Chapter one

Samantha 

Two hundred years ago, our clan was divided by hatred between two brothers who wanted to take over once their parents were killed. One of the brothers took those who respect him to find new territory. He was the evil one between the two, but the remaining brother was the strongest. As first born, he was the heir to the throne of our clan.

Over the years, the other clan has tried to wage war and has lost time and time again. As princess and first born of our clan, I am learning to take over my parents rule. The only thing I lack is my mate. Everyone has their mate, except me. Without my mate, my little brother will take over, but he's only ten and hasn't had his first shift.

Each leopard has their first shift around their sixteenth birthday. We're able to find our mates after we turn eighteen. We'll know when we find them because only we can smell each other's scent. I'm twenty-five and I still haven't found my mate.

"Sam, without your mate, you can't take over our rein," my mother, the queen, says in sympathy. "I'm sorry sweetheart."

Hot, scalding tears roll down my cheeks and choke quietly, "I'm out there, every day searching. Can't we update our clans ways?"

Her eyes lower to the floor and I walk away, shifting into my leopard. If it were anyone else they'd be punished. You're not allowed to shift unless you're in the wooded area and I shifted in the middle of our community. I usually obey our laws, but today I was to hurt to care. I felt like I was being disowned by my parents because I don't have a mate, the only in our clan.

I took off towards our borders, looking to pick a fight with our rivals. I was nearing the border when this faint smell of orchids caught my attention. It was the middle of autumn, no flowers left to bloom. I follow the scent and it was getting stronger and so was the smell of blood.

*Miranda- Samantha's leopard*

"MATE! It's our mate. Run!"

I took off in the direction of the overwhelming smell of blood and orchids. I could also smell members of my clan and let out a feisty roar. I could see them ahead, five of the surrounding an injured leopard. One of them was about to strike her with a clawed paw and I pinned him down with my jaw on his throat.

Two others were making a move on the injured leopard, my mate and I jump in their path. I get in protective stance and let off a warning roar. Each member hesitates, but backs away. The injured leopard shifts back to her human form, claw marks slashed her face and side. I lower myself down next to her and she crawls onto my back.

Her arms weakly hug around my neck and I get her back to the community as fast as I could without her falling off. She needed medical attention and before I lost my mate. She started slipping as I reached the community and I shift back. I scoop her unconscious body in my arms and ignore the murmurs from the clan members. 

I saw my mother approaching me with a disapproving look in her eyes. She was signaling for our clan's executioner and I snarl. "You touch one hair on my mate's head and I'll kill you!" I glare at the big brute of our executioner. 

He looks to my mother for further instructions and she looks at me with surprised eyes. One of our medics was trying to take her from my arms and I let out a warning growl. "Samantha, if I don't treat her, she'll die," Martha, our doctor says in sympathy. 

"I'm coming with you," I say with a growl and she nods with understanding. 

*Miranda* 

"Our blood Samantha," my leopard's voice echoes in my head. "Our blood will heal her, not completely, but enough to save her. Try to get her to drink it."

I lay her on the hospital bed, grab a small knife and draw a small cut on my forearm. I hold her head up a little and place my wound in front of her mouth. Moments later she latches to my arm, drinking my blood. As if by magic, the slashes on her body started healing. Martha watched in amazement as my mother walked in.

"Samantha, what are you doing? She's..."

"She is my mate mother and I will kill anyone who tries to harm her. I don't care who they are," I growl in a protective tone as my mate stops drinking from the cut on my arm.

"C-cold," she mutters quietly, shivering. 

I climb in the bed with her and wrap my arms around her. Martha covers us with a heavy blanket, looking at the arm I cut. The wound was closed as if I never cut it. My mother watched as my mate snuggles closer to me with her face buried in my chest and my father steps beside my mother. 

"What is the enemy doing here," my father bellows, causing my mate to whimper. 

"She's my mate," I say quietly and my father looks at me with hardened eyes. "Please dad, you're scaring her."

He lets out a calming breath and asks softly, "What happened to her?"

I let out a relieved sigh and say, "I don't know. She was wounded when I found her with five other members of our clan on the edge of our borders. My blood healed most of her wounds."

