nikolai
two years later
Being the heir to the throne had it's positive and it's negatives. One of the negatives being that it required him to spend time away from home quite often as he had to maintain control over the kingdom by keeping a watchful eye on those that didn't live close to the castle.
Frequently, there would be small wars between different clans due to the strong personality of vampires, which naturally clashed against others. It was Nikolai's job to make sure innocent lives weren't lost where it could be avoided.
So, he was more than happy to go back to the palace after settling a childish feud that had been going on for longer than necessary, especially knowing what was waiting for at home.
Though the temperature couldn't be felt on his skin, he could still feel the warmth through his body as he stepped into the family home, whether imagined warmth or not. The stress from his travels immediately disappeared and every weight on his body felt a little lighter.
"Welcome back, Prince Nikolai." The maids and butlers said in unison, all bowing in synchrony.
A maid in particular caught his eye. Helena was one of his mother's handmaids and she was probably the most trustworthy one. Well, he definitely made sure of it as she was the one he had given his mate to.
flashback
"Call a meeting with my parents right away." He ordered one of the servants before speeding past them to the throne room. Despite the coconut scent being weak, he didn't want to risk anybody smelling it for too long and noticing the baby hidden in his cloak was in fact a baby werewolf.
Once in the empty room, he checked on the little wolf only to find her sleeping soundly as if everything in her life hadn't just changed. For better or for worse, Nikolai didn't know yet. He touched her soft pale hand and honestly felt like his heart began to beat when she unconsciously held onto it with all her might.
He was so enchanted by her that he didn't even see his parents run into the room, who normally captivated everyone in the room with their stately outfits, presenting immediate power and dominance.
"Nikolai, what is the meaning of-" His father, who had rough dark features and glaring eyes, was interrupted by his mother's gasp and excited, yet confused, words. She on the other hand had soft eyes and a charming smile, with light blonde hair he did not inherit.
"Is that a baby?" She asked, already hovering over the tiny being so she could clearly see for herself. The Queen waved at the baby, undeterred by the fact it's eyes were closed and it was clearly sleeping.
"What have you done now, son?" The King however, looked at the baby with less enthusiasm than his wife.
Nikolai was more than relived by the fact that the throne room was sound proof as he recounted the earlier events. He couldn't be too careful about vampire's listening into the conversation as the consequences of a werewolf baby in their custody could be dire.
Their faces were ones of disbelief and it didn't make him feel any better about the situation. He had hoped his parents would be the ones to give the advice and support he needed but it turned out they were just as clueless.
"I can't believe this baby is our future Queen." His mother said in awe of the delicate creature, too innocent to run a blood-thirsty kingdom.
"It certainly isn't what I expected." He commented.
"What did you do with Brinley and Peter?" His father asked.
"They won't be an issue. I killed them."
Caspian, his father, nodded in understanding. "Good. Who knows what they could've seen. We can't take the risk."
"Poor child. Orphaned at such a young age." His mother expressed sympathetically. Nikolai could already see the heartache she held in her eyes for his mate, being the benevolent person that she was.
Quietly as to not wake the baby that had began to stir, his father whispered, "you can't keep her, Nikolai. You know that right? It wouldn't be safe."
"I know." He looked at his soulmate in his arms and tried to hide his sadness at having to be separated from her. But, he knew that for the sake of any future he could have with her, she shouldn't and couldn't grow up thinking of him as her brother or father. Nikolai shuddered at the thought.
"I know the perfect person to keep her safe." As soon as she spoke, his mother ran out of the room and returned in less than a second with her favourite handmaiden, Helena.
If it were any other person, he probably would've objected to her bringing another person into their private conversation and risking the lives of them all, but luckily, Helena had been working for them for centuries. She was married to a highly respected baker and they were both honest people, ones that he would admittedly trust to take care of his mate.
Looking between the royal family in befuddlement and, most noticeably, fear, the maid asked the Queen, "have I done something wrong, my Lady?"
With a regal smile, she responded with a slight shake of the head. "Of course not, Helena. But we have to ask a favour of you."
Stepping forward, Nikolai presented the sleeping infant to the woman, who then made a sound in shock. "You need to take raise her as your own. She is my mate and it'll be your responsibility to make sure no harm comes to her until the day I claim her as mine." He explained simply with slight threat in his voice, warning her of the consequences if anything did happen to the baby.
