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Mikasa’s heart pounded in her ears as her paws slammed into the ground, carrying her large, furry body through the streets. She darted around cars, ignored the frightened screams and hooting. Wind whipped against her and even her nose began to burn, but she would not rest. She could hear the hiss of steam and gears behind her, could hear the calm breathing and the swift gliding through the air. The hunter was right at her heels.
Mikasa saw an abandoned building and made for it, but quickly changed her course when three more figures landed on the roof. They jumped off then, zipping towards her. Mikasa could smell the poison on their gloves, the inky stuff that coated the metal over their hands. Just one hit with that and she was done for, so Mikasa forced her body to run the other way and then darted into the trees. She had no time to curse her stupidity—she had just played right into their hands. Had just run into a dense forest, with large, thick trees that would allow the hunters more purchase than buildings. In here they would kill her, Mikasa knew. This would be her last mortal night.
Yet this knowledge did not stop her. Mikasa’s mind filled with rage, spurred her on to run harder. She cleared her senses and sniffed the air, mapped out the forest before her. She could smell all the animals that were hiding, all the various plants and the moisture in the soil. And then she smelt her salvation. Not too far ahead was a clearing. If she managed to reach that, she could fight her way through the hunters out for her blood. By taking away their ability to fight in the air, to easily dodge her swipes with a twisted body movement, she could win.
It was unbecoming for a lycan to be so fearful, but Mikasa was not stupid. She wasn’t nearly as arrogant as her brethren that thought themselves immortal. Those that went up against hunters with such arrogance often lost their heads, or worse, were sent to the hunter’s base for experiment and research. The existence of were-kind wasn’t a secret to humanity. And the humans did not hunt them for vendetta or spite—no, they had an understanding between them. The humans would leave them be, give them land and resources provided that all were-kind keep to themselves and harm not one human soul. Not all werewolves and weredogs abided by such rules. Some still thought themselves superior to humans. Most of them died at the hunters’ hands.
Mikasa was not one such lycan, to hunt a human for sport, to kill a person because their old tradition taught them to hate. But Mikasa had made a fatal error, and now she would pay the price.
Mikasa had been curious, and she had accidentally murdered a human man. Not one day went by that she was not haunted by that moment, but it wasn’t as if the hunters would care. Even if she stopped and tried to explain, Mikasa’s blood screamed at her, told her that before her shift was complete her blood would bathe the floor. So she ran—terrified and enraged, Mikasa ran.
Hunters dropped into her vision ahead, blocking Mikasa from the clearing. They must have anticipated that she would head that way. No, they must have especially planned for it. Hunters were careful, they were extremely patient and perceptive. In this night, Mikasa wasn’t. She kept playing into their hands, kept falling for their tricks. It was as if she was following their script line for line.
Mikasa exhaled harshly and decided to shoulder her way through. Whatever waited for her in the clearing, it was surely better than being trapped amongst the trees. But she didn’t have the time. The hunters around her increased, dropping down from the trees so close that their scents washed over Mikasa and burnt her nose. She snarled just as one of then lashed out at her, and nearly snapped the man’s arm off with her ferocious teeth. He zipped away quick enough and Mikasa had avoided his strike. But in that dodge she pushed her way towards another hunter in waiting, and realized the first hunter had been deliberately reckless. She felt the searing pain as a gloved hand smashed into her lower back, cracking her spine. Mikasa whipped around but the hunter had already ascended, and then her vision wavered and she howled in agony.
The other hunters disappeared into the trees, knowing that the battle was over and they had won. Mikasa snarled and snapped at them, but even as she did that, her body began to quake and shift. She howled and whimpered as her bones remoulded themselves and her form grew smaller. Her animal snarling turned into human noises, but before she was fully changed, a hunter suddenly swung down from the trees and smacked fully into her. The rest followed, somehow spurred on, and Mikasa blinked back tears as she slammed into a tree and crumbled into the ground. She lay there, bare and broken, and waited for her end to come.
It didn’t.
The hunter that had attacked her dropped heavily right in front of her. Mikasa stared at the hunter’s boots, saw how old and cracked they were. The uniform, too. It smelt of sweat and dirt and Mikasa managed the strength to crinkle her nose. She then waited, watching the mud caked on the hunter’s shoes, for the last blow to send her to darkness.
“What are you doing?” a harsh voice rang through the trees from above.
