Forged in the Flames

Chapter 63

I ate the food that Ania brought, hoping Aliana would wake up, but she seemed to be in a deep slumber. I wondered what activities she must have engaged in to be this tired. It was close to noon. Was it our lovemaking that got her this tired? If so, I had to pat myself on the back for a job well done.

I glanced at her and chuckled. NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

Even though I had arrived in a foul mood,

Aliana had found a way to lift me up. I was grateful.

After the meal, I took the dish out and decided to meet with Qusack and Abraham in my office. We needed to act because I doubted Fredrick would make the crown accessible to me.

I left my room and found my mother at my door. She kind of creeped me out. I wondered how long she was waiting there. Her eyes were swollen, and she still had tears in her eyes.

“What do you want, mother?” I asked her, and she touched my hand.

“Please forgive me, son. I promise to find a way to make it right. Please. I can’t live with myself knowing you are annoyed,” she said, and I sighed.

“You need to give me space, mother. Thanks to you, I have to start digging into the past. How do you think that makes me feel? You made me look like a fool in public,” I said to her, yanking my hand from hers.

“Excuse me, I have matters to attend to,” I said, and she nodded and wiped away her tears.

“I loved Mathias more than anything, but he never gave me a chance. I always competed with dead Olive, and how could I beat a ghost? Leon made me happy. He made me forget my troubles,” She said, and I chuckled.

“And the others? I learned werewolves were among them, mother. The same vile creatures you claim to loathe. Fredrick told me you wanted Gabriel. Is that what all this hatred is about? Because he rejected you? Because he was sensible enough not to attempt to sleep with his queen? Is that why you hate him so?” I asked, and she was in shock.

“You are nothing but a hypocrite, mother. All you have told me ever since I was a child was about the werewolves being your enemies. You never told me the truth. When you got your senses, you gave me hell for having a beautiful werewolf Mistress. Little did I know I was living your fantasy,” I said, and she was ashamed.

“I must give it to you, Gabriel is a very handsome man, and he must have been charming in his youth. Hell, see his daughter; she is gorgeous. It is okay to want nice things. But I hate that you were hypocritical about it,1’ I said to her in a low, sinister tone, and she flinched.

“Now, if you would excuse me. And I meant it when I said you should stay away from Aliana. Do not get her worked-up mother. You have done enough,” I said and walked away. I briskly headed to the stairs. Moved down the stairs and headed to my office.

When I got there, everyone was there, including Ingham. It was awkward seeing him after a while. He bowed his head in shame when he saw me.

I was unaffected by his remorse and went to sit on my chair.

They all sat and started giving me reports on the errands I had given them.

“We will have to train them in Timber and Woodland. I wanted to know if we are to include women in the army,” Ingham asked me, and I shook my head.

“Leave the women out of it for now. The women should be trained along with the rest of the pack that wouldn’t be in the army. Everyone should know how to defend themselves. We will try to get our goal

without a war, but should it come to it, we have to be prepared.” I said, and Grant spoke up.

“Do you think they will support us if it comes to it? They can also betray us to pay us back for taking over Forest and enslaving them.” Grant said, and Ingham shook his head.

“They will be stupid to call what they have slavery. I am sure they know what is happening in Snow and Hill. This place is a haven for them. No one is hunting or selling them. They are treated as people here. They will be stupid to think they will have it better outside. I am sure they will fight by our side. They would rather have Alpha Nikolas as their King than Fredrik or weak Aleksander.” Ingham said, and he had hit the nail on the head. Their allegiance could be calculated based on logic; based on logic, they had it best here.

I really missed Ingham’s input, but I could not go back on my words. He disregarded and disrespected me by messing with Aliana, which would forever be a crime over his head. He is lucky that I involved him in this.

“King Fredrick said he has spies here; what should we do about it?” Abraham asked me, and I nodded.

“Nothing, really. There is no guarantee to catch them all, so it is best not to even start because it would seem like we have something to hide,” I said. Abraham frowned because I contradicted my initial plan.

He was about to ask a question when realisation dawned in his eyes that I did not trust Grant and Ingham. He nodded, immediately agreeing and allowing me to change the topic.

“Meanwhile, we need to prepare for the arrival of Prince Piotr. The werewolves should act normal and not cross their bounds. Kindly relate that message to them. Since it is no longer a secret that they are treated with respect in Forest, we can continue the way we are with little restrictions for the time Piotr would be here.

