moment, and then sliced them across his throat. Blood welled out of the gash on his throat, soaking my paws and forming a pool of blood on the ground. His body shuddered as he gasped, trying to suck in one last breath, and then his body fell still. His bright green eyes were still open, but had a faraway look in them. I watched as they clouded over. A chill crept down my spine as I saw the emptiness in his gaze and felt his body grow cold. Then, I felt a strange sensation of pleasure. Oh how I missed this...

Blossomfall POV

Nightstream's body had been found with a gash in his throat a quarter moon ago. His mysterious death had stunned the Clan, and none of us were sure what reason any cat would have to murder him. Despite his former status as a rogue, Nightstream had quickly gained popularity, as had Streamheart. We all knew though, that his killer was still out there, a threat to the lives of all of us. I ordered that no cat could leave the camp without at least one other cat with them. I was tempted to add that Cherrystripe and Foxleap were exempt from that order and were encouraged to leave camp by themselves, but I knew that I couldn't do that, no matter how much I wanted to.

Streamheart was stricken with grief when she found out her mate had been killed. She had moved into the nursery with me two days before Nightstream's death, and told me that she felt sorry for her kits because she didn't want them to grow up without a father.

I understood why she wanted her kits to have a father. I wondered what I would tell my kits about their father, how I could explain what Foxleap had done, and if Foxleap would come to see his kits at all.

I had just had two gorgeous kits, both of whom had black fur. I did not yet know their eye color, since they hadn't opened them yet, but I assumed both were identical to each other. I wondered how I would be able to tell them apart if they had the same eyes, but I had chosen names for them. Nightkit, after the deceased warrior, and Shadekit were names which I thought were very suiting due to their fur color.

I would not tell them about their father yet. I would just try to be the best mother I could be to make up for Foxleap's absence in their lives.

A/N: Who's excited now that the real action is picking up? :D I hope you guys enjoyed!