Chapter 1:

  I remember white. The forest floor layered in white and the treetops cloaked in the thick frozen water. Snow pelted the earth relentlessly and cruelly as I cried out into the darkness, but could hear no reply. My fur was stiff with snow and my eyes and nose crusted over with ice. I was weak and tired.

The cries grew fainter and fainter, the wind picking them up and carrying them away. I trudged forward through the thick snow blanket struggling to keep my footing. My unsteady foot, numbed long ago from the cold, went forward and as I pressed my weight down I felt the ground below me come loose.

I fell.

Tumbling and hurdling forward into white nothingness.

I did not arise. I couldn't. It hurt so much everywhere. And then in the distance I could hear something. At first it was soft like the grumbling of a river. Then it grew stronger. Until it finally grew to a terrible roar. I looked to my left to see a light. It was moving forward quickly through the blizzard. It scattered the snowflakes before it as it screamed forward through the snow closer and closer.

As I watched it come closer I felt something deep inside me stir. Like a flame growing inside. It spread to every cell in my body, vibrating. My muscles twitched and ached, my toes curled as my limbs strained against me. It was like something inside was fighting to burst out of me.

Without realizing it my foot moved forward. It was hesitant and careful sinking deep into the snow. I then found myself moving slowly forward as the feeling overtook growing stronger inside of me. And finally I was standing, moving closer to the roaring object. Standing turned to walking, walking turned to running and as I moved faster and faster all I could hear was a voice that became more and more incessant. It screamed in my head urging me faster and faster and faster. It was only one simple word.

Run!

***

            I woke up with a start, jerking up into the shade of an old oak. My lungs burned as I panted swiping a hand over my sweaty forehead. It was quiet all about me yet all I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears and the wheezing of my lungs. I looked around the serene forest clearing, seeing no one other than myself and a few sparrows fluttering away that I must have frightened. I let out a long, tired sigh and moved back to lean up against the tree.

The calming effect of having something solid behind me and supporting me caused me to stretch out like a lazy cat and enjoy the feeling of the crisp grass tickling my backside.

            Slowly and almost uncertainly the birds started back up with their songs again as the small animals rustled in the underbrush and went back to scavenging and such. The soft sounds of the woods was slowly returned to its normal rhythm as I peered up through the overreaching branches of the oak tree.

I looked down and watched as the ground was speckled with random spots of sunlight that were able to creep through the layers of branch-like arms and leaves. I moved my hand forward until my fingertips touched one of the specks of light. It was odd. Feeling the warmth of the sunlight only on the tips of those fingers as the rest of my body was chilled by the shadow of the tree.

Odd.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I looked down to see my beeper going off. I reached down and lifted it up to read the three words moving across the rectangle screen.

Gym. Fight. Emergency.

****

"You ASSHOLE!"

"GET OFF ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"AAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

"Excuse me!"

The gym was in chaos.

There was a large group of students pushing and shoving each other in a circle trying to see what was happening within. There were kids climbing up onto the bleachers to try to see over the crowd and there was even a few who had managed to climb up onto the rafters to get front row seats.  The large room echoed with taunts and jeers along with cheering aimed at one side or the other. But what caught my attention the most was the growls and hisses of anger ringing above all else.

"Excuse me!"

I pushed past an extremely feisty bobcat that had her claws out shrieking at the top of her lungs for who I assumed was her boyfriend to kick someone in the balls. Slowly but surely I pushed to the front of the crowd to see two large teens circling each other, both crouched down in fighting stances.

From the smell I knew instantly one was a wolf while the other must be the bobcat's boyfriend. They were both practically in full out animal at this point with fur sprouting, fangs out, and claws extended. Just from the way their muscles tensed I could tell they were both close to shifting.

Tom, the gym teacher, was trying his best to grab one or both of them to stop the fight, but once he grabbed ahold of one the other would strike. As Tom was forced to let go of the bobcat for fear of being cut by the sharp claws he looked up and saw me. A slight wave of relief showed on his face as he shouted over the crowd for me to grab one.

