Chapter 172 Explanation

Nikolai

We went back to the palace after that.

Even after a lot of convincing and a lot more kissing, Ava didn't agree to showering together. She knew we'd not come out of the room for a long time.

But I was thankful for it later when we finished showering and washing off the blood off of ourselves in ten minutes.

We all had gathered in the living room.

Max and I were sitting on either side of Mom, much to Dimitri's dismay. He ended up taking a seat other seat closest to mom, which was next to Max. Ava wasn't leaving my side any time soon.

Mom stood up from her place and pulled Ava into a motherly hug. "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Ava. I wish I would have known you were Nik's mate all those years ago. I would have held on longer."

"I'm honoured to have met you too. I wish I would have known too." Ava replied softly. "But I understand why you did what you did."

Mom hugged her again, both of them fighting tears as they did so. Going through a hardship together is bound to leave a bond, however brief the time may be.

She greeted Mikhail after her who had come back by now. "It's a pleasure to meet my son's brothers."

"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled smoothly.

"Tell us about your life on the other side of the moon!" Dimitri asked excitedly.

Mom took a seat beside me again and smiled. Blush rose on ther cheeks. "I met my mate. Adrik had killed him without my knowledge. How he even came to know he was my mate, I don't know. His name is Kaiser. He is sweet, kind and loves me very much. I'm actually happy. I'm sure you all will meet him one day. But that day won't come for a very, very long time."

"Sofiya, Vladimir and Valeralyn are happy too. Little Lera is seven years old and she is already creating trouble. She has her mother's blond hair and her father's dark eyes. It's a shame that she didn't get to live, that all of them didn't get to live. But I'm glad they are happy."

"Life on the other side is very different from here. It's exactly like this world but there is no sadness and no problems. Everyone is happy and at peace. The bad souls go to the underworld where I have heart they repent for as long as their soul is clean and only then can they walk over the moon."

"Dammit." Max cursed. "I'll have to spend time away from Talia. I won't come out of the underworld for years!"

Mom twisted Max's ear. "Don't even joke about it. It's not funny."

"Fuck! Ouch!"

"Don't curse at your mother!"

Mom ended up releasing his ear and Max rubbed it soothingly. "I definitely didn't miss this." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Mom narrowed his eyes at him.

"Nothing!" He said immediately, looking like a child that had just been set straight.

Nat was looking at Mom with admiration filled in her eyes. "How did you do that?"

Mom smirked. "You need to add a little zing to your words." And then she bent a little to look at Ava on the other side of me. "You should take notes too."

Ava smiled at her in reply, nodding.

"Anyways. Enough about me. You'll know that world when you come there. I'm not supposed to say much either. It's forbidden. I want to know about all of you."

And then everyone started talking. I leaned back in my seat with a smile.

I missed this. I missed being around family.

And I missed Mom. I watched her laugh at something Fiyona said, I watched her reach over and slap Dimitri's arm when he said something stupid.

Ava was drawing circles in my inner palm that made me go crazy but she was listening intently to something Mikhail was telling her.

"Dadda! Mama!" I heard two voices and a grin spread across my face when I saw Tori and Klaus run towards us, Kol along with them.

"Did Klaus really kill Gabriel?" Kol asked his father, his eyes wide with curiosity and excitement.

"Yes! I told you I did!" Klaus rolled his eyes at his best friend and then looked at Mom. "Who are you?"

Mom smiled sweetly at him. "I'm your grandma, Klaus."

"Don't lie to me." He crossed his arms. "She is my grandma." He motioned towards Valerie who chuckled at his statement.

"You have two grandma's, Klaus. Grandma Valerie is Mama's mother and she is my mother, Viktoria."

His mouth opened in an 'o'. He extended his hand towards mom. "Hello, grandma. My name is Niklaus Nikolai Aine Volkov. It's nice to meet you."

Mom's smile widened and she hugged him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, child."

"Your name is like my name, Grandma." Tori smiled at her and hugged her after Klaus was done. "My name is Viktoria Valerie Aine Volkov. My name is like both my grandmas!"

"Yes. Thanks to your mother." She smiled at Ava who smiled back.

"Why?" Tori, ever the inquisitive one asked.

"Because when you love someone, and they are gone, you can name your child to remember them." Ava replied.

"But they aren't gone, Mama. They are right here!" She pointed at both her grandmas.

"I'll be going soon, Tori." Mom smiled. "And Valerie was gone but she came back."

"I don't understand." She scratched the back of her head.

