One. Two. Three.

It's breath came in hard gasps, the frigid chill of the winter morning seemingly making it hard to manage a solid inhale without irritating its lungs. I could easily tell that its front leg had healed incorrectly from a previous injury, visibly making it limp slightly as it walked. I wasn't sure how long it had been wandering, but judging from its condition, I'd have to guess a good while. Narrowing my eyes, I tilted my head slightly and focused on its back foot. It had serious damage on it, far worse than the front limb, making it likely unable to hunt the simplest of animals.

That explains why its ribs are showing, but with the amount of carnivore shifters in these woods it probably eats whatever leftovers it can find.

After a brief glance back to its damaged foot, it huffed and tried to sit down in the large snow drift it had been trying to get through for a bit. It then began trying to scratch at its matted throat. Blood had dried there, the dark color easily visible on the blond animal as it tried to get at an itch concealed by the matting. It could probably rinse off some of the blood in a river or pond, but the infection that would cause... it wasn't a good idea.

Its left back foot's claws quickly got stuck in the mats after only a moment, making it yank it out with a quiet yelp as the claws pulled on the mats connected to the injury. Looks really itchy. Shaking its head, it grumbled and flopped over in the soft white snow, then rolled onto its back and seemed to finally manage to scratch the itch a little. It wouldn't bring much relief doing it in the snow, but it was all it could probably do at the moment. At least it isn't rubbing the wound on the bare ground or a tree trunk.

Seemingly satisfied for the moment, it rolled back over and stood up, shaking out its coat. It looked like it was going to continue on its way toward the south. The thought of not knowing where its next meal was going to come from was likely more unnerving than the cold or its current injuries, but that was life in the forest during winter months. I heard its stomach growl a moment later, making my tail flick slightly. Nothing to eat around here. Especially not for you. I thought to myself as it began to step out of the small depression it made in the snow.

Well, enough waiting and watching. Time to go, worthless coyote. I thought I'd run them all out of town, but here one was, standing right in the middle of my hunting grounds. It looked half dead already, which would make it easy enough to finish off. It had to be a shapeshifter, considering all of the normal ones had been eradicated years ago. Tricky bastards, especially if they have a human side. My small black ears flicked when I picked up the sound of its stomach growling again. I couldn't hold back the sound of my own rumble when its scent hit my nose a moment later, causing me to take in a deep breath. Blood. Of course. It was completely covered in it, but smelling it gave me a whole other adrenaline rush.

When the coyote caught the sound of my growl, its own ears stiffened and turned slightly, then it whipped around... but it was too late. I had already leapt, front legs outstretched, canines bared, claws extended, ready to dig into flesh and remove the unwanted mongrel. And then our eyes met.

Mate!

I faltered, then tumbled into the snow like a newborn kitten. I was up fast, of course, but now it was on the attack, snarling as it bounded toward me with killer intent.

Yeah, right. Not in your condition, pup.

I hopped up on my hind legs right as it got close and then swatted downward with my right paw, landing a good thump onto its head. The hit sent it straight into the snow between my legs, its body sliding a few yards before coming to a stop with its head buried in the powder near a spruce tree. I thought it would be down for the count with its already-inflicted injuries, but it surprised me by standing back up, albeit a bit wobbly. I was already facing it, sitting in the snow as my tail swished back and forth with slight interest. Of all the things my jaguar could have chosen as a mate, it actually decided on a blasted coyote. It was infuriating to say the least, but... Heaving a sigh, I shook out my rosetted black body and stretched my back legs, then my front, in quaint feline style. When I looked back up at him, he was just standing there, panting quietly, eyes appearing wary.

It knows it's not going to win this.

Feeling a little safer with the knowledge that the other was likely not going to attack so openly again, I slowly padded through the thick snow, my big paws making easy work of the steps where the coyote had faltered because of the depth. The moment I got close enough to smell more than just blood, his masculine scent swam through my nose, making me flick my whiskers in slight disapproval. I wasn't averse to having a male mate but stacking that with a coyote shifter was just cruel.

I gently ran my muzzle against his, hearing his warning growl loud and clear, but choosing to ignore it. He knew if he wanted to live, attacking my perfectly-fit jaguar wouldn't get him anywhere but in a grave faster. His teeth were bared, but he stayed where he was as I strode around him, nudging his side to get another strong scent through the blood. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it seemed like a mix between something unfamiliar and pine needles.

Interesting.

While my natural curiosity had me wanting to shift and ask what he smelled like, because surely he'd know, I knew that wasn't the move I needed to make right then. Shifting was, but not the questions. I stalked away from him a few feet before turning back around and allowing my body to change. The look on the coyote's face was pretty humorous. It obviously hadn't expected me to shift in the frigid weather, but I was used to it for short periods and I really needed to talk to him immediately. Mind-linking was convenient, but it was hard when you didn't trust each other and I preferred words anyways.