I believe he is coming with his Mistress, a werewolf, even though he said she is his maid. Please have a room ready for him,” I ordered, and Abraham nodded, knowing that responsibility would fall on him.

I did not officially have a Luna yet, so my officers would have to handle the domestic matters too. I could not put my mother to it because I did not trust her, and Aliana was a werewolf. If I give her many responsibilities, Fredrik’s spies would have something to report to him.

I thought of how proudly the man mentioned to us that he had spies in Forest, and I concluded he was a very shameless man. I believed my mother was like him too because only a shameless woman would try to sleep with her husband’s subordinates in the name of feeling lonely. The woman was a disgrace. I hoped she knew it.

“Have we thought of the trade deal?” Grant asked me, and I nodded.

“We are still compiling the list of things we would add to our trade list. Gold, Timber, Iron ore, Quarts, asphalt and cash crops are already on the list. We are thinking of others,” I said, and he nodded.

“Will we join the slave trade since it is part of the requirements?” Grant asked me, and I shook my head.

“I have told the kings we do not have slaves to spare. We do not have enough workers; why would we sell what we don’t have ample of?” I asked him, and he nodded.

“We can sell the retired workers to appease them and get the crown, then go and Liberate them,” He said. As bright as his idea seemed, it was a huge gamble; we needed an army to achieve that. We did not have the military for it, so there was no point.

“I would not want to be a deceptive ruler. We can’t sell our slaves and then go to war to get them back. I have told them my stance on that, and I am sure they get my message,” I said, ending that conversation.

Grant and Ingham left to head to Timber so they could start drafting people into the army. I knew it would take a while before they could return to river head. We will need the break.

Once they left, Abraham headed to the library to read up on our laws and find loopholes I could use to counter Fredrick and the opposition to my coronation.

Qusack and I remained in the office. My friend looked at me. He could tell I was tired.

“What are we going to do about the spies?” He finally asked, and I did not know where to start.

“I do not know, but one thing for certain is that the culprits are Lycans. I do not see werewolves working for Fredrick,” I said, and he nodded. “I will narrow my investigation,” He said, and I knew he had something to say. I could tell from the uneasiness in his body language.

“What is it, Qusack?” I asked my friend, and he sighed.

“Since what has happened has happened, it wouldn’t hurt if you discuss the past with Gabriel. Let us hear his version to shed some light on the issue. Your mother has not been forthcoming and lied too often for us to take her words seriously. We need to know the other side of the story to figure out what to do,” Qusack said, and I sighed.

I knew he was right. I had already decided to talk to Gabriel about it but doubted I could bring myself to do it. I was still mad that he killed my father regardless of what he told Aliana. I suspected he had lied about that part, but some things he said Aliana had checked out.

“Do you think he would lie to his daughter?” I asked Qusack out of the blue, and he shrugged. “I know he has told her some things,” He said, and I was shocked. He raised his hands immediately to calm me down.

“I did not go looking for information. I didn’t ask her anything. I went to check on him after the battle with the intruders, just as you had instructed. I heard him discussing the past with his daughter while I was at the door. You can ask Aliana to tell you what he told her. I must tell you some things he told his daughter checked out. It corresponded with the allegations made against your mother, Nikolas. It has to count for something. Don’t you think?” He asked me, and his words sent me into deep thought.

Qusack was right about me seeing Gabriel as soon as possible, but I will need Aliana to be there so I can control my temper should he say or do anything that annoys me.

He wasn’t the type to offend deliberately, but my natural hatred for him could easily escalate a non- issue. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Aliana’s father because I was mad.

Qusack and I discussed other things, and I left the office with him to make some rounds.

I checked on the people within the compound and ensured the ongoing project in Riverhead was attended to.

Something I noticed about the people was the level of respect they had for me. I would think they would hate me, but they looked at me differently. Had Gabriel told them who I was? I doubt it, and if he had, then I suspected them.

I wondered why they would respect the son of the man they killed to Liberate themselves. The very son that had returned to enslave them. It was a puzzle.

We finished our round, and I returned to my room in the evening to rest, attend to some trade documents and eat.

I hoped Aliana would be awake when I returned, but to my surprise, she was still asleep on the bed.

I checked on her to see if she was okay. She was breathing fine. I began to suspect she might be sick. I planned to get the truth out of her one way or the other. If she refuses to tell me what is happening, I will visit the Werewolf clinic and get the details out of the nurses.