The top layer of snow was frozen and it caved under each paw as she placed her weight on it. There hadn’t been any new snowfall in days and during the day, temperatures would rise above freezing point. At night they dropped again, freezing over the melted parts and creating a dangerous and tricky ground to traverse on. Every step she took, she touched the snow first, testing it and making sure it would be as silent as possible before she placed her paw down. The same went with the next and she made sure to place her rear paws in the exact same place as where her front had been. The snow leopard moved graciously slow, her tail testing the air as it moved from side to side in unison with her body while she tracked the wild goat.

Her body froze when she caught the eye of the soon-to-be-dead animal. Her whiskers and ears moved forward to her oblivious future kill. She waited, slowed her heartbeat and breathing for that perfect moment to pounce. With one paw still floating in the air, she shifted her body weight forward as her lip twitched upwards, exposing her canines. Just as she was about to take the leap, the goat lifted its head and looked to the left, alarmed before bolting to the right, obviously spooked by something.

The female big cat let out a big gust of air through her nose and let herself collapse onto her stomach in the icy snow. She snarled softly at the lost kill knowing all too well there was no chance in hell she would be able to catch startled prey. The thing was, she had no idea what had scared it off. The snow leopard closed her blue eyes and just enjoyed the peace and quiet around her instead. There was always another time to hunt.

“Azura.” An unknown male voice woke her from her slumber. “We need to talk, sister.”

Her head snapped in his direction, pupils dilated as a loud warning growl came from deep within her chest. She got up and instinctively her tail puffed up while she lowered her head, her gaze landing on Killian. He raised his hands in defense and took a few steps back to appear less threatening. She let her guard down in return and spotted the male snow leopard just a bit off to the right of Killian. He watched her, mimicking her pose but still managed to disappear into the background.

“I’m glad we managed to find you again. We’ve been looking for you for a few days now.”

She had no idea yet if it was a good thing she couldn’t talk back or not. The debate was still happening in her head. Nonetheless, she sat down on her backside and licked her lips. Maybe to provoke them a bit, maybe just to show them they were on her terrain. It was instinctive as the animal form she was in had the upper hand. Killian looked the same as last time; his hair tied together in a small bun, the same clothes on his back. Zahair had made himself comfortable again, curled up in the snow licking his own tail.

“Look, Azura, things have changed. Our leader, Marric is not the most patient of people. He actually wanted us to take you back right as we found you but I managed to give you some time. A month. That’s all I could do.” Killian spoke with a bit of remorse.

A month? Before what? The confused look on her face must have been pretty clear as Killian continued on exactly that subject.

“He wants to start a war.” Killian’s face remained stoic as he spoke and that irked her the wrong way resulting in some powerful snarling. Killian blinked twice as fast as he resisted the involuntarily spasm rippling through him.

“Look, I… “ He paused as he set himself straight after her small outburst. “I can’t change things. I just hope that if you come, you’ll be able to stop this from happening. You can be the key to getting our species together.”

The temptation to shift back to human and shout at him was growing. How on earth was she supposed to stop his leader from announcing a war?! She just barely had her own life on track and now he expected her to just go and take the lead in something so precarious? Yes, she wanted to go back to her roots, see where she was born, find out what had happened with her parents, but what if people expected her to solve their issues?

She was not a miracle worker and more important, not responsible for other people’s actions. If she were not to go, what would happen to Pleyvale? To the people she cared about? In the end, she would be dragged into it no matter what.

Azura quickly shook her head from side to side. The motion continued down her whole body and ended in her puffed-up tail. She huffed in discontentment but eventually accepted the facts and got up on all fours. She gave Killian a short nod in acknowledgment and attempted to turn around and leave.

“Wait! Before you go!” Her back was already halfway turned to him when Killian stopped her. “This is my number. Please let me know what you will do.” He held out a card and waited for her to approach.

Her gaze flicked to Zahair who was still just resting in the snow, seemingly uninterested in her. He was more busy cleaning his paws and head than paying them any attention. When she was sure he was not paying any attention to them, she slowly approached Killian while silently cursing that she was in her snow leopard form. Taking cards this way was a whole lot more difficult, that was for sure. As she gently took the card between her sharp teeth, she couldn’t help but take a big whiff of his scent. No memories came to mind but it also didn’t alarm her.

With the card lodged between her teeth, she turned around and took off. She probably looked strange enough already and it was far from comfortable. A part of her wanted to trust them. Killian had known her when she was little so she was sure he could tell her more but she could not point out what was going on. He was not being completely honest but she wondered if he actually knew the full truth.

You can trust him. You know his scent even though you don’t remember.

*

Azura stared at the old pickup that stood in the garage with a smug smile on her face. Lucas was under the hood cursing as he tried to put the battery of the car back where it belonged. She never knew he owned a car but when he told her it hadn't been driven ever since his dad passed away, all hope of the car driving now had vanished. He had been smart enough to get the battery out and maintained throughout the period of inactivity but for the rest?

