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I spent the night tossing and turning, thinking of everything my father had told me.
One thing that stuck with me was why Mathias would fall on his sword.
Did they not fight in their wolf form? I knew I would not have peace without an answer, so I planned to
speak to my father in the morning before I left.
Sleep never came due to anxiety. I was anxious to see Nikolas the next day, and I was anxious to find
out why my father said Mathias fell on his sword.
I needed to understand the battle because, based on my father’s accounts, Mathias seemed confused,
and he was behaving as if they hadn’t spoken in a while.
I needed to be sure of certain things. I also wondered if Isabelle was in Snow with her child or if
something terrible had happened that prevented her from returning to claim Forest over the past
twenty-nine years.
I wondered what Nikolas would do if that should happen.
Would he hand over to Mathias’ heir, or would he insist and push back?
If I wasn’t in love with him, I wouldn’t have bothered, and it might have been a relief, but it didn’t feel
like it.
Typically, Kings inherit the throne when they are Thirty-three years of age, so there was a possibility the
heir was yet to come. Regardless, I knew I would have to give Nikolas the heads up on the matter
when I could because speaking to him of my father in that context always triggered him.
No matter how he cared for me, his hatred and mistrust was deeply embedded, and his emotions could
not be handled. It was something that I would have to discuss with him when the opportunity presented
itself.
I would ask my father what happened that made Mathias fall on his sword and keep the information to
myself. Then I would compare everything and present my understanding to Nikolas if he ever brings up
the past. One thing I am sure of is that I won’t be able to tell Nikolas until he brings it up.
I heard movement in the early morning, and I knew my father was preparing for work. I knew my entire
day would be messed up, and I might have to close early just to catch up on my sleep.
I rushed out of bed and went to the bathroom to rinse my mouth. I hurried to the kitchen to prepare
breakfast and pack lunch for my father.
He came to the living room around the time that I had finished packing his lunch. “Good morning,” I
said, plating his breakfast on the kitchen island so he could sit on the high stool and eat.
“Good morning, Princess. Did you sleep well?” he asked me, picking up his fork and admiring the
content of his plate. This was my opportunity to ask him what had troubled me all night.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“I didn’t sleep at all. I stayed up wondering about what you told me last night,” I said, and he sighed and
put down his fork. I think I had messed his appetite up.
“I am sorry, Father,” I said quickly, and he looked at me.
“What do you want to know?” he asked, lifting his fork again, ready to eat. I studied him a bit and then
decided to ask him.
“Why did Mathias fall on his sword? I assumed he would fight in his wolf form. Why with a sword?” I
asked him, and my father nodded.
“That was a brilliant observation, my dear. Now I will tell you a truth that the werewolves refused to
accept, my truth,” he said, and I picked up my fork to eat. I wasn’t hungry, but I knew watching him eat
would be awkward.
“We gathered ourselves to head to Woodland. We didn’t have much, and we didn’t have weapons
either. So, we headed to the palace in multitude to tell the King we would leave Riverhead and go to
Woodland.
We wanted to tell him we would no longer mingle with the Lycans, but to our surprise, Mathias was
already coming for us with his army of Lycans.
When he faced us, he accused us of wanting to attack him.
Someone had informed him that we were coming, but the person did not tell him what we were
planning to do. The person told him that we planned to attack and take over.
Mathias didn’t have many Lycan warriors, and his army of werewolves was with me. Fighting in his wolf
form would not favor him, so he chose to fight with galvanised silver swords.
They could use it to injure and kill many wolves more quickly than fighting combat in wolf form.
Remaining in his human form would make him swift on his feet, so it became a sword fight, but we had
none.
He did not want us to have a fighting chance, so he chose the only weapon to make it easy. A weapon
we did not have.
We did not have silver swords because of the underfunding of the army, so we had to rely partially on
our wolves, but there was just saw much Jaws, teeth, and claws could do.
Many of us died in that battle, but we obtained some swords from the fallen lycan soldiers, which
helped us.
The Lycans Mathais was using were newly recruited, so they weren’t as skilled as the werewolves that
had years of training. We were able to wipe them out with their swords,” He said, sighing.
“I took Mathias on, and we fought until we were away from the others. Some werewolves wanted to
help me, but I knew they would aim to kill, so I ran towards the woods, knowing Mathias would follow to
kill me because he believed I was the group’s leader.
