Forged in the Flames

Chapter 4

I had finally achieved my dream. Taking over the forest territory had been embedded in my mind for years.

My mother, Isabelle, blamed my father, Mathias, for being lenient and kind. Unlike the Lycan King of the snow territory, my father allowed the werewolves to live freely in his Kingdom.

His kindness had given them the bright idea of making Forest their haven. Led by Gabriel Nowak, they destroyed my father’s Kingdom and murdered him in cold blood.

The day my mother finally lost her sanity remained embedded in my mind.

I would have lost my left eye, but I was lucky.

I tied my mother in chains and cared for her.

She never spoke to me again; she never recognised me again. She was an empty shell.

Every day, I would check on her, hoping, just like before, she would snap out of it, but she never did.

Bane, my wolf, came to me when I turned fourteen. It gave me hope that I could reverse my mother’s predicament by becoming her Alpha, but it never happened; she never regained her sanity for me to absorb her into my pack. I spent my time caring for her and training myself.

Slowly my father’s goals became my goals. My mother’s revenge became my revenge, but I knew it would be impossible if I did it alone; that was when I decided to start my pack, and rogues were my choice for members.

I met Qusack, my Beta, when I turned fifteen, and we have remained friends ever since. We started building the pack when we turned sixteen. He had been loyal ever since we met.

My pack members needed me to keep their sanity, and I needed them to enact my revenge.

After almost thirteen years of building a pack and conquering packs to take over their lands and carve a niche for myself, I had finally taken over my father’s territory.

I had finally conquered the people that destroyed him.

I had taken away the freedom he gave them and treated them as they should have been treated; as slaves.

The werewolves were nothing but slaves, and Forest will no longer be their haven.

Looking at the man that led the attack on my family humbling himself before me gave me some joy, but it did not cure my pain.

I knew killing him wouldn’t be better than letting him live to suffer the consequences of his actions.

He had the effrontery to ask me for mercy where his daughter was concerned, but did he have mercy on my pregnant mother?

Did he give her her honour and cover her shame?

He asked for what he couldn’t provide. I planned to make him pay for everything he did. I knew I would have no joy until I had restored my family’s glory.

I woke up and saw the girl lying in my bed. I was mad that I let her stay the night. It was the rule I never broke, and Bane knew it, so I was angry at my wolf for wanting her in our bed.

She might have successfully calmed my rage and piqued my interest, but she was nothing and no one.

I did not care how well my wolf and body responded to her or how much I wanted her.

I did not care.

She will always be the daughter of my enemy and of a treacherous race. I would banish my want for her and treat her as I planned.

Only my Luna will sleep in my bed. Only my Luna will bear my mark. I growled with rage, and she woke up immediately. She was disoriented, and I waited for her to gain her senses.

Her eyes fell on mine.

No matter how pretty she may be, the girl was an offspring of my enemy and the one that lived the life that was stolen from me. Her suffering will break Gabriel. I pushed away my want and desires and allowed my thirst for revenge to replace it.

“Get out!” I said to her sternly, and she scrambled to her feet in fear. She left the room immediately, and I felt alone; the feeling was from Bane, and it was overwhelming. It was weird, but he made me feel her exit and feel I was unfair, but I had a goal, and she was just a means to an end.

“You didn’t have to be cruel. I was the one that asked her to stay,” Bane argued, and I did not care.

I ignored my wolf and decided to freshen up. I had a meeting in the morning with my officers, and I could not go there reeking of a slave.

“What do you plan to do with her?” Bane asked me curiously, and I chuckled under the shower.

“What should be done to a slave whore. Have some fun and then pass her around, but never grant her her freedom,” I said, and Bane growled in my head.

“She is mine, Nikolas. Don’t you dare,” he warned me, and there was so much force in his voice that I knew my wolf would not share. I did not know what was with him, but the girl seemed to be on his good side.

I did not blame him. He wasn’t with me for the years my mother was sane. He did not see what happened when she lost it and how I had to survive. He wasn’t a part of the true pain of my past. It was understandable that my wolf would have a soft spot for her even though we shared the same memory.

