Chapter 25

It was dark, but the bright moonlight helped illuminate the night, so bright that a werewolf could see brightly without gleaming their wolf eyes. The rain descended heavily from the firmament, and Michael found himself standing under the cloudburst in the middle of the scanty forest; he had no idea of the exact place he was. 

He hurried to search for a place to hide to avoid getting drenched by the rain. He stopped and studied himself, noticing he wasn't getting wet by the rain. It took him some time to realise that he was in Nicholas's memory. He wondered why Nicholas had brought him here. 

A while later, he heard sounds. It was not the rumbling of thunder, nor was it the roaring of winds, or the heavy rain drops that fell to the ground; it was heartbeats. He heard two heartbeats. Listening closely, he heard indistinct voices. He ventured deeper into the forest, trying to locate where the voice came from. He shuffled through the trees, and the voice became vivid. He walked further till he came out of the woods into a small bush with clear paths. 

"Please, Nico, you have to help me. My kingdom can't fight the avians alone. They sent a message that they'll be attacking tomorrow at sunrise. " One of the men spoke He was tall and brawny. His dark hair was sleeping on his shoulders, swaying slightly as he moved. 

"I told you, Benjamin, the regular werewolves don't want to be part of the war. Maybe you should try to make peace with the avians. " Michael immediately recognized Nicholas's voice. His hair was all piled up at the back, rolled into a doughnut. He looked just five years younger than he is in reality.

Like humans, werewolves and avians age, but they age a hundred times slower after crossing their twenties. 

The both men were shirtless, exposing their chiseled chests, but the thick, hairy cloak obscured the majority of them.

They wore simple leather trousers, and black shoes, but the chrysolites and sapphires worn around their wrists and necks screamed royalty. 

"These are words your brother should be saying, not you. You're the destroyer; you don't make peace. " Benjamin tried to hide his fury as he spoke.

"Theodore, the avianwolf, is succouring the avians. He took advantage of the resentment between werewolves and avians to initiate the war. He wants to be the most powerful being, and you, as a primordial alpha, he thinks you might be a threat. Primordial werewolves have no chance of winning this war. " Nicholas said.

"We can if you just get your people to fight with us. You're my last hope, Nico. You're the destroyer and a beta, the warrior leader, you have the authority to make the regular warriors fight with us." Benjamin persuaded.

"I'm sorry, but I can't get my people killed. If they must fight in this war, they do so of their own free will. You're the one the avianwolf wants. I can find a safe place for you to stay till the war is over. " Nicholas said.

"No!" Benjamin yelled, "I'm not turning my back on my pack. Even if everybody turned their backs on us, I never thought you would. I thought we made a promise to always have each other's backs. " Benjamin retreated slowly.

"Ben, right now, I'm making a decision as a leader that I'm going to be We're no longer children, we're adults, heirs to the thrones. Sometimes, it means making a hard choice." Nicholas paused and gazed directly into Benjamin's eyes. "Even if it means hurting your best friend."

"So, that's it? You're just going to let us die. " Benjamin raised his head to the sky, the now reduced rain that was almost a drizzle, fell on his face. He fought back his welled-up tears. "I will never forgive you for this." He let the tears fall freely, but it wasn't noticeable as his face was wet. His hair, dripping onto his back, shoulders, and face.

Michael watched with a sad expression on his face as Benjamin walked away. Nicholas called, but he turned deaf ears on him. Dipping his legs carelessly in the mud, he walked close to his horse and jumped on it.

Nicholas hop on his horse and turned away in the opposite direction and he instantly found himself in the palace. He saw Nicholas knelt before his father, the king, with his face bowed, who was seated comfortably on his throne. Despite seeing his son, he still had a scornful look on his face. He pleaded with his father to let the warriors fight with the primordial werewolves, but his father simply dismissed him with a wave of the hand. It was like they'd had the discussion before.

Michael noticed the king looking at him with a smile on his face, his eyes gleaming with felicity. He frowned, wondering why the king could see him, let alone be excited about it as if he had ever known him. He later realised the king wasn't looking at him; it was more like he was looking through him.

He looked behind him and saw a young man walking into the throne room, younger than Nicholas. He was dressed in an antiquated, luxurious attire with gem stones worn on his wrist and neck. 

He walked closer, directly behind Michael.

Michael drifted to the side and watched as he walked over to the king. "Father," he bowed. 

The disdainful look on the king's face when his first son greeted him was the exact opposite expression he had when his second son entered the throne room. The king undoubtedly loved the second son and hated the first.

They had a short, courteous conversation, and he left the king's presence following the same passage Nicholas used. 

Michael blinked and saw himself in another room. Nicholas and his brother were in one of the chambers. They were debating something.

