A/N: Sorry this took so long, but it's kind of a monster of a chapter (a short novel really...), and I wanted to finish it yesterday but there was a Rizzoli & Isles marathon, so that's what I did all day. I also apologize for the lack of Bellice, but this was necessary fot the plot. I promise Bellice in the next chapter.
Also, the dates are for your reference, Kat may or may not know them depending. Also, fun nerdy thing, I actually looked up all the full moon dates, so they should be accurate. And I'm using the Twilight timeline, so present day is 2006.
But, without any other excuse, please enjoy Kat's story!
I actually own things in this chapter, but only Kat... The Twilight universe still belongs to the author.
October 17, 1956
The sun was just disappearing behind the tall mountains that surrounded the valley in a comforting and protective ring. Even though the day was coming to a close, it seemed every inhabitant of the village was awake and crowded around one house in particular. All were waiting for the woman of the house to give birth to her child.
However, this wasn't a normal child, just as this wasn't an ordinary village. To start, no person aside from the inhabitants even knew of the village's existence, as it was hidden deep within the Rocky Mountains, far from any human civilization. The inhabitants themselves, all fifty of them, weren't even human; instead, all were some breed of shapeshifting supernatural. And in regards to the child, it was to be born to the leader of the village, or the Alpha as the people called him.
The hushed whispering reached a crescendo as the door to the house opened, revealing a large man, the Alpha, a shaggy mane of blonde hair fell disheveled around his face. Dark bags were visible under his eyes, and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days, though in reality the ten hours of labor his mate endured were what sapped his strength, as he spent the entire time worried for her, never leaving her side. Many grew concerned, as death among newborns was always a possibility in such a rural community, but none wanted to ask the leader if this was the case.
With a simple raise of his hand, the Alpha managed to quiet every single person in the clearing in front of his house. Many, mainly the mothers who had lost their own children in childbirth, held their breath waiting for him to speak. Instead, a wide smile broke across his face, and all let loose their tension. The child must have lived then, they all decided.
"My friends," the Alpha spoke in a comforting rumbling tone, "my mate has just given birth to our first child, and both will survive. For that alone, I praise the Goddess with all my being." Many let loose yowls of agreement, and the Alpha let them die off before continuing. "I also praise the Goddess for blessing me with a beautiful and healthy baby girl."
Murmurs spread through the crowd, no single voice audible to the Alpha above the others until one woman shouted to be heard.
"What will you name her?"
"Her name is Katherine. Katherine, daughter of Jonathan, and future Alpha of this village, if you will allow her to lead you." The Alpha answered.
Shouts of approval rang out in the clearing, as the Alpha was known to be a kind and fair man, though never afraid to defend what needed to be protected. His citizens believed that any child born of him would grow up to possess the same sense of right and wrong, and would be a just leader.
With a final goodbye, the Alpha reentered his home, making his way to the bedroom where his daughter and mate awaited him.
"She is really beautiful Jonathan." As the Alpha entered the room the voice of his mate greeted him.
"She gets that from you Cassie." He chuckled as he sat on the corner of the bed, gazing lovingly at his mate as she held their child.
"You always knew how to make a girl feel loved." Cassie chuckled, looking up at him with tired eyes. "Would you like to hold her?"
Jonathan tentatively took the small bundle of blankets containing the slumbering child. He looked down at her, then back at his mate. He found no words could express the emotions he was feeling at the moment, so he didn't even try. Instead, he carefully maneuvered himself on the bed so that he was lying next to Cassie. She offered him a tired smile, then laid her head on his shoulder, falling asleep not long after.
"Katherine," he whispered to his child, "my daughter. I promise you, I will always do my best with you. I'll apologize in advance for any mistakes I make." He paused to chuckle silently to himself. "I'm new at the whole parenting thing, so we'll learn together, okay? But one thing is certain; I will always protect you. I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing ever happens to you my sweet child."
XXXXX
May 29, 1972
"Hurry up Ty! If we don't get back soon our parents are going to know we were gone." I called up the mountain I had just spent the entire morning climbing. The sun was just starting to break over the mountains, but it wasn't the same as a real sunrise, hence the need to climb up the mountain to see the real one.
"Sorry, not all of us are as nimble as you Katherine." The disgruntled voice of Ty came out from behind a rock as he shimmied his way down the slope.
"You'd make a terrible climbing cat, you know that right?" I laughed at the awkward way Ty was scooting along the ground.
"And you would suck on the open plains. Didn't you just loose a race to a cub the other day?" He shot back with a smirk.
"I let her win!" I huffed and crossed my arms. "Besides, who would want to run around on flat ground all day?"
"Me." He answered as he finally made it to me. "There is no sense in climbing the mountains all day when there are perfectly good plains not ten minutes from the village."
"And there is no sense in running around in circles all day when you can climb a mountain." I shot back.
"Whatever, have it your way, Mountain Lion." He teased and started walking towards the village.
"Hey, I don't want to be a mountain lion!" I called after him.
"What else climbs as much?" He teased, poking me in the ribs.
I swatted his hand away and answered quickly. "Snow leopards."
"And what good would that coat do you in this heat?" He questioned.
"I don't know…" I mumbled.
It was true though, a mountain lion's coat would work better in the heat then a snow leopard's would. But then the winters also mattered, right? Even if we ran hot and the short coat of a mountain lion would prove no problem in the winters.
"Have you decided what you want to be yet?" I tried to shift focus to him.
"Nah, but I still have a year and a half. You have to figure it out in what, four months now?"
"Four and a half." I answered, already knowing the exact day I basically needed to have my life figured out.
"That's some time at least." He offered.
I shrugged and continued on, just seeing the edge of our village. Luckily no one was awake yet, but that was expected. The previous night was the full moon, so every shifter over sixteen had spent the night on four legs, running around and hunting. This of course tires them all out, which meant that the day after was prime time to sneak out with Ty and watch the sun rise.
Now, as romantic as that sounds, Ty and I were just friends, best friends in fact. We had grown up together, our houses being right next to each other, and we always seemed to get along. I'm sure my father would have been pleased if we got together, Ty being such a sweetheart, but neither of us had even considered it. With our changes being within a year, mine much closer, we had bigger things to worry about.
"Well, this is where we say our goodbyes." Ty stopped and spun around, speaking in that strange overdramatic voice he sometimes used.
"You're a bit of a freak, you know that right?" I giggled.
He shrugged and pulled me into a quick hug.
"Don't get caught on your way in." He instructed me before turning and heading to his house.
"Same to you." I called back to him. He put his hand up in a sign that he heard.
With that I turned back towards my own house, not making any effort to hurry. Instead, I strolled at a leisurely pace, enjoying the absolute peace of the early morning.
That peace didn't last long, however, as a deafening noise was heard from the other side of the small village. Several shouts followed what I thought was an explosion, though I didn't recognize a single voice. That terrified me, considering I knew the voices of every person in the town, as a result of growing up with only about fifty other people.
