“How the fuck am I supposed to bring our species together?” Azura mused as she stared out the window of the car.

“Didn’t we have this conversation a week ago? Remember?” Lucas shot quick glances at Azura as he was driving. “It ended up with you getting angry at…the situation, venting it out on me, us making the decision to do this as soon as possible after-”

“After I made things up to you,” Azura butted in. “With my tongue.”

“That’s not what I wanted to say but I did enjoy that part for sure!” His infectious laugh filled the space around them, breaking the tension she had built in her body. Small wrinkles formed around his eyes and even though his short beard covered them, she could see the form of dimples in his cheek. “What I was about to say was, that after your lashing out on me and me setting you straight, we did have a good talk. I just really don’t like it when you get so angry with me over your own frustrations. I am on your side.”

“I know that. “Azura heaved a sigh. “It was just too much, my head was overflowing and my rational thinking went overboard. I’m just nervous.”

“About what?”

“Greenwood. Going back there. If I’m honest, that bothers me more than going to see the blue-eyes after. What if Andreas is angry with me?” She turned away from him and stared out the window again.

They had been on the road for two hours by now and as Lucas let a silence fall, she stared out the window watching the landscape pass by. It was strange how fast it was changing. During her time roaming around the country, she had never noticed but she had been moving at a much slower pace. The pine trees and mountains that surrounded Pleyvale were mostly gone here. There were many more Broadleaf trees around and the mountains retreated into hills and big open spaces of flat land. Agricultural grounds, farms, and an occasional village here and there filled the rest of the area they drove past.

“He’s not. Trust me, he’s actually looking forward to your return.” The green-eyed man beside her gently squeezed her leg to reassure her.

“I didn't even have the guts to call him or my parents!” She squeezed her hands into tights balls, digging her nails into the palms of her hands again. “When we stop for the night, I'm definitely going for a run. I need to shift and stretch my legs.”

"Really? Again? You just went two days ago. How come you need to shift so soon already?" Lucas looked like he had a big question mark floating above his head.

"I'm not like you, Dude. I just can't not-shift for years. I truly have no idea how you guys do it, but maybe that's one of the big differences between our werecats. I just get this urging feeling, a sensation where I just want and need to shift. If I ignore it, it will just grow bigger and bigger until the moment I can't resist any longer. Sometimes there can be a few weeks in between, sometimes it's just a matter of days. Depends on how agitated or nervous I am. You truly have no idea how often I have shifted when you didn't know I was a snow leopard, am I right?"

"Nope. And maybe it's a good thing I don't know, Firestarter." He chuckled.

"You're a big pussy you know that!" Azura couldn't hold back a snort and let herself sink back into the seat while staring at the road ahead of them as she turned the CD back on.

The car was actually more comfortable than she had dared to hope. The only downside was the CD in the player. It was stuck and it was an old mix from Lucas when he was in his teens. There were some good songs on it, but after two hours she had enough of it already and they were unable to receive any radio station due to a broken antenna. After hearing the song firestarter a couple of times Lucas had started calling her his firestarter and she was afraid it would stick. Though she had some major fun when she found out there was a spice girls song on the same CD and when he had started blaring along to the lyrics on the top of his lungs she had decided his new name was Baby Spice. She placed her head against the side window again enjoying the vibrations of the car while she stared at the rest of the traffic and surroundings. They would be on this highway for quite some time. Lucas placed his hand on her knee and gave it a little squeeze.

"You alright?" Azura flashed him a smile and nodded.

"Yeah. Just enjoying seeing everything fly by." Her fingers entwined with his as she gazed outside again with a small content smile.

It didn't take long for her to doze off with the humming of the engine in the background. Her mouth opened a bit as her head sagged down. Lucas gently brushed some of the black hair out of her face. You could indeed still see the scar that ran down her face. It was almost white and seeing as her skin was also quite pale it was not that obvious. His thumb gently brushed past her cheek and chin and she shifted slightly at his touch. Lucas smiled as he took his hand back and overtook another car.

Another two hours later they switched seats and filled up on gas. The sun was already gone. Lucas came back to the car with some drinks and snacks and tossed them on the backseat. Azura took the map and stared at it while stretching her neck.

"Next time, instead of watching me drool in my sleep, wake me up will you." She groaned as a satisfying cracking in her neck could be heard. Lucas bent over and kissed her shortly.

