Chapter 84 Power Play

Power Play

Nikolai

A deep, rumbling growl hit my ears.

And just like mine, it affected the entire pack. All of them stopped. Though they didn't kneel, all of them grew confused and began turning their heads to look at the source.

And there she was.

My Queen.

Walking towards me with elegance and grace that was nonpareil.

People bowed and moved out of her way as she walked straight. Her hair had turned silver and her eyes electric blue. They seared into my soul.

Armed wolves flanked her sides, protecting her and providing her with a wide girth.

She didn't have to utter a single word. The Montana Pack members made way for Ava without a word like the Queen she was.

It was nighttime now but being werewolves, we had no problem seeing things. But one thing that distracted me was that Ava's silver hair reflected light, making them shine like...the moon. She looked divine...celestial. I couldn't speak, all I was capable of was to stare at her.

She snapped her fingers and the crowd went deathly silent. Another snap, the heads of the head wolves were off the boards and attached to their bodies again.

I have never been more turned on by a power play.

And then she climbed up the podium and took her place next to me. I could already see it. The change of heart in their eyes. They recognized Avalyn and even the ones who didn't know she was someone special, someone, worthy. One thing shined in everyone's eyes. Respect. It's not every day that a female can command and make an entire pack submit like this. Especially a regressive-minded pack like Montana.

"Does anyone now doubt the fact that I'm the daughter of Alpha Javier and Luna Valerie— who was half Faye-half werewolf?"

Everyone shook their heads in impeccable synchronization.

"I am the true heir of Montana Pack. My mate, Nikolai is the Alpha and I am your Luna," she announced. "Those who do not agree, come forward." Wolves know that there is strength in numbers. But when called upon singularly, most lack courage. Or maybe, they were smart.

The wolf in the ring was the only wolf stupid enough to growl and issue a challenge.

Ava's eyes focused on him. "I can kill you without lifting my finger," she said unflinchingly. "But since you think you can become the Alpha, you will have to fight Nikolai...,"

Smirking, I walked down the podium and towards the ring.

"...and defeat him in a duel to the death."

My smirk did not falter.

I entered the ring and stood my ground as I watched him circle me. It didn't take me long to size him up. He was juvenile and cocky. And with the way he had positioned himself, he was going to attack me head-on. That was going to be his downfall.

"You can shift into your wolf any time you want." At that, he instantly shifted into his wolf. "Use of any sort of weapons is prohibited." Ava's command whipped in the air, "begin!"

The wolf came running towards me and I stood still, waiting for him to reach me.

His mouth opened wide as he was a couple of feet away, wanting to bite me. When he neared me, my hands shot out and grabbed both his jaws in both my hands and I whirled around, pulling my hands in the opposite directions so I tore his fucking mouth open. He cracked his skull open and I used my momentum to throw his now dead body at the bottom of the podium, beneath Ava's feet.

All of this happened in a split second.

The pack broke into gasps and dread rolled off of them.

Ava's blue eyes met mine. "Would anyone else like to challenge Nikolai?"

The pack fell silent.

"I, Avalyn Alvarez- Volkov, Luna of the Rogue Pack, Queen of Mozog," cue more gasps, "and the rightful heir of Montana Pack, strip Emilio Gonzalez, Alpha of the Montana Pack from his position as the Alpha."

Emilio howled in pain and collapsed on the floor. Being stripped from your position is a mate of the worst pains a wolf can experience in life, next to being rejected by its mate.

"Kneel," Ava ordered and I sat on my one knee and looked up at her.

"Do you promise to love and cherish this pack as would a father his children?"

"I do," I vowed.

"Do you promise to feed the pack, taking the first bite of the kill and giving the pack, the rest?"

"I do."

"Do you promise to protect and rule Montana Pack fairly and justly, to your best capabilities?" She asked, her blue eyes now soft and loving. My chest ached at its tenderness.

"I do."