Not knowing what else to do, I took off towards my own house to get my father. He would know what to do. He had to know what was going on after all. Not a second before I got to the door it was flung open, my father standing there with wide eyes.
"Thank the Goddess." He sighed and pulled me inside.
"What's going on Daddy?" I asked as he sprinted around our small house, closing windows and curtains.
"I don't know, but you need to go to your hiding place. You remember where it is, right?" He asked as he kneeled in front of me.
"The trap door under your bed. I remember, but what's going on? Why do I need to hide?" I pleaded him to give me answers.
"Katherine, I don't know." He answered in a pained voice. "But I think that some very bad people are attacking us. I have to help stop them, but you need to hide so that you stay safe. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes." I conceded, scared at the fear in his own voice. My dad was never scared; he was the strongest person I knew. So if these people made him worried, then I knew that they were bad.
"Jonathan," My mother burst through the door at that moment, still staring behind her, "I can't find her! Where would she-" She turned around at that moment, and as soon as she saw me just about broke down. "Oh Katherine." She rushed to pull me into a hug. "Where were you?"
"Taking a hike." I answered, suddenly feeling very guilty for putting my parents through so much anxiety.
"A hike? Why would you- No, never mind. Did your father already tell you to go hide?" I nodded dumbly, knowing that if I was getting out of trouble then this attack was really bad. "Good. Go do that. We'll be back soon, okay?"
"Okay." She offered me one last smile then hugged me again before disappearing out of the door with my father close behind.
Once they closed the door I locked it, knowing my parents already knew the other way in, and headed into my parents' bedroom. With practiced skill, I maneuvered myself under the bed, opened the trap door, and slid into the hiding space. I never knew why we had this, though I was getting a crash course now it seemed.
I don't know how long I was crouching in that small space, only big enough for me to sit or crouch with a few inches separating me from every wall, before I heard the noises.
Someone was obviously breaking down our door, if the loud crunching of wood was anything to go by. That was followed by footsteps, though those were relatively quiet, and far too quick. A rancid scent hit me next, far too sweet yet rotten to be anything natural. The last noise, and possibly most terrifying was the loud sniffing, too high to be an animal, but it still made me feel like a helpless prey animal trapped with its hunter.
"We've got one hiding it seems." A taunting voice spoke up from above me.
"Aww, how cute. The mongrel thinks it can hide away and we won't find it." This voice was much crueler than the first, and sounded much closer as well.
"Well, let's not keep it waiting and give it false hope then." My heart stopped with these words, then seemed to go at four times its normal speed as the sound of my parents' bed crashing into a wall met my ears. Next, the whole trap door was ripped out from above me, and the flash of light blinded me as two sets of frigid hands took ahold of me.
"Hello there." The voice belonged to a painfully beautiful creature, though the evil smirk on her face made her look absolutely horrifying as she squeezed my arm with far too much force.
"What'a ya think? She of age yet?" The other creature asked. Looking at him, I saw he was basically a male version of the woman holding me, right down to the smirk and the predatory gleam in his eyes.
"No. She would have fought if she was." The woman answered.
"What do you want?" I had it with being talked about as if I wasn't there, and I tried to speak with a firm voice, though it came out just as terrified as I was.
"How old are you beast?" The woman ignored me and questioned instead.
Stubbornly, I held my tongue; not wanting to give them what seemed like crucial information. Sadly, the two holding me seemed to have no qualms in throwing me into the wall, one of the splintered planks of the wall sinking into my back.
"We're not going to ask again. And each time you refuse to talk, the pain will only get worse." The male informed me, punctuating his words by pushing me into the wall, further sinking the plank into my back.
"Fifteen." I sobbed through the pain, hating myself for breaking so easily.
"Were both your parents shapeshifters?" The woman demanded.
"Yes." I choked out.
"And when do you turn sixteen?"
"October." I gave her the short, clipped reply.
"The date?" The woman ground out through her teeth. Obviously this was taking too long for her taste.
"17th."
"Good. She'll turn two days after that then." The woman told her partner.
"Then we'll take her and the other three." The man replied.
Nodding to each other, the man peeled me off the wall, giving my wound a once over and pulling out a long shard of wood that had made its home in my back.
"Hope you heal fast. For your sake." He chuckled darkly to himself. "Hand me the binds Tara."
"Here you go Zeke." The woman, Tara I guess, came over and handed the man a length of strangely colored, highly metallic rope.
Zeke roughly spun me around, and before I knew what was happening, my wrists were tied together and I was being marched out of the house.
"Hurry it up mongrel." He shoved me when I started stumbling due to the pain radiating from my still bleeding back.
Choking down my tears I continued the march from my house into the center of the town. Looking around, I was confused as to why no one was trying to stop the two creatures from taking me. Hell, I didn't even see a single person on the way.
A second later I found out why my village looked like a ghost town, though I wished more than anything I hadn't. Lining the dirt paths of my once peaceful village square were bodies. The dead bodies of my friends, the people I had grown up with. Though, if you asked me to identify any of the bodies, I wouldn't have been able to. Each and every person was torn apart, blood stained the dirt, soaked into the very earth that had been my home for almost sixteen years.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Zeke sighed in reverence at the horrific scene.
I could only let out a sob in response. How had this happened? How had my entire village been torn apart by these things? We were shifters Goddess damn it! What were these things, and how did they defeat all of us?
"Katherine!" My gaze was torn away from the gore to see Ty standing with Raquel and Alexandra, twin girls just a few months younger than Ty.
"Ty." My call back was a mix of a sob and a sigh of relief. I wasn't exactly pleased that they had captured him, but I was ecstatic that he wasn't dead.
"No talking." One of our captors slammed his fist into Ty's back, effectively putting an end to any conversation the two of us could have had.
"This was all we could get?" Tara asked the others that looked similar to her. I assumed that whatever they were, they were all the same breed at least.
"We killed every one that fought, which eliminates all those too old. And after a search of the houses, which eliminated all the ones too young, this was all that was left." The one who punished Ty replied.
"You." Zeke roughly spun me around by the shoulder. "You understand the concept of age and shifting right?" He demanded.
"Yes." I hissed out.
"How many of you are going to shift within two years? Anyone besides the ones we have here?"
"No." I wish I could have said that I was lying to the monsters, but they really had rounded up all of us that were 14 or older. Not many mothers had given birth around the time the four of us were born, so we really were it.
"Now, you wouldn't lie to us, would you?" Tara hissed in a sickingly sweet voice as she dug a finger into the healing wound on my back, causing a shockwave of pain to spread through me.
"No!" I screamed, and she thankfully pulled her hand away a moment later.
"Good girl." She said with a shove, sending me backpedaling into the other three shifter children.
"Now let's go. We have to get back to The Pit before the next full moon if we want to get paid." Tara announced.
And with that, the monsters rounded us up and forced us to start the long trek over the mountains, and away from our home.
