The Lycan King novel Chapter 88

Avalyn

The first walk that I had with Papa seemed ages ago. All of us had been very busy after that. We hardly saw each other. Especially Nik and I. But we had developed a schedule.

He would wake me up early in the morning with either breakfast in bed and then a we would go for a short run around the pack or engage in early morning sex and and then a quick breakfast before we parted ways.

The first task that the entire pack did was break down the wall on which the heads of wolves hung. Those heads were hung on Emilio's orders as a reminder to the pack about what would happen to them if they upset him in any way. The heads were removed and were lit on pyres by their friends and family so that the wolves would finally attain peace on the other side of the moon.

Max had been given the task of searching the houses of the wolves for black money and checking their accounts for any sort of discrepancies. Most of the wolves from the Rogue pack had split into groups to search the houses because they would be unbiased. Max's friend Daniel was great with numbers and knew trustworthy people who could help us out with scanning through all the accounts discretely.

Dimitri and Natalia were given the task of training the wolves everyday. It was difficult for them for the first couple of days because they were not used to getting up so early in the morning and training for such long hours. But Dimitri and Nat were ruthless in handing out punishments to slackers and late comers in form of laps around the entire pack or having to spar either one of them. And having their ass handed back to them by a female was something these men weren't used to. Training the females was a slow process because none of them knew how to fight but having an attractive, mateless and flirty male as their trainer was working wonders.

Nik owned a telecommunications company and had them come up for three days straight to set up towers and network lines and things of those sort which increased the internet speed to 4G. The teenagers in the pack were very happy. Symon was the one who looked over the workings of this and made sure the humans never strayed to far or get suspicious. Phasing into your wolf was banned for the time the humans came in.

Papa and I were given the task of mending the relations with the other packs. They were a bit sore because Montana had become a recluse pack for the last ten years, denying help or trade or transfers or a passage. But having Papa helped because most of the Alphas knew and respected him. Once the relations were smoothened, trade was opened again. Those packs had been taking refugees from Montana pack too so we were hoping from them to apply to come back too. Trade with Mystic Lupus Pack was closed. A small part of our border touched theirs and there was strict security especially in that area. It might have something to do with the fact that it was Nik's father's pack.

We also looked over the storing and allocation of all the goods. The rationing of food was banned. Each wolf could now have as much food as they wished. The taxes from food items were lifted. The people were happy.

All of these expenditures were made out of the money Max had collected from the pack. And we had a lot more money to spare. A lot of people were delirious but a lot more people were delighted.

I had asked if he would like to start building the Pack House again but he said he had different plans and that he needed to think them through before he tells me or anyone else about it.

The group of young males and females that had volunteered had been very helpful and showed a promise of greater potential for when they grow older. Nik had mentioned that he needed younger people in the council. They are the future of their pack and their opinions are always welcome.

The elders of the pack were sour about the fact that they had been removed from the council but Nik shut them up with the question that where were they when the pack was attacked and where were their opinions when Emilio was dragging the pack into the mud.

Most of the work for the day would be over by eight and everyone would retire to their homes to rest. All of us would have dinner together but then Nik would retreat back to a cottage at the edge of the town where he had been keeping Emilio and Emmanuel or Vermin and Maggot as he likes to call them. He did not come back to small cottage we share with Tessa until almost one or two in the morning. But he always makes sure that he has had a bath before he comes back. He didn't actually say it to me, but I knew. I also knew that he did it because he didn't want me to see him coated in blood and goddess knows what else.

Today was the the eighth day. And following through our deal, Nik had promised me that he would kill them today. He hadn't come back to the cottage for dinner, he had went to them late in the afternoon and had been at it all day.

But my wolf was restless. I?needed?to see them before he killed them. And I was scared to see them. Of what I will achieve by doing that. I was scared of seeing what their condition would be now. I know that all of my family members had been taking turns throughout the day to go torture them. I was the only one who stayed away. I was scared to see what extent Nik would go to. For me. For his mother. For people whom he loved. I was scared to see Papa like that too. I couldn't imagine him as anything other than the kind, loving and generous father and Alpha he had always been.

Making up my mind, I rose from the couch and made my way out of the cottage. Nik had vaguely told me where the cottage was. So I went in that direction and after about a twenty minute walk, I saw a lone cottage in the distance and a yellow lamp was lit outside the door, like the rest of the cottages. My heart was slamming in my chest. The air around the cottage was... thick somehow, harsher. And I did not miss the pungent smell of blood either.

A terrifying scream met my ears and I paused.

Do I really want to do in there? Do I want to see Nik be the monster he used to claim he was?

