➳

Madeline wandered through the meadow, the cool breeze blowing through her hair. Now that the long winter had come to an end, it was finally warm enough for her to enjoy a nice walk outside again.

A bright smile formed on her face when she arrived at the garden. It was wide and colorful, sloping gently down a turquoise-blue river. Groves of peaceful birch trees surrounded it, casting idyllic shadows onto the lush, green grass, while letting a few glinting sunbeams through here and there. In the middle stood a large bed of roses in the shape of a heart, pink and blue; her favorite colors.

Matthew had built this garden a few weeks ago for her seventeenth birthday as a present, along with giving her multiple sets of diamond jewelry, and throwing a grand party for the entire Pack to celebrate her special day. She was blown away by how much money he had spent on her. Just spending the day with him would have been enough of a gift for her, but she was immensely grateful for all his efforts, especially for making this beautiful garden.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as she felt something furry brush against her legs.

"Mittens!" She grinned, reaching down to pick up the cat. "You scared me, you little cutie." The feline snuggled her face, purring softly in response.

Madeline tried to put the cat back down, but he grabbed onto her dress, refusing to let go. "I have to go back home soon, I'll come see you another day Mittens."

The cat did not move, staring at her with pleading green eyes.

She sighed, defeated by his cuteness. "Alright, I'll take you with me."

...

After filling up the tub with bubbles, the young girl stripped off her clothes and slowly got in, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm water on her skin. Bubble baths had always been her favourite way to relax.

A furry tail on her face made her eyes snap open. The cat stood on the edge of the tub, licking his fur.

"How did you get in here? I told you to stay in the room."

He let out a cute meow in disagreement, before going back to cleaning himself with his tongue.

"Fine. You can stay," She mumbled, closing her eyes again, though it felt strange to have a cat in here while she was bathing. "How long was he here for? Did he see me naked? It doesn't matter, he's just a cat right? Plus I'm covered by bubbles. Stop getting worried, Maddie." She thought to herself, sinking deeper in the tub.

——————————

Matthew walked into his office, where his Betas sat waiting for him. An unrecognizable scent wafted in the air, coming from the Beta female. His eyebrow arched curiously.

"You smell... different," He observed, staring at her. His eyes drifted to her mate, sitting next to her with an unreadable expression.

She hesitated for a second, before blurting out: "I'm pregnant."

Surprise flashed over the Alpha's features for a second, before quickly returning to his usual, indifferent state. It had only been a few months since the couple met each other at the training grounds. Then again, werewolves typically did not spend much time courting.

"It wasn't exactly planned, but we're not mad at it. I've always wanted children," The Beta male responded, nuzzling against his mate lovingly.

"Don't do that in my office," Matthew scowled at them, his face laced with disgust.

The female laughed. "We know you do this with your mate too, Alpha. When are you planning on having a child?"

He coughed awkwardly, clearly taken aback by the question. A child... Matthew had never been fond of children; being a father was almost unimaginable for him. Besides, it was impossible for a human to bear his pups.

"We cannot have children. Madeline and I are not the same species."

"You won't turn her into a direwolf?"

He shook his head. "The risks are too high. Her human body will not be able to handle it."

"Ah, that's true. I've been reading a lot about humans lately, they're quite interesting creatures. Apparently they're not affected by silver in any way. I tested it out a couple days ago with Madeline by giving her a silver necklace, and it was true! She held it in her hand with no reaction at all."

Matthew glared at her, not liking the idea of her 'testing' things on his mate. "How did you even know about that?"

"I read it in a book about different creatures, I think I brought it with me." She rummaged around her bag, before pulling out a thick book and setting it on his desk: Encyclopedia of the world's intelligent creatures.

"Isn't it our turn to coach the new soldiers at the training grounds right now?" The Beta male remembered. They both glanced at the clock, quickly springing up from their seats.

"Crap. I'll send you the documents you asked for later, Alpha. Come on, we're gonna be late!" She hurried, dragging her mate out of the office.

A small smile crept onto Matthew's face; his Betas were indeed a very interesting pair.

His attention turned to the book on his desk. Matthew already knew a lot about humans, especially after meeting his mate. Although he never told her, he had done extensive research about her species.

Humans had weaker immune systems, and were more sensitive to cold temperatures, so he made sure to keep the heating on all winter, even if it suffocated him. Among the many other things he did for her, he also kept a calendar to track her monthly bleeding cycles, making sure to always have enough chocolate for her when the time came. Madeline would probably be mortified if she found out; she always got embarrassed when he would bring up her bleeding, though he had no idea why.

Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Matthew grabbed the book and randomly flipped through the pages. One of them caught his attention.

Familiars.

On the page was a picture of a cat, with white and black fur and bright green eyes. "Quite familiar indeed," Matthew mused, turning the page to read more about these creatures.

"Familiars are spirit companions who assist witches in their magical practices. Many of them are in cat form, though advanced witches may choose to put their familiars in different forms."

Matthew skimmed over the description, slightly uninterested, but two sentences at the very end caught his eye:

"If a familiar wishes to have a human form, it can do so by feigning affection and gaining a human being's trust. Once the human fully trusts the animal, the familiar will acquire the ability to possess their body."

He turned the page back to look at the cat in the picture, recalling how a similar cat would always follow Madeline around, showing way too much affection to her and refusing to leave her alone.

The realization suddenly hit him.