The engine purrs as Liam starts the car. He is taking me to meet his Pride. I cant believe I'm doing this. I'm scared to death of werecats. Even though I am one. But I'm not like them. I DONT wish to be like this. I just really want my old life back. I hadn't known that I was a werecat until Gwendor had found me. He said that he knew I was one because of my appearances. I have to wear colored contacts now, because my eyes look like a cat's. And i also have to stop putting my hair behind my ears or in a ponytail because my ears are pointed. My canine teeth sharpen themselves to a point. There's not much I can do about that, my voice, or the way i walk. Total unfairness.

"Why don't you like being a werecat? ",Liam asks suddenly. I look out the car window. Its getting dark now.

"Star?", he asks again. "They are vicious. Not natural. They could kill someone! Wercats are unsafe to every human", I say quickly.

"You mean 'we'. 'We' could kill someone", he corrects gently. I feel a growl coming from my throat.

"No i mean you! You could kill people! I'm not like you. I don't want to be like this. I hate having to squint my eyes when I see a bright light, I hate having to cover my ears and hum to myself when something is too loud, I hate accidentally biting my lip while eating. I HATE IT ALL! ",I scream, making Liam swerve the car.

"Hey ,I have sensitive hearing too. Quiet down", he complains. I cant beleive myself, but I actually smile. Why am I smiling? I just practically poured all my thoughts and feelings about werecats out. "What's so funny?", Liam asks. "I wish I knew", I say slyly.

He looks at me with a look in his eyes. What is that? Amusement? Interest? I have no idea. A sudden bump makes me look outside. Liam is driving us into the forest.

"We're gonna have to walk from here. Cant have any tire tracks leading to us. I have to warn you, though. We have allot of members, and they are all going to be there. I don't want you to be freaked", he says while getting out of the car. He shifts into his leopard form and starts running deeper into the forest.

"Hey! Wait up. I don't know my way there!", I yell after him. He slows down. I jump out of the car, shift, and run to his side. "Slow poke", he snickers. "I'm NOT slow. You got a head start", I accuse. "Oh really? You think you could race me?", Liam asks. I nod my head excitedly. "Okay. On three. One, two, three!" he yells and takes off.

I start running full speed, for the second time today. My legs practically throwing me five feet with every step. Liam is running a little bit ahead of me. He is pretty fast. But he has the advantage of knowing which ways to go while i have to follow him.

I start hearing talking, laughter, and scuffling of feet. Liam starts speeding up. Or am I slowing down? I push my legs harder and come up to Liam's side. I cast a scared glance at him. "Don't worry. The only danger you are in is of losing this race!", he says. I grin, feeling the energy left in me. I use that leftover energy and sprint toward the source of the talking. I'm in front of Liam. I think i will win. Until Liam runs about ten feet in front of me. Then we both run strait into a clearing.

I stop suddenly, seeing all of the big cats around me. I quickly count them all; 14 eyes are staring at me aggressively. I see one ocelot, two lions, one jaguar, one caracal, two small cheetahs, one jaguarundi, one lynx, one black leopard, one snow leopard (like me),two mountain lions, and one serval. Many of the cats are standing on rocks making a cave. Others are sitting in the trees. I swivel my head around, taking in the scene, eyes wide. I stare at them, and they stare at me. Growls and hisses are thrown at me, making me flinch. I shrink to the ground in a submission posture.

Two of the cats start walking to me. A male lion and a female mountain lion. They approach cautiously, as if they expect me to attack. But i just hiss at them. Anger erupts in their eyes. They look like they are about to pounce but before they can, Liam jumps in between us.

"Why is this snow leopard here?", the male lion asks. "I found her. She was being chased by Hunters. Gwendor had met her before. Remember when he was telling us about a female werecat he had found a few days ago? Well this is the girl. Her name is Star", Liam explains. I cant believe how quickly he jumped between me and them.

"Ahh. This is the girl? The girl that Gwendor talked to us about? I don't see anything special about her", the female mountain lion says harshly.

"Shut up, Opal", Liam growls. I look around at the other cats. They seem to be absorbing the whole conversation.

