---Christina’s POV---
Three rogues. Unnamed werecats that had launched an attack on the Leopard king, probably in an attempt to overthrow him and take his place. My whole body had been itching and burning, my heart made of lead and my stomach twisting and churning with each passing second before I felt Eve’s energy burst through my body.
How I knew that there was danger was unknown to me but I just knew and I acted. I had a feeling that I could’ve stopped myself from acting and let it all play out but…King Richard would have been badly wounded, more likely dead if I had done that.
Now I was standing amidst the large group of shifters, all of them gawking at my blood-covered form while I desperately tried to get that awful metallic taste out of my mouth. I felt their stares on my body, heard their whispers but I didn’t feel it in me to react. My actions were catching up to me.
“I killed someone…I actually killed three people…” I felt my stomach twist as I looked down at the lifeless bodies a few steps away from me, all three of them dead by my hand. Eva purred soothingly in my head, comforting me as I kept staring at my blood covered hands and the bodies at my feet.
“You did good Christina. These were men or women without cause or justice in their hearts. They would’ve killed a kitten as easily as they would have torn the king apart. We are made for this…this is our destiny.”
I gulped before looking up at the eyes around me, locking with Richard’s befuddled gaze before they slowly traced to Collin’s, instantly shying away from the burning intensity in them.
“Death and destruction? That is my destiny?” I asked Eva while watching as Collin and Richard both walked up to me, Richard’s pride observing their king closely. Eva shook her head and yowled in anger.
“No, Life is. We saved the king and with him his mate. We saved his people from losing their King and with it the peace they live in. Everyone here will know what our mark means, little one. Our destiny is ancient and pure.”
“I just don’t want to end up like-“ I started, being interrupted by Eva again as she snorted, flicking her tail in my head. “You will never end up like Alex. You are a good person at heart Christina. Even without my guidance, you’d make the right choices. I’m sure of it.”
Pride filled me as Eva kept purring, flooding me with the pride and happiness she felt for me. I was her human and the actions I made would reflect on her as well. I smiled to myself, understanding that I made the choice she would’ve made and that she was proud of me.
Collin and Richard had made it to me by now and before I could react, I was engulfed in a hug. My body reacted instinctively as it stiffened, my nails digging in the palms of my hands and my heart racing through my chest before I was released.
Surprisingly, it had been the king that hugged me, but Collin had probably understood why I had tensed and let his father know. The way Richard was eying my former pride with disdain said enough.
“First of all, I’d like to thank you for saving my life and more importantly, my mate’s life. If I had died, she would’ve-“ he stopped himself, probably unable to even think of the fact that his mate could’ve died. It was a fail-safe for our race; once you’ve bonded with your mate, you intertwine your life-force too. That means if one dies, so does the other.
And honestly, I liked that. If I ever found that one person that both Eva and I agreed on fitted us…I wouldn’t want to be apart from them for even a day. Just the thought of losing a mate and then being forced to live an endless life all on your own sounded more than a reason to end your own life when your mate’s came to an end.
Richard took a deep, calming breath as he pinched his nose-bridge before sighing and looking down at me. The gratitude and appreciation that was coming off of him made me feel a bit better about myself, though I was still left with that hollow feeling of taking a person’s life.
“Though I am grateful, I really need to ask…What happened? And how did you know that there was going to be an attack?” His eyebrows met while crossing his arms over his body before his eyes scanned over the crowd again as they huddled closer, anxious to hear my answer.
I shuffled on the spot, my eyes being drawn back to the dead mountain lions and the black fur of the jaguar before I heard Collin call my name, pulling me out of the dark thoughts while he gave me a piece of cloth to clean my hands on, undoubtedly seeing how uncomfortable I was becoming.
“Christina, what you did isn’t murder if that’s what you’re concerned about. You saved someone, okay? No need to start blaming yourself. If anyone is to blame, blame those rogues because they chose to become murderers. They weren’t innocent people Christy…”
A sigh escaped me at the reassurance before I nodded again, swiping my hands clean. “I don’t know how I knew all this was going to happen. I’ve been feeling antsy all day, my cat was on high alert without a reason and then it just all-“ I threw my hands up in annoyance, remembering the uncomfortable sensation while saying, “exploded like this.”