"I declare Nikolai Volkov, Alpha of the Rogue Pack and King of Mozog as the Alpha of Montana Pack." Ava declared.

And I saw pride in her eyes. She was proud of me. And just like always, my best-laid plans change when it comes to her, I decided to let go of my anger and do good for Ava. I'll do good by Montana.

We had gathered in the living room after I had ordered the pack to disperse for tonight and told them a pack meeting will be held tomorrow at nine am.

My head ached because of the new bonds formed will all of the pack members. I had already shut my link to stop the buzzing. I know I will get used to it in a couple of hours.

I held two leashes in my hand right now— Vermin's and his father's. I needed to find a new name appropriate name for him.

I'll need extra time to have fun with the father-son duo.

Ava was sitting on one of the couches with Nat. Her hair was back to brown and her powers had simmered down. I know she was uneasy being back in the same house she was tortured in so I had told Symon to arrange for another one for us. He had sent a couple of slaves to clean up one of the cottages near the packhouse. I could also feel her anxiety from being around Vermin and his father.

I let her be. I was still a little pissed at her. And we needed to talk, just not in front of everyone.

"We had the information that there were five hundred wolves who can fight in the pack. Where did the rest come from?" I asked Symon.

"Your information is correct. Now there are only two fifty wolves that can fight. The females were not allowed to train." He replied, his jaw clenched.

"Are you telling me that there is an entire generation of women that cannot fight?" I growled.

"Yes, Alpha." He replied.

"What else?"I asked.

"A lot of people are judged wrongly and the dungeons are crawling with people who did not commit crimes grave enough to be put in dungeons. The old warriors of the pack, who were trained under Alpha Javier are strong but the new generation is cocky and weak. The security is weak and corruption in the system is high. A lot of taxes are collected and the funds are not being used in the interest of the people. The bridge between the rich and the poor is too much. All those who are rich worked for Vermin and filled their pockets. The working class and the warriors are poor and have little to no motivation to work because of that. To get more slaves, more and more humans were kidnapped from the nearby cities and towns and people are getting suspicious. The human police have come up here to investigate thrice in the last year, and each time they've been paid a hefty sum to keep quiet."

I kept quiet and thought over it.

The fundamental structure of the entire pack was faulty. Many changes and reforms will have to be brought in. The rules will have to be changed. The basic way of living of every member of the pack will have to change.

But then, on the other hand, this—the way the pack is right now is exactly what I wanted. I wanted to ruin the pack. To burn it to the ground. To annihilate it.

Then why do my instincts tell me to help the pack? To make everything right again? To re-establish peace and order? Because of Ava. Because this is her home.

"I will see what I can do," I told him and walked out of there.

I needed fresh air to think things through. I got Emmanuel but something doesn't feel right. Something doesn't fit. It's not... satisfactory. It feels like a piece is missing. I miss mom. More overwhelmingly than I have ever had.

I stepped out of the packhouse and took a deep breath. I started walking down the road, taking random twists and turns.

"Nikolai." I heard Ava call so I stopped but didn't turn around.

She caught up to me and caught my hand in hers, making me look at her. She looked different. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Her eyes were bright, her lips red and cheeks rosy. I know it was probably because of the cold weather, but at that moment, she looked happy.

Her eyes lowered before she gathered the courage to look at me again. "I'm sorry."

"I know," I said with no heat.

"I shouldn't have called you an asshole." She flinched at that word again. "Because it's not true. And I should have listened to you and come back with you. I left to come here the second I knew what you were planning. I should have known something was up when you came to get me," she ranted, "I'm sorry I didn't listen. I now know that you needed me to back you up and be by your side when you addressed the pack but I was...I was just so angry." She bit down on her lip hard.

"I know that too."

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't see past my anger. I—"

"Ava, I need to be alone right now," I said softly. Her eyes quickly filled with hurt and tears. "I -I'm sorry Nikolai!" A sob rose to her throat and she slid her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly.

