-Vera-


    The next morning, Noah and I wake up and get dressed, dragging our feet. None of us are looking forward to what today holds for us. Today is day one of our n, meaning I have to leave him to venture off into wolf territory. I have a knot forming in my stomach just Noah grunts as I pull back the curtains, letting some light in. I chuckle, going to my night stand to retrieve some aspirins.


    thinking about it.


    "Here," I tell him, handing them to him, "it will help with your hangover."


    "Thanks," he says, swallowing it without any water and rubbing his temples with his hands, "I''m never drinking again."


    I hug him from behind, cing my palms on his chest and my cheek on his back.


    We haven''t even parted ways and I already feel such longing for him.


    "It''ll be fine." he says, turning in my arms and hugging me, my head on his chest.


    I breathe in his scent, closing my eyes and hugging him a little tighter.


    "Vera," he says, using his fingers to raise my chin and look into my eyes, "if anything happens, if for some reason we fail, I need you to go back to the Pack House with Sofia. They''ll protect you if ites to it." "Noah, even if we fail, I''m not leaving you here."


    "If ites down to it, I would probably have to flee anyway, I''m just asking you to wait for me at the Pack House. I need to make sure you''ll be safe."


    After a few moments, I nod. This is our contingency n, and it''s for the best. Noah will always be weed into our n since he''s my mate; I just hope it doesn''te down to that.


    "Okay, let''s do this," I say and he kisses my forehead briefly before we separate.


    When we walk out of the room, he goes directly to Eli''s office at the gym, and I head to the clinic.


    As I enter, I notice so much of it has already been organized to the way it was before.


    "Hey!" I hear, "where did you go off tost night?" Charlotte asks.


    "Oh, hi Charlotte! You''re up early." I say, noting the clock on the wall points at it being seven A. M. Normally, we start work at the clinic around eight.


    "I didn''t get much sleepst night," she says, but then quickly changes the subject, "hey, do you think we could quickly go over the inventory? I think those old guys got rid of some of the tools we bought." 1 groan.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised; most of them didn''t even know what they were."


    We had bought tools for the new clinic which I had intended on teaching with. Since many of the practices here are outdated, I wanted to make sure they knew the more efficient, medically proven practices before we opened up the clinic to the public. "Okay, let''s start from the first item," I say, picking up the inventory I had created earlier this month when the tools came.


    For the rest of the morning, I keep busy with Charlotte and the rest of the women that help me out at the clinic. We sort out every item on the inventory and indeed, many are missing; we will have to order more.


    I have so many great ideas for this clinic; the potential is enormous; but I have made up my mind: we cannot do it with the old healers. When Ie back, I will have to get rid of every single one of them.


    "Alrightdies, I think I have kept you long enough," I say, noticing the clock indicates it''s already one P.M. "We''ll continue after lunch."


    They all excuse themselves, leaving for the dining hall.


    "Are youing?" Charlotte asks at the door.


    "I''ll meet you guys there," I tell her with a smile.


    She smiles back and leaves.


    I take a deep breathe.


    Today is all about pretending we are all continuing on with our normal lives so that the Council doesn''t suspect what we''re up to. They almost never pay any attention to me, so I''m not worried about them knowing I have left lycan territory; but I''m sure they''re keeping a close eye on everyone else.


    I close the door to the clinic as I step outside, making sure there is nobody around to see where


    I''m going.


    When I enter the gym, I knock on Eli''s door.


    "Come in," I hear from within.


    "Doc," Eli nods at me as I step inside.


    Within the office, I find Ezra, Noah, Caleb, and Eli looking at a map.


    "Fill me in." I say, approaching them.


    Noah takes my hand and interlocks our fingers as soon as I''m within reach.


    "We will have to exit through the back of the Castle to go unnoticed. From there, we will round up the northwest corner and enter the woods; security there is nonexistent after midnight. Also, we have chosen warriors that won''t raise suspicions, they were due for vacation time anyway. We leave tonight." Ezra says.


    "What are we expecting travel time wise?" I ask.


