Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
‘That’s because they have never been here before. I don’t understand why they have been sent here, though or how they got here,’ Damon says.
‘We can try and figure all of that out once we find somewhere safe away from these creatures,’ Magnus says.
‘Luna,’ Reaper mind-links as he flies above me.
‘The giant serpent is Thypon. He is the God of Monsters. He must have come through during the solstice while the veil between worlds was weakened.’
‘What! The God of monsters! Why is he here?’ I mind-link.
‘He is only known for one thing, and that’s to destroy worlds.’
‘How do we stop him?’ I mind-Link.
‘I don’t know,’ he replies.
We approach Moonhowl woods. Magnus, Damon, Yiselda and Alec make us wait as they check to ensure it’s safe.
‘It seems to be free of any unwanted creatures for now,’ Yiselda says, gesturing for us to enter the woods.
We come to the ocean’s shore as we reach the end of the woods. There is a cove that will shelter us for now.
We all gather up at the back end of the cove.
‘Inferno Flamo,’ Ela says, lighting a fire.
We let all the children sit in front closer to the fire, and the adults sit behind them.
Magnus and Alec sit on either side of me, ‘Are you okay, Nina?’ Magnus asks.
I shake my head no and cry. ‘They killed Saskia,’ I say to him.
Magnus pulls me into his chest and rubs my back as I grieve for her and the others we lost. Alec rubs my shoulder.
Ryker and Astrid are consoling Josie while my parents console May. Everyone is distressed.
‘Damon, our castle, our home. What are we going to do? I’m with child now,’ Maia cries as she places her hand on her slightly swollen stomach.
‘It will be okay, my love. We will get our home back. I’ve mind-linked the warriors, who are currently fighting against the Harpies,’ Damon says to her.
‘What were those worm creatures? I know the other creatures were minotaurs, and did you all see those dragons in the sky?’ I ask.
‘Dragons!’ Ela and Fern say simultaneously.
‘Death Worms,’ Alec says to me. They can burrow and move through the ground very quickly. They can’t see or hear. They follow vibrations to know where you are. So, if you are ever near one, keep very still, and they won’t be able to find you. All it takes is one step for them to figure out where you are,’ he informs us.
‘Reaper said the giant serpent is Thypon, the God of Monsters,’ I say to everyone.
‘That would make sense why we’ve never seen him or the other monsters before. Because he came through the veil during the solstice,’ Damon says. ‘But why him? Why didn’t the Moon Goddess or any other deities come through? Surely Cerridwen, Ogrun and Valkrim would have stopped him?’ Damon says.
‘There has to be a reason for all of this?’ Maia says, ‘But the main problem is, how do we stop a God? How are we supposed to defeat Thypon when we can’t even defeat the monsters, he brought with him?’
‘We can’t,’ Yiselda says, stepping forward. ‘Only another God or Goddess can defeat another, and even then, many deities will usually fight against the one and have them sealed away for as long as possible.’
‘Even though many of us wield great strength and power, we are not deities. So, what are we going to do?’ Maia asks.
‘Survive,’ I say loudly-my voice echoes throughout the cove. ‘We need to try and defeat as many monsters as possible when the opportunity arrives and then focus on surviving until we come up with a new plan or until the next solstice and pray that the deities will enter Mysteria and defeat Thypon,’ I say to them all.
‘A whole year!’ Maia exclaims, ‘I would have had my baby by then,’ she sobs.
‘The veil is unbreakable until the next solstice. We don’t have any other choice but to try and survive.’
‘Nina’s right,’ Alec says. We need to stay hidden. We aren’t far from the ships. Tomorrow we will cross the ocean and go to Emerald Island. For now, you should all try and get some rest. The vampires and I will keep watch while you all sleep,’ he says.
A dozen vampires follow Alec toward the entrance of the coven. Magnus sits and leans against the limestone wall of the cove and pulls me onto his lap. I rest my head against his chest and sleep.
I have the strangest dream. I can see many planets in the night sky that sparkles. My name is being called, but I’m too mesmerised by my surroundings to follow. A fluffy white cat with white wings rubs itself against my leg as it purrs. I kneel and stroke its fur. It feels surreal, but I know it’s just a dream. There are houses made from precious gems and stones. Some hover in the air on islands that have bridges connecting them to other hovering islands.
The grass beneath my feet is purple, and a rabbit with antlers hops by. The winged cat meows, gaining my attention, but as I go to follow it, I’m abruptly woken up.
‘Nina, wake up! There’s a fire. We need to go!’ Magnus says.
I take his hand, and we run out of the cove to see Moonhowl Woods ablaze.
We hear the roar of Thypon in the distance.
‘We must all go, now! ‘Towards the ships!’ Damon shouts.
We shift into our wolves, and the little orcs and sprites are placed onto our backs. We race along the shoreline until we reach the docks where the ships are anchored.
I look at Magnus as we see they have been destroyed. We shift back and cautiously approach. I notice a lot of movement in the water beyond the destroyed ships.
‘There’s something in the water,’ I say, pointing at the ripples.
Everyone steps closer, and suddenly three-headed snakes emerge and slither toward us. They are between seven and eight feet tall.
‘Oh my!’ Vivian says in her posh accent, stepping back.
‘Tumultuous Volley!’ I shout, causing lightning to strike them.
‘Troika Snakes!’ Alec shouts.
I manage to strike them all as they come toward me except for one. The three heads spit a green fluid toward me at once. Alec dashes toward me and pushes me out of the way.
‘They spit acid!’ he says as remnants burn holes through his cloak.
‘Repeliate!’ Yiselda says, sending the Troika Snake flying back into the ocean.
It returns from the water even faster this time but with a dozen others with it.
Alec quickly stands and helps me up. I jump in front of him. ‘Inferno Flamo!’ I shout, creating a wall of flame in front of us. The snakes hiss and retreat into the ocean.
‘They seem to be afraid of fire,’ Yiselda says.
‘Good! Next time I’ll burn them to smithereens,’ I say to her.
‘They must have destroyed the ships,’ Alec says.