Forged In The Flames By Karima Sa’ad Usman
Chapter 24 With The Hill King
Nikolas POV
The lounge we were led to was smaller and more private than the one we left. I was offered a seat, and I sat down.
“The maids have prepaid two rooms for you and your Gamma. I ensured your rooms were beside each other if you don’t mind.” Aleksander said, and I smiled and thanked him.
“Also, there are pretty Lycan entertainments for you,” He said and leaned close with a whisper. “Or do you prefer werewolves?” he asked. I frowned at him, and he relaxed, laughing. “You do have your mother’s blood running in your veins. She hated those things so much. Where is Isabelle, by the way?” He asked, and I knew it would be wrong to lie to him.
“She became feral nineteen years ago,” I confessed, and everyone gasped. I could see the horror in Poitr and Aleksander’s eyes.
“My goodness. You were a child!” the King exclaimed, and I nodded.
“Yes, I was a child, and I have been taking care of her ever since,” I said, and he was shocked.
“I learned you were hard and ruthless, but now I know why,” he said with Sorrow in his eyes.
“Fedrick was cruel not to accommodate his sister when she ran home for refuge,” he said, and I was flabbergasted. I could not believe what Aleksander had just told me.
“Sister?” I asked, and he nodded.
“You look more like Fedrick than your father,” he said with a smile.
“Your mother was his sister. When she escaped the massacre in Forest, he refused to allow her into his Kingdom.
He said she was weak and should have ruled Forest by force. He said she had no home in Snow. He sent her away with her maid. Honestly, he hated her because she accepted help from a werewolf.
A werewolf helped her escape the massacre. Because of that, Fedrick believed she was compromised and had broken the unity law. He banished her and sent Lycan hunters after her. We never heard from her again. It is amazing to see she survived long enough to bring you into the world,” he said, and I was surprised at his words because my mother did not tell me any of these things. I wondered what else did she hide from me.
“I see she never told you. It was normal behaviour since he rejected and denounced her. There was no point telling you of her relatives. Isabelle was always the proud kind. I would have married her, you know, but she chose Mathias because he was rich and very powerful. He was also a charmer. I must say she chose well. Your father was a fine man. What the werewolves did to him is unforgivable.” He said, and I could see him going down memory lane.
“Please tell me what you know, your Majesty,” I said, and he looked at me a bit and nodded, then asked his children to excuse us He waited for them to leave before he spoke.
“Mathias was the most lenient of all of us. He made Forest a haven for the werewolves. It was unheard of. Lycans usually separated themselves from werewolves, but when Mitahis took over from his father, he brought them together. There was a rumour that he fell in love with a werewolf, but the rumour died when he married Isabelle.
Your father was kind. He fought against the unity law, and Fedrick hated him for it. I remained neutral and planned to go with majority votes because I loathe wars. At least Piotr is good at combat and leading now, so I can dare to do some things. Back then, I was easily bullied.
My land was poor, so I was at the mercy of the two Kings,” He said and sighed.
“Which reminds me of what I want to ask you. Sorry, I had to digress, but I need to chip this in,” he said, and I nodded that it was okay. “I would like to trade with Forest. Trading with Snow is tedious, and most of his people sell loot from Forest. That is why he always has hunters there,” he said, and I was in shock, but I wanted him to tell me of my past, so I did not ask the question in my mind, so we did not digress completely.
“We are dealing with the hunters’ issues, and I would love to open a trade line if you help me with my kingship,” I said, and he smiled. “Smart man indeed. I will get to that after telling you about your parent’s pasts.” He said, and I was grateful.
“Where did I stop?” he asked, sipping his juice. “My father was neutral and fought against the unity law,” I said.
“Ah yes, that part,” he said and laughed. “He fought Fedrick on it, and even with Isabelle’s influence, Mathias refused to pass the law. He couldn’t. Gabriel Nowak was his Beta, and Giles Wojcik was his Gamma. Mighty men in their time, and they were werewolves.
Mathias couldn’t do it until Gile murdered Miathia’s Half brother, Leon. Giles claimed that Leon was planning an uprising and wanted to usurp power. He was strong about it, but he couldn’t prove it. Everyone he claimed was involved mysteriously died by poisoning. Because the Werewolf Omegas were in charge of food, they were blamed for it. Mathias believed the werewolves were the ones trying to usurp power by killing all the Lycans closest to him.
Giles claimed Mathias’ brother, Leon, was the perpetrator, and the other men that were killed were in League with Leon.
Honestly, I would believe that Giles was after the crown.
It was odd that the people Giles said were involved miraculously died like that. Either the werewolves were planning an uprising, or someone was, and they were caught in the mess.
Mathias loved Leon so much, and the grief of what happened to his brother made him pass the Unity law.
Giles was beheaded for his crimes, and Gabriel and the other werewolves in the ranks were removed and reduced to slave status,” He said, and his eyes were misty.
“I had never seen Mithais so broken before, and Fedrick did not hesitate to laugh at him whenever the opportunity presented itself. Miles made life a bit difficult for the werewolves after what they did. He did it to put them in check because he had no Lycan might to push back, so he had to keep them in check. They had murdered his top officers with poison, so he was now alone.