I nodded in understanding and so as the two boys rounded each other again I leaned forward and grabbed the bobcat as he came close trying to avoid his claws and teeth. Tom did the same and grabbed a hold of the wolf and together we wrestled them out of the circle of on-lookers to separate parts of the gym where we could hopefully get them to cool off.

The boy in my arms struggled and hissed profusely at me and every so often getting in an insult around his large fangs. I had no choice but to scruff him. Cats have this extra skin on the back of their neck that adults use to carry them when they're cubs and it is very handy especially when you want to hold them without getting close to their clawed parts. Soon enough I shoved him down to sit on the first row of the bleachers where the second I let go he attempted to run back to a growling wolf on the other side of the gym.

"SIT!"

The command was solid, a definite edge placed within the one syllable as I looked him dead in the eyes giving him a full dosage of my dominance over him. For a second it seemed as if he didn't hear me but then, very slowly, he calmed down and sat quietly. I stayed standing, blocking his view of the other side of the gym and the rest of the students to allow him to cool off on his own. When I saw the tension ease from his shoulders I finally asked the question.

"What happened?"

He looked up and I could see the spark creep back up and his pupils farm into slits, "He was messing with my mate!"

I looked back over my shoulder to the girl from before who was standing back away from us but close enough that she could get to him quickly. Just looking at the two I knew they were mates. You could just tell. The way they looked at each other told you everything.

I turned back to him and nodded slowly showing I understood his reason. He looked over my shoulder at his mate and I watched as his shoulders squared and an air of pride came upon him. I knew even if someone tried to punish him for the fight he wouldn't care. He defended what was his and he was proud of that.

***

It was about an hour later that I finally got done stitching the boy up. I fixed up the wolf first for he was on his way to the principal's office with Tom there to escort him. It was a silent rule amongst all shifters to never mess with another person's mate. By breaking that rule the young wolf had landed himself into the principal's office.

As I cleaned off the last bruise I watched the boy, I now knew to be Justin, gaze out the large window in the nurse's office. His eyes were unfocused so I knew he wasn't actually seeing what he was looking at.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He flinched a little and looked back at me as I started to put away my things.

All in all Justin wasn't much worse for wear. A couple scratches here and there and a few bruises. The only thing that needed a lot of care was a cut above his right eye that needed a few stitches. Otherwise he was fine.

His parents had been notified of the fight and it was quite funny to hear his father praising him on the other side of the phone. Bobcats don't live in packs or prides so there was no issue with an Alpha and such for him. But the wolf who was named Ryan had a lot to deal with when he went home.

Firstly he started a fight with another shifter in class and secondly it was his fault for he was targeting another's mate. Yes, it was safe to say he was in it deep. Although personally I don't believe Ryan is a bad kid, most likely it was just hormones and peer pressure, like usual.

"I was just thinking about... stuff."

"Stuff huh? Anything in particular?"

I sat down on my stool and faced him. I have always prided myself on caring for my patients beyond the physical, sometimes I felt like a counselor more than a nurse. But they were just kids, it was our jobs to make sure they received what they needed to grow. If that meant spending some extra time as a counselor then so be it.

He looked up at me and for a second he hesitated, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

I looked thoughtful for a second, wanting him to know I was taking this seriously, before leaning forward and giving him my genuine smile, "I give you my word."

He let out a big sigh and started off while looking down and twiddling his thumbs, "I was thinking about what would've happened if I... If I lost."

He looked so insecure about this that I felt the need to reassure him, but I knew that's not what he wanted.

"Did you think at the time you were going to lose?"

"At the time all I could think about was kicking his ass."

We both chuckled at that and some of the built up tension left him.

"But now I can't help but think about what would've happened if I had lost... I would have lost her..."

His gaze went misty and I knew that him simply saying that was tough. Every shifter, when they find their mate, feels a very potent bond with them. No matter who it is they are connected by an invisible thread for eternity. To a shifter their mate is their everything. Their mate even outranks their family in their mind. Even the thought of losing their mate will drive most shifters to the brink.

But it is also not uncommon for shifters to change mates. For while normally the first one you find and choose is your forever mate it is certainly not set in stone. Mates are found by pure instinct depending on the species one can recognize their mate by scent, sight, or touch, and sometimes it just doesn't work out. Sometimes one of the two already loves another or one of the two dies. It is difficult to move on from what your entire being is telling you is yours but it can be done.