Her complexion paled further than he thought was possible for a creature that was already dead. "O-ok," she replied obediently, knowing that arguing wasn't an option when it came to vampire royalty. But then she gave a motherly smile to his little mate as she too became enchanted by her chubby cheeks and wispy lashes. "She's a beautiful little thing isn't she? What's her name?"
Nicholas opened the luxurious pink blanket to reveal an embroidered name in the corner.
"Amara."
flashback ended
"Where is she?" He asked as he strode up to the maid.
"Li!"
Nikolai sped away from the flustered looking maid to the bottom of the grand stairs. A scarce smile appeared on his face when he saw the two year old shuffle her bottom down the stairs with an adorable face of concentration. "What are you doing, Baby Wolf? You're going to get bruised." He said as he scooped her up in his arms.
Giggling profusely, she smacked her tiny hands on his chiselled pale face. "Hewo, Li."
He laughed at her inability to say his name, her solution being to just say the last syllable, as he ran to the small room set up for her to play in while Helena was working. It wasn't much but was still abundantly more than what most of the other children had elsewhere in the kingdom. He was fortunate she could have the room under the guise of charitable childcare for Helena.
Small toys and soft fabrics were littered around room, keeping her safe from anything that could hurt her, including other vampires. It was an unspoken rule that the servants couldn't go into the room but Amara had a tendency to wander around the castle now that she could walk.
"Look how big you've gotten," he said as he gently placed her down on the floor by her toys.
"I know. I be big pwincess when I older. Mama said so." She said proudly with her broken English. She would actually be a Queen but he wasn't going to correct her.
The vampire sighed as he looked at her old, tattered dress. It tortured him to know she would grow up without the luxuries he could easily and willingly give her. However, it was the one thing he could do as to not cause suspicion. Whether they knew she was his mate or not, enemies would see the favouritism and use it against him.
"Stowy?" She asked, blinking up at him as she tugged on his cloak.
He sat on a chair. "Ok, Baby Wolf. Story time."
Amara cheered before clambering onto his lap with his help.
"Close your eyes." He always said. Her attention span was little to nothing so he wanted her to focus on his words and not get distracted with the woollen dolls laying limply on the floor. "There once was a- "
A knock on the door paused his story telling, much to his mates disappointment as she began to whine and pull on his collar.
"Come in." He ordered.
"Prince Nikolai, your horse is ready." Helena said with her head down respectfully.
"Thank you. You can take a break for the rest of the day and spend time with Amara." He said, already taking the squirmy toddler off his lap.
Bowing her head, the maid thanked him gratefully.
"See horsey?" Amara asked, nodding her head eagerly in agreement with her own words.
Apologetically, he tapped her chin and said, "not today. I have to leave but I shall see you soon."
When her blue eyes became teary, he knew he had to leave before it became impossible for them to seperate.
"No! Li no go! No go!" She cried, sobbing onto his legs while he tried to pry her arms off.
Crouching down to her height, Nikolai wiped her tears with his thumbs as a pained smile appeared on his face. "I'm sorry, Baby Wolf. I trust you will be good for your Mama, yes?" He said softly, almost completely forgetting about the other person in the room.
After a short while of him preventing an explosive tantrum from his mate, she finally allowed him to leave once again.
~~~
six years later
As years went on, Nikolai's time spent at the castle grew less and less. Both due to the fact that the revolution was growing in the kingdom and people were growing restless because of it, and the fact that he needed to distance himself from his mate, especially with her growing more and more attached to him.
Now, this was the visit he had been dreading for years. Amara was only eight and in two days, she would be spending the rest of her childhood without him.
"Nikolai, I am so glad you're back." His mother said, kissing his cheek affectionately.
"As am I, mother. Unfortunately, I won't be returning for a long time as I'm sure you've heard." He said, waiting for her dramatics and he wasn't disappointed.
With exaggerated exasperation, she fanned her face as if in distress. "Oh the chaos in the North. I know it is urgent but must you have to leave so soon. Surely they can survive without you for an extra day?" She pleaded him to agree.
He shook his head regretfully and replied, "that's the thing mother. They won't survive and being part of our kingdom, they deserve all the help they can get."
She huffed but nodded in understand, knowing that while he was her son, he was also the Prince and future King of the kingdom. "Such a good boy." Yvette, his mother, patted his cheek patronisingly before speeding off.
