The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Noah-

Six days.

Six days without proper food or sleep.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Six days have passed and still I have no news of Vera.

Yesterday, I was hit with this... feeling... right in the pit of my stomach that has increased my anxiety tenfold. I still haven't figured out what it was, but it made me double down in the shower, like I couldn't breathe. It was a sharp pain, but I knew it was not physical

at all. It made me wander the entire Castle the rest of the day and at night, like a ghost roaming through the halls. Half of the time, I had the burning urge to run after Vera right then in the middle of the night. My lycan kept rising to the surface, ready to obey that urge.

Now, several hours later, the pain in my gut is gone, but that 'punch in the gut' feeling left me with a terrible sensation.

The truth is, I've been feeling more and more anxious the longer I go without news from Vera. I keep thinking that even if I trust the guys she's with with my life, hers is mine and mine alone to protect.

I grind my teeth unconsciously and don't even realize my aura, or whatever Vera called it, is sneaking up on everyone around me until Elden points it out.

"Noah, knock it off," he says, narrowing his eyes at me, annoyed.

This has been happening a lot lately, more so after yesterday, even when I'm not bothered or angry by anything; I think just being away from Vera is making... something... inside me very angry.

I look up, noticing Eli and Caleb have taken a calculated step back from the table. I always wondered why they did that; I'd never actually hurt them, but apparently their reaction is just by instinct and they can't control it. "Sorry, sorry, I got distracted," I tell them.

"As I was saying, I have managed to gather enough warriors to hold the Castle if it came to it.

Again, we could use the tunnels to hide and evacuate non-tactical staff, the only real problem would be that if the rogues do attack, it will probably be a surprise attack." Eli says.

"We have a timeline, though," Caleb says, "from what Liam said, the catalyst for the attack will

be the trial, that's tomorrow. That's if Your Highness didn't accelerate Alcott's timeline."

Elden and Eli turn to me.

"I may or may not have ruffled his feathers a little," I explain, shrugging.

Eli smirks, approvingly. Elden narrows his eyes at me again.

"And there has been no word from Liam, correct?" Caleb asks.

"None," Elden says.

"I imagine it's difficult to explain just how why he became our messenger," I interject.

"Well, either way, all we can do now is wait and see what happens. Even if Alcott has decided to accelerate the timeline, the rogues would be fools to not accept our meeting first," Eli says.

With that, we all agree to go about our usual day as we wait for Liam to come back with news.

Elden leaves for his library again, while Eli and Caleb each go their own separate ways. I know they probably still have thing to do in preparation for the trial, but I can't concern myself with that anymore.

I've been feeling too volatile, too out of control, lately. It's something that I expected after letting my lycan fight free and unchecked in the woods all those months ago, but trying to keep this aura thing under control is starting to wear me down. So, I decide to spend the rest of the morning in the training grounds; it's the only thing that seems to keep me from worrying about Vera constantly, which is making the volatility worse.

When I enter the fighting ring, the new recruits stare at me in fear. They have never seen me fight, and they are not the least bit eager to fight me themselves.

After several hours, most of the morning has gone by. I have fought almost every warrior here. reminding everyone who the better fighter is. Some even have come back to try and defeat me, but have failed miserably.

One by one, warrior after warrior falls at my feet as I defeat them quickly.

When I finally stop and step out of the ring, I do so because I'm hungry, not because I'm tired.

Alan hands me a towel and water.

"I don't know if you fighting them encourages them or makes them fear you more, boss," he

says.

"Either way seems good to me," he says.

Off to the corner, I notice Mason coming in, his expression rather serious. When he locks eyes with me, he simply nods.

I nod back, understanding.

I hand the towel back to Alan and proceed to leave the training grounds, meeting Mason at the exterior courtyard; it's empty at this time.

"I

I got word from our resident rogue. The leader agreed to meet outside the Castle territory at midnight. She'll be accompanied, she wants to make sure no harm will come to her or her party," he says.

"Done. We will only be five guys, she can bring as many as she wants. It has to be within Castle territory, though. I can't guarantee her protection otherwise. Tell Liam to tread carefully, he knows the way in and out of the territory without being detected, but this knowledge might make them suspicious of him."

Mason nods and leaves.

I turn to look around, making sure absolutely no one was near us to hear the exchange. After a few minutes, I turn in the direction of the Castle, making my way to Eli's office.

When I get there, I enter the door and find him sitting in front of a map of the Castle.

"Your Highness," he looks up.

"We got word from our spy, the meeting will be tonight at midnight. She will be accompanied;

no harm will come to her or her party. We will leave a few hours before to scout out the area, just in case."

"Sounds like a plan," Eli says, standing up and taking the map, placing it in front of me, "I'll tell the others. Mason and Ethan will join us?"

I nod.

"Very well. Don't leave, we have a few strategies to discuss."

I eye the map. It's an old map of the Castle, one that shows every weak spot, but also the areas that are impenetrable.

After only a couple of minutes, Eli is back.

"Well, they are all aware and excited to meet this rogue leader. Now, the map," he says, coming to stand in front of me as we both stare at the map, "this," he points at the main entrance, "is our biggest weak spot. I recommend putting most of our warriors here in case the rogues breach; there's no time to reinforce the door."

"Where did you get this map?" I ask him.

"Elden. I asked for the oldest map he knows of and that's what he came up with," he shrugs.

I trace my finger on the map, careful not to damage it. I'm following a strange red line that flows through the castle. It's very faint, almost too faint to see, but it's there.

"What do you think this is?" I ask Eli.

"I

I figured it was an initial tracing of the foundations; they follow every bit of the Castle's outline.

My finger traces over the lines again and again, feeling like there's more to it. Then, my finger lands on the Beta's wing.

"Wait, look at this," I tell Eli, tracing the exact route that Elden took me on the other day when he took me to Liam from the library. "Eli, this is a map of the hidden passageways of the Castle."

Eli leans over, looking at the lines now under a new light.

"If that's the case..." he says, tracing a big square at the entrance, "could this be a dungeon or something?"

I notice what he's referring to. There's a rectangle a few meters outside the Castle entrance and it extends to most of the length of the stone wall.

"I don't know, but ask Elden, see if he knows what it could be."

Eli nods and once again leaves.

The rest of the day flies by quickly.

I grab a quick bite to eat, not really having an appetite just like the past few days. Then, I meet with Caleb, trying to figure out a plan to convince the rogues to switch to our side.To avoid an incomplete reading experience, visit Jobn'i'b.com. Quickly, the afternoon and night are gone as we even make plans for my trial tomorrow.

"Let's hope Vera makes it back in time and with the documents we need," he says, finally. The mention of Vera once again causes the ripple in my stomach to form.

"Ladies, it's time to get going." Eli says coming in, checking his watch.

Behind him, Mason and Ethan are ready to leave.

I straighten,

"Alright then," I say.

With Caleb, Eli, Mason, and Ethan, we make our way to the library, heading to the tunnels.