    "Well, in order to make good time, we will have to enter wolf territory by tomorrow night."


    "Tomorrow night?" I frown.


    Last time we traveled from the Pack House to the Castle, it took us a few days to get here.


    I turn to Noah,


    "You''ll have to run as your wolf," he says, grinding his teeth.


    "It''s the only way to make it in time," Caleb says, looking at Noah.


    Noah doesn''t look at him. I can see he''s notfortable with this at all, but I for one, am thrilled.


    I squeeze his hand gently.


    "What''s the n for when we get to the Pack House?" Caleb asks.


    "Sofia''s family and the Goldmoons have always had a great rtionship, we can count on her to arrange a meeting. Their territory neighbors ours so the trip will likely be short. Once there, we just have to search for Noah''s birth certificate," I say, a little flutter of excitement igniting in my stomach at the prospect of seeing Sofia and everyone else.


    As much as I''ll dread being away from Noah, I''m incredibly excited to go back home; even if it''s under these circumstances.


    "Okay. Gentlemen, and doc, we have ourselves a n. We will meet at the library to ess the tunnels that lead behind the Castle at half past eleven to ensure you make good time. I will make sure patrol is thin at this time," Eli says, pping his hands once. We all nod and leave the office, making sure there is nobody close by to see us.


    Ezra leaves first. Then Caleb after a few minutes. Then Eli, and finally Noah and myself.


    My stomach growls. I skipped breakfast because of how nervous I was.


    "Vera, if you don''t feelfort -"


    I interrupt him,


    "I''ll be fine," I tell him, "it''s even better that I''ll be on my wolf form, I''m much more aware of my surroundings like that. Besides, once this is all over, it won''t really matter if they know what I am."


    He nods after considering what I just said.


    "You''re right," he says, leading me to the dining hall.Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    At first when Noah woulde eat at the dining hall, everyone would pause, unsure of what to do about the King eating with them; but slowly, people have understood that to him, it''s just a title and not much else has changed. Some don''t even raise their gaze to look at him anymore.To avoid an iplete reading experience, visit Jobn''i''b. We eat lunch quietly, finding Eva, Ezra, and Charlotte chatting after they''re done with their meals.


    "Are you ready to go?" Charlotte asks, standing up to return to the clinic after we are all done.


    Before standing up. Noah squeezes my hand which he''s been holding this entire time below the table.


    I smile at him reassuringly and he lets go..


    This silentmunication between us has be second nature by now and it''s especially useful now since nobody here but Ezra knows what''s about to happen.


    The rest of the day passes by in a heartbeat. Along with checking the inventory, we have rearranged the tables, beds, and everything else back to where they were before I left.


    Once we are all done and almost everyone is gone for the day, I sigh, closing up thest box of equipment.


    "Hey, Charlotte?" I call to her as she''s storing another box filled with bandages and such.


    "Yeah?"


    I turn to look around to make sure we''re alone.


    "I''ll be gone for the rest of the week; can you please make sure these old folks don''t mess up our work? You cane to Noah or Eli if they give you any trouble, I''ve already talked to them. "Is everything alright?" She asks, a frown on her face.


    "Yeah, I just have some things to sort out. It shouldn''t take me long."


    "Okay, I got you covered," she says, winking at me.


    I ce my hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze. Trusting her to keep everything in order in my absence actually helps relieve some of the anxiety I''m feeling.


    I exit the clinic with Charlotte but soon, we each go our own way. I go up directly to the room, not wanting anything for dinner, and she heads out to the garden.


    When I reach the room and open the door, I''m surprised to see Noah is already here.


    "Lost your appetite, too?" he asks as soon as he sees me.


    He''s lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling.


    Without saying a word, I enter the room and shut the door behind me. Then, I proceed throw myself at the bed andnd directly on top of Noah, using him as a pillow,pletely depleted of energy. I''m just so tired. He hugs me to him.


    I don''t know if it''s the overwhelming anxiety I''ve been feelingtely or everything that''s happened this past week, but I ampletely done for the day and, without even answering him, I slowly start to snooze to the sound of his heartbeat.