Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Aliana POV
Spending the day with Nikolas to care for his mother was fun. I got to see his sensitive side, and it was amazing.
He loved her, and I could see it as he switched from the savage wicked rogue prince to a sensitive, sweet man. If his life were
normal, whomever he ended up with would be lucky. I remembered our date night and the memory of the dance, him comforting
me while I threw up, holding me under the shower and in the tub, the memory remained with me.
I had sl*ipped up and tried to k*iss him, but he had dodged. I saw it and pretended to have passed out.
I was grateful for that memory. I needed it.
I woke up wishing I was a Lycan. Maybe I would have stood a chance with him.
I believe something might have happened between us if I were his kind, but the divide was real, and it kept us apart regardless of
what we were feeling.
I knew I could not allow myself to feel anything for him. No matter how good it got, he would one day mate with a Lycan he loves,
which would be the end of it for me. He had indeed kept his promise and ruined me. It would be difficult for me even if he
decided to let me go. It would be impossible for me to have a werewolf mate because werewolves hated Lycans too.
I thought he would send for me in the evening, but when Ania and Lisa brought my food and left, I knew I wouldn’t be spending
the night with Nikolas.
I woke up the next day and got ready for my work. Ania and Lisa brought breakfast, and we gossiped a bit before we got ready to
go to the Queen’s room.
I tried to link Nikolas to find out if he wanted to join us to care for his mother, but I met a wall. He had somehow blocked me off.
I was a bit ashamed and hurt about it. I pleaded with Ania to link him with the question to avoid getting in trouble.
She was successful, and my heart was broken. I guess I wasn’t allowed to link him. “He said no and that you should prepare
everything needed and leave the room when it is evening. He does not want to find you there when it is time for him to tend to
her,” She said with a tinge of sadness.
They believed I had feelings for him, and she had told me to be hopeful, but now she knew better.

“Very well, it means we have time to chat,” I said with a smile, trying to make it seem like it did not bother me, but it bothered me
a lot. Ania’s smile dropped, and I knew she had something to tell.
“Tell me, it is okay,” I said, bracing myself for it. “We are to remain there in the evening and assist him,” she said, and I smiled.
“I am the only one that shouldn’t be there. In other words, he does not want to see me,” I said, and she nodded.
I shrugged my shoulders and brushed it aside. “Well, I have ample time to catch up on me-time,” I said, and Lisa smiled.
“I am glad you are strong, Aliana. Unlike what Ania said, I am pleading with you not to get your heart invested. You are a
werewolf, and our kinds don’t mix. He wouldn’t damn the rules for your sake because he plans to be King one day, meaning he
would have to take a Lycan queen. Just enjoy the moment while it lasts, and hopefully, when he is satisfied, he will send you
back to your father,” She said.
I knew that was the most honest advice anyone had given me since I got into this mess.
I hugged her, fighting my tears because she was right, and we headed to the Queen’s room.
I wasn’t as jovial as I used to be. I worked like a machine. It was as if I was moving on muscle memory.
My mind was muddled up. I repeated awful things, and my hatred of Nikolas and the Lycans grew.
He did not have to do this to me. I could have still been a slave and had the opportunity to settle down with my kind. This was
wicked, and the mixed signal he gave me was cold.
I was so carried away that the bowl of soup in my hand fell while I fed the Queen, and it burned both of us.
She screamed and snarled at me, then hit me with her hand.
I deserved it, while I picked up the broken pieces of the plate, my hands shook, and I was afraid.
Lisa and Ania weren’t the only ones there, the three men Nikolas asked to help me with her were there, and I was scared. Most
of it poured on me, but some splashed on her.
Tears streamed down my cheeks while I picked up the shards.
My hands were shaking, and my heart was beating fast.

I knew the door would soon open, and I had no idea what Nikolas would do to me. Lisa came to help me to steady my hands. I
did not know I had cut myself in the process.
“Breathe, Aliana, please breathe,” she said, and I looked at her, tears streaming down my cheek.
“I am scared,” said. For the first time, I confessed that I was afraid. The same Nikolas that was kind to my people could take out
his rage on them for this.
Just as I expected, the door burst open, and I looked up Nikolas entered with Gamma Ingham. I bowed my head immediately.
Ania knelt in front of me and started pleading. “The plate accidentally sl*ipped Alpha, it wasn’t intentional,” She said, and I heard
Ingham laughing.
“I told you. How will the Queen heal when we have bound her with silver?” Ingham said, stating an obvious problem. However, I
took the brunt of it.
“Look at me,” I heard Nikolas command me, and I knew I had to look at him.
I looked up at him, and my fear would not allow me to form the right words. “Please,” was all I could manage. He walked past me
and went to his mother, who was already calm.
While he attended to his mother, Gamma Ingham came to me and pulled me by my hair. I stifled my cries because I did not want
Nikolas’s mother to be startled.
He pulled so tightly that I thought he planned to pull my hair out of my scalp.
“Please, please, please,” I pleaded. “W*ho*res should be treated like w*ho*res,” he said, tugging hard.
“Ingham!” Nikolas cautioned him. “Do not touch what is mine,” He warned him, and the man let me go instantly, but it happened
so fast that I fell.
I remained on my knees. “I hope you know what you are doing. Alpha. Your w*ho*re is high maintenance,” He said, and Nikolas
ordered him to get out. Ingham left, and so did the three men in the room.
“Next time, be more careful. This should not happen again. You may go,” Nikolas said to me without looking at me, and I thanked
him and scrambled to my feet.
I left him with Ania and Lisa and dreaded the days ahead.