“This is not part of the plan!” another voice added, angrier.
The hunter at Mikasa’s side ignored them. So this one was a rogue? Perhaps this hunter was related to the man Mikasa had killed. Maybe they had broken formation, disobeyed orders to make the revenge kill. Part of Mikasa hoped so, because then at least she would feel that justice had been done and her death had meant something. But this hunter was taking too long to kill her—actually, the entire moment happened in seconds.
Mikasa felt the hunter grab onto her, and then she was hoisted over a strong shoulder. Mikasa went absolutely numb, thanks to the blow at her spine, so she did not feel the discomfort of the position, but she was conscious enough to realize the oddity. Fear washed through her that this hunter would take her away to exact revenge far worse than death.
They were soaring through the air then, shouts and angry yelling falling behind them. Mikasa wanted to stay conscious to see where they went, if she could find a way to escape. But she had used up all her strength, and without allowing it she felt darkness consume her.
XxX
Mikasa was absolutely sure that she was dead. How couldn’t she be? Everything was so dark, so cold and lonely. Everything hurt—hurt so much that she somehow clawed her way back to life and realized that no, this wasn’t death, it was worse—it was living.
Her spine was still crushed, and her body ached so badly from the forced change. Every nerve felt burnt as if she had been injected with fire. It was only this terrible amount of pain that brought Mikasa back—she wasn’t going to die anyway—and she opened her mouth to whine pathetically, to make any sort of noise. Whatever came out of her mouth must have done something, because suddenly Mikasa’s world shifted and she felt warmth cover her shoulders where coldness had been, and then her entire back went warm and she whimpered again, like a child.
“Shh,” a soft voice uttered. “It will take a few days to recover. You’re alive, Mikasa. Relax.”
Relax, how can I relax? Mikasa thought. She wanted to speak, to tell the stranger that she was in so much pain that she could do nothing but shiver and ache, but couldn’t.
“It’s alright,” they said. “Here, drink some water. You’ve been out for two days. You need to eat something too.”
Mikasa felt moisture on her tongue and then greedily allowed it down her throat. She wasn’t sure why this person was helping her, but she decided to simply be grateful. After drinking enough water to explode, Mikasa felt the comforting warmth disappear from her back and then she was moving again until she was flat on her back.
“There. Let me hunt something, and then I’ll return and make food for us. Please, stay still and rest.”
It wasn’t like she could get up and run away, Mikasa thought, even though she definitely wanted to. But something in the person’s voice told her to stay, filled her with a strange feeling that she was actually safe.
Footsteps drifted away, and then Mikasa was alone. It was only before she fell asleep again that Mikasa remembered what had happened, and she realized that the person helping her could only be one person.
The hunter.
So why wasn’t she dead?
XxX
An eternity passed for Mikasa before she opened her eyes again. This time something else had woken her, and it was the tantalizing scent of cooking meat. Her stomach lurched violently, pulling at her with hunger, screaming for her to fill it to the brim. In response she managed to sit up, but she nearly toppled over when the motion sent electricity through her veins. Her heart stuttered, felt like it nearly stopped, and her lower back ached with fire.
Warmth covered Mikasa then, and she realized that she was still naked, but covered in bandages.
“Be careful,” the hunter said to her side. The woman was close, holding onto her, preventing her from dropping down and injuring herself further. The scent washed over Mikasa, and instead of filling with panic, Mikasa felt herself grow warm from the inside. She leaned fully into the touch instead of shrugging out of it, and finally titled her head to see what this person looked like.
Blue eyes stared right at her, cold and warm all in one. Mikasa shivered at that gaze. The hunter was blonde, with her hair tied up and her fridge almost falling in her face. She was only slightly darker than Mikasa, but she was still frighteningly pale. Mikasa knew this only thanks to her sharp eyesight, because the area was dark and the stranger was bathed in orange light from the fire. Her lips were full, the angle of her nose and jaw were sharp, and had Mikasa not been so full of pain and anguish, then perhaps she would have been intimidated. Many scars littered the hunters face and throat, with the most noticeable one being two deep lines just beside her right eye, slicing through her upper cheek, eyebrow and halfway into her forehead. There was no doubt what had caused that scar, but at least it seemed very old.
“Are you okay?” the hunter asked, and her voice made Mikasa ease slightly out of the pain. But her stomach pulled at her again, and she winced. “You must be hungry. Here,” she said, holding out a hand with torn pieces of meat.
