---Christina’s POV---
The grass swayed in the wind and rustled against my ears as I made my way through the field. I could hear the soft padding of Collin’s paws and knew he was following me without needing to look back.
I had gained control a few minutes ago, where Eva had been so polite to tell me why I was acting this way. The Heat, as she called it, was our cat’s way of locating our mate. Once Eva had a clue who it was, our body would be forced through a series of seemingly impossible changes.
For instance, as soon as she knew that our mate was around, my personal scent changed. The changes were almost unnoticeable for me but according to my cat, it was a neon billboard for all the males around, a sign that my future mate was around.
That also explained why that lion was grooming me and why Eva had reacted the way she did. Our scent was alluring to all males, not just our mate. I let out a small huff of annoyance; I didn’t want all these cats prowling around me in the hopes of getting some tail.
I meowed softly when a paw playfully swiped my hind legs out from under me before Collin pounced. A playful purr rolled through his chest as he bobbed me on the nose and quickly scrambled backwards before he started licking at his paw, feigning innocence.
“Sure, you didn’t just tackle me on the floor.” I thought sarcastically and heard Eva chuckle. Her emotions poured into my mind, the overwhelming elation, knowing that we found a mate that would fit perfectly.
I just hope he isn’t thinking about mating the first night.
The thought popped into my mind before I realized it but I quickly shook my head and pawed at Collin when he tried to paw at my nose again. Just from the way he was behaving, I just knew he wasn’t going to be like that or expected to be bonded by tomorrow.
He dropped down beside me, stirring up the dust as he licked his lips and shuffled closer. I eyed him curiously, wondering where the hell my mentor with his tough love has disappeared to.
“I’m still here, just…happy that I finally realized what Liam knew all along.” Collin’s voice inside my head was a surprise and I nearly jerked up before he threw a paw over my shoulders and kept me down.
“Mates have a shared link, remember?”
I rolled my eyes, “Pshh, No? If I can recall, my training didn’t include mates and how to find them.” Was my retort and Collin glanced up at me with a frown before he glanced away. If I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I saw a glimmer of anger in his eyes.
“They didn’t teach you anything, did they?”
What did he- Oh. Oh! The pride should’ve informed me like they did to all the other cubs at a certain age. But since Alex hated me, the abuse and neglect obviously meant that I was missing out on more than just freedom or food.
I was surprised that Collin shifted but I didn’t hesitate to follow his example. He pulled me up to my feet and grinned, his eyes warm and twinkling with delight as he laced his fingers through mine.
“So…I’m guessing you’ll have some questions for me, but first of all, I’ve been dying to know where you’ve been all this time! Do you even realize how difficult it was to track you down?”
I smiled sheepishly, knowing for a fact that his annoyance was aimed at the fact that I could hide my scent. “Unless you’re in heat.” Eva interjected with a purr while the wind blew in my face.
The thick scent of the pine forest and the deer that occupied it blew straight in my face before it was replaced with the gentler scent of newborn foals and pollen of different flowers drifting through the air.
“It’s kind of a long story but I’ve been everywhere where I needed to be. At first I just set out aimlessly, wanting to explore the world.” I started, smiling up at Collin as he helped me over a fallen log, though I was perfectly capable of jumping it.
Thinking back at the past few years, I grinned slightly. “My powers were slowly but surely manifesting and I started to get visions more often and further ahead in time. At the Proving, I only had a few minutes to react but now, now I can see things that are going to happen in a few months.”
We stopped walking as we neared the source of rushing water and I smiled at the creak that danced down over the rocks and disappeared into the woods. I sat down beside it and shivered as Collin sat right beside me, leaning his back against a worn tree and pulling me down to play with my hair.
“Really? That’s…wow, that’s amazing. So…you basically knew what to expect before you even arrived here?” Collin asked with a hint of awe and pride in his voice. Shaking my head slightly, I replied tiredly, “Not really; due to the rain, I was forced to take shelter. If I had continued walking, those lions might’ve been too late to stop me from leaving their territory.”
I frowned slightly, “Though, I’d probably sensed something if I would’ve left the territory. I was already making my way back to the leopard tribes to look for you.” Glancing up at him through my laches, I blushed slightly as his eyes were riveted on my own before they traced down to the freckles underneath them.
After a moment, Collin cleared his throat and glanced away though his hands kept combing through my hair and brushing over my scalp. A soft purr escaped me as he rubbed soothingly over my head before I continued, “So, uh, every time I felt my powers surge, I knew I was needed somewhere. Depending on the seriousness, I would travel towards that location and help them out. But I haven’t come across any of my kind.”
“I would’ve been very surprised if you did; they’re rather rare and illusive to meet.” Collin grinned before he sighed deeply. “I can’t say that my journey has been interesting up until now. You can’t imagine how frustrating it was for me to find your scent at times, only for it to fade away again. I almost believed that I was losing my mind.”
Pushing myself up again, I leaned against his shoulder and gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry bout that, I didn’t even knew I was doing it until I came across a small group of Nomads, who pointed it out.”
Another wave of the Heat rushed through me, making me focus on Collin’s fresh scent of lime and black bamboo, earthy yet vibrant. He smiled endearingly when he noticed my momentarily distraction before he chuckled again.
“I might have…asked father to search for your family.” He admitted after a while, keeping his eyes on the distance as I jerked my head up. My family? I could tell by the way he twitched and tensed; he was talking about my birth family, not my former pride.
For a moment, I felt a bit annoyed that he took the liberty to dig his nose in my business but then again…He probably did it just to know more about me and to relay this information to me.
“And?”
He glanced down, surprised before he smiled hesitantly, “Well, I can tell you that he knows that you’re a pureblood Amur Leopard. Both of your parents are Amurs as well and are very good at hiding.”
“Both of them?” I gasped, scrambling on my knees to take a good look at Collin’s face. He had to be lying! My mother was dead after all; the pride had found me as I sat beside her corpse.
Collin slowly reached out and pulled me on his lap before he shushed me, gently rubbing his fingers underneath my eyes. When they came away wet, I realized that he was rubbing the tears off of my face.
“Yes, both of them. The woman that was with you wasn’t your mother; My dad had wondered why the pride had never searched for any of your relatives and decided to investigate it himself.”
I sniffed softly and enjoyed the comfort of Collin’s arms as he held me closely, my head tucked away under his chin. “It seems that they have done some DNA tests on you and that woman. She was related to you, yes, but she was an aunt, your godmother. Apparently she and your mother got separated during a Rogue attack and she stumbled into pride lands.”
When his hands turned into shaky fists, I knew something was up. Taking another deep breath of his soothing scent, I dared to ask why he was so angry. His reply made me hiss in anger and the old hatred that I thought was buried along with Alex, flared back to life.
“It seems that…that boy…Alex, was around and attacked her for trespassing on their land. His brother found him with blood on his muzzle and went to investigate…and found you.”
Oh my god…Luke…He truly was my guardian angel but I never knew that he had saved me from his brother’s wrath. Off course the pride would be forced to adopt me but their father would’ve kept the facts hidden for fear that his eldest would’ve to go to court.
But even with all this anger inside me, I couldn’t help but cry from both relief and pain. Relieved that both of my parents were still alive but deep regret and pain that my aunt had died trying to protect me.
Collin gently rocked me back and forth as he rubbed my tears away, speaking soft words of reassurance in my ear before I finally relaxed. Maybe after everything would settle down in the lion prides, I could try and locate my parents.
Here's a new update...Now I'm gonna take some meds for my stomach and lay down so the room stops spinning. Song is what I was listening to while writing the chapter. Enjoy.