Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Aliana POV

The three days apart from Nikolas were like hell. He allowed me to visit my father daily, and I was even

allowed to spend the night in his house, but nothing felt right without him.

I would often stay up at night and wish I was a Lycan. I wished there wasn’t a divide between our

races. It made me seem like a traitor, but my heart was aching badly.

It was tough.

I often stared at the garden and saw him sitting quietly beside Qusack. He linked me always, but

hearing his voice in my head was not enough. When it was time for him to leave, I became more

worried.

As much as I tried to be brave, I knew anything could take him from me. He could get there and meet a

Lycan he might like or someone he would have to marry to get what he wants.

What was I compared to his ambitions? He couldn’t have meticulously planned a takeover for so long

and just thrown it away because of me.

I would be silly to think he would do that. I knew his motivations had to do with his mother, and I hoped

he would tell me one day.

“Hey, are you still sleeping?” I heard Nikolas in my head while I was wide awake. I had slept in my

father s house, so I sat up in bed immediately. I looked at the clock, it was five in the morning.

“I am awake,” I replied. “I am leaving now. I promise I won’t stay long.” He said, and my heart sank.

It was a lot easier when I knew he was around, but now that he was going away, I knew my heart would

ache every day until he returned.

“Are you all right?” he asked me, and I took a deep breath.

“No,” I confessed. There was no point lying to him.

“I am afraid you will no longer be mine when you return,” I said. He was silent for a bit.

“I do not break my promises, Little wolf. I meant what I said. I will be home in two days. I love you,” He

told me, and his words melted my fear away.

“Make sure you show them who the boss is,” I said, knowing he would laugh.

“Qusack is in charge. If anyone messes with you, let him know. You are not to run errands for anyone

or bow to anyone. We are hiding our relationship, but I will not humiliate you. If anyone messes with

you, report to Qusack immediately,” He said, and I giggled.

“Yes, Alpha,” I linked him back and heard a low growl.

“See you in two days, little wolf,” He linked me and closed the mind link.

I placed my head back on the pillow, smiling.

I had butterflies in my stomach, and I could not stop blushing.

I knew I would be smiling all day long. I couldn’t wait for the two days to pass so I could see him again.

Other than my heart, my body wanted him too.

I left my father’s house in the morning and returned to the palace.

I was still having trouble referring to the place as a palace because I had lived there all my life, and it

was our packhouse. I guess new management, new rules.

I went to Nikolas’s room and found two Lycan women cleaning the place. “What are you doing here?

Your master isn’t around,” one said, and the other touched her arm and shook her head. I guess the big

mouth was new to the job.

“She is Alpha’s mistress. Ingham lost his position because of her. I would watch my tongue if I were

you,” She said to the big mouth, and the big mouth immediately continued what she was doing.

I would have giggled but did not think I needed to rub it in.

One thing Nikolas did not hide was his feelings. He let people know that I wasn’t to be messed with.

Whether they saw me as his whore or mistress was their problem. I knew the truth between Nikolas

and myself, and that was all that mattered.

“Have Lisa and Ania come to check on me?” I asked them, and the one that cautioned the big mouth

looked at me.

“We just got here, Aliana. Maybe you should link them. Do you want us to change the sheets to fresh

ones?” She asked, and I shook my head.

“When Alpha returns,” I replied, and she nodded. I left the room and went to my old room to give them

space to comfortably fix the room.

It wasn’t long before I sat on the bed when I heard Lisa in my head.

“We are with the Queen. I hope you are on your way. We will have breakfast in her room,” She said,

and I got up immediately.

I returned to Nikolas’s room and ignored the maids. I showered in a hurry and threw on something

simple.

My hair was wet, but it didn’t matter. There was no reason to look nice.

On my way to the Queen’s chamber, I ran into Erica and Gezel. I honestly did not have time for their

b*ulls*hi*t, but I knew they had time for it.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the w*hor*e,” Gezel said and looked at me s*cornfully.

“I heard Alpha cast her aside to get her scent of him,” She said and smiled.

“No matter how good of a f*uc*k you may be, you are still what you are. A werewolf and a w*hor*e with

no honour,” She said and looked around. I wondered if she thought she had honour. I did not see a

mark on her neck, and she spent her evenings entertaining the officers. At least I belonged to one man,

she was for everyone. “Alpha is still having fun with you. I have seen two women in your situation, and

they were Lycans. He dumped them and moved on. Do not get too comfortable because he would

dump you too. You are just a c*un*t to him and nothing more. A c*un*t he is using to hurt Gabriel, the

traitor. And when he rips your heart out, you and your treacherous father will feel the pain.

Nothing would be more painful than breaking your heart and leaving you with no honour. Hope you

know no one will touch you or want you after this. Enjoy it while it lasts,” Gezel said, and they laughed.

Her words stung, and there were times it crossed my mind, but I wasn’t going to let her win. I planned

to take my chances with Nikolas and see where it led.

If indeed what she was saying was true, then so be it.

I planned to enjoy every moment. One thing I knew was no matter how cold Nikolas was, he would

break his heart if he broke mine. We will both suffer.

“At least I sleep in his bed, and I don’t have to be a dancer to get his attention,” I replied, knowing he

had never touched them. Erica growled at me and tightly held my shirt collar with her might. Raven

wanted to let loose, but I controlled her.

“Watch your mouth, s*lu*t. We will be waiting for you when he is done with you.” She said, and I

laughed.

“If you want him so much, tell him instead of picking on me because you are jealous…” I said, and she

let me go.

Then Gezel decided to slap me. There was no way I was going to let that fly. She was shocked when I

slapped her back with some wolf strength. I saw blood at the corner of her mouth.

