The smaller, whiter snow leopard nudged the much larger one and curled her tail across his back. While her coat was white with grey and black rosettes, his had a yellowish undertone to it. He turned his head towards her and placed his forehead against hers, emitting a low purr from deep inside his body. The vibrations carried through into hers and automatically she started to purr in sync with him.

Vibrant red-colored eyes remained instead of her usual blue as she rubbed her side against his until she felt their purrs die down. With her rough tongue, she started grooming around his face, playfully nipping at his furry ears in between. The male snow leopard just let it happen, enjoying the moment together in this form. Engaged in their own world, they missed the Alpha of the Greenwood pack walking towards them, followed by a woman half his age.

"Azura, it’s good to see you up." Both leopards' heads snapped to Andreas in surprise. "I can already tell having a discussion with you about what you're doing won't change a thing so I'll just comment on the sheer difference between you two, give you a warning, and be off."

Andreas smiled as he slowly scratched between Azura's ears. The woman remained behind, watching them from a safe distance.

The female shifter reached to between his knees and hips; close to sixty centimeters at shoulder height. It was the average size for a snow leopard. Lucas, on the other hand, was a whole lot taller, reaching well up to Andreas' stomach. The only thing average about him was the color of his eyes. They resembled the natural eye color of snow leopards while hers were normally a bright blue.

“You should be resting, Azura. Not going out for a run.” The imposing man lowered down to his hunches and started scratching underneath Azura’s chin. She emitted an approving purr in response. Not knowing how Lucas would react to petting, Andreas made sure not to touch him while still keeping half an eye on him.

The Alpha was well aware of the fact Azura was instinct-driven; close to nature but he knew her well enough to know she also still retained enough humanity to think straight. With Lucas, he wasn’t so sure yet. He reminded him more of the werewolves - bigger than their natural cousins but much more human. The animal instincts were almost gone but without knowing for sure he wouldn’t take the risk.

"I would like to know about why you two are so different but we can save that for a later time. You'll owe me that one.” He got back up and took a few steps back. “I do want to give you a little warning about Floyd though. He's calmed down, but do try to avoid him for now. He's unpredictable at the moment. With that being said, have fun, kiddos." Azura growled at him but Andreas didn't seem to mind. He turned back to the woman as he retracted his hand from Azura. "Reyna, we'd better continue our duties."

Reyna nodded and waited for Andreas to join her before they took off. Without looking back Azura took off as well. She sprinted into the forest not waiting for Lucas to join her. She weaved herself past the tall trees; the wind in her fur, and enjoyed the smells that were so familiar to her. It felt good to be back in Greenwood. She knew the territory by heart and it was exciting to be back.

As she ran, she focused on the feeling of her body. Every muscle that stretched and contracted, every breath that would expand her chest, and every exhale through her nose. Her whiskers and ears pointed forward. Her paws felt like her own again, her tail followed her every movement. She was back in control.

Azura swiveled her ears backward as they picked up the sounds of another set of paws hitting the ground behind her, so she sped up. For someone who rarely shifted, he was fast. Being silent was not his forte but no one excelled in everything. It was the second time she saw him like this but the first time she was too badly injured to actually pay attention. Not knowing when they would spend time like this in a relaxed manner again, Azura vowed to make it last and enjoy it as much as possible. Despite that, she kept up her speed, using her smaller size to sprint through the bushes while Lucas had to go around.

The scent of the forest became more intense and the sounds of civilization around them slowly died down. Azura glanced up at the sky while running and noticed grey clouds were rolling in. The smell of rain in the air. Whenever the sky turned grey, it was as if the true colors of the forest came to life. The green seemed more vibrant as the browns and greys of the trees and ground seemed to darken. The tiny yellow flowers that bloomed on the ground looked like they were reflecting any light they caught. It made for an eerie but beautiful sight. Though she loved the almost eternal snow in Pleyvale, Greenwoods’ forests would always have a special place in her heart.

She slowed down a little as she came closer to her destination. The first drops of rain started to fall from the sky but her fur was thick enough to keep it away from her skin. Lucas was still following, it wasn't hard to miss. He was anything but subtle. Azura tried to make as little noise as possible as she ran, keeping herself light-footed and agile. It was common sense to her, it happened automatically. If she were to stumble upon prey, she would still have a chance to catch it. With Lucas behind her, that was a no-go. He was so much bigger and heavier than her.

He crashed through the bushes instead of weaving his way through. He hit the ground with such force she could hear the tremble it caused. She felt the tremors in the ground of his paws hitting the forest floor and every prey animal in their vicinity would be long gone. Hunting was not on her priority list but Azura couldn't help but keep her senses open to an opportunity. With Lucas, she had an extra handicap with her though. He acted and ran as if he were a cub with no instincts yet. He had stamina though. She had to give him that. He had kept up with her with no trouble at all.