"Do you want a human to be the Queen? To rule over werewolves? " Nicholas's brother hollered.

"Robert, she's my mate. I didn't force or beg the goddess to pair me with a human. " Nicholas spoke in a more calm tone.

"That's a shame for our clan! Father is never going to let that happen. You're not fit to rule, Nicholas." Robert spoke in the same harsh tone he had used earlier.

"Enough, Robert!" Nicholas retorted more harshly. "Do you think being mated to a witch is appropriate?" He chuckled slightly. "You're just as doomed."

"Zoe is a very powerful witch. She's not as fragile as humans. Being mated to Cleo gives you limited chances of inheriting the throne. " Robert said as he walked out of the chamber.

Nicholas walked up to his bed and sat on it, thinking deeply. His brother was right; he was the first son, the heir to the throne. His father wouldn't grant him the throne if he realized that his mate was human. The villagers would never be okay with being ruled by a human.

He also thought of Benjamin, he would be despondent, he was about to loose his pack. Nicholas stood up and started packing his weapons. Since the warriors wouldn't fight for the primordials, he decided to go alone. They both promised to be there for each other. He would be breaking that promise if he turned his back on him now that he needed him the most.

He headed out, and Michael was surprised that the king didn't stop his heir from embarking on a suicide mission. Nicholas mounted on his horse and rode throughout the night to Benjamin's kingdom. When he arrived, he found it demolished in flames. He searched all over for any survivors, but everyone in the village were dead. Some were burned to ashes by phoenixes. 

He didn't see Benjamin. He tried linking minds with him, but he couldn't reach him. He knelt down in the middle of the village and growled at the dawning sky, his eyes gleaming blue. He had let his best friend down; Benjamin had saved his life once, and he wasn't here to return the favor.

***********

Robert went to the throne room and started pacing the room, causing a frown on his father's forehead.

"What is it that bothers you, my son?" The king asked.

"Father, Nicholas is mated to a human and you still want to grant him the throne? The elders won't approve. " Robert stopped pacing.

"He's the eldest son; he's the rightful heir." The king spoke.

"You're going to let a human be the queen?" Robert frowned.

"Don't forget, your mother was a human and you're also mated to an outlander." 

"That is why mother didn't live long. Humans are burdens and liabilities.

"Think about the danger you'll be putting the pack into by granting Nicholas the throne." Robert said, anger clear in his voice. "My mate is an outlander, yes, but she can rule the kingdom and help us in fighting battles."

"As long as Nicholas has found his mate, he gets the throne." The king spoke, and Robert bowed angrily before storming out of the throne room.

*************

Michael found himself somewhere in another part of Nicholas's memory. His face brightened when he saw his mother. He had last seen her when he was six, fifteen years ago. But he still remembered her pale skin, her ebony long hair, her hazel eyes, and, overall, her beautiful face. She held a baby in her arms and kept addressing him as her son. She lived with them in the palace, which meant that she had undergone the mating ritual with Nicholas.

Michael frowned slightly. He came here to find out his real parents, and now he's more confused than he was. He knew the child his mother was carrying was not him; it was too early for him to be born. It was like ten years before his birth, so it was also not Chris. His curiosity was heightened when his mother called the child Trevor.

He felt Nicholas trying to shut him out of his memory, but he fought to stay. He wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

He saw how Trevor grew in Nicholas's memory, the sad ones and the happy ones. It reminded him of when he was little. They were a happy family until his mother died.

*

On a bright afternoon, Nicholas was in the field having a training section with his ten-year-old son when he saw Benjamin from afar walking towards him. He frowned. His emotions were mixed with bewilderment and a hint of happiness.

"You're alive." Nicholas watched Benjamin as he approached them. 

"And my pack isn't. You betrayed me, Nico. "

"What are you talking about? I know I let you down, but I came back to fight with you, but I was late. " 

"Enough of the act!" Benjamin yelled. "I was caught off guard. The avians attacked at the exact time I was out talking to you. Is that a coincidence? You lured me out so I would not be there to protect my pack. "

"Ben, I did no such thing." Nicholas said.

Benjamin sped up to Nicholas and hurled him to the air with a punch in the torso. Trevor gasped. He ran towards Benjamin and threw frail punches and kicks at him.

Even if Benjamin was enraged, he didn't want to drag the little child into the fight he was having with his father.

He pushed the boy aside and stalked towards Nicholas, who was struggling to get on his feet. "I'm not going to fight you, Benjamin." He groaned.

"I'm going to kill you and every single person in your pack." Benjamin spitted through clenched teeth. He clawed at Nicholas's chest, and he fell to his knees. He kicked his jaw and fell flat to the ground. He pulled Nicholas to his feet and growled, attempting to dig his already elongated fangs into his neck when Cleo, who was heavily pregnant, pushed Nicholas from his grip and his fangs dug into her neck.

