The full moon was bright, and clouds had been present. A wolf’s howl was heard over the silent night. A pack of wolves stood five feet high on all fours. The wolf pack had five wolves who were hunting in the woods. The Black Forest in Germany was inhabited by them. A few of the human inhabitants of Germany knew about the curse that was set on the Black Forest. The mythical creatures lurking in the forest once numbered in the millions; now only close to five thousand creatures live there.

The wolves ran through the woods, chasing a group of five Nazi soldiers. They ran with guns, smoking. Each time they stopped, they would fire into the woods. They reached a tall tree, and the men looked around in panic.

“You two go up the tree; make sure you kill these wolves. The three of us will hide behind that bush.” Said the German officer, “Make sure you don’t miss.”

"Ja,” said the soldier. "Come, Klaus, let us go and take these beasts down.”

“Fine, but your cigarettes will be mine after this.” Said Klaus

The two men dropped their packs and shouldered their rifles. They started to climb the tree. They reached the midsection of the tree, prepared their weapons, and the other three men ran for cover. They waited silently until the growls from the wolves came. Fifty yards away, the biggest wolf came into view. It stopped sniffing the air and looked up at the tree. The two soldiers took one deep breath in and let it out. They relaxed their bodies and lined up their targets. The men took one deep breath and held it. From twenty yards behind the men, three wolves managed to outflank the soldiers. When the wolf had jumped on the two men, it began to rip into them. Their bodies were ripped open like tissue paper. The bodies fell from the perch they had been on. Blood dripped down to the floor. The three men had seen what happened; they had failed to save their companions. They were unaware of another wolf that had snuck up behind them and killed two men. The officer ran; he left all four soldiers. He was being chased by the lead wolf. The others stayed to finish their meals.

In the distance, the tree line could be seen. He ran with both legs, screaming at him to stop. The pain in his chest had him breathing hard. He grabbed the pistol by his side and started to fire shots behind him. The bullet echoes rang out through the empty field. A group of heavily armored Nazi soldiers stood at the ready. They had two machine guns and twenty men holding American Tommy guns; they had procured them from dead American soldiers. Along with the men, they had buried land mines between them and the forest. Unaware of the land mines, the officer accidentally stepped on one, and his body evaporated into a liquid red mist and entrails. The wolf had stopped feet short before entering the empty field. He sniffed the air and growled. The moon was beginning to fall behind the thick clouds. The wolf ran back to the pack; when he had gotten to them, he and the rest had changed back to human form.

“Sasha, tell me, have you found any more German soldiers?” Said Dieter, “Renate, tell the other creatures; they should hide.”

“Ja, I will take Helda; let’s go,” Renate said.

"Wait, Renate, let us start with the Nixies. They can shapeshift into human women and find more troops in our homes.” Helda said.

“Ja, that’s good. Okay, Renate, Helda, go tell the Nixies to come here, then warn the others.” Dieter said.

The two females ran with the quickness of the wind. They kicked up the leaves, and then they settled back down. In the distance, the rest of the pack could hear her German soldiers shouting. Dieter looked up in the sky to see that the moon was almost finished hiding behind the clouds. When the rays of the moon. Touched the men’s bodies. Their bodies began to twist and break their bones. The crunching sound was very audible. Black fur began to sprout from their skin. The mountain wolves had absorbed enough moonlight to allow them to stand on their hind legs. Their stature had grown to eight feet tall. Their tails were long, with fur whipping around. The claws were so sharp that the leader sliced a four-foot-diameter tree along it to fall. The wolves took off to hunt their new prey.

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In the distance, the two female wolves had thankfully entered the dense woods so that the moonlight could not touch them. They ran to the Nixies; they had seen the two women enter their realm. The large stream that ran through the forest had large rocks that they sat on as thrones. The water sprites were three feet tall, with slender figures. Long, aqua hail flowed around them. Their bodies had a deep blue hue. With the edges a light blue color, they sat on the rocks and spoke.

“We see, what do you say, sisters? Should we go and have fun?” Mythia said it joyfully.

"Well, this would be fun; I haven’t been with a mortal since Rome tried to march through.” Acacia, “What do you say, Ionia? Do you want to see how long they can breathe under water?”

“Acacia, that does seem fun, but I was thinking, why not get the witch?” Amaryllis said, “I’m pretty sure she could help.”