Mikasa licked her lips and cautiously sniffed the air, just in case. She already knew that she was safe, but old habits die hard. She wasted no time then and didn’t even use her hands. She leaned forward and ripped the food from the hunter’s grasp, luckily missing any fingers. She barely chewed before swallowing, and then coughed violently when the food nearly choked her on the way down.
“Jesus, calm down and eat like a normal person. You’re not an animal, Mikasa,” she said.
She used my name again, Mikasa thought. How does she know it?
“Who are you?” Mikasa rasped out. “Why are you being so kind to me?”
The hunter leaned away to retrieve more food, and then remained silent as Mikasa ate it slowly this time. “My name is Annie,” she eventually said. She paused, long and heavy, and then she exhaled softly. “Annie Leonhardt.”
Mikasa froze. She felt the world almost spin, and looked to Annie, the hunter, her saviour, with fear and regret. “Leonhardt?” she echoed, afraid, sick to her stomach. She managed to clutch at her abdomen and almost lost the food she had just eaten. Somehow she managed to keep it down.
“That’s right,” Annie said. Her eyes were calm, almost cold. She helped Mikasa onto her back and then sat down beside her. “I’m the daughter of the man you killed.”
Mikasa desperately gripped onto the thin blanket at her waist. She blinked. Sweat clung to her body, made her hot and clammy, and all she could do was stare. And Annie stared back, unblinking and emotionless.
“It’s taken me ten years to find you, Mikasa.”
Mikasa almost felt ashamed for how quickly she retreated into the darkness, so frightened by those hard blue eyes that her own shut and wouldn’t open for some time.
XxX
Mikasa woke feeling much better. Since her lycan blood was so strong, she healed even quicker than the cynans did. The blow that she had taken was no ordinary blow, so it was usually effective against her kind. But a few days had passed, and it had been enough time for Mikasa’s body to mend itself.
When she sat up and glanced around, Mikasa noticed the recently doused fire. It was still warm, with slight smoke lifting up into the air. She noticed for the first time that she was in some sort of abandoned building. The scents told her that they were deep in the forest, yet she was alone for the moment. Annie’s scent was all over the place, strong even on Mikasa’s own skin. She remembered then who Annie really was, and a cold sensation swept down her back. So Mikasa scrambled onto her feet and used the thin blanket like a robe. She couldn’t change just yet, her body was still too weak, but she could at least walk. That was enough for her to escape.
She was looking for me for ten years? Why in the hell did she save my life instead of take it?
The answer would never present itself. Mikasa was definitely not intent on sticking around to find out. Sure, Annie had been kind to her and had saved her life, but above all else humans were unpredictable. They lied and manipulated.
The blanket-robe was irritating as it whipped about Mikasa as she ran. She left the building and disappeared into the forest, away from Annie’s scent, towards civilization.
Hopefully by the time Annie realized she was gone, the distance between them would be too great.
Mikasa eventually found a busy road which led her to a nearby town. There she stole a pair of clothes that fit her just right, and then she went in search of a hotel or guest house.
For now, she had evaded the hunters. Whether that was a good thing or not, Mikasa wasn’t entirely sure.
XxX
Mikasa couldn’t sleep. Her muscles were so sore, but no amount of lying there in the dark brought her any rest. Her ears remained alert, as did her nose. If the hunters still came after her, she was in no condition to fight. Mikasa could attempt to change, but wanted to leave it for at least another day, least she damage herself again. So she placed an arm over her eyes and sighed. The blanket was around her ankles, and she was naked. Clothes felt wrong on her skin, and she was burning up.
An image of Annie’s blue eyes filled Mikasa’s mind, and something about them bothered her. Those hadn’t been the eyes of revenge or hatred—they were solemn, like Annie had to accept some sort of fate. It was confusing and Mikasa hated the way her body burned and shook. Seriously, why was she so hot? She had been this badly injured before, and even then she hadn’t burnt up so badly.
Mikasa decided to take a cold shower.
The hotel room was green and unkempt, but it was cheap and doable. The bathroom was at least clean, and Mikasa stepped tiredly into the shower stall after turning up the cold water. Her heated flesh sighed in relief with her when the cold water poured over her, and Mikasa spent a long while with her forehead pressed to the wall of the shower.
