--- Scotty's POV---

It was odd, just sitting here calmly whilst Ezra's fingers were rubbing through my fur. All I could hear was his steady breathing, the gentle bubbling of the stew on the stove and my tail flicking against his trousers.

Over the past few hours, we'd been establishing and strengthening our mental bond, where Ezra was helping me getting used to contacting him and having a voice that wasn't my own in my head.

My ear flicked as I heard birds chirping outside, fluttering on the rooftop. Whilst my human side had no interest in the critters, the cat was very much interested, using its ears to keep track of them at all times.

Why the cat felt the insistent need to chitter as it eyed the birds beyond our reach, was beyond me. Yet I couldn't stop, crouching into a stalking position when one of the birds appeared on the window sill.

Ezra chuckled when my body instinctively jolted forwards when the birds flew past the window, as if tempted to catch them.

"Careful Scotty. Instincts are a powerful thing that you can't just ignore. It'll take a while before you're used to them but in the meantime, they tend to take you for a wild ride if you let them lead the way."

I mewled in response, as it wasn't too hard to imagine what he meant. After all, I had been the victim of wolves losing control over their instincts.

Still bore the marks of them as well.

As if remembering that now, Ezra cringed before scratching at the side of his nose. "Yeah, probably not the best thing to mention while you're still adapting..."

A snort escaped me as if agreeing to that statement but there was no taking it back. What happened, happened and nobody could change that.

The fact remained that I was now stuck in this body for an undetermined amount of time. Who knew if I'd ever be capable of returning to my normal shape.

After all, the memory of my body dissipating into thin air was clear in my head. Then again, there must be some way to return to my human form, as I had been changed into a cat in the first place.

The biggest question was, would I trust anyone that claimed they could help me? I didn't even know if I trusted Ezra to begin with.

Ezra nodded understandingly, fingers brushing gently through my fur. "With all the things you've been put through in such a short amount of time, I would've been shocked if you would've trusted anyone."

I huffed at that. The mere fact that the first people I encountered in this new world, had also tried to kill me, didn't really help with those trust issues.

Not to mention that I was brought to this world just for the sake of becoming a sacrifice in some fucked up ritual.

Azazel probably would know how to change me back. If there was a way to do so. But the mere thought of reaching out to the monster who murdered me in cold blood.

Just remembering that bastard had my fur stand on end, a low displeased yowl rippling through my chest. The sound was quick to draw Ezra's attention, who sighed and smiled understandingly.

"You certainly don't have the best introduction into our world. Not to mention that Azazel is still roaming around free to do what he wishes." Ezra rubbed his fingers over his face, shaking his head.

From the little bits and pieces of conversation I had overheard, Azazel was a well known entity among the supernatural communities. A spiteful, vengeful demon who had been rumored to have been sealed away for some time.

But it was made apparent that the seal had become undone. Releasing Azazel and allowed the wrath of the enraged demon to roam rampant.

And I knew Ezra had been looking through my memories over the past few days. He had shown particular interest in how I came to be in this form, what Azazel had done to me.

Even more so on how Azazel had looked, had mentioned a host while we had been completely alone.

Ezra nodded, lifting me off the windowsill before soothingly scratching through my fur. "The Coven has agreed with my suspicion that Azazel's former captor, a well known and powerful warlock, has been forced to host the demon's soul."

"Which means," Ezra sighed, roaming through the house as he subconsciously petted me. "Time is running out. Possession of your body by another entity suppresses your soul, eats away at it. Slowly, bit by bit, you lose who you are until eventually...you die."

I shivered, fur bristling before it was smoothed back down by Ezra's gentle touch. The haunted look in Azazel's eyes hadn't been imagined.

For a short moment, I had caught a glimpse of the true person, locked and suppressed underneath Azazel. Had seen the suffering reflected in his eyes, the anguish and disgust before it was pushed back beneath an evil glimmer.

To think that meant the poor warlock who actually owned that body, was being suppressed, slowly tortured both physically and mentally.