As the rain intensified, Azura walked out into a small clearing with a big wide pond in the middle. She walked up to the water and stretched her front paws first before kneeling down to drink. This place was what she wanted to show him. It was so deep into the territory that the only sounds you could hear were those of the woods. He hadn't joined her yet and Azura twitched her ears back trying to sense him around her. She was sure he had followed her but now it was quiet behind her. Too quiet.

The rain beating down on her swatted down the scents plus the sound it made covered for the softer sounds she would normally easily pick up. She pretended to be drinking still but her mind was anything but occupied with drinking. It was a small sound but just loud enough to reach above the rain. A snapping branch because something or someone put its weight on it. She whirled around seeing the larger snow leopard mid-air about to pounce on her. She made herself as small as possible, pinned her ears against her skull, and hissed loudly at him. Her paw connected with his head, nails contracted to not cause any damage.

Her blow took him off balance and as he tried to correct himself to land on his feet, he fell onto his side right after landing partially in the water. He growled but she was straight on him with a counter attack. The only thing she didn’t take in to account was his speed. He wasn’t Nathan who’d been much slower. As she jumped up to attack him, he rolled over onto his back and caught her with his back legs to forcefully push her over him, sending her flying into the pond.

She hated water. Rain was fine - water was not. There was a big difference between the two. It wasn't that deep that she had to swim but the throw had her fully submerged for a few seconds. She felt her fur soak up the water and weigh her down as she gasped for air. Lucas had made his way out of the water already and sat on the ground watching her intently. If snow leopards could be smiling, he was laughing his ass off right now.

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He yelped at her as she made her way out of the pond. Her fur clung to her body and her normal bushy tail resembled a rat's tail. She shook the water out of her fur as much as possible and started cleaning herself. It didn’t help much. She growled as she felt the water still seep through her fur and touch her skin.

She shook her head and when she stopped, felt a rough tongue on her face. He was doing it again, like he had done in the cave after fighting Nathan. He was licking her. Cleaning her. Not in a submissive matter but more affectionate. He brushed past her body with his, purring loudly again. He had won the fight and as much as she wanted to be angry about it, he made her weak and calm by doing this. Her body reacted to his touch, relaxing, but her mind wasn’t so sure. Her instincts told her to let it happen while her mind still wanted revenge.

Instincts won.

As his rough tongue stroked the top of her head, she laid on the ground and could feel a low purr rising from her chest. It was making her drowsy. Azura laid her head flat down on the ground and curled her tail around herself. Even though they were not shielded from the rain she couldn’t be bothered to find shelter. To prevent them from catching a cold, she started emitting some heat like she had done before in the cave, encasing them both in the bubble. She had closed her eyes for a little bit but opened them as soon as Lucas had stopped grooming her and laid down next to her. Maybe he was not so out of touch with nature as she had assumed at first.

*

After getting an elbow in his ribs for the tenth time that night, Lucas sat straight up in bed and gave Azura a soft shove back. She grunted softly but didn't wake up. She had been restless all night, tossing and turning but it was not another nightmare. By now, Lucas knew the difference so he decided to let her sleep even though he could not find any rest himself. He softly brushed some hair out of her face and gave a quick peck on her forehead. She shifted once more, moaned, and muttered something under her breath he couldn’t make out.

With a sigh, Lucas got out of the bed and put on a shirt to cover his bare torso. Azura turned over once again and slapped half of the duvet away from her. She was now on her stomach, her arms sprawled all over the bed and her legs lay in such an angle there was no way Lucas could lie back down without having to move her.

"Claiming your territory the moment I leave the bed eh? Women... They’re all the same." He smiled as he spoke softly to himself and tucked her back in.

He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and threw them on before grabbing his phone and leaving the room. It was a chilly night, nothing compared to Pleyvale but frost hung in the air. The fireplace was still smoldering a bit from last evening though and Lucas grabbed a piece of wood to fire it back up. He watched intently hoping the smoldering remains were enough to light up the new piece. As the flames started licking the new block, Lucas relaxed and wandered off to the kitchen to grab something to drink. He scratched his lower right arm as an annoying itch reared its head.

As he walked back to the living area, the blaze was burning bright and Lucas tossed another piece of wood onto the fire. He set down his water and looked at his phone. Five new messages from Rose. Lucas raised an eyebrow as he stared at the time they were sent. Just twenty minutes ago and it was close to three in the morning now. Someone was not keen on sleeping. He opened the first message.

