The Call of The Crescent

Chapter 7

Walking into the Troll King’s ‘castle’ was not at all what I had expected; it reminded me slightly of what Declains office had looked like when he had been Alpha of Crescent Pack.

It was built into the base of a beautiful rocky mountain, and it had very little décor, with only a long, fluffy red carpet with gold trim leading up to a golden chair which seated a troll, two trolls stood on either side.

The trolls did not even look as I had expected them to, they were much shorter than any of us, and looked a lot like stone, their skin grey and rough looking.

He wore a large green cloak and a strange-looking crown that appeared to be made of grass.

Minnaloushe dropped gave a short bow and we did the same, while Midnight sat alert behind us at the door.

“King Ovo of Flora trolls, I have come before you today to discuss the future of Flora. These are my friends, Jake, Alpha wolf of Crescent Pack and Harley, Alpha she-wolf of Forest Pack, they too have pressing matters to discuss with you.”

I watched as King Ovo hopped off his chair and waddled over to us like a toddler.

He stood in front of me, staring up at me intently, “You are the mate of Alpha Riven?”

I dropped down to my knees to be on his level, “You know Riven?”

King Ovo turned to Minnaloushe, “These are good people?”

She nodded.

“Yes, I know of Alpha Riven,” he said as he turned back to me, “He is here in Flora.”

I nodded, “Yes he is, but something is wrong, he is a huge wolf and he doesn’t seem to remember me.”

The troll nodded, “Yes, I am aware. A Rogue wolf known as Jesse brought him here, he has spoken with very powerful sorcerers and they have helped him. What has been done to Alpha Riven is through strong magic, he is used as a guard to protect those we fight against, those who wish to spread the darkness through Flora.”

Minnaloushe spoke, “Yes, my mother is making an antidote for him. But we are hoping that we will be able to put an end to Jesse, he is a very evil person, King Ovo, and Harley needs all the help that she can get to stop him.”

King Ovo nodded, seemingly deep in thought, “I see. And you wish for me to help you?”

I nodded, “Yes please, I don’t know how many wolves he has but I assume it’s a lot.”

“I see. I can offer ten of my best men, unfortunately, I cannot offer any more as I will need protection should this come out.”

“Thank you, ten is better than what we currently have.”

He gave a short bow before turning back to Minnaloushe, “And what is it that you wish to discuss with me?”

“We were attacked by the ogres on our way into Flora, they are no longer on our side.”

“It was only a matter of time before they switched sides, we knew this. The best way forward is to speak to those who remain firmly following the Queen. We are ready to fight for Flora when the time comes.”

“Thank you, King Ovo. We will meet again soon, but I need to visit with the fae.”

I frowned slightly, it was strange enough meeting trolls, but to meet fairies was another story altogether.

The three of us departed with Midnight in tow.

“So, Minnaloushe, what are the fairies like?”

Minnaloushe smiled as she smoke, I could tell she had fond memories with them, “Well, the fairy princess is something else, she takes her role very seriously, but like me, she refuses to sit in royalty and not get her hands dirty. She has been beside me in many battles, she is a strong and fierce warrior,” she paused, her eyes on Midnight who’s fur stood on the edge, “She senses danger.”

Both Jake and I took a step back, ready to shift, it was a shame that I would have to ruin such a beautiful dress, but my inner wolf shifted, ready to battle.

We stopped moving, listening and waiting.

Every scent in Flora was a new scent for Jake and me so we had no idea which was a threat and which was not, but as I turned, I knew instantly that we were in danger.

Rivens eyes stared back at me between the brush and trees, the large wolf took slow steps, stalking us.

“Jake, we have company.”

Jake turned to follow my eyes and he let out a low whistle, “I think we should shift and get the hell out of here.”

“If we move, he will pounce.”

Minnaloushe pulled her bow out, an arrow in place.

Riven walked out slowly, his mouth pulled in a snarl, allowing us to see huge, sharp teeth.

He had always been big, but now he was monstrous.

Minnaloushe took a step back, “Harley, I don’t want to kill him, but if our lives are in danger-”

“I will handle this.”, I sounded more confident than I was.

Jake reached out and Riven pounced, knocking Jake down as I dived out of the way.

As I hit the ground I felt the familiar crackling of bones as I shifted.

Once completely in wolf form, I ran on all fours, a ferocious growl escaping my lips as I jumped into Riven, my teeth sinking into the fur on one of his shoulders.

He roared and reared up, sending me once again to the ground.

He stalked me as I returned to my paws, I could see Jake shift in the corner of my eye, Minnaloushe keeping Midnight at bay as she watched the encounter.

