The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

He's aged since my vision, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is Ellie Goldmoon's husband. Everything from his smell to his aura puts me back in my vision. I'm starting to get nauseous.

"Vera?" Dr. Owens whispers beside me, putting his hand on mine, "Goddess, Vera, you're cold as a ghost. What's wrong?"

I shake my head, swallowing hard, trying to compose myself; I still have a dinner to get through.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"This is Alpha Samael from the Red Moon Pack; as you may know, the Red Moon pack is our neighbor to the south."

Alpha Samael approaches Sofia, extending his hand, but when Sofia goes to shake it, he instead takes it and kisses it. It's repulsive.

"Very nice to meet you, Alpha Sofia, I've heard great things about you," he says.

He doesn't even hide his shameless lingering stare on her neck, checking if she has a mate.

"Funny, I haven't heard anything about you," Sofia says, retreating her hand.

"Ah, well, hopefully that can change tonight," he says, walking back to his seat, right in front of Sofia.

Elliot clears his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming here, and thank you Sofia, for coming here on such short notice." Sofia raises an eyebrow at him, "so now, please, let us enjoy this dinner our cooks have prepared. We can talk business later." *Can you believe this clown?* Sofia mind links me, **thank you for coming on such short notice?'*

I can sense her getting annoyed and we haven't even began eating dinner.

*I don't like Alpha Samael, Sofia. Be careful.*

*Oh, I don't like him one bit, either. I've heard stories of him.*

*He was Ellie Goldmoon's husband,* I tell her.

She stays quiet for a while, looking at him.

*Interesting.*

With that, our conversation ends and the first course rolls in. It's a salmon dish; it looks delicious but I have lost all of my appetite.

For the rest of the evening and no matter what they put in front of me, I simply take a few bites here and there and roll my food on my plate for the time being.

Sitting at the same table as this man as he casually dines and laughs with the Goldmoons makes me sick; I would bet my life that they have no idea the kind of monster he is or just how he treated their daughter.

Ironically, the one seeming to entertain him the most is Ellie's father, Elliot's grandfather.

"It seems very unlike you to have no appetite, it's even rarer for you not to devour that dessert," Dr. Owens notes beside me as I'm merely toying with my dessert.

"I just think we had enough dessert this afternoon," I tell him with a smile, though I'm not sure he's buying it.

Once everyone is done with their desserts and the plates have been removed, Elliot stands up, drawing our attention.

"Now, to the real reason why this evening was planned in the first place." he says, "Alpha Samael, if you will."

I narrow my eyes at this. So, we were indeed brought here under false pretenses.

"Thank you, Alpha Elliot, and thank you, Alpha Sofia, for coming so quickly," I can see out of the corner of my eye as Sofia discreetly grinds her teeth. She doesn't like being taken for a fool, much less being used in this way. We didn't come here at their request, and to have this man believe otherwise is disingenuous.

Alpha Samael continues,

"As you all may be aware, or not," he says, sounding condescending. "there has been a coup in lycan territory. The previous king, the one who had held on to power for almost three decades is now gone, and with him, their unity," now I'm the one grinding my teeth, "I have also become aware that the new King, some... runt... is further crippling their kingdom, dividing all of them."

What the fuck is this man talking about?

Alpha Samael pauses, looking at us as if we should be impressed with his knowledge.

I'm slightly shaking as I close my eyes for a quick second to control my temper; things could get out of control very quickly if I don't considering that my magic is heavily swayed by my mood.

After Alpha Samael's pause extends, Sofia breaks the silence.

"Very... interesting... Alpha Samael. I fail to see your point."

He grinds his teeth. Clearly this is not the reaction he expected; maybe he wanted us to be too stunned at his revelation to ask questions.

"What Alpha Samael is trying to say, Alpha Sofia, is that this is the perfect opportunity to attack!" Elliot says.

Sofia frowns, looking between Alpha Samael and Elliot without saying a word.

