I believe the book started with the fmc living in a mall. She was an orphan or at least doesn’t have a family that I remember. She may or may not have a group of other kids following her.
She is a cat (panther?) shapeshifter. She somehow ended up being payed or forced to be a bodyguard for a "royal" shifter (he was some sort of special title or person) who is in an arranged marriage. In this world the royal shifters could pick what they turn into. The fmc ends up falling in love with the mmc. They both want to be together but know he has to marry someone else.
There is a big battle at the end and the fmc tells the mmc to pick a bird (he wants to know what it is like to fly) over a useful animal. She ends up getting hurt or something and he picks to be the same animal as her to keep her safe.
I read this back in the early 2010s and randomly thought of it a couple weeks ago. I can not seem to figure out what the book was called and it is bothering me. Hopefully someone on here has also heard of it!
Thank you all in advance!