“Riven, listen to me, it’s me, it’s Harley. Your wife, your mate.”

He snarled, sending spittle flying in every direction.

Jake pounced, but Riven was too fast, he spun and caught Jake in his mouth, flinging him as if he were nothing but a toy.

I was thankful when I saw Minnaloushe run over to him.

I was not so thankful when Riven turned his attention back to me yet again.

I knew that there was no way I would win against him, not even in my wolf form.

Standing on my hind legs I allowed the shift back to my human form, leaving me before him vulnerable and naked.

He stalked closer to me and I didn’t move, fighting my instinct to run.

He sniffed the air around me as he reached me, his cold snout sending shivers up my spine as it reached my belly.

“Riven.”

He looked up at me and I was sure that he recognized me.

He snarled, growling in my face angrily, but he made no move to attack me and I could tell that he was just as confused as I was.

I was sure that he could feel the fear radiating from me in waves as he stood inches away from me, able to kill me in an instant.

Slowly, I extended my hand, his snout sniffing my palm before he growled once more, turning and fleeing in a blur.

I let out a shaky breath and sunk to the ground, both Jake and Minnaloushe running over to me.

She handed me the extra clothes she had brought along and I hurriedly put them on.

Jake, back in human form, glared at me, “That was stupid, Minx.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” I shot back.

Minnaloushe ran a hand through her red hair, “That was intense. Come on, let’s get to the Fae. We need a plan to administer the antidote to Riven too.”

I nodded as we resumed our journey, “I have a plan. Get the antidote, find Riven and force it down his throat.”

“Because it will be so easy, of course.” Jake scoffed.

Minnaloushe grinned, “Actually, it might be. If you challenge the Ogre’s to a fight, you get to choose which of them to fight, Riven is with them so you could choose him, they aren’t allowed to get involved in a one-on-one fight unless they want death as a punishment. We have an arena and everything.”

I c****d a brow at Jake, “You were saying?”

“What if he kills you?”

Minnaloushe wiggled her brows, “Or she could just get naked again.”

I let out a loud laugh, “Oh, God, Min, no.”

She chuckled to herself, “Oh come on, he took one look at that hot body and didn’t want to kill you anymore.”

I rolled my eyes, sensing how uncomfortable this current topic was making Jake.

Minnaloushe changed the subject shortly after and spoke of Flora, it was quite interesting hearing all the stories she spoke of.

She even told the story of how she had been promised to one of the Princes, much to her mother's disdain, Minnaloushe had refused.

Due to a lot of men in Flora being rather misogynistic, Minnaloushe had devised a cunning plan with a local merman. The Prince she had been promised to had only wanted to marry a virgin, so Minnaloushe had jumped in bed with the merman and arranged for the Prince to find her, and that had put an end to it.

I could tell she was very proud of herself for that.

“But did you sleep with him?” asked Jake.

Minnaloushe winked, “Of course I did.”

Jake shook his head and laughed.

I was sure she had told the story to see Jake’s response.

“We’re here!” She announced, and I was surprised to see that it was a beautiful treehouse.

“Now, Midnight, you have to stay here.”

The three of us stepped into a small branch-like hole and it took us up like an elevator, this place just kept surprising me.

The first thing I noticed of the fairies was how bright and airy the place was, it was like walking into spring itself.

“It’s gorgeous,” I whispered.

I was surprised when I saw two fairies fly over to us, they were certainly not as small as I had imagined, both fairy women had beautiful gold light glowing around them.

The older of the two smiled, “Minnaloushe, so good to see you again,” she smiled at Jake and me, “And who are your beautiful friends?”

Minnaloushe launched into the tale we had told King Ovo, explaining everything.

The older woman nodded thoughtfully, “You have my army for whatever need you may have.”

Minnaloushe clasped the smaller woman’s hands, “Thank you so much, Queen Lenora. We will be making one last stop to the elves and then we will return home.”

Queen Lenora waved a hand, “Do not bother with the Elves, the Prince is coming over for dinner tonight, I shall see to it that his army is ready for your call.”

We thanked the queen before leaving.

“That was easy,” I remarked.

Minnaloushe nodded, “They are good folk.”

Once returning to Minnaloushe’s home, we had eaten a delicious meal and I had retired to the room I had been given, leaving Jake and Minnaloushe alone in the hopes of them realizing how perfect they were for each other.

The antidote would be ready the following morning, and I couldn’t wait to have Riven back.

My inner wolf stirred at the thought.

Closing my eyes, I began to drift off to sleep.