"You'll know when you grow up." She replied before she opened her arms to hug Kol too. "Won't you meet your grandma?"

Kol came and hugged her. "My name is Kol Meer Romanov. How are you my grandma? Dad is a vampire and you are a werewolf."

"I'll explain it to you later, son." Max told him and Kol nodded.

"How long do I have now?" Mom asked Faelern.

He looked at his watch. "You have about an hour."

"I would like to talk to my children in private." Mom said softly. "Youngest to oldest." And smiled at Dimitri.

"Yes!" Dimitri fist jumped to his feet, fist bumping in the air. Mom and Dimitri had taken the ride back to the palace in the same car. They had stepped out of the car with red eyes and small smiles on their faces. It was obvious that they had had a talk. I also knew that they talked about Althea. But ever since the car ride, Dimitri didn't seem as depressed as he had been in the last years. In fact, looking at him now, he was in high spirits. It felt like my baby brother was back. "Take that! I'm the favourite. I go first."

"Yes, you always go first." Max snickered but I could see the relief in his eyes. He definitely noticed the change in Dimitri too.

Dimitri flicked his forehead before he pulled Mom up and hid behind her, showing his tongue to Max.

I knew what they were doing.

When Dimitri starts joking too much, that means he is hiding his emotions behind smiles. He is sad. All of us are. But he doesn't want to show it in front of Mom, or anyone else for that matter.

"Let's go for a walk in the gardens yeah?" Mom looped her hand through Dimitri's and they both walked out.

But I wasn't having it. I couldn't smile for the life of me. Why was it that the good people die and the bad people live a long life?

I looked at Tori chasing Klaus and Kol watching her with a slight smile on his face.

I would do anything to protect these kids.

But I can't protect them from all kinds of hurt.

It's likely that those two are mates. But if they aren't, it's going to hurt like a bitch.

"Are you okay?" Ava leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Yes." I instantly replied but then corrected myself. "No. No, I'm not. But will be."

She kissed my neck. "Let's go get some fresh air."

We ended up going to the gardens but instead of walking, we took a seat at the patio which was a little hidden by the trees.

She went to sit on the chair besides my but I pulled her on my lap. "There are people here, Nik." There were barely one or two gardeners. I really didn't care.

"Let them see. Let them see that you are finally mine." My eyes fell on her covered neck.

I pulled down the strap of her dress from her shoulder so I could see my mark. There. Looks much better already.

"Nikolai!"

"I just wanted people to see you're mine." I kissed her mark.

"I think it's never been more clear. Especially since we marked each other in front of half the pack." It aroused her. She like the fact that we marked each other in front of everybody.

"You like that, don't you." I squeezed her ass.

She bit her lip and nodded, swallowing noisily. The smell of her arousal hit my nose.

"Please not now." I pleaded. "I would like to go meet my mother without a hard on."

"I'm sorry but I can't help it." She whispered in my ear. Her breasts pressed against my chest.

My one arm automatically wrapped around her waist, keeping her there. I squeezed her, pulling her against me, pressing her boobs to my chest more firmly.

If this is the only way I can feel her right now, then so be it.

"Is this what I've taught you?" I heard Mom's reprimanding voice. "Is this the way you treat a lady in public?"

In a flash, Avalyn jumped off me, straightened her strap and stood a couple of feet away. Her whole face was red.

"I don't think that showing my love for my mate in front of others is wrong." I argued.

Mom instantly grabbed my ear and pulled me in a standing position. I was asking for it to be honest.

"You treat a woman with respect at all times and save all of that for the bedroom, alright, young man?" She twisted further. "Be the gentleman I raised you to be."

"Yes, Mom." I said the magic words and she released my ear.

Dimitri snickered and I flipped him off. Mom pursed her lips at our childishness but didn't say anything.

"Let's go for that walk?" She asked softly.

"Yes." I gulped. This would be the last time I'd talk to her in private, for a very, very long time.

We walked silently for a while, until we were out of hearing distance from others. "I'm proud of you, Nik." She held my arm, bringing is to a stop. "I saw you. In the other dimension. I worried for you every second, every hour. But I'm glad you had Valerie and Fiyona with you. And I'm proud of all the decisions you have made."

"Thank you." My voice was rough as I spoke. Her saying that meant a lot to me. That was all I ever wanted— to make mom proud.

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say this, but I believe you know that you and Avalyn are different. You know who you really are." She gave me a sweet smile.

