Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

We were ushered to the royal wing of the palace. King Fredrick said they should take my mother to her old room. I felt it was
cruel what he did. Treating his sister the way he did was uncalled for. I also wondered if the joke was on me and if everyone
knew her story.
Was that why King Aleksander couldn’t look at her and tried to stop Fredrick from talking about her past?
I wasn’t mad at Fredrick because he used his only weapon to completely disqualify me from inheriting a crown. I blamed my
mother solely for what happened at the committee.
I was glad I came with her, or I would have thought Fredrick was telling lies.
She had ample time to tell me all that her brother said. Instead, she was busy trying to get rid of Aliana and complaining about
betrayal.
I doubt my relationship with her would be the same again.
Had I not fought and conquered Forest, Gabriel wouldn’t have been able to hand over to me because Fredrick would have
discredited me regardless.
The only thing that still gave me power was that I had conquered Forest. An heir or not, I owned the region. The only issue now
was as long as I had no crown, Fredrick and Aleksander would be above me, and I must obey the unity law my father helped
install. It was messed up.
My mother’s silence and secrets had complicated things for me now. It seemed eyes would be on me henceforth.
How would I manage with Aliana?
I kicked the bed out of frustration. I felt like growling because I had been backed into a corner. Fulfilling the requirements of the
unity law will be challenging because it would mean that I would have to be mean to the werewolves.
Honestly, I couldn’t hate the weres at this point.
This was my mother’s fault. Had she been honest, I would have strategised better.
I growled and tried to release my rage. I wished Aliana was with me to help me calm down. She had that effect on me.

Aliana was supportive, but I could not bear to be away from her. I did not know how long this thing would take. One thing was
sure, I did not plan to marry a lycan to get ahead.
Settling down with Aliana would put me in violation of the unity law, and seeing what happened here, the council would support
Fredrick to come after me.
I could only do as I liked and not answer anyone if I became King. Once I get back to Forest, I would have to re-strategise.
Fredrick had spies in my territory, so I needed to be careful. It was also time for me to have spies in Snow and Hill too.
I heard a knock on the door of my room, and knowing no one dared to harm me, I asked the person to enter.
My mother opened the door and walked in with bloodshot eyes. She had been crying, but I didn’t care. Her Lies and secrets had
cost me dearly.
“What do you want?” I asked her, and she walked towards me.
“I am sorry I didn’t tell you I had an affair with Leon...” she said, and I cut in.
“You did not have an affair with Leon, Mother. You two were dating, and then he introduced you to his brother. Why? Why did you
do it? How could you two do that to King Mathias. What were you thinking?” I asked, and she wiped away her tears.
I doubted she would be honest with me, but I was bound to listen to what she had to say. One thing was sure, I planned to talk to
Gabriel about his version of the past. So far, what he had told Aliana seemed to be accurate.
“I loved Leon. I wasn’t meant to be with Mathias, but when I met Mathias, I fell in love with him. Unlike Mathias, Leon was shady
and selfish. I felt I would have a better future with Mathias,” She said, and I fought the urge to laugh. Of course, she would have
a better future with Mathias; he was the King.
“After I settled down with Mathias, Leon tried to get back with me, but I refused. I would have been faithful, but Mathias left me
no choice. He was hung up on Olive that he could not move on,” She said, and I shook my head.
“If that were true, then he wouldn’t bother marrying you,” I told her, knowing that if anything happened to Aliana, I would not
move on.
“He married me so he could have peace. He and Fredrick were always fighting until after our union,” She said, and I frowned at
her.

“Your brother doesn’t care about you enough to respect your mate and stop pursuing his agenda, ” I corrected her, and she
paused.
“He does, Nikolas. Fredrick sent me away because he felt I was stupid not to take over Forest. All this anger is because he felt
Forest was for the taking. I should have secured the throne instead of making a deal with a werewolf and coming home. He felt if
he sent me away, I would return to Forest and do the needful. Before the uprising, we were all on good terms,” She said.
“If that is the case, why oppose me taking the crown?” I asked.
“Fredrick fought so hard for the unity of Law, Niko. You have shown that you won’t respect it when you become King. It will be
easy for you to disregard it. You have been lenient on them. You even kept one as a mistress. Your actions would scare anyone,”
She said, and I laughed, i
“This is on you, Mother. Not Aliana or Gabriel; It is on you. I can f*uc*k whoever I please. I can pardon whoever I like. I do not
need you or your brother to tell me what to do. You are responsible for the outcome of this meeting.
You lied and did not tell me the truth. Instead, you were focused on getting rid of Aliana.
The crown was in our grasp. I had done my part, and you ruined my chances before I was conceived.
This is on you.
My leniency to the werewolves and my choice of mistress have nothing to do with it.
In fact, I forbid you from ever bringing Aliana or the werewolves up again. If you do not like my lifestyle, I am happy to leave you
with your dear brother and go home.
Let this be the last time you will angle our conversation towards the werewolves.
I will not sell slaves or start sleeping with money and power-hungry Lycan women to please your brother. So far, I haven’t met
any good ones. They are all like you, mother. Power hungry.
I can’t deal. I would instead remain single with a mistress than settle down with a lycan,” I told her, and she nodded.
“So you refuse to have an heir?” She asked, and I laughed.

“Your brother just stated Olive’s child as the true heir. I have all the motivation I need in the absence of a legitimate child. Any
living relative closest to me can take over,” I said, and she shook her head.
“Your father was a king, but you aren’t. The law does not apply to commoners. Fredrick owns that council and will oppose you if
he sees you favour werewolves,” She said point blank, but I already knew that.
I needed time to strategise and decide what to do on the matter. I needed to talk to my trusted officers, especially Qusack, to
know the way forward. I did not need to tell my mother this, of course. She had disappointed me greatly. I could never take her
seriously.
“If you let me. I can get you a suitable girl,” She said, and she was lucky she was my mother, or I might have gotten physical with
her.
She noticed my rage and went silent.
“I will try and talk to Fredrik about it. So I will know what you require to get the crown,” She said quickly.
“Are you stupid?” I asked her.
It was harsh, but it was an honest question. I wasn’t trying to hurt her or sound condescending. I was genuinely concerned for
her intellect.
“Your brother wants Forest and all it owns for himself. He will never support my kingship. No matter what you do, he will never
support us.
He doesn’t care about you or your family bond.
All he cares about is being powerful.
He wants slaves, and I do not know why.
You cannot help me, mother.
I will just do what they say and see where it leads me. As for the settling down part, it won t happen,” I said, and she was silent.
You should leave my room, mother.

We leave this forsaken place at five in the morning. I want to get home on time to monitor my ongoing projects and increase
Forest’s security.
I like what your brother has done with his place. I will copy him a bit,” I said, and she reluctantly left. It took a lot for me to be able
to speak to her, but I had to control my temper.