The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

*What were you two talking about?* Sofia asks me.

We've left the Goldmoon clan territory behind and are now in Dark Moon territory. We've also made g *She asked me about Noah,* I tell her.

"Naturally," she says, "I'm just happy you got along well with your mother in law," she teases me.

*I mean, she isn't my mother in law.*

*Right, but trust me, she'll step up to the plate. Just wait until you and Noah have kids.*

I roll my eyes. Having kids is the last thing on my mind right now.

Dr. Owens joins us in our chat.

*Vera, what.... What exactly happened back there?*

I sigh, my head slightly lowering at the memory.

*I had a vision before we left for the Goldmoon's, it was of Ellie, Luna Irene's daughter. She was mated Irene at her request."

"Goddess. Those poor parents," he says.

*And later, when she touched you? You two were gone again,* Sofia asks.

*Well, then we had another vision, this time of Ellie, Noah and Alexander. Noah must've been around kidnapped, she ran away, and finally found her happiness."

*I can imagine that gave Luna Irene some solace. After all the abuse Ellie suffered by Alpha Samael, at *That raises the question, will they believe Irene?* Sofia asks.

*I don't think so. Alpha Elliot seemed to take Alpha Samael for his every word.* Dr. Owens says.

*We'll just have to wait and see just how Luna Irene will play this. She's a smart woman, and I know she

he so we have settled for walking instead of running, considering I have a long journey ahead of me; I have to save my strength.

ha Samael whom we met at dinner. He... he abused her pretty bad. That's what Alpha Silas saw when I touched him, and that's what I then showed Luna

ars old, maybe? But Goddess, Ellie and Alexander looked so in love. They were fated mates after all. I think it was clear from those visions that Ellie wasn't she found happiness in the end.* Dr. Owens chimes in.

anything to avoid going to war with the lycans now that she knows her grandson is the King." I say.

We continue the rest of our journey in silence and just a few hours later, we are at the pack house, and to our surprise, or rather horror, Sofia's twins literally come running towards us, b**t naked. Yes. Running.

Not crawling, not walking. Running.

*WHAT?!* I hear Sofia in my head.

In fact, we all hear her because some of the warriors at the entrance have to lower their heads at her loud scream. *ALEX, COME HERE THIS SECOND,*

Sofia has gone to meet her twins half way since they kept falling and scraping themselves.

Even for little Allen werewolves, them walking, no, running, this early is impressive to say the least.

Alex comes out of the side of the building where the training grounds are. He's shirtless and sweaty, but smiling. "Oh, hey! You're back!" He says, cheery.

A woman comes running to Sofia, offering her a robe. Sofia quickly shifts, taking the robe and putting it over her body.

Sofia is not at all uncomfortable with nudity, but since she became an Alpha, she maintains a certain level of decorum.

"Don't 'hey' me!" She yells at Alex, picking up her twins, "tell me why your children are running* all over the place, and butt naked! When did this happen?! Did you at least film it for me?!" "Uhh..." Alex says, scratching his chin nonchalantly.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

"Alex," Sofia insists, handing a laughing Rose to her dad.

"My love?" Alex teases her.

"ALEX," Sofia is yelling now, her mood crystal clear to all of us, and this is our cue to leave.

We all scatter, not really wanting to be a part of this; the warriors, Dr. Owens, even the guards and scouts that were nearby have disappeared in under a minute; this is a practiced routine.

I take one last look back before entering the pack house; Alex is still unfazed by Sofia's mood and the twins are happily baby-chattering right along with their parents.

Not many men would be able to handle Sofia's temper, but Alex has become a pro by now, so we'll just leave him to it.

I quickly find my room, entering it and shifting.

The first thing I do is take out Noah's birth certificate and place it neatly on my night stand. I'm being so careful with it, I don't even want it to wrinkle.

Then, I head straight into the bathroom to shower and change. I finally take the time to wash my hair and grime from the past days; I'm even able to take off that musty smell I got from being in the archive room back at the Goldmoon's. Once I'm out, I change and blow dry my hair.