I knew this was what Justin was thinking about.

Watching the turmoil in his eyes I couldn't stop myself from leaning forward and patting him gently on the shoulder, "That would never happen. She loves you. She's crazy about you! Did you see how crazy she went during your fight? There is no doubt in my mind even if you were close to losing, she would have ripped that guy to shreds and still gone back to you."

He chuckled at my words and the glint of love in his eyes told me I had said the right thing.

"You're probably right. She can be a little Hell Cat at times."

I smiled, gave him a good pat on the shoulder, and sent him on his way to his awaiting mate who had refused to move from outside the nurse's office. I watched as they walked down the hallway, hand in hand, smiling to myself. For a moment it seemed like maybe the day wouldn't hold anymore surprises, but of course I had to be wrong.

"So that was interesting huh?"

I let out a sigh as I turned to see Tom smiling that oh so charming smile at me. I tried to smile back in a way that would tell him, 'Hi, please leave me and my ass alone'. But like always the message was not received. And like always he came forward and went deep into my personal space.

"Is there something I can help you with Coach Jackson?"

Although Tom and I had split apart more fights then we would like to admit in our time as teachers we were never really on the best of terms with one another. Tom was the Beta in his own pack and thus large and heavily dominant, which helps him to control his gym classes. Me being a bear I simply carried around an air of dominance on my own without thinking about it. Together we make a pretty good team for breaking up adolescent fights but beyond that... I never really felt comfortable around him.

Tom is only a few years older than me and had started teaching a year or two before I had. And ever since day one he has targeted me as his 'interest'.

Being an unmated high ranking wolf has its perks, one of those being you can get a lot of tail whenever you want it. Tom is not afraid to use that leverage to his own advantage, although I wouldn't go so far to say he was a playboy as much as just a flirt.

Pretty much the entire first week of my job he trailed behind me, being very blunt with his idea of what we could be. And every step he took towards me I took three back. I have always tried to be very clear how platonic whatever relationship between us must be but no matter what I did he always seemed to misinterpret it as me being hard to get.

And as he has told me multiple times, 'I love when you play hard to get.' So here we are. Him still following me around like a horny puppy and me dodging him like an annoyed bumble bee. One day very soon he's going to get stung on a not so nice place. But until that day, I just try to play along.

"Well, since you've asked..."

He took a not so subtle step closer to me that made it feel as if we were breathing the same air, "I could use some help putting the soccer equipment away in the sports closet."

The way he said this was with a husky voice that to most would be sexy but to me sounded like a bad cold mixed with lung cancer. His eyes dilated as I could smell his arousal clouding the air around us like a miasma. My brain rushed through the millions of excuses I had used before but my mind was running a blank as his mouth seemed to slowly creep closer and closer to mine.

"Mr. Nanuk!" I flinched back as Tom did the same and we turned in unison to see the English teacher, Mrs. Summers or Evie, a tiny pixie of a woman and one of my closest friends come down the hall carrying a rather large stack of papers that seemed to be swaying this way and that as she walked.

I hurriedly came to her aid and took half the pile from her. She smiled, "Oh thank god you were there to save me! I don't know what I would've done without you!"

I nodded, smiling as she looked over my shoulder at a very disgruntled looking Coach Jackson.

"Oh, Coach Jackson I didn't see you there. Did you have some business for the nurse's office? Maybe an itch or some kind of swelling?"

It took all I had within me not to burst out laughing at her words as Tom's face started to turn an evil looking kind of red. He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath, "Nothing, just going on my way."

Then without a look to Evie and a lingering look to me he turned and briskly walked down the opposite hall.

As he turned the corner and went out of sight we both burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Thank you. You have no idea how close I was to being raped."

She smiled up at me with rosy cheeks and shook her head, "Anything to give me the opportunity to get after that horn dog of a wolf."

She gave me a wicked Cheshire grin and turned to continue on her way to her classroom as I followed behind with a bit of an extra skip in my step. Never underestimate the wickedness of Lynxes.