He nods lightly, stepping closer to the bed. "Joey told me you tackled him from killing a rogue leopard, I didn't realize it was your mate. It's not usual for us to have a same sex mate," he says softly wiping the tears from my face. "I promise she won't be harmed."

"I'm not all female either dad, neither is my leopard," I remind him and he nods as if hearing this news for the first time.

"What's her name," my mother asks softly, coming to accept my mate.

"I don't know, she was half dead when she shifted back to human form," I say quietly as I notice she was asleep. I nuzzle my face in her hair, breathing in her sweet orchid scent. "She smells like orchids, I can't get enough of her scent."

"Your highness," Joey says with a bow of his head in the doorway. "There's a small group of the enemy circling our borders, probably looking for the girl. We should surrender..."

Miranda spills a growl from my lips, causing Joey to look at me in fear. "You will not touch my mate," I growl in a protective tone and his eyes widen, having never seen me get protective of anyone. "She's mine."

"I'm sorry princess," he says scared of me. "We thought she was a spy."

"You did this to her," I ask as I felt my canines sharpen into my leopard teeth.

"No, I swear we found her like that and scared off two others," Joey says in a scared whisper. 

"Get a group together and take out any leopard that isn't part of our clan and tell the other's about Samantha's mate. No one is to touch her," my mother warns and my father nods with approval. 

Kennedy 

I was on my way to hunt for myself as usual when a group of leopards surround me with angry snarls. I've been by myself since I was a kid when my parents were killed. Members of my clan beat me on a regular basis and I ate whatever scraps of food I could find until I started hunting for myself after my first shift.

I'm the only one in our clan without a mate and it brought on more beatings and fighting to survive. 

I'm twenty-five and I still haven't found my mate. I remember my parents telling me stories of how our clan broke off from our neighboring clan because of a rivalry for the throne. We always stayed secluded from the others, wanting nothing to do with the others, but knew we would never be welcomed by the other clan.

My own clan murdered my parents while they were hunting for us to eat. I was left in hiding for days, waiting for their return before I was found by the others and beaten without warning. They laughed when I cried out for my parents and it wasn't until a month later I found their bodies that I found out they were dead.

Today I woke before the others to take my chances with the other clan, begging for their mercy. I made it to their borders before two of my clan members attacked me. They were scared off by the other clan as I laid in a pool of my blood.

They circled around me and a deafening roar echoed in the distance. They turned their heads for a second, but started to slowly approach me. That's when I smelled the vanilla mixed with lavender in the breeze.

*Claire- Kennedy's leopard*

"Its our mate. Hopefully they save us in time."

Just as one of the was about to strike me, another leopard tackles him away from me. Two more make a move and the leopard, my mate jumps in front of me with a protective stance. They slowly back away and I was feeling too weak to stay in leopard form. 

My saviour lowers in front of me and it was all I could do to crawl onto their back and wrap my arms around their neck. I burry my face in the soft fur, breathing in their comforting scent. I was starting to slip from their back when they shift to their human form. Strong arms lift me up and everything was fading in and out. 

*Claire*

"Mate is offering blood for us to drink."

I drink the warm, metallic liquid and felt as my wounds started healing. "Samantha, what are you doing? She's..."

Samantha is her name, wait her? How is it possible for me to have a female mate? I didn't care, someone was protecting me for the first time since my parents were killed. 

I was feeling cold from blood loss and lack of clothes from the shift earlier. "C-cold," I murmur quietly and feel as Samantha climbs in the bed next to me.

I wasn't expecting to feel a male's genitals as I snuggled closer to her warmth. A male's deep voice boomed with anger and I whimper from fear. Samantha consoles me while speaking with the owner to the scary voice. Feeling weak from lack of food and blood loss, I fell asleep to her stroking my head. 

"How is she," an older woman asks with concern. 

"Still asleep," Samantha says quietly. 

I sit up, freaking out about where I was. A girl my age with short hair approaches with caution. That vanilla and lavender scent filled my nose as she got closer. I realize I'm wearing clothes and let out a calming breath as the intoxicating scent fills the room. "I'm not going to hurt you," she says softly.

"Samantha," I ask in a choked whisper, waiting for her to confirm it was her name.

"Yes, I'm Samantha," she says softly, tucking one of my long black curls behind my ear. I close my eyes, leaning into her gentle touch. "You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

I meet her hazel eyes and ask, "How long have I been asleep?"