"No. You're sweet when you're sleeping and drooling and bending your neck in ways I never thought possible." She sneered at him while he pretended not to notice.

"Dude! Really? I guess you find my nightmares rather cute as well?"

"No. I actually rather hate those. Especially the ones that make you attack me or make you stop breathing. But you haven't had one since that lovely fiery bird came back to you so that's a good thing!" He winked at her and she just shook her head and turned her attention back to the map.

"What do you say we drive for another three hours and then try to find a motel or something." Her finger traced on the map and stopped at a small town called Hundame. "My guess is we'll be around here by then. Looks like a good place to shift as well.”

“Fine by me.” Lucas got back in the passenger seat and watched as Azura adjusted her seat and prepared to start the car. “You sure you know how to drive stick?”

The finger she gave him was accompanied by a wide grin before she started the car and drove away. It took them half an hour less than expected to reach Hundame. It was a small quiet town and they soon reached a motel at the edge of the town. As Lucas went to check-in she went off and after walking for ten minutes found herself at the edge of a forest. Carefully she sniffed the air trying to find scents that might become a problem if she were to shift. After what felt like an eternity Azura suddenly caught a whiff of something that made her blood turn cold.

Werewolves.

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She spun back around and started running back to the motel. The scent only got stronger the closer she got and she was starting to fear for the worst. That fear was confirmed as she ran up the parking lot and saw three figures surrounding Lucas who was actually taller than all three of them. Azura stopped and hid behind a corner catching her breath. She could not understand what was being said but judging by the tone it was not that friendly. She should have given Lucas some lessons about werewolf behavior.

Azura peeked around the corner and could only facepalm. He was not doing well at all. It was clear to her that these were not high ranked werewolves, just normal wolves on patrol who were having way too much fun intimidating him and pretending to be highly ranked. Lucas was responding in the worst way possible. He was trying to calm and soothe the situation. Probably trying to explain why he was there and that he was just here for one night. She prayed he had kept his mouth shut about her till now. With werewolves like these, you had to be brash, bluff your way through, and only show as much respect as needed. Otherwise, they would take a walk with you and without realizing it they would have pinned you down. If you were lucky. If you were unlucky, they would maybe just try to rip your head off if they were the violent kind.

Azura kept her eyes on the two women and man. Since they were still talking, she ruled out the violent kind. There were hardly any violent packs around anymore. Werewolves were civilized, any quarrels they would have with each other would be discussed instead of straight away attacking each other but you could never be too careful. These three were probably just trying to intimidate and scare the shit out of Lucas before the Alpha or one of the Beta's would come. That could mean real trouble but for now, Azura had to hold back a giggle as she saw Lucas getting more desperate on what to do.

He was leaning against the car, his eyes darting between the three wolf shifters. He had his hands raised, palms open, and directed at his attackers showing he meant no harm. He must have said something wrong again as suddenly one of the women snarled loudly and actually started to shift into her animal counterpart.

Bones popped, grey fur sprouted across her body, clothes ripped. It was a mere minute before a big grey timber wolf stood in her place with some tattered remains of fabric hanging off her body. She bared her teeth at him and took one step closer. The other two actually stepped back and allowed more space for the werewolf to come to Lucas. Neither of them had touched him until now, but this was getting out of hand.

Having seen enough, Azura started walking towards the scene. The three shifters were too busy with Lucas to even notice her as she stopped barely four meters away. Lucas had noticed her though and she gave him a small sign to make sure he would let her handle it. She took a deep breath and put her hands in her side. The Phoenix stirred inside, flames igniting as she allowed the power to radiate through her.

"Hey! Don't you dogs have a bone to dig up somewhere?!"

All three of them spun around to face her. Azura made sure to stand right under a street lantern so she was clearly visible. They hesitated just for a slight moment before the wolf and two humanoids came for her. The wolf only needed two jumps and Azura turned to her first making sure to stare her straight in the eye as she bared her teeth.

"Stay! I suggest you don't come any closer." Azura spread her arms, power rushing through her as she imagined to project it outward.

The wolf stopped, teeth bared while a ferocious growl resonated from her throat. Azura kept her eyes locked on to the wolf’s and took one step forward. The wolf growled even louder but lifted one of the front paws and placed it a bit further back. As Azura took another step forward, the wolf dropped her tail between her legs and backed off even more.