"I'm not going to ask you to shift as well, because I'm sure your body's ability to hold heat is much less, considering the shape you're in." It growled, but I just rolled my eyes and continued. "Don't go denying it, stupid coyote. Now, as much as I don't like your kind, I know you need help, and if you can do one thing for me, I'll let you rest and wash up at my home, along with eat your fill."

I could sense his surprise once again through the connection he was trying to form between us, obviously considering speaking with me through our thoughts instead of with his human mouth. The idea of hearing his voice, even just in my head for the time being, had my inner feline purring with excitement. I waited several long moments before I finally heard him reply in my head. His voice sounded incredibly exhausted but still masculine and deep as he asked me his one-word question.

What?

This was going to be the hard part. I knew it was a bad idea to tell him we were mates right off the bat, because he was obviously at least partially dominant, so he was probably expecting to get the signal instead of his partner. Of course, sometimes neither got a decent signal or realized what it was, so I suppose I'm lucky in that regard. Returning my full attention to the coyote, I felt my lips tilt up slightly at his scowl. Definitely prideful, even as injured as he is, I thought to myself, pursing my lips to try to figure out what I should say.

The idea came so randomly that I had to grin, which made the coyote growl, but I didn't care. It was a bit of a stretch, but it might just work. So I put away my smirk and put on a serious face as I crossed my large arms over my well-muscled chest.

"I'm a bouncer at a local club. It's a mix of a restaurant and then club later at night, but only eighteen and up, and obviously twenty-one for drinking. Right now, we're extremely low on waiters and bussers. So, work for a little bit and you have a place to stay for free, with as much food as you'd like, and your own room."

It was a great deal, and even though he seemed offended at first, judging by his pinned-back ears and sneer, his features slowly relaxed as his stomach gave another loud rumble. Come on, please. Just come with me. I'll take care of you, I thought to myself, wishing I could send him the words but knew that they'd likely hurt more than help the situation if I did. It wasn't exactly every day that a shapeshifter who would normally be an enemy offers you a job with free room and board in the middle of forest.

Kine

I wanted to kill him for calling me a coyote but when he offered me a deal, I had to bite my tongue and actually think through it. I hated living with others, even in the pack I'd left awhile ago. Barely anyone was allowed in my large home. He was also a feline, another strike against the idea, especially since he was a black jaguar and not some small cat. On the more positive side, I needed a good ten meals to even begin getting my body on the road to really recovering, and a bed. No more cold snow. I gave a slight swish of my tail. Getting cleaned up so I could get the itchiness around my neck taken care of also sounded pretty damn good. I still wasn't sure why he wanted to help me, because I wasn't used to nice, but I couldn't afford to be picky.

Okay, I replied to him finally. The smile he gave me the second after I answered was unnerving, as well as the fact that he hurried over to me and shifted back to his jaguar form to run his tongue from my chin to my nose. Ew! I hadn't even allowed other wolves to do that in my old pack, disgusting. Come on. It's going to be a long walk back so we need to go now. It should be dark by the time we get to the city so we shouldn't have to sneak around much. I've got clothes near the outskirts, and I'm sure people will just think you're a dog I found. he thought to me as he began tromping off through the thick snow, easily managing while I stumbled after him.

We went through the forest and, some time later, ended up in a large prairie with a pond frozen over in the middle. Judging from the sun in the sky, it was likely close to noon already. I thought we would just stop for a drink if there were any portions of the body of water that weren't frozen, but instead, the jaguar bounded forward and leapt right onto the sheet ice, sliding a good fifteen feet out into the middle of the pond. You're insane, I stated flatly as I began stalking around the outer edges of the water. He was seriously skittering around on something that would obviously be straining under his weight.

Just pussy-footing around. Haven't you ever played before, coyote?

My ears pinned at hearing that lesser canid's name describing me. I am a wolf! I spat back bitterly. He stilled near the other end of the pond, a quizzical look on his dark features when I looked over. Really?

Anger flared in my belly, and before I realized what I was doing, I bolted out onto the ice, sliding when I figured out that I needed to stop, but unable to. Whoa! There was no fun in sliding out of control on a bed of frozen water that could break at any second!