He pulled back immediately when he realized he was hurting a pregnant woman.  Stumbling backwards, he watched as Cleo collapsed to the ground, her hand covering her bleeding stomach. He gazed at his claws and found blood dripping; he didn't know he had clawed at her stomach while biting her neck. He was having a contrition. He accelerated out of the field.

Cleo laid on the ground, winding and growling in pain. The clawing on her stomach was very deep. She was trembling uncontrollably, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Nicholas frowned. This was abnormal. She couldn't be reacting to the bite just yet.

He grabbed her and carried her into the village. He rushed to the infirmary and explained what had happened to the healers. After a while, they returned to Nicholas and told him that his wife is in transition and the baby she is carrying is too.

"What?" Nicholas screamed, "The child already has a regular werewolf gene in him."

"Yes," the healer nodded, "but he's still unborn and part human, whatever affects his mother, affects his human side."

"So you're saying, if Cleo turns into a primordial wolf, the child turns too?"

"Yes." The healer nodded. "Part of him."

"And what if her body rejects it?"

"She dies the baby..." 

Nicholas felt the world spin before his eyes. The healer's remaining words became irrelevant to him as his ears couldn't catch them. He walked away, trying not to feel glum. He couldn't stand the thought of losing two loved ones in one day. 

His father heard the news, and there was not even a hint of sadness in his eyes. What kind of ruthless man is he? Michael wondered aloud.

News came later that day that the Queen had delivered another male child and she was back to human.

"Why?" Nicholas asked.

"The child saved his mother. Her body rejected it, but the human side of the child accepted it."

"So, my son is a primordial and a regular werewolf?" Nicholas asked.

"Primordials have a strong gene, so it took most of him." 

Nicholas knew how much his father despised primordials for their extraordinary powers and abilities, and he never allowed anything to be associated with them and the primordials. Nicholas made friends with them instead, which was mostly the reason why the father disliked him, aside from the fact that he was a destroyer. His father would at times call him the 'treacherous son'.

*

While destroyers don't, peacemakers have a dark side which can be activated through pain, anger, and raringly wanting something. 

Robert's eagerness and persuasion from Zoe to inherit the throne were activating his dark side.

He strode to his brother's chamber one evening and knocked on the door.

"Nicholas, I'd like a word." Robert yelled from outside.

Nicholas opened the door and invited him in, but he refused and went straight to the point.

"I've come to you to issue a beta challenge."

"What?" Nicholas never expected that from Robert. "You can't possibly want that." 

"Tomorrow, at noon." Robert turned around to leave.

"What happens to my family if I lose?" Nicholas's words made him pause for a while.

"I decide that, as a matter of fact, we need more servants and slaves." Robert smirked and left.

Nicholas stood by the door and pondered. He didn't want to do the beta's challenge, but he had no choice. Once it's been issued, it can't be refused. 

"What is it?" Cleo asked. 

"Uh..." Nicholas shut the door. "Robert wants a beta challenge." 

"What does that mean?" Cleo frowned.

"When two brothers want to inherit the throne, they go on a beta's challenge in which one must die." Nicholas explained.

"You won't accept it, right?" Cleo stood up.

"Once issued, it can't be refused."

"What are you going to do now?" She asked, walking up to him.

"I don't know." Nicholas walked past her and headed to the bed, sitting on it. I'm so confused. Why would Robert want to fight me over my birth right?" 

Cleo went to the bedside and sat close to him, softly stroking his back. 

Nicholas went to his sons' room the next morning and sat beside them as they continued to sleep peacefully. He didn't want to do the beta's challenge; he knew he couldn't kill the brother, not that he wasn't powerful, but because he was a destroyer, and he didn't want to activate his destruction. But if he lose, his family would be turned into slaves and servants, and he wouldn't want that.

He decided to give the throne to Robert. He loved his family more than he wanted to head the pack. He stood up and walked out of his children's chamber and headed towards Robert's.

He walked through the passages, taking turns after turns. He heard Robert's and Zoe's voices not too far away. 

"I issued Nicholas a beta challenge. It'll take place today at noon. " Robert said to Zoe.

"Nicholas won't do that; he hasn't activated his destruction." Zoe spoke, and Michael thought the voice to be familiar. He strode up to them and looked at Zoe's face. Not that they could hear him, but he stopped the gasp that was about to escape his throat with a hand on his mouth. It was Elsa. She looked a little bit older than she was in reality. He couldn't understand why Elsa was an adult in a memory that happened seventeen years ago.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's going to offer me the throne to prevent it, and when he does, I'll make sure I banish his human mate and primordial son from this kingdom. They don't belong here.