XXXXX
June 8, 1972
The journey to wherever it was they were taking us took far too long. And that wasn't any one person's opinion, but instead a consensus of our whole group. Tara was obviously very upset with me on the hike out of the mountains, considering I was still healing and ended up stumbling half of the time. Raquel tried asking for a break once, and ended up with a broken arm as a punishment. That taught us to shut up real quick.
After the eight days it took us to get out of the mountains, we were ushered into strange boxes on wheels that could move themselves. We didn't get to dwell on the amazing contraptions, considering the situation we were in.
Another day was spent traveling with only one stop for us to take care of anything we needed to take care of, and to eat a small meal. It seemed our captors didn't have the same needs as us, and could keep going indefinitely without food, water, or a restroom.
At the end of the second day of traveling in the automated box we were in stopped again, but this time seemed different. Tara and Zeke ordered the four of us out of the box then forced us to walk into the middle of nowhere. We knew better than to ask, but it was obvious that we were all dying to know where we were.
The next instant, however, the ground seemed to open up, and two men stepped out of the hole. They gave our small group a once over, then glanced at one another. With a nod one of the men handed Zeke a small pouch, then turned to Tara.
"Ages?" He asked curtly.
"Blonde girl is fifteen, turns sixteen right before the October moon. The boy turns a year and two months after her. The twins, three months after him." Tara informed him. "Anything else?"
"That is all that is required of you." One of the men dismissed with a smirk. "Always a pleasure to do business with you."
"Of course." Tara returned his smirk and turned away.
That just left the two men and the four in my group.
"If you're smart, you won't cause any problems." The one on the left snapped at us. But really, what did he expect four half-starved teenagers to do to him? We hadn't even shifted yet, and that didn't even seem to be a problem considering what they did to our village.
"Come on then." The other one ordered, motioning down the set of stairs that descended into the hole.
We were lead through a collection of dark tunnels, deeper and deeper into the strange underground complex, not a word being uttered the entire way. Finally we ended up in a large chamber, three people standing waiting for us. Two smelled the same as our guards, though the one in the middle had a scent that didn't burn my nose. I suppose some could say it was a pleasant smell, but it didn't affect me one way or the other.
"This the new group then?" One of the rancid-smelling people asked.
"Yes." Came the short reply from our guard.
"Well, I get first choice, so which is the oldest?" The neutral-smelling male asked.
"This one." I was shoved forward, almost falling flat on my face in the process. By some miracle I did keep my balance, and could stand up straight as he looked me over. I refused to betray how terrified I was at the moment.
"How much longer?" He asked as he circled me like a hawk.
"Fourth moon from now."
"Not long to get her wild then." He muttered to himself.
"You want her or not Jax?" One of his companions snapped out.
"Eh, I'll take her I guess." He shrugged then grabbed my upper arm.
As he drug me away I could hear the other two arguing over which got the next pick, but the noise soon faded away as I was lead through another tunnel.
"You're a feline, aren't you?" The man, I think his name started with a J or something, asked.
"What?" I squeaked, hating how terrified I sounded.
"Hey, don't be scared. I'm not as bad as the vamps, and I get the needs of a live person." He tried to make me feel better, though the fact he was dragging me through a dark underground tunnel wasn't helping his case.
"Vamps?" I asked, not knowing what he was talking about.
"Vampires. You haven't heard of vampires before?" I shook my head in response. "Damn, you really were living removed from society. Oh well, it's not really important. Back to the first question, will you turn into a big cat when you shift?"
"Yes."
"Good. Last kid I had was a wolf. Too scrawny, depend too much on speed and teamwork. Cats are much better." He declared, but it seemed to be more to himself than anyone else.
"Better at what?" I almost didn't want to ask, but was still far too curious not to.
"Oh, don't worry about it, you'll find out soon enough." He dismissed. "Besides, we're here."
"Here?" I asked, only seeing a single door that lead to nowhere.
"Yep. Have fun in there." He snickered, untied my wrists, and shoved me inside before I could react.
I landed awkwardly, rolled a few times, and came to rest after hitting the wall. Straightening up quickly, I had just enough time to see the door close, and the sound of a heavy bolt being slid into place before the blackness swallowed the whole room.
XXXXX
October 22, 1972
I don't know how long they had me in the dark room. But then, I didn't know much of anything anymore. The only constant I had in my life was the walls. The walls that seemed to stop any movement in my tiny room. I hated my tiny room. The tiny dark room. I wanted out. I wanted out more than anything. I could hear the people on the outside. They walked just outside my room. Their footsteps mocked me, echoed through my head at all hours of the day or night. I didn't really know the difference anymore.
There was one thing in my room, the flap. The flap was near the ground. It opened occasionally and food came through. I considered destroying the flap a few times to try to get out. But the flap gave me food. I couldn't destroy the one thing that kept me living. I may have hated my life, but I didn't want it over yet. No, I wanted to live. Even if it meant staying in my tiny dark room with walls too close. Even if I didn't know anything anymore. I still wanted to live.
I sat there, rocking myself back and forth when something happened. A section of the wall opened up. That was wrong. The walls couldn't move. I had tried that before and had only made my hands bleed.
But there was the wall, or a part of it, opening up. Then light came in, chasing the dark away and making it hard to see.
"How are we doing today?" A voice that wasn't the one in my head asked me. That was also wrong. There were no voices other than mine in the room. I growled at it. I didn't like the wrong voice. "I see. The room did its job then."
I wanted the voice to stop. It made my head hurt. It was wrong. I growled again.
"You shift tonight, I bet you're excited, even if you forget what that's like." The voice said, then rumbled slightly. I remembered that noise. It was a laugh. I hadn't laughed in a long time. I missed it.
The rumble, the laugh, stopped and the voice picked up again.
"You need to listen to me." A hand forced my face to the owner of the voice. It was a man. I didn't know him. I didn't like him. I growled again. "When you shift you will turn into a lion. Understand?"
I just stared at him. I did understand, but something was wrong. Lion. That was what was wrong. I wasn't going to be a lion. Somehow I remembered that. I wanted to be a climber. What was it called though? I hated that I forgot.
A sharp sting bloomed on my face. The man slapped me. I guess he wanted me to answer.
"No." I rumbled out, a horrible scratchy noise. I hadn't spoken since I was in the room.
"Yes." He spat at me, grabbing my chin again. He took a deep breath then continued. "I would like you to turn into a lion. Can you do that for me?" I think he was asking nicely now. That made my head hurt even more. He hit me, now he wants to be nice?
"No." I rumbled again. His eyebrows furrowed. I think he was confused.
"Please?" He tried to speak to me again in his strangely sweet voice.
"No."
"What's the matter with her." Another voice spoke up. I looked past the man to see another one at the open wall.
"I don't know. But she's not responding." The first man hissed out. He was mad again. I still had no idea what was happening.
"Probably something to do with her change tonight. Who knows what goes on in their bodies or heads." The other voice said.
"Well, we need a lion."
"She's obviously hell-bent on not being one. She's also insane. What did you expect?"
"No." I wanted the voices stop.