"This isn't about you, Ava. Yes, I'm mad at you but I'm not walking away from you. I just need some time to think about some things." I rested my head on top of her's and caressed her silver hair.

"Will you come back to me tonight?" She asked in a small voice.

"I will always come back to you."

Slowly, she released me and took a step back. Her eyes searched for mine until she realized I meant my words. "I'll wait for you." And with that, she kissed my jaw, turned around, and left.

I continued making my way around the pack.

When will I finally be at peace with mom's death?

I thought that the day I will have Emmanuel, I will feel good and I will finally be able to forgive myself for being a shitty son. What kind of son can't protect his mother? Hell, I didn't even know she was alive. I thought the attackers had killed her. But she wasn't dead, she wasn't dead until two years after that.

And I know I won't stop feeling that way till I kill Adrik. Especially when I know that Adrik has a hand in it. If the Gonzalez' only did trade with Mystic Lupus, it meant they were friends, if not, acquaintances. And he knew that Mystic Lupus would be the first place I would come if something happened to Mom. He wasn't wrong about that. Max, Dimitri, and I had broken into the pack and searched for weeks without finding a single clue. How could we? He had passed his dirty work to Emmanuel.

I'm going to kill those fuckers.

I'm at peace with what happened with Ava. I have Emilio, I torture him. Yes, I'll torture him a few days more but I'm satisfied with the fact that I have him. It's just Mom's death I'm not satisfied with now.

I had reached the lake and I didn't even realize it. There was not a single soul over here. I knew that the entire pack was scared of us.

They were well within their right to be. We hadn't given them a single reason to not fear us.

I thought that this was what I wanted but it just bothered me. Ava and I are loved by our pack. But I want us to be loved by both our packs.

A moment later, I realized what I just said in my mind. Both our packs.

I had accepted this pack as my own. And deep down, I know I need to do the right thing. And not just because of Ava. The people have suffered enough. I'll talk to Ava and get more clarity on what had happened with her past.

I sat down under a huge tree which was just by the lake and leaned against it. It felt good. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds and I heard light footsteps.

"You're in my spot." I heard someone say and my eyes opened and I saw a boy who looked like he was of Adrian's age — around eleven or twelve, looking down at me with a frown on his face and a big book in his hand.

I scooted, giving him a place to sit.

Shrugging he sat down beside me and opened his book and used his knees as a support for his drawing book and began sketching.

He was drawing a face and I had to admit that he was a really good artist for his age.

"You're the new Alpha right?" He asked me, still concentrating on his sketch.

"Mmhmm," I replied, watching his drawing. His tongue came past his lips and it moved along with his pencil, in the same pattern and at the same time. I don't think he even realized it. A smile tugged at my lips, it was almost funny.

"Mum said to stay away from you because you're worse than the previous Alpha." He told me casually.

"Then why did you come to sit here? Won't your mother get angry?"

"It's my spot. You're the newcomer." He replied.

"True." I nodded. This is the reason I loved kids. They were candid. And always said what they thought and expressed what they felt. No facade, no filter.

"And-," he stopped as he shaded the eyeballs, "-and I don't think anyone can be as bad as the previous Alpha." He continued, "you gave me my spot back. You didn't throw me in the prison for asking you to move. So I like you."

"You're welcome, and I like you too." He smiled a little at that and then colored the other eyeball. "But why would I throw you in the prison?" Did Vermin put children in the fucking dungeon too?

He only shrugged so I let him be. He drew in silence and I watched his drawing.

It looked similar to himself. Only, it was a girl.

"Are you drawing yourself?" Maybe he was just drawing himself with long hair.

"No." He said it like I was stupid. "This is a girl." He sounded genuinely offended.

"Why are you drawing yourself like a girl?" He is an odd kid.

He sighed like I was hopeless. "This is my twin sister. Or at least this is what I think she looks like now."

