Cats VS Dogs.

Meeting

He dragged me to my cave and slung me across the dried leaves into it. I scuttled inside, curling up at the back. What the hell was going on? This didn't make any sense. There was no way he could get in here. Why didn't he kill me when he had the chance?

"So I'm beginning to realize that you might have some anti-social tendencies," he said, sitting down outside. The dripping cuts and scratches lacerating his chest and arms were already beginning to heal. Damn. I had wanted them to hurt for much longer. 

"I need to talk to you, and the only way to get you to listen is to trap you, I guess," he stated, sounding exasperated. I hissed in reply. "It would be much easier if you would shift," he said, peering into the dark cave. I snarled loudly. Pervert. 

"Fine. Then you're going to have to listen to me," he said, shrugging. "I'm Jasper Marks. I didn't know another cat was living here, and I'm sorry that you are.  I don't mean to drive you away or take over your territory."

Oh no, you just want to rip my throat out, I replied in my head. 

"Obviously, you have some issues." 

I bristled. Me? Well.....okay. Yeah he was probably right on that point. Well, Mr. Deep-and-Sexy-Voice wasn't going to get me to let down my guard that easily.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said, wiping blood off of his face. "But you seem to have it out for me. Trust me, I'm your best ally right now." 

I almost coughed at the word trust. Was he being serious? I mean, I know I can come off as young and naive, but really? 

He sighed. "Look, I really need to have a real conversation with you. Believe me, you're going to want to be able to respond." 

He looked into the cave, and his green eyes almost looked sincere. Maybe I should shift. I would still fit in here, and I could shift back if I needed to. But still, it could be a trap. "Shift. Now," he commanded. 

I snarled, but he held my stare. I finally bowed to his stronger will. He obviously was someone who was used to being obeyed. I hissed loudly, and he obligingly turned away. A normal human wouldn't be able to see inside the cave, but werecats had excellent night vision, and I wasn't taking chances.

Due to the cramped conditions, I struggled into my clothes in cat form, not an easy task. When I shifted back, the clothes were twisted and uncomfortable. I adjusted them as best I could, but had to deal with it for the most part. "All right," I called grudgingly. I still wasn't happy about being told what to do. 

He turned back around, his arms resting comfortably on top of his knees. "Why are you so afraid of me?" 

Oh, I don't know, I always love threatening men who are too sexy for their own good who come waltzing into my territory.

What I said was, "You chased me in the woods and tried to kill me." 

He paused for a moment, then began laughing. Earnestly laughing. I hated being laughed at. If I thought that I was angry earlier when he was tramping all over my territory, I was furious now. Before I had a chance to think better of it, I crawled out of my cave, took two steps toward him, and slapped him as hard as I could.

I may be small, but I still had impressive strength due to my shifter genes. The impact knocked his head to the side. In a flash, he had captured my wrist in his strong grasp and was twisting it with just enough pressure to make me squirm. "Sit," he ordered. I glared at him. I was not a dog. 

Apparently the word no was not in his vocabulary. He applied more pressure to my wrist until I uncerimoniously plopped to the ground in front of him. 

"Tell me your name," he said. 

I wasn't going to be so easily influenced by his commanding stare and presence this time. 

"What, don't you have some nasty trick to force me to do what you want?" I snapped. 

"Yes, but I'd rather we be able to tolerate each other enough to work together," he answered. 

I glared at him. His face was completely serious. 

"My name is Cassie Robinson," I answered grudgingly. 

"Cassie. All right, Cassandra, have you ever met a werewolf?" he asked abruptly.

His use of my full name shocked me a little. No one had called me that since my mom had died. I shook my head no in answer to his question. Werewolves scared me even more than werecats did. 

"Not surprising. The two species don't get along very well and generally avoid each other," he confirmed. 

"Cats and dogs don't like each other?" I asked sarcastically. "I'm really glad you hunted me down to tell me that." Okay, I'm not usually so snarky, but understandably, I was in a bad mood. 

Jasper ignored me, another thing I hated. "Werewolves form packs, unlike us. When you have a pack, you are inevitably going to have a few misfits. The wolves that never can submit, the ones that never will be safe or cooperative. Those are called rogues. Following me so far?" 

I nodded, still sulking. 

"Rarely, rogues will form a pack of their own in order to survive. Wolves are pack animals, and sometimes even the misfits need a pack. Of course, these packs are wild and have no structure. Normally, they are hunted down by other packs before they can cause trouble.

A rogue pack formed several months ago. This one was different from the others because it had an extremely dominant leader. Rogue packs aren't led, they just band together for protection. A wolf by the name of Asher Stane was kicked out of his pack early when his abnormally violent and dominent traits were discovered. He hadn't technically done anything wrong yet, so he was allowed to live. 

Asher formed a pack of rogues around him, wolves that had also been castigated. They weren't hunted down since they had an alpha, and the laws demanded they be considered a legitimate pack. 

Still, they are wild killers, not heeding any rules. It doesn't matter that they have an Alpha. They don't own any territory, they roam across unclaimed lands, killing those who try to stop them. None of the other packs want to do anything, since the rogue pack isn't on their land and it doesn't really affect them. No, it's the other shifters who have suffered. 

Most "unclaimed" territory isn't really unclaimed at all. Cats such as us often live quietly alone, and other groups aren't aware of us. These rogues have killed many of us in their travels when they come across our territories. They are merciless and will kill anything or anyone who crosses their path." 

Jasper stopped his explanation and looked at me. My eyes were wide as I listened to his tale. I knew what he was going to say, but I didn't want to hear it. He said it anyway. "They're heading this way, and they will kill you when they get here."