Suddenly, a small force hit his legs. Of course it wasn't enough to physically move him but he felt it. Looking down, he saw the small little girl he called his soulmate on the ground, rubbing her nose with sparkling blue eyes that had already began to shine with tears.
"What have I told you about running into vampires, Baby Wolf? Huh. Answer me Amara." He said, picking her up onto her feet.
Looking down in, what seemed to be, shame, she muttered, "to not do it."
"That's correct and what did you do?"
"I did it."
She had been misbehaving a lot more since Nikolai announced he would be leaving and it hadn't gone unnoticed. He suspected it was her own little protest. However, he didn't let his strong will falter as he was still determined to leave for the sake of his kingdom any sort of future relationship he could possibly have with his mate.
He refused to watch her grow up into a woman, especially while she was already so attached to him. It was bad enough that he had to walk around the forest with trepidation, unknowing whether or not he was trampling on the remains of her deceased parents.
And as they say, distance makes the cold lifeless heart grow fonder.
"Don't be sad," he ordered her as if she was a soldier.
The young girl only sniffled and weakly nodded her head.
"I have a gift for you but only if you stop being sad," he negotiated, while knowing he would still give her the world even if she was bawling until her eyes were red sore. The corners of Nikolai's mouth turned up when she showed her teeth through wobbly lips. "What a pathetic attempt of a smile," he teased.
Though, he still led her to her minuscule play room and presented a decorated porcelain tea set. Her sequels of excitement and animated run towards the gift left his chest warm, enlightening a gratifying happiness.
She proceeded to speak to her imaginary friends and invited them for tea with much enthusiasm. "I'm playing Kings and Queens. Come play, Prince Nikolai." He inwardly laughed at her addressing him respectfully while ordering the future King of the kingdom at the same time. Nevertheless, he kneeled next to her, the only person he'd ever kneel for.
A faint trace of werewolf reached his nose. While he appreciated the smell of his mate, it was still a smell that was ingrained to put him on high alert for enemies since the dawn of time. However, smelling her particular scent made his protective instincts surround her, rather than his own kind. And his own kind were now the threat of the only thing he cherished. If anyone detected Amara was a werewolf, there would be a war in his own Kingdom because Nikolai would refuse to let his mate be executed.
"Amara, have you took your potion today?" He asked the little girl sternly.
She shyly pulled out the delicate little jar on the end of her necklace. It held the very potion he gave blood, sweat and tears to possess from a suspect witch that clearly sensed his desperation from the price he had to pay for it. Since his mate arrived into his life, Helena was given strict instructions to put a few powerful drops into any liquid for Amara to consume in order to stay hidden in their Kingdom.
It was only recently that he gave the responsibility to the girl herself when it came time to emphasise the severity of keeping her true identity secret. While he always embraced her werewolf side and made sure to remind her not to be ashamed of being different in a world of all the same callous creatures, his nickname for her being evident of that, she needed to make sure she understood how her life depended on keeping her lycanthropy a secret.
So far, he hadn't been disappointed in how serious she took the situation. But, this time she forgot and he reminded himself to chastise Helena before he left.
Once she hurriedly completed her, what should've been, her morning potion ritual, Amara immediately went back to her game. It made him happy that she'd be able to amuse herself while he was gone, knowing that the little girl didn't have too many friends. He supposed that would change as she grew up, already mentioning the farmer's son playing a usual role in her Kings and Queen game.
However, it amused him that his mate made herself the Queen and him the King. The little girl had herself a case of puppy love, a passing fancy. He'd known this but it seemed utterly bizarre to imagine himself feeling anything but a platonic eternal love for the little pup.
He knew that no matter how much time passed between his visits, if he weren't to return for decades, he'd cherish her however she needed. Perhaps Nikolai was thinking wishfully. It was doubtful that she'd ever want anything to do with him if she were to discover what truly happened in the woods the night she was found.
~~~
Thank you for reading!
Sorry for slow updates, I currently have FOUR ongoing books at the moment. I'm hoping this will mean I have less writers block. Four is better than nothing I suppose!
How would you react if you knew your mate was an old old Prince and he killed your parents and gave you away to a servant stranger to live with whilst forcing you to hide your werewolf identity to the whole kingdom?
I personally wouldn't react positively.
I think the name Amara is so pretty. What are your names? Give me inspo for new characters please haha.
WORD COUNT: 2884
Much love <3
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