A/N: Holy damn guys, I woke up this morning and was so surprised at the wonderful reception that this story has so far! It made me smile like an idiot for the longest time, and I'm really happy my roommate isn't here, or else she'd think I was crazy.

I got a few comments/questions about Bella and Kat's bond, and I don't want to spoil it yet, but it's not an Imprint. Also someone asked about it being a "sibling bond" and it definitely isn't that, because for one Kat is a bit too old to be Bella's sister, and two, it would be kinda creepy for the story. You will find out eventually, but I can't tell you guys when the poor pride doesn't even know yet, that wouldn't be fair!

And I still don't own Twilight

Promptly at nine the next morning I was woken up by a ball of energy jumping up and down on the bed. My eyes shot open to see Danni smiling brightly at me, informing me that we had to leave in a half hour. Groggily, I pulled myself out of the bed and noticed a pile of clothes set out on a chair next to the bed. Changing quickly, I made my way down downstairs to find the three shifters sitting at the table, stuffing their faces. This made me realize just how hungry I was, and I quickly sat down and began to eat as well, not even nervous or uncomfortable in their presence.

It wasn't until four pancakes, six strips of bacon, and two huge scoops of eggs ha disappeared from my plate that I realized I had eaten enough to feed a small army. I must have looked rather confused because Danni immediately answered my unasked question.

"Our metabolism is really, really fast, so we have to eat a lot more to have energy. Don't worry, you get used to it. That and you have been out for five days."

"Oh." Really I was starting to hate that word, as it seemed to make up the majority of my vocabulary lately.

"Now put your dishes in the dishwasher and head out to the car, we have to get going." Kat said while getting up.

Twenty minutes later we were all sitting in a Jeep, driving towards a mountain range that was about two hours away, Danni and Rikki in the back and me sitting in the passenger seat next to Kat, who was driving.

"We're still in Forks?" I asked once I noticed a few familiar landmarks.

"Yeah. Why, did you think we took you far away or something?" Kat asked.

"I don't know." I trailed off, not knowing how to continue. "So why do we have to go to the mountains to shift?" I asked, pulling my gaze away from the window.

"Three reasons." Kat answered. "One, I don't fare well in the woods when it comes to hunting. Snow leopards are made for climbing and jumping, so I hunt in the mountains, while Danni and Rikki hunt in the woods surrounding the base. We'll have to see where you'll hunt as soon as we figure out what you are.

"Two, you won't have a great amount of control right away, so we want to avoid any mishaps with hunters. Better for your psyche if you don't have a hunter's blood on you when you shift back.

"And three, there's a pack of wolf shifters running around by our place, and I don't know if they're hostile yet. I'm gonna have to talk to their Alpha soon, but we're still settling in."

"Wolf shifters?"

"They're like us, only they turn into wolves." Danni supplied, leaning her chin up on the headrest of my seat.

"Also, how long have you guys been here? I mean, I haven't heard anything about you, and Forks is such a small town that news travels far too fast."

"We got here about a week before the meadow incident. Honestly, we figured that Forks, being such a small town, would be a quiet and peaceful place to stay for a while. Boy were we wrong." Kat chuckled.

"Well, for my sake I'm glad you chose Forks." I told them, shifting my gaze back to the window.

Eventually we made it to a place Kat could park the car, but I was then informed that we had a hike ahead of us to get into a place free of any people. Surprisingly the hike was easy for me, I didn't even trip over any branches or logs. I guess being turned into a shapeshifter wasn't all bad after all. Our little group walked for a while, long enough that the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon by the time Kat stopped in a small clearing.

"This looks good." Kat declared, dropping a duffel bag that held clothes for all of us for tomorrow.

"What happens now?" I asked, looking around the area.

"Now we have some fun." Rikki said, and when I looked over at her I saw a strange gleam in her eyes.

"What she means is, now it's time to shift." Danni explained.

"Now Bella, the first time you shift will be a little terrifying. It feels like your body is exploding and something is taking you over. As much as you will want to fight it, you need to give in to the cat, alright?" Kat explained, placing her hands on my shoulders.

"Is it painful?" I asked hesitantly, getting a little nervous.

"Not at all. In fact it's rather liberating." Kat assured me. "You ready?"

"I think so."

"Good." Kat stepped back, then, out of nowhere, took off her shirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice reflecting my panic.

"Did you think your clothes would just magically shift with you?" Kat asked with a laugh, pulling off her shorts.

Looking around, I was suddenly surrounded by three women standing only in their underwear, staring at me expectantly. Against my will my eyes were drawn to Kat, and I noticed that she had quite a few scars on her stomach, legs, and shoulders in the shape of claw and teeth marks. She must have noticed me staring because she suddenly cleared her throat to get my attention.

"You'd be surprised how harsh the world is when you're alone. Just remember that." She commented cryptically. Turning her back to me, she revealed four long scars that went from her left shoulder to her right hip. She then unhooked her bra, took off her underwear, and with a joyful howl, seemed to explode into the large black snow leopard from the meadow.

I turned to look to my right when I heard another yowl, seeing the giant lioness staring at me. Figuring it was Rikki, after all she was the tallest of the pride, I looked for Danni, but was surprised to see Rikki standing next to the lioness before she too transformed. Three giant felines were then staring at me expectantly, but I had no idea what the hell I was doing.