“Try that again, and I will report you to Beta Qusack. I guess neither of you got the memo. I am off

limits,” I said and pushed past them. They were in so much shock, and neither uttered a word.

They must have thought I was afraid and weak. I only kept my head down because of my father and

my people, but now that Nikolas had given me his word, I would not allow anyone to walk all over me.

Especially the Lycan b*itc*hes.

I entered the Queen’s room and found that Ania had finished feeding her.

“Took you long enough,” Lisa said, and I had to apologise.

“I am so sorry. I had a run-in with Gezel and Erica on my way here,” I said, and Ania looked surprised.

“Those two won’t rest. Alpha had them disciplined last time. I guess they have a knack for suffering,”

Ania said, and I was surprised to learn that Nikolas had disciplined them the last time. Thinking of what

happened when I gave up their names made me w*et immediately, and I knew blood rushed to my

cheeks.

“I guess you caught the bug, Aliana. You can’t stop blushing and smilling like a wolf on heat everytime

Alpha is mentioned,” Lisa said, giggling, and I looked away, a bit embarrassed. I couldn’t tell them what

was going on in my mind. It was mine to keep. Ania finished caring for the Queen, and then they

brought us breakfast. It was a late meal but still morning, so it was okay.

We ate and talked about many things. I was yet to ask them why they were referred to as halfbreeds. I

did not know why I avoided it, but I believed it was best to ask them now.

“Ania,” I said, and she looked at me. She had sauce on the corner of her lips. I pointed at it as she

wiped it away, smiling.

“I want to ask you something, and I do not want you to be offended,” I said, and both of them stopped

eating and paid attention.

“Why do they refer to both of you as halfbreeds?” I asked, and I saw sorrow wash over their faces.

“That is because we are halfbreeds. My father was a half werewolf and half Lycan, while my mother

was a Lycan. Lisa’s mother was a werewolf, and her father was a Lycan,” Ania said, and I was

shocked. It was prohibited. They would have been killed if anyone had found out when they were little.

“How come?” I asked, and Ania sighed. “Forest had always been a haven for werewolves, and there

was a time King Mathias had werewolves in the ranks. He saw them as equals, and reproduction

between both races wasn’t prohibited in Forest. Our parents were the products of that time.

My father told me everything was great until the werewolves moved against the King.

Their treachery made the King agree to the unity law.” She paused and looked at me. I knew she had

something to say. So, I exhaled and nodded, letting her know it was alright.

“What your father and his friends did cost all of us. It ruined all our lives. I heard King Mathias was a

great man. Now it is impossible for werewolves and Lycans to mix, and people like Lisa and my father

are caught in the middle. I am also affected because I do not smell right to Lycans. Children like Lisa

and me are regarded as werewolves even though we may be half or quarter Lycan and look completely

Lycan.” She said, and I felt terrible.

I could see why some Lycans had it in for my father, and I could only imagine what he was going

through out there. Even though he never spoke, I knew he was keeping a lot.

“But if your father was the half-breed, how come you are referred to as half-breed?” I asked, and Ania

sighed.

“Our werewolf genes taint us. To werewolves, we smell like Lycans. But to Lycans, we do not smell

right. That is how they know we are not fully Lycans,” She said, and I remembered what she said about

Ingham complaining about her scent.

“Was that why Ingham said you didn’t smell right?” I asked, and she nodded. “He said I was too flowery

for him,” She said and laughed.

“That was why they assigned you two to work with me because they do not regard you as their equals,”

I said, and Lisa nodded.

“I used to deceive myself that we were the same, but now I know better,” Lisa said with a haunted look.

I was already depressed about Nikolas not being around, there was no point in making them feel

gloomy.

“Well, I am glad we are together. I am sure one day things will change,” I said, and Ania held my hand.

“If Alpha becomes King and makes you his Queen, we will have a better life. If only King Mathias had

married his mate instead of the Lycan princess, things might have been great for us. I heard she was a

werewolf, but she died suddenly, and he was broken for months before he married the princess,” Ania

said, and I wondered how it was possible that werewolves would be fated to Lycans. I thought they said

the goddess created us apart. If we could be fated, that meant we were supposed to mix.

“Fated, mate?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“No. It doesn’t work like that, Aliana. When a Lycan and a werewolf pair up, it is the same as being

fated, the Lycan would feel the bond and pull gradually as he or she spends time with the werewolf,

likewise, the werewolf. It won’t be love at first sight like Lycans to Lycans and werewolves to

werewolves. This is because of the difference in senses and scent, but the bond is there, and it is

strong,” She said. I had never heard it before, so it was informative to me.

I wondered if that was the appeal between Nikolas and me because it all happened so fast, and we

tried to fight it.

“So, was this werewolf the Kings fated?” I asked her, and she shrugged.

“My mother said they couldn’t stay away from each other, and what they had was similar to the pull, but

I guess we would never know. She died,” Ania said.

“I wasn’t alive in King Mathia’s time, but my mother told me a lot about the Lycan king betrayed by the

werewolves,” Ania said. I had a knot in my stomach because I had heard much of that lately, and

everything they said was contrary to what my father told me about the King.

If there were any traitors, my father was the traitor. But why would my father betray a kind King? I was

determined to talk to him about it because Nikolas saw werewolves as traitors

too. I wondered if it related to what happened to King Mathias. I made a mental note to speak to my

father about it. I hoped he would be honest with me no matter how ugly his part was. The rest of the

day went quietly, I could only long for Nikolas.

Although I did not appreciate the mind links during our three days apart, now I appreciate it because it

was better than silence.

The silence made me feel alone and made me long for him. I held on to hope and prayed he would

come home to me and still feel the same way.