I woke up an hour later to Cassie haven fallen asleep as well. Her phone hung loosely in her hand as she breathed in and out slowly. A purple fuzzy blanket was pulled over her as her head lay on the navy pillows at the top. Carefully maneuvering around her, I was given a great opportunity to stretch out. Putting my front paws out as far as I could reach, I curved my back, feeling the stretch through every muscle in my body. It would take some time to get used to shifting again.

As my muscles contracted while stretching, my tummy grumbled and I was presumably hungry once again. I went downstairs, craving more of that amazing sushi. I would search the fridge if I had to. That was until I heard voices coming from her father's study, peaking my curiosity.

"Ethan, we can't close section three and move onto section four." Her father's muffled voice seethed through the cracked door. Forgetting that I was hungry, I wandered over to the study. I pushed my head through and snuck into the room quietly, trying not to disturb the meeting. Three men besides Cassie's father were there, chatting about these sections of some sort.

Papers were strewn out in front of Cassie's father, blueprints of some sort. Two of the men were looking them over and the other was in the corner looking at the objects on the shelves.

The men were all tall and slender, standing over six feet tall. Each wore different sorts of clothing, none seeming unison or part of any particular group. I didn't spend much time looking at them, as a cat would not stare and take in their features.

"The quality of the house is good enough, we should close that project and move onto another!" One of the men said. He was sitting on the edge of an empty chair on the left, in jeans and a maroon t-shirt. The one offset from the rest wore a blue-collared shirt stood with his back turned to the rest. He was looking at the pictures and sculptures sitting on the shelves, seemingly lost in thought.

The jeans man's eyes flashed slightly, then he looked down at me. I had been looking at him for too long. I meowed, going quickly over to Cassie's father, rubbing my head against his leg.

"Don't worry, it's just my daughter's cat. Ever since her mother past, all she's done is take up caring for animals." He said, picking me up and placing me on the desk. All of them stared at me and I continued to act normally. I flicked my tail to the left, took a couple of steps and sat down on some of the papers. Peering down, they appeared to all be house blueprints. One paper in particular seemed older and sat apart from the rest of them. I wondered what it was but didn't take the time to look too closely. I wrapped my tail around my body, flicking the tip slightly.

"Your daughter's cat is quite unique." One of the young men said, wearing a suit, as he leaned forward in his chair. He placed his hand on my head and I purred, trying not to rouse his suspicion.

"We got her at the pound the other day. Quite a good find I tell ya." the father said, patting my back. I laid down on the desk and exposed my stomach to the strangers, and they petted me as well.

"She's quite friendly," the man in jeans said, leaning forward from his perch on the side of the chair.

His eyes glinted and I sniffed the air, meowing. My eyes widened slightly and my innards tightened. I rolled over to cover my surprise and flexed and unflexed my front paws on the papers. Fear rose as I tried to remain calm.

Holy hell.

A werewolf.

What the heck.

I looked at the other man in a suit to notice he wasn't in his seat anymore, but chatting with Cassie's father quietly behind me. The werewolf picked me up, cuddling me to his chest. I was scared but purred to cover it up. Most werewolves hated cats with a passion like most dogs, but he was different. He smiled, scratching my chin and running his hand up down my neck. If he knew what he held in his hands, I believe his reaction would be much different.

"As much as I hate cats, I like this one." He mused, and Cassie's father stopped talking to look at us. He smiled slightly and nodded. He too may have thought it was odd for a werewolf to like a cat. Maybe my scent wasn't strong enough as a cat. I couldn't change it now or he'd know.

"Ethan, my daughter will kill you if you take that cat away from her," her father commented and the wolf's chest rumbled with laughter.

"I would never. The pack would kill her on sight," he ran his fingers through my fur mindlessly as he spoke.

Cassie's father smiled, and Ethan carefully placed me back down on the desk.

I looked over at the young man standing at the shelves and his eyes flashed a different color. From this angle, I noticed his skin was paler than normal; his eyes turned a honey color which sparked my interest.

What would a vampire be doing here, especially in the company of a werewolf?

"They still have those reports, you know, about that shapeshifter? Supposedly he's in the area." The vampire spoke with such a rich elegance to his voice. I ignored them, knowing that nothing would happen considering the shapeshifter lore. It is believed that the majority of Shapeshifters are born male, which for the most part was true. A Shapeshifter was rare, but a female Shapeshifter was one in a million. There weren't even a million shifters in the entire world. Of course, there could have been, but no one would know. Most of my kind had been killed off centuries ago. It was unlikely that our numbers would grow, as two shapeshifters were generally needed to produce another. With females being far and few between...

"I know Claudius, but this cat is female. Couldn't be a shapeshifter," Cassie's father said dismissively, scooping me up and placing me on his lap. I turned a few times and plopped myself down, getting comfortable. It was interesting to hear what they thought about my kind. I what sort of reactions they would have if I turned into a massive elephant and crushed them all in the shift. Well, no time for rash decisions as I flexed and unflexed my claws in front of me.

"The only thing that I know about them is that they are a danger to our races and throw everything out of balance. They should have killed Samantha Benever when she was young, but noooo, couldn't do that to a poor, innocent little shapeshifter. Especially because she's a female." Claudius murmured the last part. It almost sounded as if he was withholding information. Glancing at the last man, I assumed he was a werewolf from the way he was eyeing me, then I cringed internally. Not werewolf, something else.