"What's her name?"

"Victoria." He replied softly. I swear my heart stopped for a second.

"Did she die?"I asked softly.

"No." He whispered. "The bad Alpha took her away because I was teaching her how to fight."

A growl tore through my throat.

His eyes widened as he scrambled to get away from me. "I'm sorry! Please don't kill her! I will never teach any girl how to fight!" He was in tears now.

I'm pretty sure my eyes were pitch black right now because my wolf wanted out and wanted to kill Emilio right this second.

"How old was your sister when Emilio took her away?"

"Seven." He whispered.

"And how old are you now?"

"Eleven."

Another growl ripped through my throat.

Four fucking years. That fuckface threw a little girl in jail for four fucking years.

"Come with me." I extended my hand towards him. He took a step back in fear.

I pushed my wolf back and softened my features into a smile. I'm sure it looked like a grimace but I bent down to his level to appear small and less dangerous. "I want to take your sister out of the prison, pup. I need you to come with me to recognize her so we can get her out quickly." Also because I'm pretty sure she would be scared out of her wits and is more likely to come with me if she sees her brother.

Goddess knows how many children are in there.

He grabbed my hand and we made our way back to the packhouse. He was running and I was jogging beside him.

"Show me to the prison," I ordered a wolf I found on the way.

The wolf's eyes widened. "Yes, Alpha."

We both followed after him. He took us through the packhouse and took us downstairs and then towards a huge stone door. The guard that was standing widened his eyes and bowed.

"Open the door."

"Yes, Alpha." The boy's grip on my hand tightened.

The door opened and we stepped inside the dark and dingy prison. It was a very long narrow pathway with jails on either side. All the walls were built with huge blocks of stone. It would be impossible to escape this place.

"What's your name?" I asked to soothe the boy. I should have asked it sooner.

"Lucas," he replied, looking everywhere with wide eyes.

Every cell was filled with people. It was a cell of about five people at the most and about ten were filled in one. This place is crawling with people. I need to pass their judgments quickly.

I stopped in front of the jail which had about four kids in it. I controlled my growl when I took the keyring from the wall and began unlocking it.

"Vicky!" Lucas shouted in excitement and shot inside.

A girl looked up and tears started falling down her face. Lucas ran to her and sat beside her, hugging her as they both started crying loudly.

The other three kids— one girl and two boys looked at me with fear.

"Come on," I opened the door wider. "It's time to go home."

They still looked scared and did not move, they kept sitting against the wall.

"Come on, Vicky, we are going home." He pulled her sister to her feet and she took a step before she fell to her knees, unable to walk.

Shit.

I walked in and picked her up. I extended my arm towards the other kids and smiled warmly.

"He is our new Alpha. And he is good." Lucas told them seriously.

One girl came forward and took my hand, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I will be back." I'll take these two out and return for the other two later.

"I will stay guard, Alpha." Lucas looked at me seriously.

I nodded at the little guy and quickly dashed out. The main stone door was opened and I handed the two girls to the guard outside.

"One scratch on either of them and you are a dead man." I hissed before I dashed in again and went towards their cell again.

Lucas, who was talking to the boys quietened at my arrival. Lucas nodded at me and the two boys stood up and I carried them out too.

Lucas walked beside me as we were making our way out. My steps slowed when my eye caught one cell. It was empty.

No, I thought as I looked closer. A very sickly thin and decaying vampire was sitting in the corner. He looked like he had barely been fed in years. But what made me curious was that while every single jail had over ten wolves in them, this one only held one man. It wasn't like he was dangerous, I doubted the man could even lift his finger.

"What is your name?" I asked the man.

After a couple of seconds, his blood red-eyed opened and found mine, pinning me to my spot. A feeling of dead rolled in my belly.

His mouth opened and this tongue shot out like he was trying to get some moisture over his extremely chapped lips. And then I saw his throat move before I heard his feeble voice.

"J-Javier."