Darkness slowly settled, signifying the passing of another day. My paws threaded the floor carefully, ears focused on the slightest of sounds. The night would provide me the necessary cover to sneak in and try to count the inmates, pinpoint their location before going back to the den.

A branch broke in the distance and I instantly jumped into the trees, hanging from my claws. Pressing myself against the bark, my eyes landed on a growling Jaguar that seemed all too familiar.

Holding my breath, I watched him pass by before I started in a run, jumping from branch to branch. He definitely heard me and only snarled in annoyance, no doubt his inner animal wanting to give chase and kill a smaller predator.

I only stopped running when I heard several voices ahead, along with several exotic scents. Slowly creeping closer, I pushed past a few leaves and halted, the reflection of several campfires dancing off of my face.

"Curse the gods..."

All I felt was shock and fear. I had thought there might've been a small group of inmates but as I looked around the massive clearing, I couldn't see the edge of the encampment, my eyes roaming over several separate camps, each with their own function.

I could see several wooden huts that clearly served as a sort of cafeteria, since I saw several shifters eating at bamboo tables, steam simmering over several makeshift pots. My nose twitched with all the different scents and I sneezed once.

Several shifters were in their animal form; housecats weaving in-between the legs of larger felines, a few wolves play fighting while avoiding the docile swipes of a Kodiak bear.

I gulped slightly as I also noticed that there were several non-shifters on the island, mainly vampires. My knees clicked together as fear settled in, realizing that there was no way I could live the rest of my life on this island without falling prey to one of these men.

"Stop it Benjamin. You need to focus on the present and not the possible future!" I scolded myself and slowly ventured around the camp, memorizing every part of the camp. When I spotted four men I recognized, I stalked through the branches and shrubs, making sure that my approach was dead silent.

Fin, Erin and the unknown two shifters walked towards the only hut that wasn't swarmed with shifters or clutter. At their approach, the group of unruly men quieted down until all I could hear was the intakes of air and the single, quiet knock that pierced through the silence.

I didn't notice I was holding my breath like all the others until my lungs were screaming for air. The world spun before I took a few deep, calming breaths and laid down on the branch. The door opened and I noticed Erin taking a deep, shaky breath before entering.

My eyes widened when everyone seemed tense as the silence became more pressing until there was a low yowl and Erin dashed out, clumps of fur fluttering in the air. Everyone stepped away from the fleeing leopard, even his friends who had teased him before.

The door slammed shut with a resounding echo, making me shiver on the spot. Just what was this boss of the inmates?

I decided that this was enough for now and turned tails. My body was low to the branches as I leapt from tree to tree, checking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't followed.

The next following days were spent with locating and cleaning my new burrow, which was higher up in the trees but also closer to the inmates and looking for food. There was no way I could sneak in the camp and steal a chunk of meat without a gang of angry inmates running after me.

I did however steal a few necessities, like a change of clothes. My clothes has all washed away in the sea and I didn't want to be caught in the nude by any of these men. Standing up in the tree, I huffed and rubbed the sweat of my brow before looking at my handiwork.

It was the middle of the day, the hottest time on this island and also the only time that was safe from any inmates. They all dropped down like flies in this sweltering heat, refusing to come out of their hammocks and napped the heat away in the shadowed comfort of their cabins.

Lucky for me, because that was the time I worked on my little tree hut. For now I had managed to weave the branches in such a way that my little hideout was completely hidden from view.

I hadn't made a door yet but the main frame of my new house was done. It even had a small platform on the outside so I could walk around outside and I made a bedframe. Now I just needed to collect either some feathers or some soft vegetation.

Standing up, I groaned and stretched my body from side to side before scratching my ribs. I was getting thinner by the day, mostly due to the fact that I haven't been hunting yet. Water wasn't that filling either but I was reluctant to let my Margay take over and eat the prey raw.

"Well, I guess its better than starving..."

