The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)

Chapter 5

The Rogues turned towards me when they heard my, or our, growl. They seemed shocked for a bit before one sauntered forward to "greet" me.

The thing controlling me stayed where we were at, watching the sauntering Rogue. She, I was hoping it was a she, flicked our tail, and I could tell that she was unimpressed with whatever show the Rogue was trying to show.

The Rogue stopped in front of me and sneered, baring his teeth at us. He tried to attack, but we were already at his throat, killing him instantly. Shock filled the Rogue's eyes while he died, and I couldn't help but feel impressed.

The other Rogues snarled and launched themselves at us, but the thing controlling me was prepared. The Rogues on the other hand... did not seem to be as prepared as we were, which was surprising because I had never fought like this before.

She dodged one of the attacks, clawing at the Rogue as she went by before jumping onto the back of another Rogue and killing it. Blood gushed into our mouth, and I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in disgust. I knew that we had to kill or be killed, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was another way.

A yowl escaped our mouth when someone bit our tail before we turned around and killed that one. Ok, maybe there wasn't another way. That had hurt.

We growled and attacked the rest of the Rogues, ignoring all the wounds that were inflicted on me. Pain gave us fuel and fuel gave us the courage to fight and protect. So, I didn't care that this thing that was controlling my, well our, body and getting it beaten up. All I cared about was protecting those children, and I would fight until the last one was dead until I knew that they were safe.

***

The last one was killed by us throwing it into a tree. My whole body ached, and I was stunned when the thing didn't let me have my body back but started to growl at the pack that had unknowingly taken me in. She moved us in front of the children, keeping them away from the older adults, some of the kid's parents crying in outrage.

"Alpha?" one of the Warriors asked. "Should we proceed and get the children away from her?" He flinched when I growled and bowed his head.

"Kat? Are you in there?" Kaden asked, stepping forward. He stopped when I growled and looked at his daughter. Wordy and fear filled his eyes, and I knew that he thought I, or the thing that was controlling me, was going to hurt her.

"Kat?" Brody asked. "What do you mean by Kat?" He stared at me with those curious blue eyes that I could lose myself in them.

Kaden gestured to me. "She is Kat or a part of Kat," he said. "She goes b-"

"Tigra?" Katie asked, causing one of my ears to flick back at the sound of her voice. She was scared and nervous, but she was trying to be brave. Her voice trembled, and I could tell that she was wanting to cry.

'Let me look at her!' I yowled inside my head. 'And give me back control. She is safe.'

The creature in my head snorted and rolled our eyes. She kept her control over our body and stared at the people in front of us. She would growl at anyone that came near us, not wanting to give up control just yet.

The feeling of a soft hand on my side caused us to flinch but not move a muscle away from the hand. The feeling stopped but again came, this time closer to our head. "Tiggy? Is that really you?" the owner of the hand whispered.

The creature snorted but didn't move her gaze. However, her, well our, body started to relax with each reassuring touch. The touch brought us comfort and told us that they were fine.

"Katie, get away from her," Brody said, taking a step forward. He snarled when the creature lifted our head and snarled at him. His whole body was tense, and he watched us from the corner of his eye while he looked at his little sister.

'Oh come on, now,' I yowled, trying to gain control, again. I huffed and waited for Katie to do something. I hated feeling trapped inside my own body. I wanted to gain control and assure everyone that it was fine, but I couldn't because of this stupid wench.

"No, Brody," Katie said, firmly. "She won't hurt me." She went to my head and rubbed behind my ears. She studied me and seemed to know that I was being controlled by something and patted my head, reassuringly. "Let her have back control," she whispered, her voice soft and soothing. "I am safe."

The thing finally receded, and I was forced back into the driver's seat.

'Finally,' I yowled, laying down. I purred when Katie found a good spot and stretched out, loving the scratching and love I was getting from this tiny female.

"I knew you were a tiger," Katie whispered, hugging me. She laid down next to me, and warm, wet tears fell from her eyes and onto my body. "Thank you."

I didn't say a word as I placed a paw around her and gave her a hug. Soft purrs went through my body as I tried to bring her comfort and heal myself.