“Why?” she asked. Tears burnt at the back of her eyes. “Why did you seek me out, when I’ve probably ruined your life?”
Her voice rang unpleasantly through her ears, so she didn’t speak again. Mikasa allowed the heat to seep out of her body, and enjoyed the moment of reprieve. But then she heard something in her hotel room, and slapped the shower off almost too roughly. She forgot to grab a towel and rushed into the room, breathing heavily.
The window was open, with the curtain shifting slightly from a soft breeze. Sitting on the couch in front of the window, was Annie. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands.
“How did you find me?” Mikasa growled. She let her claws and teeth grow, and felt much better with them out. At least she could go down fighting if it came down to that.
“I sensed you,” Annie responded softly. She uncovered her face, and Mikasa was struck by how sad Annie’s eyes were. She didn’t know this woman, yet a sudden desire hit her so deeply that Mikasa found herself padding forward.
“How?” Mikasa’s throat was dry. She could see her own eyes reflected in Annie’s, and they were glowing bright. Brighter than she had ever seen. Even her skin as all but glowing, but that was merely the water lifting from her hot skin in clouds of steam. She was heating up again, badly. The closer she got to Annie, the hotter she felt. It was so strange. Mikasa’s heart pounded painfully.
Annie sighed. “My father was a hunter, too,” she began. “When you went snooping around the hunter camp, you frightened them. When he reacted by shooting at you, it was all by reflex.” She sighed again, and it was then that Mikasa felt as though Annie was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Why do I even care?
“You had no way to react other than in defence,” Annie went on. “But I still blamed and hated you. I was young when it happened.”
Mikasa stood stiffly, a hand reached out for Annie. Annie saw it, but she didn’t make a move to slap it away or take it. “Then why?” Mikasa asked. “Why save me? You could have slit my throat. You had every right to.”
Annie chuckled in clear amusement. Some life finally filled her eyes, and she stood to face Mikasa. She took the outstretched hand, and Mikasa furrowed her brows at the way her body reacted—her skin tingled where they touched, her body felt even hotter and her heart almost hurt with how hard it was pounding.
“Don’t you feel it?” Annie asked, almost breathlessly. Her eyes were consumed by fire, and Mikasa’s must have responded all the same. She swallowed, struggled to breathe, and then Annie began to back her against a wall.
“I feel… something,” Mikasa answered, honest and confused.
Annie grinned and paused. “I met you five years ago, in a crowd. Do you remember that?”
Mikasa shook her head. “I don’t, I’m sorry.”
“I do. I was going to kill you that day. I had the gloves and the poison. I was completely prepared.”
“So what happened?”
Annie looked away and down at the floor. She shifted, uncomfortable. She was… embarrassed? “I… When I saw you in person, it happened for me,” she said.
“What happened?”
“You really don’t know?”
“No, obviously not.”
Annie snorted. “Are you really in a position to be snarky with me.”
Mikasa felt herself bristle. “I’m not sure if you’re going to kill me or not and you’re speaking in circles. Just say what you mean and leave, if you aren’t going to take my life. I’ve had a rough few days.”
Annie frowned, displeased. She stepped forward again and this time Mikasa was pressed up against the wall. Annie’s hands pressed against her stomach, and Mikasa released a strange noise that she had never heard herself make before. She swallowed it as soon as she could, but Annie had heard it. Mikasa was even more confused when Annie blushed.
“I fell in love again, Mikasa,” Annie said.
“Huh?”
Annie rolled her eyes. “Do your people really not talk about it?”
“About what?”
“Mikasa,” Annie stepped forward one last time, and then they were pressed together. “Ever heard of a bonded pair?”
Realization took Mikasa then, and she lost her voice.
“For humans, it’s a complete fairy-tale,” Annie said. “But I know that to your people and the cynans, it’s a sacred legend with a lot of truth. Mikasa, you are my mate.”
“How do you know?” Mikasa choked out.
“Because of this,” Annie husked, and then she leaned up and gently touched their lips.
Mikasa knew that for some bonded pairs, a bite wasn’t necessary to regain their other-life memories. Sometimes it was a mere touch that could trigger it. For an extreme few, only a glance. And for some, like for Mikasa, what did it was a kiss. It was very brief and soft, but it sent a powerful jolt through Mikasa and by the end of it her soul was weeping in joy. Before Annie could step away Mikasa pulled her into her arms, wrapped around her.