Nicholas hid himself behind the wall and listened to what they were saying. He changed his mind. If he gave up the throne, his mate and son would be banished. If he fought and lost, his brother had promised to enslave his whole family.

He rushed back to his chamber and flung the door open, trembling in anger. "I'm going to take the beta's challenge."

"Why?" Cleo asked.

"Robert wants to get rid of me and my sons. He sees them as a threat to him in the future. I won't let that happen." Nicholas rushed to where his armour and weapons were. He grabbed his well-forged silver sword.

He was heading out when he heard Cleo's soft voice call his name. He paused in his tracks. "Feed on me." She whispered.

"No, Cleo, you'll die." Nicholas shook his head.

"Drink from my blood. The blood of a werewolf's mate makes him stronger, right?"

"How did you know that?" Nicholas questioned.

"I've been here long enough to know such things. Come on! " She moved a little closer to him, but he adjusted backwards.

"Cleo, no, if I bite you without the mating pull, you'll turn into a werewolf."

"I don't want to lose you, Nicholas. Robert's dark side is turned on, you can't defeat him if you don't activate your destruction. Bite me! " She walked up to him and made sure there was no space between them. "I said, feed on me, Nico!" 

Nicholas shook his head and stumbled backwards, knowing he needed it but not wanting to hurt her. "What if your body rejects it?"

"Our sons can survive without me, but they can't without you. Bite me! " She yelled, the whites of her eyes turning red. She bared her neck and tilted her head, exposing her silky pale neck.

Nicholas's eyes glowed blue, his canines elongated. He held her close and sank his fangs into her flesh. She groaned. Her heart was breathing profusely in her chest. She didn't expect the pain. She thought it would be like when he was marking her, but it wasn't. This pain was excruciating. She began to feel light-headed, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

"Nicholas, sto... stop." She stuttered. She just activated his destruction.

He pushed her to the ground with force, his face void of any emotion. He growled, snarling a little. He turned around and stormed out of the room. 

Cleo placed her hand on her neck and struggled to get to her bed. Nicholas walked across the field. His fangs and claws were out. "Robert!!" He called with a growl.

"Brother, you've activated your destruction." When Robert noticed, he was surprised and scared. "Come out now." Robert flashed his gaze at the woods around them.

Nicholas looked around and realised he was ambushed. He walked right into their trap. He got surrounded by regular warriors. He noticed the silver spears and arrows. "This is supposed to be one-on-one combat." Nicholas snarled.

"I knew that human mate of yours would find a way to turn on your destruction. Do you really think I'm going to risk my life by fighting you alone? Attack him!! " 

The warriors ran towards Nicholas; he growled and attacked back. He zoomed across the field like lightning, pulling out hearts, stabbing them in the heart with his silver sword. He got shot a couple of times with the silver arrows. He sighted the archer and hurled a spear at him, which bored his heart and killed him instantly.

He killed all of them and was standing in the middle of the dead werewolves with blood, streaming all over the field. 

"They did a great job of weakening you though, but like they say, if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself." He removed his cloak and hurled it across the field. Readying himself, he shot out his claws and fangs, growling loudly before attacking.

Robert was beating Nicholas in the fight, he broke his leg and his nose. He was drenched in blood, which he couldn't tell if all were particularly his blood.

Nicholas fell to his knees before his brother who was stroding around him as he gloated. He paused in front of him and thrust his hand into Nicholas's chest, clutching at his heart.

Nicholas inhaled sharply with his mouth, his face adapting a light shade of red. The veins in his head swelled.

"Should I kill your children, or banish them? Don't worry about your mate; she'll make a fine slave." He attempted to pull Nicholas's heart from his chest, but he caught his wrist. He reached for his silver sword and drove it through Robert's heart.

Robert gasped. He fell to his knees and gazed at Nicholas in the eye. "I'm sorry," he muttered and fell to the ground, pulling his hands, which were covered in blood, from Nicholas's chest.

Nicholas felt all the rage slip away along with his destruction. His eyes moved to his brother's body. He suddenly felt remorse, and agony rushed in, "What have I done?" He said it in a whisper, and tears fell freely.

"No!" Zoe yelled from afar. She walked closer to him and cast a spell with a wave of her hand. hurling him across the field.

She ran to Robert, who was already dead. She tightened her fist on his shirt. Swelling with anger, she released a bit of it with a scream, causing a windstorm. She stood up and held her fist to the face of Nicholas, who felt a strong force around his neck. He struggled to free himself from the force, but it was too strong. She lifted him off the ground and sent him crashing into a tree where he fell to the ground and collapsed.