Forged in the Flames

Chapter 36

“Niko,” my mother said, smiling at me and battling her disgust. I went to sit on the second chair at the table.

“I see you look better,” I said, trying to make it less awkward.

“Gezel and Erica did a great job. They call me Queen, you know,” she said, smiling, and I nodded.

“Were you able to get the kingship?” she asked eagerly, and I sighed and shook my head.

Just then, Gezel and Erica brought our meal.

My mother smiled lovingly at them, and I wondered if she knew the kind of scum they were. I kept them around so they wouldn’t divulge my conduct to the people outside Forest and hurt my chances of being King. Otherwise, I would have sent them away.

I was silent until they finished bringing the food. My mother touched Gezel’s hand gently and thanked her with a smile before they left. I wondered if she would feel so grateful when she found out that Gezel and Erica were one of the people that underfed her and kept her like a wild animal. I doubt she would be happy.

“How have you been, Niko?” my mother finally asked, and I sighed.

“Fine,” I said, and her smile dissipated.

“You can’t have been fine, my love,” she said, reaching for my hand. You were just ten,” she said, and tears began to well in her eyes.

“I failed you. I should have listened to you and returned to our cave. I am sorry, Niko,” she said, tears streaming down her cheek. “I wanted you to have meat that day. I knew you liked meat and wanted to

get it for you. Please forgive me for being unable to hold on to my sanity long enough,” She said, and I patted her hand.

“It is okay, Mother, you are back,” I said, and she shook her head.

“I missed nineteen years. It is as if a huge part of my life has been taken from me,” she said and began to weep. I rubbed her hand gently to calm her down.

“Why didn’t you bury a blade in my heart,

“Niko?” she finally asked me, and I remembered the silver blade she sharpened every fourth night while we were in the woods.

“I couldn’t,” I confessed, telling her the truth.

“Then you should have left me for the hunters and saved yourself,” she said, and I shook my head.

“You told me you didn’t want to be left at the mercy of the hunters, and I was hoping the feral episode would be like the others and you would snap out of it in no time,” I said, telling her the truth.

“Only that it wasn’t, and you had to care for a feral wolf for nineteen years. Moving me about while you tried to accomplish something for yourself. I am sorry,” she said, and I continued to rub her hand so she would know it was okay.

“How did you manage to keep me? You were only ten, Niko,” she said, realising how it would have been impossible for me to subdue her.

“You came at me, and I ran back to our cave. You chased me there, but I was fortunate to hang the silver chain on your neck, forcing you to change back to your normal form and weakening you; then, I secured you on the tree you normally tied yourself to. We were deep in the forest, so we didn’t have

hunter issues. I cared for you there until I got my wolf and started building a pack,” I said, and she was shocked.

“You are a true Alpha and a true King,” she said with respect, and I should feel great about it, but I didn’t.

“How did you take it all back?” she asked me, and I sighed and looked at our empty plates, then started to plate the food for both of us.

“It took me five years to build an army and nine years to conquer every part of Forest,” I told her, and she was silent.

“Eat, Mother, so our food does not get cold. It is venison,” I said, and she nodded slowly with her eyes on me in shock while she absentmindedly picked up her fork.

We ate in silence, and she appreciated the food but ate slowly.

“So, are you king now?” She asked, and something in her eyes revealed that she knew the truth. She must have had a lengthy discussion with Gezel and Erica. I wondered what they might have told her.

“Not yet, King Fredrick is opposing me, but I am working towards it,” I said, not giving away that I knew he was her brother.

I saw her grip her fork in anger and squeeze. “That bastard. What did he say his reasons were?” she asked, and I shrugged, still eating my food.

“He said I might be a fraud and that the only heir the Forest King has is living with him. He said he won’t support me and he would oppose me in the committee,” I said, and she got angry.

“How dare he say such a thing?” she asked, and I shrugged.

“So, what are your plans for getting your birthright?” she asked me, and I shrugged. “I fought for this place. It is my prize, and I plan to claim it in whole,” I said, and she shook her head.