“Annie,” she breathed, in recognition and pain. “It’s been too long.”
Annie leaned into the embrace, as if she was melting. “I remembered everything that day,” she said. “But then I lost you. I stayed with the hunters, hoping that they would eventually find you. And today they did.”
Mikasa chuckled and pulled away. She had tears streaking down her face. “This is so weird,” she said. “A few days ago I was sure that I was going to die, and today I’ve found my mate.”
Annie rolled her eyes and slapped Mikasa on the chest. “I did the finding, you idiot. Do you know what it took for me to lug your unconscious body away from those blood thirsty hunters?”
Mikasa smiled. “I am grateful to you, Annie.”
“You better be.”
“This is so weird. I feel like I know you very intimately, but I feel like I don’t know you at all.”
Annie tugged at her hand, and together they went over to the bed. Mikasa was still recovering, so she was grateful to lay down and relax. Standing for so long, so tense and anxious, and been awful on her back. “I know, it’s weird. We know each other from past lives, but not this one.”
Mikasa sighed and rubbed at her face. “I’ve been running from them for years.”
“I know. So have I.”
Mikasa turned to Annie, who was lying beside her on the bed. She was suddenly filled with intense warmth, and all of the memories washed over her again, filling her brain until the present faded away to the past, to when she had met Annie for the very first time in their first lifetime, to the last moment in their lifetime before this one. It felt like centuries had passed, but it was only seconds, and when Mikasa blinked she was in the room again, staring at Annie.
In a move that surprised herself, Mikasa crawled over to Annie and then hovered over her, staring.
“What?” Annie asked, brows furrowing.
“Nothing,” Mikasa said. She grinned, remembering that she had done this plenty of times before. “You’re just… beautiful.”
Annie blushed, but she smiled in content. “We should worry about those hunters, you know.”
Mikasa nodded, but she slowly lowered her body until she and Annie were pressed tightly together. The heat in her body hadn’t gone away, and she knew it wouldn’t until she bit Annie and established their actual bond. They might remember each other, but their souls weren’t linked yet.
Annie shuddered underneath her, and Mikasa took that as encouragement to continue. She ran her lips over Annie’s throat and felt her teeth tingle, wanting to sink into her flesh and stay there until they were both spent and satisfied—the bite didn’t need sex, though, but it didn’t hurt to add it to the whole ritual.
“You want to bite me already?” Annie asked, breathing hard. “You’re as incorrigible as always.”
Mikasa laughed and the sound was confident. “Isn’t that why you fell in love with me to begin with?”
“Could be. Or maybe it was your looks.”
Mikasa chuckled. “That too.”
“Mikasa, I love you.”
Mikasa grazed her teeth against the skin of Annie’s neck, and the both of them shivered. She desperately wanted to bite her, to see what Annie saw, to feel what she felt. She almost needed it more than she needed to breathe. So with a shuddering breath, Mikasa lifted herself until she and Annie were face-to-face, and then she smiled. “I love you too, Annie.”
“Mikasa,” Annie breathed. She was flushed and panting, and Mikasa realized that her body was just as heated. Instinct screamed at them both. “Bite me.”
“Before or after?” Mikasa asked hotly. She kissed Annie before she could answer, tasted her lips and tongue until she knew she would never, ever forget the sensation.
“Before or after what?”
Mikasa hated Annie’s clothes, and lifted her shirt so that their stomachs could press together. Her chest rumbled with a noise akin to a purr, and behind her Mikasa’s tail was out and swishing about. Annie noticed it, and her eyes widened.
“When I make you scream my name,” Mikasa answered.
Annie grinned and lifted a brow. “Surprise me,” she said.
Mikasa had to resist an intense urge to bark in happiness—it was a strange thing to do in her human form, and it would no doubt spoil the mood—but she did release the odd rumbling noise in her chest again, and then she freed Annie from her clothes just as her teeth found purchase and teased Annie’s skin.
Annie shivered and Mikasa enjoyed the fast pattering of her heart. “Mikasa,” Annie whined.
Mikasa grinned, and then Annie cried out in pain and pleasure when she bit into her shoulder and entered her at the same moment. Sensation and heat washed over them, through them, and it was all Mikasa could do to keep from whimpering like a puppy.
They could worry about the world the next day. For now, all they concerned themselves with was each other.
Absolutely nothing else mattered.