With a slight shrug, I jumped down the tree, catching a branch along the way and swinging further ahead before I shifted mid-jump. As long as I was still scavenging, I wasn't going to waste my clothes by losing them mid-shift.

My tiny paws clung to the bark as I sniffed the air, looking for easy prey. The jungle was big and prey were scattered around. For hours I roamed the trees, looking around and slowly losing hope as I only found old scents.

A low meow escaped me as I spotted a small possum in the distance. They were agile climbers but so am I.

Slowly, I snuck closer, eyes fixed on the possum. My tail swished around my legs, betraying my excitement as I stealthily approached my prey. The possum reared its head, spotting me before it dashed away.

Instantly my instincts took over, making me dash after the marsupial with an annoyed snarl. It screeched loudly as it took of through the trees, dodging and leaping from branch to branch.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Anger exploded through my little body as the possum managed to slip into a crack too small for me to follow. A pitiful meow escaped me as I pawed at the entrance, trying to get my claws on the little creature but it didn't work.

Sighing, I sniffed at the entrance one last time before walking on, frustrated that I let an easy meal slip away. The moment I heard distant voices was the same moment I spotted a fat rat making its way down towards the camp, probably to steal some food.

My stomach grumbled loudly and I knew I couldn't let the rat go. I hadn't eaten in several days and knew I would grow weaker if it didn't eat. Slowly my paws ventured closer, ignoring the approaching voices down below as a few inmates chuckled gruffly.

The rat paused to clean its whiskers, giving me the chance to catch up and sneak closer until I was a few jumps away from it. My heart thudded violently, tail slowly flexing as I prepared to leap and catch the critter.

"Hey, look up there."

"Think its going to get that damned rat? Its been raiding our supplies for months now and none of us found or caught the bugger."

"Who knows?"

My ears twitched as the inmates chatted underneath me, unintentionally distracting me so the rat slipped out of vision. Instantly I leaped closer and spotted the critter getting ready to jump to the floor.

I bolted, going after the rat, which let out an earsplitting screech as it dropped down and fled towards the cooking area.

"Holy fu-"

"Watch out!"

I slipped between legs and jumped over a few dropped bags before pouncing on the rat, killing it with one bite on the neck before I quickly dodged and jumped the nearest tree. My prey safely secured in my mouth, I climbed up as fast as I could before settling down on one of the branches. Already my cat pushed me completely to the back of our shared consciousness, digging into the meal with fervor.

"Well, what do ya know... the kitten actually got it."

My eyes settled on Fin and his buddies as they glanced up at my location, smirking as Fin elbowed the one beside him. "Pay up, I won."

With a few grumbles, the duo tossed a few coins in the air, making the bigger man chuckle as he pocketed the trinkets before looking back up at me. His dark eyes seemed amused as he stared at me, even as my ears flattened while I chewed.

Nnn...hungry.

Thankfully they let me be, though several inmates often looked up to watch me feed. None of them seemed suspicious so they must think I was a wild Margay and not the shifter I am.

Settling in the tree, I enjoyed my small meal as I rested in the back of my mind while letting my feline take the shots for now. My eyes flitted over the camp before settling at the lone hut that everyone avoided,

I was curious to who lived there and what he was. From the chatter going around, it was obviously a male but I've never seen him going out of his hut. As I chewed, bells chimed and inmates starting to gather around the cabin bellow, where heavenly scents were drifting from.

"Dinner time I guess."

Licking my lips one last time, my cat slowly allowed me back in control, belly nicely filled. I was a bit sleepy and oddly comforted by the familiar homey scents and the chatter of people in the background.

"I've been feeling lonely..." I realized hazily, stretching myself while digging my claws in the bark before I decided to curl up and take a nap.

*****

Something was flicking against my nose.

It twitched but the cool touch came back, making me scowl as I blinked and instantly woke up. The constrictor's forked tongue flashed out once more, flicking against my nose as it coiled up. My eyes widened and almost in slow motion, I bolted to my paws.

