The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

I stare at the cover of the book, mesmerized by its detail. It is old and covered in dust, looking lackluster, but I know better; this is exactly what I was looking for.

"Now, this book, or any for that matter, can't leave this library but you can come any time."

"Thank you." I tell him, absentmindedly.

I don't even notice when he gathers his tea set and leaves me be.

The entire interaction with Council Member Elden has left me wondering what else he knows, and how I can access said knowledge. I might have to become this old man's friend if only to find out more about who, and what, I am.

But it will have to wait until tomorrow as there is a knock on the door. I don't even know why anyone would bother knocking, but it might be Lucas and he was very unnerved by the presence of Council Member Elden.

I feel the doors open and immediately pick up that scent of home; it's Noah.

I place the book on one of the closest shelves so I know where to find it tomorrow and make my way to the entrance.

When I get there, Noah is in awe admiring all of the tall bookshelves.

"I didn't even know this place was here," he muses over the rows and rows of books just as I had before.

My heart warms at the sight, immediately causing me to smile. Going all day without seeing him was hard, and it was only going to get harder when he left for his mission.

I come up from behind him, startling him when I hug him from behind.

He hugs my arms affectionately, continuing to look over the impressive library.

"I'll have to come here more often from now on."

He turns around to face me and takes my hands in his, "Are you done here? I have a surprise for you."

"Yeah, we can go." I smile at him; I'm just so glad to see him.

With my hand in his, we make our way through the vast stone corridors of the castle, something I'm still getting used to. It is obvious to me that I would surely get lost if not accompanied.

As we pass the common areas, I realize it's even later than I had expected; there is nobody in sight, much to my relief.

We walk even more, crossing the terrible, concrete courtyard Lucas had shown me earlier. Noah suddenly stops in front of two decrepit looking wooden doors.

"Only a few people know this place, so we're letting you in on the secret."

He opens the door, revealing a beautifully kept garden inside. It's not as small as it appeared to be from the outside. There are hanging plants adorning the wooden pergola that surrounds the entire space, along with colorful planters scattered on the floor. "Oh, my Goddess..." I'm breathless looking at the space. It's a breath of fresh air and... life... in such a harsh and unforgiving place that is the castle. I take my time to take it all in.

"Noah, I... I love it."

I turn to him and realize he had been looking at me the entire time I've been admiring the garden, causing me to blush.

"I knew you'd like it," he smiles warmly at me, "but this isn't the surprise. Come on."

He extends his hand and I take it, moving towards the back of the garden. When we turn the corner, I am met with something very unexpected.

Lycans.

I recognize Lucas out of all the lot, the rest I have never seen before.

"Vera, these are my friends, everyone, meet Vera."

One by one, everyone comes closer to me and introduces themselves. There are ten people here; most of them are lycans, and only one is human. In the middle of the courtyard there is a large rectangular picnic table with food set up for us. Noah had planned this, a dinner for me to meet his friends. It makes me emotional; one of the things I miss the most about the Pack House is my friends, my family... genuine relationships.

We sit at the table and each grab a plate of food, passing around the various dishes of meats, fish. fruits, salads and more importantly, wine.

"Liam, Mason, Ethan and I went to school together, the females beside them are their mates, Harriet and Eva are lycan, Charlotte is human."

"Are they fated mates?"

"Uh, Harriet and Liam are. Mason and Eva grew up as best friends, eventually deciding they had feelings for each other, and I don't know what that other jackass did to have Charlotte agree to marry him." "Isn't it dangerous for a human in a castle full of lycans?"

"It can be, but Charlotte is marked and Ethan is well respected here. She's also the one that tends to this garden."

I look over at Charlotte, amazed at the will of this woman to follow Ethan to such a dangerous place. As a wolf, I know I'm not liked here, hell, by the looks of it, I'm hated here; but at least I could defend myself If I had to. A human doesn't have that luxury. As I'm looking over at her, studying her, she meets my gaze and warmly smiles. She has big blue eyes and long, beautiful blonde hair. I can already tell we're going to get along great. I return the smile as Noah keeps telling me about his friends. "Then, you have Levi, Gabriel, and Ezra. We met until I came to the castle but we became friends pretty fast."

I smile at the group of people that is laughing freely and cracking jokes at each other. At one point, even the girls are giving the guys shit for their combat skills and such.

I look at all of them and can't help but feel a hint of sadness; all this is doing now is reminding me of my home.