Chapter 87 Revolution

Revolution

Avalyn

"Rise." He commanded and everyone stood up at once.

The fire had died out the second I had stepped out of it. I had a hitch that the spell included something that it will only die out once the people inside it do too. I wish we could have killed Mary and we would do it right this time around.

"The series of unfortunate events that have been happening since last night have happened because of one spiteful person who hates vampires—Mary. She was the one who lit the Packhouse on fire and she was the one who lit this cottage on fire too."

There were murmurs of disbelief in the crowd.

That's when Papa walked up to us and stood beside me.

"Alpha Javier."

"It's him."

"He's back from the dead!"

"He's alive!"

Different murmurs arose in the crowd. But one thing remained common, the tears in the eyes of people and the mirth to have him back.

Papa raised his hand and the crowd silenced.

"Mary was the one who planned the attack because she hated the fact that I, a vampire was leading it." Papa started and shouts of rage broke into the crowd.

"Emmanuel locked me up in the dungeon for a decade and him along with his son Emilio, kept my daughter in captivity." Papa put his arm around me, hugging me to his side.

"But this fine young man here—Alpha Nikolai Volkov, rescued Ava and then rescued all of us from the tyranny of the Gonzalez'. I believe Alpha Nikolai will set the Montana Pack back on track and not only restore it to its former glory but make it better and greater than it has ever been." He finished.

"He is a rogue, Alph-Javier." A woman said, dread evident in her voice. "How do we trust them?"

"He walks in the fire." Another man said. "What if a demon resides in him? What if—"

"Or maybe, God Sol resides in him." A woman stepped forward as she looked at Nik with devotion. I recognized her as one of the females we had helped escape the prison. "He helped us! He can't be bad!"

"Those are just assumptions! We can't trust theories! How do we trust them? How do we truly know he isn't worse than Emilio?" Every member of the pack grew more confused and fearful by the second.

"I know no demon or god. They walked in the fire." A woman spoke up, her voice filled with fear. "That is just not natural. Not for a werewolf! We do not have an affinity with natural elements like vampires."

My mind raced as I thought about ways to help pacify everyone and assure them that we are good people.

"Alpha Nikolai is a good man, Mama." I heard a boy say.

He dashed out of the crowd and stood before Nikolai. He didn't look older than Adrian. "He helped me save Viktoria and the others from the dungeon. He also kept his promise of getting us all out of the burning prison." Then he turned towards the crowd. "Anyone who tries to hurt him will have to go through me!" He placed his little fists on his waist.

Two girls and two boys ran out and joined the little guy. "Us too!"

A carefree, amused smile grew on Nik's face as he looked at the little kids. Who were they?

"We stand by him." A couple of dozen people bent down to their knees, submitting to us. These were the people whom we had saved from the dungeon.

Looking at them, another couple dozen people followed— their family and friends. But the rest remained upright, looking at us with hostility.

Nik remained impassive as he inspected the crowd. "It is funny you all think you have a choice," he said, shocking me. "Avalyn and I are your Luna and Alpha. Whether you accept it or not, whether you like it or not. Those who object are free to challenge either of us for the position or leave the pack."

No one said a word as his deep voice dazed everyone with its power. Nik was a natural leader. His voice commanded attention and his eyes kept people rooted to their spot.

"I demand total submission and utmost respect from every one of you. What Avalyn and I say, goes. Without question, without hesitation. Each order, each command will be followed to its completion at that very second. Incompetency or tardiness will not be tolerated. Each of those will lead to a punishment we deem fit. I do not believe in putting people in cells, it is a waste of manpower as well as space, nor do I believe in the expulsion of wolves from the pack, they will be nothing but snitches who are hungry for revenge. The punishment will either be the silver collar for a certain number of days or a certain number of lashes or death."

Even the air stilled as Nikolai spoke. No one made a single sound or a single move.

"The entire hierarchy of the pack is liquified from this very second. No one except the Alpha, Luna, and my Beta Dimitri has the power to give out orders. I will select councilmen from the pack in time, but that will be exactly what they are—councilmen, and not people you will answer to unless ordered otherwise. The revised notice of taxes and the new price of everything in the market will be mailed to everyone."

"The internet services up here are not... adequate." A man spoke up from the side.

"Technology is the only decent thing humans have created. Everyone will make good use of it, I will see to that too." Nikolai said with a growl.