"Shift back into your human form", the male lion orders. "She doesn't have to, Vrent", Liam tells him. Vrent ignores him and again says," Shift back". I do as he says, and immediately regret it. I feel vulnerable, exposed, and helpless as a human. "Ooo a pretty, wavy haired blond. Let me guess, crystal blue eyes?", Opal says sarcastically.

"No, their gray", I say boldly. I surprise myself with braveness. "Quiet", rent commands Opal. "This is a werecat you are talking to, show some respect to your kind", Vrent says. It feels nice to have someone else defending me. "So what? We are ALL werecats. This one is no different", Opal again calls out. Why does this mountain lion hate me?

"Well maybe because Gwendor took a shine to her", Liam jumps in the conversation. "Hold your tongue, Liam! This is none of your concern. Especially to a lone scout", Opal scolds. "Actually, Opal, it has a lot to do with me. I found Star, I brought her here, and i seem to be the only one she is not afraid of!", he yells.

Some of the felines are starting to come down from the trees and rocks, making me paranoid. "Why are you making this such a fight?", Vrent asks. "You did the same thing with the last werecat that joined!",a female voiced serval says to Opal. Many of the werecats nod their heads. "Vrent,i need to tell you something important. As our trusted lutenant and friend, i must inform you that Gwendor has been killed. While Star was being perused by the Hunters, Gwendor tried to help her and was shot while doing so", Liam announces sadly.

The way he spoke sounded like he was reading a script written by Mozart. Liam shifts into his human form. Shock has crossed every werecat's face. They all shift into their human forms. Most of them were in their teens and twenties. But both of the cheetahs looked like ten year olds, and a couple of others looked to be in their forties or fifties.

"What? Gwendor is dead? How? Why didn't you help him!", the female lion asks furiously. "I couldn't. He-Gwendor was dead and loaded onto the Hunters' truck before i could do anything. I didn't- there was no other option, Misty!", Liam stutters. I could tell he feared this lioness. "So you saved this girl before any more blood could be shed. Very wise, Liam. Gwendor's death will be mourned", Misty says.

"Who is going to be our leader now, though?", an ocelot asks. "The lutenant. Vrent will be the new leader", Misty says. "Thank you. Id be glad to take the place as leader. We will hold a ceremony in honor of Gwendor. For the many years he was our leader", Vrent says.

These people are talking like they are from the 1400's. Before, Liam was speaking like a regular teen. I don't get them at all. "Could i show Star around? And let her meet the rest of the Pride?", Liam asks. "I think that is a great idea. Let her get to know the place. And maybe...she could be your partner for scouting? You cant keep scouting on your own. What if you are ambushed by Hunters or werewolves? You would need backup and no one would be there to help you. I think Star would be an excellent partner", Vrent suggests.

"But I don't need a partner. I'm just fine how I am", Liam says. "No, no, no . You need a partner. And everyone else has a partner. Star doesn't. And as a new member of our Pride, she needs one. Or if anyone wants to change partners, you can", rent says. "Fine", Liam sighs, "C'mon, Star let me show you around". He shifts and starts walking toward the cave entrance.
"This is our cave. We hold all of our meetings here. And this is where we all mostly stay".

"Whoa, wait. You all LIVE here? Why don't you go home?", I ask. "Well our families notice that we are different. They just don't know what it is. Some think we have a sickness, that we are losing our minds, drugs, or some other crazy theories. But none are as crazy as the truth. They notice our eyes, ears, teeth, voice, and walk. We have to hide our features. That's why we stay here. We don't like staying with a suspicious family. Our parents going through our stuff, littler sibling asking curious questions, older siblings making fun of us. Its not a life to live. Here, we don't have to hide anything. We just have to watch out for the younger werecats. If you haven't noticed, most of us are in our teens and twenties. That's because we don't let werecats under the age of 12 join. Too much danger comes here. Its better if the youngsters don't know what they are until they are old enough to understand. And the older some of us get, the less involved we want to be. Around 30 everyone usually leaves to start a family or just escape the dangers of this life. They stop helping us protect the werecats under 12. Some stay because they care for all of us enough to stay and watch over us, like Gwendor", Liam explains.

