Turned out my den wasn't so amazing after all.

I had been looking around the den, trying to hunt for building materials and a better den if possible when I had made the mistake of being too confident. Letting my guard down was stupid and I could only thank the gods that I hadn't shifted back.

Letting out a frustrated meow, I glanced up as the world darkened again, the small, muddy hole barely big enough for me. My fur was grimy, filthy and reeked from rolling in the mud. Baring my fangs, I hissed angrily while flattening my ears, only getting a deep grumble in reply.

The Jaguar from before had noticed me after all and had been stalking me. When I had heard a branch snap in the otherwise quiet jungle, I had made the split decision to bolt away.

It might've possibly saved my life.

The claws that could've sliced through my back like a knife through butter, had scraped over my fur and clipped the tip of my tail. Said tail was now twitching in annoyance at the stubborn beast, which was stalking back and forth.

No way am I going out there right now.

I twitched and backed up as far as I could, slipping n the moist soil as I got a nice close up of the jaguar's bared canines, dripping with saliva. It let out a deep hiss, audibly showing his annoyance in my presence.

Doesn't like any form of competition huh?

Both of us froze for a moment as we heard voices. My heart thumped violently while my pupils narrowed to slits. Those voices didn't sound familiar and that could only mean one thing.

Inmates were closing in on my location.

Eyes flashing to the jaguar, I calculated the chances of getting away before I just let my cat take over and bolted. My tail slapped against its chin as I ducked underneath and weaved, dashing past the low swipe.

Fear and adrenaline coursed through me as I heard its paws dig in the forest floor, a low snarl exploding from its lips just seconds before it pounced.

Stunned screams resounded through the forest as three men stumbled and fell, blocking the jaguar while I was able to slip between their legs, even jumping off the floor and climbing one of the men to vault into the closest tree.

I could feel finger slide over my fur and then nothing but the safety of the tree. When they looked up, they must've seen me clawing my way up the tree as fast as I could before slipping in the highest branch I could find.

Panting heavily, I looked through the cover of the canopy and was glad to have put as much space between the four men and I downstairs. My eyes slid from male to male, all of them looking between each other and to where I had disappeared.

Hold on... four?

My eyes retraced, spotting one of the men, naked. Chills rushed up my spine as I started to shake. Holy shit... the jaguar had been a shifter after all!

My ears were focused on the group so I could hear one of them scoff as he shook his head. "Dunno why you even tried to catch the little bugger. Boss told ya to keep your cat in check and leave them Margays alone."

I sagged on the branch, mentally sobbing in relief. They hadn't figured I was a shifter as well, which meant they hadn't seen the boat.

Thank the gods!

"What is... hah! The kitty cat clawed ya good Erin!" One of the men laughed, turning Erin around to show the triple claw marks on his cheek. Those had been his reply when he thought he could shove his face in the den and think I'd jump in his jaws.

It was instinct but I think I shocked us both when I had hissed and clawed him good, even drawing blood before I had scrambled to the back of the den. Now the jaguar shifter was glaring at the trees, panting slightly in his anger.

"Fucking cat..." The brunette hissed as he gingerly touched his cheek before glaring at the blood that dripped down. He only got a slap on the back from one of his mates as they laughed and poked fun at him.

"Suits you right, shouldn't let your jaguar's instincts rule you Erin. Tis the reason why you're here in the first place. " The second man remarked dryly, hardly intimidated as a low yowl rumbled through Erin's chest.

"Shut it Demarco."

"Its Fin. After spending eleven years with us on this island, you would've thought we'd be on first name basis by now." The giant teased, gaining an irritated flush from the Jaguar before it spun on his heels and disappeared in the forest.

The three men slowly quieted down before glancing up once more. "Think we need to report this?"

"Why should we? Tell the Boss Erin went after another Margay? It'll only piss him off and put Erin in his place again. Quite humiliating really."

The blonde grinned up at the huge Afro American male before they shared the huge grin as Fin nodded. "Let's get going already, Can't wait for the boss man to kick Erin's fuzzy butt."

My eyes tracked them as they dashed through the foliage. When the last of them disappeared, I slowly allowed myself to relax.

Seconds later, I was sitting up the tree in human form, my cat unable to deal with this amount of stress. "Shit, that was way too close for comfort." I murmured to myself while brushing the sweat of my forehead.

Resting my back against the tree, I closed my eyes for a moment. There was no way that anyone could spot me this high in the tree, hence why I wanted to make some form of house up here. But the knowledge that the inmates had a camp somewhere on the island was creeping me out.

"But...hold on." I suddenly sat back upright, glancing at the spot where the men had disappeared. If I stayed oblivious from where the men were, I could get ambushed at any time of the day. Not to mention, if I were out hunting, I could quite possibly run straight into their dens without knowing.

A low groan escaped me while I let my head connect with the tree, a dull thud and an annoyed groan accompanying the motion. I had no choice but to shift and track these men back to their camp, where an unknown amount of inmates were gathered.

"Bloody fantastic." I spat before shifting. My claws twisted with each step I took, allowing me to descend fairly rapid and head first down the tree. I was hesitant to jump on the jungle floor but as I listened to the chirping crickets and the occasional songbird, I knew that nothing was around.

Still, I paused every few steps, listening and sensing my surroundings until I finally crouched down, sniffing at the floor to detect these men' scents.

The Jaguar was easy to detect, as I had spent the last hour or so reeking its foul breath. But the others weren't all that obvious. Much to my surprise, only two had been predators; The Jaguar and a hyena. From what I could sniff, one of them seemed to be a buffalo while the other was some sort of aquatic animal.

I didn't know what but that salty scent of the sea was intertwined with his scent.

I huffed, blowing sand off of my nose before I sniffed the air. My tail twitched before I looked up at the sky. The sun was setting and this was the perfect moment to go and spy on the inmates.

See without being seen.

"I sure hope so."

As I stalked through the trees, I kept a close eye on my surroundings, only vaulting for the safety of the trees once. Not because of a shifter, but because of an overwhelming gang of army ants swarming over the forest floor, attacking and devouring anything in their path.

"I might be way bigger than them but I'm not taking my chances. It might be ants but when you're outnumbered thousands to one, you know when to turn tails and run."

I watched the tiny predators chase a goliath bird-eating spider out of its den. Even if the massive arachnid dwarfed them, they swarmed and devoured it in seconds. My stomach churned before I focused back on the task at hand and ventured further into the jungle while pondering over one small detail.

When these men, inmates and assumed murderers had spoken of their boss, all of them had been respectful. It made me wonder what kind of monster he was, to rule his men in such a way that his name wasn't even mentioned.

Boss seemed enough to chase shivers over their spines.

So who or rather, what was this man?