Richard hummed before waving his hand, urging me to continue, so I did. “When that cat jumped at me… I felt something weird, almost as if-ugh, this will sound crazy, but it was as if the world stopped spinning. Everything stopped before moving again. I could see the cougar reaching towards me while I could see that jaguar about to claw at Collin.
A heat filled my head and then they just moved so…slowly.” I added lamely, feeling everyone’s eyes on me while I continued, “I went for the jaguar first, because Collin was distracted, caught and killed him and by then the cougar was already going more towards normal speed. He turned but I managed to stop him and kill him.” I reached a hand up to my head as a soft throbbing started.
Collin looked at me in awe before that awe changed into worry as his eyes landed on my nose. “Are you feeling all right, Christy?” Even Richard came closer, his hands reaching out as if expecting me to drop.
“Headache.” I whispered, my hand drooping down before touching my nose, realizing that it was running. When I lifted my fingers again, they were coated with a thin layer of blood. My blood.
I felt slightly dazed to why there was blood flowing out of my nose until someone was pulling me to a seat and pushed me down on it. Looking up, I didn’t recognize the woman but she smiled down at me with a certain tenderness in her face.
“It’s all right sweetie, that happens when you overexert yourself with your magical abilities. You should start with little things first. Goodness, when I was a kitten my nose would start bleeding a river whenever I used magic.” She shook her white hair out of her face before she smiled at Collin, who was standing beside me with a glass in his hands.
My eyes tried to focus on the glass, shaking slightly in Collin’s hold. “Where…did you get that? You weren’t talking to me with a glass in your hands…” I muttered distractedly, frowning when Collin pushed me down on my back with a worried expression on his face. “Honestly I’m fine. A bit woozy but fine.”
“You need to lay down and relax Christy. Magic isn’t something lightly used and even though this isn’t an ability known to magic users, it seems to have the same boundaries.” He shared a look with the woman, who nodded her head with a pensive thought. Her white curls bounced around her face, which was surprisingly young.
“Yep, never seen it under Snow Leopards. And I don’t think those Clouded Leopards are able to, sneaky little devils.” She blinked and blushed slightly when she realized all eyes were on her now. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a sneaky little devil…”
She coughed awkwardly before nodding her head again as she watched me closely. “But this seems to be an Amur leopard ability. Still, don’t push yourself too much; boundaries aren’t meant to be crossed. Well, not in this case.” She shivered slightly before tilting her head as I frowned up at her.
“She’s a strange woman…”Eva commented slowly, as if she couldn’t find the words to describe the woman in front of us. The white-haired female smirked and patted my shoulder. “I’m a Snow leopard dear, name’s Jade. Well, you’re in good hands so I’m off now. Your highnesses, my lady…” and with that she simply turned around and walked away, leaving me completely baffled.
---Collin’s POV---
I watched Jade leave, shaking my head slightly at the powerful Snow Leopard that acted like a five year old. Nobody knew where she came from or why she was this way but she was simply herself.
My eyes darted back to Christina as she slowly started to sit back up, sniffing slightly before sipping from the glass of cool water. There was still a small trace of blood under her nose, so I grabbed a damp cloth and gave it to her, not wanting to baby her. I knew she didn’t like to be pitied.
Her jade eyes instantly flickered towards me before she smiled and nodded her head in thanks, rubbing the nearly dried blood away before sighing softly. I growled lowly because I had seen it too; Alex was coming this way and judging by the smirk on his face, he was planning something.
As soon as he was in hearing range, he greeted my father in respect, his dad probably had whispered who the king was before he eyed Christina with dark amusement in his eyes.
“Since the fights have started, I’d like to challenge this werecat to test her fighting abilities. My pride against her.” A snarl threatened to slip out but I held Liam in check, knowing that these challenges couldn’t be stopped. Christina merely rolled her eyes and crawled on her feet.