“Do you think anyone else is willing to fight?” Renate said.

“Don’t worry about that, my sisters, and I will find the rest. Go back and join your pack.” Mythia said.

The two women nodded at the nixies and ran to help the pack. They ran in human form until the moonlight hit their bodies. Fur erupted from the skin, and they stood just as tall as the males, but their bodies were slender and faster. They reached the spot they had left and saw that the males had taken on more men. The wolves had one missing wolf. Winfried, they saw that the soldiers had him in a metal cage. He was asleep in his wolf form. The males had been pushed back and taken shelter behind some rocks. The women saw they had a chance to sneak up on them. Running to the flank, they snuck up on them and sprang on the unsuspecting victims. The males took notice and took the chance to make a charge. Taking a few bullets, they still held their ground. I ran to the younger men, who looked like they had pissed themselves. One by one, the soldiers painted the forest floor.

This caused the soldiers to flee and leave the wolf. The surviving men took most of the samples and left them running. The wolves looked around and gathered. They spoke in their wolf forms, but their speech was inaudible to any mortal. It sounded like garble and gibberish. The two females pointed to the top of the ridge from which they had come. Trolls, fairies, and other magical beasts started to appear; in the opposite direction, trees began to fall down. Mechanical tanks came roaring through. Fire and smoke erupted from the distance, and a woodland creature ran from the German assault that was happening.

From Ryan’s point of view, the vision started to blur, and he woke up. The room was made from marble that was once white stone but is now stained brown. The years of neglect had left the place delapidated. He looked around and saw that no one else was in the room. He saw his clothes folded next to him and his shoes on the floor by his bed. He got up and dressed in his clothes. A knock came to the door, and the door cracked open. It was Rachel.

"Hey, I thought I sensed you waking up.” Rachel said with a swollen face, “Don’t worry about my face; it’s my pride that’s hurt. Next time, we’ll kill that bitch.”

“Next time you are staying here.” Ryan said while looking around, “Whereever here is?”

“Where in Germany is the Black Forest?” A voice echoed from the walls: “We retreated back to our order.”

A man who stood six feet had blond hair and blue eyes. Fair white skin, a harsh German accent, and what appeared to be ripped clothing. He had a familiar feeling that he knew him.

"Welcome, Ryan; John had told us very much about you.” Dieter said, “Please sit down, everyone.”

"Well, I just wanted to say thanks.” Ryan said.

“Yes, thanks. I guess I’m not as strong as I thought.” Rachel replied, “I guess I still need to practice more.”

"Well, if you want, we can go back to the book and have him train you.” Ryan said.

“I’m sorry, am I missing something?” Dieter said, “Did you find something useful?”

"Oh, sorry, no, I have a book that lets you enter and train.” Ryan explained.

Seeing that he didn’t know where the book was, he simply asked Rachel for the book. The book was in rough shape; it had a slash across its front cover that seemed to try and heal itself. Ryan looked over the book and held his hand over the cover. A bright blue-purple light illuminated the leather skin. Brown twin rope started to weave between the gash as if it were stitching itself together.

“Ok, now that I have the hook rebounded and stitched,” Ryan said with a laugh, “Ok, Dieter, please look after this book while me and Rachel are in the book.”

“Heilige Scheiße.” Dieter said in surprise, “This is incredible; you do have the legendary book.”

“Legendary?” Ryan said, “I didn’t know it was that important.”

“Yes, back in my younger years, the SS came to our forest.” Dieter said, “They killed many of my pack. It was a horrible night. I am mall that’s left of that night.”

“I was going to ask about that night.” Ryan began.

It was the tingling sensation Ryan had grown to feel accustomed to. The room began to shrink and stretch. Ryan felt the inside of his stomach begin to shrink, and his vision went black. To the view of Dieter, he saw Ryan lift up into the air, and his legs began to fade and stretch. Rachel’s body was now appearing and began to get pulled into the book as well. In what Dieter that took two hours, in fact only rock five minutes. He looked around and there. There was no sign of the pair, only the book that was now closed and a small blue basketball-sized shield. The book looked blue in the clear illumination of the sphere. Dieter picked up the book, and the shield faded away and was now in his hand. He looked around and placed it in his bag. He would protect the book with his life.