It feels nice to not feel the pressure of the mission anymore. We finally got what we came here to look for, and it turned out even better than I had expected. Luna Irene seemed very fond of Noah already; I have no doubt that once they meet, she will love him as her own. I smile at this; at the notion of Noah finally having the family he never got.

Leaving my room, I head straight to the kitchen. Breakfast and lunch have already been served and everyone has already eaten, but I'm starving. Once there, I make myself two sandwiches and eat them in a hurry. It's not much, but it will do for now. Right after finishing my snack, I mind link Thomas; I have to give the guys the good news.

*Hey, Thomas? Any idea where my guys are?* I ask him.

*They should be in the training grounds, they really wanted to fight a wolf," he says.

*It figures. Thank you!*

I walk towards the southern end of the pack house towards the training grounds.

Being here brings back so many memories. Not too long ago, I would spend my weekends here beating the young wolves' butts and then training with the rest of the warriors. It's common for she-wolves to be trained in combat, but not for them to be considered warriors. I am.

I reach the training grounds and off to a side, I see the lycans.

Ezra is on the mat, fighting one of our warriors, Leo.

All the wolves turn my way when they feel me approaching, nodding my way. Acknowledging someone when they enter this place is a sign of respect, which I earned after I killed the chimera all those months ago, apparently.

I walk towards the corner where the lycans are and greet them.

"Oh, Vera! Hi," Arlo greets me.

The rest of the guys nod at me.

"So, I have good news. I got what we came here for," I tell them, not going into much detail, we will stay the night and leave early tomorrow, before sunrise and..."

I hear a loud thump, followed by a grunt behind me.

Ezra is getting his ass handed to him by Leo.

Beside me, Colt laughs.

I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Would you like to go next?" I ask him, sarcastically.

"You know what? Yes, I'd like to," he says, stretching and mumbling something else I don't catch before entering the mat.

Ezra approaches us, nursing his ribs.

"That guy is brutal," he says.

Colt takes his position, and in under 5 minutes, he's also grunting on the floor.

I shake my head. Leo is one of the best warriors in this entire pack, these guys stand no chance against him. If it were me, I'd also be on my ass in two minutes.

"In all seriousness, stop getting beat up and rest, we have a long journey tomorrow," I tell them.

They all nod, but I can tell they're not really listening to me. I can see them getting worked up from seeing lycan after lycan getting beaten by a wolf. Of course, it's going to take more than a simple visit to a pack house for them to understand that the lies they've been told about us are complete bullshit; that we're not weaker than them by any means. Smaller, yes, in most cases. But definitely not weaker.

I roll my eyes and turn to Ezra only.

"I mean it, Ezra. I will leave all of you here if I need to. Four A.M tomorrow."

He nods, but he doesn't take his eyes off the mat, where now Arlo is fighting for their collective dignity.

I sigh, taking one last, pitied glance at Arlo. He doesn't know it just yet, but he too, will fail.

Returning to the pack house, I take my time to take it all in.

It's like a distant memory by now, walking through these halls and greeting everyone on my way to the clinic. My life has changed so much these past few months. I can't say I don't miss my home every now and then, but I've come to really appreciate and love the life I have now at the Castle with Noah.

Perhaps, though, now that the Council will be taken care of, I'll be able to visit more often.

"Vera," I hear someone call me. I turn around. It's Flora, one of the oldest cooks here and like a mother to all of us, "the Alpha told me you'd be leaving tomorrow?"

I smile at this. No, we hadn't talked about it, but she knows me well.

"Yeah, we're leaving early tomorrow, before sunrise."

"Ah, well, I'll be sure to pack some meals for you guys before then."

"Thank you, Flora," I tell her.

I smile at her and she approaches me, hugging me tight.

"I still remember when you and Alpha Sofia would sneak around the kitchen at midnight. stealing the leftover desserts," she tells me, smiling. "It's been good having you back."

I almost tear up at this.

She leaves towards the kitchen as I keep roaming through the pack house.

After a while, I end up in the central courtyard and sit in front of the mountain, basking in the last few rays of sunshine.

I take in a deep breath, a bittersweet tingle forming in my stomach as I think that tomorrow, I'll be leaving again.