What if that job is taken from me? I wondered what he would ask me to do.
While I walked, I wept and scolded myself. I was too caught up in myself that I got clumsy. Nikolas had let me off easy, but I
wondered what the cost would be.
Two months passed, and Nikolas remained the same. I wasn’t allowed to link him. I had to go through Ania and Lisa if I had to
tell him anything.
I cared for his mother in the mornings and ensured I was out of sight in the evenings. He did not send for me, and I had let it go. I
spent my free time reading and talking to my wolf. I missed shifting and going hunting. I missed the sun. It only touched my skin
when I stood by the window in the mornings.
I wished my window faced the inner compound. I might have caught glimpses of my father and friends and maybe even gotten to
wave at them, but my window faced the inner garden where the Lycan women swam, sunbathed, partied and did all sorts of
things.
Nikolas attended some of the parties too. I usually turned off the light in my room during those hours so no one would see me
when I peeked.
I envied all of them.
They were having the time of their lives, I wonder if my life would be this bad if I were a Lycan.
I tried to read books of weres turned into Lycans, but just as I had suspected, it was a myth. Some people believed it was used to
explain away b*astar*ds in the olden days.
I would link with my father whenever I could. All he had to tell me were good things. I knew he was lying, but I lied to him, too, so
we were even.
Another month passed, and nothing changed. I realised that would be my life henceforth.
Ania and Lisa were attending to something, so I had no choice but to attend to the Queen alone. When I got to her room, I found
that she was sleeping. She was supposed to be awake. I decided to sit and wait for her, not wanting to trouble her to sleep.
That was when I heard the doorknob turn. To my dismay, Gamma Ingham entered, and I stood up immediately and bowed my
head. “Good morning, Gamma,” I said, and he did not bother to answer.

“Sitting idly,” he said, and I did not respond. He walked to me and touched my chin to lift my head so I could look at him. He
pressed my cheeks together with his fingers, and his eyes looked at me coldly.
“I won’t let Alpha lose sight of his goal. Soon he would see you as what you are. A worthless werewolf and the daughter of a
treacherous fool,” he said, and I held my tongue.
I dared not scream because of the Queen, and I doubted I would be in the right if anything terrible happened.
The b*astar*d pushed me against the wall, making me hit the back of my head, and he began to ruff me up with his hands.
Touching me. “Alpha will soon send you for general use, and I will teach you what we do to w*ho*res”, he said, and I pushed his
hands away when he tried to touch my b*rea*st.
He slapped me in response, and it was hard enough for me to taste blood in my mouth. “Did Alpha not tell you that you and your
kind serve the four of us?” He asked me, squeezing my neck and breathing close to my ears. My knees and thighs were
together, so he couldn’t touch me because I knew what he wanted. I could feel his hard-on poking me.
“Take it up with him,” I shot back, ready to d*ie.
I liked Nikolas, so it was okay for him to touch me. I wanted him to touch me, but this douchebag wouldn’t get to do anything to
me. As much as I loved my father, I would d*ie first. He pulled away from me and then slapped me until I fell.
“I will treat you like the w*ho*re that you are. I will make your life miserable, and Nikolas will thank me for it. You bloody werewolf
b*itc*h. You escaped me today, but it won’t be for long,” he said, and I heard the door open. Ania and Lisa walked in, and I knew
why he pulled away. They bowed their heads to him, and he walked away quickly.
Ania rushed to me and helped me up. “So sorry, Aliana. He is the worst of the four of them, and he does this all the time. He
knows we can’t tell Alpha. He is now fixated on you, your case is worse because you have been cut off,” she said, and I refused
to cry even though tears stung my eyes. My skin crawled, and I wanted to scrub his scent off me.
Understanding what I wanted, Ania told me to return to my room, and they would handle the Queen when she woke up.
I thanked her quickly and hurried back to my room.
I locked my door for the first time.
I went to the bathroom, stripped down my clothes, and stood under the hot shower. I did not know I was crying until a sob
escaped my l*ips.

“We will be okay, Aliana. Nikolas won’t let him harm us...” Raven said, and I laughed at my wolf.
“We have been cut off, Raven. Nikolas isn’t going to save us from his men,” I told her, and she receded.