He had worked on it every day since they had decided to go to Greenwood though and that was a little over a week ago. After watching Lucas struggle for a while she sighed and walked up to him. She slapped his butt and pushed him to the side as he looked at her surprised. After looking down at the engine she took the battery, placed it and after a mere five minutes, she had it attached and hooked on properly. With a wide grin, she emerged from under the hood and blew him a kiss.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" He stared at her with a look of admiration and surprise.

"We had some old rundown cars at the pack back at Greenwood. General knowledge you know. Not every girl you meet is hopeless with cars." She shrugged her shoulders and laughed as Lucas pushed her back against the front of the car and let his hands run over her body.

"I love a woman who can handle herself. Give me one reason why I shouldn't do the things that are running through my mind right now." He kissed her neck and slowly moved up to meet her lips. She let him kiss her for a moment before she pushed him back and headed to the driver seat.

"Pass me the keys, will you? No fun time before this car works!" Lucas grunted a little, dismayed she turned him down. He searched his pockets and finally found the car keys and gave them to her. "Thanks, now pray this car still works!"

She turned the ignition and the first few times it wouldn’t start. Lucas peered down at the engine while she was trying to start it, seeing if he could find something off. She sighed and tried one more time, but again there was nothing. Lucas was trying to hold back a laugh as she stepped out of the car frustrated.

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"Payback, Sunshine! I know what's wrong though. There is no spark so there's no way you'll get it to start now. Give me some time, I think I know where the problem is. My old man did teach me a few things about this old baby."

He gently tapped the side of the car and slapped Azura's butt as she walked past. She shot him a death glare which soon faltered as she was unable to actually get angry. Lucas looked around the garage and started searching for some tools. After finding what he needed, he dove back into the engine of the car and sometimes asked for some other tools from Azura. She just watched him work for a while before she left to get some fresh air. Outside she squinted as the bright sun blinded her for a moment. Shielding her eyes from the sunlight, her gaze fell on Sheila who was working in the garden while she still could.

The sturdy woman was starting to show a little baby bump. She had just passed the twelve weeks and she was just glowing. Poor Jeff had a much harder time dealing with her as the always gentle and soft Sheila turned into a hormonal monster according to him. Azura did not believe a word he said, knowing all too well he could overreact. Azura waved at Sheila, not wanting to disturb her, and just leaned against the garage.

If they could get the car to work they would leave today most likely. She was feeling a bit nervous about it. Going back to Greenwood after not seeing and talking to everyone there for so long was a bit frightening. She felt guilty about not reaching out to them and hoped they wouldn’t be mad at her for doing so. Her foster parents had settled down there as well. She and Lucas would be staying with the werewolves during their time there, however, Andreas had insisted on it as the house of her foster parents wasn't that big.

Lucas was still worried about staying in a werewolf pack though. When he had been there with his father, they had stayed at the campus and not within the actual pack. He had almost no experience with werewolves and from what she had told him, he wasn't fully reassured. The only person Azura worried about was Floyd. He was probably a Beta by now, meaning he held a high status within the pack. A pack had several Beta's though, so she hoped he wouldn’t cause too much trouble. Maybe he had even forgiven her? The moment that thought crossed her mind she shook her head and giggled. No, Floyd would not forgive her. He would never forget what had happened and would probably blame her for the rest of his life. She just hoped Andreas's calm nature had rubbed off on him a tiny bit.

It didn't take long before she heard a wonderful sound coming from the garage. The car had started and Lucas drove it out of the garage. He lowered the windows, turned up the volume of the radio, and started playing the cd that was still in there. Firestarter from the Prodigy was the first song. Azura let out a laugh as she saw him sitting in the car, arm on the door, jamming his head to the beat. She joined him and started banging her head to it as well. Sheila just raised an eyebrow as she caught some of the beats of the music and shook her head at seeing the two of them go crazy.

"So now that we have a working car, what do you say you keep true to your word, Azu?"

Lucas turned off the car and closed the garage. Azura ran towards him and practically jumped into his arms as he turned around. She felt his lips against hers and answered eagerly. She loved the feeling of being close to him, his arms around her and his body against hers. He was the one keeping her grounded, keeping her sane from the first moment she walked back into his life. She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to let their tongues explore each other.

*

"We're leaving. This afternoon we start driving and hopefully, we'll be there by the day after tomorrow." Azura was on the phone with Rose. They’d already said their goodbyes a day earlier but the moment they would go had not actually been set then.

"Yes, I'll take care of Lucas... Yes, we'll be fine... Yes, we're going to the blue-eyes as well... Yes, Ben knows about it... We'll be fine, Rose! Love you too! Give Steffen a big hug from us." Azura smiled as she put down the phone.