When I finally managed to come to a skidding halt, no thanks to the cat, I heard him snickering. It sounded more like sneezing since he was still in his feline form, but I wasn't stupid. Regaining my balance somewhat, I hesitantly began taking careful steps toward him and the edge of the pond where he'd sauntered. I had to keep from looking down because I swear the first time I did, I saw a dead fish, frozen in midmotion just beneath the surface. That's going to be me if I don't get myself off this dangerous ice, I told myself, angry that I'd let myself be pushed into doing something so stupid just because of a few words. It didn't matter if he thought I was a coyote or whatever, because as soon as I was off the darn ice, I was leaving. Sure, the thought of a warm home and food was tempting, but I wasn't used to being dishonored and it was extremely hard to ignore coming from a complete stranger, let alone a cat.

He was already waiting for me when I finally stepped off of the ice, long black and dark orange rosetted tail swishing in the thin layer of snow at the bank. I stalked past him, though, not bothering to spare him one glance as I headed to the left, a different direction than the way he had been taking me.

Hey, wait. Where are you going?

I had expected his questioning thoughts, but I hadn't expected him to come bounding over and promptly block my path, not allowing me through no matter how many times I tried to skirt around him. Move, I warned.

No, he huffed back immediately, making me bare my teeth to which he gave a nonchalant yawn. It had obviously not just been because he might be tired. In fact, it was much more likely he'd done it to prove a point. He could keep me here if he wanted, or he could kill me. His teeth, especially the front canines, were easily hidden when his mouth was closed, but when he yawned, his upper lip tucked back and I was graced with a close-up view of the giant teeth.

Silence took over after the display, both of us staring the other down. It hurt my ego to be pushed around by a cat but even more so because he was literally looking down on me due to his animal's height. After what felt like nearly half an hour, though I'm sure it was a good deal less, he took a small step back and sat down.

You are coming home with me. You know staying out here will be your death, so just suck up your hurt pride and come get better.

I hate him. I really hated him, but he was right. Not that I didn't deserve to die for what I had done back at my old pack, even though shapeshifter rules are far more lax about murders than most, but I just couldn't stop fighting to stay alive. The crap I'd been scrounging as I'd traveled had barely been keeping my body from shutting down and hunger constantly gnawed at my insides. Even my inner wolf had begun nudging at my conscience to try to goad me closer to a city so it could at least dig through the trash. Hmph. I would never sink so low, I thought to myself before narrowing my eyes on the cat's.

Fine. But as soon as I'm able, I'm leaving. He gave a quiet sneeze as he began walking past me. I had a feeling it was another snicker, but I bit my tongue and just began following him.

We walked for the better half of the day. He was true to his words, because by the time the city came into view, it was dark and my legs were completely numb, leaving me stumbling every other step. I forced them to move each time I fell into the thick layers of snow that coated the side of the small hill we were currently traveling down. A particularly deep dip caught me near the bottom. I struggled to get out of it, leaping with what little strength I had left, but that only aided in toppling the nearby walls of snow down onto me. This is ridiculous, I thought to myself as I began trying to dig my way out. My body was so cold that the chill didn't bother me anymore, which probably wasn't a good thing, but I was past the point of caring. I just wanted that promised food and rest. I took a small break after a moment to try to catch my breath and heard quiet sniffing coming from above.

Where are you? the cat's voice questioned frantically into my mind.

I could clearly hear it pacing above me now, so I gave a small barking growl in response. The pacing stopped immediately, as if he heard what I'd done, so I did it again. Not a second later, his giant paws were scraping at the snow above my head, clearing it faster than I thought possible. When I finally pulled myself free and looked for him to give my thanks, he was suddenly right in front of me, rubbing his muzzle against the side of my face with a loud rumbling sound coming from his chest. At first, I thought it was a growl and was going to bite, but then common sense kicked in and I realized he was just purring. Odd to know something is actually happy that I'm alive, I thought with a roll of my eyes. It's also probably a good thing that I remember that big cat shifters can purr, even though some of their wild relatives can't.

I let him do as he wished for a minute before snapping my jaws at him in warning that I'd had enough. Affection wasn't something I was used to nor interested in. He backed away, though I could tell that he still wanted to continue.

Are you okay to keep going? he asked gently. He obviously knew I could barely move. Hell, my legs were literally shaking where I stood. I will keep going, I replied, not wanting to bend to my current weakness. I was grateful when he didn't argue and instead just slowed his pace and walked with me as we began moving again.

Nagol

"Just a little further," I said soothingly as he struggled to get through the last bit of frozen slush to come out onto the street leading into town. I'd left my clothes beneath one of the bushes and was just finishing up changing back into them when he walked over, panting heavily. He might be exhausted, but I could feel the pride rolling off of him in waves. He was battered and broken all over, but the guy was still going. It was admirable, if not a bit crazy. I'd wanted to carry him since the time he'd fallen in the deep snow, but he was adamant about walking so I hadn't pushed him, even if he was wearing himself down to the bones.

