Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Chapter 73 Dealing With The Crazies (Nikolas POV)
After the meeting, Qusack and Abraham left the office so they could attend to the correspondence. I was hopeful that we would
find some answers, something that we could use to help with my coronation.
I wondered how deep the plot was but planned to unravel the story and get to the truth.
My father deserved justice, and for my mother’s sake, I hoped she wasn’t part of it the mutiny.
Someone knocked on my door when I was in deep thought, and I looked to see who it was; Piotr stuck his head in with a big
smile.
“I was led here,” he said, and I immediately pushed away my worry and smiled.
“Good morning.’ I greeted him, and he walked in. He looked very relaxed, even more than he did in Hill when we met. Keeping
his relationship a secret must have weighed on him heavily. I could only imagine what both of them went through.
Piotr sat on the couch in my office and looked around.
“You are all business Nikolas,” He said, admiring my office. There was nothing special about the place, but Piotr still looked at
everything with a smile on his face. It was apparent he had a good night.
“How is Natasha?” I asked him, and he looked at me and nodded.
“Sleeping. A maid brought breakfast, and I told her to wait with her if you do not mind,” he said, and I nodded.
“Well, Natasha shouldn’t hold on to her for long because she is Aliana’s friend,” I said, and he nodded.
“Noted, it is just until she is up,” he said quickly, and I managed a smile, something Aliana had made easy for me.
“It is okay; I am sure Lisa won’t mind hanging out with Natasha,” I added, and he nodded. I figured Lisa would be the one to go to
Natasha. “So, what is the itinerary for today? Any plans that include me?” He asked, and I frowned, wondering what he wanted.
He stared at me, looking confused, then decided to elaborate.
“I mean site seeing, a fun engagement, anything to welcome me to Forest?” He said, and it clicked.
“Oh,” I managed.

I had not thought of it at all. I had been caught up in my personal issues that I did not think about how I would entertain Piotr.
I knew it would be wrong to tell him this because he went out of his way when I visited the palace in Peakland. The least I could
do was reciprocate.
“Actually, an evening picnic with the ladies after my daily task is over,” I said quickly, and he frowned.
I guess my offer wasn’t enough, so a bright idea clicked in my head.

“If you can give me two hours, I will take you around in a Rickshaw,” I said, and he smiled.
“Marvellous, just us guys. I like that,” he said and remained seated on the couch. I was a bit uncomfortable with his presence, but
I controlled myself. The guy was harmless.
“I meant to ask you, Nikolas. How did you get that, Scar? I supposed you had no wolf then, or you wouldn’t have scared badly,”
he said, and I cringed.
I saw it coming. I commended Aliana for her restraint. She had never asked me about it. She doesn’t even look at it. It is almost
as if it isn’t there. We were perfect for each other. Piotr, on the other hand, was feeling nosey this morning.
“A battle scar as a child before I got my wolf,” I said, not wanting to go into details. Technically what I had said was the truth, just
void of details.
“The goddess truly favoured you, Nikolas. Anything that could claw you like that must have been deadly. Looks like a wild
animal,” he added, and he wasn’t far from the truth. A feral wolf was a wild animal. Soulless.
It was a miracle that my mother was alright. Piotr got up after a few minutes of silence.
“Well, I will leave you to your work and get back to mine upstairs,” he said and winked. I was relieved.
“Please do not get drowned in work and forget our hang out. I do not mind seeing Riverhead. I heard it was the most beautiful
place during the time of King Mathias,” He said, and I chuckled. “Not anymore, but we are working to get there,” I said, and he
nodded, understanding my angle.
He left the room, and I sighed with relief. It was hard concentrating on the correspondence on my desk with Piotrs around.
Qusack wasn’t exaggerating when he said they were requests for slaves. It was amazing to see the choice of words that were
used to describe werewolves. Goods, servants, commodities, weres and these were used in the most derogative way. It was

cruel.
I read through the letters and knew it wouldn’t be wise to reply immediately. I had expressly told them that I did not have slaves
to sell, yet they still thought I should be able to spare some.
Had I been a king, none of these alphas would dare it.
Seeing how it looked, if I did not find a way to have Fredrick agree to my coronation, I might go to war because I could not stand
being controlled. Even though the letters had not implied it, it seemed they felt I owed them, slaves, for their support.
I felt a headache coming through.
I needed to calm down. My destiny had been f*uc*ked before conception. My mother was an adultress who married her lover’s
brother so they could be together.
The same guy was rumoured to have plotted against my father and lost his life in the process.

My father died after being deceived into going to war with his loyal servants, who had to defend themselves to preserve their
lives.
Then my mother lied to me, and I fought an unjust war and killed unjustly for nine years to get revenge that wasn’t meant to be.
Now that I want to fix the damages done and settle down with my fated, my uncle has decided to make himself a stumbling block
all because of his greed.
I was doomed from the start.
I felt a headache encroaching, and I rubbed my eyebrows to try to ease the pain. This was becoming too much, and I had little or
no help at all.
I was still thinking about what to do when my mother entered my office.
She didn’t bother to knock. She just strolled in as if she owned the place. There were times I believed she wasn’t fully recovered,
and this was one of those. Knowing she was on thin ice with me, the confidence she exuded was baffling.
I sighed with frustration because this wasn’t the time for this bullshit, but my mother knew how to make a bad situation worse by
just showing up..

I had the urge to ask her to leave, but I controlled my temper and decided to be polite. Whether I liked it or not, she was still my
mother and deserved some respect.
“Good morning Niko,” She said, smiling and came to sit on the chair opposite my desk.
The sofa would have been lovely; it was far and did not invade my personal space, but that was what she was all about. Invading
people’s private spaces and getting involved in affairs that did not concern her.
“Good morning, Mother,” I said, and she smiled at me.
“I have something important to tell you,” she said, resting her back against the chair’s backrest. I dreaded what she had to say
because whatever could put a mischievous grin on her face meant it was terrible news for someone else.
“What is it, mother?” I said, sounding bored, and she sighed.
“Believe me or not, but I know how badly you want this whole crown thing over with. I have decided to liaise with my brother and
find out what he wants so we can expedite this issue,” she said, and I looked at her.
After hearing what Qusack and Abraham learned about her, I doubted I wanted a situation where my mother would discuss me
with her brother. Would she have my back? She was too selfish to put anyone above herself.
“That wouldn’t be necessary, Mother. I am working on it already,” I said, and she stopped smiling.
“I insist. It is the least I can do. I have to ensure you get your birthright, Niko,” She said.
The look in her eyes showed she won’t back down, so I just nodded and picked up a pen to mark letters that I planned to
respond to respond to immediately. i
My mother was silent for a bit, and even though my eyes weren’t on her, I could feel her eyes on me. I was very uncomfortable.
“You might hate what I am about to tell you, and this isn’t an I-told-you-so moment, but you have to promise to hear me out,” she
said, and I put down the pen and looked at her, showing her she had my full attention