I have always seen his sweet, gentle and loving side. Yes, I've seen him pissed off. At me. More than once. But love and care and worry was always present. This would be different. This will be ruthless Nik. Unforgiving and unyielding. Am I really ready?

Yes.

There is no other answer. I love Nik, irrecoverably and unconditionally. All of him. And this is a part of him.

Without overthinking anymore, I walked up to the cottage and opened the door.

Nikolai swung around and his dark, wild eyes met mine. The ripped jeans he was wearing was snug on him. He was shirtless and there was hardly a spot spot on his torso that didn't have drops of blood on it. There was a streak of blood that extended from the left end of his hairline down to the right end of his neck, making him look deadly.

His tongue darted out and licked his bottom lip and the blood on it along with it and I saw his throat move as he gulped it. A pleased look crossed his eye. Like he liked drinking the blood he had shed. Or he liked me seeing him drink the blood he had shed. Like he was proud of it.

My eyes darted around the room and four pair of shocked eyes met mine. Dimitri. Max. Natalia. And Papa. All of them were covered in blood. Papa and Nikolai more that the rest. The whip that was in Papa's hand fell on the wooden floor with a thud.

And the floor... oh goddess the floor. Blood. The entirety of it was filled with it. I wasn't sure it was of just today or the last week too.

"What are you doing here?" Papa asked the same time Nik said, "I was waiting for you."

I took a deep breath but then when the smell of blood, piss and vomit assaulted my senses, I almost hurled.

Nik extended his hand. His bloodied hand. And for some reason, without hesitation, maybe because of habit or because I wanted to, I stepped forward and took it.

Without having any control over my body, without even knowing, I walked inside.

I felt like I was dancing on a dangerous line. The line between good and bad. Light and dark. Heaven and hell. Angel and devil.

But when was it ever bad when Nik was holding my hand?

Nik moved and so did Papa.

And then I saw them. All the air escaped my body.

Both of their heads had no hair, only angry red, burnt mass of tangled skin. Their nose and mouth were bleeding and most of their teeth were missing along with their ears. Emilio had one eye missing, like it had been scooped out if his skull. Their entire torso had wound in the shapes of lines and holes from knives, whips and goddess knows what else. And when my eyes fell near the area between their legs, there was nothing. It was?all?gone.

"Kneel, slaves." Nik growled and both of them jumped to their knees in front of us. Their heads were lowered and their hands were on their thighs. That's when I noticed that their finger's were missing too.

Besides them, I saw dildos. Of various sizes and shapes. There were many more things that even I did not recognise. And I knew quite a lot of them.

"Why did you do it?" My tongue felt thick but I managed to put the words together.

Emilio raised his eyes to look at me before lowering them again. I waited for him to respond. It felt like forever but I knew it hadn't even been a minute. My breaths were harsh and my heart was slamming in my chest. I felt like I couldn't breath.

All my life I had wondered why. Why everything that was happening to me was truly happening to me. And now, I was about to find out.

Nik's leg raised and met his chest, making him fall on his back and his head thudded on the floor.

"You answer when you are asked a question." He growled and then yanked his leash, pulling him upright again.

"I -I loved you." I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming. "But you were always surrounded by boys. And Algebrus." He was my best friend growing up. "And I hated you. Because you were the best at everything, despite being younger than me and being a?girl." He spat."I hated the thought of being the Beta to an female Alpha. Females can't be Alphas.?I?wanted to become the Alpha. And I hated you because I knew you would have been a better Alpha than me. So I hated myself for loving you. And ended up hating you more for it."

My breaths became shallow. And harsh. I had trouble breathing. And comprehending what he was saying. And then a memory flashed across my mind. An old one. One I had had buried deep inside my brain.

"Ava, wakeup. We are under attack," my eyes flew open to see Papa looming over my bed. It took me a second to comprehend what he said. But when I did, I shot out of bed and ran to my closet to take out my gun. Papa had gifted it to me when I first hit the bullseye of the target.

"No,?Firefly. I need you to hide this time, let me do all the work, yeah?" He grabbed my hand and then led me inside the closet. "Close your eyes. Put your fingers over your ears. Don't come out till I come to get you, okay?"

I heard a couple of bangs and then screams and then I quickly nodded and did as Papa asked me, terrified to know what was on the other side of the door. Papa shut the closet door and left. For the next few minutes that felt like hours, I heard nothing. The occasional sound of bullets flying penetrated my ears even though I hadn't taken my fingers away. My heart was racing. I wanted to help Papa. I wanted to save my pack. I am going to be?the?Alpha.?And?Alphas are strong, they don't hide.

Sorry Papa.

I opened my eyes and ears and?pulled?out my gun and crept out.

