The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

"Oh crap," I murmur.

Cassia hasn't moved an inch; she's just staring at me, petrified.

"Cassia? Where did you go?" I hear someone behind her.

It's Charlotte.

"There you are!" she says, looking at the tray of food on the ground and then looking at me, "oh no," she says.

"Cassia, I can explain." I say, stepping cautiously towards her.

She takes a step back and I frown.

"Cassia, it's really not what you think," Charlotte backs me up.

"Not what I think?! She just made flowers appear out of nowhere!" She yells, finally coming to.

"Shhh! Be quiet!" I say, coming closer to her and looking around to see if anybody heard her.

"You're a witch!" she whispers to me.

"Cassia! Be quiet!" I say, grabbing her arm and taking her to the gazebo in the garden; it's far enough so that nobody will hear us.

I really have no other choice than to come clean to her, there's no spinning what she just saw.

"How can you be a witch, though?! You're a wolf! Unless... unless you're *not* a wolf!" she gasps.

"Cassia, I will tell you one more time, *lower* your voice!" I say.

"Uh, I will go get us some food," Charlotte says, nodding at the tray that Cassia just dumped all over the ground.

"Thank you, Charlotte," I say.

"No problem," she says, but mouths 'I'm sorry' to me right as she turns to leave.

"Cassia, what I'm about to tell you is a secret, do you understand? Nobody else can know about this."

She nods enthusiastically, the initial shock subsiding.

"So that's what it was, right?! I knew it! I knew a wolf couldn't defeat a lycan that easily; even if she's untrained, Violet is a beast! What spell did you use?" She asks, a little too ecstatic. "Hard work and determination," I say, a little annoyed that this topic hasn't been settled.

"Come on but like, what spell did you use? You can tell me, your secret is safe with me," she winks at me, leaning in.

"Cassia, I am a trained fighter. I defeated Alistair *and* the witch that came with him, not to mention, do you wanna ask around how many lycans here have had their *asses* handed to them by me? Give me a break," I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. "What... what do you mean? But you're a witch... witches use spells and... stuff... right?"

"Yes, and no. There's different kinds of magic all around us, spells and *stuff* yes, but also more natural flowing magic which is what you just saw."

She looks at me perplexed.

I sigh.

"Spells, conjures, potions, etc, are ways to force magic to happen, to bend it as desired by the witch or warlock. But magic itself has a flow and a way... self-determination, if you will... and there is only so much of it that you can control; that's the way it's supposed to be."

"So..." she says, but she doesn't finish her sentence and she stays quiet for a few seconds.

"So...?" I say, arching my brow at her.

"So, you didn't use your magic to defeat Violet?"

"Goddess... No! I didn't! Quite frankly, I didn't have to."

"So, she really is that bad, isn't she?"

"She sucks," I say, definitely.

She laughs at this, thankfully breaking the tension and annoyance that was building inside me.

"Ok, so you're a witch," she looks around to make sure nobody is listening to us, "does the King know?" she whispers.

"Of course, he knows," I start enumerating with my fingers, "Caleb, Elden, Eli, Charlotte, Lucas, and now you, are the only ones who know for sure. I plan on keeping it that way."

"But you wanted to kill me back at the manor," she points out accusingly.

"I only said that to flush out the rat... you I mean, to flush *you* out."

"How did you even know, though? I hadn't seen you and you hadn't seen me at that point."

"When Violet came in with that perfume of yours, I sensed magic. I wasn't sure if Violet was the source, but I knew something was up."

"Wow," she says, her apprehension suddenly changing to admiration, "that's incredible."

"Well, I'm happy to inform I still managed to get us desserts!" Charlotte comes in with a tray of food, just as my stomach growls.

"You're the Goddess's child, you know that?" I say, eyeing the food hungrily.

Dinner time snuck up on me today.

I start eating the meat pastries once Charlotte sits down and we all stop talking, much to my relief.

"These are amazing," Charlotte says between bites, "I don't think they've ever tasted this good."

I nod in agreement, too busy to talk.

"It's my brother," Cassia says, wiping her mouth, "he's the best cook ever."

Both Charlotte and I nod, devouring the last of the food in minutes.

Once we are done, we move on to the dessert; a type of flan that I have never tasted before, it's tastes almost fruity. It's delicious as well. "Ugh," I moan, "this is amazing too. I'm so happy he came with us."

"*He's* even happier, you have no idea. Cecil had taken him out of the kitchen to patrol and pretend to be a soldier; he was miserable."

When all three of us are stuffed, we stay seated for a little while, chatting.

"So, you're a wolf, but also a witch?" Cassia asks after I explained my condition to her.

"Correct. My father was a warlock, and my mother was a werewolf."

"And you can like, turn into your wolf?" she asks.

"I can."

"Ooh! I want to see! A spirit wolf must be a quite a sight!"NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.

"I'm afraid I can't, nobody can know I'm a witch, that's why we've kept the circle close."

"But how would they know you're a witch? Witches aren't wolves," she asks, genuinely confused.

I smile and close my eyes, concentrating on my wolf. When she comes to the surface of my mind, I greet her as usual and she nods her head, understanding I don't mean to turn. Then, I open my eyes and look at Cassia. She gasps.

"Your eyes..." she says, "they're... they're white."

I close my eyes again, allowing my wolf to retreat. When I open them again, Cassia is still bewildered.

"Yeah, they're the eyes of a witch. My wolf's eyes are white, it would be very telling."

"But my eyes... aren't white," she says, doubting herself.

I extend my hand to her, inviting her to place her palm on mine. I focus some of my magic on her, feeling the electric current emanating through my skin.

"Can you feel that?"

"Yes, of course, how could I not?"

I extend my other hand towards Charlotte; she places her palm on mine.

"Charlotte, can you feel that?"

"I don't feel anything." she says.

I retreat my hand from under their palms.

"The fact that you can feel it is a clear indication that you're a witch, Cassia. My wolf also sensed you before we even met you. There's no doubt of what you are, I just haven't figured out why your magic is... different." "Different how?"

"Well, not that I have much experience with other witches, but the ones I've met have great control of their magic; maybe it's a matter of training?"

She stays silent, looking at me intently. All of a sudden, she hops off her seat and is on her knees in front of me.

"Teach me! Teach me teach me teach me! Please! I'll do anything! This is the first time I've ever met another witch and... no... a spirit wolf at that! Please please please plase plase!" she pleads nonstop.

I hear Charlotte giggle a little beside me.

At least one of us is finding this amusing.

"Cassia, get up," I say, trying to lift her.

"Not until you say you'll train me! Please!" she pleads even more.

"Cassia, come on, get up."

"No!"

"Cassia..."

"Please!"

"Ugh, fine! Fine! Not that I know much, but I'll teach you what I can," I finally cave in, "but you can't stop working for Elden! I promised him an assistant and you're it!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you won't regret this!"

She's hugging my legs as I try to peel her off of me.

She gets up and quickly collects the empty tray of food and rushes off in the direction of the

kitchen, shouting 'thank you' up to the air.

I watch her run off with my hand on my forehead.

What have I just gotten myself into?