From the first day that he met her, Felix knew that Rina Monahan was the one. He'd heard that it happened like that for some; the moment they laid eyes on their mate, they just knew.

It seemed that Felix, SnowDancer's resident horticulturalist, was among those ranks.

She was running patrols in SnowDancer territory today, as it was deemed a more efficient use of their resources if the DarkRiver and SnowDancer soldiers were mixed like this. Felix happened to be working in the same area, checking up on the progress of the regeneration of this section of the forest. A lightning storm from last month had caused a small forest fire in the region. Felix knew that it was all part of the natural order of things, but he had care over these plants, these trees. They were home.

"Should you be out here alone?" Felix barely contained his reflexive jump. He'd been so absorbed in his task, kneeling amongst the roots of a huge tree that had survived the blaze that he hadn't heard her make her way up to him, hadn't scented her on the lazy currents of air that danced around under the canopy of the summer day.

Frowning, he turned around.

And stopped breathing.

For one compelling instant, their eyes met, locked, tangled.

And then, just as quickly, his wolf had him averting his gaze, even as a strange warmth bloomed in his chest.

Felix, submissive wolf changeling, had just found his mate, Rina, dominant leopard soldier.

Great. She'd eat him alive, and his wolf would love every minute of it.

"These are SnowDancer lands," he replied evenly, standing up from his crouch to his impressive height, still keeping his eyes averted. It was instinct; his wolf knew that if this dominant leopard mistook his eye contact as a challenge, she'd gut him where he stood. It didn't matter that she was shorter than him by more than half a foot, didn't matter that she was female. She was a dominant soldier, trained to protect those under her care with tooth and claw. "I'm safe here."

She snorted, her long blonde hair tied back in a severe braid. This puzzled Felix. To his wolf, she smelled soft and female, sensuality clinging to her skin like an exotic perfume. His eyes traced her curvaceous form, the rise and fall of her full breasts as she breathed, the way her waist dipped inwards, the pants she wore of a tough durable material doing nothing to disguise the shapeliness of her legs.

Yet her hair was pulled out of her face with a practical brutality, a furrow between her eyebrows, and her full lips were pulled into a grimace.

"This far out? I don't think so, stud. Not from those teleporting Psy," there was a certain harshness to her drawl which spoke to the heart of the wolf. His mate was concerned for him, he thought, his lips curving into a slow smile.

Rina was surprised by the smile. She vaguely knew to whom she was speaking, this male who was all lean muscle and elegant features. This male who had dirt under his fingernails and boots caked with mud. This male whose smile made things low in her belly tighten with inexplicable anticipation and just a touch of need.

Felix was some sort of plant person for SnowDancer. No, not some plant person – the head plant person.

She considered him intently. Aside for that one electrifying instant of searing eye contact, he was avoiding her gaze. But she knew he was scrutinising her with the same sort of concentration as she was scrutinising him.

It had been some time since she'd indulged in intimate skin privileges. She was a young leopard female, an innately sexual being. But her intense soldier training and recent world events had kept her incredibly busy, leaving little time and energy for play. She knew that she'd have to take care of business soon, though. The leopard that was her other half was rubbing the inside of her skin raw; her sexual frustration was soon likely to spill over into her work, something that she could not afford.

But she hadn't thought it was this bad.

The man before wasn't really her type. Whilst his face and body were of the same mould from which classical statues were cast, he was a submissive. Rina ate submissives for breakfast.

And besides, he was a wolf.

A very nice-smelling wolf, her leopard purred.

"Stud?" he asked, that smile revealing a lean male dimple in his left cheek.

Oh, he was trouble, submissive or not.

Good thing Rina knew trouble like the back of her hand. "Of course," she replied, a slow smile of her own pulling at her lips, but unlike his, it wasn't inviting. No, hers held the savage edge of the beast within, one who was frustrated with the human's lack of action in a certain department.

She didn't bother to elaborate, but the message was clear. Catch me if you can, wolf. And then prepare to be eaten.

The leopard bared its teeth. Only the worthy would be brave enough to tangle with Rina, her dominance aggressive in her eagerness to prove her mettle. Dominant female-submissive male pairings weren't unheard of, but between a leopard and a wolf? Never. But this male was beautiful enough to indulge in just a little play, submissive or not.

"You're here now," he replied softly, apparently dropping the earlier matter. "You'll keep me safe."

Rina reeled at the words, but the only betrayal of her surprise was the barest widening of her eyes. Yes, she was a dominant, protecting the vulnerable was what she was built for. Even when her more aggressive tendencies got out of hand, she never forgot why she did this, what her role in the pack was. But she never expected this wolf to demand – no, expect – it of her. Who was she to him?

Her reply was typical of her though, her mouthiness her armour. "Yes," her eyes looked him over in a deliberately provocative manner. "I'll keep you safe." A feline smile, and she melted back into the trees, most of her thoughts returning to the task at hand.

But a part of her remained in that forest clearing, her mind trying to puzzle out the wolf who had captured the attention of both leopard and woman.

The wolf whose eyes had followed her retreat despite the fact that he couldn't possibly see where she was.