I walked out of my bedroom and I saw a dead body for the first time. It smelt dirty. Like rogues. His eyes were open and his jaw was slackened. There was a hole on his forehead from where he was bleeding. I covered my mouth to muffle my scream, controlled my tears and ran towards our living room. In the hallway, I saw two more bodies. Breathless and unable to find anyone, I?continued running?towards our living room. I knew I should have been calm and collected. But I couldn't. I can't loose Papa. He's all I have. I began hyperventilating. I couldn't breathe.

The entire pack house was silent. Just little murmurs of adults.?Not Papa though.?There was blood on the walls. I saw dead pack members. I gagged and then covered my mouth.

And then I saw Uncle Emmanuel talking to people in low voices. He whirled around and his eyes widened when he saw me. "Avalyn."

The gun in my hand fell on the floor with a clang. "Uncle. Where's Papa?"

He shifted a little to face me. And that's when I saw Papa, lying on the floor, unmoving. A knife impaled in his stomach and a pool of blood around him.

My head spun.

And just like that, I lost the person I loved the most in the world and became an orphan. The floor beneath my feet shifted. Black dots danced across my vision, and then my legs stopped holding me up and the last thing I remembered was the pounding headache before I blacked out.

"But none of it was my fault." A tear splashed down my cheek and I took an involuntary step back. I blamed myself for everything that was happening to me. Not knowing any better, I thought that I must have done something to deserve this.

And now I just came to know that none of it was. It was all because of his greed for power and self loathing.

Mrs. Maria gave me an apron and I wore it. Tears rose up my eyes and I lowered them so she wouldn't notice. Today was the first day in six months I had gathered the energy to get out of bed and talk to anyone. I had cut off from everyone. I was mad at the world, at myself. But today was Papa's birthday. And I wanted to bake him a cake, even if he wasn't here.

"I have?taken out?all the ingredients. Do you want to try and crack the eggs, sweetie?" She asked. She instinctively knew something was wrong and she tipped my head up.

"Oh, dear," she pulled me in a hug. "Your Papa wouldn't want you to cry, he would want you to be happy."

"That's what Uncle Emmanuel says too," I bit my lip, trying hard to not sob and break down. It hurt. So much. It felt like my heart would burst into little pieces. Two people who were made to love me were dead. Maybe I'm cursed. Maybe loving me was the end of them.

Tears rose in Mrs. Maria's eyes and she looked around before she grabbed my hands. "I'm going to tell you something, honey. Listen to me carefully, okay?" She whispered so low that even I barely heard it. "Promise me you will not act any differently. Your safety is of utmost importance. They will kill both of us if they know that we know." She looked scared but determined.

"What is it, Mrs. Maria?" I asked, wiping my tears, curious now.

"We weren't attacked my rogues, Avalyn. It was Emmanuel's plan." She told me. From the glint in her eye, I knew she was speaking the truth. But it can't be, can it? Uncle Emmanuel took care of me like Papa did. He loves me. He has ever since I can remember. I rubbed my chest, right over my heart. It hurts. He wouldn't do that. He can't. He's Papa's Beta. He's Papa's best friend!

"You're lying!" I accuse.

"It's the truth. Look, you can't tell anyone. They'll kill us. But I can't see you love him like that. He killed your father. I can't see you replace your father with him," she was in tears too. "I think he wanted to become the Alpha. That's why he planned this." And somewhere, deep down, I knew that it was the truth, Mrs. Maria would never lie to me. She was Papa's closest friend, more than Uncle Emmanuel's too.

I ran to my bedroom and collapsed on my bed and wept. Mrs. Maria came in, "Avalyn," her voice shook.

"Maria." I heard a voice and stilled. I turned around to see Uncle Emmanuel standing on the door with a smile. He turned to look at me, "I see you finally know the truth." And then he turned to look at Mrs. Maria, "you sneaky little human. Thank goddess I found out," and then he pulled his gun, aimed at Mrs. Maria. "Now I'll have to kill you before you tell more people."

I heard the sound of the bullet go off. And then I heard a heartbreaking scream. And then blood. It was everywhere. All over my room. I was screaming. I was crying and thrashing.

"I was going to be kind and let you love your life. Not anymore."

Anger filled me. Hot, red, uncontrollable anger. Unlike I have ever felt before.

I took another step back before I would lash out but my back met a chest. A very warm and broad chest.

"My son has finally come back to me," Emmanuel opened his arms to hug his son.

Emilio hugged his father back, "yeah well, Mom found her mate. He isn't too fond of me."

"Mates are useless." Emmanuel rolled his eyes. "Slaves??now those are useful. And it's about time you have one of your own. Consider it my gift to you, you've just turned eighteen anyways, right?" Slaves? What the hell are they talking about.