"Fine." The man near me released my chin. He walked over to the open wall. "Come here." He spoke to me again. He wanted me out of the room? Okay. I wanted that too. I guess he wasn't too bad then.
I got up slowly, and slunk towards the two men standing there. They each grabbed one of my arms and started leading me down a narrow trail.
"Where?" I asked.
"Someplace bigger for you to shift." The man told me. They were being nice. But he was mad at me. I didn't understand. I didn't try. It hurt my head too much.
"In there." The one who didn't come into the room opened a door and guided me into a large room. This one didn't have a wall above me. I liked it better. I could see little lights in the area far above me. Along with a very large light.
I liked the very big light. It seemed to call to me, a noise resounding deep within my body. It cleared my mind. Nothing hurt anymore.
"We'd still appreciate if you turned into a lion." The man from my small room called.
"No. Snow leopard." I spoke in a clear, definite voice. I could remember what cat called to me more so than any other beast. The one that I wanted to bond with.
Letting loose a loud snarl, I fell to my hands and knees, letting the large light's sound guide my actions. It pulled out the dormant beast I had been carrying in me all these years. With a warmth spreading to every inch of my being, I felt like I erupted into a larger body, one that felt far more confortable.
My mind cleared, and I found I could remember all that happened to me before the strange man locked me in that tiny room. The moon helped to kick-start the healing of my mind. I remembered what those monsters did to my home, to my friends and family. I remembered why I hated them so much.
Quickly, I spun around and snarled at the two men in the door. Both shared a look of terror before closing the door as quickly as they could. I leapt at it anyway, letting my hate fuel me. My claws tore into the material, scratching and tearing, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't break it.
"She turned into a panther?" The man from my room asked.
"No Jax. She turned into a snow leopard. Weren't you paying attention?" The other man growled.
"But she's black." Jax shot back.
Ignoring them, I kept scratching at the door, slamming my weight into it, anything to get to the man who had locked me up for Goddess knows how long.
"How is she supposed to fight? Like that, even Skylar could probably outmaneuver her! She's too bulky." Jax snarled.
"Then make her fight as a human." Came the reply.
"She'll die."
"Is that a problem? You still get the bet money."
"…Fine. But sign her up for the first fight you can."
XXXXX
October 23, 1972
"Move it beast." Jax hissed and pushed me through the tiny path in the underground complex. Pushed me towards the tiny room I had been trapped in for months. Trapped until the time came when I finally shifted.
"No. Not again." I whimpered, pulling at the binds on my wrists.
"We're not taking you to the dark room again." He growled and pushed me again. "You're going to go somewhere new."
"Where?" I asked. I still wasn't sure if I trusted him. He confused me. One moment he would try to ask me to do things in that strangely kind voice, then he'd get confused when I refused, then he'd get angry again.
I overheard a conversation between him and another once. He said something about powers not working on me. Then the other said it was probably because I was a "dyke". I had no idea what that was, but he said it with such venom that I figured it was a bad thing. Then he said something about Incubi not being able to control "dykes". Though, I was still confused as to what all that meant.
"The ring."
"What?" I asked. I really needed to start using real phrases or sentences again. I could tell my one word questions and answers upset him. I was scared when he was upset.
With a frightening urgency he spun me around so that I was staring him in the eyes. "You're going to fight. And you're probably going to die." I let out a quiet whine, but he ignored me. "But you're going to give the audience a hell of a fight before you go down. Got it?"
"Yes." I whimpered.
"Good." He spat and continued to lead me down the passage.
Eventually we made it to a heavy looking wooden door. This one was very different than the walls of my small room. I guess that was one thing to be happy about. But I really didn't want to fight. Or die for that matter.
A large man, one that smelled horrible, making me think he was a vampire, gave me an evil smirk when I arrived in front of the door. Without a word, Jax untied my hands, the vampire opened the door, and I was pushed inside. Immediately, I was hit with a wave of sound, cheering from hundreds of people just past a heavy looking gate that encased a small dirt circle.
"Welcome!" A loud voice, booming above the others, suddenly sounded out. "Tonight's first fight is between a rising star in The Pit, Number 38. He will be fighting a newcomer, Number 94, a snow leopard shifter from the mountains of Colorado."
"This is the best they could find me." I looked up to see a large burly man sneering down at me. "Pathetic."
They expected me to fight a man twice my size, and by the looks of it, twice my age? They really did want me dead then.
"Fight!" With a deafening order from that loud voice, the man leapt at me, his eyes burning with an insanity that made me freeze.
He slammed into me, picking me up by the neck and smashed me into the gate, forcing the metal to dig into my back. I let out a cry of pain, but that only seemed to drive the man on.
"I'm going to have fun with you." He hissed out with a feral smile, making me shut my eyes in terror.
The next instant, a sharp pain forced my eyes open, only to watch as he drug a dirty claw down the side of my face, barely missing my eye. He then threw me onto the ground and let out a victorious roar. The crowd joined him soon after, enjoying the larger man's gloating.
However, the crowd cheering my death forced me to realize the severity of the situation. Only one of us was leaving this ring. Which meant that if I wanted to live, he needed to die. And after the treatment he just gave me, my inner cat was more than happy to be the one to kill him.
So I let her out. I let the feral beast control my actions, but was careful not to shift. That was the one rule Jax ground into my head. If my opponent was human, then I fought as a human.
With my own snarl, I forced myself off of the ground and jumped onto the giant's back. I wrapped my arms and legs around his large frame and dug my elongated nails into the area by his collarbones. Then, for good measure, I sunk my fangs into the area where his neck joined his shoulder.
His screams of pain brought joy to my cat, the notion of eye for an eye seemed natural to her. In fact, his cries acted as a numbing agent as he clawed my back trying to pry me off.
Knowing that he was drawing a lot of my own blood, I released my bite on his shoulder, moving my teeth to the pulse point that was pounding at a dangerous rate. With ferocity I didn't know I had, I dug my fangs into the area on his neck, tearing and ripping out chunks at a savage rate.
It didn't take long after that for his struggles to stop, and with one final lurch, the large man's body fell to the dirt ground, completely motionless. Only then did I allow my claws and fangs to pull out of his skin, and got up off of his back.
A hush fell over the crowd as their favorite fell under the claws of a scrawny newcomer. Even the announcer found he had nothing to say it seemed, as the loudest voice never reappeared.
That is, until the cheering started up. Only a few at first, but more and more joined in with time. I found the cheering made me sick. Or it could have been the ridiculous amount of blood I must have swallowed when I was tearing out my opponent's neck.
"It seems like the newcomer is a bit more feral than we gave her credit for." The loudest voice boomed out. "Number 94 wins!"
The creaking of the heavy door made me look behind me to see Jax, along with three vampires motioning for me to leave the ring. And I was more than happy to leave the dead body behind, so I quickly made my way to the door.
"I may have underestimated you." Jax commented with a large smile on his face. "You're not a half bad fighter."
"I'm going to have to do that again, aren't I?" I asked him. My full sentence seemed to catch him off guard, but he quickly recovered.
