The Nymph of Black Forest

Derek’s POV ~

The last week has been eventful for us. We have had several wild wolf packs shown up. One entire of pack of red wolves! Forty red wolves! We thought they were extinct. Like bear shifters! The red wolves told us they have been hiding.. rebuilding. A pride of jaguars showed up…surprised me to find out some jaguars are black! I had never seen a solid black one! I thought they were only in South America..but, apparently, dormant genes activate several times a generation! Mostly they are brown..with red and black florets in their fur.

I also found out they are ambush hunters. They will flush prey towards the trees..where the biggest and best lie in wait, on branches of the trees. If one fails a kill shot..the next one takes down the prey! We have watched them spar..cats against wolves..bears against cats.. wolves against bears. All our troops have taken turns sparring with them, as well! We are exhausted..but feel ready for any eventuality. We definitely sleep well every night!

It’s just past dawn, Rhiannon and I are waiting for the ospreys return. Monty is with us..he has developed a fascination for all creatures..and a healthy respect for every species. We hear Owen’s call..and as we search the sky.. we see hundreds of birds of prey.. osprey..eagles..owls..and falcons. There were so many! They arrived in such a large amount they blocked the sun! I am amazed! Rhiannon is so loved..so cherished that every living thing on this planet adores her! She sent out an S.O.S and it was answered in spades!

Monty says “I should have worn a hat!” Rhiannon looks at him with a perplexed look “ Why would you need a hat?” He shrugs “That’s going to be a ton of birdshit!” I sputtered a laugh and she punched him “I’mma tell all of them to shit On You!” which made me laugh harder.. because he’s chasing after her, begging her not to!

Edward has suggested we attack the rogue pack close to us this morning, I agree, because we have to throw Leonard off his game.. provoke him into attacking. Plus, it will be practice to see the species interacting with each other.

Striking out on paws, Edward, Pietro, Angus. Wilhelm(the red wolves Alpha) and I.. take the lead.. Rhiannon, Monty and Shawn are directly behind us. The birds are in flight..and within an hour, we slammed into the rogue camp. How we caught them by surprise, I will never know! We had to have sounded like a herd of elephants stomping through the forest. The wolves would chase the rogues into the woods.. The cats would take them out. The bears are brutal..they clothesline them..and literally decapitate the rogues, as they run by. The birds swoop from the sky, taking eyes..yanking jugulars out. Wicked!

Within twenty minutes, every rogue was dead..and Edward was burning the structures. Rhiannon stood by..had summoned the clouds.. ready to control the blaze, if it got away from Edward. It was effective..and efficient..and a sure-fire guarantee to get Leonard’s attention. He’s lost the backup of Bart’s warriors..now he’s lost an entire platoon of rogues! Once we were sure the fire is out..and can harm nothing.. we headed home.

We arrived home, just as Tom was linked Nancy was in labor. He and Rhiannon left with Adele to the infirmary. And I asked everyone to join me in the conference room. We all discussed the success of the mission..everyone finding it amusing that I translated for Pietro.

Edward says “we are more dedicated now..we have to be very aware. Leonard is going to be beside himself. We have nine days to the blood moon! According to the prophecy, he has to have consumed the blood of the three before the Moon reaches its apex. Then..he has to have cleared the path for the portal…the gate..to the demon realm, in order to open it. We need to find out if Rhiannon has found if there’s a ritual..a ceremony..he has to know How to open it..there’s something missing. We need to know what that something is!”

Monty shrugs “I haven’t found anything regarding it. But, Rhiannon is better at deciphering that riddle shit! I mean…for all we know, at this point.. it could be as simple as him saying ‘Open Sesame’.. who knows?” And we all laugh like crazy.. Angus said “And sure, he has a magic lamp, too!”

Sadie pokes her head in the door “Alpha, Owen is outside and squawking..which I assume means he has news?” And I stood to meet with Owen. How my life has changed! I have meetings with animals..know bear shifters…and realized red wolves aren’t extinct!

Sadie is right..Owen is extremely agitated.. I speak softly, like Rhiannon has taught me.. I ask after Opal..and Oscar and Otto.. but he rushes through their health, and jumps onto telling me troops are mobilizing. From two sectors. The southeast.. around 500 men.. and from due east..ar least 300 more. Now we have a guesstimate of how many we might face. Substantially more than we had hoped for.. but we still outnumber them by three to one. I thank Owen and ask that they keep an eye out..and let me know when the groups converge..and where!

After he left, we all went back inside. I needed a drink! When Rhiannon came in, she let us know the baby is here. She’s happy and healthy.. they named her Phoenix. She climbed into my lap..putting a small flat box, in front of me. I raised a brow at her..she smiles and says “Just a little something, because I love you!” I lifted the lid..and lifted out a pregnancy test that read positive.. I grinned.. I asked “are we?” She nods and squeals and I jump up, with her in my arms and she wraps her legs around my waist.. I spin and yell “We’re Pregnant!!!” Monty is happier than I am..he gets to be an uncle…and Rhiannon warned him about teaching the baby bad words.. and he had such a ‘who me’ look on his face, everyone laughed at him.

I told Rhiannon everything we had talked about and then, I asked her what she knew about Leonard being able to open the gate to the demon realm. She jumps up, and runs out of the room. Okayyy. What the fuck just happened?