Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Nikolas POV

It took three days to get the werewolf scent off me before I decided to set out to the Hill Kingdom.

I decided Grant would follow me because I did not trust him to be impartial.

Qusack would have been my safest option, but I needed him around to protect Aliana. A lot of Lycan women had it in for her. I feared they might carry out their plans when I was not around.

Besides fulfilling my mother’s wishes, Aliana was part of why I wanted to be King. I wanted the right to love her and have children with her, and I did not want my children to be discriminated against.

I was doing this so we could have a future.

I did not want anything bad to happen to her.

With Qusack in charge, while I am away, I would have peace of mind knowing she is safe and all right.

I left in the early morning hours and was eager to know what the Hill King had in store for me. It would be nice to have a royal ally. I knew it would make my quest easier.

“Alpha, our men have started hunting in Snow, and I am sure the Snow King will soon reach out,” Grant said while we were heading to the Hill Territory.

What Grant said explained the new werewolf faces I had seen in the cells. I thought they were offenders I had to ask to be clear. “Where do you put the captives?” I asked Grant, and he laughed.

“In the cells. We do not want them mixing with our werewolves. Those things are treacherous, as you already know; outside knowledge might help boost their morale,” He said, proud of himself, and I knew cruelty was part of his speciality. I should have put Qusack in charge of this.

“I doubt they would want to go back to Snow, Grant. I want them released and assigned duties immediately. They are people, not livestock.” I cautioned him, and he apologised for presuming that was what I would want. I dropped the matter and focused on the journey. The place was seven hours away from Forest through the shortcut, so we were in for a long ride. The road wasn’t good either. It was clear that Forest had been cut off from the world entirely.

to

for was that the gold reserve was massive, and

me. Forest had gold mines, so it was normal to have an abundance of it. It was the reserve I was using now to build social and economic infrastructures that would bring about the region’s development. I could easily be the wealthiest King in our world when I become

vigilant at all times just in case an ambush or treachery

we wouldn’t stay more than two days in the Hill

the trip as my Luna, but I had to hide her away in Forest like a dirty secret because she was

with the Unity law. I knew they were treacherous people, but seeing things from their angle, I knew people

cruel. They weren’t animals; they

would come when I would not have to wash Aliana’s scent off me, and

arrived at the Hill Kingdom, and the place was magnificent. I had not been away from Forest before, so this was my first time. Its vegetation wasn’t as rich as

suffering. They were well-fed and healthy, more healthy than the ones in Forest, but it was obvious that they were slaves. None of them looked into my eyes.

have made some improvements over the years. Had my father been alive, I knew Forest would have been more

we had brought as a gift for the King. He would appreciate gold because other territories spent bronze and copper as currency. Gold was a valuable commodity, and only Forest had it. One gold coin equated to a thousand five hundred copper coins, eight

treated with respect, and we moved into

was beautiful; there were paintings and carvings on the wall. It wasn’t dark like the one in Forest. It showed the

was led to a waiting room. I sat on one of the couches while Grant stood behind

waiting. The guards in the lounge referred

his home and s*laughter

Gabriel would be easy,

he was the prince, he bowed his head to greet

would join us soon,” he said and decided to sit on the couch adjacent to mine.