<h4>Chapter 207: Last Minute Preparation</h4>


    Outside the door, Ethan didn’t move. For a moment, he wasn’t even sure he’d breathed. The corridor around him felt strangely still, as though the very air was holding its breath in witness. He stood there, staring at the closed door, the faint echo of it shutting still resonating in his ears.


    It had been his first kiss. Not the kiss he had imagined in countless quiet moments, but a simple, fleeting brush... her lips just touching his. By most measures, it couldn’t even be called a kiss. And yet his entire mind was awash with sweetness, richer than honey... because it hade from her.


    The warmth of Eleanor’s lips lingered, ghostlike, against his own. He could recall their exact softness, the light pressure, the way the moment had vanished almost as soon as it had begun. But in that brief heartbeat, it had etched itself into him, indelible.


    For years, he had carried his feelings for her with quiet patience... open enough for her to see, steady enough for her to trust. He had made himself a presence she could lean on without hesitation. She knew he loved her; he had shown her, time and again, without fanfare, without demands. And he had always left the choice in her hands.


    Because he knew the shadows she carried. The trauma from that dreadful past, the scars left by her former fiancé and her adoptive family... these wounds were not that faded in months or even years. They clung like a hidden scar beneath the skin, shaping the way she held herself apart. He had vowed never to push past that barrier, knowing that trust could never be taken... it had to be given.


    His thoughts kept circling back to her eyes in that split second before it happened... fixed on him, yet distant, as though she had been answering some silent summons. That look alone might have undone him; the kiss had simply sealed it.


    Werewolves measured time differently from humans. Even in the worst of circumstances, he might have centuries ahead of him... five hundred years, perhaps more, if fate was kind. And if they ascended together, eight or ten centuries would not be impossible. Such longevity made moments like this feel both fleeting and monumental. There was no need to rush. No need to reach for something not yet ready.


    He was resolute in his vow to wait for her to heal... to one day meet him without that flicker of guardedness in her gaze. And if that day took years, or decades, it would not matter. His ce was at her side, for as long as she wished him there. He knew, with an instinct that came from deeper than thought, that she was his fated one. He had always felt the connection, even when she was a mere human, the quiet blessing of the Moon Goddess.


    But tonight... tonight felt like more than hope. It felt like a sign. That simple peck, that momentary brush, had unfolded in him like a flower in sunlight. To him, it was her first step towards eptance.


    Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted, and the heaviness he had carried for so long softened into something warm and unshakable. His smile deepened as he turned from her door and made his way down the quiet corridor towards his own room. The sweetness of her kiss followed him with every step.


    ***


    Eleanor woke early. Freya was still clinging to her like an octopus, her small limbs wrapped tightly around her. With gentle care, Eleanor eased her daughter’s arms apart and settled her into a morefortable position. She then slipped into the bathroom to freshen up.


    When she emerged, Freya was still fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, Eleanor moved quietly, changing into her clothes and preparing for the day ahead. Fiona had told her she wouldn’t need to carry any personal belongings... the academy would provide everything, so she was spared the trouble of packing clothes or essories.


    Once ready, she eased the bedroom door open and stepped into the corridor. Today was Freya’s day off from school, so Eleanor decided to let her sleep a little longer.


    She made her way to the study and called Teresa to join her.


    Inside, she switched on herptop and said, "Nora, connect to your Central AI System."


    In an instant, the clone of Nora embedded in Eleanor’s mind scanned her brainwave patterns for authentication. Eleanor had programmed this security measure to guard against the possibility of someone stronger infiltrating her mind and seizing control of Nora.


    She understood the dangers of creating an autonomous super-system like Nora. In the wrong hands, it could wield the power to destroy entire civilisations. That was why she had implemented every safeguard possible with current technology.


    Nora was capable of automatically updating herself whenever new variables or advancements arose. Her prime directive, aside from serving Eleanor, was to expel all other users and remain constantly up to date by drawing upon every avable resource.


    Eleanor had also instructed Nora to bind herself to Eleanor’s sessor if Eleanor were ever absent for a prolonged period... or if she died. Freya had been given a restricted clone of Nora, which assisted her with online learning and daily tasks.


    Before Nora’s creation, Freya had long used another AI assistant. After building Nora, Eleanor had quietly reced it with a clone. That clone copied all data from the previous AI and even kept the same name... Ava.


    When necessary, Nora couldmunicate with Freya via Ava and would grant her full ess once she turned twenty-five.


    Now, the clone within Eleanor’s mind sent an ultrapressed, encrypted signal skywards after authentication. This was transmitted through a low-power neural transceiver that pinged the nearest satellite.


    The closest Orionix SpaceTech satellite received the signal and passed it into the secure orbital meshwork, rying it to the Central AI System... the main body of Nora. Multiple satellites operated in redundant ry mode, ensuring the connection could never be lost.


    Eleanor had recently updated Nora’s connection system. Now, if she was within a Wi-Fi zone, the AI could connect via the inte. Without inte ess, the link became slower and limited to smaller data packets, but as long as she was within range of a satellite, a connection was still possible.


    Nora’s central system was mathematically divided into hundreds of encrypted fragments. Each fragment was redundantly stored across satellites, ground stations, and deep underground vault servers in remote, politically neutral regions. No single satellite, station, or vault held the entire "brain." The central system could only function as a whole when enough fragments were authenticated andbined through secure key exchanges. By design, seizing or destroying some pieces rendered them useless.


    If a node was destroyed or hacked, other nodes would dynamically reroute data and replicate the missing shards. Satellites acted as global couriers between safe nodes, with multiple redundant orbital paths... so a worldwide jamming attack would need to nket the entire to sever thework.


    The system was also programmed to periodically relocate its most critical shards. It generated false decoy signals and fake "core" servers to mislead attackers into wasting resources. Even if someone could coordinate a global cyberattack, push a malicious update, or destroy all satellites and ground stations, Nora would survive.


    As an ultimate contingency, a small number of deep-sea data vaults beneath the Antarctic Ocean held critical fallback backups, capable of restoring the system if all orbital and terrestrial infrastructure was wiped out. Even an internal breach could not operate without a quorum of authentic fragments.


    When Eleanor’s signal reached the nearest data centre, it began rying the transmission to other centres holding fragments of the central system. The clone’s data merged seamlessly with the main AI’s knowledge, updating in real time.


    Within seconds, Nora’s voice replied, "Central System connected."


    "Good," Eleanor said. "Give me a system update."


    "Initiating system update," Nora responded. "Synchronising all veiled nodes... encrypting data streams... core fragments aligned at fifty-three thousand eight hundred and forty-two out of one hundred thousand distributed vectors. Cross-redundancy confirmed. No hostile infiltration detected. Update applied to all instances."


    Eleanor nodded. "Good. I may be unavable for some time. Continue consolidating core fragments. There will be several satellites and ground stations connected to the God Eye in my absence... each equipped with several hundred fragments. Locate them and strengthen your core."


    She paused before adding, "Put all mypanies under surveince. If you detect any problems, or have suggestions to improve operations at any of my facilities, send an email to Teresa from my ount. Match my writing style so she believes ites from me. Other than Teresa, do not contact anyone, even if you find another optimal point. Understand?"


    "Yes," Nora said. "What about surveince on your home and vehicles?"


    "No need to report that to Teresa," Eleanor replied. "If anyone attempts to breach security, the programmed rm will be sufficient."


    Just then, she heard a knock at the door.