Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Twenty-Four: Until We Meet Again

It seemed that one minute; Aira was just lying in bed, listening to repetitive pop music with a book in her hand wishing Van and Aiden would return, and the next minute, there they were, right in front of her. Everything had just changed so rapidly that the poor girl thought she might have to check for whiplash. So much had happened in the past few weeks that she was sure this was all a dream. She was still deciding whether it was a good dream or not, however.

And now, she was back at the reserve where she had gotten lost on Emma's birthday more than five years before. Aira remembered this place so well because it was the place where she spoke normally for the very first time and where she found Vaughn, the little gray wolf cub who would later become her best friend, her only true friend.

Aira took a big, shaky breath as she looked down and smiled at the now adult wolf. It seemed he knew where they were as he raised his nose into the air and sniffed around. It hadn't been an easy decision. That was certain, but Aira knew it was the right decision.

-

Sighing heavily as she placed different items of clothing into her suitcase, Aira glanced over to her wolf friend who sat by the window, just staring out. He did that sometimes as if he were waiting for something. Aira smiled as she tread over carefully and petted his head.

"What's up, boy?" she asked as she massaged behind his ear. Usually, the beautiful animal would go crazy over this treatment, but tonight, he simply sat there, gazing out the window so intently that Aira had to look to make sure there was no one outside.

A low grumble erupted from Vaughn's throat as he started to howl. This was something he'd never done before. Even when Aira tried to shush him, he continued to howl loudly, as if crying out into the night.

"He's trying to call out to see if there are any other wolves around," came a smooth, deep voice from her doorway.

Aira looked at Aiden and frowned. "There aren't wolves anywhere around here."

Aiden nodded. "Exactly, but he doesn't know that. He's waiting to get a message back."

She looked back at Vaughn with a sad expression before kneeling down and wrapping her hands around the wolf's neck, nuzzling her cheek into his fur. Never had Aira even once thought that he might be lonely here. Perhaps, she had been the only one comfortable in the way things were.

"Are you taking him to Russia?" her brother asked as he moved to sit next to her on the floor. "He'll have to get vaccinated and chipped and all that sort of stuff before he'll be allowed on the plane. It doesn't sound so great to me, though. He'll never be able to go back to the wild after that. At least now, he has some chance."

Aira had a deep frown on her face as she looked at her best friend with worried eyes. She had wanted to grow up and become an adult—but Aira never thought about the adult decisions she'd have to make along the way.

She felt Aiden ruffle her hair as he made his way out of the room. "You'll know what to do, Air. You always do."

"Yeah..." she whispered as she stroked Vaughn's ear lovingly.

-

That was the night she realized that Vaughn needed more. He needed to be free — free to roam and find his own place in this strange world... just like her.

This wasn't the first time Aira had met Lucas Wright, but it was the first he had spoken to her. Aira didn't feel uncomfortable around the man like she did around his daughter, Jillian, but it was still awkward. Lucas didn't mention the incident concerning his daughter as he smiled at Aira.