“It doesn’t work that way. If the leader was a king, then you can just take it, but I doubt the werewolves had a king,” She said, and it was clear my mother knew the rules.

“So, I heard,” I said, and she nodded.

“What about Aleksander, the coward?” She asked, and I smiled at her.

“He is the only support I have gotten so far but is unwilling to go against the Snow King for my sake,” I said, and she growled.

“Typical of the coward. He fears Fredrick,” she said, looking away from her plate and muttering obscenities. She was furious.

“So how do you plan to do it then?” She asked, trying to be calm but failing at it.

“Going through the committee,” I said, and she shook her head.

“How will you achieve that while breaking the Lycan Unity laws, treating werewolves a s if they are our equals and sleeping with the daughter of the man that killed your father?” She said, finally speaking her mind, and I put down my fork and looked at her.

“And what is wrong with that, Mother? What is wrong with treating them with some kindness?” I asked, and she growled at me.

“They can’t be trusted. Why walk the same path your father did? Your father trusted them, and look what they did to him; to us,” she said, and I nodded.

“Yes, I know, but you left out the part where Gabriel set you free and sent you to your brother so you will be safe,” I said, and the shock on her face and the shame that replaced it let me know it was true.

“You left out the part where he told you that you can return when I am of age to claim Forest,” I said, and she looked away.

“He might have done that, but he also hunted us,” she said, still trying to lie. I did not know if it were to pursue her revenge or out of shame, but it was malicious of her.

“Do not lie to me, Mother. Nineteen years is a long time to dig,” I said, and she looked at me with misty eyes, unwilling to speak.

“Those hunters were Fredrick’s doing, not Gabriel’s,” I said, and she shook her head.

“Lies!” she said, and I nodded.

“I will be glad to tell King Aleksander that you called him a liar,” I said, and she widened her eyes.

“What did you think, Mother? That Gabriel told me all of this? I haven’t even spoken to the man,” I told her, and that was true. Other than what Aliana told me out of concern, I had not spoken to him.

“If he did not kill your father, none of this would have happened. We would have been happy; Mathias would have been here. It is all his fault, and you should be ashamed of yourself, Niko. Fucking his daughter and keeping him around when both of them should be dead and forgotten just like he killed your father.” She said, and I shook my head and looked at her.

“You know nothing about politics, Niko; these wolves would betray you as they did, Mathias,” She said.

“So, what do you propose?” I asked her, wanting to know how far she was willing to g o, and she nodded with approval and sighed. “Obey the Lycan unity law, and the committee will side with you against Fredrick and his halfbreed heir,” she said.

She had just given herself away because I never told her the heir was halfbreed.

“So, you know of him?” I asked her, and she realised she had slipped up.

“Your father did many things, Niko. There is no point soiling his image with things of the past,” she said, pushing her plate away.

“But there is a point regarding resolving past issues and killing people for it. Why is your story selective, Mother? It is almost as i f what you have against the werewolves has nothing to do with my father because clearly, he loved them too,” I said, and she shook her head.

“A halfbreed cannot be king!” She said with anger.

“How is that for you to decide when he had the boy long before he married you?” I asked her, and her eyes widened.

“Gabriel has gone too far with his lies,” She said, tears streaming down his face.

“My father married you after his werewolf mate died while giving birth to their son, who was declared a stillborn but has miraculously surfaced. How do you explain that?” I asked her.

“Ask Fredrick how he acquired Mathia’s son. I know nothing of it,” she said, telling the truth for the first time. I could feel it. She was connected to me now, so I could feel she wasn’t lying about this one. It was her truth.

She sighed and looked at me worriedly.

“Still, you should not be mingling with them. It will hurt your chances. What if the council finds out? Your father knew he could not be King with Olive by his side. That was why he never married her.

It was his birthright, Niko. His father had died and passed the Kingship to him, but the committee refused to let him succeed his father because he was involved with a werewolf. If you enjoy this girl’s company is all right but do not get serious or show affection now.

