Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

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Piotr arrived at six in the evening. I was told of his arrival and left the room to receive him in the foyer. Getting down the stairs, I
saw him with a pretty red-head. She was very attractive, and I believed my theory about her, but I maintained a stern expression.
Piotr’s eyes lit up when he saw me, and I could see true joy in his eyes. Seeing him now, I felt terrible that I believed his father
had sent him to spy on me. The man genuinely liked me.
I reached them and extended a handshake.
“You are welcome, your highness,” I said, and he shook my hand.
“Thank you for having me, your majesty,” he said, and I laughed. Piotr had referred to me as a king from the moment we met.
“Fredrick denied me the crown, so I am just an alpha for now,” I corrected him, but he shook his head, disagreeing.
“Fredrick’s opinion about you is divided. It won’t take much to sway some of Fredrick’s people to your side. I know you will be
King. It is in your aura,” He said, and I raised my eyebrows, indicating I knew he was patronizing me. Still, he shook his head,
laughing and swearing he was telling the truth. I wondered if reading auras was his specialty. I tried not to amuse myself any
further and killed the thought.
“I am happy to have you in Forest. I hope your stay will be pleasant,” I said, and he pulled the red-haired woman close. She went
on her knees immediately. It had been a while since I had seen a slave act this way.
“Rise,” I said, not knowing her name, and she reluctantly got on her feet. I did not miss that she did not want to kneel but had no
choice.
“Her name is Natasha; isn’t she a beauty?” Piotr asked me, and I nodded. Then he looked behind me as if searching for
something.
“Where is your werewolf mistress?” He asked enthusiastically.
“I learned she is the daughter of the man that murdered your father. You are indeed a hard man,” he said, and I cleared my throat
uncomfortably.
“Well, you should freshen up, and we can have dinner together. The servants will show Natasha to her room,” I said, looking for
his trouble, and he shook his head.

“No need; she sleeps in my room. She serves me better when close by. I do not want to wake up and look for her,” he said, trying
to justify the need to have Natasha sleep in his room, and I chuckled a bit.
Nothing he said made sense, but I allowed it. I understood his predicament, and I knew she would give him hell for making her
kneel like that and talking about her as if she was nothing. I really did not want to be in his shoes right now. The look in
Natasha’s eyes had said it all. i “As you wish,” I said, and he nodded.
Gezel came towards us and led them up the stairs to their room.
I linked Aliana to get ready for dinner. I did not want to invite my mother so she would not make it awkward. She had a natural

hatred for werewolves, and I had forced her to somehow put up with Aliana; I did not want her to have more to talk about, and I
wanted to keep Piotr’s business his business and no one else’s.
While Gezel led them away, I decided to go to my office and sit for a while.
Entering the office, I linked Qusack to join me, and he was more than happy to oblige.
Qusack knocked and did not wait for me to tell him to enter when he stepped in. He looked tired, and I felt like a lazy bum
because while he was busy trying to solve my problems, I was sleeping in bed.
It was shameful, but I needed the rest because it gave me some clarity.
“How has your day been?” I asked Qusack, and he sighed and sat across from me.
“Hectic,” he replied and relaxed, resting his back against the chair’s backrest.
“I went to the werewolf clinic to see Nurse Alison,” he said, and I leaned forward, listening attentively.
“She was afraid when I requested to see her. She refused to give up Aliana. She denied attending to her and claimed she did not
know what I was talking about until I proved to her that Aliana had indeed given her name and you planned to keep the baby.
My words relieved her, and she promised not to tell anyone about the baby. She even offered to work as Aliana’s private nurse to
be her midwife and help her through her pregnancy. I did not oblige. I told her I would have to discuss it with you and then get
back to her.” He said, and I knew that was all the update I would get on Aliana’s matter.
I felt it was kind of the woman to volunteer, and knowing what I now know about Newton, I decided to approve her request. As
things were, Aliana and our baby would be safer in the hands of werewolves than Lycans..

“Get back to her tomorrow and approve her service in the palace. I want Aliana protected and cared for. Regardless of what is
going on, I want my child to be well, and I want her to carry the baby to term,” I told Qusack, and he nodded, understanding what
it meant to me.
“Now that is out of the way, I want to tell you that Abraham was able to trace Isaac Lukas’ family archives.
According to the documents, Lucas came from Hill, just as your mother had told us, but that wasn’t all.
We found some archives hidden in the abandoned library with a lot of correspondence in them.
There were plenty of letters dating from your grandfather’s time.
I wondered why Isaac’s files would be kept close to the hidden archives.
Knowing this is a secret investigation, Abraham and I must review those documents alone.
It will take a while.
It will amaze you that I found some letters signed by Gabriel and one written by him, demanding that your father let them settle in
Woodland. Seeing that letter, I believe what he told us, but we are still sorting through the archives to get more pieces of the
puzzle and have a better picture of the events that transpired in the past.
We might find out something valuable when we read it all.
Lucas’ file has the address of his family; his residence in Medow in Hill.

We can go there and ask questions if need be,” He said, and I was stunned by all he had said.
I was yet to compose myself and organise my thoughts when Qusack leaned forward to ask me a personal question.
“Niko, can you tell me why this is important?” he asked me, and I snapped out of my shock to answer him. It did seem irrelevant
because my father and Lucas were dead.
“I know it seems unnecessary, but I believe if there was an outside factor that contributed to what happened in Forest, then the
people or person would still be alive. They might create another problem for me. I want to believe that everything died the night
of the fight, but a tiny part of me believes there is more to the story and that Gabriel’s part is only a piece of the puzzle but not
the full picture.” I said, and Qusack nodded, understanding my reasons and dropping the matter.Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm

“Lastly, I had a word with Newton,” he said, and I was attentive.
“I told him we want him to run the infirmary in Timber because we plan to start training warriors, and he requested to send
someone else. He said he is your personal Physician and would like to remain that way,” Qusack said.
What I suspected aside, it was normal for him to want to remain and serve me. It made him powerful.
I had already changed my mind about sending him away. I plan to set traps for him in Riverhead so I can catch him.
“We will set a trap for him here,” I said, and Qusack agreed.
Qusack was silent for a bit, and I decided to invite him to have dinner with me and Piotr. I implored him to bring a date. He tried
to refuse, but I left him no choice. I even told him he could bring a werewolf. I did not know if he would oblige, but it would be nice
to see him with someone.
Qusack was a solo person; it was time he started making an effort in the love department.
“Piotr bringing a date?” He said, referring to the werewolf ‘maid’. We laughed at the joke.
“He said she is his maid and the only one that knows how to attend to his needs,” I said, and we laughed. It is evident that she
was his mistress. He reeked of her, and she reeked of him too.
Even Qusack pointed it out, and that made me laugh.
I wondered what Piotr would do when I finally confronted him on the matter. I just hope he trusts me enough to be confident
around me.
Qusack and I discussed other things. Abraham had compiled a final list of the things we intended to trade and those we intended
to trade with.
Qusack showed me the list, and I liked it, but I planned to make some changes.
“Tell Abraham we will only be trading with Alphas that supported me in the committee and King Aleksander,” I said, and Qusack
laughed.
He knew exactly what I was doing.

I planned to make those alphas suffer the consequences of their actions.
I was happy that a gate was being built to stop the unauthorized entrance of people into Forest.
With Snow unable to come here and steal, they will feel the impact of being excluded from the trade.
Fredrick had humiliated me; I planned to cripple the economy of Snow drastically by ensuring they get raw resources from third
parties only at third party prices.
After our discussion, I decided it was time to head back to my room and dress for dinner.