“Oh stop beating yourself up, Lucas!” Nathan sneered. “The boy was green as grass and never should’ve come anyway.”

The weather seemed to reflect Lucas’s mood as he stood with Nathan and Jeff outside a small farmhouse. Rain drizzled down on them, it not being cold enough to turn to snow or ice.

“How come Ben doesn’t do anything against this kind of crap!” Stomping his foot down and throwing his hands towards the house, Lucas tried to vent some of the built-up anger inside him. “He’s the fucking mayor, our leader, and yet he doesn’t take care of his own! He must know the way the boy was treated by his folks!”

“Private business. You of all people should know. Ben doesn’t meddle in people’s private affairs.” Shrugging, Nathan attempted to start walking away. “Look… Johnathan probably joined our expedition hoping that he could get out. You just got first-hand experience of how the kid was treated by his folks, they didn’t think much of him and he more than likely tried proving himself over and over. Joining us and hoping to be able to catch a filthy blue-eyed was potentially his way of getting favor from his parents. By the time he realized we wouldn’t get any, he probably changed his mind and ran away.”

Jeff rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he watched the two other men talk. His mind was already filled to the top with everything going on regarding Sheila, so he just wanted to go home.

“Run away?” Lucas scoffed. “And where would he go?! There is no way he would survive alone out there for so long. He’s been missing for five months now! We’ve not found a single trace of him and mysteriously, no traces of the blue-eyed snow leopards either since then! What does that tell you?!” He balled his hands into fists, ready to hit anything close by. Finding nothing in the vicinity except the two taller and bigger men, Lucas cursed loudly, gaining him two pairs of raised eyebrows.

“I see her ways are rubbing off on you, eh?” Nathan’s remark made Jeff sigh and roll his eyes again.

“What? Please elaborate.” Lucas was practically fuming.

Johnathan’s disappearance had been chewing at him ever since and now with this talk with his parents, it hadn’t helped one bit. It had been the mayor’s idea as a last attempt to try and find the boy, that maybe his parents would talk more to the men who were with their son when he went missing. How wrong he had been. Besides that, Ben has also been hounding him for more information about Azura to a point it almost felt like an obsession. He hadn’t mentioned it to anyone as it wasn’t anyone's business but it was getting to the point where he simply couldn’t take it anymore.

“Oh come on, you know what I mean. You’re raging like a lunatic. There’s only one person who could’ve taught you that seeing as how you used to be the calmest guy around, then you took that woman into your house. Speaking of which, How come she has no scent? Like…none at all?”

“Ok! That’s it! I’m done!” Lucas turned to Jeff who silently watched him. “You, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Turning to Nathan, he spoke up. “And you, Get off my back, tell Ben to lay off my back too, in fact, I would appreciate if everyone would lay off my back! If Azura posed any threat to our community, Nicolai would have mentioned it by now. I trust her and if she’s ready she’ll tell us. Till then, I’m not going to pry. Now, enjoy the rest of your day!”

Not waiting for either to respond, Lucas started walking back to his house while swearing under his breath at the rain. Even though Jeff would have to go the exact same way, right now he just needed some alone time and perhaps a beer or two later. Besides, the big man seemed out of it the whole time as well, so Lucas guessed he needed his private time too. He could understand. One thing he preferred about guys more than women; no explanations needed and the next day, all would be good.

Softly cursing at the continuing downpour, Lucas pulled up his hood even though he was soaked already. He could’ve called a taxi as he had done on the way over but the physical activity of walking was also a warm welcome to calm his mind and organize thoughts. He was on one side of the city, a part he rarely visited as it consisted of mostly just houses with nothing to do in the vicinity. It would take around twenty minutes to reach the city center and from there another twenty to get back to his own place.

Time he had since he had nothing else planned for the day. Well, aside from digging into his father’s and grandfather’s research that was. He had been meaning to do that again, hoping to find more clues about the blue-eyes but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Or to put it in other words; hadn’t found the courage to do so. He didn’t know exactly what it was that prevented him; scared maybe of finding something he wouldn’t like? It didn’t matter anyway. The research wouldn’t go anywhere and he had more pressing matters to deal with. Azura being one of them.

He had so often thought back to the moment he had met her. Trying to find out if she had a scent back then, but for the life of him, he could not recall even though he had spent a few days with her before the shitstorm hit. Every time he thought back, the only thing he could recall was her interactions with Nora, how they seemed to be almost as one. Their bantering, the looks they gave each other, the connection they shared...and then the blood.