When we got to the woods, I pointed my sword at Mathias and pleaded with him to yield. I told him we
did not want his kingdom, we just wanted to live in Woodland. I told him of all he had done to us and
why we wanted to be apart from him. He was in disbelief.
He did not trust me, so he held on to his grudge, but there was a look of realisation in his eyes, and it
haunted me ever since.
He was an Alpha and a King. He knew he had lost the battle, and alphas had their pride. There were
two things for him to do to keep his honour, run away or die. He chose to die, and when I refused to kill
him. He pierced his heart with the silver-coated sword he held and fell on it until the hilt was at his chest
and the blade had gone through him completely.
I screamed and knelt by his body, weeping. His last words hunted me.
Mathias told me, ‘I am sorry, Gabriel. They said you were coming for me’,” my father said and wept.
“Someone was feeding him lies, telling him we wanted to usurp power. Someone told him we were
coming to fight him, so he prepared.
But by the time we could figure it out, a war had broken out, and he had to keep his honour. I pulled the
sword out when Israel and Austin came to where we fought; I was about to tell them what happened
when the others came and started hailing that I had ended the mad King.
I tried to tell them it wasn’t like that, but they refused. They thought I was just being modest. They
thought I was being kind.
They carried Mathis’s body and his sword and headed back to the entrance, where Isabelle was made
to kneel while pregnant with her baby.
They wanted to execute her, but Mathia’s last words made me realise we had all been played.
I wanted her to remain and continue to lead until her child was of age. However, I knew whoever
planned the unfortunate war might still be alive and might eliminate her and Mathais’ only heir. The
werewolves might kill them too. Mathias had already lost an heir once I could not let his bloodline end.
So, I asked for her trusted maids to send them off to Snow.
The werewolves fought me for my decision, claiming that The Snow King would come for me and that if
he failed, the child in her womb would seek revenge.
I did not care.
I was grieving my friend, and I was willing to die in those moments because I felt like a traitor. A name
that was alien to me had become my reality.
I had no will to live until I met Gwendolyn, and we had you, Princess.” He said and wiped away his
tears. He continued to eat the food until he finished.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Your boyfriend will be returning today?” He asked, and I nodded.
“He said he won’t be away for more than two days, so I expect him to be back today,” I said, and he
nodded.
“Good. I like that. You do not deserve how the werewolves are treating you. If his being sincere, I would
pray for the day he would finally claim you, but if not, I will try to be here to shield you from everything
that will happen after,” He said with a promise, and I smiled at him. “The people never really liked me
anyway. It doesn’t matter,” I said, and he laughed.
“I am sure they are just jealous,” he said, and we laughed.
It was good to laugh. He left the house, and I cleaned up and returned to the palace to attend to
Nikolas’ mother.
I showered in a hurry and headed to the Queen’s room. While I walked, I thought of all my father had
told me and worried about what would happen to Nikolas and his poor mother when the heir suddenly
appeared.
I learned that Nikolas and his mother lived in the wilderness all their lives, so this was a beautiful gift he
could give her, making her a queen even though it isn’t a recognised title. I would feel awful for them if
everything was taken away from them.
It also crossed my mind that the heir could be a girl; maybe they might insist he marries her. Perhaps
that was why the Snow King refused to sign his coronation request and insisted he visits him.
Did the Snow King want to introduce Nikolas to the true heir? I paused midway, and my heart began to
beat fast.
I doubted Nikolas would walk away from everything for my sake. I tried to steady my heartbeat and
then entered the room. Ania and Lisa were already there, and I joined them to perform the chores.
A few hours later, I sat on the couch in the Queen’s room, watching over her as she slept.
Someone entered the room. I knew the scent from anywhere. I turned and saw Nikolas.
He had kept his promise and returned.
I rushed towards him and hugged him.
I noticed he smelled of the trip, meaning he had yet to settle in. He wrapped his arms around me,
laughing.
“You are back,” I said, holding on tightly, and he laughed and then kissed my neck. “I could not stay
away, little wolf,” He said, lifting me in his arms.
“Let Ania and Lisa do the rest of the work. You should welcome me home properly,” he teased, and I
was shy immediately. Was he going to carry me in his arm and walk through the hallway to his room
with everyone watching?
He opened the door and stepped out, and I knew he would do precisely that, so much for not showing
our affections publicly. They were no doubt that our hearts beat the same. I held on tight.
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