Chapter 165 Taafiete

Nikolai

"How the fuck did he enter the pack?" I growled, punching the desk of the conference room.

"We haven't found any traces of him near the borders, Alpha." Andrei replied.

"But we are searching." Ratmir added.

"We are done searching through the north, east and south eastern borders. Mikhail and his team of trackers are searching through the remaining areas as we speak." Natalia said. "We have a lot of area to cover."

"And we have the numbers too!" I growled. "We have guards patrolling the borders day and night. We have special forces searching for him throughout the world. And yet, he manages to enter our pack, unnoticed. This is unacceptable to me!"

"We believe that he had some help from some witch." Max said. "We have found only slight traces of his scent. And that is not enough to track him at all."

"We have witches too. A lot more than him. All of whom that are indebted to us for the rest of their lives. I want answers and not excuses." I gritted.

"We have already put the pack on high alert, Alpha." Symon said. "But we can try by investigating the people. They talk amongst themselves. Someone is bound to know something."

I nodded. "Do that. Any ideas on how to kill him?"

Even if we find him, Adrik is strong and his skin on impenetrable. Even after gaining so much power, I can't say I'll be able to kill him. Decades of sacrificing people has given him a lot of strength.

"The covens are all searching through all the books they have to find out what kind of sacrifice he had done to gain immortality." Arrow said. "It is said that an only one witch knew the spell and he used to keep her locked up. No one had seen her but everyone knew that she existed. He apparently killed her before the war. My best guess is that she was Yolanda's sister Miranda." Arrow looked very sure of this. "And even if we even find that spell, we might not be able to do much but we can try to find a loophole."

If Mom was here, she would've know the spell. She had a way to figure out almost everything Adrik was up to. I tried to remember, to find a clue if Adrik had been up to all of this while we stayed at his house. He always seemed strong to me, but it might be because I was a child and he was an adult—I inherently found him stronger than me. But one weird thing was that I had never seen him spar with anyone or bleed. Ever. The reason for that could be that he wanted to hide his secret from the pack members who thought he could do no wrong. And once they figure out he doesn't bleed, they would find it suspicious. Adrik would avoid that at any cost. He would never want anyone to know he sacrificed people and got involved in black magic.

It was a far-fetched idea but it was a possibility I couldn't eliminate. My gut told me that it was something along those lines. I really wished Mom was here. She would have known.

"You will take your best team to Adrik's house and search the place upside down." I told Arrow. "I know it is burned down but see if you can salvage something using your magic." Arrow nodded.

"Ratmir, send your men with them for protection. You all leave in an hour. We don't have much time. Take a chopper."

"Yes, King Nikolai." He bowed his head.

"We have his blood. If we find something that belongs to him, we can find him. Right?" Dimitri asked.

"The blood isn't enough to do the spell." Anna said.

"Nor do we have anything that belongs to him." Natalia said.

"But we do." Andrei said suddenly.

"The dagger." I remembered. "Call Vanessa and Adrian back from wherever they are." It's time for them to come back home from their holiday in the human world as 'humans'.

"Yes, Alpha." Dimitri nodded.

There was a shift in the air. Things were finally looking a bit better.

"Anything else?" I asked.

Everyone remained silent so I took my leave.

I went to see Viktoria to her bedroom. It's been a while.

"Hey, Princess." I smiled at Tori who was lying on the floor, on her stomach and drawing something on a piece of paper.

Her eyes snapped to mine and then widened. I saw something akin to fear in them. "Hi, Dadda." She said softly, the usual excitement absent.

This was the first time I was talking her to her since what happened in the court room.

"What are you drawing?" I walked inside and took a seat beside her. Didn't she know that she didn't need to fear me?

"I'm drawing my family." She looked down and began drawing again.

I saw something that resembled two girls and two boys.

"Who is whom in this?" She hadn't drawn a beard on anybody. What did she see me as?

"This is me." She pointed at a girl in a pink dress. Figures. "And this is Kol." She pointed at the boy who she is holding hands with.

I choked on my spit.

"Kol?" I echoed. I thought it was Niklaus!

"Yes. Because I like him. And he is going to be my mate." She said and drew a heart around herself and 'Kol'.

"And then this is Klaus. And his mate." She pointed at the other pair.

"Who even taught you all of this?" I asked in disbelief. This isn't her age to think about boys! She should think they have cooties or something.

"It's general knowledge." She replied. "Gabriel is Mama's." She said casually.

"He isn't." I growled.

She flinched at my voice and I instantly felt bad.

"I'm sorry." I said in a much softer tone. "But he isn't your Mama's mate."

"Oh." She gathered her colours and stood up quickly. "I'll ask Kol to help me finish." And then she practically ran out of the room. Like she had been waiting for an opening all this while.

Does she hate me now too?

I have to be a really shitty father for both my kids to hate me.

It still bothered the fuck out of me that they thought he was Avalyn's mate, not me.

I need to let off some steam. And I know just how to do it.

I walked out of her room and Eliyah met me in the hallway.

His eyes lowered and he bowed. "I would like to apologise for the way I acted in the morning."

"Rise." I said and then when he stood up, punched him.

