The Unrest Before the Tidal Wave

The sparrow splendidly raised its wings to contrast the sky darkened by clouds before flying off the prince's head. Prince Bastian stood, and with a single impressive jump from atop the massive dome, slammed into the ground right in front of me. His heavy landing sent piles of soil erupting all around him. Yet, when it all settled he was spotless and I was covered with dirt. He fixed me with an expectant gaze, and my head instinctively lowered into a bow.

"What brings the young fire-breather to my home?" he asked with hesitant interest.

I shifted back into human form to speak clearly and got down on one knee to avoid being fully exposed. "I have important news about the demons. I battled one that could-"

"As it is," he interjected. "You may inform my Omega on any recent events." Clear boredom dripped from every layer of his multitoned voice. The prince's attention turned to the patch of forest far on my right and released a short deafening howl: To Me, the command registered in the back of my mind.

He was ready to pass me over to those woodland creatures instead of listening to me. "My prince, this is urgent. The demons may be planning to retaliate soon, and they are more powerful than we thought they were. We need to discuss this now," I put as much urgency into my voice as possible.

"I am already informed on the demon's power. They have nothing that I fear, nor should they be so bold as to attack this fortress."

The Omegas arrived in mass. There were more of them than I expected, much more. At least fifty large rodents managed to scurry into a circle surround the prince and I. My father had once told me that Omega were rare shifters since they almost never survived until adulthood. Shifting from a small size into a human body took a lot of power, more than their weak bodies could handle. But clearly that was no longer the case with prince Bastian's spies.

"That was all before. I fought with a demon far more powerful than any I'd ever heard of, and I killed him. By now, they must have found his body." I'd managed to at least stop the prince from walking away. So I told the entire story from the point where Fenix lured me into a trap, up until the moment I burned the demon to ground. I left out the part about taking Fenix into Jake's home for safety purposes.

Bastian's head raised slightly to ensure that he physically looked down on me. "If you felt like this was so urgent, why have you waited so long to bring this news forward?"

My breath caught in my throat and I glared at the ground as if an excuse would rise out of the soil for me. A tiny voice rose from it instead.

"The Alpha arrived at the Kent household this morning an hour past first sunrise." I recognized the indignant voice of Juliana Enduring almost instantly. Of course she had been watching Jake's house this morning.

The prince's snout twitched and then a smile worked around his jaw. "Interesting. I was certain that scent on your arms and neck could only be a wolf's. How many surprises will this night bring," the layers of his voice seemed to be laughing as he spoke.

I didn't know what he meant. Jake just smelled like himself to me.

Another Omega stepped forward, a miniature wolf pup with a disturbingly deep voice. "My Lord Prince, we were aware of the demons in question. The creature was unique in nature. The elder was the spawn of a demon and a witch. The other was its child along with an ocean dweller. No other demons of that caliber exist on this country, and their deaths are significant."

I noticed that the Omega said 'deaths' as if Fenix had died as well. It didn't seem like I should interrupt him just to correct that.

Bastian barely seemed to be listening as the little wolf continued to speak. His neon eyes were scanning me thoroughly. I wanted to shift my legs so that less of my body was exposed, but I could only kneel and regret leaving my clothes behind. Why did the prince express so much interest in me at times like this?

"It is possible that a faction of demons may seek revenge based on this development. I recommend a-"

"Yes, I concur. Set Princess Elisiana's plan into motion. Round up the Alpha, and direct them to her chamber. Feed the skits and charge the glacier crystals." He made more commands to individual Omega, but I understood almost nothing that came out of his mouth until he finished giving orders. I had never met the princess, but the image of the white sparrow from before came to mind. Before someone could direct me to her chamber, Bastian barked at me: Follow.

My body moved obediently to follow the command, but every bit of my mind feared what the prince had in store for me specifically. As we crossed the threshold into the giant frozen fortress, my fears were justified by his next command.

"My Omega are effective for many things. But they are flawed creatures and can miss many important details. So, tell me more about your male mate... and why he now smells like a wolf."

So, things are moving once again following Hunter's major battle with the OP demon. There are still quite a few loose ends and mysteries surfacing quickly now in Hunter's view. The question of what the Lycans are really doing and how this war will be fought to conclusion is about to be revealed soon. You can expect a couple new important characters to arrive before the end of this story and hopefully some art along with it. 

Let me know what you're thinking in the comments and tell me if you'd like me to do more recaps!