Just as it struck out.

---Anders' POV---

My boots thumped over the floor, eyes fleetingly scanning the crowd before they dispersed. I could easily taste their shock in the air, the slight distress at seeing me leaving my house for the first time in a few days.

None of them knew why I was holed up in my house, why I refused to eat or sleep the past few days. It was because of the three unknown life forces that had arrived on the island.

I was positive that no other inmate had been dropped off, as I had made sure to the officials that they my permission to drop anyone on my island. After all, I had moved here to stay away from the corrupted government, only for said government to drop prisoners on my island left and right.

Maybe I should pay them a visit. Seems like their empty heads need some refreshment of our rules.

A wicked smirk lifted my lips, making everyone wary as I passed by the line and grabbed a plate from the nervous cook. Nobody dared to even squeak out a protest, heads lowered submissively as they moved out of my way.

So weak... these are the most dangerous inmates and they're shaking on their paws like a tiny Chihuahua at the sight of me.

Putting my plate of one of the tables, I lifted my eyes to see the present inmates quickly clearing it, leaving me to throw my feet up on the bench as I lazily ate. Slowly, I heard footsteps closing in before Fin, Erin, Matthew and Vale paused, waiting and reading my reaction before they dared to sit down.

Motioning for them to sit, I continued my meal and savored the taste of the bloody steak and crisp vegetables. Even my glass was a cup of animal blood, since I wasn't inclined to feed from any of these men.

Sure, a few twinks had tried to seduce me, wanting to bed the only known demon/vampire hybrid and sleep their way to the top. A sadistic smile slipped on my lips at the thought of those men as I had grasped the backs of their necks and tossed them back out.

Letting my powers out, I scanned the surroundings, frowning when I felt that small flicker of life spark brighter. It was the only life force I hadn't been able to pinpoint nor identify. The other two males that had been dropped on my island were somewhere at the eastern beaches but that small life force...

"I wonder..."

My thoughts were rudely interrupted when one of the slender inmates, Rupert, squealed its head off before he grabbed a snake from his neck and tossed it away. Everyone was laughing and glancing up a branch above him. Laughing about the luck the boy had, having a snake phobia and being the one where the reptile dropped onto.

My lips twisted slightly, a smile curling them before my eyes shifted to the twisting constrictor.

Instead of slipping away, the snake coiled up even more around a small pile of fluff. My sharpened hearing detected a weak meow as the feline clawed and spat at the snake.

"Another Margay bites the dust. Between Erin and the local snakes, those cats are going to get extinct." Fin sighed while watching the scene unfold. I wasn't inclined to intervene; such was life, eat or be eaten.

Surprisingly, the little cat kept struggling, its head still free and twisting around frantically. I hummed curiously, watching those fully blown golden eyes focus on the snake's head before the Margay took everyone by surprise.

It twisted and grasped the snake's head between its teeth before biting down with a sickening crunch. My eyes widened as the feline kept a firm hold of the snake, a painful yowl slipping from its mouth as the snake must've coiled around him even harsher.

Slowly, the snake twitched and uncoiled as the Margay kept biting at the head, only letting go as the snake fully uncoiled.

Dead.

My eyes landed on the panting bundle of fluff as it fell to its side, one of its legs in an awkward angle. Some inmates shifted to their animal forms, curious to investigate the scene but frightened the small cat and sent it fumbling away.

Much to my surprise, it skidded to a halt and dropped down, curling in on itself with a warning meow. I spotted several broken off fangs from the snake protruding from its fur and the clear sign of bone peeping through its front leg.

The tiny cat must be in a world of pain, yet it puffed up in anger and hissed at the men as they paused, hesitating to come closer. Probably because it was glaring at the world around it from its unusual spot.

Right on top of my boots.

A smirk twisted my lips as I looked down at the small cat. "What a brave creature you are..."