Edited: 3-9-2020

"I met Nora three years ago when I had just arrived at Greenwood college for a research program." Azura closed her eyes and sighed softly, remembering those quiet days as she let her mind drift back to her past.

*

Azura moved through the crowd of students to the main building of Greenwood college. She tried to avoid the other students as much as possible, keeping her head down while still trying to take in as much as she could of her new surroundings. She didn't like loud and busy places and had always found it hard to adjust and meet new people, but the opportunity of studying and doing research here was too big of a chance not to take.

There were so many different races represented here to which Azura had never heard of. She was raised by human parents who adopted her when she was only two-and-a-half years old, and they had never known about the other races until they met her. When Azura had shifted in front of them for the first time they were shocked, but they also saw a little girl in dire need of help. After that, they never tried to indulge in the world of supernaturals, instead raising her as if she were a human.

It was the last days of summer. The sun was already low in the sky and its rays held less warmth each passing day. Azura looked at the big red brick building that was overseeing the entire campus. It looked to be a colonial style building, with some massive pillars at the main entrance and a big clock tower on top. The green grass in front with some flower beds neatly arranged made for an impressive entrance.

Azura glanced around. There were a lot of new students present like her, some carrying suitcases while others with their entire belongings on the street. Between those new students, those who had been there for much longer wandered around, offering help and guiding the new ones around.

Her eyes stopped when she saw a dark-skinned couple heavily making out. They looked so engrossed in each other as if they were the only ones around. Her dark hair was braided in several small strands and bundled together on top of her head.

Right as Azura went to look away, the girl turned around and stared straight at her for a moment. Dark brown eyes bore into her own blue ones, her stomach reacting to something she couldn’t place. A feeling of longing? Azura quickly averted her eyes, feeling like she had just intruded on an intimate moment between the pair. She quickly darted off to register herself as a new student and got to her dorm room where she was assigned.

Room 119. Azura turned the key around and entered the room. She knew she would be sharing so she hoped her dorm partner would be a nice girl. The first thing she noticed was the color. Pink. Pink curtains, pink sheets on one of the beds, pink accessories everywhere, and a big abstract painting with several shades of bright colors.

She had no idea how long she was staring at the overdose of pink. Her mouth hung open from surprise and she slowly entered. Nobody was here so the other girl was probably out somewhere.

"So much...pink... Holy cow." She muttered in amazement. The only place not covered in it was her bed. Or so it felt at least. Azura started unpacking slowly, still overwhelmed by the room. She put her clothes in the closet and made her bed.

"Who the hell are you? I was supposed to have a room by myself!" A bitchy high pitched voice rang through her ears.

Azura spun around and saw a short girl standing in the doorway. She looked ready to pounce on her at any second. Brown curled locks framed a small round head beautifully, while freckles made it look as if she were a nice, cute girl, but the look in her light brown eyes proved otherwise.

"Excuse me?" Azura replied annoyed. "I've never heard of anyone getting a room by themselves and I'm your roommate. Deal with it. Oh, and seeing as we're sharing this room from now on, you might want to reconsider your attitude because otherwise, it’ll be a long year."

Azura saw she’d startled the other girl. Even though she’d not been that harsh, her voice had been that of a 'Don't mess with me' tone. It’d worked... The girl probably wasn’t used to other people talking back to her and had lost some of her bitchy composure.

"Hmpf, well as long as you stay on your side of the room it will be fine, I guess." The girl entered and sat down on her bed playing with her phone.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. My name is Azura by the way, if you're interested."

"Whatever."

The girl's phone rang and she picked it up. The volume was so loud even Azura could partially make out their conversation. She tried not to listen in but did manage to get ahold of a name. When the girl ended her call Azura sat down on her bed and flashed the girl an innocent smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Theresa."

Theresa's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull.

"How did you know my name? Are you one of those freaks who hears everything?"

Azura laid down on her bed staring at the ceiling with a wicked smile on her face.

"Maybe..." She snorted and turned her back to the high-pitched tone of her roommate.

*

A week had passed by in a blink of an eye. Azura had joined the climbing group and things between her and Theresa had actually improved a lot. Theresa wasn’t that bad, but she did have a strong opinion. Azura hadn’t cared about the whims of the girl and as soon as Theresa had figured it out, she laid off a bit more and they actually got a chance to get to know each other.

As it turned out she was the daughter of someone high up in management and had no choice of where to study, getting pressured to come here. Even though she was human and none of her old friends were here, her dad had insisted on her joining the college as part of a good education. Theresa had been pretty ticked off about it and vowed to hate all the things the college associated with, including the other non-human races. Her vow was broken in less than a week.

Classes had begun two days after Azura had arrived and it was hard. It had been a while since she’d been confined by rules set by a school or college and the only reason she’d come out was to study at the library. Azura was stunned when she had first set foot in the building, it was tremendous!

She let her hand glide past all the books as she walked from shelf to shelf. There was so much information here about the world, both human and supernatural. Not just the fantasy stories humans had written, but actual historical facts and history about almost everything. Azura stopped when she saw the shelf with information about all the different kinds of shifters.

Hope rose in her chest as she quickly hurried over in the hopes to find more about the werecats. There were tons of books about werewolves and shapeshifters in general but not so much about werecats.

"Can I help you?"

Azura turned to find the source of the angelic male voice. A tall slender man dressed in a dark green silk-like suit faced her. He looked to be in his early fifties, the tips of his eyebrows went upwards as if they were small wings on his face. His lips were thin and his nose was big and pointed. A strange sight for the eyes.

"Uhm yeah... I was looking for books on werecats." Azura tried not to stare too much at the man, not wanting to appear rude.