"Trade with other packs as well as the human world will open up. We will, however not do any sort of business with Mystic Lupus Pack. Any wolf who does farming, do social work, and does business will be given tax benefits. While importing is allowed, it is discouraged. Make your things, your pack holds every resource you need."

"Each wolf is a warrior along with whatever they do to earn money. You will be paid for your services as a warrior, guard, or parole. The higher your position, the higher your pay. The position will solely rely on your performance."

"Every morning at six sharp, every wolf over the age of eighteen will assemble at the training field to train for four hours. Men and women. There is no age limit, you fight till the age you can walk. A pack is only as strong as its weakest link. And I do not do weak." Nik's voice came out hard. "Everyone under eighteen will go to a supernatural school where you will be taught about us, not to a human school. In the evenings, kids of age five and above will train from four to seven. Adults who wish to train more are always welcome. I will handpick the person who will be the trainer."

"Until further notice, the money circulation in the pack will freeze, everyone's bank accounts will be frozen. My trusted men will visit every house and take away the black money. The bank accounts will be checked for illegal dealings, frauds, excess income from suspicious places. Everyone caught with the wrong kind of money will be given one chance to explain themselves. The money will be ceased and you will be given a punishment that will fit the crime you have committed."

"In under a week, all of these rules will be in full motion and all these tasks will be finished. Every single person over the age of sixteen will volunteer to make this work. Tomorrow, we will have a pack meeting again, here, at nine in the morning."

"Any objections?"

"You can't take away my money! However, I earned it is my—"

In a flash, I saw a hole in the center of that man's forehead and his limp body collapsed on the ground. With wide eyes, I looked around to see Symon pocket a gun.

"Any objections?" Nikolai demanded again.

No one dared to say a word. I could feel how scared they were. But there was respect too. Something that kept growing as Nikolai went ahead with his speech.

"Dismissed!" His hard voice commanded, breaking people out of their trance.

He then turned to look at me, his grey eyes impenetrable as he stared into my eyes, looking for what? I didn't know.

"Hey!" The boy standing in front of Nikolai demanded his attention.

We both turned to look at him. "Don't use big words next time. I didn't understand half of it." He crossed his arms. "Who will tell me everything now?"

A smile grew on my face as I opened my mouth to answer but then Nik bent down his level and ruffled his hair, much to his dismay.

"I'm sure your parents will teach you and Viktoria those big words and explain everything, Lucas. And you can teach her how to fight too. No one will stop you now." Nik's face turned soft.

"Thanks, you're the best." The boy— Lucas threw his arms around Nikolai and hugged him before he stepped back and ruffled Nik's hair and he ran away, laughing.

A laugh escaped me at the boy's mischief and Nik's lips lifted in a smile before he trailed his fingers through his hair.

I brought his face down and kissed him. "You are the best Alpha ever," I mumbled against his lips. His fingers gripped my waist as he crushed me to him. "And you are the most infuriating woman ever." He growled against my lips.

"What did I do now?" I've done so many infuriating things in the last twenty-four hours that I lost track.

He tore his mouth from mine before glaring at me. "You didn't come with me when I asked. You came here by road, trespassing another pack openly, without thinking how dangerous it is. Yes, you most probably saved our life but by putting your life in danger! That is simply not acceptable, Avalyn. I'm extremely grateful but you di—" I placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.

"We will be here all day if you start tallying my transgressions, Love." I smiled. "You haven't slept in two nights and have been exerting yourself constantly. I believe it's time to rest."

"I have work to do." Came his gruff reply but his eyes were focused on my lips.

A cough brought us out of our bubble and I jumped out of Nik's hold when I realized it was Papa. I fought a blush that threatened to rise on my cheeks.

Nik mumbled something under his breath along the lines of 'cockblocker' and Papa only laughed.

"What?" Nik growled, annoyed at the interruption.

"You already have a set of volunteers waiting for you." He pointed towards the large group of young males and females looking at us, waiting. "And it's bad to keep people waiting."

Nikolai gave me a heated look, which meant 'later' and I fought another blush and nodded. And then grumbling to himself, Nikolai left.

"Will you come with me for a walk?" Papa asked, offering an arm.

"Of course." I smiled.