He stumbled back a little and worked his jaw to get the shock out. I didn't hit very hard anyways. Just enough to let him know how to address his King.

"I deserved it." He muttered, wiping the blood from his lip.

"And you're forgiven." I told him.

"Do you know where Avalyn is?" He looked worried. "I can't find her."

"I don't know." I lied smoothly. He'll be a bother if I tell him.

"Are you sure?" He pressed. "She was with you the last time I saw. I'm worried she might do something stupid."

I sighed. The boy's heart was in the right place. And I appreciated him for taking care of her all the damn time, especially when I couldn't. And he will continue to do so when I won't. I respected him and his loyalty. "She's still in my office. She's not going to do anything stupid. But she won't come out. And you can't go in."

"Why?" He asks too many fucking questions.

"You'll know by the end of the day." It's been slightly over nine hours. She's holding up well. But it's only three in the afternoon. She should be done by six, at the most.

I went to my bedroom and wore one of my most prized possessions and then I decided to make a special someone a visit. It's been a while. And I could use a rag doll to remove my frustrations on.

When I reached the dungeon, I placed my hand on the circle and the door slid opened and then slid shut when I entered.

"You know she will hate you right?" He asked when I walked in. "She will hate you if she comes to know you've been holding me captive here."

"Do I look like I care?" I asked lazily as I looked at Gabriel. He was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall.

"No. But then again, you don't care for anybody else." He snorted

"Stand up." I ordered and against his will, his feet pulled him up. All thanks to the Taaffeite collar he had worn and the matching ring on my finger.

"Come here." I ordered again and a snarl left his mouth as he walked to me.

I punched him hard, making him fall down with a scream.

"Stand up." I ordered again and then punched him again, making him fall down, again. He was unconscious now.

I kicked him lightly and he rolled over with a groan.

"You will not pass out." His eyes snapped open at my command. "You will take everything like the bitch that you are."

And then I kicked him a couple of times, breaking and bruising his ribs. I smelled blood and I knew he was bleeding internally. But I've just started. I need to change tactics.

I whipped out my claw.

"How many times have you fucked Avalyn?" I asked.

"Nine." He wheezed out. What the fuck? They were together for four years. How is this possible?

Regardless, I slashed his body nine times, making deep wounds. He was crying and sobbing like a bitch by the end of it.

"Do you love her?" I circled around him.

"Yes." He coughed blood. I really, really fucking hated this guy. And not just because he was Ava's mate. I just didn't like him as a person. His vibe threw me off. He appeared all nice sometimes and then in front of me, he grew all extra smart. Nat didn't like him either. And she was a good judge of character, just like me.

I grabbed him by his throat and threw him against the wall. His head cracked open as it hit the stone wall and he bloodied the wall as he scraped down the wall.

"Did she love you? Did she say the words?" I am a masochist.

He groaned and coughed. "No."

A deep sense of satisfaction filled me. I am the only man she has ever loved.

"S-she might have not said it. But I am a b-better mate than you. I -I never made her c-cry. Or upset her. O-or fought with h-her." He gave me a bloodied smile.

"It's still not you whom she begs to fuck." I growled and his smile dropped.

"You're l-lying." He wheezed.

"You wish." I snorted. "And nine times?" I chuckled as I mocked him. "We had sex more than that in a single night." I used to at least.

I hiss left his body. "Whore."

I growled as I stalked towards him and picked him up by his throat and held him against the wall as I punched his face repeatedly. "Don’t." Punch. "Fucking." Punch. "Call." Punch. "Her." Punch. "That." Punch.

I dropped him on the floor when his face turned blue and his heartbeat slowed down.

I looked at the bloody mess that his face had become. His eyes were both swollen shut and his nose was broken and bleeding and his front tooth was missing as blood dribbled out of his mouth. He still had the audacity to grin. He's a psycho. That's what he is.

Avalyn

I closed my eyes and focused on Nikolai.

He was my anchor. He was my strength. He was the source of my power.

And it was only him whom I love and do anything for. No one else. No one else made me feel like he made me feel. I don't even know why I was ever even confused between him and Gabriel. It has always been Nik, since day one. I don't even know what I was thinking.

And I will do anything to win him back. Even if I have to spend the rest of my life begging for forgiveness. I'll crack him. One day, I will.

I watched the moon in the dark sky. A smile formed on my face. I know he expects me to give up. But if he thinks I'll ever give up on him, he doesn't know me. I'll stay like this, kneeling for as long as he wants. I've spent almost a decade in this position. And while it's been a very long time, this still felt natural. It was like... swimming. Once you know how to stay afloat, you can't drown, once you learn how to swim, you can never unlearn it or forget it. This was like meditation for me.

I sat there in the same position as the sun rose the next day.

My legs were numb and so was my back. But I didn't dare move. This was the test of my life and I intended to pass. Nothing will make me fail. Not even Eli or Dimitri or Nat who had come to the door and knocked, pleading me to open the door and let them in.

The only person coming in was Nikolai.

And the only way I would move was when he asks me to.

The only thing worried me were my kids. But then they hadn't come here once so I knew they had been told something and they were fine. That's all I wished for.

Well that and for Nik to love me again.