Forged in the Flames by Karima Sa'ad Usman

I had finally achieved my dream. Taking over the forest territory had been embedded in my mind for years.

My mother, Isabelle, blamed my father, Mathias, for being lenient and kind. Unlike the Lycan King of the snow territory, my father allowed the werewolves to live freely in his Kingdom.

His kindness had given them the bright idea of making Forest their haven. Led by Gabriel Nowak, they destroyed my father’s Kingdom and murdered him in cold blood.

The day my mother finally lost her sanity remained embedded in my mind.

I would have lost my left eye, but I was lucky.

I tied my mother in chains and cared for her.

She never spoke to me again; she never recognised me again. She was an empty shell.

Every day, I would check on her, hoping, just like before, she would snap out of it, but she never did.

Bane, my wolf, came to me when I turned fourteen. It gave me hope that I could reverse my mother’s predicament by becoming her Alpha, but it never happened; she never regained her sanity for me to absorb her into my pack. I spent my time caring for her and training myself.

Slowly my father’s goals became my goals. My mother’s revenge became my revenge, but I knew it would be impossible if I did it alone; that was when I decided to start my pack, and rogues were my choice for members.

I met Qusack, my Beta, when I turned fifteen, and we have remained friends ever since. We started building the pack when we turned sixteen. He had been loyal ever since we met.

My pack members needed me to keep their sanity, and I needed them to enact my revenge.

After almost thirteen years of building a pack and conquering packs to take over their lands and carve a niche for myself, I had finally taken over my father’s territory.

I had finally conquered the people that destroyed him.

I had taken away the freedom he gave them and treated them as they should have been treated; as slaves.

The werewolves were nothing but slaves, and Forest will no longer be their haven.

Looking at the man that led the attack on my family humbling himself before me gave me some joy, but it did not cure my pain.

I knew killing him wouldn’t be better than letting him live to suffer the consequences of his actions.

He had the effrontery to ask me for mercy where his daughter was concerned, but did he have mercy on my pregnant mother?

Did he give her her honour and cover her shame?

to make him pay for everything he did. I knew I would have no joy until I had restored

I was mad that I let her stay the night. It was the rule I never broke, and Bane knew it, so I was angry at my wolf for

and piqued my interest,

not care how well my wolf and body responded to her or how much I wanted

I did not care.

of a treacherous race. I would banish my want for her and

with rage, and she

fell

she may be, the girl was an offspring of my enemy and the one that lived the life that was stolen

left the room immediately, and I felt alone; the feeling was from Bane, and it was overwhelming. It

have to be cruel. I was the one that asked her to stay,” Bane argued, and I did

a meeting in the morning with my officers, and

do with her?” Bane asked me curiously, and

to a slave whore. Have some fun and then pass her around, but never grant her

his voice that I knew my wolf would not share. I did not know

was sane. He did not see what happened when she lost it and how I had to survive. He wasn’t a part of the true pain

just joking,” I told my wolf, and he

will tease him about

Werewolves are treacherous. Mother told me all about them. It will be sad if I end up like my father because we

got dressed

you?” I asked Qusack, my

alpha’s office where you should be,” he replied,

easy to

on the ground floor after the

went in, and Qusack was

I

he think I could not read? I might have grown in

mother was educated, and she made sure I was educated too. She stole books for

on here?” I asked him,

that you are the Alpha of the Forest

a king. We must apply for your Kingship, and the Hill King and Snow King

to do that. I want to make Gabriel suffer for his crimes,” I said, and he looked at me a bit

but you should take it easy on the girl. She wasn’t a part of it,” Qusack said, and

their grudge? But I was made to suffer, Qusack. I had to chain my mother like a dog at the age of ten. I can never forget it. I have a scar that would always remind me of