Yellowfang's Secret

Plot

Yellowkit is born to Brightflower and Brackenfoot along with littermates Nutkit and Rowankit. Yellowkit is apprenticed to Deerleap. Yellowpaw becomes close with Raggedpelt, whose father is unknown and suspected to have been a house cat, leading some to shun him as house cats are shunned for being "soft". Yellowpaw attempts to help him discover the truth, but her efforts only worsen the situation when she and Raggedpelt discover that Raggedpelt was indeed fathered by a housecat named Hal. Hal rejects Raggedpelt. The warrior Raggedpelt, kills his father, and denies having a father as well. Yellowpaw eventually repairs her relationship with Raggedpelt, after saving his life, much to the dismay of Foxheart, who has made her affection for Raggedpelt quite obvious.

From a young age, Yellowfang personally experiences others' pain as her own. For instance, as a kit, she and her brother Nutkit both have stomach pains, although Nutkit was the only one who consumed carrion. Eventually, Sagewhisker, the ShadowClan medicine cat, convinces Yellowfang that this ability would make her more effective as a medicine cat if she could learn to control the powers, despite Yellowfang's initial resistance to the idea. Sagewhisker thus takes Yellowfang on as an apprentice, and Yellowfang takes the medicine cats' vows, including the forsaking of taking a mate. Despite this, she and Raggedpelt continue their relationship in secret, up until Yellowfang is declared a full medicine cat.

Eventually, it is discovered that Yellowfang is pregnant, a violation of the medicine cat code. Yellowfang gives birth in secret, but only one kit survives. She then hands this kit, Brokenkit, to Raggedpelt, who has them cared for by another she-cat while shielding the mother's identity; many believe the mother to be Foxheart however. Brokenkit grows up spoiled, his parents, who are in positions of power, indulge him and refuse to punish him, and he develops into a vicious cat without learning empathy and other virtuous character traits as a result. Eventually, Brokenkit becomes the warrior Brokentail, and later, deputy. Brokentail trains his apprentices with extreme methods, which go unchecked as his father refuses to see the wrong in his son's actions. When he finally reprimands Brokentail, Brokentail appears to acquiesce, but secretly sets up a ploy to murder his father to gain control of the Clan, while blaming the death on neighbouring WindClan.

Having taken over ShadowClan, Brokenstar institutes a vicious regime, bullying his way to eventual near-totalitarian power. Using his father's death as an excuse, he begins to launch many attacks on the neighbouring Clans, many of which Yellowfang considers unnecessary. Brokenstar, however, rejects all criticism, continuing the attacks and eventually implementing extreme tactics to keep his war efforts going: he begins training kits before they are six months old (the age laid down in the warrior code as when apprenticeship may begin), and asking the elders, who cannot contribute to the fighting forces, to leave camp in order to save resources. When a kit dies in battle, Yellowfang speaks out; Brokenstar soon secretly sets up another ploy, accusing his own mother of the deaths of two kits, and banishing her from the Clan.

Yellowfang leaves; eventually she enters ThunderClan territory, where, exhausted by rage and hunger, she is apprehended by Firepaw (a scene initially depicted in Into the Wild from Firepaw's perspective), where after a brief fight, Yellowfang admits defeat.