(Y/n) never held out much hope of ever finding her soulmate; as a shapeshifter, she was the last of her kind, the rest of her people slaughtered by those that feared them and their powers, still others had died in the many battles they had fought in over the years.

Shapeshifters had always been viewed as some of the greatest, deadliest, and most powerful warriors in the land, and any army was glad to have them on their side; but now after generations, all that remained of the once great peoples, was one of their finest warriors.

(Y/n) was unusual even amongst her own people, her brethren could transform into bears, wolves, lions, and even fierce reptiles; but (Y/n) was the only great striped cat that had ever been born, she was the strongest female warrior her people ever had, highly skilled, fiercely loyal, and stronger even than many of the men.

She had hidden herself away for many years, lamenting the loss of not only her friends and family; but also that of her people, struggling against her need to fight, battling against the desire of her heart to find a man that she knew could no longer exist. She had looked at the strange soul mark on her wrist on many a long lonely night, her mark was different to anything else she had seen, it didn't look like any of the others of her people, but that didn't mean that she ever thought that her true love could possibly come from outside her own kind. Even when she knew that she was the only one, when she knew that the man that was destined to be hers was dead, her mark had never faded or disappeared, it just stayed, seeming to torment the lonely woman.

(Y/n) had taken to living a simple life deep in the forest, a far cry from the great palace and city in which she once used to reside; she didn't deal with others, preferring to keep herself to herself, so that no one discovered what, or who she was, although there were of course rumours about the strange woman that lived on her own in the woods.

No one usually came so deep into the forest, so the arrival of three men at her small home, sent her climbing up into the nearest tree, settling down so that she could watch from a distance.

"Are ya sure that this is where she's supposed to be?" The large man asked, glancing over to the other two.

(Y/n) could see that the side of his face was terribly scared, and she could tell that from his size and demeanour, that he was a well skilled swordsman. The other two were different; the small one was dark, dressed completely in black, and to (Y/n)'s eyes, very pretty; but it was the other large man that caught her attention. His beard was the same colour as her fur when she became the beast, and unlike the other two, there seemed to be a hint of mischief in his looks, that made her want to smile.

"Well that's what tha rumours say, but tha old ones could be wrong." The red man told the other two, as (Y/n) watched the smaller man look around the trees.

"It's obvious that someone lives here, and if its her, I want her." He said, the three men drawing their swords.

To (Y/n), the man's words had been a threat, and last of her kind or not, she would not die without a fight.

The three men looked up in horror as a giant striped cat, standing erect on two long legs, jumped down from the trees, roaring so loud that they could swear that they could feel their organs shake inside them.

"IF YOU WANT ME LITTLE MAN, THEN COME AND TAKE ME; BUT I WILL RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB BEFORE YOU HAVE CHANCE TO RAISE A SWORD AGAINST ME!" (Y/n) growled, her bright white needle like teeth, glinting in the sunlight, her sharp claws ripping at the air between her and the man.

Within seconds (Y/n) and the men were engaged in battle, metal against metal, claws against flesh, as the four fought on, each man desperately trying to defend themselves against the shapeshifter's wrath.

Without warning, the small man dropped to his knees.

"My lady, we mean you no harm." He shouted above the noise of grunts of the two men that continued to fight.

"Then why are you here?" (Y/n) growled, taking steps away from the two large men, who were now gasping for air.

"You are the last of your kind, the last of the great warriors, I need your help!"

"So, you want to kill me another way?" (Y/n) huffed, crossing her arms and looking at the three men.

"No one comes looking for a shapeshifter unless they have a war to fight; so, tell me little man......... what kind of war is it?" (Y/n) asked, as the dark man looked at her.

"A war that if not won, will affect everyone my lady, including you." He stated, rising to his feet, and sheathing his sword.

"If you will allow me a chance to explain, I will hopefully make you see why I have come to find you." He said, indicating for the others to put away their weapons.

(Y/n) thought for a moment, her eyes catching those of the red man, as he nursed the claw marks on his arm.