How she had looked, covered in red before attacking that bastard. The shock when he turned out to be an energy caster. The bloodied aftermath where her body fell over the attacker, lifeless. The thick smell of blood returned to his nose from the memory.

The attackers had given them all bracelets. They were infused with some magic as they blocked all abilities a person had. Basically, rendering everyone human. That feeling had haunted him longer than he would’ve liked to admit. Being so helpless, no extra power at hand, knowing that if he got hurt, his healing skills were next to nothing. His sense of smell and hearing had been reduced to that of a normal human, so even then, he wouldn’t have been able to catch her scent.

Caught up in his thoughts, Lucas had made it to the center of the city. Being a Thursday, most people were still at work so it wasn’t too crowded. Lucas paused and glanced around a bit. There were a few things he could do; go home and delve into the research, or grab a drink to clear his mind. The latter seemed more appealing at the moment, so after a short deliberation, he turned to a smaller street on the side and made his way to his favorite pub. By night it was a club and bar but during the day they would act more like a bar and grill, serving some food as well.

He had taken a spot at the bar’s counter, the first glass of whiskey fresh in his hands as he swirled the liquid around slowly. Taking a sip, he cherished the burning feeling gliding down his throat. It was not a cheap whiskey but the lean man didn’t care for that as he scratched his beard absentmindedly.

No scent… Nothing at all. It was weird and there was magic involved for sure. The way Azura always fiddled with her ring, made him strongly suspect that thing had something to do with it.

Of course he wondered what she was hiding, what she was that was so important to hide away from people. Nora had been a werewolf, that much he knew, but Azura sure as hell wasn’t. It just wouldn’t make any sense for her to hide it. Maybe a rare breed, that was a possibility. The thought had crossed his mind that maybe she was a blue-eyed snow leopard, just considering her eye color and her temper, but there was no evidence and if they were truly as dangerous as they were made out to be, he surely wouldn’t be breathing by now. A witch, maybe… A strong one as they were rare and known to be hunted. There wasn’t much else he could think of really.

Well, whatever it was, Lucas couldn’t care less. If she was a danger to their community, Nicolai would have opened his mouth for sure. Even with the Phoenix, he hadn’t raised an alarm and Lucas really saw no need for it either. The only thing he wondered is if the Phoenix residing inside her was held back by the ring too. What would happen if she were to ever reveal herself for who she truly was?

“How many drinks have you had?!” A jolly voice pulled Lucas from his musings.

Annoyed, he looked up to Steffen who sat down next to him. After glaring at the blonde man without answering, his gaze moved to the almost empty glass of whiskey in his hands and the empty one standing next to it.

“Two…maybe three.” He spoke through clenched teeth, not catching the bartender raising four fingers at Steffen. “I don’t care. What are you doing here anyway?”

“Well, I ran into Jeff who told me bits and pieces. Most important thing, you being in a foul mood, as was he by the way... But! Jeff goes to cry over at Sheila’s when he is, while you do what you do best when in a shitty-ass mood...which is drinking! So I figured I would stop by, see how you were doing.”

“I’m just peachy as you can see. Now I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone.” He chucked the rest of the drink in one go and waved at the bartender for another.

“Oh... Still pissed off about me banging Rose? Well, I got another one coming for ya. I’m moving in with her as the lease on my apartment is ending.” Steffen barely dodged his friends’ fist coming at his face and caught him as he toppled forward.

“Whoa there! Four you said you had? In what timespan?!” Steffen chuckled as Lucas grumbled and sat back on the stool.

“About an hour.” The bartender responded while helping another customer.

“Right… Waste of a dang good whiskey if you ask me.” Steffen sniffed the glass, enjoying the rich smell of the alcoholic substance that had been inside. “Make that fifth one a glass of water, would you?” The bartender gave him a nod and proceeded to get a glass of water for Lucas.

“What are you doing here, Steffen. Obviously, you’re not just here to stop me from having a few drinks.” Lucas glared at the glass of water but eventually took it and drank most of it in one go.

“No… I came to apologize actually.” Steffen took a deep breath and cleared his throat before continuing. “Look, I know I messed up with how I handled the whole Rose thing. I’m sorry about that. It’s just that I really, really like her. And I realize as a good friend, you’re normally supposed to stay away from your friends’ ex but… It just kinda happened. It felt good, and don’t think I intentionally tried leading her on! That was not the case at all! Moving in with her…it’s fast but you gotta understand, I’ve never felt like this before! I...dare even say that she’s the one, man. Don’t ever let her know I said that though!” He smiled sheepishly at Lucas.

