The Nymph of Black Forest

Derek’s POV ~

As I watched Rhiannon leap straight into the circle of wolves attacking the King, my heart stopped! I have to keep reminding myself, she is an excellent and unforgiving warrior. There’s simply no back up in her. She is amazing..and wouldn’t hesitate to give her life for anyone… her first instinct was to get to Theo. And there was no deterring her from that goal. She has no idea how much I admire and respect her! Heart of gold! Balls of steel!

My aunt is crying.. asking Theo over and over again if he’s sure he’s okay. Rhiannon explained the injuries Theo and Edward experienced. She assured Honore’ that they are both going to be fine. When we finally ended the call, I pulled her into my lap, and kissed her fiercely! I whispered “You are amazing.. you give of yourself over and over..never questioning, never wanting anything more than to see everyone around you to be happy and healthy! I love you so much! You are everything I never knew I needed. Thank you! Thank you for showing me the kind of person I want to be!” She kissed me..snuggling tightly into me and yawning. I lifted her and carried her to bed. I undressed her..slipping one of my tee shirts over her head and tucked her into bed..I whispered “I am going to finish up some paperwork. How about I bring is some dinner up here, and we have a little picnic and quiet night?” She nodded, as her eyes closed!

Sitting in the office, I’m working on payouts and requisitions. Monty walks in “Where’s Luna?” I smiled “Exhausted. She’s napping!” He nods.. then he says “She is a fucking deadly warrior.. She sees a need..and she fills it! How the fuck does she get to the treetops and run along them like we run on flat ground? That is awesome! My fat ass would crash to the ground..probably hitting every branch on the way down, breaking every bone in my body!” I laughed at him..the visual alone was hilarious “I feel ya, brother! You’re right! She’s crazy good! She doesn’t hesitate..and there’s no wasted movement!”

Shawn comes in.. and we sit..sharing our day.. I stand and pour us all a whiskey.. I asked “Where are we? Have we gotten any information from other packs? I mean..is it me? Or are they a step ahead of us, the whole way? How the fuck did they know the King was heading here? His route?? That worries me.. and we are still dealing with a mole on our end… Or the king has one on his end!”

Monty says “What if that chick lied? And we got careless..believing her? What if there are more bugs? I can download an app on my phone that checks for electronic devices.. want me to try?” I immediately nod. I replied “The only place we have all been is the conference room! That’s where we spoke to the King.even though we didn’t discuss his travel itinerary. However..my mate had been discussed. In great detail. I’m worried.. if we let this slip past us.. we are fucked!”

I called Honore’.. when she picked up…. I said “It’s Derek. I need you to get to a secure line.. one you can trust. Tell no one. Call me, as soon as you feel certain you have utmost privacy!” And hung up. Rhiannon had woken up..and joined me in the office..climbing into my lap and snuggling back down into me. She’s been running herself ragged so I’m relieved to see her resting.. she mumbled “I missed you” and I kissed her forehead, telling Shawn to toss me the throw on the sofa.. I wrapped her up, tucking the blanket around her.

My phone rang and I picked up immediately. Honore’ asked “What’s going on? Is Edward okay?” I told her yes.. then I asked “Are you on a secure line? Are you alone?” She said yes.. She is in the safe room, on a dedicated line. That’s as safe as she can get. I asked “Can you stay in the safe room? Will you be okay, until I can get someone to pick you up and bring you here? I am worried someone from the castle reported Edward’s travel route to the Rogue King! And I don’t want to take any more chances with my family!” She whispered “We have a traitor? That makes so much sense! I am locking down the safe room, now.. The lock is on a timer… it won’t budge for twelve hours. I can monitor our security cameras from inside.. If I send you the frequency.. do you have a hacker who can tap into them?” I told her yes..then told Shawn to get Sadie in here.

She emailed the frequency from a secure server.. and Sadie was in within minutes.. looking up at me she said “I thought you said I couldn’t go near a computer again..after I accidentally hacked the council’s servers. I smirked “Desperate times…desperate measures “ She nodded..then asked “What am I hunting? With this frequency, we can listen to phone calls… I can turn computer cameras on.. anything you want…we have access!”

I nodded..then said “I want to know if anyone tries to get into that safe room. Homore’ and baby Aurelia are locked in.. I want to know anyone who looks suspicious.. acting erratically..or angry.” I looked at Shawn.. “We have to figure out a way to get Honore’ out of that safe room and back here. We have twelve hours to do that!”

Sadie asks “What if I charter helicopters? Two? One for troops.. one for you.. to get Aurelia and Honore’ out? I can do it remotely..make it seem like it isn’t us…by using a ghost server. By the time another hacker can figure it out…you would be, at least airborne..if not back.” I nod and say “Do it! It is five p.m now. I want to be on the ground..at the castle..no later that 4:45 in the morning. If they can’t catch us coming.. the element of surprise works in our favor! We don’t know how high up this betrayal goes!”

Rhiannon sits up, rubbing her gorgeous green eyes “There is a bear clan.. about ten miles from the kingdom.. I can ask them to help with distraction?” I smiled “That could work! Wolves aren’t fond of fighting bears” She nods.. then runs out to find Owen.

We sit watching the cameras.. when we see someone walking into Edward’s office.. checking the saferoom door.. seeing it locked, they pull out their phone…typing on it. Sadie said “I intercepted it.” I asked what? She grinned “the text message.. I intercepted it. I literally rerouted it to a dummy number I created on my laptop.” I whistled low “Fuck me! What’s it say?” She opens it and reads “The queen and daughter are locked in safe room. I think they know.”

I sit there thinking.. “Can you see the actual number the text was going to?” And she nods.. “Yeah.. I’m pinging it now.. as soon as it hits.. we will know where it’s at…generally..at least the last cell tower it bounced off of!”

Rhiannon came back in “Owen is on his way to talk to Baker.. and he will wait for an answer.” Monty walks in holding three bugs..from the conference room! The fucking conference room! How stupid am I? She didn’t mention the conference room..and I didn’t fucking ask!

Sadie looked up “The phone is in this pack! The last ping is on the tower our phones always ping!” I snarled “give me the fucking number!” She did.. and when a voice answered, I said “Hello Anita! I need you in my office!”