Azura turned her attention to the other two now that she knew she had the shifted wolf under control. It wouldn’t dare to attack now. The man and woman before her both looked the same. they were probably twins. Both blond hair, same height, and well-muscled. Two pairs of amber eyes observed her but the way Azura had spoken to their friend had left an impression on them as well.

"I suggest you leave me and my partner alone. You clearly have not heard about the word respect." Azura crossed her arms and casually shifted her weight on one leg.

"You're trespassing on Red Dawn's territory. We have every right to not respect you." The man stepped forward albeit a tad unsure. Azura stepped up her game a bit as her strategy seemed to work.

"We're not trespassing; we're passing through. A big difference. Now leave us be!" The wolf snarled and got closer again. Azura kept her gaze on the man trying to intimidate him as much as possible.

"You have no permission to be on our grounds!"

"Your laws don't apply to us as we are not werewolves!" Her voice thundered along the parking lot. A flash of red appeared in her eyes.

The wolf whimpered and bowed her head while she put her tail between her legs again at the power burst from Azura. The siblings flinched and backed up, breaking eye contact. They bowed their heads, exposing their necks, acknowledging Azura as someone higher up in ranks even though she wasn't part of the pack.

Lucas had felt it. A slight tingle in his body as if his nerves all reacted to Azura. He watched awestruck as the werewolves seemed to back down, afraid to even look at her anymore. The moment was short-lived as Azura suddenly jerked her head up and spun around. She quickly made her way over to Lucas, took his hand, and quickly whispered in his ear.

"Keep quiet and let me do the talking. I'll explain later." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and smiled sweetly as a middle-aged man entered the parking lot. His long gray hair was tied in a ponytail reaching down to the middle of his back. The three pack members whimpered softly and took some more steps back allowing the man to walk up to Azura and Lucas. He carefully examined the pair before he finally spoke up.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Straight to the point, he was calm but his voice was louder than normal.

"Alpha, It's a pleasure to meet you." Azura gave him a respectful nod and Lucas followed suit. "My name is Azura and this is Lucas. We were merely passing through, wanting to spend the night in the motel before we continue our way tomorrow to the Greenwood pack, sir."

The Alpha glanced sideways to his pack members and back to Azura.

"You are not a werewolf, yet you act like one and almost force my people to submit to you. What business do you have with the Greenwood pack? I would like to inform them beforehand if you're looking for trouble. " Azura let out a small sigh of relief as he said that. The fact he probably had witnessed what she had tried to do was not something some Alpha's would appreciate but this one seemed rather amused.

"We are werecats Alpha. I had been living with the Greenwood pack for almost three years back when I was in college. Alpha Andreas has been like a second father to me, teaching me the ways of the pack and the werewolf."

She noticed a slight smile on the Alpha's face and it encouraged her to speak more freely.

"Your patrol duty here, tried to intimidate and pretend to be of higher rank than they are, sir. I merely took it in my hands to make sure we were safe and the only way I knew how to, was to show them how to respect us."

It pained her to talk like this but she was still unsure of how modern this pack was. The Greenwood pack was quite modern with its ways. They had a hierarchy but it didn't mean that much except for the Alpha and Beta status. For an outsider, everyone would seem equal and the way Andreas talked to people was as equals. He was more of a chosen leader. With this pack, Azura had no idea yet how modern they were and she had to address the Alpha in a respectful manner. If she did not and said the wrong thing, they would be in a whole lot of trouble even though they were not actual werewolves. It was a delicate balance, one that many packs actually struggled with on their own.

"A friend of Andreas’ is a friend of mine. I will have a word with my patrol unit and you can stay of course. I actually might need to apologize for the rude welcome."

Azura relaxed completely and Lucas seemed to follow suit. After some more small talk, the Alpha eventually excused himself and took the three young werewolves with him. When they were gone Azura turned around and grabbed her daypack from the truck. The urge to shift had withered completely.

"Which room is ours?"

Lucas took the key out of his pocket and turned it so he could see the number before showing it to Azura.

"You do know that the Alpha actually never introduced himself to us right?" He took the last thing he needed from the car as he spoke.

"I know. It's not important. We're only here for one night. Tomorrow I'll have to teach you some things about werewolves and their behavior though. It was quite amusing to watch you struggle for a bit but next time I might not be there to help." She chuckled as he looked at her offended. Lucas shook his head and locked the car as they made their way to the room.