The taller man just shook his head in disbelief and looked to the side to avoid looking at Steffen directly. He let a silence fall in where he finished his glass of water and just observed his surroundings for a bit. Steffen had been his best friend in college but after that, they had drifted apart due to moving to different cities. They had stayed in touch and it was always good when they saw each other after such a long time, but they weren’t so close as they had once been. Steffen coming back to town was something he actually really liked, hoping to get some good, fun times with his old friend again.

“Look, it’s ok.” Lucas finally spoke up. “I see you two are happy together and are a good match. That’s not the issue actually. The thing that bothered me most was you, and Rose, not telling me straight away. You guys were seriously dating for almost three months before you finally grew the balls to tell me! Why not ask me straight away?! I wouldn’t have objected. Rose is my ex, but still a close friend. Why would I be a dick about who she’s seeing? We didn’t work as a couple, but you guys actually do. I’m happy to see that actually. I’m happy for her, to see her glowing again, and I’m happy for you too. Just pissed at the fact you guys kept me in the dark for so long while others did know.”

An awkward laugh erupted from Steffen’s mouth as he leaned back. “Dude… I’m sorry. But dang you’re way too honest when you’ve been drinking.”

Lucas broke into loud laughter and slapped his friends’ shoulder. This time, not falling off the stool while doing so.

“So… We’re good?” The blonde man piped in.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Lucas answered, a smile still plastered on his face. “Thanks for actually brightening my day, asshole.”

“Really? That brightened your whole day?” Giving Lucas a flash surprised look, the Energy-caster ordered a beer for himself.

“Yeah, well, never was one to stay in a bad mood for long. I’m just glad to be sitting here, drinking with an old friend.” Lucas raised his empty glass of water as a toast.

Snickering, Steffen replied. “Dude, you really need to lay off that scotch.”

“Yeah, fuck you too.” A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention for a moment before turning back to his friend. “With Azura disappearing for the day again and not feeling like hanging out with the rest, I’m glad you showed up.”

“Azura disappeared again? What, she found herself a hot lover or something?”

“No. Well, not that I know off. I highly doubt it actually. She disappears, once or twice a week for a big part of the day. Says she needs some time alone; goes hiking or whatever. I once asked if I could join her and she got her panties in a massive twist. Heck, she can be terrifying when angry so I just left it.”

“I think all women are terrifying when angry, to be honest.” Steffen grimaced. Finishing his beer, he ordered a second and after glancing at Lucas, ordered another glass of whiskey. “Rose, even as tiny as she is, she can scare the shit out of me!”

Another movement towards the exit of the bar grabbed Lucas’s attention. Swirling his head around, he caught sight of a blonde woman leaving the bar. Steffen exclaimed a heavy sigh and tapped the distracted man on his shoulder to get his attention.

“Really, Lucas? Was I that bad back in college too?”

Snickering Lucas took his whiskey and took a deep sniff of the amber liquid before taking a sip. “Worse, man. Way, way, worse! I would glance at a woman, and you’d already be all over her! I never stood a chance.” He pouted.

“You snooze, you lose. But no worries! I no longer stand in your way. Actually… I can be your wingman! Now finish your drink, I need to let off some steam and have to show you some new tricks if you know what I mean.” He emphasized himself by winking while a white glow enveloped his hands.

A small, white translucent ball formed between Steffen’s hands before he quickly doused the energy that erupted from it. Lucas’s lip twitched at the sight of it. Steffen had always enjoyed playing with his powers as an energy caster. Sometimes he found some really nice tricks to do, other times, it blew up in his face, or anyone around him at that moment.

The man who had attacked Azura and caused the massive scar on her abdomen had been one as well, yet far stronger than Steffen. He’d managed to convert the energy into lightning, becoming much more damaging than Steffen could ever be. The times that Steffen had hit him, on purpose or accident, had been painful but not life-threatening. It was more a zing, like running a certain amount of voltage through his body. Though convinced Steffen was capable of doing much more, he had never seen his friend use his powers to their full extent. Just as Steffen knew he was a shifter but had never seen him shift.

“Yeah sure, just...if you zap me again I’ll tell Rose.” Lucas joked as he drank the rest of his whiskey.