I smiled and nodded. I could feel it. I could feel the raw power of fire, the raw energy flow through my veins every second. And this kind of energy wasn't for the land of the living. And I had a lot of memories too, some vivid, some hazy. But I knew I had loved a long life, one that existed even before I was born.

"I'm sure you know that you have changed physically too. You have evolved. And you will never go back to who you were, what you were."

"What do you mean, Mom?"

"You aren't a werewolf anymore." She spoke softly. "When you phased into half fur and half skin, your wolf changed. You are a Lycan now. You will never be able to shift into a werewolf again. And it is not a bad thing. You were always destined to become a lycan. You were always destined to rule Jivan, son. You were always destined to do everything you have done."

"I don't understand." Even I understood the purpose of my life a couple of hours ago. Did she know all along?

"In this dimension, many supernaturals cohabitate together, which I'm sure you know doesn't happen in other dimensions. This has caused a lot of problems and death since the dawn of time. Goddess Luna and God Sol himself had become victim to this problem because of their children. Goddess Luna thought that if people had mates of other races, they will stop fighting and start living in peace. But that hasn't happened."

"Every century, they tore a piece of their soul and sent them on earth but they were never successful in fulfilling their destiny and reuniting, until you and Avalyn finally did it. And in doing so, you brought all the races together as well. God Sol had created vampires who pray to him to this day. And your soul is a part of his soul, regardless of you being a werewolf. Vampires will always bow to you. And Goddess Luna had created werewolves who pray to her. And Avalyn's soul is a part of her soul, regardless of her being a faye and a vampire. Werewolves will always bow to her."

"What I'm saying is that at the end of the day, both the races will pray to their own God and Goddess but they will feel a certain kind of innate submission to you two— even though you are from the opposite race. It is to teach everyone that both God Sol and Goddess Luna are one and the same. They are one being. And so should be the races they created. They don't see the difference between werewolves and vampires. And neither should anyone else."

"You need to make sure that this peace remains, especially since inter-race mating will not happen anymore. God and Goddess Luna realised that it it was wrong because vampires were immortal and werewolves weren't. It was their effort to bring the races together but since it has now been accomplished, there is no need for that anymore."

"I understand everything so much better now, thank you, Mom." Everything she said made sense.

Except one thing. "Why did our hair change colour? And Avalyn's eyes changed colours too."

"It was the Gods' way of showing you how close you were to being your true self. You just had to grow into yourself. That is why you faced all the challenges you did in life. As the challenges got harder, the closer you were to being the real you. You always had the powers you have now inside of you. But you can't just simply use them. You needed to earn that kind of power, even though you were always fated to have it. And since Avalyn is your erasthai, both you share each other's powers, which is why she is resistant to fire and you can breathe underwater."

"Erasthai?"

"The mate of a lycan is called an erasthai. Erasthais are like soulmates but their connection is much more deep. Your souls are not just a perfect match, they are literally two halves of one whole. Combined, you are one. Which is why even after everything that happened, you and Avalyn always found your way back to each other." Mom explained. "Avalyn was always your erasthai. That was why you didn't recognise her at first. Your wolf was confused and she was too weak. And then later, the bond was so strong that your wolf confused her as your mate."

"So Davina was indeed my werewolf mate?" She wasn't lying.

"Yes." She nodded. "But the bond and the connection between erasthais is so strong that nothing comes in its way. It won't matter if you have another mate or you are already mated. Once you meet your erasthai, it's over. It's them. Or it's nothing. You are bound together for life."

"This is too much, Mother." I raked my hands through my hair.

"It's your destiny to become the King of all supernaturals, at least in this dimension. It's your duty to bring all the packs, Kingdoms and covens under one rule. You need to make sure that there is an end to this constant war amongst us."

"It will be impossible to rule all of them, especially since they are geographically so spread out." Heck, ruling Soare- Luna sometimes gets too much to handle too.

"You are the King, Nikolai. Delegating authority is not wrong. You don't need to do everything yourself. And especially now. Slowly, you will find yourself detached from normal werewolves, vampires and humans. You will only feel for those who are closer to you in the hierarchy. Which only includes lycans, strong werewolves and vampires that come from strong families and can walk in sun." She explained.

"But I do not want you to lose your humanity. I want you to be grounded and as close to reality as possible. That's where the slaves come in. Keeping humans close to you is a good thing. They will help you remain humane."

And then she stepped forward and hugged me, caressing my back, just like she used to when I was young. I also wrapped my arms around her. She felt smaller. But that's just because I've grown. "I believe in you, son. I knew you were special when I first held you as a baby. Which is also why you have the name you do. Nikolai means people's victory. And Deivos means God of universe. I want you to be the best version of yourself— as Avalyn's erasthai, as a King, as a father and as a brother. Promise me you will do your best."

