The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

Vera-

The dinner ended soon after Violet left. Eli joined us at the head of the table and excused himself, having offered to take up Lucas's place in the night guard shift so that he can have something to eat. This earned Cecil an angry look from Noah, which was her cue to call it a night. She excused herself to run after her daughter.

The problem was, however, that she took Noah with her, offering to see him to his room. He accepted and followed her; I'm assuming he's still mad at me.

I sighed and excused myself with the rest of the guests, some of which were too drunk to make it to their rooms so I have reason to believe they'll sleep in here.

As I walk out of the manor, this time without an escort, I take my shoes off and instead of going directly to the cabin, I decide to sit in the garden for a moment.

These past months I have also been training with my aunt and grandmother in their realm; we have found out that in my world my magic can be traced, but in their realm it's nearly impossible.

I find a patch of grass to sit on and cross my legs as I sit. The temperature is nice, the wind carries a chill with it that hints at how close we are to the mountains. I put my hands on the soil, reveling on the connection I feel to it.

During my training, we have figured out that I am innately connected to nature. We don't really know why as it's quite rare for any type of witch, but to me it makes sense; everything in nature is living, and that's what I'm connecting to. To me the trees, the plants, the soil are as alive as any of us and somehow, we manage to communicate.

What's even weirder, is that I have been feeling this connection since before they unlocked my magic; so, since before I had my wolf.

Speaking of her, as I'm concentrating and meditating, she comes join me in my mind.

*Hi, pretty girl.*

I smile at her as she lays her head on my lap. I gently caress her head as we both take in our surroundings.

She does in fact have white, grey eyes, and her fur is just as Caleb described it; iridescent. It's pale white but it shifts in tone frequently, depending on the angle and the light. Now that I have been able to see her up close, it's almost as if she shines.

I feel bad that I haven't been able to let her out in a while. Even if she seems perfectly content within me, she is also a living creature; part of me but an individual in her own right. She deserves to roam freely, often. So far, she hasn't even been able to fully explore her magic since we haven't been able to practice in my world.

She perks up, alerting me to something.

I pay closer attention to the direction she's looking. She slowly moves her head to a side, as if she's following something or someone. *What is it?*

She turns to me and places her nose to mine, letting me in on what she sees.Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

Beyond the garden, beyond the walls of the manor, she's following a shiny silhouette that seems to be of a woman, right behind the vines. *Who is she?* I ask her.

For now, all I know is that she seems to be interested in this silhouette for some reason.

Then, the person disappears and we can no longer track her.

I stay seated next to my wolf who turns to look at me.

From Sophia, I know I should have a fluent connection to my wolf, understand everything she means without her even talking, but for some reason I can't. There's a lot of interpretation going on every time I see her, but I know nothing for sure. She places her head back on my lap and I caress her for a while longer. Then, her ears perk up again but this time it's something outside of my mind, something in the 'real world."

"Oh. Lucas! Hi." I say, opening my eyes and relaxing my posture.

"Hi Vera, I thought I smelled you. What are you doing out here?"

"I needed time away from all of this," I gesture at the manor, "I think I made a mistake by coming here."

"I think we all made a mistake by coming here."

He comes to sit beside me.

"I didn't get to thank you for taking my place at the barn, Lucas, it can't be comfortable."

"You won't be thanking me tomorrow when Eli's snores keep you up all night," he says, taking a bite off of a piece of bread.

We stay silent for a while, enjoying the cool air and the garden.

"Vera, how did you know Noah was your mate?"

"What?"

"How did you know it was him?"

His question takes me by surprise, but I think back to the day we met.

"I didn't really know, Lucas, I just knew that when I touched him, something happened. Had it not been for him literally telling me I was his mate, I wouldn't have known." "And then what happened?"

"Well, I don't know that I'm the most reliable source, since I hadn't connected to my wolf, but there was... electricity... when I touched him, maybe not as strong as he felt it, but it was there. And I was just... drawn to him... naturally. I wanted to know him, I wanted to follow him. It wanted to be with him."

Lucas finishes his piece of bread but stays silent.

"Why do you ask?" I ask, letting my curiosity get the best of me.

"I was meaning to ask Noah, but he's been so busy lately."

"Have you...?"

"What? No! No, it's not like that. I've just been feeling a little queasy for some reason. It started

on our way here, I haven't figured out what it is and it's making me uneasy."

"Do you think your mate could be close?"

"I don't know..."

He looks worried.

"Come on Lucas, you can talk to me."

"I just... I don't know... Do I even want to find a mate? You saw what happened to Liam... That could happen to any of us."

"It's a scary thing. Lucas, and what happened to Liam was brutal, but it's so rare. It's unlikely that we'll ever see that happen again. And look at me, I had to leave my *home* to be with Noah and I have not regret it once," well, maybe at first, but a white lie can't hurt, right?

He sighs.

"You're probably right. I just... I hope if she is indeed close, that she won't be disappointed that I'm her mate."

I put my hand on his and squeeze it gently.

"Lucas, you're one of the best people I know. You're loyal, caring, and quite a gentleman. Any girl would be lucky to have you as her mate."

He smiles faintly at me.

"Thank you, V."

We stay out here a little while longer, until the chill starts to really get really cold.

"We should go, from what Eli told me, we'll be leaving pretty early tomorrow, we'll need the rest."

Lucas extends his hand and offers it to me, helping me up.

I take it and we begin walking to the cabin.

Once at the door, he says his goodbyes and leaves for the barn; I really hope it's at least warm enough for him to sleep well.

I enter my room, a lot more exhausted that I'd thought, and change into my pajamas. Unfortunately, since I'm sharing the cabin with Caleb and Eli, I have to wear pants.

I fall asleep promptly, wrapping myself up in the blanket that has probably been laying on this bed for years. It's still cold, but comfortable enough to sleep through.

In the middle of the night, something wakes me; the feeling of someone crawling on my bed.