Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Chapter 77 Getting A New Team Mate (Nikolas POV)
“Are you sure about this?” Qusack asked me. I could see the worry in his eyes. War was a considerable task to embark on.
A war wasn’t the same as a conquest.
Taking Forest was a conquest; we chipped away bit by bit. Had I known that it was unnecessary and
Gabriel would have handed it over to me quickly, I wouldn’t have bothered and wasted the number of lives I did. The more I
learned the truth, the more guilt plagued my conscience.
War was something completely different. It would be fought at once. There will be no time to retreat and recuperate. The
possibility of not surviving was high. The chance of failure was high. It wasn’t something to be toyed with, but my uncle left me no
choice.
Piotr’s letter made me understand that Fredrick will always find something to use against me. He would always come up with
something to use and gain support from his alphas and some of Hill’s alphas to stop me from getting my crown, and knowing he
would determine whether or not I would get the crown, I knew it was best to go to war because his answer would always be no,
and Aleksander would never have the courage to stand up to him.
I looked at Qusack and then Abraham.
“We really have no choice. The man would never let me have the crown. He would never allow it. He will come up with excuses
and milk Forest dry. Now it is slaves they want; what if they decided they do not want to trade and want the resources in Forest
for free? I am not a king, so why should I determine what happens? I have no say.
In Fredricks’s heart, he already owns the Forest. That is why he did not deem it necessary to request my permission for his
hunters to hunt in my woods. That is why he refused to reply to my letters until I took action. He does not see me as an equal. I
do not know who this Miles Gordon guy is, but I think he plans to make that guy King of Forest by establishing that I am not my
father’s child, so he can take over Forest.
There is just so much power a half-breed can wield. If indeed I want the crown, I will have to go to war,” I explained to my Beta
and Delta, and Qusack nodded. I could see understanding dawn in his eyes, and I realised he saw my angle.
“Will the werewolves be willing to fight for you?” Abraham asked, and Qusack chuckled.

“It is more their war than ours. It is for their future and their freedom. They have no choice. It is either they fight or get sold. It is
as simple as that,” Qusack said, explaining the reality of the situation.
“As long as that is what you want, we will do all we can to ensure we come out victorious,” Abraham said, and I smiled.
“Now, the first course of action is to pick that snitch doctor up and drill him for answers. We need to know all the spies in our
midst, who they report to and the information that they have,” Qusack said, and we agreed.
Questioning the doctor will not happen in my office, so I decided that Qusack Abraham and I visit Gabriel first to set everything in
motion before dealing with the doctor. As for my mother, I planned to keep her in the dark about the situation. Erica was locked
up, so I was sure she would have no loyalist to help her snoop around. She seemed increasingly suspicious, and the less she
knew, the better. Once everything was in motion, I planned to lock her up. It would be hard for me because she is my mother, but
I must emerge victorious. I cannot allow her rage towards Gabriel to ruin my plans.
“Are you in your house?” I linked Gabriel, and he answered immediately.
“Yes, your Highness,” He replied with the utmost respect, which just wrenched my heart the more.
I was misguided and ended up wronging the only friend my father had. Gabriel also deserved to know that my father did not sign
any decree to enslave the werewolves, and he wasn’t the one running affairs after Leon died. Gabriel needed to know that my
father never stopped caring.
I got off my chair and told my officers to join me to visit Gabriel.
“I might not come in early today, Little wolf. Do not miss me much,” I linked Aliana, but there was no response, so I figured she
was sleeping. I opted to Link Ania instead.
“Tell Aliana that I will be late today. You and Lisa should keep her company. I would also like that chocolate cake you made last
time with coconut cream pie,” I linked Ania.
“Yes, alpha, I will make it. Aliana just fell asleep after breakfast. She was a bit tired. I will pass on the message when she wakes
up,” Ania replied, and I closed the connection.
We arrived at Gabriel’s house, and Qusack knocked on the door. Gabriel answered it and greeted us respectfully.
I was surprised to see him looking healthy. He wasn’t dependent on the oxygen tank anymore. I began to wonder what Dr
Newton was doing to him. We entered the living room and sat on the available chairs. I could smell Onion soup. 1

“Sorry, I was about to eat,” Gabriel said, heading towards his kitchen.
“It is okay,” I said and realised I was hungry.
“Do you have enough for two?” I asked him, and he looked stunned.
“Yes, Aliana made a large batch, so all I have to do is just make garlic bread and stick it in the oven with cheese. It won’t take too
long.” He said, and I was surprised that Aliana cooked it.
“Include us,” Qusack said, and Abraham headed to the kitchen to help Gabriel.
“So, how is your health?” I asked.
“I am fine now. Apparently, I just needed rest,” He said, and I looked in his direction. I could sense his uneasiness which meant
he was hiding something from me.
“You know that I know you aren’t being honest,
Gabriel,” I said to him, and he looked a bit worried. Abraham took over cutting the bread.
“I do not want to create trouble. I am okay now. That is all that matters,” Gabriel said, and I got off the chair to join them in the
kitchen.
“Trust me, you won’t be creating trouble if what you have to say has to do with Newton,” I said, and his eyes widened.
“So, you figured it out?” he asked, and I nodded.
“We set a trap, and he fell right into it,” I said, and Gabriel had a bit of anger in his eyes.
“The bastard was poisoning me. I do not know what I did to him. I do not know what he has to benefit from rendering me
useless,” Gabriel said, sounding hurt and angry simultaneously.
“That is why I have come to see you, Gabriel,” I said and cleared my throat. What I was about to say was hard, but it was
necessary. I remembered how I acted towards him when I took over the pack. How I humiliated him, and I was ashamed of
myself. The man did not deserve any of it. I hoped he would be forgiving.
“I want to apologise for how I treated your people, you and your daughter. My intentions weren’t good, and I believed I was in the
right to seek revenge, but I was wrong, and I regret it. I am sorry,” I said, and he was utterly shocked.