Lucas walked back into the bedroom naked and with a few drops of water still glistening on his body. Azura let out a soft growl from the bed as she stared at him with a longing look. He raised an eyebrow at her and just pointed at the door.

"Dear naked lady, not even twenty minutes ago this godly body was on top of you and in between your legs making you scream and moan with pleasure and you already want more? I don't think so. Go take a shower to cool down." He grabbed his black boxer briefs and put them on before she was able to get out of the bed, entangled in the blankets as she was.

Azura pouted as he started dressing and she got out of bed trying to straighten her own hair. Not only the bedsheets were entangled and a mess but she also looked like it as well. She took a quick shower and returned ten minutes later with her hair wrapped in a towel. Her clothes lay scattered on the floor, proof of their haste to ‘have some fun.’ She took the brush and started brushing her hair. There weren’t so many knots luckily but her hair was growing long again. Lucas was already gone, his suitcase no longer in the bedroom. When she was done she grabbed her own and took it downstairs as well.

She peeked through the kitchen window seeing Jeff and Lucas talking next to the car. Azura grabbed a rice cracker and went back to the living room when there was a knock on the front door. Not expecting anyone to drop by, her surprise only grew when Ben stood on the other side.

Looking flawless as the other two times she met with him since she saw Killian, he looked rather serious and she let him in after greeting him politely. Even though she had gone over to meet with him and inform him about the plans of the blue-eyes, she still had a hard time judging his character. He was being nice most of the time but sometimes she couldn't help thinking it was all a facade and he did not want her in his city. Hence her biggest surprise was when they told him about their plans, he at first wouldn't let them go to the blue-eyes. Only after talking to him for what had seemed hours, he finally approved, seeing the point in their arguments. And now he was here. She followed him into the house where he had already made himself comfortable.

"I heard you guys are leaving today." Azura just kept standing and nodded at him before opening her mouth.

"Yes, we are. It's a long drive to Greenwood and we plan to stay there for a week before continuing on to Norbury." She made sure to sound as impersonal as possible.

"Greenwood again,” Ben sighed. “Lucas and his father went there to announce our very existence to the world. But alas, that never happened and when they came back we decided it was probably for the best. We don't want any trouble here, Azura, and you tend to bring trouble with you. I was never for the idea of exposing ourselves but back then, Lucas's father managed to talk me into it because I trusted him and knew he would handle things correctly. You, on the other hand... You're impulsive. How do I know you won't be starting a war, Azura?" His gaze penetrated hers. and she had to try her best not to flinch. He was intimidating her with all his strength and she could feel the power radiating off him.

"I won't be the one starting a war, Ben. If anything, I'll be the one trying to stop one from coming. There is one coming already and you know it. You just need someone to blame when it does. Well let me tell you this, I call this place my home now whether you like it or not. I care for the people that live here and have no connection to that other place that is my birth home. I'm just hoping I'll be able to cross the gap between our kinds so that we can continue to live in peace without the worries of war."

“And how do you know they spoke the truth?” He sneered.

"It's not that hard to see, Ben. The sighting of the blue-eyed leopards has only increased. They are watching us, circling us, and probably figuring out a strategy of what to do and how to do it. They are patient and calculating. A dangerous enemy if it would come to war because they will come prepared. According to the research from Lucas's father and grandfather, it won't be the first one."

"I don't believe they will come for us. They have no reason to attack us, Azura. Unless that is, you are the reason."

Azura shook her head. "I'm not going to have this discussion again, Ben. Both me and Lucas are convinced of what will happen. I won't be the cause a war starts, I won't betray you guys. Like I said before, to me, this is home."

After Killian and Zahair had found her the second time, she had informed Lucas and they decided it was best to leave as soon as possible. Lucas had insisted she would inform Ben as well but both with those meetings, there always had been this feeling he was not taking her seriously. Or more like, he didn’t take the threat seriously. There wasn’t much to go on if she was honest, Killian couldn’t provide a lot of information, just that it would be around a month.

Ben got up without a word and headed back to the door. He turned around just before he headed out.

"Good thing we got that cleared up. I would hate to tell everyone you were the one that sold us out." He let himself out and Azura heard him move to Lucas and Jeff.

After they had both passed out at Nathan’s bedside, she had the slight bit of hope he would become as friendly as everyone said he was. Now she was not so sure anymore. The feeling about him having a hidden agenda now only intensified. Azura let out a sigh and moved around the house making sure everything was in order before they would leave. Even though they would come back, she still felt a little sad about having to leave the house which she had made and called home. Outside, she heard the car start again and she got a text from Lucas stating he would take the car for a little test drive to see if everything was working fine. Azura heard him pull away and just hoped Ben was gone now as well. That man had ruined her good mood in the blink of an eye.