"Every week Kitten. You fight every week until you die. That's your life now, so I'd get used to it." He told me. "Now let's get you cleaned up. I have no doubt that that other beast's claws were filthy, and I don't need you losing an eye. And after you get cleaned, we need to take care of all that hair, then get you a uniform."
I found I really didn't have much to say, so I just let the men surround me and lead me down a new passageway. This one seemed less used than the others, but I didn't have much time to dwell as Jax grabbed my arm, not caring to avoid a particularly nasty wound, and pulled me into a room. I winced in pain, which caused blood to flow into my eye, and glanced around the room with the one eye that didn't have blood in it.
"Skylar!" Jax called the attention of the only person in the room.
She spun around, and I was confused to see that she wasn't bound or guarded. The other girl in the room was a shifter, if her scent was anything to go by, and a very pretty one at that. She had no visible scarring, her hair hung just below her shoulders, and her sharp features betrayed no signs of insanity. Instead she looked at the two of us with an obvious intelligence and a hint of resentment as she eyed Jax in particular.
"What do you want Jax?" She sounded very annoyed as she spoke to him. How did she get away with that? And how wasn't she terrified of being punished?
"I have a fighter that needs medical attention." He held up my arm and spoke as if it was obvious. The jerking of my arm caused me to grind my teeth together in pain.
"Well, stop jerking her around and bring her here." Skylar told him, motioning to a tabletop near her.
Jax started leading me, much gentler thankfully, and Skylar moved out from behind the counter she was by. That's when I realized why she didn't look like a fighter, and why she could probably get away with talking back to my owner.
Skylar limped heavily, relying on a cane to help her move her left leg, which looked like it barely worked anymore. It took her twice as long to reach the table as it would have taken Jax or myself. There was no doubt that she would never be able to run away, not in human form at least.
"My face is up here you know." Skylar addressed me, making my head shoot up and a blush to cover my cheeks. I hadn't meant to stare at her leg, but I had never seen an injury that bad before. And if she was a shifter, that meant a shifter did that to her.
"Skylar was like you once." Jax told me, though spoke plenty loud for Skylar to hear as she looked over my back and shoulders. "But a nasty fight with a lycan crippled her. Now she's our medic. She makes sure the trainers still have fighters after a match. She's lucky she knows medicine or we would have had her put down ages ago."
"You know, I'd work much better without a shadow, Jax." The obviously angry shifter growled at him.
"Fine." He threw his hands up in surrender. "I'll be just outside."
Only when the door closed behind the "trainer" did Skylar seem to relax slightly. She continued to look over my wounds, murmuring to herself as she went.
"Why do you help them?" I asked after a moment.
She took her time to answer, moving in front of me and tilting my head to look at the cut on my face. "I don't help them. I help the people like you."
"What?"
"Someone needs to make sure the fighters don't die because of a nasty gash or because of infection. The 'trainers' don't care. They'd just find a new fighter if you died." She elaborated before grabbing a cloth and dabbing at the blood.
"Well, for my sake, I'm glad you're here." I gave her a weak smile as she continued to clean my wounds.
"In a moment, you'll be cursing me." She laughed as she grabbed a dark bottle and dabbed the liquid inside on a new cloth. "Try not to move too much, okay?"
I was about to ask what she meant when she touched the cloth to my skin, which caused a burning sensation to run through my face.
"Told you." She smirked and ran the burning liquid over all my wounds. Then she bandaged the worst of them and looked me over one last time. "Now, try not to end up in here too much, okay?"
"Okay." I agreed, though I don't know how genuine it was. After all, she was the only one that seemed even a little kind in this whole place, and I knew I was going to miss that the longer I was locked up in here.
XXXXX
March 24, 1976
"Ready Kitten?" Jax asked from next to me as I rubbed my hands together.
"Let's just get this over with." I grumbled back, staring harshly at the heavy wooden door.
"There's the enthusiasm I love about you." He mocked, I simply huffed. "Go get'em."
The door opened and I walked inside, just like I had been doing every week for almost four years now. As I stepped inside the crowd roared in anticipation for the fight. It didn't even faze me anymore. No, I just wanted to get in, kill my opponent, and go back to my cage.
I only half listened as the announcer introduced the fight, instead I stared at my opponent. He was a tall boy, no older than myself, with shaggy dark hair that was even longer than my own cropped hair. For some reason the sight of the boy was tugging at something in my memories. It was like I had seen him before, but that couldn't be. Everyone I see, I kill, simple as that.
"Katherine?" The hesitant voice came from my opponent. I didn't respond though. I still couldn't place why this boy was so familiar. "Katherine, it's me, Ty."
Ty? The name pulled at my deeply buried memories. Memories of my life before this place. Memories of a life with family and friends, and most of all, no fighting.
"Fight!" The announcer called out, cutting off any thoughts of my past.
Ty shot me a pleading look, obviously not wanting to fight me, but I ignored him. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what happened to those who refused to fight. They died, simple as that.
Rushing him, I slammed my shoulder into his chest, sending him sprawling into the gate behind him. While he was recovering from having the wind knocked out of him I shot my fist out at him, connecting with his jaw. He stumbled slightly, then looked up with a shocked expression.
"Katherine, stop it!" Ty pleaded as he dodged another fist aimed at his face. "We don't have to do this!"
I tuned his voice out as I continued to chase him, claws and fangs extended. I couldn't dwell on my past, it was over, which meant that all ties to this boy were severed. He needed to get that through his head as well.
I continued to lunge at him, but he just kept dodging. Damn, the boy was fast… Finally, I managed to sink my claws into his side; however, I had extended fully to grab him, and he was moving backwards, which caused me to fall to the ground.
I guess he finally got the reality of the situation into his head, because he jumped onto my back, pinning me by straddling my lower back, and pushing down on my shoulders with his hands. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the flash of claws, no doubt pulled out in his frustration with me.
"Katherine, we can stop this now. Just stop fighting, okay?" He pleaded in a low tone.
Goddess, this kid just didn't learn! But I could use that to my advantage. So I went limp, trying to make him think I was giving up, just like he wanted. I felt him let out a breath and relax slightly, but that was all I needed.
Pushing up as hard as I could with both my arms and legs, I threw Ty off of me and onto the ground behind him. In the process of flying off of me though, his claws tore into my shoulders, causing blood to spurt onto the ground under me. Disregarding my now stinging shoulders, I quickly pinned Ty to the ground, wasting no time in slashing my claws across his face. His own hands came up to cover his face, which he turned to the side, but he foolishly left his neck exposed. Taking advantage of this, I quickly drug my claws across his neck.
Just to be certain, I continued to tear at his neck and face with my claws, but it wasn't necessary after a few moments. His body went limp, and his chest stopped heaving in terrified breaths.
Like always, I tried to ignore the cheering of the crowd, instead choosing to walk to the door that was open at my end of the ring. I allowed myself to be lead to the medical wing by Jax and a vampire, not really registering much of anything until I was sitting on the table with Jax leaving the room, telling me to get to my cage as soon as I was done in here.