Having no idea what to do, I looked up to see the moon shining in the sky, and was suddenly filled with a strange sensation. It was as if the moon was calling me, or something deep inside me, to come out. A snarl resonated from deep within me, and before I could think I was stripping off my clothes. I soon stood fully nude, staring up at the moon, letting its call bring out the beast begging to escape.

A strange tugging began in my chest, and soon overtook my whole body. It felt like my skin was too small for me, that I needed to break free somehow. So that's exactly what I did. It felt like I literally exploded from the inside, and before I really knew what happened, I was standing on four legs, looking around at a forest that seemed to be much more in focus than it was before.

"You took to shifting rather well." I suddenly heard Kat's voice inside my head.

What's going on? I thought, more to myself, but was answered anyway.

"Shifters in a group, whether it be a pack or a pride have a mental connection with one another. It allows them to coordinate and work together when they can't talk." That voice definitely belonged to Danni, and I looked over towards the lioness, surprised when I saw I was at eye level with her.

"Sometimes it's annoying, but it can come in handy." Kat commented, walking up to me. It was strange, I had to look down at her to look in her eyes. "It's not my fault that snow leopards are shorter than panthers…"

Is that what I am?

"Yep! A big ol' black panther." Danni answered me.

I looked down at myself, lifting a paw and turning in a circle to see all of me. It was true, I was indeed a panther, complete with black fur and a subtle rosette pattern marking my fur.

"So now that we know what you are, you get to hunt in the forest. Big cats normally hunt alone, but Danni and Rikki can give you some tips. We'll meet back here when we catch something." Kat told me.

Wait, we actually hunt and eat wild animals?

"We are giant predators, what did you expect?" Rikki snidely asked.

"If you don't hunt you get really irritable and you feel really bad the next morning." Danni informed me, nudging me softly with her head.

"Circle of life Bella. Just remember that." Kat supplied before slipping off in the direction of the mountains.

"Come on, I'll show you the best places to hunt, but after that it's up to you." Rikki said before slinking away into the trees. I really had no choice but to follow her, swallowing whatever reservations I may have had. They were right, something in me, maybe the giant panther, told me that it was natural, that it was needed. So, trusting the cat, I followed the leopard and lioness into the woods to start my life as a shifter.

XXXXX

I woke the next morning to a pounding headache and a terrible wave of nausea. Trying to remember the night before, all I could pull up were flashes of the forest flying by, tracking a herd of deer, and my cat playing around with Danni. Other than those brief moments I couldn't remember what I had done the night before, and it scared me slightly.

However a new sensation overtook the fear, and realizing that I was about to loose anything I had in my stomach, I shot up and made my way to the edge of the clearing to empty my stomach into the bushes. A hand suddenly began rubbing soothing patterns up and down my back, and another moved to hold my hair as I spit the vile taste out of my mouth.

"I guess I should have warned you, the first time your body changes back your stomach doesn't bode so well." I heard Kat whisper in my ear.

"That would have been nice to know." I groaned, feeling the urge to vomit again.

"Just let it all out. It'll pass soon enough." She reassured me, continuing the gentle rubbing on my back. Eventually the nausea subsided, and I ended up collapsing right into her. "Whoa there." She chuckled as she maneuvered herself so that she was sitting with me in her lap.

"Why can't I remember last night?" I looked up at her.

"I told you, you don't have full control of the cat for the first few shifts. In all honesty, you may never have complete control over her. Eventually your mind will be dominant in feline form, but her instincts will control the majority of your actions." She told me, running her hands through my hair to calm me.

"So even you don't have full control?"

"No. But I've learned to fight the instincts, so I can get control even in the worst situations. But that came with a hell of a lot of time." She looked away, deep in thought.

"How long have you been a shapeshifter?" I asked, noticing she appeared to be my age.

"Technically always. My parents were feline shapeshifters, so I am too, but our kind doesn't shift for the first time until the first full moon after we turn 16. So I've been shifting for about 30 years now."

"30 years?!" I exclaimed.

"Shapeshifters don't age as long as we are actively changing forms. Born shifters, like Rikki and me, age until about 19 or 20, then just stop. And since our kind has to shift on the full moon we'll never grow old. It's why we move around so much." She explained.

"So I'll be this age forever?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes. But don't worry, I'll always be there for you." Kat assured me, burrowing her face in my neck in an affectionate gesture. I was surprised at how quickly she seemed to have taken to me.

"Are you always this motherly?" I chuckled weakly.

"I'm the Alpha. It's my job to take care of my cats." She laughed right back. When I made a move to get up she let me go, and I had to force myself not to stare at her naked form as she stood up. We began walking back towards Danni and Rikki, who had snuggled up close to each other in their sleep. "And trust me," Kat threw over her shoulder with a smirk, "that was far from motherly."

Blood immediately rushed to my cheeks, and the strange fluttering came back in my stomach, only ten fold. It especially didn't help when she sauntered over to the duffle bag to get a new set of clothes. Choosing to ignore the feelings, I simply walked over and grabbed my own set of clothes before getting dressed, not glancing at Kat once.

Stupid weird shifter feelings…