"You better come inside and let me take care of that for you." She said softly, motioning for the three men to enter her humble domicile.

The three entered, not noticing that what followed behind them was no long a great beast, but a woman of breathtaking beauty, with black, auburn and white hair that flowed in great curls down her back. As they turned, they were greeted by a smile that made their hearts race.

"In the name of the gods." The red man stated, as (Y/n) walked up to him and looked at his arm.

"Here, let me clean this for you." (Y/n) said with a soft smile, as she took the man's arm and led him to a chair.

Once settled, Jon explained who he, Sandor, and Tormund were; he explained about the walkers, and about the war that was to come, and about how they had come to find the great last warrior, yet all the time he talked he noticed that the shifter and the wildling had not taken their eyes from one another.

As she finished bandaging Tormund's arm, she rose and looked at Jon.

"I have hidden for too long, if I am to die then I would rather it was in battle, it is what I was born for, it is all know; so Jon Snow, you have my sword." (Y/n) told him offering him her hand.

"But for now, you must stay; the night will fall soon, and I can smell rain in the air, and you must all be hungry, so we will begin our journey in the morning." (Y/n) said, smiling as Jon nodded.

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"I'm sorry that I hurt you." (Y/n) said, coming to sit next to Tormund as he greedily ate the large bowl of stew that she had given him.

"Ya did what ya had to, I would av dun the same if I could do what you do." Tormund mumbled, his mouth full of food.

"Ya don't have a man?" He asked, looking around the small home.

(Y/n) chuckled as she picked up a piece of wood and poked at the fire.

"No, no man....... last of my kind you know, so I'm not likely to have one either." (Y/n) mourned, rubbing at the mark on her wrist.

"Good looking woman like you should av a man, can't have babies if you don't av a man. What about ya soulmate?" Tormund asked, watching as (Y/n) sadly shook her head.

"Never had one, and doubt if I ever will; if I ever had one, he's probably long dead, but I suppose I can always dream. I always had a strange soul mark, not even the elders knew what it was; but I wish I could have met him just once, whoever he was." (Y/n) said, showing Tormund the mark on her arm.

Tormund spluttered as his eyes fell on the mark on her wrist, nearly choking on the spoonful of food that he had just shoved, unceremoniously into his mouth.

Grabbing at her wrist, Tormund pulled (Y/n) towards him, engulfing her in his arms, and kissing her deeply.

"She's gonna rip us ta shreds." Sandor cried out, jumping to his feet and grabbing his sword, as he stared in disbelief at the Wildling, believing him to have finally lost his mind.

"TORMUND!" Jon yelled, taking up his own sword, as he waited for the probably now irate woman to change shape.

"What? Can't a man kiss his soulmate now?" Tormund asked, looking at the two shocked men, (Y/n) still cradled in his arms, as she gasped for breath.

"Soulmate?" Sandor and Jon said in unison, looking in disbelief at the grinning Tormund.

"Ay, look." Tormund replied, taking a flustered (Y/n)'s arm gently, and showing the two men.

"This is the symbol of the giant I killed when I was a lad." Tormund told the three, as he pulled up his own sleeve and showed her the image of claw marks on his skin.

"Looks like I got the real thing to go with me mark." He chuckled, rubbing his arm, as he pulled (Y/n) back towards him.

"Soulmate? Are you sure?" (Y/n) asked, smiling broadly as Tormund nodded.

"Well lass, it looks like ya won't be the last of ya kind after all. Now what do you say about us starting to make little shapeshifters." Tormund laughed, standing so that he could pick her up, and make his way to her room.

"Oh gods, I'm gonna sleep with Stranger." Sandor groaned, as he made his way out of the home, determined not to have to listen to Tormund.

Jon laughed, shaking his head. "Well if she wasn't going to help us before, she would be now." Jon called out after Sandor, only to quickly follow his large friend as he heard the noises from the other side of the door.

A night in the stables, thought more uncomfortable, would definitely be preferable to interfering with a shapeshifter and her Wildling soulmate.