Lucas dropped himself on the pebbles of the driveway as he stared up at his own handiwork. Panting, a hand moved to the side of the head trying to ease the throb which had been a constant pain ever since he had returned to the land of the living. Fine dust covered his face, hair, and bare upper body, sticking to the layer of sweat that had formed. His other hand still rested on the sander he had used to remove the old layers of paint from the big shed. It had been ages since it had a paint job and Lucas would do anything now to keep his mind and body occupied. The only consequence was that damned headache which would increase.

"Normally I would enjoy watching a fit man work himself into a sweat with some big tools. Any girl's dream you know. But with you, right now, it doesn't look as sexy as it should. You're over-exerting yourself."

"You rather have me drinking all the time? Cause it's either that or this." Lucas turned his head to Sheila. "At least this is useful and serves a purpose."

He could see the worry in her eyes as she observed him. The headache increased and he groaned knowing all too well this was also his own fault. He had been drinking too much; had done so almost all evenings since he had told her they needed a break. Learning she had left to Scire had not helped things along. He should've been relieved, knowing he wouldn't be able to hurt anymore. Heck, it was the reason he had pushed her away to start with. That, and how he had found himself reacting to the news as it had been on the tv.

He had felt it. The power of the Phoenix. It had made itself known to him in a way he had not felt before. The mark had burned into his skin, the eagerness and need of the Phoenix to destroy whatever its enemy was had flown into him. The obviousness of Its choice to destroy a whole village instead of letting it fall to those creatures. He understood and yet he had questioned her. It had been messed up to feel the flames inside him while it was the same entity answering his questions through Azura. Everything had made sense at that moment, and yet none of it had. Now it all was a big blur up to the point he had asked to speak to Her again.

"That might be so, but I'd rather watch you do it with other intentions instead of hiding your emotions." Sheila had walked up to him but did not face him, instead watched the shed. "What color are you going to paint it?"

"Don't try your emotional bullshit with me, Sheila. Pregnant or not, it won't work." He pushed himself up and brushed the dust off his pants. "And it's going to be dark green. I've had the paint for over a year already."

A shiver ran across his spine as the sudden cold washed over him. It was far from summer still and even though there was barely any snow, the temperatures were still low. The goosebumps on his skin did not go unnoticed by Sheila as she ushered him into the house.

"You're an idiot Lucas. Put some clothes on before you catch a cold."

"I'm going, I'm going. No need to baby me!" In the passing of the kitchen, he grabbed his t-shirt which hung from a chair, and put it on while making his way to the living room with Sheila trailing right behind him.

"Maybe you do, Lucas! You're hurting because of Azura and it's obvious! You're hurting because something happened to you that you had no control off. You are hurting because there's a gap in your memory in which you only heard things about what happened! You're-"

"Out!" Lucas had spun around just as he had grabbed his sweater. One arm through, it would have looked ridiculous any other time, but the burly redhead staggered back as his power hit her full force. "Get out now!"

The male shifter grabbed his head as the headache seemed to split his brain apart. The unexplained anger had risen so fast it felt like another him was trying to force itself out. He recovered pretty fast, managed to put on the sweater, and steadied himself on the back of the couch. Sheila had retreated to the doorway to the kitchen, holding her arms protectively over her stomach. For once, he realized just how Azura had felt at times when people would jump out of her way.

"Just..." He started, knowing all too well the mistake he had made. "Don't try to force me into an emotional talk. I never was one to talk and never will be."

"You're you and yet still so different. You... feel different." Hearing Sheila being so unsure of herself was something else.

She always was the 'mother' of the group, the sensible one who always knew what to do. The one taking care of everyone. Motherhood had been written on her face from the day she was born.

"There's more power." His friend dropped her arms, her shoulder relaxing as she examined him.

"I-"

"It's ok," she shushed him."I get it, I think."

She walked back in and headed to the unlit fireplace. She didn't get it, he knew. Nobody except Azura did.

"Don't. Take a seat, I'll light the fire." Lucas did as he said while Sheila seated herself on the sofa.

He had the fire going in mere seconds. That was one thing that was still the same. That new surge of power within was new though. Ever since the revelation he had an ancient soul, he had felt it. As if a key had been turned and a closed door had opened within himself. Granted, he had experienced it only for a short time before being experimented on but that didn't matter. He held power unbeknown to himself and everyone else. It had been the reason why he was able to rival Azura when needed. Why he was not scared of her, refused to submit to her. Thinking back on it, it had been weird that the one time she had a power showdown with Alpha Andreas he was the one submitting. Then again, was he really? He had been caught between two powerful people and Andreas had mentioned he had been surprised he had not been on his knees from what had been going on in there.