I heard you parade her about and even punish your kind for her sake. If word gets out, you can kiss the kingship goodbye,” she said, sounding concerned, and I cursed. I decided I would punish Gezel and Erica for running their mouths.

“I do not know who this girl is, but if she is Gabriel’s spawn, she can’t be trusted,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Gabriel was your father’s Beta, his friend, yet he buried a silver sword in his heart,” she said in tears.

“I remember it like yesterday. The werewolves carrying your father’s body like a trophy and Gabriel holding the sword that smelled of Mathias’s blood. His kindness towards me was from guilt and nothing more. Would he have given you Forest if you had returned as Mathias’ heir? He wouldn’t have. He believes werewolves should have equal rights as us, but how can that be when we are superior? The goddess made it so,” she said, and I shook my head.

“If the goddess made it so, then she wouldn’t fate werewolves to Lycans. Olive was fated to father,” I said, hiding my truth, and she shook her head.

“It was an illusion,” she argued.

“How can you know when you were there to observe them?” I asked her, and she bowed her head and sighed.

“Let’s say you go on with this, Niko; you can’t marry or have her as Queen. The committee will kick against it. It goes against the Unity law. You are likelier to succeed as a single man than a man mated t

o a werewolf. You will be degrading yourself and ruining your life in the process. If this girl has a conscience or cares, she would walk away, just like Olive did,” She told me, and I laughed.

“I am the one holding on tightly, Mother. I am the one holding on tightly,” I said, repeating my words, and she began to cry.

“This is all my fault. Had I been there to guide you all these years, none of this would have happened. I need you to listen to me, Niko. You couldn’t have fought for all of this, received battle scars, and lost comrades to throw it all away for a woman,” she said, pointing at the scar on my left eye. The scar that I was unable to tell her that she gave me.

“You deserve to be King. You deserve it all,” she said, and I nodded and looked at my plate. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“I will do it on my terms,” I said to her and looked at her.

“What if I am right and Gabriel has evil intentions and might be using his daughter to achieve his evil intentions?” She asked me, and I sighed.

“It is a risk I am willing to take, Mother,” I said and looked at her.

“I am glad to have you back, and I love you, but we are not in the forest, and I am not a ten anymore. You do not make the rules around here, and you do not control me. I a m alpha and will be King if the goddess wills it. Stay away from Aliana and her father, and keep your opinions about my relationship to yourself. I will not welcome it, Mother, not even from you. I do not know why you kept many things from me, and you must have your reasons; just as I respect your decisions, you should respect mine.” I said, and her eyes widened.

“As for Gezel and Erica, I will punish them for gossip. They had no business talking about Aliana and my conduct.

I hope I am clear. You owe your health and sanity to that woman.

Gezel and Erica starved and mistreated you while you were in their care. I wished you saw yourself then, Mother. They treated you like a wild animal; none of us knew better. We thought it was the only way. We were counting the days to your death.

You had no hope and future until Aliana came along.

I put her to care for you as punishment, and she offered to nurse you back to health because she could not bear seeing you suffer, and she wanted to make me happy.

She fed you until you regained your health; she watched you and ensured you were cared for. She never missed your care for a day. She read you stories and kept you entertained. You might not remember these things, but I do.

She chose to show your love and care while I showed her father and people hardship and hatred.

So, I warn you, Mother, stay away from her and keep out of my business. You are free to do as you like, do not get me wrong, Mother, but do not meddle in my relationship with the werewolves, and do not bring up revenge when there were other factors in play.

If you care for me, you will focus on getting your brother, who, by the way, is responsible for what happened to us, to sign my coronation request instead of discussing matters that don’t concern you,” I said.

There was hurt in her eyes, but it was necessary. I had a feeling that she would give Aliana hell, and I wanted to prevent that at all costs. Aliana was already suffering at the hand of her kind and might never be liked by them. It would be stupid and weak of me to expose her to hatred from my mother.

I am sure Gezel and Erica did this on purpose; I planned to discipline the two of them mercilessly. I love my mother, but it would be unwise of her to make me choose.