We didn't go for a walk directly after that. We went to a small two-story Inn where we were going to stay the night before we settle into another, permanent cottage.

When I entered it along with Papa, I heard a person whimpering and then some murmurs. Curious, I followed it up to a bedroom and then I opened the door, my throat closed up.

Tessa was lying on the bed, unconscious and small groans of discomfort along with whimpers left her mouth. The entirety of her left side had no skin over it an angry red, burnt muscles were showing.

"Get out," I ordered the four slaves who were looking after her. They were doing a poor job of it. She should have been taken to the hospital!

They bowed and left immediately.

"I don't think there is much you can do, Ava," Papa said.

"I have healing abilities," I said softly and sat beside Tessa.

I placed my hands over her body, a couple of inches in the air and closed my eyes, and focused on healing her.

Under my hand, I could feel her heal. All her cells, tissues, muscles, and skin. I soothed her pain and cooled her skin so she would feel better. When I opened my eyes, I saw her unblemished skin and I could finally take a relieved breath.

"Thank you, Mistress." She whispered, her voice thick, and quickly sat up against the headboard- a sign of respect. I wiped the tear that had escaped and smiled. "Why didn't you come to me when everyone had gathered near us? Why wait till the end?"

"I -" her mouth closed and I waited patiently. "I - didn't feel important enough to stand with everyone else. And I didn't want to come in between when you had to save your family."

"You are important to me. You're family, Tess." The child-like happiness in her made my heart hurt. She flung her arms around me and I hugged her back.

"I'm sorry." She quickly backed away and whispered when she realized she stepped out of line by hugging me like that.

"It's alright," I said softly. "It's cold outside, it will be best if you cover yourself up." The other slaves must have gotten her out of the rest of her clothes to soothe her already hurting skin. "Wear full clothes, if anyone objects, ask them to talk to me."

A blush rose her cheeks when she realized her nakedness. "Yes, Mistress." And then her eyes fell on Papa who was standing behind me and her blush rose.

"That is my father, Javier," I told her.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, Sir." She lowered her head.

Papa only smiled. "You may take the rest of the day off and do as you please while your Mistress and I go out for a little bit. I will wait for you by the reception, I believe we both need to freshen up." It was only then that I realized that he was in dirty and torn clothes, ones that he must have worn in the cell for a very long time. I tried not to let my sadness show and nodded at him.

"The bag that I had brought with me was burnt in the house. If you wish, I can go and get fresh clothes for you. You can take a shower till I manage to procure some." Tessa offered.

"I would like that, thank you." I nodded at her. She promptly left the room and I entered the ensuite bathroom and took a warm shower. Tessa was waiting for me with a set of folded, cleaned clothes. I quickly wore them. The top was a bit tight for me around my bust but it was fine. I thanked Tessa and rushed downstairs.

I smiled when I saw Papa waiting for me by the reception, as promised. He gave me a warm grin and then we went for the walk on a trail we often used to go on when I was young.

"I'm sorry I ran away when I saw you, Firefly." He said. "You look too much like Valerie did. It surprised me. I did not expect it."

"It's fine Papa." It was already forgotten and forgiven. "I'm just happy you are here."

"So am I. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day for." He told me. "And seeing you today, how beautiful you are, how kind, how loving, how caring, and just how much strength you have, I must say you have surpassed all of mine and your mother's expectations. You've made us proud, Princesa."

I looked up at the sky to control my tears. All my life, I had wished for my parents to be proud of me. And now that Papa said it, it felt surreal. But I wasn't proud of all the things I had done. Like, accuse Nik of cheating and then trying to kill me over it. It was a moment of weakness, I didn't know what I was thinking.

"There was a time when I wanted to die. I almost did." My tongue felt thick as I told him about the evening I almost drowned myself. "I saw you and Mama. I saw both of you." I met his sad brown eyes, much like mine. But his was hazel and not the dark deep brown like mine. "You told me to avenge our family. To avenge me."

"Which you did." He wiped a tear of mine that escaped.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

A sense of peace settled in my chest. Where usually a deep sense of loss used to be. And that's when I realized it. Knowing Emilio was locked up didn't help. Knowing Emmanuel was locked up didn't help either. Coming here, getting Papa back, getting my pack back, and helping to get it better made all the difference.

Darkness cannot kill the darkness. Only light can.

Hatred cannot kill hatred. Only love can.