"Katherine!" I looked up quickly to see Skylar looking at me, concern evident on her face.
"What?"
"I've been trying to get your attention for a good three minutes now. Are you okay? Did you hit your head in the fight?" She asked her gentle touch searching my scalp.
"No." I stopped her search and held her hands in my own to anchor myself. "I had to fight someone I knew."
"How is that possible?" She asked.
"We were brought in together. We were neighbors actually." I said with a humorless chuckle.
"I'm so sorry." She pulled her hands back only to wrap me in a hug. "You shouldn't have to go through that."
"Not like I have a choice." I muttered into her hair.
"Right." She murmured in a broken voice. "Let's get you cleaned up." She broke our hug and placed a quick kiss on my lips before turning to get her supplies.
Skylar and I had become very close in the past few years, the displays of affection behind closed doors becoming quite common. I guess I was her most frequent patient, and she joked that it was because I was so desperate to see her. I didn't have the heart to tell her that that was the truth. She was the only thing keeping me sane in this horrible place, so of course I wanted to see her as often as possible.
However, we were terrified of what would happen if someone found out. The trainers would no doubt make sure that we never saw each other again, after all, they hated when two fighters became too close. It would no doubt be just as bad even though Skylar didn't actually fight. One of us would probably end up dead.
While I continued to dwell on Ty and my strange relationship with my doctor, Skylar cleaned my shoulders and bandaged me up. She pulled me into another hug, trying to give me some comfort before I had to go back to my ten-by-ten cage and wait to be called out to fight once more.
XXXXX
August 4, 1979
"You fight in one hour Number 94." The voice of one of our vampire guards carried into my cell. I held up my hand in confirmation, not getting up off the floor.
"Hope you've had fun here these last seven years." The voice of my neighbor hissed through the shared bars of our cages.
"What?" I groaned as I rolled my head to the side to see the sneering fighter whose face was pressed up against the bars.
"I overheard that this is going to be your last fight."
"They're all my last fight. Everyone thinks they're going to kill me. Hell, it's everyone's dream." I brushed off and let my head thump against the bars at my back.
"This time I heard that they got something that can kill you in an instant. No problem. They want you dead; say you're bad for the betting system. Not too much fun when you win every week." She sounded like someone just told her she was getting out. That's how happy she was. Damn, they really hated me here.
I chose to just ignore the ecstatic girl to my left; instead, I just closed my eyes and did my best to relax before my fight. It seemed like Jax was at the door within minutes of me closing my eyes, calling me forward.
"Have a nice time in Hell, bitch." My neighbor called with an elated laugh.
The walk to the ring seemed different for some reason, probably because Jax hadn't said a word the entire way. Hell, he always joked with me, trying to prod an answer from me, and I would always growl back at him. He knew I hated him, and he found that hilarious. We made it to the door in record time due to his faster than normal pace. The door was opened without a word, and I started to go through it when his voice made it to my ears.
"It was nice having you Kitten. Hope it's not too bad." He whispered to himself. Spinning around, I had just enough time to see Jax's hand raised in farewell before the door slammed shut with a final thud.
"Who's ready for the fight of the decade?" The announcer's voice rang out among the crowd, eliciting a chorus of cheers.
I glanced around the ring, trying to figure out what was so special about this fight, but there was no other fighter in the ring.
"For those of you who are regulars, you know Number 94, the fierce fighter who has managed to defeat all those who have opposed her for seven years. Now, she will face her greatest challenge yet! Bring in the werewolf!" At the announcer's command the other door opened, revealing a huge beast.
He called it a werewolf, though I didn't see much of the "wolf" part. It just looked like an abomination, all teeth and claws, with two soulless black eyes staring right at me. The hate seemed to radiate off of its massive frame, which was lurching forward. I barely had time to jump out of its path before it slammed into the wall behind me. I then realized that this was to be my last fight. There was no way I was expected to kill this massive beast. They wanted me dead, and they wanted to profit from my death.
The beast was only dazed for a moment before it was coming for me again, its crooked fangs bared and practically begging to sink into me. I tried to dodge its attacks and think of how to attack it at the same time, but I couldn't figure it out. The thing was immense, how could I cause significant damage?
Eventually, I just couldn't evade the giant paws any longer; one slammed into me, sending me flying forward, and once I stopped moving the other one sunk into my shoulder. As I tried to pull away, the claws drug across my back, finally tearing out at my hip.
I stumbled away, grabbing onto the gate to steady myself, but I could feel the ground shake as the werewolf charged me. Not knowing what else to do, I just jumped straight up, knowing I couldn't dodge to the sides fast enough.
The werewolf slammed its face into the wall, and I ended up falling right onto its back. It immediately tried to rear and detach me, but I sunk my claws into its hide and held on for dear life. Due to all the rearing and bucking, my claws tore into the flesh underneath me, releasing a foul-smelling blood that had me gagging.
I guess the beast wasn't too smart, as it didn't even try to flip over to crush me. Figuring my position on its back was my best bet, I tried to scoot forward a bit to get better position. By some miracle, I managed to get close to its neck, so I dug my left hand deeper into its fur and flesh to gain a better handle. Then, using my right hand, I began to tear into its neck.
Roaring and flailing all around, the werewolf tried to get me to stop, but I held strong. I felt my strength failing as my blood gushed from my own back wound, but I continued to slash the monster's neck. I had to kill it. I didn't want to die. I couldn't die. It had to die.
I had no idea how long I spent clinging onto the werewolf's back, doing my best to rip out its throat, but eventually I felt the body under me collapse to the ground. Eventually, I guess I caused enough damage, and all movement ceased under me.
I couldn't believe it. I actually killed the monster. Praise the Goddess. I wasn't dead.
Not wanting to spend another moment with a dead werewolf, which was now contorting and changing back into a mauled human, I spun around and stumbled towards the door. It slowly opened to reveal a shocked looking Jax, his mouth wide open in amazement.
"Next time you want to kill me, try harder." I growled at him, continuing to stumble down the hall in the direction of the medical wing.
Jax didn't even bother following me as I slowly staggered down the hall. Somehow, I made it into the infirmary right before unconsciousness took me over.
XXXXX
August 5, 1979
I don't know how long I actually passed out for, but a very worried looking Skylar sitting next to me was the first sight I had when I finally came to.
"Oh thank God!" She cried when she saw my eyes open.
"Hey." I gave her a weak smile.
"What happened to you? You stumbled in here yesterday and just collapsed on the floor." She asked as she stroked my hair.
"They made me fight a werewolf." I whimpered and closed my eyes, not really wanting to remember the ordeal.
"A… a werewolf?" She stuttered. I opened my eyes to see her face contort with horror.
"They want me dead Skylar. Said I win too much. I guess I'm bad for profits." I explained.
"No." She cried and grabbed one of my hands. "They can't just do that to you!"