A high pitched whine drew my attention, turning sharply in Ezra's arms. He followed my gaze towards the window, where to my amazement, a pearlescent bird fast approached the glass.

Without flinching or making any motion of stopping, the small bird flapped its wings and then seamlessly flew through the glass.

The glass rippled like water being disturbed as the bird melted through it, emerging in the room without a blemish to the glass or the bird itself.

Instantly, my feline instincts kicked in, making me chatter and scramble out of Ezra's hold. The man merely chuckled and shook his head as I hopped onto the table, ears and eyes pinned on the little fluttering creature that lacked any fear.

In fact, it landed right next to me on the table!

The cat was quick to bat a paw at it, thinking it had an easy catch but both of us were shocked, quite literally, as soon as we touched the small bird.

I let out a disgusted hiss, scrambling back with puffed out fur before shaking myself. The small zap had been harmless but had also warned to not touch the small thing.

Ezra snickered, approaching the table as the small bird didn't respond to my presence. Instead it folded it's wings, opened its tiny beak and I flattened my ears as a human voice sounded.

"Message to Sir Ezra. Our Crone would like to meet you and the feline at your earliest convenience. Please let us know when so one of the Coven can transport you two. Message to Sir Ezra. Our Crone wo-"

Ezra reached out once the message once completed, his finger gently resting on the birds' small head and stopping it mid repetition.

"We've heard the summons and accept the invitation. Give me three hours to get a babysitter for Jeremy. We thank the Coven for this opportunity." Ezra spoke solemnly, removing his hands from the small bird when he finished speaking.

Its color brightened, becoming a near white with a blue shimmer to it. I watched with slight suspicion as it shook out its feathers, repeating Ezra's message in his voice before it chirped once, turned, and flew back the way it came.

The cat was quick to give chase, only stopped by the glass that didn't bother the bird in the least. Ezra chuckled, fingers scratching through my fur as he explained.

"A sending stone. Thanks to the Coven's magic, it will track down and find whoever the recipient of the message is and convey it with ease." He sighed, shaking his head as he added "The coven sure love to showcase their capabilities."

I chattered in agreement, eyes still focused on the sky, as if I could still see and somehow catch the device without getting zapped.

"It's a rare occasion when the Covens allow any outsiders to visit." Ezra explained as he walked out the room, with me following close behind. "The only ones who get to see the Covens, are the witches, warlocks and their intended mates."

Jeremy didn't seem to be bothered that he couldn't come along. In fact, the young boy seemed eager to have a sleep over at the pack while I barely suppressed a hiss at the idea.

Probably won't ever fully trusts those wolves again.

When Jeremy was picked up, it was exactly three hours after the message had went through, that a portal opened.

A low warning yowl announced my distrust, fur puffing up as Ezra was quick to pick me up before I could scramble away.

The young witch who emerged from the swirling center of light smiled, giving a slight bow in our direction. "My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you, little one." She spoke, voice pitched low and soothing as she held out a hand to sniff.

My ears were still pinned back in suspicion, tongue flicking over my nose before I gave her hand a hesitant sniff. Lavender, thyme and a hint of something earthy sprang to the forefront before she gently scratched through my fur.

"I am Ciri. Mother was quite obsessed with a fantasy game from the mortal realm and when she found out she was having a daughter, well..." She snickered slightly, chocolate brown eyes flitting between us as I slowly calmed down.

Her very scent and demeanor were soothing, a proud sparkle in her eyes as she added "I've always been told I have a natural gift with animals. I'm glad that even with a human soul, I can still offer some help."

Ezra nodded slowly as Ciri stood upright, before motioning to the portal. "Please, our Crone would like to speak with you both."

My back twitched awkwardly as the portal hummed, each pitch in sound creating another involuntary spasm within my muscles.

And Ezra seemed to understand that I wouldn't enter the portal voluntarily, reaffirming his hold on my body before he sighed.

"Lead the way."