The Last Spirit Wolf (Elena Norwood)

-Vera-

"Ok, level with me. Why the hell am I here?" I stand, drawing Caleb's, Eli's, Lucas's, and William's attention.Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

Noah has been kidnapped by this Queen Cecil to give him a 'private' tour of the property; as if there's much to see. Of course, none of us were invited. That's not even what annoys me, what I'm angry about is feeling like I'm the unwanted third wheel. They didn't even know about me? William didn't even attempt to introduce me? What the hell is going on here?

"You might as well tell her, William, I told you this was a bad idea," Caleb says, sipping out of his tea mug.

I turn to William who is nervously fidgeting with his fingers.

"And?!" I slam the table, making him flinch.

"I - I mean I did say that the families wanted their daughters considered to be Noah's wives, and and ..." "And?"

William is quiet again; he has not once looked me in the eyes since we got here.

"Oh, just spit it out," Eli says exasperated. He also didn't know anything about this, "it is one thing to tell them their daughters would be considered, but to not even tell them Noah has a mate? What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Fine." Caleb says, putting his mug down, "according to lycan tradition, none of us here have a right to deny any of these women the right to marry the King, not even the King himself. All of these women are lycan, they have money and influence and are allegedly beautiful; there is no acceptable reason why the King wouldn't marry any of them. Which is where you come in. The only way they'll keep their hands off of him is if you challenge them to a duel; the victor has a right to be with the King, and the other one has to give up any notions of ever becoming Queen."

I gape at him.

Eli almost chokes on his tea; he's bent over laughing.

"You can't be serious," Lucas says, not taking his eyes off of Caleb.

"I can't," Eli wheezes, "I can't believe this."

He's wiping tears off of his face.

"So, we literally have to fight for a man? How archaic are you people?!"

"Sorry, we didn't make the rules," Caleb says not the least bit apologetic, returning to drinking his tea.

I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at William.

"We knew that if we told you and Noah, he wouldn't want to come, but this is the only way for the families to meet with him, and the only possible excuse for him not to take any wife is you," William says, truly apologetic.

"Oh, come on doc, it's not like you can't take them! It'll be great practice," Eli is coughing after laughing so much.

"Oh, I'm aware, but how do you think they'll like being beaten by a wolf? Huh? Did any of you even think about that? Not to mention I won't even have to turn to make them eat dirt."

All of them stare at each other, Lucas shrugging his shoulders.

"All I know is I run faster than all of you, I'll be able to outrun this crazy before they come for our heads," he says.

"We didn't... we didn't think about that," William admits, clearing his throat.

"New plan," Caleb says, realization dawning on him, "lets keep these women as far away from Noah as possible. Deal?"

"Deal," they all say in unison.

"Speaking of, I better get out there before my cousin marries him to Violet without us knowing." William says, excusing himself before leaving.

"Unbelievable," I mumble to myself.

"I can't take this anymore!"

We all turn to the entrance of the tiny dining hall they placed us in; one that I'm sure is intended for the help.

"Noah? What are you doing here?" Caleb asks.

"I had to escape! She's fucking crazy. In just an hour, she not only offered her daughter to me, she offered herself!"

Eli bursts out laughing again, harder this time, spitting out his tea.

"I can't," he says under his breathe, "this trip is the best one of my life."

He starts coughing uncontrollably again as Noah takes a seat next to me.

"So have you met this Violet everyone keeps mentioning?" I ask him.

"No, but it's as if I have, she has portraits of her hanging *everywhere," he takes my tea mug and starts sipping from it.

"Did you know Vera has to fight these women for your hand in marriage?" Lucas says.

"She what?!"

Noah places down the mug forcefully, turning to Caleb who puts his hands up defensively.

"To be fair, I told them it was a bad idea to lie to you two."

"No, absolutely not. We are out of here, come on."

He takes my hand and begins to stand, but I don't budge.

"The hell we are!" I yell, "we came here for a reason, Noah, and if you have to parade your pretty little ass in front of these women as bait, you *will*. Then, you leave them to me."

I snatch my hand away from his and cross my arms.

I'm in a terrible mood; maybe the lack of sex is getting to me too. But it is a reality, the kingdom is in dire need of these families' assistance, otherwise everything we have worked for so far goes to hell. "Unbelievable," Noah sits beside me, crossing his arms as well.

"There's one more thing," Caleb says.

Noah and I turn to him at the same time; he looks almost apologetic.

"You two will have to sleep in separate rooms."

"What?!"

We both yell at the same time.

"Again, don't kill the messenger, but these are old customs that these people are not ready to be

rid of. The King only shares a bed with his actual wife during official visits."

"Fine!" I say, completely done with lycan tradition and stupidity.

"Fine!" Noah says too, but it's directed at me.

He gets up hastily and exits the room.

"Great. Now we are fighting too," I say, cradling my throbbing head on my hand and closing my eyes.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Jeremy walks in, "Queen Cecil has asked me to see you all to your rooms."

"Yes, thank you, Jeremy." Caleb says, standing up.

"Please follow me," Jeremy says.

After walking outside of the home, Jeremy leads us to a somewhat abandoned cabin, one that once again, was definitely designated for the help. Not that I mind, of course, but I'm sure this Queen is trying her hardest to keep us away from Noah; to keep *me* away from Noah.

When I take a step inside the small cabin, Jeremy stops me.

"I'm sorry, missus, the Queen as asked me to see you to the barn."

"The..." I'm honestly too shocked to even say the word; but am I really surprised?

"I'll take her spot in the barn, it's no place for a woman to sleep," Lucas steps up, putting his hand on my shoulder; I smile up to him gratefully.

"I understand." Jeremy says.

I almost feel bad for Jeremy; all this time he's looked almost embarrassed to carry out his Queen's orders. I'm sure it's not beyond him how ridiculous his "Queen* is being, but he can't do anything to stop her. Caleb comes to stand next to me as I watch Jeremy and Lucas head to the barn,

"When I fight this Violet for Noah, can I kill the Queen too?" I ask him, not taking my eyes away from Lucas,

Caleb chuckles.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'd pay to see you do that. Come on, let's get set up, they invited us over for dinner at the main house," he puts his hand on my shoulder and guides me inside the cabin.

I take one last look at Lucas and Jeremy at the same time that Jeremy happens to look my way. I narrow my eyes at him and even in the distance, I see him shutter.