"Werecats? Those are rare. I haven't seen one for a long time. Well until now it seems, but why would you want to read a book about something you are yourself?"

It was like he was singing, every word rolled off of his tongue so soft and smooth you couldn't help but listen. His every move was graceful and delicate as he bent over and grabbed a book from one of the shelves. He offered it to Azura, the book itself resting on the palm of his hand.

"Thank you." Azura gave him a nod. "I was just interested. Like you said sir, werecats are rare and I have never met one besides myself. I was hoping I would find more here on campus, or at least find some more information."

As she placed her hand on the book to take it, the man placed his other hand on top of hers.

"I doubt you will find what you're looking for in this book. It's just old history, nothing current or to date. There is not much written about werecats, mostly because the term werecat is just an assembly name. If you want, you can stop by my office later and I'll see what I can find. Just ask around for professor Sloan and someone will direct you to my office. Now have a nice day, Miss Azura Thoreau."

Azura had no time to reply as he gave her the book and walked away. She was left behind, rooted and bewildered. She swore she had not given her name to him.

It turned out Professor Sloan was a druid, according to Theresa, they were tall and gracious, and knew all about the world as they aged three times slower than regular humans. Their knowledge was overwhelming and once they read or heard something, they would not be able to forget it. Alien Sponges, as Theresa had claimed, soaking up every bit of information they encountered.

As soon as Azura had set foot outside the library, a particular girl had caught her eye. The same flutter of longing rose in her stomach at the sight of the same girl who had been making out like no one else had been around on that first day. The girl stared at her intently, her dark brown eyes piercing right through Azura. It was not the first time their gazes had met but neither had even tried to talk to one another.

Azura already knew she was a werewolf, one of the Greenwood pack according to Theresa, who had been a fountain of information to her. The pack had its territory around the college. The guy she had been making out with was probably her mate.

Azura turned her head away while fidgeting with the golden ring that was dangling around her neck. The girl intrigued her for sure, but the staring and stalking part was not something she enjoyed. She quickly made her way to the giant garden and sat herself down beneath a tree in the sun and relished the rays of it warming her face.

It was only a matter of minutes before a jolt inside Azura forced her to open her eyes. A feeling of a thousand little sparks running through her veins caused her to get up, irritated. She scratched her arms trying to get the strange feeling to leave but it would not go.

"Good Gods!" Azura cursed loudly while clutching the book, highly irritated. It was like she was being bitten by a thousand fire ants from the inside. She got up and prepared to leave when she saw the girl standing only a few meters away. Azura could swear she looked uncomfortable as well but decided it was best to just leave.

She hurried along the campus to the forest close by. The further away she got, the less irritating the feeling got. It was an open and widespread forest with diverse greenery and lush clearings.

Azura wandered around calming herself when she was stopped by three giant grey wolves. The hair on her arms raised up in alarm. Her gut told her these wolves were not part of the Greenwood pack as their smell was completely different than the scents she had gotten used to around campus. They growled and sneered at her and slowly approached her with their teeth bared.

Azura slowly backed up with her hands raised in front of her as a defense. "I'm already leaving. Sorry to disturb you."

It was useless, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. The first wolf suddenly charged. It lunged straight for her and she tripped, falling on her butt as she saw the grey wolf coming for her. Suddenly the antsy feeling was back. Her skin began to crawl and she could hear a loud growl coming from her right side. The grey wolf stopped for a moment, looked to its left, and didn’t even get a chance to react when a brown blur attacked him. The other two wolves were stunned for a short moment but soon joined the fight.

The brown wolf stood no chance against the three greys but it was part of the pack and no doubt, it had already contacted other members. They could handle the situation just fine, Azura concluded. As an outsider, this was no place for her to be.

Azura spun around and ran off as fast as she could. She would not be part of a fight between some rogues and a pack member. Her legs started to feel heavy the further she got, her body was screaming to turn around, to go back, but her mind was telling her to run. There was something pulling her back, to help the brown wolf.

"Shit, really I'm crazy... I'm crazy... I'm crazy!" She was panting and stopped. It actually hurt to move away. Azura turned to the sounds of fighting and heard a loud yelp resound through the trees.

"Yep... I'm crazy." Azura dropped the book and quickly stripped off her clothes before shifting to her snow leopard. She then turned to the sound of fighting and bolted towards it.

She saw the brown wolf defending itself against two of the greys, the other wolf was lying motionless on the ground. One of the wolves attacked the smaller brown one head-on and knocked it back against a tree. The second wolf now made its move to finish the fight. Azura stopped thinking and let her instincts take over.

She leaped onto the back of the second wolf and bit down hard into its neck. Blood started flowing immediately, the warm liquid filled her mouth, rolled over her tongue, and coated her canines, bringing a strangely satisfying feeling to her. She was thrown off in a matter of seconds but had stopped him from attacking the brown wolf. The grey wolves retreated for a moment, regrouping while the brown female had gotten up and joined Azura. One look between them was enough to understand each other.

Loud howls emerged from the forest. The greys perked up their ears and exchanged nervous glances before they turned around and ran off. The Greenwood pack was coming. The brown wolf howled in answer and collapsed, there was blood in her fur and the fight had exhausted her greatly.

Azura wanted to step closer until her eye caught sight of the guy she had seen earlier on campus, he was only wearing a black tank top and underwear as he ran towards the brown wolf.

"Nora!" He yelled her name as he dropped down next to the wolf, not sparing the cat a glance. At his touch, the wolf shifted back to human form and Azura backed away as she saw the girl who had been following her laying in its place.