The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

I keep walking in the direction the wind is guiding me on, but I already know this sensation and this smell. Noah is around here.

I figured he would still be at the Council meeting; after all, he would take them by surprise by challenging them and you never know what the Council might do at any given moment; I assumed the meeting would take all kinds of twists and turns. When I'm far enough from the bonfire, I feel him and, more importantly, his aura. It's faint, but it's a grim indication of how the Council meeting went.

Getting closer, I find him sitting below a tree, looking up at the full moon.

"Noah?" I call for him so as to not take him by surprise.

He turns to look at me, standing up immediately. He's wobbling.

Has he been drinking?

"Noah, are you alright?"

"Just," hiccup, "maybe a little too much wine."

Now that he's up, I can see that beside him are several empty wine bottles.

"Did you drink all of that by yourself?" I ask, concerned.

Hiccup.

"Yeah."

"What happened?" I say, now directly in front of him.

I put my arms on his chest and realize his heart is beating faster than usual.

"I came to find you after the meeting but nobody knew where you went," hiccup, "they saw you at the library but then you just disappeared."

"I was outside the Castle with Elden." I explain. "What happened at the Council meeting?" I ask again.

He huffs, dragging a heavy hand through his hair. He extends his other hand to me and I take it as he tops us both to the ground. I'm sitting with my back to his chest as he rests his back on the tree again. He's caressing my arms gently, but I have a feeling it's an attempt to draw comfort from me and not the other way around.

"They accepted the challenge, as we expected." he says.

"And?"

He stays silent.

"And I have to prove my lineage now, so the plan is in motion."

I let this news sink into my stomach. I am coming face to face with my very legitimate fear of the plan failing and of all of this possibly coming to an end; everything we worked for, everything that we have yet to do to make this a better place, could all go up in flames in the next...?

"How much time are they giving you?"

He stays silent long enough for me to be unnerved. I turn to him.

"Noah, how much time do we have?"

He looks at me, suddenly sober.

"One week."

I gape at him.

"One... one week?"© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

He nods, taking another swig of the bottle of wine he was holding.

I down the drink Ethan got me, but it's not enough. I take the bottle from Noah's hands and down a giant swig.

We have *one week* to execute an already intricate plan.

"I thought they normally gave like a month? What happened?!"

Noah pinches the bridge of his nose.

"They're desperate to get rid of me, that's what happened."

If that's the case, if the Council really is this desperate, it means that they actually see Noah for the threat he is; in turn, this means that they might keep a closer eye on all of us and the plan will be impossible to execute. "Vera, I doubt we'll be able to pull this off. I don't want you going to wolf territory anymore, it won't be worth it. We don't even know if such documents exist. It's too risky."

"Noah, I understand how daunting this all seems, but we can't just hand them the throne like this. This is your home, and you *know* what will become of it if left at the hands of the Council.

He hiccups again.

"Vera, I admire your enthusiasm, but I don't want you risking yourself for a plan that will essentially require a miracle. Beacause that's what we will need. A miracle."

"I'm a wolf, Noah, I won't be risking anything."

"V, the trail alone is dangerous. We don't even know how close the rogues are to us because Liam hasn't returned. Not to mention, I don't feel comfortable with you going without me."

"I'm a *wolf*, Noah, entering wolf territory won't be dangerous for me, and even then, I'll have the protection of my pack when visiting the Gold Moons. I promise it will be alright. What *you* have to worry about is your end of the deal." He sighs, looking back up at the sky.

After several moments of silence, he looks back down at me.

"Ok. We'll go ahead with the plan, but I will personally choose who will come with you; warriors we can trust."

I smile at him and peck him on the lips.

"We'll be fine," I reassure him.

He smiles back at me, but it's a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"We will, I'll make sure of it," he says, rubbing my arms with his hands.

I return back to the resting my back on Noah. We both stay like this for a long time, just star gazing and drawing comfort from each other. At one point I even sigh, letting anxiety drain from my body. It didn't occur to me before that all I needed to ease my mind, was to be with Noah.

"Come on, let's go get some rest. We'll have a busy day tomorrow," he says, standing up and lifting me to my feet.

Hand in hand, we skip the bonfire area altogether and return to the Castle.

"I was surprised to find you here," I tell him casually as we make our way back.

"I figure you'd be here. All of this was done so that you and Violet could kiss and make up."

"What do you mean?"

"Lucas figured if Violet saw you interacting with other people, she'd be less afraid of you," he chuckles, "quite frankly, I found it all to be very amusing."

"He went through all this trouble just for that?"

"Well yeah, he didn't want his mate living in fear, much less of you."

I roll my eyes. This was so over the top.

"She asked me to train her," I say.

"She did?" he laughs.

"I don't even know what I'm getting myself into. Cassia asked me to teach her magic, and now Violet wants me to teach her how to fight, on top of everything I already have going on." "Cassia knows you're a witch?" He asks in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, she caught me using magic in the garden."

"And can she be trusted?"

"My wolf seems to think so."

In cue, I feel my wolf slightly come to the surface, showing her agreement.

We reach our room and immediately get into our pajamas.

I miss this.

The simplicity of coming to bed together and just chatting, connecting. We've gone a long time without it.

Once we're both lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling and unwinding from the day, Noah comes up over me and kisses me. It's a tender kiss, but it soon becomes a lot more urgent, demanding.

I happily accommodate him between my legs and moan into his mouth, knowing exactly where this will lead.