The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

When I finally manage to compose myself and get up from the ground, I take my time to shift back to my wolf form. I feel like I'm pushing my body beyond what it can take right now; I have shifted three times already and it's only my first day as a wolf. All of my limbs are protesting as I shift again.

I make my way to the warriors that came with us initially. Some of them are coming back to after being unconscious, either because of exhaustion or because of injuries. When they open their eyes and they land on me, they immediately get spooked, even attempting to crawl away from me. When they realize I'm not chasing them or showing any signs of hostility, they stop. I would shift back to being human to explain but honestly, I don't want them to see me naked.

One by one I check on them, moving some of them with my snout until they wake up. Unfortunately, four of them are dead.

The warriors that have managed to get up are helping those who can't.

"We'll come back for their bodies," one of them says, limping away towards the castle. Once they're on their way, I turn towards the castle, limping and with my tail hanging low between my legs. Despite the fact that we won, I feel defeated. At what cost did we win this battle?

With every step that takes me closer to Noah I feel my heart beat faster. I have heard wonderful things about the lycan healers that used to inhabit the castle; fortunately, many of them came back once they heard Alistair was no longer King. They are no doubt treating Noah now.

As a doctor myself, the hardest thing to do is to not intervene when a loved one is being treated, and I know that if I made my way back to the castle with Noah, I would have been difficult to control; especially now.

When I enter the castle, the overwhelming smell of blood causes my eyes to sting. Warriors, students, guards, and even cooks are helping pick up bodies; both ours and from Alistair's army.

I notice the surviving members of Alistair's army off to a corner, chained like prisoners to the pillars of the castle; several of them are crying.

The tragedy of it all is that none of these soldiers chose to be here; they were being controlled by the witch. I can't imagine the panic they felt once they came to and realized what they were doing; especially seeing all of the death around them. Everyone pauses what they're doing to stare at me as I make my way through the castle, following Noah's scent.

He's been taken to the King's wing for some reason, and I make my way up the stairs until I reach the entry.

There are two beaten up guards at the entrance, they immediately open the doors, inferring it's me.

When I reach the middle of the hallway, Noah's scent begins to be mixed with someone else's; it's strange but then I realize it's perhaps because they had to get him a blood transfusion, or several.

I notice Lucas's scent and focus on that instead.

I find Lucas, Elden and Caleb sitting outside of a room, pacing.

When I approach, Elden notices me first, sniffing the air.

"Vera?"

I come close to him and lower my forehead to his.

"Oh, Vera," he says, placing his hands on the fur of my face, "We're still waiting for the healers to come out, it might take a while."

I nod. Of course, I understand.

When I remove my forehead from Elden's, I notice Caleb is looking at me... differently. There no longer is the lost, distant look he had before.

Elden notices the direction of my gaze and nods,

"I don't know what happened. We were sitting at the library tunnels when he suddenly just became... lucid. He hasn't said much but maybe he was also under some sort of spell? Like the rest of the army? It's just a theory." Elden shakes his hand dismissively, as if the theory is too far-fetched, even for him.

I nod but don't take my eyes away from Caleb's. After a few moments, he speaks,

"Is my son alive?" he asks blatantly; there is something defiant about his stare.

I shake my head and he breaks away from my gaze, turning towards the fireplace in the center of the wall. I feel his mood change; I feel his grief.

In my wolf form, I am much more aware of... everything, even people's emotions; it's exhausting. I look around for some form of clothing or anything to cover me before I turn.

"Here," Lucas notices my intentions and takes off his shirt. I gladly accept it and scoot off to a corner to change.

His shirt is clean, I assume he picked it up after carrying Noah. It's huge on me so it covers just above my knees.

When I reappear, Lucas's eyes go wide.

"Vera, you should get your wounds checked," he comes towards me, fixated on the massive wound on my leg.

I hadn't noticed how bad it actually was; just like I hadn't noticed the trail of blood I was leaving behind me in my wolf form. My inherited healing abilities have indeed kicked in, but it just goes to show how deep the wound is.

"Wait here," Lucas says after I shake my head. He disappears through a hallway. There is nothing that will move me from this place until I know Noah is going to be okay. He comes back with fresh rags and fresh water, "at least let me clean that for you."