Christina sighed and looked at him before asking, “When?” Alex smirked, obviously eying her condition as she slightly trembled on her feet. “Five minutes. I’ll collect my pride and we’ll be waiting for you at the arena. Don’t be late.” I scowled at his commanding tone but couldn’t help but chuckle when Christy’s only reaction was to lift an eyebrow and snort.
Dad stepped up beside me, growling slightly and I could tell that his control was fading, his eyes flashing with anger and disgust. Although my cat shied away, not wanting to aggravate the king further, I reached out and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, making him look down at me.
“Don’t worry dad. She can definitely handle herself and whatever those goons throw at her. She isn’t the same kitten from when she didn’t know about the Proving. All she needs now is some food and she’s good to go.” I said, remembering when Thorvin, the Snow leopard that helped protect dad with magic, always had to eat when he had used magic.
Dad nodded sharply before commanding several women to get Christina something small to eat. Seconds later, Christina was walking towards the arena, still chewing on the large meatball sandwich she had in her hands. I chuckled slightly at the pace she was devouring her meal, cheeks puffed out and looking ahead at Evan and his dad, standing beside my friends at the edge of the arena.
“Fight well Christina!” Evan cheered, making me smile as Christina managed to swallow the mouthful and smiled. “I’ll be fine, besides, they’re sorely underestimating me.” Everyone shared a look before glancing at the pride that was entering the ring, Alex’s pride.
I noticed several of them standing to the side though; they must have decided for themselves that they weren’t going to fight for Alex or against Christina. Either way, Alex glared at them pointedly before snarling something against one of the males, who looked like he was related to him in some way.
The male simply shrugged and held the female closer to him, smiling and saying something that angered Alex, since he stomped away from the small group. Dad peered at the shifters and smiled softly, nodding to himself. I knew that in his book, they had taken a step in the good direction. Right now though, our attention was being pulled by the group of female werecats who gathered close, one of them egging the others on before they grouped around Christina.
A growl slipped from my throat while my sight sharpened, alerting me of the fact that Liam was coming to the forefront. The presence beside me was emanating anger and resentment, though I knew dad wouldn’t interfere.
The girls circled her, the leader a menacing look on her face before she glanced at Alex, a smile playing on the despicable blonde’s face. I heard Liam snarl in my mind. “Looks like she’s his girlfriend and wants to impress.” A chortle followed while he shook his head. “Too bad she’ll be failing miserably…”
An amused smile of my own slipped on my face, amusement settling in while I released ca low chuckle. That gained the attention from the others, as Antonio and Dimitri both looked at me with a questioning gaze.
I simply nodded in Christina’s direction, watching as she dodged their attacks and used the amount of attackers against them. She simply dodged their attack and made sure that they caught someone else, letting them fight on their own.
At one moment, Christina was just walking around, catching my eye as a slow yet amused smirk slipped over her face. Every one of the so called ‘attackers’ were fighting each other, calling names and screeching loudly before Alex managed to catch their attention again.
“Target points…she’s going for the nerve endings in the human body.” Liam stated in slight amusement while indeed, Christina used one of my lessons and aimed for the nerve bundles, making the girls drop down on the spot.
“Dad…you might want to check those marks out…” I said slowly, disbelievingly as my eye fell on the triple crescent moon just below her ear. My eye landed on a similar moon on the back of her hands and the flowing lines that connected them.
Her clothing hid most of the mark but I could see several of her former pride hesitate as they gawked at her markings, several of them stepping back while Alex snarled slightly before charging forwards.
What changed everything though, was that he shifted and aimed for her throat. No matter what, you never tried to kill another werecat except when you had to defend yourself or to defend your kingdom.
There was only a select group of cats that went against the law and defied their king. It seemed that Alex had joined the Rogues…
Which also meant that Christina had every right to kill her former tormentor.
Picture to the side is the tattoo on her hands ;) Hope you liked it