“Okay, Bane. I was just joking,” I told my wolf, and he relaxed.

I will tease him about it one day.

“We have to be careful, however. Werewolves are treacherous. Mother told me all about them. It will be sad if I end up like my father because we got too attached,” I said, and my wolf receded.

I got dressed and headed out.

“Where are you?” I asked Qusack, my Beta.

“In the alpha’s office where you should be,” he replied, and I chuckled and headed towards the alpha’s office.

It was easy to find.

The office was on the ground floor after the entrance.

I went in, and Qusack was behind the desk.

He stood up immediately so I could sit on the chair.

The office was empty, and I figured Gabriel must have cleared the place. Did he think I could not read? I might have grown in the wild, but I could read and write.

My mother was educated, and she made sure I was educated too. She stole books for me to use, and I will never forget the pains she went through raising me.

“So, what is going on here?” I asked him, and he sighed.

“Well, now that you are the Alpha of the Forest territory, we can start applying for your Kingship.

It is rightfully yours, but you did not inherit this place. You conquered it, and what they had was a leader, not a king. We must apply for your Kingship, and the Hill King and Snow King must agree and recognise you as their equal for that to be established. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Okay, that can wait a bit. I will want to play with these wolves for a bit before I move to do that. I want to make Gabriel suffer for his crimes,” I said, and he looked at me a bit worried.

“I understand the need for revenge, but you should take it easy on the girl. She wasn’t a part of it,” Qusack said, and I growled at him.

“Was I a part of their grudge? But I was made to suffer, Qusack. I had to chain my mother like a dog at the age of ten. I can never forget it. I have a scar that would always remind me of it. That girl is a part of it, just as I am, and she would pay for her people’s crimes,” I said, and he nodded.

“And when you finally have a Luna, what will you do?” He said, and I smiled.

“I will send her back to her father; used. No one would mate with what I have touched. No werewolf would touch a Lycan’s leftover. She will never be mated and will never have children. His lineage would die. They will be wiped out of existence,” I said, telling him what I planned to do.

“The girl would never have honour. I will make sure of it,” I promised.

Qusack sighed and looked at me.

I knew he had something to say, and he was contemplating speaking.

“Go on. I won’t bite,” I said, and he nodded.

“Between us, Nikolas. Are you speaking from your heart or from the rage of your thirst for revenge?” he asked me, and I suddenly could not answer.

I could say it was from my heart, but I knew it wasn’t. Holding her in bed felt right. Even though I fought Bane for it, it felt right.

I had never slept so well in my life. I did so for the first time but dared not admit it.

Neither could I say it wasn’t from the rage of revenge because that was the truth. I was angry, and I wanted to please my mother’s wishes. I wanted to do everything she hoped I would. I wanted to realise her dream for her. I wanted to reward her for doing her best to bring me into the world and raising me. Another woman would have given up when her mate was eliminated, but she held on for my sake. I wanted to reward her for it. My heart’s desires and needs meant nothing.

“So you have no reply,” Qusack said, and I was silent.

“I will advise you to be careful, Alpha. We have taken everything and ridiculed the man. You have tainted his child and ruined her life. You have gotten what you wanted, but do not hurt yourself in the process,” he warned me as a friend and not my Beta.

I looked at the ginger-haired guy.

He had been my friend for fourteen years now. Just like me, he was born packless, his parents were exiled and turned feral. He was left alone to fend for himself when I found him. We built our pack together, and he has been loyal regardless of the situation. I also knew he wouldn’t lead me astray. I trusted him.

“I didn’t touch her,” I told him, and his eyes softened, realising it was unlike me not to carry out my threats. I wondered why I did not touch her too.

“May

be you have a heart after all,” he said, and I did not find it funny because showing weakness would give the werewolves a chance to revolt and destroy us.

“I wasn’t in the mood last night,” I lied because I was hard, and I wanted her; Bane wanted her. It took a lot of self-control to hold back.

“But she will be ruined,” I told Qusack, and he nodded.

I will touch her because she belongs to me now. Nothing anyone could say or do would make me change my mind.

She was mine to ruin.