I nod and he brings me a chair to sit on, beginning to work on cleaning up the grime and dirt from the wound. It stings, but I don't flinch; I don't have the energy to even do that.

After he's done, he leaves again, returning several minutes later with a shirt on and a hoodie for me, which he literally has to force me into. I hadn't even realized how cold I was.

I feel an undeniable numbness in my heart.

The minutes pass and I can feel them as if they were ticking inside my stomach. Waiting for the healers to come out making is making me inch closer and closer to a full blown panic attack.

I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, bringing my hands together and squeezing them as much as I can, just to concentrate on anything else but my anguish.

Hours pass, and finally, a healer comes out. He's old, even older than Dr. Owens, but to me that just means more experience.

He steps out, cleaning his hands which are full of blood with a rag.

"He's stable. He lost a lot of blood, I'm afraid, and the wound is quite severe. We have done everything we can, now it's up to him."NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.

I step forward.

"Can we see him?" I ask.

"Are you his mate?" he asks, slightly contemptuous I might add.

"She is," Caleb says, crossing his arms in the distance and eyeing the healer with equal hostility. "Fine. But only you, it will be good for the King to heal with his *mate* by his side."

He throws the rag on the floor and walks away. When I step into the room, I notice there are two other people here, cleaning up everything; one of them is a woman.

Noah is heavily bandaged and the smell of herbs is intense. I make a mental note to ask about his medication, and in case that there isn't any, I have to get him some; pain killers for when he wakes up, antibiotics for possible infections. I won't allow him to be treated like we're in the middle-ages.

"Excuse our healer," the woman says when she notices me, "he's very old so he still believes in the older ways, and you're '

"Yes, yes. A *wolf*"

The other person turns to look at me, as if this is a surprise; but then I notice he's human and he'd have no way to smell the wolf in me.

"We're done here," she tells me, "Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything or if his condition changes."

"Actually, we need to move him," they both stare at me, "Lucas!" I call.

When he comes in, the smell instantly hits him and he grimaces, his nose flaring.

"We have to move him," I say, "this place stinks of Alistair."

"Definitely. Where do you want him?" He asks.

"Our room," I say.

Lucas leaves.

"Are you sure he should be moved right now?" The female healer comes to me.

"I think Noah can smell this disgusting scent even unconscious; it's best we move him before he wakes up."

"If he wakes up..." The male healers says under his breathe.

I turn to him, waiting for an explanation and he gulps as his eyes meet mine. He knows he said something he shouldn't have; a foot in the mouth moment.

"Master healer Josiah said he smelled magic on him; if he was hexed, his physical wound is the least of his worries," He explains.

"But he is a great warrior, and a royal, surely you have nothing to worry about." the female healer says.

When the witch put that spell on him; he didn't die. What is it she had said? Mortem? Could it be possible that the spell is still working on him, even if the witch is dead?

A few minutes later, Lucas comes in with a few guards and a stretch bed, moving Noah with extreme caution and carrying him to our room. Fortunately, the way to our room does not require us go to the more populated parts of the castle; I would hate for everyone to see him like this.

They place Noah on our bed and leave.

"If you need anything else, you know where to find me," Lucas says, giving my hand a gentle squeeze before leaving. I smile and thank him before shutting the door behind him.

I go to our bathroom to retrieve a couple of clean rags and some soapy water. The healers tended to his wounds and his wounds only; the rest of him is still a bloody, dirty mess. I start by gently cleaning his face, his neck, his hands and his legs. I'm relieved to see that the minor cuts and wounds have almost completely healed, meaning the spell hasn't hindered his ability to physically heal; still, I have to fight the urge to cry as I clean him up.

When I touch him, I actually feel my ears slightly ringing; meaning the spell is alive and well within him, even if he appears to be sleeping passively. I can actually, somehow, feel the spell coursing through his veins like poison.

Once I'm done, I head into the bathroom and clean myself up. It's a hasty shower since I'm anxious to return to Noah.

I know what I have to do, I just don't know if it will work.

Toweling myself dry, I put on one of his large t-shirts and make my way to his side. I crawl up

on the bed and straddle him as carefully as I can, mindful of his injuries.

Moving his neck slightly to its side, I bare his neck and elongate my teeth. Maybe my mark will do for him, what his has done for me.