"What are you thinking about?" The redhead had grabbed one of the sheep wool blankets that Azura loved so much and draped it over her legs. Probably a women thing.

He chuckled softly as he let the warmth of the fire spread in his body. Staying close to the fireplace, he couldn't help but keep his eyes on the dancing flames.

"Things just have changed so much since Azura first arrived here. Now we're facing a tremendous shitstorm of which we can't even see the extend off. And yet, while that's about to go down we sit here, murmuring about personal issues."

"Life doesn't just pause itself when something is about to happen. Even in times of war people will still deal with personal issues. They alter and they change depending on the circumstances but feelings and emotions are never put on hold."

"They can be pushed aside when needed. And that's exactly what will happen. I'll be there, standing next to her when the moment asks for it. I'll be there, doing whatever It and she needs me to do. I'll set aside whatever I feel cause at that moment there's only one thing that matters. How I feel about her is unimportant at that moment. The moment she stepped into my house, I've been dragged into something I have no control over and have no say in. Not that I cared, at times I even decided to keep going with it. I decided to support her, stick with her and I intend to see that through. I made a promise to her. My personal feelings have nothing to do with this." The words had left his mouth without thinking.

Sheila just hummed, a small smile curved on her lips as she heard everything she needed to know. Rubbing her growing baby bump, her eyes fell on the two bottles of whiskey next to the couch.

"There's one thing I hate about being pregnant."

"Which is?" His eyes had followed her gaze towards the empty liquor bottles.

"Not being able to have a drink with you."

*

Days had flowed together into nights and Lucas really had no more clue how long it had been since Azura had left. Every time he had grabbed his phone, he had to resist the urge to send her a message or call her, just to hear her voice. To the outside, he seemed to be doing fine but in reality, he was still a wreck. His beard had grown back though, yet it was a little rough and could use a trim.

The headaches were still present and it almost felt like whoever Marric had changed him into was still partially there. He had snapped at Sheila more than once now, Jeff had also gotten some of it but with Rose, that was another matter. She challenged him, provoked him to a point he was afraid he would lose control once more as he had done with Azura. Learning he had gone after her when being brainwashed just proved his point. He had a big reset alright, but it hadn't cleared everything out of his system.

Lucas tossed his head around as he focused on the mountains in front of him. Shifting and going for a run in snow leopard form had always helped her, or so she said, so why not him. His tail swooped from the left to the right before he took off at full speed. Leaping from rock to rock, running, and climbing he had to focus on all his animal senses in order not to trip and fall. His mind emptied as he pushed his instincts forward and his humanity to the back.

The thousands and thousands of smells from the woods and mountains assaulted his nose and mind. Sorting through them took everything he got while also focusing on where he was going. She had been right. It was freeing and exhilarating to just become one with the wild. If he could grin, he would as his thick padded paws hit the frosty floor over and over.

Time flew by before he finally got back to the spot where he had placed his clothing. The cliffside which he loved, even after Azura had attacked and killed him there. He couldn't remember that part but he did remember the aftermath where she had almost gone after Rose, Jeff, and Steffen. Shaking the thoughts from his head again, he focused on shifting back and soon felt all the muscles and bones move and rearrange themselves in his body. It still felt odd but the process was painless.

The chilly wind beat at his naked skin immediately after the shift was finished. The male shifter was on hands and knees but sat up on his haunches before going to a standing position. He stretched his bare body, ignoring the cold. It was indeed a long time away from summer.

"Oh jeez! Put some damn clothes on!" Lucas whipped around at the voice, facing Rose and Steffen in full glory.

"Dude, we're friends but this is taking things too far, you know." Steffen chuckled as Lucas did not attempt to hide himself from their gazes.

The darned headache returned with a vengeance. The peaceful state he had been in just before shattered as flashes of red-streaked his vision. Lucas gripped his head, gasping as surges of pain went through his body. Memories invaded him, instructions on what to do, who to follow. He saw her, clinging onto his arms as his hands were wrapped around her throat. Her black hair falling around her pale face, those blue eyes pleading with him to let her go.

She needed to die.

They all needed to die. Marric was the true leader.

"Lucas?! What the hell? Are you ok?" His ex's voices pulled him back to the here and now.

Feeling a bit of wetness run down his nose, the male shifter licked his lip. A metallic warm taste lingered on his tongue. Brushing his fingers past his nose, he stared at the blood that coated the tips. As he looked up, a smirk gracing his lips, his vision zeroed in on Rose.

"Doing just fine." He responded.

As he lunged for the small woman, he never saw the bright flash of pure energy coming towards him.