- Are you two still alive? We haven't heard anything the last couple of days and we were wondering how life is treating you guys back in werewolf country! You can't just leave and not keep us updated! We deserve a regular check-up! But we're fine if you must know. Nathan actually woke up. For the rest, it's been boring as sh*t here without you guys. No new bets or gossip...

Lucas laughed as he finished reading the message and opened the next one.

- Why is it taking so long for you to respond?! Give me a sign of life! Anything!

He quickly opened the remaining three messages, his smile growing wider with every single one.

- Lucas! You ass! I need to know you're alive!

- No wait, I need to know if Azura's still alive. That's more important.

- Way more important! So why are you both not responding?

"Rose, you're hopeless at times." He sighed and stared at the fire for a short moment before returning to his phone. He responded with just one short question, asking her if she was drunk, and waited for a response. He had no idea if she was still awake or not. Within one minute he had his answer.

- I'm not drunk, you idiot! Just worried sick so I couldn't sleep.

Loud noises from outside made him look up from the device in his hands. It sounded like hushed voices and a car door slamming shut. He listened closely for a while but when it became silent again soon after he shrugged it off and got back to his phone to reply to Rose. There was something off though and he scratched the inside of his arm again as the itch returned again.

- Rose, we're fine! I'll have Azura give you a call tomorrow. Sleep well and say hi to the guys for us.

Lucas looked up as the front door opened and Andreas's voice followed by another female voice he couldn't yet place came through. He couldn't help but overhear as the woman sounded agitated and spoke softly.

"Andreas, think about it. These intrusions are happening more often ever since the Phoenix appeared. You said it yourself, they are becoming more and more dangerous, and yet you let her stay here even though she is the Phoenix itself?"

Lucas's throat dried up as he heard her and instead of getting up and making his presence known, he remained seated as soon as she mentioned the Phoenix. He scratched his arm again while he kept on listening. It felt strange and wrong to do so but he couldn't help it, he needed to hear what Andreas had to say. Lucas stood and stared at the doorway leading to the hallway where he could see the two people faintly through the smoked glass of the door. It was silent for a short moment before the heavier voice of Andreas could be heard loud and clear. He wasn’t trying to be quiet at all.

"Don't start now, Reyna. You're allowing Floyd to get under your skin..."

The door opened and Andreas stopped mid-sentence to stare at Lucas for a short moment before giving him a nod and walked inside. The woman, Reyna, stopped and stared at Lucas, a bit flustered but didn’t attempt to enter the living area. This was the second time Lucas had seen her, but the first time he hadn’t paid much attention to her since he was more focused on Andreas who had petted Azura as they were in their snow leopard form.

Now he got a closer look at her; she had the same amber-colored intelligent eyes as Andreas and a rather square face. Her skin was quite fair for what he had noticed was common for the other pack members. Lucas guessed she might have her origins with another werewolf pack. Light brown hair cascaded down her back in loose curls and some of it was tied together in a small bun to keep it out of her face.

"I- I probably should..." She stammered as Lucas held her gaze with an icy stare. She looked away, a small blush on her cheeks in knowing he had heard her talk. She fluttered her eyelids excessively and hopped from one foot to another, unsure of what to do.

"Lucas, meet Reyna. One of the Betas. Floyd is one too and I have a third, but he’s away from the pack at the moment. Reyna, meet Lucas. He was the bigger snow leopard you saw earlier." Andreas blatantly ignored the obvious tension and grabbed himself a drink while talking. "As I was saying, don't let Floyd get under your skin right now, Reyna. He's hurting. An old wound has just been torn open and he doesn't know what to do with it so he instead focuses all his emotions on the one thing he does understand."

Lucas took a deep breath and turned away from Reyna as Andreas was talking. He wanted her gone on one hand, but on the other... Reyna remained where she was, standing in the door opening, sometimes grabbing hold of the doorpost while letting go soon after and grabbing it with her other hand.

"I really should go..." Reyna didn’t wait for them to answer but turned around, closed the door, and left the house.

Lucas rubbed at his forearm again. Scratching it had become quite irritating to the skin but the itch was still there. Rubbing it seemed to help a little but just took the edge off. The moment Andreas grabbed his arm to look at the spot he’d been scratching all this time, is when Lucas became aware of how raw the skin felt.

"What is this?" Andreas stared at the mark the Phoenix had left on Lucas's arm. Lucas followed his gaze to the feather mark and gasped slightly as he saw the lines of it burn bright red.

"Oh, right. Another detail." Lucas traced over the lines of the feather. “Guess you can say the Phoenix decided to mark me.”