"It's not like I can stop them." I hissed, the tears I was trying to hold in finally falling.
"We have to." Her voice was firm with determination, though I couldn't fathom a reason why.
"How?" I snapped at her, my frustration and fear causing my voice to rise.
"You have to get out of here."
"How?" I repeated, though much calmer this time.
"Considering I have nothing to do but sit in here and think, I have an idea."
"Fine, but if you get me out of here, I'm taking you with me."
XXXXX
August 9, 1979
"We're here to take the mongrel to the shifting area." I heard a guard tell Skylar, but continued to lie on my stomach pretending to be asleep. "You as well."
"She can't go. Her wounds are still too severe to shift. She has to stay here tonight." Skylar responded, sounding annoyed. "I already told her trainer this."
"She has to shift, how do you propose she stays here?" The guard snapped at her.
"I gave her wolfsbane and nightshade. That stops shifting so that she can heal. I also was going to give it to myself so that I could watch over her."
"One of us can do that." The guard told her.
"So you two know what to do if she goes into shock? Or if she has a seizure? What about changing her bandages every two hours?" Skylar sounded rather smug with herself. It took all I had not to laugh at her tone.
"…Fine." One muttered after a moment.
"Good. Now if you'd excuse me, I have to give myself a shot so I can watch her." Skylar dismissed them.
I heard the two slowly walk away, and continued my false-slumber until Skylar placed her hand on the small of my back.
"We're all good." She told me.
"Nice acting." I chuckled and moved to sit up.
"Why thank you." She beamed.
"So, you ready?" I asked, hopping off of the table, flinching at the pulling in my back. The whole "not healed" thing wasn't exactly a lie, but this was our only chance to get out.
"You'd have a better chance if you went alone." Skylar tried to tell me again with a heavy sigh.
"I will not leave you." I told her firmly, standing right in front of her and grabbing her shoulders. "Running away is pointless if I'm running from you. I love you."
"No, you don't." She squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head.
"Skylar." I grabbed her chin and made her look at me. "I. Love. You." I told her, emphasizing each word. "Now let's get out of here."
"I don't know why, but okay." She agreed, wiping her tears. "Let's do this."
Smiling, I stepped back, getting ready to shift. Skylar placed down her cane and got herself ready as well. Letting the moon pull out my inner cat, I felt my human skin give way to my cat's pelt. I let my front paws hit the ground, allowing myself a brief joy at the feeling of freedom.
A moment after my paws slammed against the ground a vampire guard came into the room, but before he could call for help I leapt at him, tearing him apart with ease. Once that was taken care of I turned to see Skylar, now a huge white tiger, limping towards me. She nodded at me, and we took off, letting our noses lead us.
Skylar obviously had a better sense of smell than me, so I let her lead, but every time a vampire came across our path I silenced them quickly. The smell of grass and growing things became stronger, though the smell of vamps also became stronger. It must have been the group of vampires looking over all the shifted fighters. So we found an alternative route, skirting around the vamps and eventually finding the staircase leading to our freedom.
I quickly charged up the stairs, forcing the doors apart and allowing us to run the night. We didn't stop running all through the night, though I had to alter my pace to make sure I never lost sight of Skylar. I may have been slow, but she was working with only three legs on the ground.
We ran through the night, just to make sure that the vampires weren't going to get to us, though we eventually had to stop and they didn't. So when exhaustion finally overtook us on the next night, we found a cave in some mountains, and passed out among the rocks.
XXXXX
September 13, 1984
By some miracle, Skylar and I had evaded the vampires for five years now. We had five whole years of peace to just enjoy each other as we traveled the states, taking in the sights.
As we traveled Skylar told me of what she knew about The Pit, in the hopes that knowledge was power and all that. She told me about the government of vampires, the Volturi or something, and how they allowed the underground fight ring to keep their subjects entertained, and to cut down on the shifter population. She told me how they hired vampires to hunt shifters and deliver them to The Pit in return for amnesty from the law. The thought made me sick.
Overall though, it was five years of happiness, of pure bliss with the woman I was madly in love with. So of course, something just had to go wrong, right?
We were just outside of a town in Tennessee, hiding out in an abandoned barn when we heard a strange noise. We both tensed up and ducked behind a large pile of hay. I peeked over the edge to keep a watch as Skylar reached for her cane in case we needed to get away. Sadly, the noise just got louder, and soon a man was poking his head in the barn.
I guess he could have been described as attractive, though he wasn't doing much for me. He had cropped auburn hair and bright green eyes that were rapidly scanning the barn. He was also very tall, yet slightly lanky. But the most prominent feature was his scent. It was similar to a shifter's, yet slightly more feral.
"I know you're in here. I can smell ya." He called out in a southern twang, still looking around for us. I glanced down at Skylar, and she just shrugged. He was a shifter, or similar to one, so he couldn't be all bad, right? And he knew we were here, so he wasn't going away.
"What do you want?" I asked as I straightened up.
"Oh, geeze. Didn't expect ya to actually pop right up." He laughed. "I jus' wanted to see if y'all needed anything."
"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I still wasn't used to strangers helping others just out of the goodness of their hearts.
"Well, y'all are like me. So I figured, why not help a fellow supernatural, right?" He offered me a smile that actually made me a little more relaxed. The guy didn't seem that bad, and he just admitted to being more than human.
"Alright. Me and my friend were just passing though and needed a place to stay for the night." I answered honestly.
"Feel free to use this here barn then. It hasn't been used in a while, so y'all should be safe. Though, I would love to see this friend. I promise I don't bite." He said with that easy smile of his.
"Sky?" I looked down and offered her a hand.
"Eh, why not?" She shrugged and allowed me to pull her up.
"Hey there pretty lady." He called out, causing her to just roll her eyes at him. However, when she turned her head to tell him off I saw her whole body just tense up.
"Skylar?" I asked, placing a hand on her cheek.
"He's the one." She whispered to herself with a dumbfounded look on her face. Looking up, I saw the boy had the same look on his own face.
"Skylar, what's going on?" I asked, but this time with much more urgency.
"He's my Imprint." She turned back to me, tears forming in her eyes.
Her Imprint? No, it couldn't be. She couldn't Imprint on someone. That meant that she was going to leave me. She was going to leave and I was going to be alone.
"You're my mate-bond?" He asked her, sounded awed. I couldn't have that.
My mind just filled with rage as I looked at him. All my old instincts came rushing back. Someone was a problem? Just kill them. It's how I lived. It's how I survived.
With a feral snarl I rushed the newcomer, knocking him over with ease and pinning him to the ground.
"Katherine!" I barely registered Skylar's voice as my claws tore into my opponent's face. I didn't register much of anything until a set of hands wrapped around my arm, tugging me away from the fight.
Snarling, I raised my hand and almost struck the owner of the hands when I realized what was going on. Skylar pulled me off this man. Skylar pulled me off her Imprint. Who I had just mauled in my rage. And now she was flinching away from me in fear of receiving her own set of gashes.