The road we were now starting on was coated in ice because it wasn't often used. It was an old service road, which was perfect for coming and going as an animal not native to the area. Looking down, I smiled as his wolf swayed slightly but still managed to keep up with my human legs. I was going as slow as possible to help spur him to keep going, but the temperature was dropping quickly and even with my nose frozen I could smell more snow coming.

Name?

The sudden question from him caught me off-guard and made my smile widen into an excited grin. It was a bit of a shock that he actually wanted to know, considering how much he seemed to dislike me, but I wasn't going to hesitate in giving my mate such an important piece of information.

"Nagol Lemont."

I waited with baited breath to hear what he thought of it, since it was a powerful name in the feline shifter community. Not that we were close to each other, since we preferred to be by ourselves or with our mates, but Nagol was a strong name often reserved for those who would hopefully grow to become very powerful.

That is an odd name. His response drew my grin into a frown, but I didn't let it get me down. It was probably a weird name for someone not used to cat shifters. Most of us had interesting names.

"What is yours then, my coyote?"

I knew I shouldn't have poked fun at him with that lesser animal's name, but I couldn't get enough of his attention, even if it happened to be provoked and negative. His growl told me that he didn't appreciate the joke, and he remained quiet for several long minutes before I heard a tired reply in my mind.

Kine.

My brows went up and I chuckled, drawing another glare from him. "Really? And you thought my name was odd? What about your last name?"

That seemed to catch him off guard for some reason, because he actually tripped over his own paws and barely managed to catch himself before he got a mouthful of the frozen pavement. I waited through another long stint of silence in which we got much closer to town before he finally replied, Do not have one. That was rather odd. Wolves treasured their last names... They flaunted them to show support of their pack and family.

Perhaps he got kicked out of his pack for some reason, I thought to myself as I watched him try to out-pace me. He was upset, so I let the subject drop for the time being. It did spike my darn feline curiosity, though, but I'd wait until I got him to agree to stay with me before I tried to get it out of him.

When we finally got to my street, I turned left and Kine followed, now seriously showing his exhaustion. He dropped every few steps but was determined to keep going on his own. I wanted nothing more than to scoop him up in my arms and carry him straight up to my apartment, but I knew he'd get angry over it.

Poor baby, I thought to myself as I stopped by the stairs. When I looked down at him where he'd dropped by my feet, I could see the disbelief in his face. He won't be able to do it without passing out.

"I know you're going to hate me for this, but please don't struggle or we'll both get hurt when we fall."

His head snapped up and our eyes met, but I was already leaning down and scooping him up before he could protest. Not that he didn't give me some serious snarls when I did get him into my arms, but I ignored them as I quickly jogged up the flight of stairs.

Put me down! he shouted weakly in my head. It shouldn't have, but it made me snicker as I set him back down on the landing. He snagged my favorite pair of black sweats with a nip, adding a small hole to show that he was pissed. Normally, I'd be miffed about that, but whatever. He didn't break the skin, and I knew he was going to likely bite for being carried without warning.

"Okay, my poor pants deserved that, now let's get inside."

I couldn't hide my smirk as I slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open, standing aside so he could go in first. My apartment was almost like a condo, though I had a feeling that it was likely just a renovated three-story house at one point. It had three floors, two of which I rented. There were two bedrooms, one on the second floor of the building and the other on the third. The second floor also had a large bathroom and kitchen, and I currently slept upstairs, which was perfect because Kine wasn't going to be doing stairs anytime soon. Thinking of how comfortable he would be on the huge bed I had in the spare room, I looked for him to show him where it was but... Aww. He'd tried to get up onto the sofa in the living room a few yards in front of me while I had turned to relock the door, but obviously didn't have the energy left as he'd dropped right next to it onto his belly, then passed out cold. His back legs were splayed out to either side, along with the front ones, proving just how exhausted he really was. Glad I cranked up the heater in anticipation of it being freezing before I got back. Since I knew it might get a little chilly between the heater's small breaks, I went into the guest room and pulled the large down comforter from the bed and gently laid it over him so that his head was the only thing not covered.

I had wanted to at least give him a good scrubbing and some antiseptic for his injuries before he went to sleep, but there was no way I could wake him up right then. Shaking my head, I slowly ran my fingers, from where I settled myself beside him, over the matted but soft fur atop his head. My instincts wanted me closer, much closer, but I didn't want to scare him away, because that's what waking up next to a huge jaguar would probably do.

Man, I'm pathetic. I only just found him today and already I want to hold him close and tell him everything is going to be okay. My mouth quirked slightly at that thought. Because I'll make it okay. Better than okay for my mate. Kine.