The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

"So, what's the plan?" William asks, coming into the cabin looking flustered.

Eli, Lucas, Caleb, Noah and I have been in here for a few hours trying to figure out what our next steps should be.

Eli raises his eyebrow at him.

"Plan for what, exactly?"

"For the fight! I never thought it would come to this, quite frankly I was hoping Violet would be able to charm the King and all of this would be avoided." Lucas snorts and Noah growls. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Oh, come on! You both knew this was the plan all along! All of the Council was behind it, you two cant be this naïve!"

"Then why did you step in for us?" Caleb asks.

"Because I value family honor, and what Violet did, or attempted to do, lacked honor and grace."

"Well, aren't we lucky," Eli says sarcastically, "now come, sit, we have another matter at hand," he says motioning William to an empty chair.

We explain everything to William and I watch as his face pale with horror, much to my delight. This plan of his has backfired immensely.

"Tell me this isn't true, Lucas."

"Oh, so *now* you know my name."

"This isn't a joke!"

"I'm well aware!" Lucas yells, his lycan eyes swirling.

He's been incredibly sensitive these past few hours. From Noah, I know that it's the natural pull they feel when they find their mate; its undeniable and overwhelming. He is literally suffering by not being at her side right now. "William, you know Cecil better than us, how can we get her to accept Lucas as Violet's mate," Noah asks, crossing his arms.

"We can't," William says with finality.

"There has to be a way," I say, "once I defeat her, she won't have any claim to Noah, so what are her prospects?"

"Other families like hers, coming from some sort of nobility. They could join territories even, making the proposal that much more attractive."

"But what about what Violet wants? I saw the look in her eye, she seemed as captivated by Lucas as he was with her," Caleb chimes in.

"That may be true, but much like the royal family and royal children, there is tradition and there are politics. Violet is Cecil's last bargaining chip, if you will, she won't let go so easily."

We all stay quiet for a while. This is what we feared. Even if Violet mustered the courage to leave Cecil behind, we would be essentially kidnapping her in her mother's eyes, making all of this mess a political nightmare.

"Ok, but I really have to ask, are you not worried at all about Vera fighting Violet? Even if Vera is trained as a fighter, Violet is still a lycan!" William asks after a while, truly in disbelief.

Eli chuckles; Noah and Lucas just look at him, confused.

"Oh, that's right," Eli finally says, "the Council was "hiding* when we were all risking our lives to defeat Alistair's army," Eli runs a hand through his hair, "listen, William, this might strike you as a surprise, but Vera beat actual warrior lycans in that battle, not to mention Alistair and that witch, what makes you think she can't take down a little girl?"

Lucas growls furiously at this.

"Oh, shut the f**k up. You know it's true, besides what fighting experience can Violet possibly have? Have you forgotten Vera took down a literal mythical creature, *before* getting her beast?"

Lucas calms down, but then turns to me with concern, "Vera, you can't hurt her. Please, I know this is unconventional but you can't hurt her, she's a good person, I can feel it."

I smile at him,

"I won't, Lucas."

"And then there's the other thing." Caleb says.

"Ah, yes. You think you can take care of that, doc?" Eli asks.

"Sure, I don't think it'll be a problem anyway."

"What other thing?" William asks, glancing at each of us, searching for answer.

Noah gets up.

"Don't concern yourself with that, William. Come, walk with me, there's something I have to discuss with you privately."

Noah snakes his arm around William's shoulders as they leave the cabin; William flinching slightly at the gesture.

I frown.

"What's that about?" I ask the guys.

"Beats me," Caleb says.

Eli simply shrugs.

"One more thing," Caleb says, "Lucas, you should stay here, or wherever, far away from the battle."

"What?!"

"No discussions. First, you're too volatile right now, what's to say you won't attack Vera in the middle of the fight? Second, if you do, and you probably will, it will be a dead giveaway of your feelings for Violet and we have to keep that a secret for now." Lucas sulks, but there is no arguing. If there is something that we have all agreed on, including him, is that we have to keep this under wraps until we figure out how to handle it so that they can be together. If Cecil finds out before we can offer her something she'll agree to, she may force Violet to reject him.

There's a faint knock on the door that draws me out of my thoughts.

"Come in," Caleb says, moving to the small kitchen to prepare some tea.

"Excuse me, my Lords, Lady," Jeremy comes through the door, bowing slightly, "Queen Cecil has scheduled the fight for tonight at 7:00 PM. It will be held at the main courtyard, at the center of the manor. Please, be there on time." He bows again as he leaves.

"Good, you have some time to rest," Caleb says, placing an empty mug in front of Lucas, Eli, and myself.

"Rest? She should train before the fight so she can be done with Violet quickly," Eli says.

Lucas once again growls.

"You know, I'm getting real tired of your shit, boy," Eli says, pointing a finger at him.

"Calm down," Caleb says, filling up our mugs with tea, "what he's going through is natural, he's not doing it on purpose."

Eli grunts, taking his mug and drinking his tea.Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.

"Vera, you have to promise," Lucas is looking at me.

"Lucas, I won't hurt her, I promise."

As much as I find it cute that he's so worried about her, he's getting on my nerves too.

"Where do you think the magic is coming from?" Caleb asks me.

"To be honest with you, I don't know, but I have a feeling it's not Violet."

"Cecil then?"

"Perhaps."

"But your ears rang when Violet entered the room,"

"That doesn't mean it's her, necessarily,"

"So, what can we expect for the fight?"

I sigh, taking my mug in my hands,

"Old man, just expect the unexpected. I trust my abilities enough to deal with it. The magical charge, so to speak, was so faint that I doubt it's coming from a powerful source." We all stay quiet after that, sipping on our tea.

When I'm done, I excuse myself and leave the cabin. It felt stuffy all of a sudden.

I am not one to get nervous before a fight, but I'm feeling anxious all of a sudden. I go down to the woods behind the cabin, making my way past the stables and the water well.

Just stepping into the forest makes me calm down, so I sit down, crossing my legs and resting my back to one of the trees. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing.

Meditating has helped me manage stress for as long as I can remember, and now it helps me control my magic.

I breathe in and out slowly, allowing my body to relax. Soon, my wolf is with me, wagging her tail as she comes join me. She lays down and relaxes next of me; it warms my heart that she's so happy every time she sees me.

We both sync our breathing and soon, we are deep in our meditation.

In my mind, I travel through all of the forest, almost like connecting to the trees' root system and navigating through it. For some reason, my mind is being drawn in a specific direction, contrary to other times where my mind simply wanders throughout the forest. In time, I come across a place that looks like a greenhouse, full of lush herbs and dangling flowers.

What is this doing in the middle of nowhere?

My wolf also perks up at this discovery, pointing her ears forward. Suddenly, she takes off in the direction of the greenhouse, running with her tail raised.

"Vera?" I hear a voice in the real world, causing me to lose my connection.

I open my eyes to Caleb crouched beside me.

"It's time," he says, his hand on my shoulder.

"What? Already?"

I'm genuinely bewildered. When I came here, I still had several hours left before the fight.

"You've been gone quite a while, the fight starts in thirty minutes, you should get ready."

I frown. Has it really been that long? I always dive deep into my meditation, but it has never made me lose track of time in this way.

I get up, dusting myself off, and follow Caleb back, not before turning one last time in the direction of the greenhouse, wondering what my wolf might find there.