---Benjamin's POV---

It happened quickly. I saw the snake open its jaws wide, fangs ready as he pushed off, its coiled body giving it plenty of speed. I was barely on my paws before I was hit on my right arm, teeth digging in and coils flung around my body.

It felt like being hit by a bullet, white-hot pain searing through the point of impact while the thick, scaly body of the constrictor was squeezing the life out of me with every breath I took.

A sharp hiss escaped me as I tried to flee but fumbled as my legs were squished against my body, preventing me from moving or gripping onto the tree. I could feel gravity taking hold of our combined weight as we slipped and fell.

"AAAH! What the- Niiih!!!" I felt fingers fleetingly brush against my body from where they grabbed at the snake. For a moment I thought I was being saved and felt hope flutter through my chest, only to have it crushed down when both the snake and I were smashed on the floor.

The guy was still screeching and fled from the scene under deep and heavy laughter. My focus was more drawn to the snake wrapping around me, pressing tighter and tighter. Already I could feel my heart thudding a tiny bit slower as it had difficulty pumping the blood around.

Soon enough, my heart would completely stop and I would be an instant meal for this reptile.

"No, I'm...not...letting it happen!"

Struggling, I tried to find the head of the snake in all these coils. Black dots were dancing in my vision, growing bolder and more active with each passing second before I spotted a yellow, slitted eye and instantly latched on.

I felt the crunch of bones giving way under my teeth but bit down harder, yowling as the snake tightened its coils in a last ditch attempt to kill me before I killed it. Judging from the random twitches of the body around me, I had successfully killed it.

Chomping down again, I felt relieved when its corpse slowly uncoiled, allowing me to breath even to it left several souvenirs in my body, probably from where we slammed on the boy or when I struggled.

Without the support of the coils around me, I thumped heavily on the floor, panting erratically and only now realizing that I was in the middle of the camp and in a deadly situation.

"I'm weak... if they get their hands on me now..."

My tongue curled out to lap at my nose, a weak meow slipping from my lips before I realized a few of the inmates had shifted and were moving in.

Fear lashed out and I stood on wobbly paws, fumbling towards the only open spot nearby and hid in the shade. I only stopped as I felt tree roots underneath my paws and curled up on them. A few of the shifters took a few curious sniffs, making me flatten my ears and hiss out warningly.

I wasn't afraid to defend myself. No way was I going to lay down and let them have their way with me. Suddenly the tree roots moved underneath me, making me snap my head up and stare up in a stunning and unknown face.

"What a brave creature you are..." He muttered, dark eyes sparking with curiosity as he looked down at me from his seat. It made me realize that I had actually crawled on top of his boots, not tree roots like I had first thought.

My eyes were wide with fear, ears flat against my skull and fur bristling in anger. I didn't know what this man was but judging from the amusement in his eyes, he wasn't threatened at all.

But when he reached out to grab me, I tried to flee and scrambled to my uninjured paws. A big hand landed on the back of my body, a hiss exploding from my chest as I was pulled up on my scruff and lifted in the air.

Instinct took over and like a demure kitten, my paws curled inwards, tail tucked in and my body slowly calmed down. It took a while to realize I was suspended just in front of the male's face.

"Uhm...Anders? Sir Boss?" Fin asked slowly, trying to draw the man's attention as he kept observing me, reaching a finger out to trace the fracture. Intentional or not, it hurt and with a sharp meow, my cat acted instinctively and made me internally wince and shake my head.

I bit the man's hand right in the soft tissue where his thumb connected with his hand. His nostrils flared out at his sharp intake of breath, eyes darkening as my tiny canines were dug in deep into his skin.

Honestly, I expected him to become angry, even attack me for biting him. Instead, a wicked smile slipped on his lips as his thump simply brushed over the fur of my cheek. "Brave indeed."

When my cat realized I wasn't in any immediate danger from this man, it slowly loosened its grip and retracted its fangs and claws. I hadn't even realized I had wrapped all around the man's arm, digging in both my fangs and my claws but he hadn't even flinched.

The taste of his blood filled my mouth as it closed, tongue licking the wound I created while I eyed him fearfully. Ignoring the probing questions and wide-eyed audience, Anders stood up and took me along as his legs seemed to devour the distance towards the lone cabin.

There were a few exclamations shouted behind us but I only felt my heart race as I was brought in the man's cabin before the door was slammed shut with a bang. An ominous click of the lock followed before silence rang through the air.

I took in the surroundings, wondering how most of the stuff got here. We were in the middle of the ocean on an island few knew the location of. And yet, Anders had several modern comforts like electricity, a real stove, fridge and a bathtub.

Shivers ran over my body as the big man easily held me against his chest; my tail flicking side to side as I tiredly meowed out a warning. There was no way I could fight this man, especially not when I felt so incredibly weak and tired.

He chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling through his chest as he walked to the kitchen and fumbled in a few cupboards before I was planted firmly in his lap.

"Stay still little one. Let me get these fangs out of you." Anders spoke but I just eyed the pair of tweezers in his hands with disdain. I wasn't going to let him do anything to me, thank you very much.

So instead of complying or lying down, I meowed and swatted at his hand, trying to jump off of his lap. He laughed in amusement, catching me every time I tried to leap away until finally I was too tired to even move.

"Giving up, you little spitfire?"

I hissed, flashing him my canines but didn't move. His dark eyes sparked with amusement as one of his big hands covered most of my body, the other plucking out the fang shards with delicate ease.

One of those fangs was stuck in my broken arm and when he tried to ease it out, it jolted the broken bone. A yowl escaped my throat before I dug my right claws in his hand as retaliation, making him tsk at me.

"Easy there wildcat. Just treating your wounds." I just hissed again, yowling and trying to paw my way out of his lap. Anders just chuckled again before pinning me down with his hand.

"Little brat, stay still. You're going to hurt yourself and that leg isn't getting any better."

"Then stop touching it!" I thought to myself, scowling at the man as he plucked the last fang out of my skin, parting my fur to make sure he got every last one of them. When he was satisfied, he gently picked me up again, wrapping a loose bandage over my broken front leg.

"Now, let's get some food and water in your body and then you can sleep." He said softly as he walked over to his bed and placed me down on his pillow. "Don't move." He said sternly.

I so wanted to roll my eyes at his commanding tone but I knew that would give me away. So I just curled up with a tired hiss, already feeling my eyes droop a bit. This pillow is so soft!

My eyes closed on their own accord while my ears twitched at the slightest sounds. I could hear Anders chuckle slightly as my whiskers shivered slightly before I felt him reach out and pet the top of my head.

The pain of my body already dimmed a bit but the exhaustion was getting worse. I was more than surprised when I got a little nudge against my nose, making me wake with a start.

When had I fallen asleep?

---Anders' POV---

As I cut the beef in edible morsels, I glanced over my shoulder at the margay, grinning as its head was slowly swaying from side to side. Poor thing was exhausted now that all the adrenaline left its body.

Dropping the sliced meat in a bowl, I filled another one with fresh water before holding my wrist over it. With a quick slice, I watched thick drops of blood drip in the water, tainting it a feint pink before it diluted.

I licked the wound shut, swallowing the mouthful of blood without a flinch. I was half vampire after all. Giving the water one last stir, I walked over to the Margay and placed everything on the foot of the bed before giving it a small nudge.

The wounds have healed nicely under my magic and the small amount of blood it had ingested when biting me but it wasn't enough for the broken leg to heal. He needed a substantial amount of blood and rest before it would heal, hence the blood in its drinking water.

"Come on wildcat, time to wake up and get some food in you."

It let out a small disagreeing meow before it shook its head, blinking tiredly. Grabbing a slice of the meat, I held it in front of its nose and smiled as that woke him up instantly, reaching forwards to paw the meat out of my hand and eat it.

As soon as the morsel was swallowed, it looked around for more and wobbled towards the end of the bed before dropping next to the bowl, feeding to its heart's content. He didn't even mind as I reached out and slowly petted his fur, only feeling a small purr rumble through his chest.

I chuckled slightly, shaking my head as the small feline kept eating until it was full, slowly rolling over so it was closer to the bowl of water. His eyes were half closed as it lapped at the drink, yawing after a moment.

"A bit more. You can sleep after you finished your bowl." I whispered while rubbing over his back, all the way till the tip of his fluffy tail. The cat meowed tiredly but drank some more until it nearly collapsed and face-planted in the bowl.

With a soft laugh, I picked him up and drew him closer to my chest, knowing that my blood was going to make him sleepy for the first time he ingested it. I grinned though as he tilted his head up, blinking his beautiful eyes.

Eyes that that were golden, small red flecks dancing in the edges. A trait that happened whenever a shifter ingested vampire blood. It was the reason why I knew the Margay was in fact a shifter from the moment it bit me.

Its eyes had instantly flickered under the influence of my vampire blood and after it swallowed the tiny mouthful and lived, I knew. Demonic blood was poisonous to everything.

Except for its mate.

"There we go." I spoke gently, lifting the Margay shifter and placing it back on my bed. Already it showed signs of changing while it was knocked out and I was more than eager to meet the little spitfire in the flesh.

For now I was content to linger around, already awed by my little mate. I was curious to see how he would react and knew that I was going to have to watch his back. The inmates would try and get to him to have some leverage on me.

A dark smile slipped over my lips while I settled beside the sleeping shifter, sifting fingers through the gorgeous fur.

Let them try. Let them come and meet their own deaths. I'd make sure it would be the last and most excruciating act of their miserable lives.