Wanting to reduce the stress, he signed an agreement with Fedrick to allow Fedrick to help him manage the slaves in his region in exchange for some warriors. Fedrick did it, but we do not know what happened. One day we just heard that Gabriel had finally done what he wanted. He and his friends fought your father and killed him. I heard they would have murdered Isabelle, too, had a werewolf not taken pity on her and helped her escape.
The Gabriel you know now isn’t the same as before. Had it been the Gabriel of then, you wouldn’t have succeeded in taking Forest. Fedrick tried to seize control of the forest several times, and they fought him to a standstill. They might not have special abilities like us, but they are very deadly, Nikolas. You have to be careful.” He said, and I was shocked.
My mother never told me everything in detail, but this just made me realise how deeply my father was betrayed.
I wondered what made Gabriel finally kill my father.
For Aliana’s sake, I will investigate, but for now, I want to focus on being King.
“Thank you for the history lesson, your majesty. I really appreciate it.” I said, and he smiled and nodded.
“Mathias was my friend; you are like a son to me. You might look like Fedrick, but you have Mathias’s eyes and jawline. He would be proud of you. I know it,” he said, and I could not feel sentimental about a man I did not know, but I was glad to know someone that knew him, other than my mother, and the beautiful things he said about him had warmed my heart. My mother wasn’t lying when she said he was a good man. What Giles did was unforgivable, and then Gabriel completed it. He would have let them go if they did not want to serve my father anymore. They did not have to meticulously usurp power like that.
“About your Kingship, Nikolas,” He said with a severe expression on his face. “It is rightfully yours, but that bastard would not want you to have it because he wants to take over Forest Everything is there. Gabriel had pushed back all this while. Now that he could push no more, you come along.
Fedrick wants Forests for timber, gold, rubber, coal and slaves There are countless mineral resources, and he would make more money if he was sitting on them than having to steal them.
You taking over Forest has foiled his plans, and there is no way he would make it easy for you.” He said, and I realised why Fedrick never responded. To think the bastard was my uncle and to believe he refused to take my mother back.
“Honestly, Fedrick is a fool. Had he taken Isabelle back and you grown up in his Kingdom, Forest would be his by proxy, but he didn’t want that. I was sure his greed would not allow him to share his loot with anyone. This was all Gabriel’s fault, and I hope the bastard suffers for his crimes,” he said. At least we all had one common enemy.
“You can either tick all the boxes, and he would have no choice but to sign, or you can declare yourself King and go to war with whoever chooses to oppose it,” He said, spelling out the two options.
The truth was I could not afford war right now because I did not have the might to take Fedrick on. I needed a werewolf army to withstand the might. I had killed off the fighters and doubted I could trust the people there.
“Seeing the look in your eyes, I believe you have done the math,” Aleksander said, leaning forward in his chair.
“You do not have a werewolf army you can trust, and your Lycans aren’t plenty to withstand Fedrick’s might. Fedrick has a lot of warriors. Weres and Lycans alike, and they are deadly.
You and your men might be the strongest, but you will fall if attacked at once with that might. Fedrick won’t move against you now because you are Lycan and royalty. It would be a crime. As long as you aren’t breaking any law on your land, you are untouchable, so he will try to frustrate you. Send spies to your land and even steal from you to make you move against him or find something he can use against you. It would be best if you were careful, Nikolas. Meanwhile, you have to ensure you tick the boxes. Create alliances with alphas from other regions. Get on the union committee as a member, have a credible Luna from a prestigious family and then present your matter to the committee.
I will vote in your favour, and so will all the alphas in my region, but you have to woo the alphas in Snow, too, to get it.
Fredrick will have no choice but to sign, and you won’t have to deal with him again. It is the easiest way to get there,” He said, and I relaxed on my chair.
“What if I do all that and decide not to have a Luna?” I asked him, and he nodded.
“It will work too. You just need votes, but the Luna part will make it easier as most of the people you will try to ally with would request you mate with their daughters. If you refuse, they will take offence because you are single. If you already have a Luna, they wouldn’t bring it up, and no one would be offended,” He said, laughing, and I wondered if he was trying to get me to marry his daughter. I was suspicious of people like that.
“What about Lena?” I asked, and his face dropped.
“I would not give you my daughter just so you can be King, Nikolas. You do not know her, and she does not know you. I do not force things like this. I am just telling you what you need to know. You can marry from any prestigious family you like,” He said, and I had a new level of respect for the man and smiled.
“I do not plan to settle down anytime soon, but I would work on what you told me,” I said, and he nodded.
“Please stay a day to meet some of my alphas and know my lands. I hope we can open trade between our regions. Piotr seems to like you; I am sure when the two of you are Kings, our world will be a better place,” He pleaded and got off the chair.
I shook his hand and bowed again. Then he signalled for them to usher me to my room.
“Thank you for the generous gift, by the way. I have hidden it somewhere safe,” He said on his way out and winked. He liked the gold coins I brought. I joined the servant and followed him to the room allocated to me. I had a lot to think about and much to do.