Forged In The Flames By Karima Sa’ad Usman
Chapter 100 The Aftermath (Nikolas POV)
After the war, the alphas of Snow surrendered to me. Unknowing, I had somehow become King of Snow because I had conquered their King. I watched them howl at the moon and bow their heads. Piotr and Miles joined me where I stood, unsure what to do.
I shifted back to my human form, and everyone copied me. I never imagined something like this would happen to me, but it was finally over. I was too exhausted to jubilate.
I was also wounded. Limping, Piotr and Miles supported me while Ingham and Grant ran back to Riverhead in wolf form to get a car to take me to the clinic.
My uncle was a formidable foe. He gave a good fight, and it would have gone either way. I was grateful that I did not underestimate him and that the moon favoured me. Qusack and Gabriel instructed our troops to arrest the Snow Alphas.
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“Stop,” I managed and looked at Gabriel. I knew he was angry and hurting.
“They have not committed any crime, they only followed their king to war, and it is now over,” I said, and Gabriel shook his head.
“They supported him,” he argued.
“Just like you will support me regardless of your values,” I said, and he froze. I knew what was really bothering him.
“They will bring her to you, Gabriel; Gwen will return. To you,” I said, and Miles interrupted.
“Gwendolyn?” he asked, and I looked at him and nodded. Of course, he would know Gwendolyn.
“She is your wife?” He asked Gabriel, surprised.
I guess they didn’t speak much.
She possibly didn’t know who Miles was since Fredrick had kept his identity a secret until he felt his ambitions had been threatened by me.
“I will bring her to you, I promise,” Miles told him, and Gabriel relaxed.
“I looked around me and saw the number of souls lost tonight, and I cursed Fredrick for taking so many lives with him. I promised myself to be better. There might be a belief that madness ran in the Semenov clan, but I will prove them wrong.
The vehicle finally arrived, and I returned to the settlement with my officers. Piotr and Miles led their people back to where they came from.
I had placed Miles in charge of Snow, unsure what I wanted to do with the place. One thing I was sure of was I wasn’t going to merge Forest with Snow.
I felt a bit faint, having lost a lot of blood, and I knew it would take a day or two to return to normal.
We finally arrived at the Lycan hospital, and I was carried in.
A room was prepared for me. There were no medical practitioners on the ground, but some of the werewolves that went to war with me were medical practitioners, so they knew what to do. No one stopped them from attending to me.
It wasn’t long before I was given a room when I finally embraced sleep to rest.
I woke up, and her scent filled my sense. I knew I had slept off the hospital bed, so I figured I must still be there. I turned in the direction the scent was strongest, and there she was, sitting beside me in the hospital. The moment Aliana saw I was awake, she smiled. Her smile was beautiful. There was peace to her. Her swollen eyes showed she had shed tears, but I knew they were that of joy.
“Hey,” I managed, and she smiled at me. She reached for my hair and stroked it a bit. She had a beautiful smile on her face.
“Hey,” she replied breathy, confirming she had wept.
“You tried to send us off on sea,” she said, and I knew she would not like it, but it was necessary.
“Well, you don’t have to go,” I said, wearing a broad grin and managing to sit up. She smacked my arm gently.
And then we stared at each other for a while. Aliana looked away at the clock.
“You have been out for two days. You lost a lot of blood, so they needed you to be alright,” she said, and I nodded.
Two days was a long time, but it was a small price to pay for recovery.
“Miles is around,” She finally confessed, and I did not need to guess why she had swollen eyes. It wasn’t because of me. It was because she had seen her mother. Tears started streaming down her cheeks again, and she smiled.
“Thank you, Nikolas. Thank you for making all my dreams come true. I love you and am glad you came back,” she said.
I could see she felt every moment. I opened my arms, and she moved closer to me. I hugged her holding her against my chest. I stroked her hair gently. We remained in that position for a while.
The doctor finally discharged me, and I headed home.