"Oh", I say stupidly. "Are you angry that you have to partner up with me? Cause if you are, then ill just ask that lion-I mean Vrent- if I could do that scouting thing alone. I get it. I know I can be annoying and strange and frightened too easily and"-

"Star! Stop babbling. I don't mind partnering up with you. But i DO mind you rambling on about nonsense ",Liam complains. I let out a sigh of relief. I focus my attention to the cave again. Moss, ivy, and vines create a make-shift curtain for the cave. Inside the cave, there is small, baseball-sized holes in the ceiling, letting in light.

"Did you do this? Or is it natural?", I ask Liam. He looks at the curtain of plants ,shrugs ,and says ,"It was here before i came. Its probably natural".

I curious though sprouted in my mind. I knew next to nothing about this boy that has so much in common with me. "When did you come to the Pride?", I ask. Liam looks into the darkness of the cave. "Last year, around September", he answers shortly. Right now its April, he couldn't possibly onlybeen here for eight months, could he? The werecats gave him so much respect, and he didn't look the least frightened by them. Liam started taking me to the other werecats.

My ears went flat against my head and the fur on my back raised. "What are you doing?", asked a snow leopard. I was shocked by our similarities in appearance. "Uh...",I say dumbly.

I point my ears forward and let my fur settle back. "She's just scared. Precious attacked her a while ago. Left a bad scar. She tried to kill her. I'd be petrified too, if a tiger jumped me", Liam says.

The snow leopard looks shocked. "I'm Noah", the he says to me. "I'm Star", I say evenly.

I take in his features. Now that i look closer at him, his spots are in different places, he is much bigger than me, and his eyes are blue, not gray. "Liam!", I hear someone say. I glance at Liam.

Two cheetahs tackle him to the ground. They were small. So much smaller than i expected a cheetah to be. They are all laughing and wrestling on the ground with each other. "Hey Zack. Hey Zoë", Liam says to them. He gets up off the ground and shakes his fur clean of dirt and leaves. "Star, these two are Zack and Zoë. They are twins", Liam says, "This is Star".

"Hi, Star! ",Zack says. "Hi Star! You have a pretty name. And your form is even prettier!", Zoë comments enthusiastically. "Um...",I have no idea what she means. "She is talking about your snow leopard form", Liam translates. "Ahh. Well thank you", I say to Zoë.

Liam takes me to meet the other werecats. I'm playing over theirs names and forms and ages in my head.
'Liam,leopard,16 years old; Vrent,lion,28 years old; Misty,lion,25 years old; Zoe,cheetah,10 years old; Zack,cheetah,10 years old; Noah, snow leopard,19 years old; Oliver,jaguar,16 years old; Opal, mountain lion,33 years old; Aaron, mountain lion,17 years old; Ben,caracal,30 years old; Bryan,lynx,13 years old; Dakota, black panther,18 years old; Alex,jaguarundi,15 years old; Raven,serval,15 years old; and Kelly,ocelot,16 years old. Including me, there is 16 werecats in all.

"Has your parents noticed anything about you?", Liam asks. He had been showing me around the forest. The trail here, the stream there..."No, as soon as Gwendor told me what I was and the effects of it, I bought colored contacts and I try not to show my teeth when I smile", I say. He nods his head in understanding.

My eyes widen when I realize how late it must be. "Oh, my god. What time is it?" I ask.

"Like 3 AM. Why?", Liam asks. "Because my mom will be wondering where i am!" I yell and start jogging the way I guess Liam's car is.

"Oh yeah. I hate that. When your not tired at night" Liam says. "Please, can you just take me to your car?", I beg him.

"Yeah, its not that big a deal. If your mom realized you were missing, she would of called", he says logically. I stop in my tracks. My mom probably thought I was at a friend's house.

"Liam, your brilliant! Ill just tell her that I'm staying at Clove's tonight", I say happily. I grab my phone and start calling my mom. "Starlet, where are you?", my mom asks.

"I'm, uh, at Clove's. She called me earlier and it was sort of like a last minute slumber party invite".
"How'd you get there?".

I try thinking of a lie. But I am all out. None of my friends can drive yet. "Say that one of your friend's siblings took you", Liam whispers.

"Is that a boy i hear?", my mom asks suspiciously.

"What? No. That's um...just the T.V. ", I knew Cloves dad is at work right now.

"Okay honey, have fun. Bye".

"Bye", I say finally. I can't believe she didn't ask about the time.