"I promise, Mom." My voice was thick with emotions.

"Good." She stepped away and then we walked back to the patio. "Call Max."

I nodded and mind-linked Max to come here.

Valerie was sitting with Avalyn and seeing the smiled on both their faces, I knew that they had a heart to heart.

Ava immediately stood up and came to my side.

"Promise me you'll take good care of my son." Mom's voice shook with emotions.

"I promise." Ava said softly with a smile.

"I know he can be stubborn and hot headed and might seem impulsive but his heart is at the right place. And he mostly always thinks before he does anything. He might not always be very open but give him time to talk to you, which he will on his own time." Mom smiled a teary smile. "But just bear with him. I even give you the permission to smack him around a little if he makes you cry. But I think Klaus has it covered."

We all chuckled. He definitely had it covered.

When Max arrived, Mom left with him to have a chat.

I looked at Ava and Valerie. "I take it that you had a good chat?"

"The best." Ava smiled widely.

"I'm glad." I smiled at her and then looked at Valerie. "So what have you decided? Where do you want to stay? In the Faye Dimension or here?"

"Can you please stay here for a while? I would love to spend time with you." Ava pleaded to her mother.

"Of course. And I haven't decided where I want to go. This place is home but then Mom said that it'll be good to interact with other fayes. She thinks I might fight my faye mate. But I don't want to find him. I don't think I'll be able to love anybody like I love Javier." Valerie looked troubled.

"You should stay here. And if you ever change your mind, you can go there." I offered.

"That sounds good, thanks." She nodded.

******

Faelern appeared with Fiyona. "It's time."

Mom gave all of us a last hug, fighting tears all the while.

It was bittersweet. She wasn't supposed to be here but she was and it was definitely a very good thing. I was just sad because it had to come to an end so quickly.

My eyes stung but I held it in. It was fine. I knew this moment was coming.

Mom gave me a last hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." I hugged her one last time before I let her go.

Faelern, Fiyona and Valerie stood holding hands and once mom stepped in front of them, they formed a circle around her.

They started chanting something and just like last time, the sky started darkening and then a flash hit our eyes and the dark portal opened.

Mom stepped inside and then turned around to wave at us. There were tears in her eyes but she was smiling.

And then suddenly a figure appeared besides her.

It was Javier.

He raised his hand to wave at us. Ava stepped forward. "Dad," a soft cry tore through her throat. Javier gave her a teary smile.

And then, his eyes fell on Valerie was standing in front of him.

And the he stepped out, grabbed her face and kissed her.

And then suddenly, the portal snapped shut and disappeared.

Faelern's and Fiyona's eyes flew open and then widened in horror.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Faelern snarled at Javier.

Valerie stepped in front of her mate. "If Viktoria can come for some time, then Javier can come too. We can open the portal again and he can go in twelve hours."

"The portal cannot be opened at your will, Valerie. It creates an imbalance in the universe. And the portal can be opened only when the sun, moon and the door of the dimension is aligned in a specific angle. It happens once in centuries." Faelern looked pissed off. "Do you know what you have done? We do not even know what kind of problems this will create!"

"I can take responsibilities of my actions." Javier said in a calm voice. "I didn't plan on doing this but it happened. And I don't regret any of it."

"Y—"

"Dad!" Valerie called her father's attention. "You are the King of Fayes. I'm sure you can find a way out. And you owe us this much. You owe me this much."

Faelern gritted his teeth.

"She is right." Fiyona sided with her daughter. "We are together and she deserves to be with her mate too. We will find a way out. Take care, daughter. We will meet soon." She held Faelern's hand before she opened a portal and stepped inside before the portal disappeared.

The sky started clearing up again.

"What does this mean?" Ava asked, looking up at me.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we will face it together." I threaded my fingers through hers. "Let's leave, they both need some time to themselves and we do too." I looked at Javier who was sucking Valerie's face.

"Get a fucking room." I hollered at him and he flipped me off.

"Seriously. I don't enjoy you two oldies making out in my face." I said. I remember just how much he used to cock-block me and Ava. I'm going to have fun doing the same to him.

He finally released her and glared at me. "I haven't had sex in thirty fucking years. I'll kill you if you cock-block m—" Valerie held his hand and they both disappeared.

Everyone laughed at that.

"Take us to our room, Love." I held Ava's hand and she nodded and then in the next second, we were in our room.