Piotr and Miles were around. I wondered why Piotr did not bring Natasha. Then I remembered I was yet to sign a decree to abolish the unity law in Forest and Snow, then persuade the committee and
Aleksander to abolish the law once and for all.
Since I owned Forest and Snow now, it will be given because I suspected King Aleksander would gladly do the needful.
I couldn’t spend time with Aliana in the room after I returned because there were a lot of matters to attend to, my coronation being at the top of it.
I wanted to head to the office when Aliana stopped me.
“Little wolf,” I asked, and I could see her contemplating her words. I sighed and relaxed my shoulders so she would feel comfortable.
We were standing in the foyer, and people were going about their business. I t*ouched her chin gently and gazed into her eyes.
“Don’t make me claim you before our wedding,” I teased, and she giggled a bit. Then stopped and sighed.
“Your mother. I think you should see her. You are the only family she has now,” She said, and Bane almost growled, but I controlled myself.
“Please, Nikolas, you can’t lose both your parents,” She pleaded with me, but I doubted my mother had any maternal instincts in her. I couldn’t blame her, though. Learning how they were brought up, they couldn’t have turned out better, but I was hurt that she remained silent until Fredrick succeeded.
“Okay, but you are coming with me,” I said, and she nodded. Seeing how she reacted, I figured she had somehow spoken to my mother. I did not bother asking.
Aliana and I walked to the cell where Gabriel was keeping my mother.
To my surprise, it wasn’t a terrible place at all. It was comfortable. It had iron bars instead of doors and was smaller than her room. She put down the book she was reading the moment she saw me. I did not miss the silver bracelet on her hand. Gabriel must have really felt sorry for her to treat her with so much respect.
“Son,” she said with misty eyes, and I signalled the guard to open the bars. Aliana and I walked in, and for the first time, my mother did not react negatively. I also noticed her hair was made.
“Who made your hair?” I asked her, trying to ease the tension, and she t*ouched it.
“Gwendolyn,” my mother said, smiling.
“She’s back, Niko. Fredrick took her. He took her,” she said, and I nodded. I knew she did not have that information.
“So, you own Snow now?1’ she said with a big grin, and I shook my head.
“Miles owns Snow. I own Forest,” I said, and she nodded.
“Fair enough. My father and brother committed a lot of atrocities there. A change of leadership will help,” She said, and I nodded. There was a silence in the air.
“About your father, Niko, I did not know what they were planning. I loved my husband very much…” She started in tears, and I interrupted her.
“Yet you like Gabriel too,” I said, and her lips quivered.
“He is my fated, Niko…” she said, and I was completely shocked. Aliana gasped too. 3
“He did not know. They don’t feel it like we do, which makes it hurtful,” she said, wiping away her tears.
“But I do not feel the pull anymore. He has reclaimed Gwen, so it is gone, and I can breathe now,” she said, and I knew she wasn’t lying. She was too damn arrogant to admit her feelings.
“So, what do you want to do now?” I asked her, and she bowed her head.
“I want to stay, Niko. I want to witness your coronation and the birth of my grandchildren. I do not want to be alienated from you,” she pleaded with me and looked at Aliana.
“Please beg him on my behalf,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I won’t trouble anyone ever again. The day I do, I ask you to take my life. If you grant me this one request, I promise to keep the silver bracelets on, so I will never seem like a treat to you or anyone. I have apologised to Aliana, who has forgiven me; please, Niko, forgive me.
I only did the things I did because I wanted you to get the crown without war. Fredrick was a strong man, and I did not want to lose you too. But now that he is gone. I am happy. I am free. I am just begging you that you do not send me away. Please, Niko,” she said and went on her knees.
I told her to stand up and helped her up. I embraced her, and she wrapped her arms around me and wept. For her sake, I hoped she was telling the truth because, unlike my father, I won’t hesitate.
When leaving, I told the guards to take her back to her room, but she said no. She said she wanted to linger in the cell a bit to reflect. I knew it was shame that hindered her from going to her room, but sooner or later, she will have to face everyone again. I told her they would take her to her room when she was ready. I left Aliana to return to our room while I headed to my office.