“I want you to know that I do not have ill intentions towards Aliana,” I said to him, and he looked at me, shocked.
“I plan to do right by her,” I promised him, and his eyes welled up with tears. He sighed with relief, tears streaming down his
cheeks.
“That is also why we have come here. We know what will happen when I take certain steps. I have decided to declare myself as
King and abolish the Unity Law in Forest,” I said, and he looked at me wide-eyed.
“I do not know what happened in Forest Thirty years ago, but I know my father did not sign the unity or slave trade law. I have
evidence in the archives that shows someone was intercepting letters and signing decrees on his behalf.
I do not know who this person is, but I intend to find out.
Based on our investigations, My father went into seclusion after Leon’s death. I do not know why, but he wasn’t directly involved
with running things. I also found a carbon copy of Letters Leon sent to Asci Cauls, planning to take over Forest so they can
champion certain things.
Giles wasn’t lying, and he did a noble thing. It is just sad how things went for him,” I said, and Gabriel broke down at the mention
of Giles’s name.
“I had never truly believed it myself. I acted based on trust, knowing that Giles would never lie. Knowing now that he was telling
the truth and got executed for trying to save the King breaks my heart. Leon always thought he was the rightful heir because he
was your father’s older brother, but his mother was a mistress. He would have been King if your father did not exist. I guess he
was trying to make that happen by all means,” Gabriel said and sat on the chair in the kitchen.
He wiped his tears and looked at me.
“I hope you know what will happen when you make this decision?” he asked me matter-of-factly, and I nodded.
“It will mean war,” I said, and he sighed.
“Very well, what will you have me do?” he said, knowing I had come to seek his help.
“I need you on my team as my adviser. I must comb Forest of spies and informants and seek alliances with others. Piotr is on my
side and will bring his army to my aide, but I will need more than that. I will need werewolves,” I said, and he looked at me to
study the expression on my face.

“If you have decided to fight for our liberation, I will help you and ensure you win. I will help you because the crown is rightfully
yours, which your father would have wanted. I will help you because I will lose my daughter if anything happens to you. After all,
she loves you greatly. I will help you because you have chosen to fight for my people’s liberation. I will help you because this is
what is expected of me,” He said, and I did not know convincing him would be this easy, but it was. I wanted to tell him that
Gwendolyn was in Snow, but I felt it was best I did it in private when I could control the situation better.
We ate and discussed the Correspondence in the archives with Gabriel. According to Gabriel, the record Keeper was a half-
breed. I also learned he got killed a week before the uprising.
I did not need to guess why they would eliminate the record Keeper, but I wondered who this Asci Cauls was. It didn’t sound like
a name at all.
“I will like to read the letters that mention Asci Cauls. I might figure out who he is by reading the context. Did you ask your mother
about Asci?” Gabriel asked, and Qusack almost laughed. I could tell why.
“The woman lies too much. I doubt she will tell me anything useful. She is all about getting rid of Aliana and getting me a Lycan
mate,” I said, and Gabriel chuckled.
“Isabelle is yet to change even after all these years. I wouldn’t blame her, though; her father was like that. He raised his children
to hate our kind. Fredrik did not want Isabelle to marry Mathais because Mathais’ mother was a halfbreed. He believed she was
somehow tainted,” He said, laughing, and he had given me a piece of information I never had.
He paused to look at me and realised that he had shocked me with his words.
“Your mother never told you?” He asked, and I shook my head.
“Your grandmother was a halfbreed. Being a halfbreed in Forest wasn’t a big deal. It was a welcomed thing, and then Fredrick
tried to spoil our territory’s synergy. That was why Mathias never signed the law and kept Fredrick’s influence out of Forest. We
were somehow his people even though he was a Lycan. That was why we were in the ranks. Everything went south when Leon
died,” He said, and I frowned.
“That was why Leon felt entitled to the crown because he believed Mathias was tainted. But there was no such law in Forest.
Mathais’s father did not trade slaves, but we were treated as second-class citizens. Mathais elevated our status when he
became King. He loved Olive very much. I still do not understand why she died suddenly,” He said, and I growled.

“I am sure Leon organised it, stole her baby, and sent him to Fredrick since they are friends. Fredrick claims the boy is the
rightful heir, and I am a bastard,” I said, and Gabriel exclaimed. He was in shock that he stood up.
“How can Leon be so wicked? Then who was buried with Olive?” Gabriel said, and I had no answer for it. I dreaded thinking of
what happened. I dreaded thinking that maybe Leon had murdered a baby in Miles’s stead just to cover up his tracks.
“Thinking of it all, Leon was the one that told Mathias it would be wrong if he saw her corpse that it would affect his memory of
her. He made it seem like he was protecting Mathais. He was a horrible sibling to your father. I wished Mathias knew and cut him
off. He would have still been alive, and Forest would have never gone through what we went through,” Gabriel said, sounding
very sad.
“I hope you do not mind Isreal working with me. He is good with the investigations,” he said, and I nodded. “You can form a team
if you like. I am glad to have you on board,” I said, and he nodded.
“I will like to work with Isreal. I know of his investigative skills,” Abraham chipped in, and I looked at him and arched an eyebrow.
“The guy is good,” He confessed, and we all laughed. Gabriel joined us in laughter.
It was surprising to see how lightly he was taking the impending war. I hoped for all our sake we win. I decided I would tell him
about Gwen when everything was set. I did not want him making plans from a desperate perspective. I decided I would wait a bit