A few years back, there had been rumors of a female Shapeshifter, hiding in the woods somewhere up North. Turns out, those rumors had been true. The school for the gifted had taken her in, hiding her from the rest of the world. However, whispers floated through families and packs passed on information to others. Soon enough, most of the world knew of her existence.

Sam had been the first female of our kind in a long time that people knew about. She had risked everything, exposing herself to her mates. Being a Shapeshifter sometimes came with an interesting twist; multiple possible mates. In centuries past, most shifters would make their mates fight to the death for their love. In other cases, they would create an entire village of their own spawn, rarely producing another Shapeshifter.

The known shifter had a family and everything. Though, being known by the world came with a hefty cost. Her life and the lives of her family members were always on the line. Always hunter. They would never be safe. However, she was under protection by a strong pack and an entire colony of vampires while the rest of our race suffers alone. When I was younger, I had considered seeking her for protection or training. Sadly, it would have attracted more unwanted attention. Two female shifters in one place? Danger didn't begin to describe it.

"I believe Andrea is the one who requested her father to send out that notice about the Shapeshifters. I mean, could you believe owning the most powerful creature out there?" Claudius exclaimed, leaning in to view a smaller photo near the back of a shelving unit.

"Cornelius, what do you think of such matters?" Cassie's father questioned. I looked up at the third man. I wondered what he was and what his involvement in all of this was as he was neither vampire nor werewolf. My back fur stood when he spoke.

"I just assume that the creature would want to be free and not have to answer to anyone. Kind of like us," He spoke in an estranged era-type accent. He seemed distant, distracted even. As if this conversation were a waste of his time.

"Dragons, always such petty creatures, right John?" Claudius smirked, directing his comment towards Cassie's father. It seemed Claudius knew how to push everyone's buttons.

Cornelius hissed, his tongue splitting and his eyes turning from brown to green slits in a second. Steam shot out of his nose and John chuckled lightly. He went to stand, making me fall out of his lap. I landed with a light thud and hurried out of the room carelessly, making it seem as though I was spooked from the sudden movement.

Heading upstairs to Cassie's room, she lay on her bed on her phone.

"Hey Aria! I was wondering where you went." She said, sitting up and throwing her legs off the bed to greet me with pets. She bent down and picked me up, standing up and walking out of her room. I glanced at the portraits handing on the wall. Most were older family photos, taken at the park. It seemed Cassie had been alone with her dad for a few years now. I didn't notice any mother-like figures in any of the photos.

Cassie aimlessly went downstairs and wandered out the back sliding door. A closed in patio with a few black wire chairs and a small black wire table sat to the right. Windows lined the patio with a little mesh door in the middle. Most were open, letting the fresh air into the patio. Cassie pushed her way through the mesh door that swung open effortlessly to the backyard.

There were a few thick bushes to the left and right of the yard. Behind them, beige brick walls that stood seven feet tall lined the yard, at least a foot in width. If I needed to, I could easily scale the walls to escape. At the moment, there was no need to but I always had an escape route planned, wherever I was.

"Now don't run away, Aria. Go explore the backyard!" She said, placing me down on the porch off the patio. I walked around the backyard, exploring the nice views of the yard. There was a beautiful fountain shooting water straight into the air near the back of the yard with a little pond in front. I wondered if there were fish in it and walked right over to it. I looked down, seeing a few goldfish swimming around gracefully. The water was murky, but clean enough to drink. I swatted my paw into the water, watching the fish scatter underwater.

Cassie followed behind me, watching my every move.

"You know, you're the weirdest cat I've ever met," She said and I shrugged, continuing forwards. She seemed like she needed to vent and had no one to listen to her. I wondered if she had any friends, human friends that is.

"I'm not insane, I know that, but you always seem like you understand me, like no one else. Or am I just crazy?" She questioned, and I turned to look at her. Amanda was the only one who ever listened to me. Cassie expressed something I had always been afraid of. No one would ever understand my struggles, aside from another shifter. This poor girl had no one else.

I thought for a few seconds about what to do, then I shook my head and moved my ears up and down. It was a small gesture of understanding but could also be regarded as just being a silly cat.

That had been a mistake. I looked back at the house and slowly backed up to the edge of the pond. The men came out with her father and all took us in. My claws sharpened as my stomach twisted. They had been watching.

"I told you there was something off about that cat! My instincts never lie!" The werewolf yelled and sprinted towards us. Cassie screamed, backing away and I meowed viciously, jumping to the side as he dove for me. Ethan catapulted into the pond, throwing water everywhere as he went head first in.

I sprinted in my cat form as fast as I possibly could with my tiny legs. My muscles contracted as I leapt up, making it to the top of the brick wall. I skittered down on the other side, maneuvering down on the bricks onto the sidewalk below. I could hear Cassie crying on the other side and sighed. I felt saddened for the poor girl but had to think of my own life first. Pet owner or not, I couldn't risk my life for her.

I ran further down the street, hoping to clear out of the view of any hidden cameras trying to catch a glimpse of me. Leaping into the air, my bones snapped as I shifted into a bird, changing my scent. I flew back and sat on the nearest tree branch by the house. I watched as the men came bolting through the front door, looking for my cat form which was nowhere to be found. I chirped and flew up onto the roof.