Azura's blood ran cold as she sensed another presence in the room, standing right beside her bed, just out of her line of sight. Her survival instincts screamed at her to turn, to scream, to do something—
But before she could even twitch, the figure launched onto her bed like a predator pouncing on prey, grabbing her wrist with an iron grip.
"Azura! What the hell is going on?! Why I can't smell Cora's scent on you anymore?!"
Azura's brain, still buffering from the mental wolf-kick, finally registered the face in front of her.
Oh. It was Azura Williams' brother. Her annoying brother.
But... who was Cora? Was she a pet? A secret lover? A very small, very important hamster?
"Wait, Jerry, what do you mean?" she blurted out, genuinely confused.
Her brother's face twisted into a mask of frustration and bewilderment.
"Jerry?! Who the hell is Jerry?!"
Azura's eye twitched. She had heard his name last night, but she'd been too focused on Selena's tragic drama to commit it to memory. She only remembered it started with a J. Classic. Cliché.
Probably something basic like Jerry, right? Or maybe... something adjacent?
"Uh... sorry, James—"
"... Are you seriously joking right now?" His voice dropped to a dangerous low.
Azura's mouth, now operating on pure panic, decided to take a gamble.
"Uhm... Antonio? Cedric? Ferguson...?" She was grasping at straws now, the names getting increasingly desperate. "Xyovarion....? Zqozozoxewe.....?"
"...."
Her brother stared at her, his eye twitching violently with each increasingly unhinged name that left her lips.
The names had not only strayed far from the letter J, but they had also left the realm of human naming conventions entirely and entered the territory of alien species from a low-budget sci-fi film.
Azura let out an awkward laugh, cold sweat dripping down her temple like she'd just run a marathon in a sauna.
"Hahaha, I was just kidding, Kim Jong Un."
This time, she hadn't just picked a name far from the original. She had also, apparently, changed his nationality and possibly started an international incident.
"Your joke isn't funny, Azura!!" Jonathan's face was rapidly approaching the color of a ripe tomato. "I asked you a serious question, but you're dodging it by messing with my name! How could you possibly forget my name that completely?! Jonathan and Kim Jong Un are WORLDS apart!!"
At the sound of rage-fueled syllables, Azura's eyes lit up like a slot machine hitting jackpot.
Jonathan!
That was it! The mystery was solved! The great name caper had reached its thrilling conclusion!
"Yes, that's right, that's right! You're Jonathan!! My beloved brother!" She clasped her hands together, beaming like a game show host. "Of course I was just joking! How could I possibly forget you, brother? You're so kind, so handsome, so brave, and such a diligent saver of... whatever it is you save! And your name—so beautiful, so timeless, so cliché that millions of people around the world probably share it! There's no way I'd ever forget a name like that!"
Jonathan frozen, his mouth slightly agape. He wasn't sure if he'd just been praised or personally victimized by a verbal assault disguised as flattery.
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
He wanted to argue. He really did. But somewhere between 'Kim Jong Un' and 'diligent saver,' his brain had short-circuited.
Finally, he shook his head, deciding to table the name crisis for later. There were bigger problems at hand. Like the fact that his sister seemed to have undergone a complete personality transplant overnight.
Azura's wrist felt like it was caught in a bear trap as Jonathan's grip tightened, his eyes blazing with an intensity that could melt steel.
"Forget about my name!" he growled, leaning in so close she could count the angry veins pulsing on his forehead. "Answer my question! Why can't I smell Cora's scent on you?! Why did she suddenly just disappear?!"
Azura's panic meter shot straight into the red zone. Her brain, still recovering from the Name Guessing Olympics, now had to pivot to a whole new mystery: Who the hell was Cora?
She scrambled, analyzing his words at lightning speed.
He couldn't smell Cora's scent on her body.
Right. Werewolves. Super sniffers. If she'd stolen cheese and hidden it in her sock, they'd probably know exactly what brand and expiration date it was, and they definitely wouldn't mistake it for smelly feet.
So Cora must be... the rude, arrogant wolf who had just verbally abused her and kicked her out of her own mental space? The one who said she was going into hibernation until the "real Azura" returned?
If that was true, then why did Jonathan say she "disappeared"? Did he think she was dead? Vanished into the ether? Abducted by aliens?
She had to gamble. Again. Just like with his name. And since she couldn't exactly tell him, "Oh, your sister's soul swapped with mine and her wolf is having a tantrum," she had to come up with something else.
Something plausible. Something believable. Something that wouldn't make her sound completely insane.
"Cora?" Azura laughed, waving her free hand dismissively. "Cora! Yeah, she said she wanted to take a nap! You know, go into 'dormant mode' because she's bored with the lack of drama in this pack! She said she'll only wake up if there's a juicy affair to sniff out or if you finally get married!"
Deep in Azura's mental space, Cora—who had been peacefully floating in a state of meditative rest—suddenly jolted so violently she nearly did a full somersault. Her ears pinned back, her fur bristled, and her eyes snapped open with murderous intent.
'BORED?! JUICY AFFAIR?! Does this brain-dead human think I'm some gossiping auntie who lives for soap operas and scandals?! How dare she slander my noble wolf reputation like this?!'
But then, just as quickly as the rage had flared, Cora's eyes narrowed into a sly, mischievous gleam.
No. Wait. This was perfect.
She settled back down, closing her eyes with a smug smirk curling on her lupine lips. If she stayed hidden, stayed silent, then this impostor would have to face the consequences alone. No wolf instincts. No enhanced senses. No fated mate detection. Just a helpless human fumbling around in a werewolf's body, trying not to drown.
Let's see how long she lasts.
---
Back in the physical world, Jonathan's grip loosened as he stared at Azura like she'd just told him the sky was actually green.
"Azura... how can you be this calm?! Don't you understand?!" His voice cracked with frustration. "Right now, you're basically a wolfless human! You can't smell danger! You can't track a target! And most importantly—if your fated mate walks past you wearing a neon sign that says 'I'M YOUR SOULMATE, YOU IDIOT,' you wouldn't even know it because YOUR WOLF IS ON A VACATION IN THE BAHAMAS!"