"Do not dare speak for me, Alpha Elliot." Alpha Samael says, the tone of his voice an implicit threat. "I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself."

Elliot sits down, like a scolded child.

I guess it's very clear what the power dynamic here is.

"Alpha Sofia, it came to our attention that a few months ago you had lycan intruders come into

your territory, we want to avoid that happening in the future, in that way, we can protect you and your pack," Alpha Samael says.

I feel Sofia's temper rising.

"Those lycans were dealt with, Alpha Samael, as have many others that have dared cross us. Now, I'm not one to dance around the point, so I will be direct. *We* do not need your protection, and *we do not take kindly to being pawns," she stares directly at Elliot, though he does not dare meet her gaze. "Now," she continues, "I would appreciate the same frankness from you, Alpha Samael, what do you *really* want from us?"

She's staring at Samael directly now, some of her Alpha aura seeping through to make it very clear that she's losing patience.

"We need to use your territory to plan our attack to lycan territory. It is the closest border to their Castle and will be the perfect strategic stronghold."

"No," she says, without a second to consider.

"Alpha Sofia, we will never have an opportunity like this again. Their kingdom is weak, we will be able to take over their entire territory and get rid of lycans once and for all!" Elliot's father says.

"Don't you mean you will finally be able to avenge your sister?" Sofia says coldly.

Now I can sense a shift in the mood of the entire room. Sofia has hit the nail on the head.

"I will not put my pack at risk for your personal vendetta," she says with finality.

"Your father would be ashamed," Elliot's father says, scornful.

"Yes," Sofia says, "of you."

She stands up, and with her, all of us do the same.

"Thank you, truly, for hosting us. It was great to see you all again. We will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning," she says, tossing the napkin that laid on her lap on the table.

Just as she turns, Alpha Samael speaks again.

"That would be very unwise of you, Alpha Sofia, I have spies within the lycan ranks and they are already planning an attack on your territory in retaliation for killing the trespassers. It's a matter of time before you come to us, begging for our help and protection." *He's bluffing, he would know about me if he truly had spies inside,* I mink link Sofia and quickly feed her information. Names, titles, everything.

"Is that so?" Sofia turns around, "tell me, Alpha Samael, are these spies of yours within the Council? Could it be Council member William of House Cerulean? Or could it be Council member Alcott? I hear he's not a fan of the current King. Or perhaps, Council member Caldwell? Hmmm... no? Then perhaps Eli, the King's beta?"

There is a pregnant silence following Sofia's comment, everyone clearly taken aback by her knowledge.

Alpha Samael purses his lips, not at all happy with having his bluff called.

"Unlike Alpha Samael, *I* actually have spies within the Castle walls. If *you* want to go ahead and wage a war you cannot win based on false pretenses, be my guest, lead your people to slaughter," she says, turning around and giving them her back as we all walk away with her.

*Everyone, we will only mind link from now on,* Sofia tells us all, *keep your eyes and ears open. Vera, I'm sorry, you will only have tonight to look for the documents. We are leaving before sunrise, Dr. Owens, that includes you, too.* *Understood, we all nod.

*Well, that didn't go as expected,* Dr. Owens mind links me as we make our way down the hallway to our rooms.

As we reach the room where the warriors and I are staying, Dr. Owens grabs my arm and holds me at arm's length.

*The door you are looking for is down by the main corridor, the one that leads to the kitchen. It is hidden behind a red curtain and is marked with a teardrop shape. Wait until midnight and be very careful,* he says, giving me a hug. I hug him back.

When I enter the room, I notice one of the warriors sitting in the middle of the room.

"We will take turns keeping guard, just in case, he tells me and I nod.

I go into the bathroom and change into leggings and a fitted t-shirt, all black. It will help me blend in with the dark of the night as I make my way through the pack house. Leaving the bathroom, the night light has already been turned off and I crawl into my bed, waiting patiently for midnight.