"A day, I hope it's okay I dressed you," she says with a blush.

"Thank you," I say with a light smile and she smiles back. "I'm Kennedy."

"Kennedy," she says quietly with a light purr. Her eyes fall to my cheek with concern filled eyes and asks, "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine, thank you," I say quietly and her eyes meet mine again. "Am I in trouble for crossing into your territory?"

"If you weren't my mate, you would have been killed on sight," Samantha chokes quietly. "If I wasn't out there blowing off steam..."

She didn't have to finish her statement. I knew I would be dead if she didn't show up. "What happens now," I ask as tears roll down both our faces.

"You're under my protection," she says softly, caressing my face. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

I break into uncontrolled sobs and she takes me in a comforting embrace. A soft purr came from her, calming me. Claire purrs in my chest and I nuzzle my cheek with Samantha's. "When she's ready, you can introduce her to the clan," the older woman says softly and we turn to her.

"Thanks mom," Samantha says quietly. 

She steps closer to me with a light smile and says, "I'm Queen Eloise, you may call me Eloise as you're my daughter's mate."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I choke in a calming breath. 

"Do you have family you need us to allow in our territory," she asks softly.

"My clan killed my parents when I was a child, I don't have anyone else," I choke quietly. "My own clan beat me daily until I escaped into your borders. I was going to take my chances here, even if it killed me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Queen Eloise says in sympathy and Samantha steps aside to allow her mother to comfort me. "You're safe here and if anyone threatens you, tell Samantha or myself."

I shutter a calming breath, longing for maternal comfort for so long. I let myself hold onto the woman in front of me, wishing it were my mother. The scared girl inside me was still waiting for her parents to return home from their hunt.

"Samantha, get the poor girl something to eat first," Queen Eloise says in a motherly tone. "She looks like she hasn't eaten in days."

"I plan to cook something for us both," she says with a light smile. "I've been planning this since my eighteenth birthday."

She holds her hand, palm up towards me and I take it. I stumble, weak from not eating and her strong arms catch me. My breaths hitch as we make eye contact with our faces an inch apart. I look at her pouty lips and back at her hazel eyes. She turns, giving me her back and it left me confused until she squatted down some. 

"Climb on," she says softly and I oblige, wrapping at her back. "Hold on."

I lay my head on her shoulder as she held my legs around her waist. "What would you like to eat? I can make just about anything, but I want it to be something special for you," she says softly kissing my arm around her neck. 

"My mother used to make a delicious potpie with some venison. It was one of the last meals I had from her," I choke quietly and Samantha kisses my arm in comfort. 

"I'm sorry about your parents, about everything you went through," she says in sympathy. "I'm not going to let anybody hurt you again. They'll have me and my parents to answer to."

"I never thought I'd find my mate," I whisper, nuzzling my face in her short hair. "I can't get enough of this vanilla and lavender scent."

She sets me down on a swivel chair at a breakfast bar and caresses my face. "I didn't think I would either," she says in a soft whisper, leaning in as if she was going to kiss me. She raises her eyebrows as if asking for permission and I meet her the rest of the way.

"Hey, Sam, what are you making," a girl our age asks and Samantha breaks from our kiss. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you with with someone."

"Hey, Tina. This is my mate, Kennedy. Kennedy, Tina is my cousin," Samantha says quietly, keeping my eye contact. 

"She's pretty," Tina says with a smile. "I never thought Sam would find her mate. Are you from our clan? I don't..."

"Tina," Samantha says in a soft warning, shaking her head. "I'll tell you later, but I need you to trust me."

"Of course cuz," she says with a smile and takes a seat next to me. "I'll keep your girl company while you make some food."

"I'm not good at conversations," I say quietly, hugging my arms protectively around my chest. 

"I promise not to talk about clan stuff. You can keep control of the conversation," Tina says softly.

"What's it like to be a mate," I ask shyly and it caught Samantha's attention. 

"No one taught you about what it means to be a mate," she asks surprised. 

Tears fill my eyes as beating after beating replays in my head. I didn't realize I was crying until the calming scent of vanilla and lavender filled my nose and Samantha had her arms around me. "You're safe now," she says in a soothing tone. "You're safe Kennedy."