Tears gathering in my eyes, I looked down at the poor kid I had just torn up, who was now holding onto the right side of his face and hissing in pain. Then I looked back up to Skylar, who was now openly crying as she stared at him.
"I'm sorry." I sobbed before turning away and bolted from the scene. Once I was on open land I shifted and ran as fast as I could, not once looking back
XXXXX
February 9, 1990
I had been running for Goddess knows how long, never shifting back to my human form. I couldn't. After all, all I did as a human was cause pain. I had killed for seven years as a human, and then I mauled the man who was Imprinted to the woman I claimed to love. So I just stayed a snow leopard. Everything was easier as an animal. Things were simpler. Everything made more sense.
Slowing my run, I looked up at the high mountain I had arrived at. I didn't know where I was, boundaries not really meaning much to an animal, but I did know these weren't the peaks from my childhood.
Not really caring anyway, I began the trek up the mountain, enjoying the climb much more than the running. This is what my body was made for after all. It's what I knew, and its what I loved.
Eventually, I made it to a small clearing in the mountains that overlooked an even smaller village. But strangely, the clearing smelled heavily of shifter. Looking around, I spotted a small cave, which practically reeked with the scent, which meant that there was a shifted person in there. The scent was too strong for someone in human form.
I crept up slowly to the mouth of the cave, ears flat against my head and body low to the ground, not wanting to provoke the inhabitant into a fight. What I saw in the cave surprised me though.
Lying on the ground was a frail-looking girl, hacking her lungs up, and a large leopard nuzzling into her back. The leopard must have smelled me, or heard me, or maybe even sensed me for all I knew, because it looked up suddenly and stood over the girl. It started growling in warning, and I sunk further into the ground, trying to be as unthreatening as possible.
It didn't work though, as the leopard charged to the front of the cave, causing me to back up quickly to avoid being trampled. The leopard seemed satisfied enough with that, as it bean slinking backwards, keeping an eye on me, but trying to get closer to the girl as well.
Not knowing what else to do, I shifted back for the first time in years to try to get answers. This girl obviously needed help, and it was obvious to me that the leopard was trying to be her caretaker.
"Please, I don't want to hurt you." I held my hands up and tried to take a step forward. The leopard wasn't having it though, and it roared at me, warning me of the consequences of getting closer. "That girl needs help. Medical attention. Do you understand?" It only snarled again, though the girl lying down seemed to try to speak after a coughing fit.
"I understand, but no one can help me." She managed through a fit of coughing.
"Why not?" I questioned her instead of the crazy leopard.
"I'm dying and there's no cure. Simple as that. She just tries to keep me comfortable before I go." The girl told me, which caused the leopard to whine loudly. "I'm Danielle by the way."
"Katherine." I responded. "Can your leopard friend change back into a human?"
"I… don't know. She's never-" another wave of coughing cut the girl off, though this time I smelt the blood that no doubt coated her hands.
"If she can then you can be saved." The leopard perked up at this, stepping forward, though this time much less threatening. "If you are the same as me, it means that you can change her into one of us. It will heal all of her wounds, and she'll live. I'm assuming that she's your Imprint, so you really don't want her dead."
The leopard-girl shook her head, then looked back at the tiny girl who was now spitting blood onto the floor.
"Do you want to save her?" I asked and received a quick nod from the shifter. "And Danielle, are you okay with being changed into something like us if it means living?"
"Yes. I don't want to die." She said with tears in her eyes. "I just don't want to die. If you can save me, please. Please." She pleaded, looking up at the leopard who had served as her guardian for who knows how long.
"Then you, leopard-girl," she looked at me quickly, her eyes full of hope, the first human-like emotion I had seen from her, "you need to bite her. She'll change as soon as the virus takes hold."
The leopard looked at me with her head cocked to the side, but another round of coughing, this one much deeper and wetter, forced her to look back down. With an obvious deep breath, the leopard bent down and nuzzled her Imprint one more time.
"It's okay. Just save me." Danielle assured the shifter, running a hand along the soft fur of the cat's face.
So that's what the leopard did. With great care, the leopard's huge jaws wrapped around the small girl's shoulder and sunk in. Danielle cried out in pain, but it was over quickly, and she was granted a peaceful sleep as the change began.
XXXXX
February 11, 1990
"You know, it's been two days, you can change into human form. Or do you just always stay like that?" I grumbled at the leopard who had only left her Imprint's side when absolutely necessary. She simply snorted in my direction before nuzzling her mate again.
I tried not to dwell on the pain that the image gave me. I tried not to think about my own failed relationship. And most of all, I tried not to think about the last time I had seen Skylar and her poor Imprint, who I had attacked simply because he found his mate. Yeah, she happened to be someone I loved, but that wasn't his fault, right?
A noise from Danielle broke me out of my thoughts, and prompted the leopard to stop nuzzling her. It didn't take long after the first noise for Danielle to open her eyes and sit up as though she had been shocked.
"Holy…" She muttered as she looked around, between the cave and the leopard and me, who was still sitting stark naked at the mouth of the cave. "You actually did it!" She squealed and wrapped her arms around the leopard who looked shocked.
I guess the leopard made some decision, because the next moment her body was shrinking and shifting back into a human form. Soon, a rather lanky girl with ridiculously long and wild hair was hugging the tiny girl, tears streaming down both of their faces.
Feeling rather awkward in this situation, I turned to leave, but a new voice called for me to stop. I turned around to see the now-human leopard-girl staring at me.
"Thank you. Without you my Imprint would be dead. I don't know how I could ever thank you." She spoke with a wide smile, though her voice was horribly scratchy from lack of use.
"There's no need to thank me. I'm just glad you two can be together." I assured her.
"What about you?" Danielle asked. "Are you traveling all alone?"
"It's safer if I'm alone." I told her with a sad smile.
"That's a stupid answer." She twisted her face in disapproval. "Would you like some company?" She pushed.
"No, really-"
"It'd give me a chance to thank you." The shifter added.
"Don't you have families that would miss you?" My question sparked two very different reactions.
Danielle looked as if she was going to break down in tears, though of sorrow this time, and the other girl looked absolutely livid.
"I have no family anymore." Girl-whose-name-I-had-yet-to-figure-out growled.
"And mine kicked me out when I became too much of a burden." Danielle murmured, causing her companion to tighten her hold on the girl.
"And your family?" Unnamed girl asked.
"Dead." I answered curtly.
"Then we're all orphans. Perfect." Danielle perked up. Weird thing to perk up about though… "We can be our own family."
"I have no idea where I'm going." I sighed, getting a feeling that I was going to lose this battle.
"Good, makes it more fun!" Danielle grinned.
"As long as we avoid Arizona." The other girl shrugged.
"Fine. I guess you two can tag along." I grumbled.
"Yes!" The tiny girl cheered and pulled her taller companion up, pointedly avoiding staring at her naked body.
"I'm Rikki by the way." The tall girl told me. "And you're Katherine, right?"
"Kat. Just call me Kat."